Selbourne ‘Live’ from Aurora’s 2024 Grand Tour

[Selbourne]

Day 39 - Saturday 10th February - At Sea

 

We awoke to quite a bit of movement - the first really noticeable movement that we’ve had since entering the Caribbean. When I was on the tour in Cartagena yesterday, the guide had mentioned that the sea looked quite rough and that this was almost never the case there. 

 

We were up and about earlier than usual, so were able to have breakfast in the MDR and the movement was noticeable there as well, even though it’s down on deck 6 midships. Having picked up our Britain Yesterday papers (p.s. if the lady who named it this reads this blog, I hope you don’t mind me adopting it, as it is so true) we returned to the cabin prior to attending John Laverick’s second talk, this time on the Panama Canal Expansion. We have another new guest speaker who is giving the first of 6 talks on chocolate. 6 talks on chocolate? Come on. Now if each talk was an accompanied with free samples then maybe, but 6 x 45 min talks on the history of chocolate? Nah. 

 

The next port talk followed at 11.30, this time Belize which is unfortunately a tender port so my wife won’t be able to get off. We then had a rest for an hour prior to lunch. Often in reviews people mention receiving food that is not up to temperature. Luckily we hardly ever experience this, but I think I have spotted why this happens. Increasingly, waiters tend to bring out starters and mains at the same time. This means that whilst the main is on a warm plate and has a cover over it, it is essentially losing temperature whilst you eat your starter. My wife tends not to have a starter at lunch, but I fancied the Parma Ham and melon with Parmesan cheese. My wife was given her main at the same time as my starter. I’m not a slow eater, but by the time I’d eaten the starter, my main course (chicken Korma) which had been sitting at the waiter station, was tepid. Coupled with the fact the chicken was overcooked, I left most of it, which I never do. We had profiteroles for dessert and both agreed that the chocolate sauce was watery and tasteless. Whether it’s the MDRs, the buffet or even the speciality restaurants, we have always felt that desserts are, more often than not, P&Os weak point when it comes to food. 

 

During the afternoon we had a good read - my wife on the balcony and me in the cabin (it’s too hot for me outside) prior to attending the first performance of our new classical recital artists - Welsh baritone singer Jeremy Huw Williams & pianist Giordano Ferla. We both agreed that it wasn’t really our thing, but Giordano is a young and extremely handsome Italian, so I’m sure that once word gets out the performances will be full houses 😂. 

 

I’ve been pretty much avoiding alcohol since I’ve had my sore throat, but as that’s dragging on with no sign of easing, and I was feeling guilty that my wife is missing out as a result, we went to the Crows Nest for a pre dinner cocktail. I decided to have a salted caramel espresso Martini and, rather than numb my throat, it made it ten times worse! Ruddy agony in fact. Remembering what someone on here had said, I ordered a brandy and that took it back to just being uncomfortable! On a positive side, the Crows Nest was a decent temperature (having apparently had some air con diverted to it from elsewhere). 

 

Dinner was a Black Tie affair and, thankfully, was accompanied by a Celebration menu. As with lunch, the starter (Chinese New Year mixed platter) was better than the main (roast chicken) which wasn’t good. They just cannot make flavoursome gravy on this ship. What I would give for a jar of Bisto gravy! The seasonal greens were just green beans. If these are ‘seasonal’ can someone tell me when they are out of season, and I will ensure that our next P&O cruise is then 😂. The sesame seed tuiles were missing from my dessert and had been substituted with a wafer. We’ve never picked up on this issue of missing components to meals before but we’ve noticed it quite a few times this cruise. Could it be that they run out of things for second sitting?

 

The theatre show at 10pm was Elias Hendricks, a singer. We went primarily because the theatre is one of the few areas of the ship that is nice and cool. Our cabin is struggling to reach a decent temperature yet again. The lift down to the theatre was absolutely stifling and everyone comments on how hot parts of the ship are. I’ve said it before, but Aurora is really showing her age now. I’d go so far as to say that if they cannot do a major overhaul of her air conditioning whilst in service, and sort out the issues that we’ve been blighted with for the past five and a half weeks, then serious questions should be asked about whether she should be taken out of service for a period to bring these issues up to standard.  

 

Back to the show, we left after 15 minutes. We wanted to see a singer perform, not attend a karaoke session, so when he kept encouraging people to sing along there was only so much out of key singing from those behind that we could suffer!

 

Tomorrow is Colon in Panama. We weren’t due to dock until around 8am but we unfortunately have a poorly passenger and the captain has been advised to make haste to our next stop, so we will now arrive at 2am. Keeping everything crossed that they will be OK. 

[P&O SUE]

Thankyou again Selbourne for your reports. Loved the photo of your wife with the monkey.

 

I don’t find most of the lunch menus that interesting. We tend to have a ham salad or similar in the buffet for lunch, suits us. Or the glasshouse on a sea day!

 

Hope your poorly passenger will be ok and your sore throat gets better very soon.

[Eddie99]

Get better soon Selbourne!  That’s an order, not a suggestion

This is a suggestion - have you tried chewing gum?  Just to keep everything moist (between honey & lemon drinks)

 

Colon (pronounced as we pronounce Cologne) held no charms for us.  A really down at heel area near the cruise dock - but it is the gateway to the canal, so needs must.  I’m sure you will find the canal fascinating; it’s difficult to imagine anyone being bored or indifferent to the engineering.

Enjoy!

 

[DamianG]

15 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Todays MDR menus. Black Tie tonight and thankfully a Celebration menu. 

 

We've all got different tastes of course but for me that's the most appealing menu to date and I could easily choose five courses (though I doubt I could stomach it in reality) Also, there are two of our favourite wines (Gavi di Gavi and Silk and Spice) recommended to accompany it.

 

It sounds like the cheese plate is a single variety (Stoney Cross). Has anyone experienced this on a celebration night previously?

[Angel57]

@Selbourne - maybe make it a double Brandy next time and ask if they’ll warm it for you 😀. 

[terrierjohn]

@SelbourneI agree with you about salted caramel irritating the throat, I have found the same problem while eating up our Christmas chocolates, fortunately it doesn't last, so I keep persevering.😊👍

[S1971]

5 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Day 39 - Saturday 10th February - At Sea

 

We awoke to quite a bit of movement - the first really noticeable movement that we’ve had since entering the Caribbean. When I was on the tour in Cartagena yesterday, the guide had mentioned that the sea looked quite rough and that this was almost never the case there. 

 

We were up and about earlier than usual, so were able to have breakfast in the MDR and the movement was noticeable there as well, even though it’s down on deck 6 midships. Having picked up our Britain Yesterday papers (p.s. if the lady who named it this reads this blog, I hope you don’t mind me adopting it, as it is so true) we returned to the cabin prior to attending John Laverick’s second talk, this time on the Panama Canal Expansion. We have another new guest speaker who is giving the first of 6 talks on chocolate. 6 talks on chocolate? Come on. Now if each talk was an accompanied with free samples then maybe, but 6 x 45 min talks on the history of chocolate? Nah. 

 

The next port talk followed at 11.30, this time Belize which is unfortunately a tender port so my wife won’t be able to get off. We then had a rest for an hour prior to lunch. Often in reviews people mention receiving food that is not up to temperature. Luckily we hardly ever experience this, but I think I have spotted why this happens. Increasingly, waiters tend to bring out starters and mains at the same time. This means that whilst the main is on a warm plate and has a cover over it, it is essentially losing temperature whilst you eat your starter. My wife tends not to have a starter at lunch, but I fancied the Parma Ham and melon with Parmesan cheese. My wife was given her main at the same time as my starter. I’m not a slow eater, but by the time I’d eaten the starter, my main course (chicken Korma) which had been sitting at the waiter station, was tepid. Coupled with the fact the chicken was overcooked, I left most of it, which I never do. We had profiteroles for dessert and both agreed that the chocolate sauce was watery and tasteless. Whether it’s the MDRs, the buffet or even the speciality restaurants, we have always felt that desserts are, more often than not, P&Os weak point when it comes to food. 

 

During the afternoon we had a good read - my wife on the balcony and me in the cabin (it’s too hot for me outside) prior to attending the first performance of our new classical recital artists - Welsh baritone singer Jeremy Huw Williams & pianist Giordano Ferla. We both agreed that it wasn’t really our thing, but Giordano is a young and extremely handsome Italian, so I’m sure that once word gets out the performances will be full houses 😂. 

 

I’ve been pretty much avoiding alcohol since I’ve had my sore throat, but as that’s dragging on with no sign of easing, and I was feeling guilty that my wife is missing out as a result, we went to the Crows Nest for a pre dinner cocktail. I decided to have a salted caramel espresso Martini and, rather than numb my throat, it made it ten times worse! Ruddy agony in fact. Remembering what someone on here had said, I ordered a brandy and that took it back to just being uncomfortable! On a positive side, the Crows Nest was a decent temperature (having apparently had some air con diverted to it from elsewhere). 

 

Dinner was a Black Tie affair and, thankfully, was accompanied by a Celebration menu. As with lunch, the starter (Chinese New Year mixed platter) was better than the main (roast chicken) which wasn’t good. They just cannot make flavoursome gravy on this ship. What I would give for a jar of Bisto gravy! The seasonal greens were just green beans. If these are ‘seasonal’ can someone tell me when they are out of season, and I will ensure that our next P&O cruise is then 😂. The sesame seed tuiles were missing from my dessert and had been substituted with a wafer. We’ve never picked up on this issue of missing components to meals before but we’ve noticed it quite a few times this cruise. Could it be that they run out of things for second sitting?

 

The theatre show at 10pm was Elias Hendricks, a singer. We went primarily because the theatre is one of the few areas of the ship that is nice and cool. Our cabin is struggling to reach a decent temperature yet again. The lift down to the theatre was absolutely stifling and everyone comments on how hot parts of the ship are. I’ve said it before, but Aurora is really showing her age now. I’d go so far as to say that if they cannot do a major overhaul of her air conditioning whilst in service, and sort out the issues that we’ve been blighted with for the past five and a half weeks, then serious questions should be asked about whether she should be taken out of service for a period to bring these issues up to standard.  

 

Back to the show, we left after 15 minutes. We wanted to see a singer perform, not attend a karaoke session, so when he kept encouraging people to sing along there was only so much out of key singing from those behind that we could suffer!

 

Tomorrow is Colon in Panama. We weren’t due to dock until around 8am but we unfortunately have a poorly passenger and the captain has been advised to make haste to our next stop, so we will now arrive at 2am. Keeping everything crossed that they will be OK. 

Hi Selbourne.

I'm not a frequent poster but would just like to take the opportunity to thank you for such an excellent day to day account of your cruise experience. Hope the throat improves soon, I usually gargle dispersible asprin, seems to provide relief for me.

[zap99]

11 hours ago, TigerB said:

 

🥰

Appropriate for valentines. 🤣🐒

[zap99]

22 hours ago, Clodia said:

Loved the photos especially the monkey, and sad that your sore throat persists. 

I hate vegan food, no two ways about it. I like vegetarian, but only if it has plenty of cheese, eggs or similar included. 

I actually feel that these menus are bordering on discriminatory against people who eat meat and fish. I agree there should be choice for vegetarians and vegans, but vegan in particular seems to dominate especially at lunch time.

Worries me a little about the world cruise in 2026. We may struggle after the first few weeks.

There should be a separate V&V menu. Leave us alone with our own menu ,full of animals and fishes. It can come in a plain cover so as to cause no offence.

[Fionboard]

We were warned not to go ashore in Colon independently as there was nothing there and it was dangerous. Of course, some idiots ignored this, went ashore and got robbed at gunpoint! An excursion is essential there, or stay on board. 

[Selbourne]

Just now, Eddie99 said:

Colon (pronounced as we pronounce Cologne) held no charms for us.  A really down at heel area near the cruise dock - but it is the gateway to the canal, so needs must.  I’m sure you will find the canal fascinating; it’s difficult to imagine anyone being bored or indifferent to the engineering.

It’s been pronounced as it reads by the Captain and I think the port presenter confirmed that as well. It just feels uncomfortable for us to say it 😂

 

The Panama Canal was one of the major reasons for booking this cruise. A world cruise doesn’t appeal, so a partial transit is the best we can do. At least we can enjoy most of the transit from the balcony - one side going up and the other side coming back - without having to fight for space on the public decks. ! I’m doing the railway trip today and we have the partial transit tomorrow. 

[Selbourne]

Just now, Fionboard said:

We were warned not to go ashore in Colon independently as there was nothing there and it was dangerous. Of course, some idiots ignored this, went ashore and got robbed at gunpoint! An excursion is essential there, or stay on board. 

That’s pretty much what we were told, although I was surprised to hear our waiter say that he was going ashore in Colon. He said that his brother had warned him to stay in a group of 4 or 5, but it didn’t sound as though they’d been given the same warnings as the passengers, so I urged him to be very careful.
 

There is also the added problem that Colon is in a Yellow Fever hotspot. I’ve been vaccinated but my wife had an exemption which, of course, means that she has zero protection against it. I am doing an excursion but my wife is sensibly staying on the ship. 

[showingdiva]

Marshmallows help sore throats.   No idea of the science bit, but might be the actual swallow mechanics,

[Presto2]

You've probably tried this Selbourne but natural honey frequently throughout the day does help sore throat. It's supposed to be good for getting rid of bad bacteria as well. I used it for a chesty cough a while back and it really helped. 

Ps on its own off a spoon not in anything. 

[Red Ray]

19 hours ago, Presto2 said:

Made me laugh. In one port on our last cruise there was a big sign saying Buy your Marijuana here. Must take a photo next time ..... and only a photo 📸 

Was it Southampton??

[Presto2]

Just now, Red Ray said:

Was it Southampton??

Hope not unless the plane did a detour. 😀

[TigerB]

6 hours ago, Selbourne said:

It’s been pronounced as it reads by the Captain and I think the port presenter confirmed that as well. 

 

That's total aarse!🤭

[grapau27]

4 hours ago, Presto2 said:

You've probably tried this Selbourne but natural honey frequently throughout the day does help sore throat. It's supposed to be good for getting rid of bad bacteria as well. I used it for a chesty cough a while back and it really helped. 

Ps on its own off a spoon not in anything. 

Manuka honey is the best.

@Selbourne I hope your sore throat eases soon.

Thank you for posting your cruise blog.

 

 

Edited February 11 by grapau27

[Mollag]

On 2/10/2024 at 6:59 AM, Selbourne said:

That would make sense. It wasn’t a problem, if anything it’s all part of the adventure, but I do feel that telling us the actual reason why we were 3 hours late would have been common courtesy.
 

Like many others, I find the lack of information from this Captain to be baffling. It’s as if the passengers are incidental to the whole experience and only need to be told the bare minimum. 

Apparently the reason they couldn’t recover one of the lifeboats was one of  the wires used for lowering/recovering it had jumped of the sheave in the block and got jammed so firstly they had to free it up possibly replace the wire and the sheave then retrieve the lb before lowering it again to make sure everything was okay, how the sheave was allowed to still be in use with so much wear on it is anybody’s guess but judging by the state of the ship in general maintenance is minimal

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, Presto2 said:

You've probably tried this Selbourne but natural honey frequently throughout the day does help sore throat. It's supposed to be good for getting rid of bad bacteria as well. I used it for a chesty cough a while back and it really helped. 

Ps on its own off a spoon not in anything. 

Our assistant waiter brings me a glass of hot water with lemon and a little pot of honey every night at the end of dinner. It’s not made a blind bit of difference (nor have all the other remedies I’ve tried - hanging up a wet towel at night, brandy etc) but I appreciate everyone’s thoughts!

[Presto2]

5 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Our assistant waiter brings me a glass of hot water with lemon and a little pot of honey every night at the end of dinner. It’s not made a blind bit of difference (nor have all the other remedies I’ve tried - hanging up a wet towel at night, brandy etc) but I appreciate everyone’s thoughts!

I had to have it about 3 times a day .. nothing with it ????

Have you tried my remedy? Double brandy and cocodamol? It had a health warning ?

Only joking... you take care and hope it sorts itself out for you. If nothing else you wife must be enjoying some peace and quiet x

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Our assistant waiter brings me a glass of hot water with lemon and a little pot of honey every night at the end of dinner. It’s not made a blind bit of difference (nor have all the other remedies I’ve tried - hanging up a wet towel at night, brandy etc) but I appreciate everyone’s thoughts!

The only thing that brings any sort of lasting relief to a sore throat for me is paracetamol, Strepsils do help a little, but the anaesthetic effect wears off fairly quickly.

[Selbourne]

Just now, terrierjohn said:

The only thing that brings any sort of lasting relief to a sore throat for me is paracetamol, Strepsils do help a little, but the anaesthetic effect wears off fairly quickly.

Yep, getting through plenty of those as well John!

[Selbourne]

Day 40 - Sunday 11th February - Colon, Panama

 

Well I have had a fascinating day in Panama and very much enjoyed seeing a bit of the Panama Canal in operation. I was booked on the Panama Railroad Experience - Dome Car excursion, so first made sure that in addition to sun cream I had sprayed myself with the obnoxious smelling Jungle Formula. Leaving the ship I had to go through immigration and, unlike the US, actually had my passport stamped!

 

The coach left 5 or 10 minutes late (minus 2 no-shows) and our first stop was the Agua Clara visitor centre which, for me, was actually the best part of the day. This modern centre is at the mouth of Lake Gatun and directly overlooks the 3 locks on the new widened section of the canal that brings the larger ships up from the Atlantic (Caribbean) side to Lake Gatun. Cruise ship Rotterdam (Holland America Line) was in the middle of the 3 locks as we arrived and we were there long enough to see it complete its transit. As this is the new canal, there were no ‘mule’ locomotives, just a tug at the front and a tug at the back. We couldn’t even see the original canal but I’m keeping everything crossed that we go through the original canal tomorrow as that will be far more interesting. The chap who has been doing the presentations on the Panama Canal says it’s almost certain that we will. I sincerely hope that he’s right, as I’ll be bitterly disappointed if we don’t, as we saw none of the original canal today. There was a short 10 minute film describing the need for the new canal and showing some of the history. 

 

Colon itself is very third world in places and frankly, in parts, looks poverty stricken. The social housing areas look near derelict yet are occupied. The prison was even worse - most of the roof is missing and no windows - just openings - where you could see inmates milling around. I’m betting it must feature on one of those “Worlds worst prisons’ programmes. Either that or Ross Kemp will have been there 😂 

 

I had managed to book the Dome Car for the Panama Railroad and was glad that I had. It was very well air conditioned and, having read a review, I nabbed a seat in the lower bar area which was more comfortable and spacious than the raised section, yet still had a great view. It was an enjoyable experience travelling between Colon and (almost) Panama City, through the jungle and alongside Lake Gatun, although there was no sight whatsoever of any wildlife (monkeys, Toucans and crocodiles are all mentioned in the blurb). A little snack box and small cup of coffee were provided free of charge which, having had no breakfast, were much appreciated. There were brief glimpses of the actual canal sections, but not many. Aside from the end of the Gatun Locks (which we’d already seen) there was a brief glimpse of Pedro Miguel lock, but we couldn’t see Miraflores locks at all from the train. I asked the guide about that as we alighted the train and he said we’d see Miraflores locks shortly, but we didn’t. 

 

Rather than show us the Miraflores Locks, we were then deposited at an indoor market for 25 minutes which, for me, was an utter waste of time. This wasn’t listed on the excursion itinerary and is without doubt one of those places where the tour guides get a back hander for any purchases (we were issued with numbered stickers as we entered, which would have served no other purpose than that). To be fair, the Miraflores locks weren’t listed on the itinerary either, but in the time we were at the market (which was extremely close to the locks) we could have seen them instead. If I’ve travelled over 4,000 miles to see the Panama Canal I’d rather see as much of it as possible rather than wasting time shopping for tat, but maybe that’s just me. 

 

Things then improved as we were driven through the outskirts of Panama City and taken to a breakwater where we had great views across the water towards all the skyscrapers (all built since 2000 apparently) and towards the Bridge of the Americas, which is the Pacific end of the canal and the height of which is now the main limiting factor determining ship size for the new enlarged canal. We then had an hour or so drive back to Colon and the ship. 

 

In spite of the wasted time at the indoor market when we could have seen more of the canal, it was a very enjoyable trip. However, I would say to anyone visiting here in the future who, like me, primarily wants to see the canal, that a better excursion would probably have been the one that doesn’t do the railroad, but takes a tourist boat down through the Miraflores Locks. You would see far more of the canal and its workings than you do on the train. 

 

Returning to the ship my wife hadn’t had anything to eat all day so we went to Raffles for a drink and snack. I offered to take her ashore to the port shopping area but she wasn’t interested. 

 

We decided to go for a pre dinner drink in Carmens and chance the 7pm act - Duo Yalba (Multi-Instrumental Duo). Two older guys walked out, one with what looked like a big recorder and I thought ‘oh dear, this is going to be 45 minutes of my life that I’ll never get back’. Anyway, they were absolutely brilliant. They had a huge array of obscure instruments from around the world and played a load of tunes from places as diverse as Bolivia, Ireland and Venezuela - all at break neck speed with each of them switching between countless instruments within each track. They are going to be performing in the theatre next time and we shall be sure to go and see them again. 

 

Dinner was OK, nothing special, and as we’d enjoyed Duo Yalba so much we thought we’d quit whilst we were ahead and skip the 10pm theatre show, which was Harrison Treble (Piano Vocalist). Tomorrow is the Panama Canal partial transit which, as long as we use the original canal, will most likely be the highlight of the cruise for me. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 12 by Selbourne

[Snow Hill]

@Selbourne re your sore throat, my brother had something similar a few years back, turned out to be a bacterial infection for which he needed treatment as it also infected his larynx. He finished up losing his voice for best part of 6 months. I know you may not want to, but I would seek medical advice onboard. 

On the trip did the guide mention the shortage of water which is affecting the canals operation? When a couple of ex work colleagues went there in September  it was explained to them that shortage of rainfall is affecting its operation and number of ships going through. 

 

Edited February 12 by Snow Hill