P &O Azura Cruise Ship

P &O Azura Cruise Ship P &O Azura Cruise Ship

P &O Azura Cruise Ship

Capacity 3574 pers

Crew 1226 pers

Taille 289.90 m

Tonnage 115

Category Premium

MS Azura is a cruise ship of the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship was built by Fincantieri at their shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy. At 115,055 tonnes, Azura is the second largest of seven ships currently in service with P&O Cruises. She is also the sister ship of MS Ventura. She officially entered service with the company in April 2010 and was named by Darcey Bussell.[5]

Delivery

MS Azura is a Grand class ships, with a modified design that distinguishes them from early ships of the same class operated by sister company Princess Cruises, with the addition of a "ducktail" stern. Construction of Azura began in 2008 when her keel was officially laid on 27 October 2008.[6] A ceremonial float out took place on Friday 26 June 2009, in which she was blessed by a priest, with Amanda Dowds, wife of the ship's captain, acting as her Godmother.[7] The formal handover transferring the vessel to P&O Cruises, took place on Friday 26 March 2010, attended by P&O Cruises' managing director Carol Marlow and Carnival UK's chief executive David Dingle.[8]

[edit] Maiden voyage

Azura's maiden voyage began on 31 March 2010, when she departed from the Fincantieri shipyard en route to Southampton. She arrived in the UK on 7 April 2010 at 9:12am. Azura's cruise with passengers began on 12 April 2010.[9][10]

[edit] Christening

Azura was christened at 08:20 pm on Saturday, 10 April 2010, by godmother Darcey Bussell. A former principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, Bussell presented a dance performance by Royal Ballet School as part of the celebrations, as well as performing the traditional bottle breaking ceremony to christen the ship. Azura was originally registered in her homeport of Southampton, UK; but from 1 November 2011 she was re-registered to Hamilton, Bermuda, bringing her in line with her other P&O fleetmates and enabling wedding ceremonies to be conducted onboard.[11]

[edit] Design

MS Azura

Azura is designed to appeal more to P&O's traditional client base and returning customers, whereas sister ship Ventura is more family orientated, and attracts new, often younger clients. For the first time in the P&O Cruises fleet, Azura features eighteen single staterooms. There are 900 cabins with private balconies and a select number of spa staterooms with exclusive access to the Oasis Spa.

Wine expert Olly Smith has helped to create the Glass House, a venue where passengers are able to sample various different wines. Atul Kochhar, a three Michelin stars chef will be enlisted to create Sindhu, an Indian fine dining restaurant on board. The ship features a dance floor in the atrium, a New York styled show lounge and modern interpretation on a London pub.[12] For the first time in the P&O Cruises fleet, Azura features an open air cinema screen similar to those found on Princess Cruises ships such as Caribbean Princess. The screen, known as the SeaScreen is situated in front of the funnel on Azura.[13]


Career
Name: Azura
Owner: Carnival PLC[1]
Operator: P&O Cruises
Port of registry:

2010 United Kingdom Southampton, UK

2010-present Bermuda Hamilton, Bermuda
Builder: Fincantieri, Italy
Yard number: 6166[2]
Laid down: October 27, 2008
Launched: June 26, 2009
Christened: April 10, 2010
Completed: April 1, 2010
Maiden voyage: April 12, 2010
In service: 2010
Identification: Call sign: ZCEE2
IMO number: 9424883
Status: In Service
Notes: [3]
General characteristics
Class and type: Grand class cruise ship
Tonnage: 115,055 GT (gross tonnage)
Length: 290.0 m (951 ft 5 in)
Beam: 36.00 m (118 ft 1 in)
Draught: 8.00 m (26 ft 3 in)
Decks: 19. 14 (Passenger accessible)
Installed power: 6 × Wärtsilä diesel engines
Speed: 22 knots
Capacity: 3096 passengers
1557 berths
Crew: 1226