There is lots to see and do whilst at sea on-board P&O’s Azura, so being a third day away from land was really rather nice.
The sunbeds were getting a lot of use around the decks as the weather was gorgeous, really hot and sunny. The girls spent lots of time in the pools or Jacuzzis.
There is always waiters available around these pool areas so if you want a drink it’s easy to get one. Azura like all P&O ships operates a cashless system. When you arrive you are given a swipe card which doubles for your cabin key and your money transactions. You have to register a debit or credit card or pay off your account by cash at the end of the cruise.
There is lots of opportunity on deck for various games too, from your traditional Shuffleboard, or Deck Quoits to cricket in the purpose built nets or even table tennis as well as many others to keep you busy if you wanted to be.
We were very fortunate on the morning after returning from another hearty breakfast in the Verona Restaurant to se Whale spouts from our cabin balcony…
They were a little way off so we couldn’t make out the whales themselves unfortunately but it was still great to see the spouts.
The Azura is a very family friendly ship and has kids clubs that cater for ages from 2-17 year olds. These proved so good we hardly ever saw our three girls as they made good friends in the clubs, and combined with the myriad of fun packed activities laid on for them by the trained staff they had a great time. This doesn’t mean that Azura is a noisy ship with children running everywhere with nowhere to have a quite relaxing time. There is so much space on board that the children will not be in the way of anyone just wanting a relaxing holiday. At the aft end of the ship there is a adult only pool which allows a break from the children, even for the parents.
One thing to watch out for as you walk around the ship is these statues…
They are all over the ship in various poses watching the action unfold around them. I think they are very clever.
Today’s activities were a mixture a bit more of Battle of the Sexes (we are still winning) and some photography workshops. Then it’s off round the ship to put what I’ve learnt in to practice before chilling out to try and catch a bit of sun whilst listening to some good live music.
Mel chose the more energetic option of the line dancing and ballroom dancing ably joined by Esther, before heading off to the Spa for some relaxation.
The evenings dress code was Semi-formal so the girls wanted a quick photo stop on our balcony before we headed down for dinner.
I went for the Gilthead Sea Bream and it was gorgeous, really full of flavour a beautiful dish.
And as for the Strawberry Shortcake well!!! More please!
We were again very fortunate on this evening. I had decided to go back to the cabin after dinner to try and get a picture of the sun setting over the Atlantic Ocean. I got all my camera out set it all up for taking pictures of sunsets when Mel shouts look Dolphins! One very speedy alteration of camera settings later I managed to get a couple of photos before they disappeared again…
They were brilliant to watch, so fast and agile. Brilliant creatures.
I did get a picture of the sun setting too. A little bank of cloud had built up on the horizon so I didn’t get the picture I had hoped for but I think it still works…
I hoped you’ve enjoyed your wonder around Azura today, please come back tomorrow as we dock at our first port of call, Madeira.
I will leave you with a Happy Birthday to my dear wife Mel
Happy Birthday!
As I promised yesterday today you get to see if Amber got any presents at her party or not. Now it would be a very sad little 4 year old princess if she didn’t get any presents…
Fortunately she did get presents so she was soon ripping the paper off squealing with delight…
She even got a new set of fairy wings from one of her princess friends…
Some people even seemed to be following the princess theme in their wrapping paper…
I think Amber and her fellow princesses had a great party; I say princesses there were two princes there too, Ambers brother and the brother of one of the princesses, they all had a great time playing together.
It was soon time for the princesses chauffeurs (parents) to collect them and take them home.
All that was then left to do, was to leave Ambers daddy to do the tidying up of the toys at the end of the party…
So Happy Birthday Amber, thank you for a wonderful party.
I hope you have enjoyed visiting Ambers party with me, please come back tomorrow for some new photo opportunities, and feel free to visit any of the previous posts to see what else the camera may have seen.
Those of you who read my blog yesterday will know that it was my niece Ambers Birthday this week and when we went to wish her Happy Birthday, she was having a Princesses Birthday party with some of her friends.
As you know, Princesses have to look their best and Amber certainly did. Her own personal hair stylist, (her mum), had done her hair up beautifully…
There was certainly lots of smiles and laughter going on, these princesses were having a wonderful party.
What comes next after all the fun and games? Of course, the party food…
A table full of goodies for the hungry princesses and their equally hungry helpers. There was even more cake and goodies not in the photo that came out later.
The Princesses certainly liked everything that was on offer as there was lots of empty plates at the end.
To round off the food there’s one more cake to try the Birthday cake…
Come on Amber get your daddy to help blow those candles out…
Well done Amber, all out, but wait a minute what about your presents? Oh well reader you will have to come back tomorrow for more photos of that bit of the party. See you then.
It is my Niece Amber’s birthday this week and so we called around to wish her Happy Birthday.
When we arrived she was having a Princesses Birthday party with some of her friends. They were all dressed up in Princesses outfits and looked really good. The party was already underway when we got there and they had already played some energetic games so they were having a quiet time playing the memory card game as we arrived.
Although I think my camera clicking may have disturbed the concentration on the game as they all turned to look at the camera…
Concentration did quickly return to the game though…
Energetic games did resume shortly with a game of musical bumps where every child that went out got a sticker, which meant they could continue to dance and play but the organiser of the game knew who was left actually playing the game. A great idea.
Come back tomorrow for more fun from Amber’s Birthday party.
