Atmosphere on board

[Littlelostelf]

I did a ship tour of Aurora October 2017 and the gentleman showing us around was a retired senior officer. To reassure those on this list who are worried about the smaller ships 'going', he told me that Aurora is one of their biggest grossing ships, because of her loyalty base. It came as a surprise to me as I assumed the larger ships made more money, but apparently that ain't so! So she's going to be around for quite a while yet.

[Clodia]

Aurora is very popular and because of this they charge ridiculous prices for solos. I was quoted £6500 for a solo balcony and my reply was that I could go on Silversea for less than that. Bad move by P and O because next Autumn I am doing just that. It may be that I shall cruise less often but with the 6 star lines, if I like it. Still got several P and O cruises booked, but only one on Aurora, which is my favourite, because of the prices. 

[jeanlyon]

and yet our single friend got a great deal on Aurora and also Arcadia for booking early.  Twin cabin for single use and she paid about £113 per night which is great for her.

[jh1809]

As another solo traveller who likes Aurora I have always found outside cabins to be relatively reasonably priced, but I have steered clear of balcony cabins because those do seem to be very expensive.

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, jh1809 said:

As another solo traveller who likes Aurora I have always found outside cabins to be relatively reasonably priced, but I have steered clear of balcony cabins because those do seem to be very expensive.

I too was surprised with the premium balcony cabins on Aurora command, on an 18 night cruise we recently priced up, standard balcony cabins were over 40% higher than OV cabins, this seems far too high for such tiny balconies.

[Clodia]

Yes it's the balconies which are overpriced, but I've only once not had a balcony and I didn't enjoy the cruise as much so it's a non negotiable for me. I just think it's silly that I am going on Silversea next Autumn for less than I would have paid on Aurora!

[tartanexile81]

1 hour ago, Clodia said:

Yes it's the balconies which are overpriced, but I've only once not had a balcony and I didn't enjoy the cruise as much so it's a non negotiable for me. I just think it's silly that I am going on Silversea next Autumn for less than I would have paid on Aurora!

It's the same with Superior Balcony cabins on Fred Olsen which are a ridiculous price and the basic cabins are like rabbit hutches

[Ranchi]

Supply and demand, I guess. Cheaper balconies are available but the cries of ‘too big’ or ‘floating block of flats’ go up, I’m afraid. 

Edited November 16, 2018 by Ranchi

[ann141]

1 hour ago, Ranchi said:

Supply and demand, I guess. Cheaper balconies are available but the cries of ‘too big’ or ‘floating block of flats’ go up, I’m afraid. 

One reason we usually have insides on Aurora and Arcadia but a Balcony on Britannia!

[Britboys]

On 11/9/2018 at 8:15 AM, Clodia said:

Aurora is very popular and because of this they charge ridiculous prices for solos. I was quoted £6500 for a solo balcony and my reply was that I could go on Silversea for less than that. Bad move by P and O because next Autumn I am doing just that. It may be that I shall cruise less often but with the 6 star lines, if I like it. Still got several P and O cruises booked, but only one on Aurora, which is my favourite, because of the prices. 

 

Just as well I am happy with Inside Cabins.  All balcony cabin prices on Aurora are high (and indeed Oriana) because the numbers available are low.  I have booked for 2020 in an Inside for about £130 a night.

 

I am sure you will find Silversea to be of a very high standard Clodia.  If I could afford them, in many ways I would love to try them but the other drawback for me is that most of their itineraries (in common with other 6-star lines) have very few sea days.

[Clodia]

It's about the single supplement: 15% as opposed to about 95% on Aurora. Makes Silversea affordable for solos in comparison. Bad move by P and O; once lured away will I come back?

[Britboys]

Sadly, all the large mainstream cruise lines have high single supplements.  It is rare to get a good deal with the likes of Princess or RCI too.  It is interesting how some of the ultra-luxury lines do have low single supplements.  Crystal often have a low supplement and sometimes no supplement at all.

[jh1809]

21 hours ago, Clodia said:

It's about the single supplement: 15% as opposed to about 95% on Aurora. Makes Silversea affordable for solos in comparison. Bad move by P and O; once lured away will I come back?

95%? I don't think I've ever paid a supplement of more than about 60%. But even that is more than enough, and of course is still a lot more than 15%.

[Lottie A]

21 hours ago, Clodia said:

It's about the single supplement: 15% as opposed to about 95% on Aurora. Makes Silversea affordable for solos in comparison. Bad move by P and O; once lured away will I come back?

 

I very much doubt it!