It is rare for me to be able to capture an image such as this one of any ship let alone P and O’s Cruise ship Azura. The opportunity came in October 2014 when I was on the Blue Funnel excursion boat Ocean Scene that was offering its passengers the opportunity to witness the departure from Southampton of three cruise ships, one of which was the Azura.
The image shows Azura turning in the Lower Turning Ground of the Port’s Eastern docks prior to travelling down the River Test at the commencement of a cruise. Azura was rotating on the spot rather than moving forward so the passengers on Ocean Scene and Azura were never in any danger. Apart from a slight cropping of the image and the levelling of the horizon, the image does give a true impression about how close the two vessels were at the time the image was captured.