I_r_a

Hi F,

 

> I am told by Celebrity that a parent may authorise  an 18 year old with alcohol, but they  are not sure if that also applies to a grandparent, acting as guardian. 

 

Have the parents provide you a notarized temporary Power of Attorney allowing you to act "in loco parentis" for the duration of the trip.

 

This will permit you to handle all problems that might arise.

 

Bon voyage

 

Ira

Hi CF,

 

See my short review of our recent cruise aboard The Aurora.

Bon Voyage,

 

Ira

Thanks to everyone who posted menus.

 

Ira

 

>How bright should main dining room be?

 

90% of the guests should be able to read the menu, with glasses on.

Ira

Some more Pics:

Mountains

 

A Pleasant Day at Sea

 

Sunrise 09:00

 

Sunset  10:30

 

Rainbow (taken through a window)

T

 

 

Th.. Th.... That's all folks

 

Hello again.

 

Some pix at sea:

 

High Noon just below the Arctic Circle

 

Sailing in the Fjords

 

 

Reindeer

 

 

 

 

Thanx for sharing, S

 

Ira

Thanks DCF.

 

 

Ira

More stuff:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who is this man?  Pic in Anderson's

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello again,

 

Here are some menus:

 

Desert @ Medina

 

Dinner @ Medina

 

                                 

 

 

 

 

My New Love - at Anderson's

 

Thanks for sharing

 

Ira

Hi S,.

> I was on the same cruise and was surprised how little Aurora was affected.

 

Well, it was my first time on P&O.  I shall have to do more sailing on that line before I can speak authoritatively. 

 

Ira

Hi S,

 

> On all our cruises on Aurora we have never been served freshly squeezed orange juice.

 

That's too bad.

 

I stood on the aft deck as the oranges were being squeezed and then watched the server put the jugs of juice into the dispensing machine.

 

Ira

Hi DCF,

 

>  I assume ATL is somewhere in America (I'd make a wild stab at Atlanta but these initials are not always what they seem) given that you were on a Delta flight. <

   You are correct.  I didn't mean to seem smug.  I often look up code names for faraway places with strange sounding names.

 

>Was this your first P&O cruise? 

     Yes

 

>Did you feel overwhelmed by Brits or welcomed into the fold? 

    No and pretty much.

      No one bothered to make us feel less than welcome, nor did anyone make a point of being a welcoming committee.  I'd say we were treated like regular folks.

 

>... was the overall trip worth it, visiting the Acrtic is pretty special but if its just cold and dark is there enough to do? Thoughts and impressions welcome please. <

 

Spending several days (not nights) in the dark is definitely a new experience.

 

There is a lot to do in Norway, especially if you are a fan of the outdoors, even in winter.  If not, we enjoyed staying on the ship in place of wind and snow.

 

We recommend the trip.

 

Ira

booo

On 11/29/2018 at 6:32 PM, websailor said:

Hello,

 

Editing my signature

 

Thanks to all who contributed to this really, really swell thread.

On 12/8/2018 at 8:56 PM, Copper10-8 said:

 

I thought key lime pie was green? .....

Hi Cu

 

The juice of a Key lime (from FL) is yellow.

 

A green Key lime pie is a fraud.

 

" The Key lime is a citrus hybrid with a spherical fruit, 2.5–5 cm in diameter. The Key lime is usually picked while it is still green but it becomes yellow when ripe. It is smaller and seedier, with a higher acidity, a stronger aroma, and a thinner rind, than that of the Persian lime".   Wikipedia

 

ditto above.

 

 

Hello All,

My Lady Wife and I recently returned from a 10-day voyage on the P&O Aurora.  This is a quick report of our adventure.

   

We flew ATL à LHR on Delta.  It was a typical Delta flight.

    We were taken from LHR to Southampton by http://www.smithsairportcars.co.uk/ -  highly recommended.

    We stayed overnight in a “Privilege Room” at https://www.dolphin-southampton.com/

     This is an old hotel in an even older building.  Our “room” comprised a good-sized bathroom, a large bedroom and an even larger sitting room with a view from the second floor over the courtyard.

     The hotel is very clean and well maintained.  Recommended for those who like old buildings with squeaky floors.

The weather was cold and rainy, so we stayed in and sampled the potables and comestibles at the bar until it was time for bed.  Very nice.

 

Next day we cabbed to the Mayflower terminal where, with the help of Special Assistance, we boarded The Aurora.  The whole procedure went very smoothly.  (One of the few privileges of getting old.)

 

The ship:

   She will appeal to those who are less than enthused by the contemporary atmosphere, although she does rock and pitch more than you will find on the larger, newer boats.

    We found the service to be excellent: the cabin (EB – deluxe balcony) better than most; especially the drapes that close off the sitting area from the bedroom area:  the public spaces to be much to our liking – especially Andersons:  the background music to be discreet – mostly:  and the food totally in keeping with traditional British dining of the late ‘50’s and ‘60’s – not very good, except for the tea – PG Tips.

    We stocked up on single packets of Nescafe and Mount Hagen as alternates to the ship’s product. 

 

    The orange juice was freshly squeezed each morning.

 

    We found that if you were not in the mood to share a table checking in at the desk and then taking the buzzer back to Anderson’s (short walk) for a libation or 3 was a good way to start the evening.

      Our fellow passengers were made up of two groups – those over 70 (the majority) and those under 50.  There was a decent muster of young marrieds – some with children.

 

    We chose the “anytime” dining in Medina.  Nice room.  First class service.

    We had dinner at Sindhu one evening – very pleasant Indian cooking brewed for British taste.

    I discovered a new love – Gunpowder Gin with Fevertree Aromatic tonic.

 

   We did not partake of the “entertainment”.

 

The Voyage:

     The itinerary is such as to allow for a very leisurely sojourn - lots of sea days, few “must see’s” to require your attention.

     The weather was warm for that part of the world (-3 to +8 C), and the skies were mostly overcast – both conditions that work against seeing The Lights.  We did, however, catch a view (or maybe 2) of a long, cigar-shaped object glowing a pale green (ionized N2) with occasional flecks of red (O2).

   The captain reported sighting a whale, which some other passengers verified.

 

   Not seeing the sun for several days was an interesting experience.

 

  The fjords are spectacular.

 

    We shall return in Summer 2020 for a voyage aboard The Arcadia.

 

I shall upload some pix ASAP.

 

Ciao

Ira

 

Thanx for more helpful info

Thanks, P.

That's what we are hoping for.

 

Ira

Hi PP, Mjr Tom and PLB,

 

Thanks for the responses.

 

No nightime ship's tours from Tromso except for a recital at the cathedral.

 

We are booked for a tour out of Alta.  We had hoped to improve the odds of seeing the Lights by going from the two ports.

 

Happy Holidays to all.

 

Ira

 

 

We are booked for The Aurora' Northern Lights cruise starting 28 Nov.

 

We've just been told that they will be leaving Tromsø @ 11:30PM the night of Dec 3 instead of 03:00 AM the morning of the 4th.

 

All of the Northern Lights excursions I have been able to find leave between 6:30 PM and 7:15 PM, meaning that we would greatly curtail our tour even if we can arrange for a cab back to the ship by 10:45 at the latest.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Ira

> Look at the direction that Las Vegas is taking.   Gone are the cheap meals and buffets.

 

It was the fault of that danged Howard Hughes.

 

Back when Lansky, Siegel and the Mob were running things, they just wanted a place to launder their money.

 

Hughes showed you could make a profit.

 

Danged, plutocrats.

 

Ira