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This is exactly what was happening on Arcadia, staff were stationed at the hand wash facility but so many passengers argued or ignored them or said ,"were just passing through, or I've just washed my hands" that staff didn't enforce it, with the exception of one staff member who would not let anyone pass until they washed their hands , the grief she got was incredible but she stuck to her guns, unfortunately she was only there a few times and passengers went around the other side to avoid her. Only when the captain announced that it was his orders to wash hands and his orders to make staff take note of cabin numbers etc of those who refused to comply did you see 100% compliance , personally my thoughts have always been that this action from the start could have helped matters . The obvious conclusion is that a captain should not have to resort to these measures and that some peoples dirty habits have a major impact on other passengers and crew☹️

Glad to hear all now appears to be calming down, I do feel a lot of sympathy for the staff as they do all they can to stop the spread of infections, however if a minority of passengers are incapable of basic hygiene ( and from what I witnessed they are) they are fighting a losing battle, towards the end of our cruise fellow passengers were bringing to task those that would not comply, it did make trying to get drinks in the buffet a long winded affair

I have the utmost sympathy for your enforced delay , however it is not just Aurora , we got off Arcadia after 99 nights and its fair to say that infections were plentiful ( of all descriptions)and increased in the last three weeks of the cruise , it says something when the Captain announced that anyone not adhering to basic hygiene requests would be put off the ship, and indeed they were, we never used the lifts and never once touched any grab or handrails during the whole voyage ,even when the ship was rolling all over, and still succumbed in the last few days and got off the ship with infections of varying descriptions which we are still suffering with. Honestly I do not know what the answer to this problem is but feel that earlier ,and strictly enforced standard hygiene practices perhaps would have minimized the spread , it must be stated that as passengers were flying into the ship and embarking at numerous ports this will not have helped ( passengers next door to us were isolating with sickness etc within an hour of embarking) I do wish you a speedy embarkation and hopefully a healthy cruise😃

Having just returned from the full world cruise I can confirm that the problems began after Singapore and increased dramatically after embarking passengers in Capetown , Captain Sharples did a good job in trying to contain it but some people will just not do as they are asked and some did indeed get removed for not following the requests of the captain , rightly so imho. Unbelievable how rude and obstructive some people are to staff when asked to follow basic hygiene requests, it is also fair to mention that if enforcement had been made from the start it would have restricted some of the problems. Some passengers embarking in Capetown were isolating in their cabins within an hour of boarding so no doubt they brought issues on board with them. Unable to confirm but mention was made of a couple put off in Tenerife because they stated they were allergic to water 😒

Nice pictures ,thanks, hope things calm down for you all, just a little surprised to see green beans though as its out of character for P and O 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I have to agree about sleeping well in an inside cabin , we usually end up over sleeping when we have been in one , just like sleeping in a hotel room with blackout curtains . If you don't use your cabin for things other than showering and sleeping you wont miss the balcony. and if its free , well why not !!! Have a great trip and hope things at home improve for you 👍

Two observations following Selbournes report, firstly I have written confirmation that the welcome onboard lunch will DEFINITLY be a sit down affair on our upcoming world cruise, I always doubted this as its a given a lot of high tier passengers will be aboard this cruise, so if what happened on Aurora yesterday rolls over to Arcadia on the 6th it will lead me to believe that anything the company says must be taken with a large pinch of salt ,time will tell. Secondly it is a well known problem on Aurora that the beds have less room underneath to store suitcases than any of the other ships ,so I assume its the bed manufacture that is the issue ,for most its just an inconvenience ,however in Selbournes (and possibly others ) situation it makes things really difficult ,as for storing suitcases on balconies ,Really? Best wishes for the rest of what should be a memorable trip😃

Could you confirm if the 10 couples who were turned away were embarking the 65 night grand Voyage please as we know two couples who were going on it? Thanks

From personal experience the 65 nights will fly by , agree completely regarding the space centre , amazing place, We wont be able to keep up with your updates too much as we don't use the ships internet unless its absolutely necessary and we are sailing for 99 nights , I don't think we cross paths on either of our voyages but wish you both the best of times, even though I understand boarding has had a bit of a hiccup 😃

Also forgot to mention the drinks package is standard on balcony cabin ,so you may need to check if your cabin is covered under these terms?

Absolutely loved Azamara , the drinks package is really good with plenty of choice of good quality wines and spirits ,you can upgrade to the superior package but tbh its not worth it (personal opinion ) , the food was superb as was the level of service in every department , smaller ships for sure but really well furnished , I would say two weeks would be enough for us as night time entertainment is limited , nice clientele on board and a classy feel to everything , as for comparing to P and O I feel you would notice the difference even before you step on board. We will definitely sail with them again when the time and itinerary is correct

Or all of the above 🤣

As somebody who is embarking on this cruise all I will say is that the information relating to vaccinations ,testing and visas from P and O has been ,dare I say, indifferent

Oh my stars😒

Interesting read, thank you, having done numerous Caribbean cruises it is always nice to get a new perspective on the cruise ,shame about the behavior problems caused by a few passengers , however upon reading other reports it would appear this is becoming a common theme