P&O Aurora Reviews

WE also were on the 5 weeks cruise departing from Southampton on Nov 2011, the ship was as steady as a rock I’m told this is one of the steadiest ships on the ocean no matter what like the seas are, we also met many new friends on this ship we had an excellent time, the 5 weeks past before you knew it. Food was very good we tried various restaurants, we were allocated the Meridan dinning room and had a table for 6 and everyone got on extremely well so much so we have already been to visit one of the couples, on our table, we also sampled the cafe Bordeaux which was very pleasant for lunch or breakfast very civilised compared the the orangy lideo, the best shows were put on by the staff, and yes as I see in other reviews the pantomime was the tops. I totally agree, we were on a deck and you didn’t here a thing you just thought you were in a 5 star hotel, staff were very polite and helpful, we have just booked another P&O cruise on the ORIANA going back out to the Caribbean in April.

This was my first cruise; I went on a 5 weeks cruise departing on the 14th November 2011 which went to the Caribbean area and wow! Aurora is a splendid ship with good British officers and a mix from either Goa the Philippines crew who were simply faultless. Everything was just right including the quality of the food and the price of the cruise. I have already booked the January 2012 world cruise on Aurora. To my mind if you find faults it's probably a hobby or trait of yours. The shows were excellent and I would not miss the crew’s panto or the crews show for all the tea in China. I obviously met many people on board who all had fine words about the ship and it's worth noting it is considered very stable in bad conditions. A couple of people said they preferred another companies ships, I guess I should not really comment as I have not been on one, however the reasons put to me were quite trivial in almost all cases. I understand some ships and lines offer even more dining rooms / dining areas and bigger portions than others, but for me I put on enough weight as it was. I found the drinks price the same as pub prices which was also pleasant surprise. In all departments my expectations were either met or indeed exceeded.

I met friends on the ship but travel alone, we went to Norway in July and had a very different cruise, the scenery was out of this world and a must do cruise even if you never go again. As expected ,the Aurora never disappoints, with excellent food and entertainment top notch, everyone is friendly, and the cabin is kept clean and tidy by the fabulous steward throughout the cruise, folding down your bed at night with the lovely chocolate left on your pillow, and even after eating all day that little chocolate seems to hit the spot ! We are all meeting up in November to go to the canaries, Can't wait, and no doubt we will be planning the next cruise whilst on the ship.

We had a fantastic trip to the Baltic (capital cities + St Petersburg). We enjoyed beautiful weather throughout. As it was early season there were no crowds, ideal for sightseeing. We took full advantage of the excursions on offer. They may look expensive but, in our view, they are extremely good value and gave us excellent insights into history and culture. Life on board ship was very enjoyable - good food, good organisation, good entertainment, good lectures. There is a lot of choice for things to do and the crew are very accommodating. It was good to see the Captain and other senior staff involved in various events. Their involvement in a 'Strictly Come Dancing' show was hilarious! We had done quite a bit of research beforehand so we knew what to expect. However, better than expected weather was a bonus and the visits to museums, palaces and other places of interest exceeded our expectations. Altogether, a wonderful experience!

Aurora is a beautiful ship with classic decor and a very welcoming ambiance onboard. The cabins are spacious and the ship is very well maintained throughout. Highly recommended for a traditional style cruise.

This was our first Ocean cruise and we really enjoyed the total experience. It was a 15 night Western Med cruise in an outside cabin and we were thoroughly thrilled by the the whole trip. The service received from staff was, of course, of the highest order and we thought the food was fantastic. Really enjoyed the Marco Pierre White Restaurant. The problem of course was fitting everything in and I'm sure we did the first trippers thing of trying to do too much. We signed up for Bridge and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. I even got to use the Wii Bowling - great! The only negative was the cost of on-shore activities. They were clearly more expensive than local tours but excellent quality and very convenient. The highlight was the sail-out of Venice - absolutely spectacular. As someone who has stayed in Venice and travelled around Italy quite a bit, I found the experience unique and definitely to be recommended, looking down on the Doges Palace & St. Marks Square from the top of the Aurora — gob-smacking! The low point was Gibraltar I suppose. We enjoyed the cruise so much we booked for the follow-on cruise while on board — an 18 night trip to Ireland, Greenland, Iceland and Norway in a deluxe Balcony cabin. We did a bit of dashing around Southampton buying warmer clothes and really enjoyed the move to bigger and brighter accommodation, quite a contrast. Interestingly (but perhaps not surprisingly), we spent a lot more time in our cabin on the second cruise. Again we thoroughly enjoyed the trip. The quality and cost of excursions was again an issue. The high percentage of physically disabled people and wheelchair traffic jams were a new experience for me. The Greenland ports of Nuuk and Qoqatoq left a lot to be desired and the lack of facilities and places of interest was compounded by the difficulty in using tenders with a large ship and some quite disabled people. The highlight was the magnificent ice floes as we left Qoqatoq - thousands upon thousands of them in totally calm and sunny (albeit cold) daylight. The Norwegian fiords were magnificent. Low points were that there's not much to say about Iceland or Ireland. We spent a lot of time in very long queues waiting to get back on the ship in quite cold weather in Iceland. Learnings: we cannot understand how we managed to drink so much and exercise so little. In conclusion, we really enjoyed the extended trip, have just returned from a cruise to NZ and have re-booked with P&O for a Baltic cruise on the Azura in July 2011. Well done P&O & keep it up —another pair of converts to cruising!

a cruise to remember can,t wait to board aurora again. so organised in every way p&o should be pleased about the standard set by the personnel in general. rather let down by the amount of smoking facilities,being a non smoker and my wife being an asthma sufferer we found it most uncomfortable. we had an inside cabin and never regretted it ,the cabin was spacious and very well maintained.

The cruise to the Baltics was excellent. Staff were super efficient but very friendly. The ship was spotless. We went with 2 other friends and we dined in the Medina restaurant each night. We sat down at 8.30 and finished at 10.15 after a delicious menu each evening. We had the "special drink of the evening" with our coffees; the special i.e. grand Marnier was 1.20 a measure so we had doubles. We then went on the theatre to see the show of the night. Always first class shows. We then went to the Masquerade Bar to dance the night away. The cruise was formal and our hubbies wore their kilts, which drew lots of attention and praise. We got off at all the ports (I stayed on the ship at St Petersburg) and we sang all the Abbas songs as the ship left port at Sweden (very emotional). I would definitely go back on the Aurora. Well done to Leonora and Cedric who were our cabin stewards and also the dining staff who paid such attention to detail. Well done P&O! this was my first time but it won't be the last.