Selbourne

Todays MDR menus

Day 6 - Monday 8th January - At Sea The clocks had made their first one hour change overnight, so I woke up very early and was able to watch the sunrise which, as with sunsets, are always magical at sea. The daytime entertainment on this cruise has been significantly better than any of our other 3 post Covid P&O cruises and, most unusually, there are a number of things on that we’d like to see today. BTW, there are lots of ‘meets’ for various groups (armed forces, solo travellers, LGBTQ+, Friends of Bill W etc) and I’m pleased to see that these exist for those who are interested. However, one caught my eye today and rather got my goat - “Oxford and Cambridge graduate get- together”. Perhaps it’s just me, but that seems so….(fill in the gap). When I was working and anyone pompously asked me which university I went to, it always threw them when I replied that I wasn’t a graduate myself, but I employed several thousand of them 😂 Breakfast in Medina was uneventful, just as we like it. As we returned from breakfast I noticed our steward (who I’m warming to more now) working in a cabin way down the corridor. I asked him how many cabins he looked after and he replied 22. I said to him that I was sure it used to be just 12 when we first started cruising and he confirmed that was true (he’s done 25 years with P&O). He said it started with 12, then went to 15, then 18 and is now 22. In fairness to him, he didn’t make any comment about that. We have been noticing that some parts of the ship seem to be uncomfortably warm. We assumed that this was P&O being a bit stingy with the air con, as we presumed was the case on some of our other cruises last year. However, at the 11am lecture on alcohol (yes, you read that right) the presenter apologised for the heat in the Playhouse and said that there was a problem around the ship that engineers were trying to fix. As the interior warmth was sapping my energy, as soon as the talk finished I went outside and walked 10 laps of the promenade deck, which is 3 miles. We are on a strange track across the Atlantic, so it’s weird not seeing a single ship in any other direction. Thankfully we have very calm seas today and the wind is down to force 2. Much to our surprise though (having been on Aurora loads of times), the ship is still moving around quite a bit, so much so that it’s still difficult to walk in a straight line at times. It’s not enough to make us feel ill, but is still causing issues for my wife (who has poor balance at the best of times). We can’t recall movement like this at anything below force 4 on Aurora before, but there appears to be a persistent swell. We are going along at a reasonable pace though (21 knots, which is only 3 knots below Auroras designed operating speed), which might also explain it. Perhaps the Captain is keeping the stabilisers tucked in to hasten our progress and minimise our exposure to the looming storm? It certainly feels quick compared to the plodding 15 knots that the newer ships seem to stick to. It’s been warm and quite sunny today at around 23 degrees, which I believe is in stark contrast to the UK at present? We have received invites to the Caribbean loyalty lunch. It’s a bit confusing as it says that it will take place on Friday 12th and Monday 15th. Presumably we get told nearer the time which one we will attend. It seems quite early in the cruise. I wonder if there will be another one next month? After lunch in the Medina restaurant we attended the talk by Touch of Frost actor John Lyons. We haven’t come across him before and he seems to be a very good and engaging speaker. We shall definitely attend his subsequent talks. At 5pm there was another classical recital with the flautist and pianist in the still stiflingly hot Playhouse. Very talented but they are getting off in Bermuda and a different classical artist(s) board. I’m hoping it’s a different instrument as I’m done with flutes now 😂 At 7pm we went to see Laura Magann in Carmens. She’s a diva singer and belted out a wide variety of songs from musicals, opera and so on. Shock of shocks, at dinner one of the two missing couples turned up! Had they been denied boarding and had to fly out to join the ship or had they wanted first sitting and been dining in the buffet? Neither it seems, they just didnt fancy a formal dinner until now. I sense they might be infrequent visitors. After dinner we went to the 10pm Everly Brothers tribute, although they actually played a lot of music from other artists. I thought they were pretty good but Lady S wasn’t terribly impressed 🙄😂. All in all a full and enjoyable day and the Horizon paper for tomorrow looks equally encouraging.

Thanks Sue. What an idiot I am 😂. I’m surprised that nobody else has pointed that out. I have it ingrained in my brain that we are on this cruise until March and that has obviously got me muddled. I‘m grateful that you pointed this out.

….and some sunset shots to compliment this mornings sunrise ones.

Todays MDR menus for those who like to see these things.

I’m so sorry to hear that. Having seen an ambulance go up to Ventura first thing in the morning, I noticed one several times outside Aurora during the day. I’ve seen a lady walking around the ship with her arm in a sling and that was as a result of fall during the bad weather. There was also a medical emergency one night where someone lost their balance in the shower during the rough seas and cut themselves badly. Oddly, it looks flat calm now and is only force 2, yet the ship is still swaying quite a bit, which I’ve never known on Aurora before at anything below around force 5. I imagine that the stabilisers aren’t being used, as we are going at 21 knots to try to avoid the worst of the mid Atlantic storm system.

Yes, I could imagine that the view would have been as good as that 😂

Some sunrise over the Atlantic shots from an hour or so ago

DAY 5 - Sunday 7th March - Madeira Whilst there was a little rocking overnight, it wasn’t enough to set the creaking ceiling off. However, one of our cabin neighbours had committed the cardinal sin of leaving a piece of balcony furniture touching the edge of the balcony, so in the wind we had a noise like a low level rapid hammering as the offending metal framed chair or table rattled against the metal balcony 🙄. For balance, I should say that our cabin neighbours both sides and above have been very considerate so far this cruise, which has been a huge relief given how poor the sound insulation is on Aurora. Our dining companions have been less fortunate and can hear drawers slamming and the TV from their neighbours. We arrived into Funchal a couple of hours early and it was still pitch dark. Ventura followed us in a while later but, as we were first to arrive, we secured poll position closest to the port exit. This is just as well as we didn’t intend to use the shuttle this time as, due to the time taken to load and unload wheelchairs and scooters, it took longer than walking when we were here a few months ago. Once Ventura had berthed an ambulance with its blue lights flashing pulled up alongside her, so I hope that whoever that is for is able to continue their cruise once attended to. Last entry times for breakfast are still the old ‘early’ times of 9.30am on sea days and 9am on port days, which is a shame as we often find that to be a rush. However, we managed to get to the Medina restaurant in good time. Our favourite restaurant host Rachel knew the names and cabin numbers of all 3 couples ahead of us in the queue without looking them up, so it isn’t just us! When we got to the front I told her that she is superhuman! Her colleague said that Rachel remembers everything and Rachel added “and you told me that you are grumpy in the mornings so like a table for 2”. Hilarious 🤣 People like Rachel can really make a cruise and we are so glad to have her on this very long journey. She’s an absolute star. After breakfast we had a good walk around Funchal. We were glad that we hadn’t bothered with the shuttle as it was a lovely walk along the promenade. We walked all the way to the end and then cut back through the town to the market, which I was given to believe was open 7 days bit isn’t. Unfortunately it was also closed when we came in October, that time due to a public holiday. I poked my head in the cathedral which was packed. Clearly more religious types here than at home! As we started to make our way back to the ship it started raining and we got rather wet. I stopped at a shop to buy two 1.5 litre bottles of water which worked out at half the price of buying them on the ship. We skipped lunch as I’d booked a tour leaving at 1.30pm. Leisurely scenes of Madeira was certainly leisurely but the low cloud cover and intermittent rain impacted on the scenic bit. The first view over Funchal was OK but as we climbed up into the mountains the visibility was poor. I was amazed at the Eucalyptus forests (which you could smell even inside the coach) and the banana plants (trees?) everywhere. Also poinsettia growing wild. We visited the highest cape in Europe and I bravely stood on a glass and mesh floored gantry overhanging a sheer 1,900 foot cliff. However, you could barely see a thing. You could just make out the waves way down below but couldn’t see the view at all. We passed through the village that Winston Churchill famously painted but didn’t stop. It was a good way to while away an afternoon and was still enjoyable, but would be ten times better on a dry and clear day. Returning to the ship and having had nothing to eat since breakfast, we decided to grab a quick sandwich or something to tie us over until dinner at 8pm. It was just before 5.30pm. We decided to go to Raffles (coffee shop) as I’d noticed that they had some sandwiches yesterday. The food counter was empty. Ok, we will go to the buffet. Up to deck 12 and it’s closed because they are setting up for dinner, starting at 6pm. I remembered this nonsense on Ventura as well. We don’t want a full meal, just a snack. Why not keep one small section open for this purpose? Finally we tried the outdoor grill area and, yes, you guessed it, closed as well. I had always been under the misguided belief that one of the selling points about cruises was that there was always somewhere open to get food. This is clearly not the case. As we left Madeira the Captain informed us that we are due to track through a major storm system during our transatlantic, with 3 days of minimum force 10 and waves of 11 metres, starting on Wednesday, so he was going to try to keep us south of the worst of it. Whilst that’s clearly sensible, I hope that it doesn’t result in our Bermuda call being impacted, as that was a major selling point for the cruise for me. Before Sunday night was out we had started to experience movement again and the ruddy ceiling creak has started again. I wonder if reporting it for the 5th time might result in someone at least coming to look at it? We had a drink in the Crows nest before dinner. The waiter managed to find a Doom Bar that hadn’t long been in the fridge. When I posted the menus earlier there was some interest in the rather odd concoction of Piri Piri chicken with rice, coleslaw, chips and gravy. It all sounded such an odd combination of things that I decided to give it a go and I actually enjoyed it 😂 After dinner we went to the first Headliners show of the cruise ‘On the Horizon’. Entertainment managers on P&O are all of a type, and the one that we have could easily pass as Ted Bovis from Hi di Hi. He explained that the Headliners troupe had just joined and that all but two of them were brand new to P&O. Taking that into consideration, their performance was excellent. The dancing was stronger than the singing, but one of the 3 male singers has a particularly good voice. As they gel and get into their stride, I think they will be a good troupe. I was pleased to hear that we will have Neil Lockwood on board. I haven’t seen him before but understand he is very good, even though he wasn’t, as many seem to think, a member of the proper ELO band. We have the first of many one hour time changes tonight and it’s already quite rough with the ruddy ceiling creaking, so wish us luck 😂

I haven’t mentioned this so far, so as not to tempt fate, but prior to leaving the UK I checked out the wind forecasts on Windy website for our first 10 days. It predicted a rough first night (which turned out to be 2 full days) and then half way across our transatlantic from Madeira to Bermuda we were going to catch the bottom of a severe weather system which looked almost like a hurricane. We’ve just left Madeira and the Captain made an announcement to say that from the 10th we could expect to hit a severe depression which would result in minimum force 10 and waves at least 11 metres. This would last for 3 days 😱 He then said that he had a cunning plan to track south of the worst of it. I’m a bit confused, because he didn’t mention any impact on the itinerary, so I assume that our Bermuda call is unaffected, yet by tracking south Bermuda must be problematic. I know that it was missed on a previous Grand Tour for this same reason. Whilst I’m all for passenger comfort and applaud him for taking this into consideration, I shall be gutted if we miss Bermuda, as it was one of the major attractions of this cruise for me (don’t really know why, but always wanted to go there). Keeping everything crossed. Thank goodness we found the extra Stugeron 🤢 😂

Thanks guys. My wife doesn’t read classics. She like all the current crime authors. Will take a look though.

Yes could well be that. If it were me I’d leave though, as I’d be terribly conscious of distracting the performers as well as the other audience members! I bought my wife a Kindle for Xmas but now we are at sea she tells me that she couldn’t quite work out how to download enough books. She has a free trial for the ultimate Amazon ebooks thingy and I tried to download one and it charged her! I need to work out how you establish which ones are free as I’ve failed so far 🙄 😂

Not heard that but I’ll keep my ear to the ground! If true, I hope they got a good deal for the hassle.

Some shots from the ‘Leisurely scenes of (misty) Madeira’ this afternoon. We were just unlucky with the weather.

Same here. Near the cable car today on Aurora, but the other end of town in October on Ventura. We walked though and for those who are able it’s a lovely walk along a level promenade, with a short climb up at the end to the town centre. Very easy - even pushing a wheelchair.

Some photos from Funchal this morning

I might have to try it to see if it’s as odd as it sounds 😂

Todays MDR menus

Greetings fellow shipmate! As with all our other cruises over the past year we haven’t been offered the extra cost menu in the MDR (P&Os best kept secret) but we know that it’s available (as it was on all the other ships) as one of the couples that we had lunch with the other day (who are in Freedom dining) mentioned it. Others on the table seemed disbelieving of them, so I was able to show them the menu and photos of each course from when I’d tried it on Ventura. Having sampled it on Ventura (where MDR food was excellent) I thought that the main was good but the starter and desert poor. Personal taste of course. Thankfully the MDR food so far on Aurora hasn’t given me cause to ask for it, but I’m sure there will come a time when I might fancy the main again. Did you notice quite a few people getting on this morning with suitcases? I’m wondering if, like last year (apparently), a number were refused boarding in Southampton (yellow fever certificates etc) and had to fly out to join the cruise at Madeira? Perhaps this could explain the four missing people on our dinner table? It will be interesting to see if we have any others joining us tonight!

I’m booked on the Kennedy Space centre transfer. I couldn’t believe the price until I looked at the admission prices on their website and, after loyalty discount, it’s cheaper doing the P&O excursion and no stress about getting back. My wife isn’t coming. The transfer isn’t wheelchair accessible but she has been there before as we visited when in Orlando years ago and she’s not as interested in it as me!

🤣 I thought about anticipating a rough transatlantic and also getting some v iagra to stop me rolling out of bed. The old ones are the best 😂

DAY 4 - Saturday 6th January- Sea Day We woke to much calmer seas (force 4) and the sun had come out for more than a fleeting appearance, resulting in a comparatively balmy 16 degrees by mid morning. The MDR is far quicker to get in to for breakfast than it was on Ventura but, once seated, service is slow. I asked for a pot of decaf tea, as the hot drinks service is sparse, but they can’t do that apparently (they can if they want to, as we have discovered previously). I had my first hot breakfast of the cruise with Eggs Benedict. You can tell that I am feeling better! Having collected Britain Today, I asked at reception if there were going to be shuttles at Port Canaveral or Miami, but they don’t know yet 🤔. I managed to get Lady S out on to the promenade deck for the first time, but one lap was enough for her (even in a wheelchair with me pushing)🙄. We then sat on our balcony for a bit. We had the sun on our side and it was quite pleasant. The balcony glass and doors are covered with salt from all the spray of the past 2 days, so if the steward (who I have yet to warm to) doesn’t clean them I shall wipe them over with a wet towel! Neither of us were terribly taken with the MDR lunch menu, so we went to the Glasshouse. I had the Indian Feast which was vegetarian (which I’m not). I wouldn’t choose it again but, as I posted yesterday, it’s so cheap it doesn’t matter. My wife had the sliders which she liked. I was very envious of her fresh and piping hot French fries 😂. We both washed lunch down with a glass of Money Spider. We didn’t have a pud as we decided to go to the Costa (Raffles?) and you get a freebie cake there. I had a piece of Carrot Cake with my coffee but I couldn’t manage it all. My wife, being virtuous (moment on the lips, lifetime on the hips type), abstained from a cake but hoovered up the bit that I left 🙄. The choice of complimentary cakes, pastries and other things is far better on Aurora than on the other 3 P&O ships we’ve been on over the last year. At 3pm we went to a talk on flags which included a brief history of the Union (Jack) flag. It didn’t sound like the most exciting subject, but I found it very interesting. Afterwards I managed seven and a half laps of the promenade deck, during which time I spoke to a chap who is out there a lot with his camera poised for wildlife. He hasn’t seen anything himself yet, but another passenger told him that they’d seen dolphins briefly and a few whale blows. Maybe they were just winding him up 😂 On the way back to the cabin I passed the torture chamber (gym) and decided to check it out. Whether it was the body odour of those on the machines, or all of those prostrate on the floor with their shoes off (or a combination of the two) I don’t know, but there was a really unpleasant stench in there. That’s all the excuse I need to give it a wide berth for the remainder of the cruise 😂 The second classical recital was on at 5pm in the Playhouse. My wife still didn’t fancy it. I couldn’t help but notice a few people with quite persistent coughs. I hope that’s not a sign of things to come. As P&O are so fastidious about Covid and Norovirus, perhaps they should add persistent coughs to the things that are grounds for cabin confinement 😂. Maybe it’s just me, but if I had a persistent cough I wouldn’t attend an intimate classical recital where it would become distracting to the performers, as well as other guests 🙄. Whilst there is no doubting the talent of the two musicians, I was a little disappointed to hear that they are remaining on the ship for the transatlantic crossing. The flute is far from my favourite instrument, and it would have been nice to have had a change, such as a violinist. Still, better a flautist than nothing. At 7pm there was a Soul and Motown set by Pulse in Carmens. We don’t like the aft show lounges on any of the ships (not great sight lines and poor for wheelchairs) but gave it a go. We got a good position at the front and ordered a mojito each. The Pulse band on this ship aren’t the best we’ve seen. A bit pitchy in places, but a good choice of toe tapping songs. I hadn’t realised that people would get up and dance during the set and, as we were in the front, this was right in front of us. Having been with my wife for 35 years, 25 years of which have seen her disability take more and more hold of her to the point that she now cannot even stand, let alone dance, I could read her mind so asked if she’d like to go somewhere else and, of course, she did. We moved to the Crows Nest but by the time we got there we realised that there wasn’t really enough time to have another drink, so we paid a brief visit to the library but, as is to be expected, all the good stuff has long gone. Dinner at 8pm and I had roast beef, which was cooked to perfection. I’d asked for some extra veg and the waiters duly obliged. It looks as though our missing 4 guests will never appear. I’m guessing that they wanted early dining, didn’t get it, and are using the buffet? The show was the ventriloquist Gareth Oliver. Neither of us wanted to go but as it wasn’t late I took my wife back to the cabin and decided to pop down on my own, conscious that we had dismissed him without having seen his act. I should have got a clue from the fact that the theatre was only about one third full but I’m afraid that I just didn’t find him in the least bit funny. I noticed a few people leaving so as I was sat towards the back and didn’t have to disturb anyone, I did the same. Just not our thing I’m afraid. It’s worth saying that for someone who dislikes sea days and particularly dislikes feeling sea sick, I have coped far better with the 3 sea days down to Madeira than I did on Ventura. I think it’s been a combination of two things. Firstly, I am telling myself that we aren’t on a normal cruise, but living somewhere different for nine and a half weeks. Sounds daft but I think it helps. Secondly, having the internet package has helped me enormously. As well as managing my life as if at home and keeping abreast of news and current affairs (which, given the atrocious TV picture and sound, has been a godsend), I have enjoyed keeping in touch with family and friends and, of course, boring all of you rigid with my ramblings 😂. Time will tell if the 5 days transatlantic once we leave Madeira will pass as easily. The forecast for Madeira is 21 degrees but with light rain all day. We aim to wander around Funchal in the morning (@daiB I will keep an eye out for you) and then, after lunch, I’m taking a tour, as I’ve never seen anything of Madeira beyond Funchal. Also, I want to have a full day ashore before our 5 consecutive sea days as we traverse the Atlantic to our second stop, Bermuda.

We can but hope 😂

Good news. We’ve found the extra stash of Stugeron. We had put a supply of all critical medications in my wife’s handbag just in case the small case with the full medicine cabinet went missing, and completely forgot about it. Phew!

We weren’t overly enamoured with the lunch menu so went to the Glasshouse. I had the Indian Feast. Wouldn’t have it again but at £4.50 who can complain. In fact we were just saying that whilst we appreciate that the prices are supplements, as you have already paid for lunch elsewhere in the cruise fare, the prices are around one-third of what we pay at home.