Aurora Reviews

Had a wonderful cruise on the Aurora. Would like to thank the staff for their kindness and support with the mental health difficulties of one of our party. Nothing was too much trouble. For my son, it was tasting pheasant; for my daughter, cocktails, for my husband Dr Ed's space lectures and for me, ultimate gin and tonics and watercolour painting.

Aurora is still probably our favourite P&O ship. The staff are particularly friendly and helpful. The food is good, perhaps not quite so good as last time and if the rumours are true and they will not offer silver service after the refit, then that would definitely be a retrograde step. The restaurant staff culd be a bit more proactive with regards to hand cleaning at the entrance to the self service Orangery restaurant..Also it is a bit off putting to be dressed in formal atire and still meet people in public areas of the ship in tshirts and track suit bottoms. If they want a totally informal cruise they should change cruise line.

Just returned from a trip to Russia. The crew are delightful. The food is as much as you can eat. Life onboard can be hectic with recent films and many shows. However you can take art lessons and bridge plus walking a mile each morning in a group. Or just read a book from the well stocked library. Everything is paid on a cruise card so no need for cash except at ports. Looking for next cruise now which will be less busy now we know the ropes! 

Cruise on Aurora 24/5/14 around Norway for 7 nights, what a wonderful time. Crew where just fantastic, Aurora is the perfect size ship.

Cruise on Aurora 24/5/14 around Norway for 7 nights, what a wonderful time. Crew were just fantastic, Aurora is the perfect size ship.

Just returned from cruising Norway on Ryndam (May 2014) - superb service throughout, excellent catering and choices of dining style on board, spacious staterooms, high standard of cleanliness, good entertainment programme - something for every taste. The cruise line seems to attract a lively clientelle which made for a most enjoyable experience with lots of friendliness and laughter, all in all a wonderful trip. Congratulations to Holland America and Ryndam staff on a job very well done. Cannot recommend highly enough - excellent.

We recently sailed on Aurora on the last leg of the world cruise from Cape Town back home. Spending three days in Cape Town before boarding was brilliant. From leaving Heathrow and the transfers to the hotel were seamless. Cannot thank Iglu enough for all their help and advice before booking this cruise.

Never been with P&O before but have read many reviews about Aurora, some good and some not so good. Went for twelve days in November 2013. The ship was great, people friendly and food great. The ship was better than the reviews I had read, getting on and off the ship was great and had an excellent time.

Just returned from a 20 day cruise flying to Dubai and cruising back to Southampton. Stops included Safaga for Luxor and Valley of the Kings. Sokhna for Pyramids, Sphinx and Sakkara, Transit of Suez Canal, Limassol, Haifa for Jerusalem and Bethlehem, Civitavecchia for Rome and Lisbon. It was the final leg of the Round the World Cruise and we booked it because we wanted to go to the places that were on this final leg. We had a very good cruise, good food, Not so good entertainment, excellent excursions, and good weather throughout. Passengers who had been on the cruise from the beginning (800) were getting ready for home and lots of them were saying that they had had enough and would be glad to get home. As we were only just starting on our holiday this was a bit off putting and I do not think we would choose the last leg of a cruise again for this reason. However, as I said, we really enjoyed our trip, our favourite being Jerusalem and Bethlehem but all our excursions were good and well informed, in fact too well informed as it was not possible to take in all the information given on each tour. The staff on the Aurora were excellent right from the top. Captain Neil Turnbull was the best Captain we have sailed with. His humour was infectious and he did two shows on stage in the theatre, one a cooking show and the other an interview. He definitely leads by example and I am sure is very well respected by all his crew. Our cabin (Balcony) was kept very well, always nice and clean. The waiters in the dining room in the evening were very attentive and nothing was too much trouble for them. If you did not like something they would bring something else for you. The ship is getting rather old now and could do with a spruce up in certain areas but on the whole, it was a very comfortable ship and easy to find your way around. There were always lots of sun beds and the ship never looked as though is was full, perhaps the opposite. You could always get a bed in whatever place you wanted and sometimes there were only about 4 people up on the very top deck. The entertainment was weak and lots of the shows we had seen before on other P & O ships. We did not see the Cruise director until our 10th day aboard and someone told us he was busy doing paper work ready for arriving in Southampton. Sometimes acts on stage were not introduced which we felt was very bad. We prefer the bigger ships like the Azura and Ventura which seem to have much more atmosphere, but as I have said, lots of the passengers had had enough cruising and were wanting to get home which did not help things along. However, altogether we had a really lovely holiday and saw the places which we had been wanting to go to. The sights were amazing and something we would recommend to anyone. We are now looking forward to our next cruise. Bring it on!

Just returned from a 2 night mini cruise to Guernsey with P&O. The cabin was really comfortable (balcony view) and catered well for all your needs. The ship had various entertainment shows on offer however it was a little difficult to find out where these were. The only downside was that P&O don't offer many extras for free. Ice cream and soft drinks (cokes/lemonades etc) all have to be paid for, they only offer water as a free soft drink! Also the buffet area was very cramped and queuing was experienced on both days. Food was quite basic and didn't offer much of a choice however there was always something that you could have. The main table service dining experience was very well catered for and the breakfast was a fast and efficient service. Overall the cruise was great value for money however if you want a little more luxury and want more options available in the general buffet areas then I would recommend Celebrity cruises. They just have the edge on P&O with what is on offer and the service they provide to all their guests. Was a little disappointed that the reception staff were not as helpful as one would expect however on a 2 day cruise there is very little that can be offered especially when the ship is completely full. In summary, well worth trying this cruise if it's your first time as it gives you a flavour of what you can expect.