Azura: Empty P&O Cruises Ship Leaves Devon For New Home
The empty ship was anchored in Devon over summer, operated by a skeleton crew
Azura, P&O Cruises beloved ship, is currently empty of passengers, whiling away the time until she can welcome travellers back on board.
Crewed by a skeleton team, Azura has been docked off the coast of Devon for the past couple of months.
Along with her sister ship Ventura, the ship spent weeks being anchored near Torbay, arriving in the southern spot on 6 August.
Azura has now set sail for the first time in a while, moving from Devon to a new temporary home.
According to Devon Live, the ship is setting sail for Southampton, a move confirmed by marine traffic.
In a normal year, Azura would be sailing 3,100 passengers around sun-soaked destinations in the Mediterranean, and Caribbean.
She would also be carrying 1,280 crew members, all working to keep the 14 passenger-deck and 290m-long ship running.
However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the unfolding global suspension of cruising, the ship is now sailing just a handful of crew members around British waters.
In August, Azura‘s captain gave us a glimpse into what life was like on board the P&O Cruises ghost ship.
While the ship was moored in Devon’s Babbacombe Bay, Captain Marcin Banach shared a series of images from inside the ship.
The images showed the ship’s empty promenade decks, usually bustling with passengers, and rows of the ship’s hundreds of balconies completely empty.
The sight, shared to Captain Marcin’s Twitter feed, was a slightly eerie spectacle especially at the height of summer, a time when Azura would be journeying around the Med.
The captain also shared an image of Azura‘s sister ship, Ventura, which was moored near her in Torbay.
“We finally got to see her this morning @pandocruises #Ventura half way [sic] out of this mistic [sic] and low lying fog in the #BabbacombeBay in #Devon,” wrote the captain.
