P&O First-Timer with Questions

[Dunelm]

My husband and I have taken several cruises, but never with P&O. We are thinking of taking a Christmas/New Year's cruise on the Aurora this year, and I have several questions, so would greatly appreciate some help. 1) Are the ships festive over Christmas? 2) On a 14-night cruise, will the ship be heaving with children? I personally think children are great, but maybe not too many. 3) Is there a lot of difference between deluxe balcony and mini-suites? In other words, is a mini-suite worth the extra cost? Thanks for any help you can give. (By the way, have been on Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America.)

[HomelessBear]

We have done xmas / new year cruises the past 5 years, including Azura in 2011. The ships are nicely decorated with xmas trees and garlands up the stairs in the atrium for example. The decorations are very tasteful in my opinion, and not over the top.

 

Its difficult to say if it will be heaving with children. We've not done a festive cruise from Southampton, we've always done ones that we fly to (Caribbean, Panama Canal and Hawaii), and these have not been "heaving" with children.

The only time we did notice a huge amount of kids running around and being a nuisance was on 7 night cruise from Southampton over a half term break.

Sorry can't help with your other questions.

[Midsomer Madness]

I believe Aurora is doing the canaries for Xmas 2013.. We did this cruise on this ship Xmas 2011 and it was the worst cruise we have done (out of 13 or so) despite being a family ship the average age was 75+ with entertainment to match, there was a major outbreak of NV and the staff found it hard to cope, the weather in the canaries was osk..warm but not much sun.. For the premium we paid we were bitterly disappointed and would not cruise from Southampton again at that time of year. The ship was beautifully decorated and the fireworks in Madeira were fabulous... Others will no doubt disagree but it's good to get the views of many rather than just the rose tinted specs p&o die hards! My advice would be do your homework before booking!

[Dunelm]

Thanks so much for your replies. Yes! The cruise is to the Canaries out of Southampton. We did a two-week Christmas cruise out of Fort Lauderdale with Princess that was fantastic. I'll do more research before booking. Thanks, again.

[crafty sue]

We Cruised P & O on Oceana in April last year, and I agree it is not fun cruising From Southampton when the Weather is bad, it rained the whole time and was freezing, we had a Balcony Cabin, which was fine, you get a Kettle and plenty of tea, coffee etc in your cabin. I would opt for a fly cruise at xmas/new year time, then you might actually enjoy a bit of winter sun

[Midsomer Madness]

I agree I'd go for a Caribbean fly one if I ever did another at that time year :)

[HomelessBear]

On the recent Hawaii cruise we did over xmas/new year (with Princess), it was cold and very windy for the first few days out when we left LA and also some days on the return. I really missed being able to use the balcony and this would be one reason that I wouldn't do this cruise again.

It made me realise that what makes my cruises for me, is sitting out on my balcony in warm / hot sunny weather in shorts and t shirts. As this would also not be possible for a number of days on winter cruises from Southampton, I wouldn't consider such a cruise.

 

We are doing the Caribbean again next xmas, as I know that it will be warm and sunny for the majority of the time, and I will be able to use the balcony every day. It will also be warm enough to sit on the balcony after dinner watching the stars, which I love.

 

Its just worth considering how important using your balcony is for you, and whether its worth the flight to the Caribbean to guarantee good weather.

[Dunelm]

Thanks for the most recent replies. I understand that the weather can be a huge factor out of Southampton. We've lived in hot climates for many years, so although our blood has thinned we are not sun-seekers. We have also done three transatlantic crossings in April and November, but you are so right--December and January could be miserable.