I have to hook up with the vast majority of this discussion -
Azimuth Pods Rules. At first I was also a little confused with the ship going the opposite direction of the obvious possition of the steering-stick/controllers, but as others have mentioned, sailing a little around in the F.Roaming-mode soon lets You discover the wonderful new world of azipods - maneuveres you couldn't even perform in a car...
As to reliability of the system - I think as it goes for anything "newly" developed - children's disseases are inevidible - I think RollsRoyce/KaMeWa have also had their share of beginners problems with Waterjets...
Another great bonus, besides the navigational, of the Azipod-Ship or should I say Diesel/Electric driven vessels, as many of the cruiseships are, is that the torque-stabile electroengines, which are often located directly in the pod, gives a seemless, compared to conventional diesel or gas turbine driven propulsions, almost vibration-free thrust.