Selbourne ‘Live’ from Aurora’s 2024 Grand Tour

[Selbourne]

Todays MDR menus

[Interestedcruisefan]

16 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Todays MDR menus

Would be doing buffet lunch today. Fish pie or curry lunch isn't for me

 

Dinner looks ok though

[zap99]

8 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Would be doing buffet lunch today. Fish pie or curry lunch isn't for me

 

Dinner looks ok though

Conversely, these menu's are convincing us to try a few more MDR lunches.  On our next Arvia cruise we have a good number of sea days. My only criticism of the MDR dinner menu's is the little sirloin ' steaklette'. 5 oz...really.🤔

[Selbourne]

Just now, zap99 said:

Conversely, these menu's are convincing us to try a few more MDR lunches.  On our next Arvia cruise we have a good number of sea days. My only criticism of the MDR dinner menu's is the little sirloin ' steaklette'. 5 oz...really.🤔

One of our table mates last night asked for two of the 5oz steaks and they didn’t bat an eyelid. I have a big appetite but when it came it looked too much for me 😂 The lunchtime curries in the MDR are nice. 

Edited January 9 by Selbourne

[Guest]

I wish they offered more curries on an evening in the MDR! 

[purplesea]

Looking at the menus posted I would be happy with them as there is a fair amount of choice. On previous occasions I've had diffiuclty finding something, you can get fed up of steak every night!

Hopefully we will have similar menus on Azura.

[Ardennais]

4 hours ago, paulatsea said:

Because they are (were) the top universities - proven track record.

Obviously makes a difference in an interview as they are (were) the hardest to get into.

 

Absurd to object to anyone from anywhere wanted to arrange a meet up with anyone they want to.

 

Freemasony has nothing to do with anything in this context.

 

Simply people with common interests.

 

Charles got into Cambridge with a very lacklustre set of A levels! 

[Harry Peterson]

32 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

Charles got into Cambridge with a very lacklustre set of A levels! 

But an incredible set of other ‘qualifications’………….💰

[CaptainPedantic]

2 hours ago, Glitterati said:

I wish they offered more curries on an evening in the MDR! 

+1 for this... as long as they are spicy... we find the curries are 'dumbed down' for the masses and miss some heat!

[grapau27]

15 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Day 6 - Monday 8th January - At Sea

 

The clocks had made their first one hour change overnight, so I woke up very early and was able to watch the sunrise which, as with sunsets, are always magical at sea. 

 

The daytime entertainment on this cruise has been significantly better than any of our other 3 post Covid P&O cruises and, most unusually, there are a number of things on that we’d like to see today. BTW, there are lots of ‘meets’ for various groups (armed forces, solo travellers, LGBTQ+, Friends of Bill W etc) and I’m pleased to see that these exist for those who are interested. However, one caught my eye today and rather got my goat - “Oxford and Cambridge graduate get- together”. Perhaps it’s just me, but that seems so….(fill in the gap). When I was working and anyone pompously asked me which university I went to, it always threw them when I replied that I wasn’t a graduate myself, but I employed several thousand of them 😂 

 

Breakfast in Medina was uneventful, just as we like it. As we returned from breakfast I noticed our steward (who I’m warming to more now) working in a cabin way down the corridor. I asked him how many cabins he looked after and he replied 22. I said to him that I was sure it used to be just 12 when we first started cruising and he confirmed that was true (he’s done 25 years with P&O). He said it started with 12, then went to 15, then 18 and is now 22. In fairness to him, he didn’t make any comment about that. 

 

We have been noticing that some parts of the ship seem to be uncomfortably warm. We assumed that this was P&O being a bit stingy with the air con, as we presumed was the case on some of our other cruises last year. However, at the 11am lecture on alcohol (yes, you read that right) the presenter apologised for the heat in the Playhouse and said that there was a problem around the ship that engineers were trying to fix. As the interior warmth was sapping my energy, as soon as the talk finished I went outside and walked 10 laps of the promenade deck, which is 3 miles. We are on a strange track across the Atlantic, so it’s weird not seeing a single ship in any other direction. 

 

Thankfully we have very calm seas today and the wind is down to force 2. Much to our surprise though (having been on Aurora loads of times), the ship is still moving around quite a bit, so much so that it’s still difficult to walk in a straight line at times. It’s not enough to make us feel ill, but is still causing issues for my wife (who has poor balance at the best of times). We can’t recall movement like this at anything below force 4 on Aurora before, but there appears to be a persistent swell. We are going along at a reasonable pace though (21 knots, which is only 3 knots below Auroras designed operating speed), which might also explain it. Perhaps the Captain is keeping the stabilisers tucked in to hasten our progress and minimise our exposure to the looming storm? It certainly feels quick compared to the plodding 15 knots that the newer ships seem to stick to. It’s been warm and quite sunny today at around 23 degrees, which I believe is in stark contrast to the UK at present? 

 

We have received invites to the Caribbean loyalty lunch. It’s a bit confusing as it says that it will take place on Friday 12th and Monday 15th. Presumably we get told nearer the time which one we will attend. It seems quite early in the cruise. I wonder if there will be another one next month?

 

After lunch in the Medina restaurant we attended the talk by Touch of Frost actor John Lyons. We haven’t come across him before and he seems to be a very good and engaging speaker. We shall definitely attend his subsequent talks. At 5pm there was another classical recital with the flautist and pianist in the still stiflingly hot Playhouse. Very talented but they are getting off in Bermuda and a different classical artist(s) board. I’m hoping it’s a different instrument as I’m done with flutes now 😂 

 

At 7pm we went to see Laura Magann in Carmens. She’s a diva singer and belted out a wide variety of songs from musicals, opera and so on. Shock of shocks, at dinner one of the two missing couples turned up! Had they been denied boarding and had to fly out to join the ship or had they wanted first sitting and been dining in the buffet? Neither it seems, they just didnt fancy a formal dinner until now. I sense they might be infrequent visitors. 

 

After dinner we went to the 10pm Everly Brothers tribute, although they actually played a lot of music from other artists. I thought they were pretty good but Lady S wasn’t terribly impressed 🙄😂. 

 

All in all a full and enjoyable day and the Horizon paper for tomorrow looks equally encouraging. 

Great daily summary @Selbourne.

I loved your answer to those snooty graduates.

I hope you have smoother seas and avoid the storm forecast.

Graham 

[Cathygh]

1 hour ago, Ardennais said:

Charles got into Cambridge with a very lacklustre set of A levels! 

In those days you could get in if you passed the entrance exam I think na dthe interview and there were always colleges who took you if your father went there.

In the eighties I was repsonsible for coaching (in a comprehensive school) what they used to call Seventh Term Sixth Formers. They had passed their A levels with not particularly great grades, for lots of reasons I won't go into here, but had definitely underperformed. Oxbridge set exam in the Autumn Term after A levels and as long as you passed the exam and the interview you got a place. It was a much fairer option IMHO than they have these days and gave the opportunity for kids to go there who wouldn't have got in otherwise. 

[paulatsea]

47 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Great daily summary @Selbourne.

I loved your answer to those snooty graduates.

I hope you have smoother seas and avoid the storm forecast.

Graham 

Reverse snobbery. Snooty graduates  ? Please.

[paulatsea]

30 minutes ago, Cathygh said:

In those days you could get in if you passed the entrance exam I think na dthe interview and there were always colleges who took you if your father went there.

In the eighties I was repsonsible for coaching (in a comprehensive school) what they used to call Seventh Term Sixth Formers. They had passed their A levels with not particularly great grades, for lots of reasons I won't go into here, but had definitely underperformed. Oxbridge set exam in the Autumn Term after A levels and as long as you passed the exam and the interview you got a place. It was a much fairer option IMHO than they have these days and gave the opportunity for kids to go there who wouldn't have got in otherwise. 

They still do their own entrance exams as school exam results don’t mean much anymore.

 

 

 

[Interestedcruisefan]

5 hours ago, Selbourne said:

One of our table mates last night asked for two of the 5oz steaks and they didn’t bat an eyelid. I have a big appetite but when it came it looked too much for me 😂 The lunchtime curries in the MDR are nice. 

Zap should ask for three then and see if any eyelids get batted then?

 

In fact which of us wants to be the first to try that??

[Selbourne]

Just now, CaptainPedantic said:

we find the curries are 'dumbed down' for the masses and miss some heat!

I was saying just that at lunchtime with my pork vindaloo (that was more korma) 😂 Still nice though

[Dobbers]

Really enjoying the menu pics. We sail 16th March and my frocks have shrunk so am having to cut back a bit 🤣

[purplesea]

11 minutes ago, Dobbers said:

Really enjoying the menu pics. We sail 16th March and my frocks have shrunk so am having to cut back a bit 🤣

Mine have shrunk too and I sail next week!

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Zap should ask for three then and see if any eyelids get batted then?

 

In fact which of us wants to be the first to try that??

After a nice lunch, I doubt I could manage a 15oz sirloin.  You can try it first, If you ever go in the MDR, that is. Only 2 lbs to go and I will be back to my pre Christmas weight, off to Warner next week at Heythorpe Park.  Oh well !!.

[Interestedcruisefan]

3 minutes ago, zap99 said:

After a nice lunch, I doubt I could manage a 15oz sirloin.  You can try it first, If you ever go in the MDR, that is. Only 2 lbs to go and I will be back to my pre Christmas weight, off to Warner next week at Heythorpe Park.  Oh well !!.

Won't be long til you are above your Christmas weight then

 

We go to Cape Town and South Africa for a month on Thursday!!

 

Waiting to find out if I've won my upper class seats auction bid on Virgin!!

 

Should find out soon!!!

[Interestedcruisefan]

5 minutes ago, zap99 said:

After a nice lunch, I doubt I could manage a 15oz sirloin.  You can try it first, If you ever go in the MDR, that is. Only 2 lbs to go and I will be back to my pre Christmas weight, off to Warner next week at Heythorpe Park.  Oh well !!.

I only eat fillet steak not sirloin

 

Might occasionally have a ribeye!!

 

Lol

 

I'm only half joking. I'm willing to at least attempt asking for 3 sirloin on Arvia though  on behalf of the forum  when I'm there in Feb!!

 

Just to see what they say!!

 

 

[zap99]

1 minute ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Won't be long til you are above your Christmas weight then

 

We go to Cape Town and South Africa for a month on Thursday!!

 

Waiting to find out if I've won my upper class seats auction bid on Virgin!!

 

Should find out soon!!!

We flew back from Antigua in UC. The nice young man upgraded us from PE. Very nice it was too, but the PE cost was £400 each and a UC would be +£700 on that. Very nice, but not £1,100 nice.

[zap99]

1 minute ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I only eat fillet steak not sirloin

 

Might occasionally have a ribeye!!

 

Lol

 

I'm only half joking. I'm willing to at least attempt asking for 3 sirloin on Arvia though  on behalf of the forum  when I'm there in Feb!!

 

Just to see what they say!!

 

 

Beach house fillet is 10oz. That does nicely.

[Interestedcruisefan]

4 minutes ago, zap99 said:

We flew back from Antigua in UC. The nice young man upgraded us from PE. Very nice it was too, but the PE cost was £400 each and a UC would be +£700 on that. Very nice, but not £1,100 nice.

Ive booked standard 

 

But have bid 880 each to upgrade to upper class

 

We've got an overnight flight so would like some sleep on a flat bed after having some nice food and drinks. And would like a special flight out as we've worked really hard the last few weeks and done well with our business. We set ourselves a target for sales and beat it. And the reward was to at least try and get upper class

 

But if we lose that's 1760 pounds extra to spend on stuff in Capetown and beyond

 

So I'm happy either way

[Interestedcruisefan]

6 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Beach house fillet is 10oz. That does nicely.

Going to try keel and cow as well. Keep hearing good reports about their steaks

 

In amongst MDR dining

[zap99]

Just now, Interestedcruisefan said:

Going to try keel and cow as well. Keep hearing good reports about their steaks

 

In amongst MDR dining

We ate in the Keel and Cow a couple of times on Iona. Very nice. We have a fair bit of OBC on Ariva, so no doubt all the specialities will get their fair share.