Aurora advice

[Megabear2]

I am booked on the 1 April Aurora Canaries cruise. Originally booked as a single when cabins in very short supply on release day.  I've never sailed on Aurora so it's a whole new world.  I currently have a front outside cabin which has not been allocated yet.  Again at the time of booking no choice but to pick inside, outside, balcony or suite.

 

My 82 year old Auntie was added to my booking some time later - she knows Aurora very well having done several world cruises on her in the past.  With all the cancellations etc I've been advised that quite a few balconies have opened up. Auntie has only ever had an inside cabin on Aurora.

 

I've never tried to change cabin type before but am quite tempted to treat Auntie on what may be her last trip on her favourite ship.   When I booked as a single my cost was £1495 and this went down to £999 each when I added my Auntie so between us we have £1998 spent already.  A select balcony is currently on select price at £2958 but changes on location.

 

Questions

1: Cruise is fully paid, am I able to upgrade if that's the case

2. Are Aurora balcony cabins good, the bulk seem to be available on Deck A - anyone have opinions on any of these or suggestions which I'd be best looking at

3. We have £110obc each at present. The select price on a balcony seems to be offering £115obc, would we get to keep ours or does it change

 

Any other suggestions to make this nice much appreciated. Auntie getting a bit nervous with the offloading stuff so I'm hoping to take her mind of the problems.

 

Should add there's 8 of us travelling with the rest in to be allocated insides.

 

Thank you all for suggestions/help.

 

 

[ann141]

31 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I am booked on the 1 April Aurora Canaries cruise. Originally booked as a single when cabins in very short supply on release day.  I've never sailed on Aurora so it's a whole new world.  I currently have a front outside cabin which has not been allocated yet.  Again at the time of booking no choice but to pick inside, outside, balcony or suite.

 

My 82 year old Auntie was added to my booking some time later - she knows Aurora very well having done several world cruises on her in the past.  With all the cancellations etc I've been advised that quite a few balconies have opened up. Auntie has only ever had an inside cabin on Aurora.

 

I've never tried to change cabin type before but am quite tempted to treat Auntie on what may be her last trip on her favourite ship.   When I booked as a single my cost was £1495 and this went down to £999 each when I added my Auntie so between us we have £1998 spent already.  A select balcony is currently on select price at £2958 but changes on location.

 

Questions

1: Cruise is fully paid, am I able to upgrade if that's the case

2. Are Aurora balcony cabins good, the bulk seem to be available on Deck A - anyone have opinions on any of these or suggestions which I'd be best looking at

3. We have £110obc each at present. The select price on a balcony seems to be offering £115obc, would we get to keep ours or does it change

 

Any other suggestions to make this nice much appreciated. Auntie getting a bit nervous with the offloading stuff so I'm hoping to take her mind of the problems.

 

Should add there's 8 of us travelling with the rest in to be allocated insides.

 

Thank you all for suggestions/help.

 

 

We upgraded from an inside cabin to a balcony after the balance was paid but we had to pay the price of a balcony at time of booking.We were on A deck near the front but we're pleased with our cabin

[Megabear2]

Good point on launch price! As no balconies were available  by the time we booked I've no idea what the price was on launch day - there wasn't two prices on launch day as far as I can recall.

 

Does anyone have a balcony booked on day 1 that they can tell me the price of.

 

Thank you 

[Astrajet]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

Does anyone have a balcony booked on day 1 that they can tell me the price of.

Not sure if this is of help to you as we booked on release day through a TA so got a reduction. We have a select balcony (GD grade) priced £2,738. 

Edited January 21, 2022 by Astrajet

[john watson]

I agree with other posters insofar as the price you would pay to upgrade from outside to a balcony cabin would be calculated on the price ruling at the time you booked.  Yes, none were available at the time but it would be proportionately more expensive than an outside cabin.  Aurora balconies are not of the glass fronted type but the hull cut out type and not huge.  I should not want to pay a big premium for this type of balcony when the new passengers price is significantly cheaper due to overall general price reductions.  Your aunt has only booked inside cabins, so a window is a big improvement.  If it were me I would phone P&O and ask what the upsell price is and based on what they say take it or leave it and hope you get a random free of charge upgrade which the upgrade fairy bestows on lucky folk. Mention your aunts loyalty status hoefully you know her cruise history in detail as it may help your case.

 

Regards John

[Megabear2]

Looking at the current select prices our outside is £280 more than we paid on launch.  It would appear prices on select are higher than they were at booking.  The saver is £1958 so only £40 less than we paid.  The lack of movement in prices either way was the reason I thought of the balcony option.

 

I assume metal fronted balconies means cut out of the hull such as on QM2?  I was thinking more of size etc as Auntie is planning on staying onboard except for one port.  The window cabin is apparently 150 compared with the smallest balcony at 211.

 

I will have a chat with P&O tomorrow to see what the prices would be.  I doubt the upgrade fairy will visit me for this one unfortunately as I'm rather out of favour at the moment!

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

Looking at the current select prices our outside is £280 more than we paid on launch.  It would appear prices on select are higher than they were at booking.  The saver is £1958 so only £40 less than we paid.  The lack of movement in prices either way was the reason I thought of the balcony option.

 

I assume metal fronted balconies means cut out of the hull such as on QM2?  I was thinking more of size etc as Auntie is planning on staying onboard except for one port.  The window cabin is apparently 150 compared with the smallest balcony at 211.

 

I will have a chat with P&O tomorrow to see what the prices would be.  I doubt the upgrade fairy will visit me for this one unfortunately as I'm rather out of favour at the moment!

MB, the metal fronted balconies have metal instead of glass, otherwise they are the same. But seated on the balcony you would not have any view except sky, or high rise buildings if in port. 

I would opt for whichever saver grade does not have any of these  which is probably HE grade or better.

[ann141]

Sometimes saver fares aren't available at release so the fare may only be based on the select fare at time of booking.I think the new larger outside cabins on Aurora are supposed to be nice but there are only a few of them

[AndyMichelle]

We really didn't like the metal fronted balconies on Aurora and can't justify the massive cost difference from an inside... 

It's nice to have the sea air, but we found them too dark and dingy to sit out for too long so would pop down to the stern with a cocktail... 

Each to their own though. 

Andy 

[Megabear2]

Thanks for all the advice. After looking into it with P&O decided to stay where we are.  There wasn't enough positives to outweigh the negatives in the end.  Did consider the deluxe balcony option but the costing on that was considerably higher than the normal balcony.

 

One good thing from my conversation though I still apparently have my "P" beside my name so I'm not too out of favour.  Joking apart I'm told the window for the grade we have is fairly big and gives plenty of light which will be nice.

[kruzseeka]

And Aurora has that wonderful tiered stern and plenty of outside space.  Unlike some othervships, we never found It a problem finding some space - indoors or out to relax.  From that point of view, it has the best and most spacious lounge areas of the ships we've travelled on.   

[Selbourne]

Having sailed on Aurora eight times, I am at a complete loss as to all this talk of metal fronted balconies. Some ships have cabins with balconies where the area underneath the balcony hand rail is metal. This restricts the view out from the cabin to just the sky or looking upwards. That is NOT what 99% of the balcony cabins are like on Aurora. There are three main decks with balcony cabins, A, B and C. Deck B balcony cabins are like they are on the newer ships with full glass fronted balconies. Balcony cabins on decks A and C have balconies that are cut out of the hull, so there is a slight enclosure to them, which we happen to like as it improves privacy and provides some degree of shade or shelter when you want it. However, and this is the critical point, the area underneath the handrail is glass and not metal as has been implied in several posts. We use accessible cabins so they are wider, but I will try to find a photo to illustrate. 

[Selbourne]

This photo is taken from inside our accessible balcony cabin looking out to the balcony on C deck as we are sailing in to New York. As you can see, the balcony is glass fronted, not metal fronted, so the view is outward, not just upwards! On the right of the photo you can see the curved edges of the balcony where it is cut out of the hull, so there is a slightly enclosed area at each end which, as I say, we like. 

[AndyMichelle]

I bow to your knowledge Selborne, just our memory was just of a hole cut in the stern that felt very dark and enclosed, compared to other ship balconies... 

We just didn't like it. 

Andy 

[Selbourne]

9 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

I bow to your knowledge Selborne, just our memory was just of a hole cut in the stern that felt very dark and enclosed, compared to other ship balconies... 

We just didn't like it. 

Andy 

No worries Andy. I did stress that we had an accessible cabin so a much wider balcony, so I can appreciate that it would feel more enclosed in a standard balcony cabin. The main thing that I wanted to clear up was that they do have glass under the handrails, not metal. We don’t sunbath and our balcony is for the views, in all weathers, so the enclosed edges work very well for us, but I fully appreciate that the more open balconies on the newer ships will be better for most people. 

[Selbourne]

Just to re-iterate, balcony cabins on B deck on Aurora are normal, fully open, balconies, so those who don’t like the ‘cut out’ style on A and C deck could still cruise on her. Sadly, since Aurora became adult only, the prices of cruises on her have rocketed so even though we love her our next two cruises are on Iona and Ventura. 

[Gizmo19]

On 1/21/2022 at 8:23 PM, john watson said:

I agree with other posters insofar as the price you would pay to upgrade from outside to a balcony cabin would be calculated on the price ruling at the time you booked.  Yes, none were available at the time but it would be proportionately more expensive than an outside cabin.  Aurora balconies are not of the glass fronted type but the hull cut out type and not huge.  I should not want to pay a big premium for this type of balcony when the new passengers price is significantly cheaper due to overall general price reductions.  Your aunt has only booked inside cabins, so a window is a big improvement.  If it were me I would phone P&O and ask what the upsell price is and based on what they say take it or leave it and hope you get a random free of charge upgrade which the upgrade fairy bestows on lucky folk. Mention your aunts loyalty status hoefully you know her cruise history in detail as it may help your case.

 

Regards John

I think Aurora balconies are a mix. There are decks with 'metal' surrounds and others with glass. I think B Deck De Luxe Balcony's and above grades are glass. I may be wrong. But the external pictures look like that.

[Selbourne]

6 minutes ago, Gizmo19 said:

I think Aurora balconies are a mix. There are decks with 'metal' surrounds and others with glass. I think B Deck De Luxe Balcony's and above grades are glass. I may be wrong. But the external pictures look like that.

Sort of. This has already been answered but just to clarify once more. B deck balcony cabins are the same as on all the other ships. Those on A and C deck are cut out of the hull so have a metal ‘frame’ around them, but the balcony front is still glass, not metal. See my photo in post #13.