Greek islands cruise

We have recently returned from a 17 night cruise aboard Azura from Southampton to Greece via Ibiza on the outward voyage and calling at Gibraltar on the return. The itinerary included Mykonos, Crete, Santorini, Athens (from Piraeus) and Katakolon for the Olympic stadium. The itinerary, weather and ship were exceptional. We found Azura to be well designed and the décor tasteful. The crew offered very good service with very few exceptions and the Captain, Robert Camby was not only a good seaman but also entered fully into the spirit of the cruise by taking part in fun events, being seen around the ship, and keeping passengers very well informed through his daily briefings. Where we did have complaints, they were always acknowledged and an effort made to put things right.
We have heard some people say that P&O have let standards slip but this was not our experience of this cruise. In any organisation, you will find someone or something that doesn’t meet expectations but in this case, the good far outweighed the poor. My one reservation is that P&O Cruises clearly have a policy to persuade passengers, once on board, to spend as much as possible on extras and if they are not careful, they will drive customers into the hands of rivals who offer more packages and all inclusive deals.