Angel57

The answer is to always use the cutlery to eat with and not have your hands anywhere near your mouth as it can be very messy if you opt for the soup or the curry!

What a lovely comment. We will be thinking of you both @AndyMichelle as the ship departs…..

My personal thoughts on my 7 day cruise on Aurora 22/6-29/6 Arrived at 1140 for 1230 boarding. Waited in a queue outside Ocean Terminal where people had times ranging between 1200 and 1400. We were not segregated and so it was a complete mess when time slot was called and there were a couple of stroppy stewards. However once inside the terminal building, embarkation was quick and efficient and if I had arrived at 1230 all would have been fine, but for once the roads were clear and no queue at CPS. Cabin C181 (balcony) - very comfortable, quiet, new upholstery, excellent cabin steward. Only negative was the balcony is very tired and the patio doors externally are literally falling apart, altho the new balcony chairs are very comfortable. MDR - only ate twice as menus did not inspire. No issues though with Freedom dining in getting a table either then or at breakfast. Parade of Chefs back on final night. Sindhu - lovely. Booked to eat there for the first night on day of boarding. It was fully booked by day 2 for the whole cruise. Beach House - Delicious food. I thought the £9.50 cover charge was fair, but to then change on top for certain dishes it made it a little costly (eg - it was an additional £7 or £7.50 for the steak). This again was mostly fully booked by day 2. Glasshouse - no booking required. Always turned up around 6.15/6.30 and got a table. Very enjoyable. Horizon buffet - only had lunch here twice. IMO it was all rather boring and samey. I had no complaints about the quality of the food at dinner. The beef wellington in particular was fabulous and it just melted in the mouth. We only went to two shows - Applause (excellent) and The Lavelles doing Motown (very well received but poor imo). The theatre was full by 8.25 for Applause - booking not being used. A friend was poorly whilst on board and the medical team were beyond amazing. They could not be faulted. Dress code was pretty well adhered to (altho there are always a few…..🙄🤣). I witnessed a couple of instances in the Crows Nest (on formal nights) when the waiting staff discretely reminded passengers of the dress code and that they would not be served. I also saw a man in shorts be told at 5.30, when dress code was evening casual, that they would not be served after 6pm. Very few irritating issues - altho we did have a nearly 2 hr wait for a tender over to St. Peter Port in Guernsey so gave up. No apology issued for the delay. So, a great cruise on Aurora and the experience was closer to pre 2020 than I thought it would be.

Ditto on Aurora this week

Hello…… Gosh, it is going to take me a while to catch up on all the posts from the last 7 days. Am just back from my first cruise since Dec 2019. I was on the Aurora going to Vigo, Lisbon, Oporto and Guernsey. I’ll do a separate post in a day or so - but I did enjoy it. @AndyMichelle have a great cruise. Gill x

Thank you Andy, that’s very handy to know.

Nothing is free these days sadly…… and as long as I don’t have to use those parking apps, I’m happy!

I’d not thought of the Mayflower Park to wait until nearer boarding time. Thanks for suggestion.

Agree. I cannot think of anything worse than having to keep checking as to where I should be at what time every day.

So sorry to hear about your close friend and it will be a very sad day, despite her very good age. I hope you can remember her with smiles on your faces as that is one of the biggest tributes we can pay our loved ones. Sending a virtual hug. Gill x

Oh, you’ll like Robert Camby….😉

Good luck. I hope it all goes well for you today and that you get a better night’s sleep tonight.

I agree about David Box - he had a lovely speaking voice and did indeed give good commentaries.

My first Captains on Victoria were Ian Waters and Ian Gibb. Both were great and Commodore Gibb in particular had great presence.

Also liked Capt. Vago (Aurora 2013/2014) altho his English at times was a little odd 🤣

He’s on Azura…..

No one seems to like tradition these days. I’m not fussed about the napkin waving, but in the past it was always a way of showing our appreciation for the wonderful food that we had been served. But in those days you ate almost all meals in MDR and the food was always excellent. No pagers, apps or queues…….

Totally agree……

@Host Sharon Look after yourself Sharon and sorry to hear you’ve been poorly.

@Purdey16 - sorry to hear about your accident. A few medicinal tots of something strong was had on your return I hope.

Really pleased to hear you will be able to go on a cruise in September after a stressful few months. Enjoy looking forward to it.

I had a noisy cabin on Aurora in 2019. Inside on C deck and it sounded like trolleys moving back and forth at night. Officers sent to listen, but it was never identified. Another year in a B deck balcony cabin the woman next door had the most irritating laugh (think hyena) that got louder and louder. In desperation and after a few disturbed nights (talking after midnight here) I banged on the wall and yelled shut up - and amazingly, she did…..

Just shows we can all be wrong very occasionally …….🤣🤣🤣🤣

That’s a shame. Here in Dorset we have had blue skies all day today and we need the gentle breeze to cool things down 🤣🤣

@Presto2 great review. Thank you.