Selbourne ‘Live’ from Aurora’s 2024 Grand Tour

[Selbourne]

Pre-Departure Introduction

 

Well here we go again, although now it’s time for something completely different! Tomorrow we embark Aurora for the longest cruise that we have ever done - 65 nights to America and the Caribbean. It’s a port intensive cruise (which we like) with 28 different destinations, which is as many as some much longer World Cruises achieve. This will be our 9th cruise on Aurora (our most cruised on ship), but our last cruise on her was back in November 2019, just before ‘you know what’ turned the World upside down, so it will be interesting to see what, if anything, has changed. Over the past 6 months we have cruised on Britannia, Iona and Ventura and there were big differences between the ships when it came to things like passenger profile and the usage (or not) of the MyHoliday app, so we shall see what Aurora brings. With a cruise of this length, I suspect that the vast majority of passengers will be retired and, of course, Aurora is an adult only ship. 

 

Whilst excited about the cruise, we are also quite apprehensive. Being away from family and home for 65 days is one hell of a commitment, and with our longest cruise to date being 24 days we might be climbing the walls half way through! Will it be too long and too much for us? Only time (and lots of it) will tell. We aren’t fans of long runs of sea days, but it’s unavoidable when it comes to ex-U.K. round trips to the Caribbean. At least with a cruise of this length the long outward and return runs are almost a couple of months apart. Fingers crossed for a calm crossing (the last few weeks haven’t been!) and some decent guest lecturers (our recent P&O cruises were poor in this regard). We stop at Madeira and Bermuda on the way out and the Azores on the way back. In the intervening period we have an intensive programme visiting the USA, Central America, a tiny bit of South America and many Caribbean islands. 24 ports will be completely new to us, which will be a novelty given that we struggle to find an ex-U.K. cruise now that has more than one new port! In fact, of the handful of places that we have been to before, only one (Madeira) has been on a cruise ship. The others were by air and many years ago, so will hopefully still feel like new experiences.

 

We only booked this cruise in mid October, at a price that was simply too good to miss, because it was a Late Saver priced at less than half the Select fare. We’ve always booked Select in the past, but frankly we wouldn’t have even remotely considered this cruise at the Select fare. We were lucky that somebody had cancelled a booking for their accessible balcony cabin at balance due date, so we snapped it up. We were told which cabin we would have prior to paying (and it’s a cabin we have used before), so by far the biggest risk of a Saver (poor cabin location) was completely negated. Having to pay for shuttles isn’t an issue, as there are only a tiny number of ports on this cruise where shuttles are needed or provided. CPS parking was only £160 for the 65 nights, which was an absolute bargain. The sole risk with the late saver is that we might be allocated a dining arrangement that doesn’t suit us. We will be fine with Freedom Dining or, depending on table size and (potential) dining companions, second sitting Club Dining but, for a multitude of reasons, we really don’t want first sitting. I believe that first sitting is usually the most popular choice for those who book Select , so I am hopeful that we won’t be allocated it, but if we are unlucky I shall be trying to change it on board. Watch this space for an update tomorrow🤞

 

I can’t promise as detailed a blog as I’ve done with our previous cruises, especially as we have a lot of port days, but I’ll do my best. For the first time ever, and primarily due to the length of time that we are away from home, I have bought an internet plan for the whole cruise. Due to various promotions and discounts combining, I’ve got this for just over £6 a day, which seems very reasonable. 

 

Finally, a health warning. I know that there are one or two regulars on this forum who consider the mention of things that aren’t right, or that could be improved, as being ‘nit picking’. Those folk would be well advised not to follow this blog. I’m certainly not setting out to find faults or problems, but where I come across them they will be mentioned. Equally, praise will be given where praise is due. I have always held the view that reviews have to be completely balanced to be of any use to others and that’s the approach that I always take. It’s also important to stress that, as always, any views expressed are my own (and my wife’s). Others on the same cruise may enjoy something that we don’t, or hate something that we love. Neither is right or wrong, but both are equally valid opinions. 

 

Our embarkation time is 12.30pm and as Southampton is only a couple of hours from us we shall be leaving home at around 9am, so as to allow time for delays and a loo stop. First update tomorrow from the ship!

[yorkshirephil]

Have a great cruise adventure Selbourne, on the lovely Aurora.

[Smudgemum]

Have a fantastic cruise, I’m so looking forward to hearing all about, excited for you both.

[carlanthony24]

Enjoy

[Gettingwarmer]

Enjoy your cruise. Will be following. 

[Eddie99]

Bon Voyage

Smooth seas and welcome sunshine

[Angel57]

Have a wonderful adventure and I am really looking forward to reading all about it as and when you get the time.

Bon Voyage.

Gill

[Dobbers]

Have a great cruise, looking forward to your blogs.

[Presto2]

Have a great time 🙂

[CarlaMarie]

Have a wonderful time! 

[lancashire_cruisers]

Bon voyage! I look forward to hearing about your adventures 

[Goosebear Mum]

Thanks, and I’ll enjoy following ‘along with you’ 🙂 

 

We were on Aurora in May, and we noticed a lot of post covid changes, frustrations, but the itinerary made up for them.  Enjoy

 

Good luck with embarkation tomorrow. I’ll be looking out for your final report on the yellow fever certificate vs GP letter saga! 

[mrsgoggins]

@Selbourne I shall be following your adventure eagerly. We are sailing on Ventura tomorrow for the 35-night Caribbean jolly and this will be the longest cruise we have ever done and so I'm a tad trepidatious about it.

 

Madeira is also our first port of call on Sunday so our paths may even cross.  We have visited all of the ports on our cruise before, with the exception of Guadalupe, where I have booked the Death in Paradise tour.

 

We've pre-booked only Epicurean visit during the first week and I'll think of you as my crêpe Suzette is flambéed tableside; I hope 😉

 

Thanks for taking us along with you. I also bought the internet package at a good rate. In our case we like to download our daily newspaper and enjoy keeping in touch. 

 

I wish us both good sailing and calm seas. As you know, we have a later departure than you due to the deep cleaning they are carrying out on Ventura so I will hopefully be on board when you leave and will give you a Bon Voyage wave 😁

[Eglesbrech]

I always enjoy your reports as they are honest and balanced. Looking forward to following your journey. Have fun.

[Josy1953]

@mrsgoggins @Eglesbrech 

Enjoy your cruises

[pete14]

Have a great cruise. I look forward to reading your updates over the next couple of months. 

[July morning]

Looking forward to reading your comments, enjoy the cruise 😁

[lindyloo22]

Have a great cruise and look forward to reading about your adventures.

[keithhutch]

Have a great cruise and I will be reading your blog as neighbours in our street are also on board…just like to thank you for “the big tip” about using the baytree restaurant for breakfast…just back from the Xmas cruise on Ventura it worked perfect and we had a lovely time the food was very very good too.

[terrierjohn]

Enjoy your cruise, we don't mind sea days, and have found on our Caribbean round trips, that only on the final 3 or 4 sea days do we begin to wish we were back home, and that's mainly because we are getting back to UK winter weather.

Eagerly looking forward to your blog.

[Ardennais]

Wishing you both a wonderful cruise and looking forward to reading all about it, 

[Bill Y]

Bon Voyage, we look forward to your balanced reports. On a long cruise we find while there is still a new port to visit time does not drag. Pease don't wear her out as we are on her in April, first time since April 19. You certainly got a bargain with CPS as we were quoted £287 for 19 nights.

 

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Pre-Departure Introduction

 

Well here we go again, although now it’s time for something completely different! Tomorrow we embark Aurora for the longest cruise that we have ever done - 65 nights to America and the Caribbean. It’s a port intensive cruise (which we like) with 28 different destinations, which is as many as some much longer World Cruises achieve. This will be our 9th cruise on Aurora (our most cruised on ship), but our last cruise on her was back in November 2019, just before ‘you know what’ turned the World upside down, so it will be interesting to see what, if anything, has changed. Over the past 6 months we have cruised on Britannia, Iona and Ventura and there were big differences between the ships when it came to things like passenger profile and the usage (or not) of the MyHoliday app, so we shall see what Aurora brings. With a cruise of this length, I suspect that the vast majority of passengers will be retired and, of course, Aurora is an adult only ship. 

 

Whilst excited about the cruise, we are also quite apprehensive. Being away from family and home for 65 days is one hell of a commitment, and with our longest cruise to date being 24 days we might be climbing the walls half way through! Will it be too long and too much for us? Only time (and lots of it) will tell. We aren’t fans of long runs of sea days, but it’s unavoidable when it comes to ex-U.K. round trips to the Caribbean. At least with a cruise of this length the long outward and return runs are almost a couple of months apart. Fingers crossed for a calm crossing (the last few weeks haven’t been!) and some decent guest lecturers (our recent P&O cruises were poor in this regard). We stop at Madeira and Bermuda on the way out and the Azores on the way back. In the intervening period we have an intensive programme visiting the USA, Central America, a tiny bit of South America and many Caribbean islands. 24 ports will be completely new to us, which will be a novelty given that we struggle to find an ex-U.K. cruise now that has more than one new port! In fact, of the handful of places that we have been to before, only one (Madeira) has been on a cruise ship. The others were by air and many years ago, so will hopefully still feel like new experiences.

 

We only booked this cruise in mid October, at a price that was simply too good to miss, because it was a Late Saver priced at less than half the Select fare. We’ve always booked Select in the past, but frankly we wouldn’t have even remotely considered this cruise at the Select fare. We were lucky that somebody had cancelled a booking for their accessible balcony cabin at balance due date, so we snapped it up. We were told which cabin we would have prior to paying (and it’s a cabin we have used before), so by far the biggest risk of a Saver (poor cabin location) was completely negated. Having to pay for shuttles isn’t an issue, as there are only a tiny number of ports on this cruise where shuttles are needed or provided. CPS parking was only £160 for the 65 nights, which was an absolute bargain. The sole risk with the late saver is that we might be allocated a dining arrangement that doesn’t suit us. We will be fine with Freedom Dining or, depending on table size and (potential) dining companions, second sitting Club Dining but, for a multitude of reasons, we really don’t want first sitting. I believe that first sitting is usually the most popular choice for those who book Select , so I am hopeful that we won’t be allocated it, but if we are unlucky I shall be trying to change it on board. Watch this space for an update tomorrow🤞

 

I can’t promise as detailed a blog as I’ve done with our previous cruises, especially as we have a lot of port days, but I’ll do my best. For the first time ever, and primarily due to the length of time that we are away from home, I have bought an internet plan for the whole cruise. Due to various promotions and discounts combining, I’ve got this for just over £6 a day, which seems very reasonable. 

 

Finally, a health warning. I know that there are one or two regulars on this forum who consider the mention of things that aren’t right, or that could be improved, as being ‘nit picking’. Those folk would be well advised not to follow this blog. I’m certainly not setting out to find faults or problems, but where I come across them they will be mentioned. Equally, praise will be given where praise is due. I have always held the view that reviews have to be completely balanced to be of any use to others and that’s the approach that I always take. It’s also important to stress that, as always, any views expressed are my own (and my wife’s). Others on the same cruise may enjoy something that we don’t, or hate something that we love. Neither is right or wrong, but both are equally valid opinions. 

 

Our embarkation time is 12.30pm and as Southampton is only a couple of hours from us we shall be leaving home at around 9am, so as to allow time for delays and a loo stop. First update tomorrow from the ship!

Sounds exciting @Selbourne.

If either of you are on any medication make sure you take plenty.

I will be following along with interest because I trust your reviews.

I hope you both have an absolutely wonderful cruise.

Graham.

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, mrsgoggins said:

@Selbourne I shall be following your adventure eagerly. We are sailing on Ventura tomorrow for the 35-night Caribbean jolly and this will be the longest cruise we have ever done and so I'm a tad trepidatious about it.

 

Madeira is also our first port of call on Sunday so our paths may even cross.  We have visited all of the ports on our cruise before, with the exception of Guadalupe, where I have booked the Death in Paradise tour.

 

We've pre-booked only Epicurean visit during the first week and I'll think of you as my crêpe Suzette is flambéed tableside; I hope 😉

 

Thanks for taking us along with you. I also bought the internet package at a good rate. In our case we like to download our daily newspaper and enjoy keeping in touch. 

 

I wish us both good sailing and calm seas. As you know, we have a later departure than you due to the deep cleaning they are carrying out on Ventura so I will hopefully be on board when you leave and will give you a Bon Voyage wave 😁

I hope you have a fantastic cruise @mrsgoggins.

 

[mercury7289]

Selbourne ,have a good cruise, recommend you say hi to Ben, Hotel and Catering manager and Cleo a white shirt, one strip, from Zambia, both superstars! Looking forward to your posts ,I have not posted about my opinion on board in December, thought it may be better to let you form your own opinion.

Looking forward to it