Oly Johnson

Reviews by Oly Johnson

CE

Celebrity Cruises

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May 31, 2025

Average Service and Food - Great Ship

CELEBRITY APEX REVIEW Title - FABULOUS SHIP , AVERAGE SERVICE AND FOOD It would be harsh for me to say anything bad about the Apex, as I was only on it for a day. However, I have had a similar experience on another cruiseline, to compare. I have sailed with celebrity only once before, pre-covid on the Silhouette in Aqua Class. So I have never used the main dining room on a celebrity Ship. Being a frequent user of MSC, I thought I would read at least 10 reviews to check that my comments were being fair. Many of the Apex reviews were similar to mine. Despite celebrity being a premium cruiseline, i didn't notice any difference in the quality of service or food from the msc main dining room. The much maligned msc did some things even better. The ship was outstanding. But it looks as though celebrity are investing more in the paid for or up charge items, rather than the complementary. The staff seemed a little nervous and unsure of themselves. The waiting staff didn't seem to know what to do with my friends dietary requirements. They also found it difficult to answer questions about food ingredients. Remember, this is a premium 5 star cruiseline. On a recent msc cruise, one of the guests on my table had certain allergies. Msc assigned the head waiter to serve him exclusively. The other waiter served the rest of us. So I would have expected better on celebrity. The chicken was dry and fries overcooked. So not quite 5 star. The type of thing that could happen on a mainstream or budget cruiseline. One of the problems with retail today, is companies are spending millions or even billions developing and making their product. Only to then put minimum wage staff to sell it. After spending $2Billion on the ship. Only to then have low staffing levels and similar food and service as other cruiselines, could be an issue that causes celebrity problems in the future. If I were to sail celebrity again, I would probably go aqua class, or treat myself to speciality dining. I wouldn't book celebrity for the included experience or main dining room. As they are not quite premium in those areas. I might as well spend less money for the same service elsewhere.

P&

P&O Cruises

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May 31, 2025

Keeping Traditional Cruising Alive

AZURA REVIEW It's important when giving a high score to provide some context. If you had just jumped off an RC or MSC mega ship and loved it. You would probably be very disappointed with Azura. Also, if your previous cruise was on a premium cruiseline. You may also be disappointed with Azura. However, if you like traditional cruising at an affordable price. You will be highly satisfied. The main dining room, entertainment and decor were in keeping with the age of ship and price point. Entertainment is cruiseship standard. There is a reason why they are not working on Broadway or the west end and watching them is included. And that Is the context. I was able to bring the equivalent of three bottles of wine on board. Which meant we had enough wine for each dinner of the cruise - Excellent Embarkation was very smooth and only took a few minutes - Excellent As a Christian, travelling on a tour of St Paul's missionary journey. Having a Bible in the cabin was brilliant - Excellent On some ships, even the top suites don't have a walk in wardrobe. With the cabin design on Azura and Ventura, it is Standard - Excellent. I don't like cruiseship buffets. However, the Azura provided one of the least painful buffet experiences I've had. Always easy to find a place to sit and even the ‘latenight snacks’ had hot cooked food. The Azura didn't seem to handle groups very well. Despite having a group of almost 50, they only offered us a corner of a restaurant to meet. In fact we had to persuade them to even give us the corner of the restaurant There was no app or any way to communicate with fellow group members or family. Again probably down to the age of the ship. However, i do think p&o could figure out a away to use same aeroplane mode WiFi, so people can communicate. The online cruise planner was fairly good. But I found it very difficult to login without the QR code on the TV screen in the cabin. The QR code was not displayed anywhere else in the cabin or ship. Silent disco was awesome. Unlike on a mega ship we went on. There seemed to be an unlimited amount of headphones. Also, the free WiFi for an hour was a really nice gesture. There was wifi at every port or roaming. So all you needed for each roommate or Spouse to use the free hour on each Sea day and you would have Internet every day - Excellent Probably my favourite aspect of this ship was the promenade deck. It served 4 purposes, found on bigger or more modern ships. Walking/Running Track A Park for a walk or sit A Balcony Deck chair for relaxation Excellent + The entertainment was ok. I found some of the acts did too much talking between songs. You had to arrive 25 minutes early for each show, to get a seat. The audience were very subdued. The performers deserved a bit more than that. However Leanne Jarvis (The voice Runner up) was outstanding and Adele standard 10/10 - but still didn't get a stand up from a very reserved audience. I will review the ports separately. Long excursions i would do through the cruiseline for safety. I won't enjoy my day, if I feel there is slight chance I will miss the ship. I will pay the extra for peace of mind.