Jayestravellingadventures

24th January 2026 – 31st January 2026

I have recently disembarked off Azura after a beautiful week around the canaries. Here is what I got up too.

As this was my mum’s and my third year doing this cruise, we didn’t want to book many excursions, as we had already done most of them before. We headed to Gatwick a day early since our flight was at 7:40am, which helped minimise our travel day. The whole process, from check-in to getting into the lounge, took just an hour, allowing us plenty of time to relax and enjoy it.

Just like our check-in at Gatwick, once we landed and collected our bags from the carousel (don’t get me started on those who stand so close!), we were soon on the coach heading to the beautiful ship. Once again, the boarding process was incredibly easy: a quick trip through security, our passes stamped, and we were free to head onboard.

We always head straight to the cabin to drop off our bags, change into some cooler clothing, and collect our cruise cards from outside the door. Our suitcases nearly beat us there, so we were able to unpack straight away too.

Once we were settled, our first stop was, of course, the buffet, as there hadn’t been much food choice on the plane. Mum had persuaded me to try out The Retreat onboard, as I’d never experienced it before (I’ll be writing a separate blog about my experience and whether it’s worth it). We spent some time enjoying the weather before heading back down to get ready for dinner, an evening of entertainment, and watching us sail away from Tenerife.

We woke up to a sea day, which was a little windy but thankfully nowhere near as cold as back home! As we had booked The Retreat for this cruise, we headed up to deck 17 to relax on the comfy deck chairs while being served endless tea and coffee — not to mention the lovely afternoon tea. With the weather being a bit intermittent, we also spent some time indoors, taking part in line dancing and, of course, doing a bit of shopping.

It was our first celebration night, so we got dolled up early to have our photos taken in the atrium and enjoy the live music before dinner. The evening entertainment in the theatre was a solo male singer, Vinnie McKee — the first Scottish singer to receive a golden buzzer on Britain’s Got Talent. He was phenomenal.

Our first stop was Madeira. It was slightly cloudy, but still nothing like the weather back home. We’ve been to Madeira many times before, so we knew exactly what we wanted to see — with our first stop, of course, being Blandy’s.

If you’re not familiar, Blandy’s is one of Madeira’s most iconic names, with a heritage stretching back over two centuries. Renowned for its exceptional Madeira wines, the Blandy family has played a central role in shaping the island’s winemaking tradition. Naturally, we had to sample the 5-year and 10-year wines, from sweet to dry. We were helped by a lovely employee originally from London, who had moved to Madeira to be closer to family — he was incredibly knowledgeable and helpful.

We then headed into town for some sightseeing and exploring before stopping for food at a local café. Next thing we knew, the heavens opened and it started pouring with rain. With a long walk back to the ship ahead of us, the downpour meant some of our shopping bags didn’t survive the journey! It was a quick stop to drop everything off and get changed, as we had booked a TukTuk ride to Cabo Girão Skywalk — the highest promontory in Europe.

The ride up took 40 minutes and the skywalk entry cost €5 (£4.31/$5.91) each. A quick tip: they charge 50 cents to use the toilets, so make sure you have some change. As it was extremely cold up there, we then headed down to the local fishing village of Câmara de Lobos, which is famous for being visited by Winston Churchill. Our driver, Bruno, was incredibly knowledgeable and made the experience well worth every penny — we’ll definitely be booking him again when we return. Link for his company: MadTuk

We didn’t leave Madeira until 21:30, so after dinner we headed up to the top deck to enjoy the silent disco as we sailed away and began our final sea day.

The weather wasn’t the best, so we spent most of the day enjoying the onboard activities — along with more shopping and quizzes, of course. It was our last celebration night, so we got our dresses on and made the most of it. The theatre entertainment was an incredible all-female group called ROXX, who performed rock classics. Their voices were phenomenal.

I’ll stop here for now, as I don’t want this to get too long! Head over to Part 2 to read about the second half of our holiday and find out what we got up to in Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, and Tenerife before heading home.

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