Aurora Northern Lights Cruise: 12th to 28th March 2024

[RJChatsworth]

We are just back from Aurora’s 16-night cruise to the Northern Lights, our second attempt to see them.  We failed on Hurtigruten one January a few years ago.  I wouldn’t call this time a success, but we did see them as we sailed away from Tromso, so we can cross them off our bucket list.  I think other passengers saw them then and at other times.  The lights appeared very briefly and it was more by luck than judgement to see them.  In our case the Bridge made an announcement after 1am, we raced to the balcony, and just above the horizon we saw some grey wispy cloud that didn’t look like cloud.  Through the camera lens it was green.

 

Now a few reflective comments on the cruise.  I couldn’t possibly replicate Selbourne’s recent 65-nighter blog.  I’ll write as I found things without meaning to offend!  I’ll say that now before writing anything.  Also, we have been on many P&O cruises but moved to Cunard when we felt that P&0 was changing and not for the better. Therefore some of my comments might be of comparison without consideration of ‘you only get what you pay for’. We do go back to P&O from time-to-time to see what’s different.

 

Why on embarkation day did we have to wait until about 1.45pm to get in the cabin, yet on the final day we were turfed out of the cabin at 8am and sent to an overcrowded Curzon Theatre where passengers had to resort to sitting on the floor in the corridors.  The best they could offer was a departure time of between 8.50am and 9.30am.  Here we go!  On Cunard you can access your cabin immediately on embarkation which is from about 12.15 and on disembarkation day you can stay in your cabin until your 10-minute time slot and then leave without any announcements being made.  Why the difference between the two Carnival lines?

 

We had a luxury balcony cabin which was a bit tired. There was some rust patches on the balcony.   It’s time we stopped having to climb over the bath to access the shower. I was not sure about not having a nightly turndown service to start with but having got used to it I preferred the idea.  We didn’t have to tidy up before dinner!  The public areas were all well appointed and I like the layout of the ship except for having to walk through the bar on one floor. Raffles was good for coffee.

 

I concur with what everyone said about MDR dining in Selbourne’s posts. It was pretty poor and bland. There aren’t the choices there used to be. I once said to the waiter, ‘Is that a starter?’ ‘No’ he said, ‘It’s a main.’  He went and got a second.  The choice of cheese was poor and no cheese trolley these days.  You didn’t even get a wafer with an ice cream. And no treats with coffee except on special occasions. The service was good however, in and out in 40 minutes whether you liked it or not.  Another downside was there are only 24 tables for two, I was told, in each MDR and everyone was after them for breakfast and lunch.  We went to The Glass House, Sindhu and The Beach House, twice to each, and found them to be very good.  The food in Horizon with more choice seemed better than the MDR at times.  There were three evening dress occasions which were largely adhered to in the MDR but when you went to the theatre the opposite was true, scruffy jeans and I even saw shorts.  On Cunard you are supposed to be disbarred in the theatre if you don’t dress up but that generally doesn’t work.

 

Perhaps they have a plan to run down the MDR’s so no-one goes and they can convert them to upmarket restaurants you pay extra for!

 

There were a lot of northerners on this cruise.  I don’t mind that because I was brought up in Penrith, Cumbria.  But why are a small number so loud?  They don’t seem to be able to talk quietly as if attention seeking.  They seem to be oblivious to others or give them no consideration. You could see the heads turn in Raffles.  It really is a put off which I haven’t come across on other lines. Is this a requirement for levelling up?

 

The Headliners provided about 8 shows over the 16 nights.  I suppose we benefited because they had to provide so many for the 65-nighter.  They were generally excellent although one of the singers screeched a bit.

 

Simon Love was the Captain and was communicative and spoke well at the two on-board parties.  I wouldn’t say the same about the entertainment director.  He lacked charisma and wasn’t funny.  At a Q&A with the Captain in Curzon’s, he interrupted and talked over him.  Then he got up twice and went over to the audience to have a dialogue with them leaving the Captain sitting there. The Captain thought Aurora probably had another 7 to 10 years in her which drew applause at a separate party.  Haven’t I heard that before and then someone comes along with a cash offer which is too good to turn down!  Fortunately the entertainment director didn’t appear all the time.

 

I overheard a remark that made me smile that P&O Cruises should be dubbed P&O Basic.

 

Apart from the MDR and the cabins requiring some tlc there was much to enjoy, even the snow on the mountains.

[jh1809]

My brother and his wife were on this cruise, but I haven't had a chance to discuss it with them yet. It's just as well Aurora got back to Southampton when she did, as quite a storm seems to be brewing up this evening. Those on her next trip look to be in for a rough time of it leaving Southampton, assuming she is able to depart on time.

[RJChatsworth]

It was quite rough in the channel last night and probably too rough for the pilot to board.  I wondered what would happen then I noticed we tracked in close to coast near Margate and I assume pilot boarded somewhere there. I noted a Fred ship coming up the channel went close to Brixham to presumably pick up its pilot.  Good advance planning by Southampton pilots!

[sogne]

Emergency pilot stations are NE Spit about 6 miles off Margate & Brixham. 

[galeforce9]

1 hour ago, RJChatsworth said:

We are just back from Aurora’s 16-night cruise to the Northern Lights, our second attempt to see them.  We failed on Hurtigruten one January a few years ago.  I wouldn’t call this time a success, but we did see them as we sailed away from Tromso, so we can cross them off our bucket list.  I think other passengers saw them then and at other times.  The lights appeared very briefly and it was more by luck than judgement to see them.  In our case the Bridge made an announcement after 1am, we raced to the balcony, and just above the horizon we saw some grey wispy cloud that didn’t look like cloud.  Through the camera lens it was green.

 

Now a few reflective comments on the cruise.  I couldn’t possibly replicate Selbourne’s recent 65-nighter blog.  I’ll write as I found things without meaning to offend!  I’ll say that now before writing anything.  Also, we have been on many P&O cruises but moved to Cunard when we felt that P&0 was changing and not for the better. Therefore some of my comments might be of comparison without consideration of ‘you only get what you pay for’. We do go back to P&O from time-to-time to see what’s different.

 

Why on embarkation day did we have to wait until about 1.45pm to get in the cabin, yet on the final day we were turfed out of the cabin at 8am and sent to an overcrowded Curzon Theatre where passengers had to resort to sitting on the floor in the corridors.  The best they could offer was a departure time of between 8.50am and 9.30am.  Here we go!  On Cunard you can access your cabin immediately on embarkation which is from about 12.15 and on disembarkation day you can stay in your cabin until your 10-minute time slot and then leave without any announcements being made.  Why the difference between the two Carnival lines?

 

We had a luxury balcony cabin which was a bit tired. There was some rust patches on the balcony.   It’s time we stopped having to climb over the bath to access the shower. I was not sure about not having a nightly turndown service to start with but having got used to it I preferred the idea.  We didn’t have to tidy up before dinner!  The public areas were all well appointed and I like the layout of the ship except for having to walk through the bar on one floor. Raffles was good for coffee.

 

I concur with what everyone said about MDR dining in Selbourne’s posts. It was pretty poor and bland. There aren’t the choices there used to be. I once said to the waiter, ‘Is that a starter?’ ‘No’ he said, ‘It’s a main.’  He went and got a second.  The choice of cheese was poor and no cheese trolley these days.  You didn’t even get a wafer with an ice cream. And no treats with coffee except on special occasions. The service was good however, in and out in 40 minutes whether you liked it or not.  Another downside was there are only 24 tables for two, I was told, in each MDR and everyone was after them for breakfast and lunch.  We went to The Glass House, Sindhu and The Beach House, twice to each, and found them to be very good.  The food in Horizon with more choice seemed better than the MDR at times.  There were three evening dress occasions which were largely adhered to in the MDR but when you went to the theatre the opposite was true, scruffy jeans and I even saw shorts.  On Cunard you are supposed to be disbarred in the theatre if you don’t dress up but that generally doesn’t work.

 

Perhaps they have a plan to run down the MDR’s so no-one goes and they can convert them to upmarket restaurants you pay extra for!

 

There were a lot of northerners on this cruise.  I don’t mind that because I was brought up in Penrith, Cumbria.  But why are a small number so loud?  They don’t seem to be able to talk quietly as if attention seeking.  They seem to be oblivious to others or give them no consideration. You could see the heads turn in Raffles.  It really is a put off which I haven’t come across on other lines. Is this a requirement for levelling up?

 

The Headliners provided about 8 shows over the 16 nights.  I suppose we benefited because they had to provide so many for the 65-nighter.  They were generally excellent although one of the singers screeched a bit.

 

Simon Love was the Captain and was communicative and spoke well at the two on-board parties.  I wouldn’t say the same about the entertainment director.  He lacked charisma and wasn’t funny.  At a Q&A with the Captain in Curzon’s, he interrupted and talked over him.  Then he got up twice and went over to the audience to have a dialogue with them leaving the Captain sitting there. The Captain thought Aurora probably had another 7 to 10 years in her which drew applause at a separate party.  Haven’t I heard that before and then someone comes along with a cash offer which is too good to turn down!  Fortunately the entertainment director didn’t appear all the time.

 

I overheard a remark that made me smile that P&O Cruises should be dubbed P&O Basic.

 

Apart from the MDR and the cabins requiring some tlc there was much to enjoy, even the snow on the mountains.

Interesting comment about northerners. We felt just the reverse.  

[galeforce9]

The pilot did board at Margate.  The captain mentioned it in his announcement in the early evening 

[Presto2]

8 minutes ago, galeforce9 said:

Interesting comment about northerners. We felt just the reverse.  

On our cruise ironically we thought the same as you as that were so many loud southerners, but on one night in the Epicurean there was one party from the North who were so loud the whole restaurant revolved around them. It seemed to be people from all over the UK. What is wrong with people? Do they not have manners or think of others ?????

 

[galeforce9]

3 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

On our cruise ironically we thought the same as you as that were so many loud southerners, but on one night in the Epicurean there was one party from the North who were so loud the whole restaurant revolved around them. It seemed to be people from all over the UK. What is wrong with people? Do they not have manners or think of others ?????

 

Agree!   Regional accents are irrelevant to the underlying issue, which is entirely dependent on the individuals’ lack of good manners!!

[Selbourne]

@RJChatsworth Thanks for taking the time to review your cruise. We would have loved to have done that cruise had we not been on for 65 nights just before, although I’m really sorry to hear that you didn’t get a proper display of the Northern Lights. We had the same experience as you on our second Northern Lights cruise, but were lucky that we had absolutely stunning displays the year before. We should have called it quits then, as I now realise how lucky we were! I hope that you get a chance to go again and see all the colours with the naked eye, so that you can properly tick it off your bucket list (it was for the same reason that we went). 

 

I was fascinated to read that your feedback on so many things was almost a carbon copy of our experience. I also agree with some other comments that you made about issues that I hadn’t raised in my blog. I also found the entertainment manager to be over the top, irritating and not at all funny. I get the impression that he’s a failed stand up comedian who thinks he’s still a ‘turn’ rather than the person who manages the entertainment. 
 

As for embarkation and disembarkation, we were staggered at how much better Cunard does it and are at a loss as to why P&O makes such a meal of it especially when, as you say, they are part of the same group. Our recent embarkation experience on Aurora was the worst we’ve ever had and our priority boarding counted for nothing. I’m afraid that with disembarkation we refuse to play the game and just walk off when we are ready (not that early it has to be said). 
 

Your MDR experience was identical to ours bar one thing - we did at least have wafers in our ice creams 😂 Ice cream was usually served half melted though 🙄
 

Interesting that you had 8 Headliner shows. Thats about the same number that we had over 65 nights, so they weren’t exactly recovering from our cruise! We thought that they were pretty good but the female singer in Pulse was awful and I am at a loss as to how she passed an audition. Hopefully she was one of the 40% of the crew to rotate off the ship after our cruise so that you weren’t subjected to her!
 

Finally, I know exactly what you mean about loud passengers who spoil the experience for others. I call them the “look at me” types. Everyone has to know that they are having a great cruise. I didn’t mention it during my blog, as I knew that a few people on board were reading it and was worried in case I described one of them, but there were 3 people who stood out as being particularly annoying. I’m not trying to be PC or pacify the northerners, but these three were each from different parts of England.  
 

There were a number of reasons why we asked to move tables for dinner (2nd sitting) but one of the main reasons was an elderly woman with a stick (who I’m pretty sure was southern) who was, like us, sat near the entrance to the MDR. She had the loudest laugh I’ve ever heard and she found absolutely everything hilarious - continuously - every night. I swear that if someone just told her the time she would belly laugh. We moved to the complete opposite end of the MDR and, on occasion, could still hear her. As we exited the MDR and were waiting for a lift each evening she was still at it. Irritating beyond belief. I’m amazed that her husband doesn’t find her embarrassing and ask her to pipe down. I certainly would, not that my wife would ever behave like that (I wouldn’t be with her if she did 😂).
 

Sadly, having moved, we could then hear a chap (who I know was a northerner) who was a contender for the male with the loudest “look at me” laugh, but thankfully he wasn’t continuous every night as the woman was. Finally, to complete the trio, there was a woman from the east midlands who held court in the coffee shop (very loudly) most afternoons. I suppose that out of 1,650 passengers we were lucky just to have 3 that we would have happily chucked overboard, but on a ship like Aurora they can be difficult to avoid 😂 

[RJChatsworth]

Thanks Selbourne for your post.  I remember how you banged on about green beans morning, noon and night.  Well they were still appearing on the menu but not quite so often.  However, they are now ‘the finest’ green beans!

[Palaceman]

15 hours ago, Selbourne said:

@RJChatsworth Thanks for taking the time to review your cruise. We would have loved to have done that cruise had we not been on for 65 nights just before, although I’m really sorry to hear that you didn’t get a proper display of the Northern Lights. We had the same experience as you on our second Northern Lights cruise, but were lucky that we had absolutely stunning displays the year before. We should have called it quits then, as I now realise how lucky we were! I hope that you get a chance to go again and see all the colours with the naked eye, so that you can properly tick it off your bucket list (it was for the same reason that we went). 

 

I was fascinated to read that your feedback on so many things was almost a carbon copy of our experience. I also agree with some other comments that you made about issues that I hadn’t raised in my blog. I also found the entertainment manager to be over the top, irritating and not at all funny. I get the impression that he’s a failed stand up comedian who thinks he’s still a ‘turn’ rather than the person who manages the entertainment. 
 

As for embarkation and disembarkation, we were staggered at how much better Cunard does it and are at a loss as to why P&O makes such a meal of it especially when, as you say, they are part of the same group. Our recent embarkation experience on Aurora was the worst we’ve ever had and our priority boarding counted for nothing. I’m afraid that with disembarkation we refuse to play the game and just walk off when we are ready (not that early it has to be said). 
 

Your MDR experience was identical to ours bar one thing - we did at least have wafers in our ice creams 😂 Ice cream was usually served half melted though 🙄
 

Interesting that you had 8 Headliner shows. Thats about the same number that we had over 65 nights, so they weren’t exactly recovering from our cruise! We thought that they were pretty good but the female singer in Pulse was awful and I am at a loss as to how she passed an audition. Hopefully she was one of the 40% of the crew to rotate off the ship after our cruise so that you weren’t subjected to her!
 

Finally, I know exactly what you mean about loud passengers who spoil the experience for others. I call them the “look at me” types. Everyone has to know that they are having a great cruise. I didn’t mention it during my blog, as I knew that a few people on board were reading it and was worried in case I described one of them, but there were 3 people who stood out as being particularly annoying. I’m not trying to be PC or pacify the northerners, but these three were each from different parts of England.  
 

There were a number of reasons why we asked to move tables for dinner (2nd sitting) but one of the main reasons was an elderly woman with a stick (who I’m pretty sure was southern) who was, like us, sat near the entrance to the MDR. She had the loudest laugh I’ve ever heard and she found absolutely everything hilarious - continuously - every night. I swear that if someone just told her the time she would belly laugh. We moved to the complete opposite end of the MDR and, on occasion, could still hear her. As we exited the MDR and were waiting for a lift each evening she was still at it. Irritating beyond belief. I’m amazed that her husband doesn’t find her embarrassing and ask her to pipe down. I certainly would, not that my wife would ever behave like that (I wouldn’t be with her if she did 😂).
 

Sadly, having moved, we could then hear a chap (who I know was a northerner) who was a contender for the male with the loudest “look at me” laugh, but thankfully he wasn’t continuous every night as the woman was. Finally, to complete the trio, there was a woman from the east midlands who held court in the coffee shop (very loudly) most afternoons. I suppose that out of 1,650 passengers we were lucky just to have 3 that we would have happily chucked overboard, but on a ship like Aurora they can be difficult to avoid 😂 

Have you ever considered what would happen if everyone refused to play the disembarkation game and just walked off when they felt like it?  It would be absolute chaos! 

[Selbourne]

24 minutes ago, Palaceman said:

Have you ever considered what would happen if everyone refused to play the disembarkation game and just walked off when they felt like it?  It would be absolute chaos! 

Brits like queues, so the situation you describe would never occur 😉. P&O make a complete and unnecessary meal out of disembarkation. They should adopt the hassle free disembarkation process adopted by some other cruise lines, such as sister brand Cunard. Until then…..

[RJChatsworth]

Something else I didn’t mention about the entertainment director was that on the last evening when the Headliners had completed an excellent show culminating in a Les Mis tribute and standing ovation, he said we’ll all get a questionnaire and he was touting for 10s for the entertainment department as we all want to keep our jobs, including me, he said!  I personally found this totally naff.

[galeforce9]

12 minutes ago, RJChatsworth said:

Something else I didn’t mention about the entertainment director was that on the last evening when the Headliners had completed an excellent show culminating in a Les Mis tribute and standing ovation, he said we’ll all get a questionnaire and he was touting for 10s for the entertainment department as we all want to keep our jobs, including me, he said!  I personally found this totally naff.

As did the captain in his last lunchtime address. Again, naff 

[Devon born and bred]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Brits like queues, so the situation you describe would never occur 😉. P&O make a complete and unnecessary meal out of disembarkation. They should adopt the hassle free disembarkation process adopted by some other cruise lines, such as sister brand Cunard. Until then…..

Whilst I agree that the P&O system is far from perfect, until it is changed that is the system which we should all comply with. The fact some Brits love to queue is irrelevant, as Palaceman said if we all adopted the 'I will ignore the procedure' attitude it really would be chaos.

[Selbourne]

15 minutes ago, RJChatsworth said:

Something else I didn’t mention about the entertainment director was that on the last evening when the Headliners had completed an excellent show culminating in a Les Mis tribute and standing ovation, he said we’ll all get a questionnaire and he was touting for 10s for the entertainment department as we all want to keep our jobs, including me, he said!  I personally found this totally naff.

 

2 minutes ago, galeforce9 said:

As did the captain in his last lunchtime address. Again, naff 

Exactly the same happened on our cruise, as reported in my live blog. I thought it was very poor form and showed a degree of insecurity. If they were confident that everything was perfect then they wouldn’t need to request this. I made a point of mentioning this, and stating how disappointed I was with both the Entertainment Manager and Captain for making these comments, on my post cruise feedback form. A few people commented that a stupid request like that would actually have the opposite effect and result in them lowering their scores!

[Selbourne]

1 minute ago, Devon born and bred said:

Whilst I agree that the P&O system is far from perfect, until it is changed that is the system which we should all comply with. The fact some Brits love to queue is irrelevant, as Palaceman said if we all adopted the 'I will ignore the procedure' attitude it really would be chaos.

I think that those who feel that the world will end seem to think that everyone is desperate to be first off the ship. Those who fall into that category already have a self disembarkation facility that gets them off the ship before the rest of us. Others are governed by the departure times of organised transport, such as coaches. For those of us who drive, we are not all desperate to dash off at the first opportunity.
 

In our case we don’t leave the cabin until we have to (usually 8am) and we go to the MDR for a leisurely breakfast. We take our time over this in order to let the rush subside. When we are good and ready we just walk off the ship. Often, by this time the bulk of passengers have already left so it makes finding our cases significantly easier. 
 

For clarity, I am not instructing anyone to do as I do. Those who wish to vacate their cabins earlier, possibly skip breakfast and wait in crowded public rooms until told that they can leave are perfectly free to do so. It’s not our choice but we are all different. 

[RJChatsworth]

The P&O cruise line is largely for a British market, so why does Carnival believe we should be poorly treated in respect of embarkation and disembarkation?  Staying in one’s cabin is a real bonus on Cunard and if you don’t like your disembarkation timeslot you only have to call the front desk and it is adjusted. 

[Devon born and bred]

9 minutes ago, RJChatsworth said:

The P&O cruise line is largely for a British market, so why does Carnival believe we should be poorly treated in respect of embarkation and disembarkation?  Staying in one’s cabin is a real bonus on Cunard and if you don’t like your disembarkation timeslot you only have to call the front desk and it is adjusted. 

It all comes down to whether or not a product or service meets our expectations, if it doesn't meet mine I will take my buisness elsewhere. At the moment I am happy to accept what P&O offer.

[Megabear2]

21 minutes ago, RJChatsworth said:

The P&O cruise line is largely for a British market, so why does Carnival believe we should be poorly treated in respect of embarkation and disembarkation?  Staying in one’s cabin is a real bonus on Cunard and if you don’t like your disembarkation timeslot you only have to call the front desk and it is adjusted. 

Whilst I very much enjoy the Cunard disembarkation method if my recollection is correct this was an introduction after the pandemic restart and prior to that the system was much the same as P&O's. That being said it is far better and I cannot think of a reason why it would not work on P&O.

[RJChatsworth]

Megabear2 - you are absolutely correct and a great boon for those getting on a bit or have mobility issues.  Dragging fairly heavy hand luggage from a cabin at the back of the ship to a holding area in the Curzon Theatre at the front of the ship to find lots of passengers sitting on the floor with much luggage from the lifts onwards was not helpful. Having negotiated them to get into the Theatre to find none of the staff had any idea how long we should be standing there is not good.  If one is able bodied then it’s probably ok and why should we sling our hooks on to other lines because in this instance P&O doesn’t wish treat us appropriately?  The blurb in the cabin talked about waiting for disembarkation in the luxury of the Curzon Theatre.  Complete blah!!!

[sogne]

22 hours ago, sogne said:

Emergency pilot stations are NE Spit about 6 miles off Margate & Brixham. 

Ps pilot boat operates from Ramsgate.

[Fionboard]

Saw pilot boat arriving very early, during our dinner. 

[jh1809]

4 hours ago, RJChatsworth said:

The P&O cruise line is largely for a British market, so why does Carnival believe we should be poorly treated in respect of embarkation and disembarkation?  Staying in one’s cabin is a real bonus on Cunard and if you don’t like your disembarkation timeslot you only have to call the front desk and it is adjusted. 

Perhaps it because AIUI Cunard has a lot of American passengers, and they've found that the Yanks won't put up with it?

[RJChatsworth]

Thanks for info.  I missed Captain’s noon announcement about this as I couldn’t find him on bow camera channel audio on final sea day.  We were on QV a couple of years ago when we went close into Brixham to pick up the pilot.  It was quite hairy cos the seas were rough there.