Aurora return to service delayed

[Les_ldh]

I’ve had an email from P&O this morning advising that they have delayed the start of the first cruise of the return to service of Aurora (R201N) from 20th to 28th February thereby shortening the cruise by 8 days. This was the long Caribbean transatlantic both ways. Oh, and they’ve also changed the itinerary. 

 

I’m not really surprised, and I’m just glad it’s still going ahead. Oh well, time to reset the countdown clock 😂 

Les.

[Angel57]

16 minutes ago, Les_ldh said:

I’ve had an email from P&O this morning advising that they have delayed the start of the first cruise of the return to service of Aurora (R201N) from 20th to 28th February thereby shortening the cruise by 8 days. This was the long Caribbean transatlantic both ways. Oh, and they’ve also changed the itinerary. 

 

I’m not really surprised, and I’m just glad it’s still going ahead. Oh well, time to reset the countdown clock 😂 

Les.

Just seen this on another site. What a shame, but as you say at least Aurora still sailing…… Is the itinerary drastically changed or just missing a few ports?

I’m sure it will still be a wonderful cruise as she is such a lovely ship.

[Les_ldh]

25 minutes ago, Angel57 said:

Just seen this on another site. What a shame, but as you say at least Aurora still sailing…… Is the itinerary drastically changed or just missing a few ports?

I’m sure it will still be a wonderful cruise as she is such a lovely ship.

Just missing a few ports. Not a problem to me as it’s my first visit to the Caribbean, but I’m sure some will be upset. My first time on Aurora as well, so I’m looking forward to that as well.

[Mollag]

Does Moley have any idea what the operational reasons for the changes are?

[molecrochip]

Not that I'm in a position to share.

 

Just to say that Omicron has throw its own challenges. Its important that the Aurora restart is when the ship is ready, the crew is ready, and the passengers can have a safe and enjoyable experience.

[Mollag]

34 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

Not that I'm in a position to share.

 

Just to say that Omicron has throw its own challenges. Its important that the Aurora restart is when the ship is ready, the crew is ready, and the passengers can have a safe and enjoyable experience.

 Thanks for the reply. It seems to be the usual P&O lash up with regards to communicating it to the pax and TAs. 

[wowzz]

57 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

Not that I'm in a position to share.

 

Just to say that Omicron has throw its own challenges. Its important that the Aurora restart is when the ship is ready, the crew is ready, and the passengers can have a safe and enjoyable experience.

Any thoughts on Arcadia's return to service ?

[jeanlyon]

Crikey, if I was on that one and lost 8 days, I wouldn't be going.

[gsmt47471015]

We missed out on that one by ten minutes, disappointed at the time but to lose eight days is an awfully big change and one I think we would have baulked at, the changes to our 35 nighter on Ventura look small in comparison so we were obviously not meant to go on the Aurora cruise 😌 People say your life's mapped out for you.  

[kersh]

We booked on it as soon as it was available. Are we disappointed yes of course we are. But p & O have offered a 25% cash refund plus extra onboard credit.

Would we rather have the original itinerary,  yes we would but just to be able to get away for a month + from the awful British weather is a no brainer.

This cruise was sold out within hours of going on sale and as the price for 40 nights in the Caribbean was no more expensive than 2 weeks in the Med in the summer it was a bargain. 
 

The downside is 3 weeks today we should have been boarding and now it is 4 weeks tomorrow. 
the ports missed are La Corunna - no big loss except for the opportunity to stick up on cabin supplies.  St Kitts - a bit of a disappointment but their Covid restrictions were stricter than others. Guadaloupe is a disappointment as we had never called there before but we expected that island to be taken off as no cruise ships have called there since Covid.

St. Vincent I know ,lots of pax love this port but we really don’t. We find the taxi drivers very aggressive and the beaches worse than average.

Bonaire we have been there often and love the island and we had a trip booked there.

Tenerife has been replaced by Praia Vittoria which for me is the biggest disappointment. Not that I am desperate to go to Tenerife again but the fact that the Southerly route is far more passenger friendly keeping the sun and temperatures longer than the more Northerly and shorter route via the Azores. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gizmo19]

Hi. Yes, we were lucky enough to get on this one on release day. So, after looking forward to it since last July it was a bit crushing to have it reduced from 40 days to 32. We were looking forward to Guadalupe (Death in Paradise Tour) and the hiking on St Vincent. So be it, we will just be glad when it sails.

Azores is an interesting addition, but doesn't make up for the loss of La Coruna, Tenerife, Guadalupe, St Vincent, St Kitts and Bonaire. Also the  trips on Azores are highly restricted, just 3, but I assume that's because we are not going into Ponte Delgada.

[Fionboard]

Praia is lovely and much better than Ponta Delgada.

[yorkshirephil]

2 hours ago, Fionboard said:

Praia is lovely and much better than Ponta Delgada.

We liked Praia too, it is a nice walk from town back to the ship along the coast. However we also enjoy Ponta Delgada and have some good tours there as well as exploring locally.

[Mollag]

Has anybody that cancelled the cruise had their refund yet?

[Gizmo19]

Hi. As part of the return to service and delayed departure, has anyone heard whether the ship has had any refurbishments (carpets, general areas etc) ? She has been sitting for a long time.

 

[terrierjohn]

32 minutes ago, Gizmo19 said:

Hi. As part of the return to service and delayed departure, has anyone heard whether the ship has had any refurbishments (carpets, general areas etc) ? She has been sitting for a long time.

 

I doubt it she only had a refit which included new cabin carpets in 2019.

[molecrochip]

The crew on board have been doing maintenance so she should look as good as post a full dry dock.

 

The dry dock she had was only mechanical though.

[Gizmo19]

On 2/5/2022 at 10:28 PM, terrierjohn said:

I doubt it she only had a refit which included new cabin carpets in 2019.

OK thanks.  E tickets and baggage labels opened up today, so its all looking really good for sailing on 28th Feb.

[Gizmo19]

On 1/31/2022 at 1:20 PM, yorkshirephil said:

We liked Praia too, it is a nice walk from town back to the ship along the coast. However we also enjoy Ponta Delgada and have some good tours there as well as exploring locally.

That's good to know thanks. We have booked a volcano trip, but it doesn't leave until the afternoon. I think our actual port time at Praia is shorter than normal. Its a shame,  because we would have loved time to wander as well. Maybe another  time 😊

[Gizmo19]

On 2/4/2022 at 10:50 AM, Mollag said:

Has anybody that cancelled the cruise had their refund yet?

No not yet. I have had the cancelled port trips refunded (very quick) and P&O rescheduled the remaining trips to accommodate the date changes.

 

Sorry I gave a wrong answer. That will teach me to re-read the question before typing😊

 

Edited February 20, 2022 by Gizmo19
answered wrong question