Suites, mini suites and mobility scooters!!

I suppose this post is continuing on from my last one about disabiity and accessibility on board P&O's fleet.  I have previously mentioned that I had been told that when Carnival reshuffled it was decided that a dedicated disability team was no longer required and that their customer service could answer any disability related questions; I disagree with this decision and can prove it does not work.
I believe it was around the time of the reshuffle that P&O decided that disabled passengers who used a mobility scooter could no longer take then on-board unless they had an accessible cabin or another cabin that was deemed suitable and in most cases these are non adapted suites and mini suites.  The reason for this decision I understand was purely for health and safety.
I am not a fan of the mobility scooter but I feel that it is unfair on passengers who use a scooter to move around and wish to stay loyal to P&O.  I believe that their choice of cabin has been away and has obviously restricted their choice of ship and cruise as many of them cannot afford the price of suites and mini suites.
Arcadia, does not have any accessible accommodation that is suitable for a full-time wheelchair or mobility scooter users as none of their cabins are large enough to manoeuvre around.  However, they do have 51 non adapted cabins that are suites and mini suites. The ship also has 11 partially adapted cabins in grades from suites to larger inside cabins.
Aurora, does have 22 cabins that are suitable for full-time wheelchair and mobility scooter users in grades from balcony cabins to inside cabins.  The ship also offers 30 non adapted cabins that are suitable for mobility scooters in suite and mini suite grades.
Sister ships the Azura and Ventura each offer 31 adapted cabins that are suitable for full-time wheelchair and mobility scooter users in cabin grades from a suite to inside cabins.  Both ships also offer 27 non adapted suites which are suitable for mobility scooter users.
Oriana only has 8 outside cabins that are suitable for full-time wheelchair and mobility scooter users. However, she has 24 non adapted suites and mini suites that are suitable for mobility scooter users.
Oceana offers19 adapted cabins which are suitable for full-time wheelchair and mobility scooter users in grades from a mini suite to inside cabin.  She has 38 non adapted suites and mini suites that are suitable for use by mobility scooters users.
Britannia, P&O's flagship offers 37 adapted cabins that are suitable for both full-time wheelchair and mobility scooter users in grades from suites to inside cabins.  They also offer 44 non adapted suites that are suitable for mobility scooters users.
Any passenger who is disabled knows that adapted cabins sell out very quickly, usually as soon as a cruise goes on sale and as adapted cabns are very limited in number it means that they would have to swallow the cost of higher grade cabins and suites or go with another cruise company. 
When P&O introduced this new rule I was so furious that they were taking away a passengers choice of cabin and I actually moved away from P&O even though I use a manual wheelchair and the new rule did not apply to me. I went and did several cruises with RCI.  RCI do not have any rules regarding the use of scooters and we never found them to be a pest while on board "Indy".

Open wardrobe on Britannia

What does bother me is that this could be the start of a trend; starting with scooters.  At the moment I am able to manage in a standard cabin with a shower and my manual wheelchair folds small enough to fit in the open wardrobe area.  I do not require space to manoeuvre a wheelchair around the cabin.  When booking a cruise I go no higher in grade than a balcony for the simple reason that the higher grades often come with a bathtub and overhead shower.  I am unable to get in and out of a bathtub safely.  So if P&O brought in a rule regarding manual wheelchairs I would not be able to stay loyal to P&O and would not hesitate in going back to RCI or another cruise line.
I know this topic often comes up on boards and forums and I do feel sorry for mobility scooter users especially when some scooters fold up as small as a manual whelchairs and yet they are still not allowed on-board P&O's fleet.  If I was a scooter owner I would want answers as it does seem a little bit unfair.  If they were to say no manual wheelchairs on-board I believe this would be one step too far; something I don't think they can afford to do. 
I am only able to use a manual wheelchair because I have friends who can push me when I get too tired but if I had no one to push me I would have to rely on a mobility scooter and I feel that my choices should not be compromised should I use a scooter in the future.  It would be nice if one day this rule on mobility scooters could be reversed but I doubt that will ever happen.  I have been on four of the ships in the P&O fleet and they all have something different that makes them special and unique and will remain loyal but loyalty is a two way thing. 

Disability Factsheet?

Last year after returniing from our cruise on P&O's Britannia I had a few comments and suggestions that I felt P&O needed to hear that could improve accessibility not only on this ship but also other ships in the fleet.
Whilst on our 14 day cruise I wondered at times if I was the only disabled passenger who felt that there was a lack of information regarding accessibility around the ship but after my friend met a struggling visually impaired passenger struggling with the stairs between Deck 17 and Deck 18 apparently not.  This meeting happened nearing the end of the cruise and this passenger was not aware that there was a disabled lift that would take her between these decks and said that it was a shame that noone had told her of this lifts existance at the beginning of the cruise.  This passenger could so easily had fallen down these stairs.

Disabled lift on Deck 17

This lift was not origionally indicated on deck plans for Britannia in 2015 it just showed an empty space.  I only found out about its existance because of my dogged determination.  When I book a cruise I research everything that I can including the ships deck plans and from looking at Britannia's I could see that the lifts stopped at Deck 17 and that access to Deck 18 was via stairs.  I had read somewhere online that she was fully accessible so therefore there must be a way up to Deck 18.  I called P&O's customer service as I thought they would know for sure.  I have to say that they have some of the rudest customer service staff that I have ever come across.  I had to make several calls before someone explained that they have a disabled team who you cannot talk to but they would try and find out if someone knew about access.  The person did come back and explained to me exactly where to locate a lift.  She also told me that they did not want to make it public knowledge because they did not want all and sundry using it.

When I was on Britannia one of the first things we did was to check that the information was correct and that the lift was there.  As you can see from my photographs it does exist.  As you can clearly see it does not look like a lift door and most people mistook it for a crew entrance; that's why we got a few weird looks from fellow passengers.
I have sailed on Azura (2010) and Ventura (2011) and we are sailing again on Azura in June this this year and like Britannia their deck plans do not show that there is a platform lift between Azura's Aqua Deck and Sun Deck and Ventura's Sun Deck and Sports Deck.  I was told by a fellow passenger on Azura in 2010 that there was a small platform lift for the use of disabled guests. 

I unfortunately do not have photographs but this image is representative of what it looks like.  This lift can be found on both ships if you walk around Breakers Bar and round towards the Ivory Suite you will see a small glass lift that is large enough for one wheelchair and one standing person.
As I have previously said on returning home after my cruise on Britannia I contacted P&O with comments and suggestions  about accessibility on the ship and I have to say that I did got pushed from pillar to post with no answers and offered £100 OBC for my next cruise for my trouble.  Unsatisfied with the treatment I received from P&O's customer care I found an email for Christopher Edgington (Marketing Director, P&O) and started communicating with him.  Eventually I was passed onto a person who is a disability advisor for P&O and she has told me herself that she does not have any contact with customers as their customer service people could answer all questions relating to disability and accessibility.  I told her that was an error in judgement because I had tried and they know very little.    Something like knowing the position of disabled lifts on their fleet of ships is not rocket science. 
One suggestion I had was that P&O could produced a factsheet for every ship in their fleet detailing information such as the position of lifts for use by disabled passengers. A factsheet for the ship that a person is sailing on could be emailed to them once they have  submitted a disability questionnaire.  I have to say that I was told that this would be costly?  How much does it cost to produce a word document that details ship information and is them emailed out. Answer is minimal.  It is not as if the information is waiting for you in your cabin when you board.  The only contact I ever get when I am on board is contact from the excursions team trying to sell me an over priced accessible tour.
In conclustion I have to say that when I first started crusing there was a dedicated disability number that you could call and their team was very knowledgable and helpful but as I have been told that when P&O reshuffled several years ago they felt that a dedicated disability team was not required as their customer service could answer disability related questions.  I strongly disagree.  I am very passionate about equality and the more I see that is unjust the more I will complain, I may be disabled and what I may lack in movement I make up for in voice.

What is important to you when looking for a cruise

What do you look for when booking your next cruise is a question I have been asked on many occasions and my answer has changed since our first cruise in 2008.
In 2007 I had been medically retired from the Civil Service and unable to fly I was looking for an alternative holiday and to take a cruise was the obvious choice.  We always took our main holiday in the autumn or winter and nearly always to the Canary Islands and so that was our starting point.

Overlooking Funchal, Madeira. 1st December 2008

At this time I had only really heard of P&O, Cunard, RCI and NCL.  I started with the cruise line I knew the most about and that was P&O and looked through their brochure and found a cruise that ticked the boxes, "Canaries Carousel" a 13 night cruise stopping at 7 ports.  For this cruise we had booked an oceanview cabin.
Cruising isn't for everybody and it is often described as being "marmite"; you either love it or hate it and I think that is true.  I always say that on our first cruise we struck gold because at dinner we were seated with a lovely lady called Jean and she was a seasoned cruiser of over 200+ cruises and during our time on board we learnt so much from her and we will be forever grateful.  As she said everyone has to take their first cruise and now we are the ones being asked questions by first time cruisers.
For us the destination isn't always as important as the ship.  We do have our favourite ships and for us that is P&O's Azura (2010 & 2016) and RCI's Independance of the Seas (2013 & 2014).  Every ship is different for instance P&O's Aurora was a lovely ship and not

Floral display in Aurora's Atrium

too big either and although it is a familiy ship we felt it suited the older traveller.  Azura and Ventura (2011) are sister ships and are much bigger with a livelier atmosphere and are much more suited to the younger cruiser and family market.  Britannia is an even bigger ship and for me she just did not have that "wow" factor and is 4 star at best.  Whoever said she is 5 star has never stayed in 5 star hotels; I have.  It felt as if we were in a shopping mall and not a very good one.  Especially when the Micheal Kors sales representative said they liked my fake Micheal Kors watch, my watch is 100% genuine and I told him so.
One other ship that stole my heart was RCI's independance of the Sea. Her crew were the friendliest I have come across and nothing was too much trouble.
Some passengers like or are supersticious and like to stay in the same cabin whenever possible.  For us this will be the third time we have stayed in cabin E225, which is graded as an obstructed outside but you actually can see a lot as the life boat only comes a quarter up the window.  We have had balcony cabins in the past and like most people we are hardly in there just for sleeping and changing for dinner.  We learnt early on that regular or seasoned cruisers tend to go for the cheaper or inside cabins so that they can do more cruises and only on special occasions do they splash out.  For us the type of ship plays a part, some people prefer adult only while others like us like family ships.

The Retreat on Azura

However, we do like adult only spaces such as The Retreat on Azura and Ventura but I still like to hear the laughter of kiddies having fun.  I have to say that the childrens clubs do a fantastic job as the children are never a nuisence.  We have not done an adult only ship yet because I think they would be too stuffy for my liking.  I maybe in my early 50's but I am very much young at heart.
The ships facilities can play a big part when choosing your next cruise. For us it is having an adult only space with a swimming pool.  Having a spa with treatments.  Having a wide choice of live music and entertainment is a must.  We like fine cuisine and look for a good selection of speciality restaurants.  On Ventura we have eaten in The White Room and on Britannia we dined in the Epicurean (amazing!).  We like to go to the casino after a show and play Roulette or go for a walk around the promenade.

Promenade Deck

Britannia was the first ship that we have sailed on that does not have what I call a proper promenade deck.  Her deck was on the top of the ship on deck 18 (sports deck) and it does not work at all.  It doesn't matter if it is a beautiful sunny day it is always breezy and there is no shelter from the elements.  I think we only went up a couple of times just for a stroll but it wasn't very pleasant.  Promenade decks are meant to be places where you can take a pew and simply just sit back and watch the world go by or read a book, have a glass of wine or just have a good old fashioned cup of tea!  When we were on Britannia I think other passengers missed this feature as I heard a lot of chatter about it.

Dining options have changed since our first cruise on Aurora where we had two options club dining and select dining to choose from.  Club dining has two sittings 6:30pm or 8:30pm and you dine with the same passengers every night while select dining is where you book speciality restaurants and pay a small surcharge for doing so.  Ships also offer a buffet style restaurant which is open all day and late into the early hours.  In 2010 we saw the introduction of freedom dining which gives you more flexibility when you wish to eat and is included in the price of your cruise.  Over the last six years we have seen this option become more and more popular and we actually chose to try freedom dining for the first time last year on Britannia and thoroughly enjoyed it so much that we have chosen to do it on our next cruise in June.
One thing that we really enjoy is the formal nights and love dressing up, but not everyone feels the same.  When we first started cruising there were three dress codes, formal, semi-formal and smart casual but in recent years most ships just have two, formal and evening casual.  There are cruise lines that don't adhere to any dress codes and thats ok it you like that kind of cruise but I don't.

Our cabin on Britannia

people who have never cruised often have a preconceived idea of the type of person who goes cruising.  They often assume that we are wealthy or upper class and that is very far from the real truth.  That was the case many years ago when ships had classes but that is not the case with modern cruising.  I often tell people that the accommodation side is very much like a modern hotel where you can have anything from a standard room (inside cabin) upto a suite with many grades in between and at dinner (freedom and club) your table companions can be anyone on the cruise.  It can make for interesting conversations. 
There is so much I could say about what I look for in a cruise but everyone of us is different and we all want different things.  For me it is to have a fabulous holiday going somewhere warm or of interest without having to fly.  Cruises are all inclusive (apart from drinks), the food is usually a extremely high standard, it is safe for children and everyone can do as much as they want or as little.  All cruise lines have extremely good sites and can answer most questions you may have, but like everything you won't know if you like it unless you give it a go.

P&O accessible excursions v Private tour!

Last week I received from P&O's shoremobility a list of the wheelchair accessible excursions for our cruise A615 to the Baltic in June onboard Azura and I have to say that I was very disappointed by the number on offer and the selection but not surprised.  In total there are 11 accessible excursions for the whole cruise compared with 88 standard excursions and I am sure that could be improved. I find it hard to believe that Norway, Denmark. Sweden and even Russia do not have accessible minivans or coaches that can be hired, after all what do their own disabled people do.  One port that I was sure would have excursions was Zeebrugge, Belguim but they only offer a continuous shuttle service
from the pier to Blankenberg and will run with train schedules. 

Ghent, Belgium

The shuttles will drop off at the train station where passengers can then decide to take the accessible train service onto Ghent, Bruges, Brussels or visit the city centre.  
The information regarding accessible shuttle services at other ports is unknown and won't be known until onboard ship.  Sometimes it feels as if disabled people are not wanted on cruise ships; an inconvenience comes to mind.  It really does annoy and frustrate me the way these cruise lines think it is acceptable to charge disabled passengers anything upto 150% plus for accessible excursions that are the same as the standard excursions.  I do understand that it is probably going to be more expensive to hire an accessible vehicle but not hundreds more.  I personally refuse to pay hyped up prices.
For the above reasons we decided to look into a private tour of St Petersburg with Guide Guru and we have been able to tailor the tour to suit my pace and earlier this week we had it confirmed and the day tour goes as follows: 
8:00am - Meet our guide at cruise teminal 
8:30 - 11:30am City tour and visit inside Spilled Blood Church
11:30am - 12:30pm Visit St Issac's Cathedral
12:30 - 1:30 Lunch & free time 
2:00 - 4:00pm The Hermitage & Winter Palace 
4:30 - 5:30pm The General Staff Building to view French Paintings of 19th & 20th Century
5:30pm Shopping before returning to the ship at 6:30pm.   
Being private we have been able to see things that are important to us such as the paintings and leave places like the fountain park for others to enjoy, I have a phobia of fountains.  We consider the price to be fair for what we are getting.  It is far cheaper than a half day private tour that P&O can arrange.  
Being disabled can be challenging at the best of times and being a partial wheelchair user like myself who uses other aids you often feel as if your needs are not taken into consideration.  In the information from P&O it clearly states that accessible minivans hold three wheelchairs and three companions.  Nothing in this literature mentioned walking disabled.  
I glad that we have booked a private tour because I will be able to do things at my pace and not worry about anyone else.

Nearly a year since Britannia

May 2nd marks the 1st birthday of Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte and a year since our cruise on Britannia. For me this cruise holds special memories for several different reasons.  I have been on a couple of cruises since Mum passed away in September 2014, the first was on Royal Caribbeans Independence of the Sea and P&O's Britannia was the second of the cruises.  

When I booked Britannia in late 2014 it was for no other reason than we needed a holiday to get over a rather upsetting situation which was caused by the actions of the Co-operative Funeralcare who lost my Mum's wedding ring and after many weeks they finally accepted full responsibility and paid compensation. Between booking the cruise and taking it we had some of her ashes interred at her local church and the remaining ashes Mum wished for me to scatter somewhere special.  At the time I had several ideas in mind of what she would have liked but no final decision had been made.

Our cruise on Britannia was about the 5th cruise into her inaugural season and like many of my fellow cruisers I was looking for reviews and information that I might find helpful and like many people I am a member of several cruise related forums.  One day I received a newsletter from a list and I saw something that caught my eye and that was the scattering of ashes at sea.  Curiosity got the better of me and I clicked on the link and read a very heart warming account of how a chap had a relatives ashes scattered at sea on Britannia and it got me thinking.  My Mum had so many connections to the sea, my Dad who was in the Royal Navy and Mum's last holiday with me was to Lanzarote; which was going to be one of our ports of call on this cruise.  I wasn't sure how or if I could organise it but I thought I would try and my first port of call was our cruise agent who made the first contact with P&O. A lady contacted me and she wanted to know a bit more information regarding the cruise and whose ashes I wanted to be scattered.  At this point it was not certain if this could be done as it was down to the Captain and the port authority of the places that we were visiting. On my part I had to get a cremation certificate and this had to be got from the crematorium. The funeral director from the Co-op was kind enough to sort that for me and so I had my fingers crossed for some good news from P&O.  After I believe a week or so of waiting I received a letter to say that I had been granted permission by Captain Pembridge for the scattering of Mum's ashes in the Canary Islands.  I had to report to the information desk at the Southampton terminal and they would escort me through customs.

Britannia in the Canaries

I don't why I was so nervous about these ashes, maybe because once this final act that I could do for Mum that. Once on board I reported to the reception as per my letter and ask for Karen who was a young Officer who was going to guide me through this sad time and make sure everything went smoothly from the service to ordering a wreath, she was their for us throughout the whole cruise. On the day we reach Lisbon I handed over the small sealed container of Mum's ashes for them to examine and I was told that the harbour authorities in Lanzarote had given permission for the scattering of ashes in the waters just off the island.
A couple a days later we reached Lanzarote and Mum's ashes were going to be scattered in a early evening ceremony at 7:30pm.  That day was a bit surreal because we had spent the day on the ship sunbathing and doing such ordinary things. I was more nervous about meeting Captain Pembridge than having Mum's ashes scattered. Once we had departed for Gran Canaria we went and met up with the Captain, Karen and another Officer.  There was a set service that was taken by Captain Pembridge and then I was asked if I wanted to say a few words before throwing the  wreath of beautiful bright flowers into the sea and I watched it for a few moments as it floated away into the distance.  Afterwards I knew I had done the right thing by Mum scattering her ashes in a place that we both loved.  Several days later I was given a certificate to say that Mum's ashes were committed to the sea in position Latitude 28 50'N Longitude 013 36'W on 8th May 2015. This was also entered into the ships log for perpetuity.  

Glass House Fish & Chips

After booking this 14 day cruise it was announced that Olly Smith wine expert and one of P&O's Food Hero's was going to be on board in the second week.  When I found this out I was determined that we would do a wine tasting session with him. I am no wine expert but I do like a nice white wine and because I not that keen on red wine I was hoping he could change my mind.  On this cruise Olly only did a couple of wine tasting sessions and they were limited to 12 people so I booked it as soon as the flyer hit our cabin.  I had never done anything like this before so I didn't know what to expect.  I actually thought we would be out of our depth and that the other people would be wine connoisseurs but actually no one in the group was.  We had four wines to  taste, two white and two red and nibbles as well.  It lasted about 90 minutes and I actually came away liking one of the reds as well as both whites.  Olly truly loves his profession and passed on some knowledge and insight into what he is passionate about.  
Britannia is a lovely ship but as I have previously said but for me she does not have the "WOW" factor.  I found the atrium to be more like a shopping mall with its "Market Cafe" and shops that were on two decks. The spiral staircase was to one side of the atrium and really was nothing special to look at.  The reception was just off the atrium and it felt as if you were in a 4 star hotel.  I say 4 star because I have stayed in a 5 star plus hotels and this ship does fall far short of the standards that you would expect from such an establishment.
All in all I am glad that I have been on this ship but I won't be in any hurry to sail on her again unless it is the right itinerary and time.

It would be nice if someone noticed us

Being a partial wheelchair user who uses walking aids I often feel as if I'm "sitting on the fence".  I am unable to go along with the normal crowd because I have limitations and because I choose not to use a wheelchair I don't fit with that crowd either and I am so frustrated that hardly anyone considers people like myself.  It is as if we are the forgotten ones.

I have been doing research into hotel accessibility and it looks as if I am going to find the same problems with cruise ships.  Far too often the walking disabled are ignored or simply forgotten when it comes to designing accommodation or making arrangements.  

One recent example of this was on 10th March I received from shore mobility a list of wheelchair accessible tours for my cruise in June to the Baltic.  Also included was information relating to the transport they would be using for these tours and it was made clear that they are adapted minivans that can take three wheelchairs and three companions. Not once did the information mention passengers that may be disabled but not wheelchair users.  

The main problem for myself and other disabled passengers is the boarding of a normal coach; I for one do not have the strength to pull myself up due to perminent rotator cuff damage and co-ordination problems caused by CP (Cerebral Palsy).  Many of the normal tours are guided and it would be impossible for me to keep up with their pace.  I fear that at ports they will not have arranged accessible shuttles and this will not known in advance of the day.  I find it hard to believe that places such as Denmark, Sweden, Russia and Norway do not have adapted vehicles other than these minivans.  Last year when we were in port in Funchal, Madeira P&O had arranged for a couple of accessible shuttles which were the size of a hopper bus and it took both wheelchairs and walking disabled people.  

So often I had found that people like myself are misunderstood by the general public especially when using disabled facilities.  You noticed that I chose my words carefully because I have been challenged when using these facilities because I am using a walker and not in a wheelchair. Often the universal symbol which depicts a person seated in a wheelchair is taken literally by many people.  On occasion when I have used these facilities I have been challenged so where possible I try and find one that is RADAR key only facility.  
Most of the time we don't require the space that a wheelchair needs to manoeuvre around a room, so a normal size bedroom is usually adequate but what we may need often is an adapted bathroom or wetroom.  Because of these requirements I have to book a wheelchair accessible room or cabin.  It is a shame that no one has had the insight to design a room with adapted bathroom for those of us who are disabled but not full-time wheelchair users.  
Once someone told me that there was a hierarchy in the deaf community and at the time I actually thought there was not a hierarchy in the disabled community but now I am not so sure.  Have I changed my mind?  I am beginning to think I am.  When I use my wheelchair I get much more respect from other wheelchair users but if I am using my walker it is a whole different ball game.  I can be waiting for an elevator and someone who is in a wheelchair turns up and when the elevator arrives the person in the chair often pushes me to one side. It is not only rude it is disgusting to treat a fellow human that way; scooter users are often no better.  
I would like for once for someone to take notice of people with disabilities and understand that there are all different levels and many ways a disability can effect someone.  We are not all the same but we all know how life can be challenging and we should all be able to understand and support each other.

Someone has flicked on the cruise switch

Last July we booked our latest cruise to the Baltic which we are taking in June and at that time it was too early to get excited.  However, it is as if someone has flicked on a switch and turned the excitement on for us.  Our cruise is just over three months away and there is still a huge amount to do. 

Cabin E225

Being disabled means that most standard excursions are not suitable for me for one reason or another.  On this cruise we will be visiting St Petersburg for two days and because you require a tourist visa most people do the ships excursions because your visa is included in the price.  Unfortunately there wasn't any suitable standard excursions and we were considering getting our own tourist visas for Russia but after reading about some problems for tourists we have decided against it.  At this point I was feeling fairly low because it was looking as if we would have to rely on doing accessible excursions which are hugely overpriced in my opinion and very limited to usually one or two per visiting port.  Over the weekend while talking with our broker the topic of excursions came up and telling her how disappointed we were at not seeing St Petersburg the way we had hoped she suggested that we look at private tour companies.
There are many companies that specialise in providing private and tailored tours.  After doing a considerable amount of research we have decided to go with Guide Guru.  At the moment we are in the process of sorting an itinerary for a one day tour which will include French Painting of 19th and 20th Century  (which none of the P&O excursions do) at The Hermitage The Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood, St Issac's Cathedral, a city tour and of course no trip will be complete without shopping! The cost is very reasonable considering it is a one to one tour experience for just us.  It also means that I can do things at my pace.  I find it rather odd that the standard excursions have been bookable for some months but the accessible excursions are not released until tomorrow (10th March).  I can't believe it is because they are harder to organise or this only happens with tours to the Baltic because this is the same with every cruise we have done with P&O.  We have of course looked at the other ports that we are visiting but have not decided anything yet.  We may do our own thing but then again we may do an excursion we will have to wait and see.
This will be the third time that we have stayed in cabin E225

and knowing where everything thing is means that we will settle in that much quicker.  I am so excited by this and I see Azura as an old friend who I have made such wonderful memories with.  It is funny that it takes weeks to pack but minutes (hour) to unpack.
It is so hard to explain to someone who has never cruised the advantages of doing so and the fact that your holiday starts the moment you step onto the ship and not spending the first and last day of your holiday sitting around in airports or flying.  
For our friends it must seem confusing and exhausting the amount of enthusiasm and excitement that we build up prior to a cruise.  I have been nicknamed "list queen" because that is how I organise us for a cruise.  By the time we get to d-day I will have produce a list for virtually everything we take.
One other important thing that I do is to take a file which has every piece of paperwork relating to the cruise.  I also have passports and photocopies, maps and port information, pre-paid dinner receipts, Prescription form and letter, useful phone numbers, travel insurances and deck plans of Azura and there is probably something I have forgotten.  
Last May we sailed on Britannia for a 14 night Canaries cruise which was lovely but the ship was missing the wow factor and the one thing that really spoilt it for me was that there is no promenade deck.  We love to take a stroll around the promenade deck after dinner and have a drink and it just didn't feel right, we had a balcony but that wasn't the same.  On Britannia the Promenade was at the top on the Sports Deck, which was not undercover and could be windy at times; it wasn't what I would call a promenade.
So for the foreseeable future I will be compiling my lists and start to prepare for our cruise on Azura.

Baltic on P&O's Azura

Azura in Gran Canaria

I can't believe that this week sees the start of spring and it only seems like yesterday that we were celebrating Christmas.  I can't believe that in just three months until we embark on our next cruise to the Baltic.  I am so excited as we are visiting countries that we have not been to before which include Russia, Estonia, Finland and Belguim.  We are also visiting Sweden, Norway and Denmark which I visited many years in my late teens; I think as an adult you appreciate things more so I looking forward to revisting these places.
For us going back on Azura is like visiting an old friend.  I think she is our favourite ship to date and we were able to book our usual cabin which makes it even more special.  I am looking forward to just being able to kick back and chill out for two weeks.
For me a round trip cruise is the perfect holiday, I am able to do as much as I want or do as little as I want.  The ship provides me with everything that I need and much more.  I can choose whether to get off the ship while in port or stay onboard and take advantage of the vast facilities while most passengers are ashore.
With every cruise we do it seems as if we take less to time to organise, prepare and pack.  I suppose in some ways it has become routine and I am not saying I mind at all.  The cruise in June is the first one we have done where we will be doing a lot more sightseeing.  It is unfortunate that the standard cruise excursions are not suitable for me as it seems most are done at some speed.  The accessible excursions are a lot more money and usually only a couple of hours and as we are in St Petersburg for two days it seems a shame to waste the time.  At the suggestion of our cruise agent we have looked around and found a company that does private tours called Guide Guru and the prices are very reasonable.  We are at present in communication with them to arrange something.  We both have places we want to visit and for me a must is the French Painting of 19th - 20th centuries at The Hermitage.
I am looking forward to a memorable cruise.