Seeing stars as a first time Fly-Cruiser

If you’ve never considered a fly-cruise before, you could be missing out! Zoe from our Lymington shop enjoyed a 7-night voyage around the Canary Islands & Portugal with P&O Cruises and realized that there’s a whole new world of cruising just a few hours’ flight away:

“Being based on the South Coast, many of our customers choose to sail direct from the UK, and so this was an amazing opportunity for me to discover how simple and straight forward a Fly Cruise can be. We flew from London Gatwick to Tenerife then had a transfer to the ship, which was around an hour. This was a seamless experience, checking in at Gatwick was easy - there was even a staff member with a stapler ready to help anyone in the queue who hadn’t tagged their ship luggage labels to their suitcases. The simplicity of the process has reassured me and gives me confidence to suggest this to my customers, as it felt so easy and quick, and really widens the opportunities for destinations.

We sell a lot of P&O cruises, so I was looking forward to experiencing how it all operated onboard. I am happy to confirm that there was so much that exceeded my expectations! It felt very homely, and also very British which I loved. I genuinely think that P&O has something for everyone - the overall calmness of the cruise felt like it would appeal to older clients, but the evening entertainment felt like it would appeal to couples and families. The kids’ club was so much bigger than expected, which is a great plus point for families, and there were solo evenings every day, which would be great for our solo customers, so I do honestly think this ship would suit everyone.

I was onboard Azura, a family friendly ship, that sails around the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean. Azura has a capacity of 3100 guests and is built for the sunshine, with four pools and lovely, bright open sun decks.  I was worried the pool areas may feel busy, but it was the opposite, with loads of places to relax and soak up those rays.

Azura offers a spa, thermal suite, fitness center, theatre, 22 bars and restaurants, kids’ clubs, music halls, games rooms, a library and so much more. I loved the spa - they had some amazing offers on port days that were such good value - looking out of the huge glass windows, taking in the views whilst having a treatment done - this was my favorite place, and I wish I’d spent more time here.

The evening entertainment included Jon Udry, a juggler and comedian who was really funny, and a magic show called ‘Unbelievable,’ written by Stephen Mulhurn, which was a mix of theatre and magic, all about the impossible and how your eyes play tricks on you. The Celebration and Formal evenings felt very luxurious and fun, as everyone really dressed up to the max - seeing all the men in tuxedos and the ladies in their fancy frocks made it feel special.

Whilst onboard I visited specialty restaurants The Glass House, for tapas, and Epicurean, for elevated British dining, but my absolute favorite was Sindhu, which offers contemporary Indian cuisine. The food here was so flavoursome and cooked to perfection - the chicken was juicy and tender, and the lamb chops were phenomenal, I could eat plates and plates of them!

Our cruise called at Gran Canaria, Madeira, Lanzarote & Tenerife, and each port offered its own unique charms:

Gran Canaria - here we explored independently and visited some gorgeous local beaches, including Las Canteras.

Maderia - we did some wine tasting and enjoyed tobogganing down the hill! It’s something that’s been around for generations and is unique to Madeira. We also took the cable car up above Funchal for amazing views.

Lanzarote - we visted Timanfaya National Park and enjoyed a volcanic BBQ lunch. Interestingly, Lanzarote has its own language, which is a variation on all the other Canary Islands'.

‍Tenerife was my favourite destination, as we did a Starry Night excursion escorted by an astronomer. Mount Teide National Park has been crowned a “Starlight Destination” as one of the best places to stargaze away from light pollution in the world. This was a real pinch me moment and totally blew me away - I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. The sky so clear, and we saw so many stars - the more time we spent up there, the more my eyes adjusted, and we kept seeing more and more stars - it was honestly magical. The best thing I’ve experienced in years!!

This P&O Fly-Cruise was such an eye-opener for me - we only had to fly four hours, and we got to experience some fantastic destinations - I will be recommending P&O Azura to my customers as it was so easy and broadens the options for a new cruise experience. P&O offer very good value, and the Britishness of the ship made me feel so at home onboard.’

Zoe’s Top Tips for a seamless P&O Fly-Cruise:

• Have your luggage label attached to the case in a plastic wallet or protective sleeve to avoid it coming off or getting wet.

• Take a small piece of hand luggage with a change of clothes and bits to freshen up with after the flight, as your checked in luggage goes straight to the ship from Gatwick.

• Preprint your boarding pass for the ship or add it to your phone documents for easy access.

• Consider buying the onboard soda package, as there are limited places to refill water bottles.

• Pre-book specialty restaurants, especially Sindhu, as it’s very popular.

• If you can, wait for a port day to visit the Spa, as there are excellent special offers on these days.