RJChatsworth

Something I have been meaning to mention is that a few days into the Northern Lights cruise both my wife and I developed ankle rashes that didn’t half itch at night. Of all the cruises we have been on this has never happened before. Antihistamine tablets helped a bit, then we saw an empty packet of antihistamines outside another cabin and wondered whether there were other sufferers. It went as soon as we got home.

Fionboard - agree with you. Even sailing away north of Norway (the furthest north Aurora had ever been) in all the snow squalls our cabin was beautifully warm but on other occasions very cold, particularly in port. We were on deck 10. I couldn’t get over the numbers in short sleeves and shorts. They must have thought they had booked a Caribbean cruise and wouldn’t give in! Far more in numbers, however, we’re wearing heavy jumpers and overcoats in the MDR. The poor waiters were dressed as normal but their superiors in the restaurants were wearing P&O crew anoraks.

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.

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!!!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

Selbourne. As a frequent passenger on Cunard’s ships I have enjoyed your daily posts. You might be more well known to Cunarders, particularly the Brits, than you imagine!

I contacted Stockperks at 8.30pm on Sunday for my P&O Shareholder OBC and at 1043am on the following day, Monday, it was granted and a revised Booking Confirmation sent at the same time. When I applied for the OBC I had been notified it could take up to 5 working days!

Applied today to Stockperks on their web site for actual shareholder OBC for upcoming cruise. Very simple, had to put cruise booking ref, my name, DoB, email address and date (month/date/year) of cruise. Received an immediate response to say it would be applied within 5 working days. I noticed on the web site that our share certificate had been accepted for all Carnival brands. Simples - I hope!!

My application last Sunday to Stockperks for share certificate validation was accepted in an email received today Friday at 0147 UK time. Now to the next stage!

I thought there was a Sindhu restaurant on Aurora, but looking at its next two cruises in March I can find no reference to Sindhu in the dining options on the ship. Is it being replaced?

That would make more sense!