Selbourne ‘Live’ from Aurora’s 2024 Grand Tour

[jeanlyon]

14 hours ago, Winifred 22 said:

I had no luck trying to link my kindle to WiFi  which was annoying as I bought new books from Amazon but just couldn’t then download them until I got home. 

I had no problem downloading via wifi ashore to my Kindle and mine is really old.

[Ohana27]

Hi Selbourne, really enjoying your blog.  With regards to your wife’s kindle, at some point download the BorrowBox app.  This links with your local library, which you can usually join online.   You can then have a virtual library account, all the new releases and all free.  I realise you may not be able to do this on your cruise, but maybe when you get home.   Our library also has access to PressReader app which is newspapers and magazines.  Both have saved a fortune for me and added to the cruise fund.

[lancashire_cruisers]

Great to see the ‘Chieftain o’ the pudding race’ appearing on the menu my husband would be all over it!

[Neecy1]

2 hours ago, Ohana27 said:

Hi Selbourne, really enjoying your blog.  With regards to your wife’s kindle, at some point download the BorrowBox app.  This links with your local library, which you can usually join online.   You can then have a virtual library account, all the new releases and all free.  I realise you may not be able to do this on your cruise, but maybe when you get home.   Our library also has access to PressReader app which is newspapers and magazines.  Both have saved a fortune for me and added to the cruise fund.

I'm pretty sure this isn't possible. You can only purchase books from Amazon on Kindles. You can't download apps Unless things have changed. I have an oldish paperwhite.

[posford]

Kindle is only an app.

you can upload kindle books on any device as long as you have the app.

[Ohana27]

4 minutes ago, Neecy1 said:

I'm pretty sure this isn't possible. You can only purchase books from Amazon on Kindles. You can't download apps Unless things have changed. I have an oldish paperwhite.

Yes, it changed.  I have the apps on my kindle, it’s not a paper white one.  It’s the Kindle HD which you can download apps to,  I changed to the HD one for this reason about 4 years ago

[Neecy1]

35 minutes ago, posford said:

Kindle is only an app.

you can upload kindle books on any device as long as you have the app.

Yes I know. I have kindle books on my phone. What I'm saying is I can't download the Borrowbox app on my kindle paperwhite. It's not a tablet like the kindle fire. It's just an ereader.

[elmsliebev]

7 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Thanks Sarah. My wife has Kindle Unlimited on a free 3 month trial, so we will give this a go later. If we are able to connect the Kindle directly to the ships WiFi and if we are then able to download books (possibly two big ‘ifs’) then we might be OK. My wife said that she thought that she tried to do something similar but wasn’t able to download direct to the Kindle, only her iPad and then the issue was that she couldn’t then zap it over to the Kindle as both devices couldn’t be on WiFi at the same time. I’ll have a look as my wife is even less IT savvy than me 😂 

might one alternative be to download the Kindle app on to Lady S's ipad? I know it's bulkier to use but I have the Kindle app on my ipad mini and it works very well. I prefer it to my actal Kindle now. 

[Selbourne]

Just now, elmsliebev said:

might one alternative be to download the Kindle app on to Lady S's ipad? I know it's bulkier to use but I have the Kindle app on my ipad mini and it works very well. I prefer it to my actal Kindle now. 

She already had that prior to me buying her the Kindle.

 

I’ve had a play around with the Kindle today and whilst I couldn’t find the menu that @SarahHben kindly posted, I managed to get it connected to the WiFi and I think I’ve managed to download the ebooks that my wife had chosen for the cruise on her iPad but hadn’t yet been downloaded to her Kindle. It wouldn’t let me access the Kindle store on Amazon though. I’m sure it’s all easy when you know what you are doing, but it’s not the most intuitive user interface. Anyway, Lady S is now happy that she has a load more books to read, so thanks everyone for your help.

 

Back on topic, it’s a bumpy ride at present. Very big swells and lots of movement as a result. Tried to do my daily laps of the promenade deck, but too much like hard work trying to walk in a straight line. The sun is out and it’s 23 degrees though. 

[jh1809]

21 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Thank you. That’s extremely kind of you. My wife seems to think that she has to download ebooks on her Amazon account on her iPad first and then, once she’s done that, it will update on her Kindle, but the problem is that she can’t have them both on WiFi at the same time as we can only have one device connected at a time. If there is a way to connect her Kindle directly via the P&O WiFi and download directly to the Kindle that would seem to be much easier. 

It should work fine if one device is online after the other and not simultaneously. When I buy (or get a free) Kindle book I normally do it when logged into Amazon via the browser on my PC, as I find it easier to use a proper keyboard. After that the book is accessible the next time I load up the Kindle application that I have on my PC, and also on my Kindle hardware device and on the Kindle app on my Android tablet, so I can read it in any one of the three places. If you find that a book that you've acquired doesn't pop up automatically on one of your devices/apps, then there's a "Synchronise" setting that you can use to force it to do so.

[Interestedcruisefan]

On 1/9/2024 at 6:35 PM, 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!!!

Bad news for us

 

Going to have to treat ourselves in other ways I guess

"Thanks for making a bid for an upgrade on your upcoming flight. We're sorry, your offer has not been accepted this time around."

 

 

 

 

 

[Selbourne]

Day 8 - Wednesday 10th January - At Sea

 

It had been a bit of a bumpy night, but nowhere near as bad as we had feared given the forecast. Perhaps the worst was yet to come?

 

Another pager to get a table for 2 for breakfast but we were called within around 3 minutes! After breakfast we went to the theatre to hear John Lyon’s second talk, this time on the series that he is most known for “A Touch of Frost”. He has a lovely speaking voice and for a guy of 80 did incredibly well to do the talk standing, given all the movement at the front of the ship! As he was wobbling around he joked that he was like Lionel Blair 😂 

 

We returned to the theatre soon after for the second port talk, this time on Nassau (Bahamas). There was a little less generic info about the port before the excursions part this time, compared to the Bermuda talk. Lunch in Medina was interesting with the roar of the waves and high spray, now that the sea state had increased to force 7. Thankfully the Stugeron that we both took first thing had stopped us feeling queasy from the motion. The sea doesn’t look that rough but the swells are very large.  

 

Lunch today marked an important milestone because, as confirmed by the noon announcement, we are now exactly half way across the Atlantic between Madeira and Bermuda which (I think) are both 1,350 miles from us. I had lamb moussaka for lunch, which was truly dreadful. A little pot of watery goo with no texture and little flavour. Thankfully I’d ordered a side of ratatouille which, although small, was delicious. 

 

During the afternoon I attended two events in the Playhouse, neither of which appealed to my wife. The first was a talk on the Mercury 7 astronauts, during which there was an almighty bang and judder as if we had hit something! Later, in the same venue (now cooled with the air con working) it was the final classical concert with James Brown and Simon Kelly. They disembark in Bermuda and are flying home via Atlanta. In between the two I attempted some laps of the promenade deck, but it was just too difficult with all the movement. 

 

With all the movement, the creaking in our cabin is constant and damned irritating. Technicians came a few days ago when we weren’t in the cabin and added the usual felt pads, but all that’s done is change the pitch of the creaking rather than stop it. Hopefully after today we will have a long run of calmer seas and get some respite from both the noise and the movement, which has now become tiresome. I’m fed up being whacked by the wardrobe doors swinging back and forth at great velocity when I’m using them and a couple of times the bathroom door has flung open with such force I’ve been concerned that it might break the hinges!

 

Having now completed the first full week of our cruise it was time for our first speciality restaurant dinner in Sindhu, which we had booked before we left home. Prior to dinner we went to the Crows Nest via the library. I think this was just to make us feel better about the fact that there are a few parts of the ship that are even more bumpy than our cabin. Needless to say, both were virtually deserted. My wife had a Plum Gimlet, which the waiter managed to partially spill over my foot as the ship lunged to one side. He seemed mortified and apologised, but I wasn’t bothered. Given it’s such a small drink to start with, I was a little surprised that he didn’t offer to get another one though, but he didn’t. I had a Maple Mocha Irish Coffee cocktail. 

 

I’ve not liked Sindhu since P&O parted company with Atul Kocher and the one on Aurora is my least favourite Sindhu of all, due to its poor location at the top of the atrium and its open adjacency to the coffee shop, but over 65 nights we need some variety, so I’d pre-booked 4 nights in Sindhu and 4 in the Beach House. Since boarding I also managed to book the first Tiffin lunch, which is due on Tuesday 16th. When we were seated I ordered an East Indian Punch cocktail and later n had a Cobra beer. To start we had a few mini poppadoms which came with 3 different pickes or chutneys - but as with other Sindhus across the fleet, there was less than a teaspoonful of each!.  My wife had the scallops starter which she enjoyed. I had the beef flatbread. These used to be gorgeous but are now a shadow of their former selves. 4/10. For mains, I had the signature plate of 3 different curries (prawn, chicken and lamb) and my wife had chicken korma. Of the extra accompaniments (which I rarely like) the vegetable one was very nice. My wife like the daal that looked like gruel 😂 We both had kulfi for desert and they kindly replaced the chocolate one that we aren’t soo keen on with extra of the other two flavours. After that we were given the odd petit fours that I remember from pre Covid (tiny bit of cake, shortbread, jelly and sweet flavoured seeds). Theses were absent on Britannia, Iona and Ventura. Overall 6/10. 

 

The 10pm theatre show was singer Laura Magaan, but this didn’t really appeal to either of us, so we returned to the cabin. Tomorrow is the 4th of the 5 transatlantic sea days and is a formal night. 

[Purdey16]

Thank you selbourne I’m enjoying your read , we weren’t impressed with Sindhu on Aurora especially the tiffin lunch and went up to the buffet for some more food, like you we just don’t get on with sindhu anymore since Atul Kocher left , I’m making a chicken tikka masala today for our dinner so I hope you’re next one in Sindhu improves , and it gets less bumpy for you now .

[pete14]

8 minutes ago, Purdey16 said:

Thank you selbourne I’m enjoying your read , we weren’t impressed with Sindhu on Aurora especially the tiffin lunch and went up to the buffet for some more food, like you we just don’t get on with sindhu anymore since Atul Kocher left , I’m making a chicken tikka masala today for our dinner so I hope you’re next one in Sindhu improves , and it gets less bumpy for you now .

It just goes to show that we are all different. A couple of months ago, we enjoyed both the tiffin lunch and the evening meal in Aurora Sindhu. Attempts to book another evening were futile because they were fully booked every night.

[jh1809]

46 minutes ago, pete14 said:

It just goes to show that we are all different. A couple of months ago, we enjoyed both the tiffin lunch and the evening meal in Aurora Sindhu. Attempts to book another evening were futile because they were fully booked every night.

I'm with you on this. It's just over a year since I was last on Aurora, but I certainly found Sindhu very good, particularly enjoyed the tiffin lunches, and didn't find the location to be a problem. Fortunately the adjacent coffee shop wasn't that noisy; had Sindhu been next to the pub instead then it might have been different.

 

I'm sorry that Selbourne's moussaka in the MDR was so disappointing, as when done well it's one of my favourite dishes.

[Selbourne]

Just now, jh1809 said:

I'm with you on this. It's just over a year since I was last on Aurora, but I certainly found Sindhu very good, particularly enjoyed the tiffin lunches, and didn't find the location to be a problem. Fortunately the adjacent coffee shop wasn't that noisy; had Sindhu been next to the pub instead then it might have been different.

 

I'm sorry that Selbourne's moussaka in the MDR was so disappointing, as when done well it's one of my favourite dishes.

Anticipating the potential noise issue I’d asked for a table furthest from the atrium, which they gave us. We went at 8pm, which If assume is peak time, and we were one of only 5 couples dining (obviously with a longer cruise people can pace themselves). There was a pianist the deck below in Charlie’s who started half way through the meal, which meant that the Sindhu staff had to turn off their own background music. I didn’t mind the pianist but my wife wasn’t so keen. Oddly he played most songs too fast 🤔😂

 

We have always enjoyed the Tiffin lunches more than dinner in Sindhu, hence booking the only one that’s been advertised so far. When we arrived there was also a little card advertising a 5 course tasting dinner. First we’d heard of it but it’s sold out. 

[terrierjohn]

Really enjoying your blog @Selbourne, shame about the creaking cabin. I imagine that a bigger ship, like Iona, would cope much better with the sea swells, but probably worse with strong winds. Anyway the weather should improve now, and you then will have over 4 weeks of tropical weather to enjoy.

[Selbourne]

Just now, terrierjohn said:

Really enjoying your blog @Selbourne, shame about the creaking cabin. I imagine that a bigger ship, like Iona, would cope much better with the sea swells, but probably worse with strong winds. Anyway the weather should improve now, and you then will have over 4 weeks of tropical weather to enjoy.

Thanks John. We hoped that we’d be through it by now, but there’s still a lot of motion this morning. Fingers crossed that it will ease as the day progresses. 

[TigerB]

Just catching up after a couple of days away. 

I loved the moody sunset photos from the other day.

It's a shame about your Sindhu experience; hopefully that will improve.  If we were on such a long cruise, we would probably prefer it on a ship with more dining options; however, that would mean it would be a larger ship and the chances of a tender at more ports would be higher. Swings and roundabouts!🙄

You are being spoilt with the choice of guest speakers, which is how it should be; that's one problem I think with the two largest ships, the lack of speakers.

 

I look forward to your upcoming reports.

[Angel57]

Loving the reports from your cruise. I have a friend on board so it’s great to get up to date info on how it’s all going. When I spoke to her on Sunday when you were in Madeira she didn’t know what was on the menu that night in the MDR so I was able to read it out to her from your post. Made us laugh that I knew more than her!

[FatBoy20]

1 hour ago, jh1809 said:

I'm with you on this. It's just over a year since I was last on Aurora, but I certainly found Sindhu very good, particularly enjoyed the tiffin lunches, and didn't find the location to be a problem. Fortunately the adjacent coffee shop wasn't that noisy; had Sindhu been next to the pub instead then it might have been different.

 

I'm sorry that Selbourne's moussaka in the MDR was so disappointing, as when done well it's one of my favourite dishes.

On Aurora Sindhu is located where the Library used to be .

[Selbourne]

Just now, TigerB said:

It's a shame about your Sindhu experience; hopefully that will improve.

It certainly wasn’t bad and we will definitely go again. The service was very good and my wife enjoyed her meal more than me, so I will just choose differently next time. 
 

As you say, dining choices are quite restricted on the small ships, but the daytime activities are far better and they have far better itineraries so, on balance, win out for us. That being said, I wish that we had the accessible cabin that we had on Iona. My wife cannot open the balcony door in here and the ramp from the cabin to the balcony is too steep and her footrests jam against it, so I have to tilt her back and push her out. That’s a shame when I go on an excursion and she stays on board (thankfully the ramp back in is shallower and she can manage that one). 
 

BTW I’ve thought of you at breakfast each morning as I recall that you were very concerned about the jam and marmalade pots on Ventura that we saw being recycled between tables and clearly had evidence of being topped up. You will be pleased to know that on Aurora, at every single breakfast so far, they have been brand new ones. I’m wondering if they’ve issued guidelines on this, as the pots now have very little in them, which makes a lot of sense as it reduces waste and avoids any temptation to move them around or top up. 

[TigerB]

I totally get how frustrating it must be with the 'old fashioned' accessible features compared to the two largest ships. Our lass's lack of hand dexterity and strength would render the manual balcony doors impossible to open, so she would be confined to the main cabin if left her alone.

 

Regarding 'preservegate', perhaps someone at P&O Towers had been lurking on here last October, and taken note!😉

[Selbourne]

Today’s MDR menus. No mention of Marco Pierre White so far?

 

 

[Peanut006]

Loving reading your blog each day Selbourne.

 

We ate in Sindu on Azura last year and it was nice, not exceptional but nice.

 

Purdy16, I have made chicken tikka masala for tea tonight too!! Great minds and all that…

 

TigerB, the heavy doors would be a problem for me too, I have limited use of my left hand. We are on Arvia in March, do you know if the balcony doors are easier to open on Arvia?

 

Michelle