As we were already in Tenerife on holiday we managed to get this eight day Canaries Cruise at a bargain price, cruise only five days beforehand.
Prior to boarding we were upgraded twice from the cheapest inside to an outside and eventually got E324 which was partially blocked by a lifeboat.
The stateroom was comfortable enough but slightly tired and there were no problems whilst be we were docked.
When we eventually returned to sleep we had sailed and the noise from the lifeboats outside the window was deafening.
There was no way we could have slept so an immediate complaint was made to reception who could only supply ear plugs until the morning.
Needless to say we had a terrible night and hardly slept but Hotel Management did arrive first thing in the morning and offer us a move.
We were given a deluxe balcony cabin D505 the only problem being the bath was cracked and the shower/bath was therefore unusable.
So we ended up with two rooms one for sleeping and the original one for showering.
This deluxe room had bad stains on the settees and armchair and the carpet was none too clever either.
I would have been very unhappy having paid top money for this.
On a brighter note the entertainment on board was excellent in the theatre and some of the best quality we have enjoyed for a long time.
Both the Peninsula and Meridian Restaurants were a complete disaster and queues of over an hour to be seated were not uncommon.
Freedom Dining on board this ship is disastrous.
The so called booking system on the Ship’s Intranet was very hit and miss and failed miserably on several occasions.
The self serve restaurants on Deck 15 were extremely overcrowded probably due to the queues downstairs and far too many people were allowed in to get food at the same time.
This resulted in gridlock and some tray rage.!! All of the swimming pools except one were freezing cold and we were informed that there was a problem with the heating system that was in need of repair.
As a consequence my swimming trunks remained dry.
Having sailed on Azura when she was first launched I was disappointed with the decline in both the physical condition and the food and general service onboard.
Whilst the P&O pricing is very competitive the general standards have noticeably slipped and certain basic things need immediate attention.
Unless you want to sleep with ear plugs every night avoid E324 and the cabins either side as they had the same problem which was not resolved as promised when the ship next spent the day in Port.