MS ''Azura'' is a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

operated by

P&O Cruises P&O Cruises is a British cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. It was originally a subsidiary of the shipping company P&O and was founded in 1977. Along w ...

and owned by

Carnival plc Carnival Corporation & plc is a British-American cruise operator with a combined fleet of over 100 vessels across 10 cruise line brands. A dual-listed company, Carnival is composed of two companies – Panama-incorporated, US-headquartered Carniv ...

. The ship was built by

Fincantieri Fincantieri S.p.A. () is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014 ...

at their shipyard in

Monfalcone Monfalcone (; Bisiacco: ; fur, Monfalcon; sl, Tržič; archaic german: Falkenberg) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Gorizia in Friuli Venezia Giulia, northern Italy, located on the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means 'falcon mountain' ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. She officially entered service with the company in April 2010 and was named by

Darcey Bussell Dame Darcey Andrea Bussell, (born Marnie Mercedes Darcey Pemberton Crittle; 27 April 1969) is an English retired ballerina and a former judge on the BBC television dance contest '' Strictly Come Dancing''. Trained at the Arts Educational Sc ...

Delivery

''Azura'' is a ship, with a modified design which distinguishes her from early ships of the same class. Construction of ''Azura'' began in 2008 when her keel was officially laid on 27 October 2008. A ceremonial float out took place on Friday 26 June 2009, with Amanda Dowds, wife of the ship's captain, acting as her godmother. The formal handover took place on 26 March 2010.

Maiden voyage

''Azura''s maiden voyage began on 31 March 2010, when she departed from the Fincantieri shipyard en route to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. She arrived in the UK on 7 April 2010. ''Azura'' first cruise with passengers began on 12 April 2010.

Naming

''Azura'' was formally named on 10 April 2010, by godmother

. As well as performing the traditional bottle breaking ceremony, as a former principal dancer of the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

, Bussell presented a dance performance by

Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

as part of the celebrations. ''Azura'' was originally registered in her homeport of

, UK, but in November 2011 she was re-registered to Hamilton, Bermuda to enable wedding ceremonies to be conducted on board.

Facilities

The ship's facilities include a dance floor in the atrium, a show lounge and an interpretation of a London pub. An open-air cinema screen is situated in front of the funnel. In total, the ship has eleven restaurants and eating areas, twelve bars and places to drink, four pools, a gym, two spas, outdoor cinema, a theatre and two show lounges.

Design, refits and COVID-19

''Azura'' is the only ''Grand''-class ship to feature a "Duck Tail" stern. She completed a minor refit in April 2015 at Blohm and Voss's shipyard in Hamburg. This included painting P&O's large Union flag design on to the bow, repainting the funnel in blue with P&O's "sunburst" logo plus minor interior updates. ''Azura'' was berthed out of use at Port of Tyne International Passenger Terminal,

North Shields North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastl ...

from 21 January 2021 to June due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. She left for

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Northern Ireland, on 29 June 2021 at 06:45 BST where she remained until returned to service.

References

External links

P&O Cruises official website for ''Azura''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azura 2009 ships Passenger ships of Bermuda Ships of P&O Cruises Ships built in Monfalcone Ships built by Fincantieri