LIVE BLOG for P&O Aurora - 4 Night Amsterdam - 18th - 22nd May 2023

[ScratchTheRat]

It's time for another....LIVE cruise blog and journal! This time, I will be detailing my first visit onto P&O Aurora on a short cruise to Amsterdam. My goal for this thread is to provide background on what I'm doing, when, where and how, as well as sharing tips, experiences, reviews, menus and pictures to (hopefully) entertain and inform you all.

 

So first of all, a little about me!

 

I'm a man in my 30's and have been cruising now since 2010, where my first cruise was a 7 night Caribbean cruise on Carnival Dream from Orlando Florida. Since then, I have completed many cruises on Carnival where I am now Platinum status, I have cruised on Princess, MSC and Norwegian and have sailed with P&O on Iona, Britannia, Ventura (and this one will be on Aurora!), I was also lucky enough to be invited on to the Arvia test cruise before it was unleashed on the fare paying passengers! So needless to say, I think I know quite a bit about cruising and I think I have a rather unique voice on cruising as I am a bit younger than the average cruise guest and have some different ways of doing things!

 

So why this cruise?

 

Well, I recently got myself a new job and as I have another cruise booked (Sky Princess the following week!) my start date at work is in June. I left my old job earlier and was given garden leave so I figured...what should I do with that extra week off? Of course! Last minute cruise! Now, with the cruise being SO last minute (I booked 6 days before sailing), I couldn't bring any of my friends and family along as they couldn't get time off work at short notice and so, undeterred, I booked to go solo! 

 

Cabin and Itinerary

 

I booked a very cheap rate for an Inside cabin on a saver fare with a guarantee cabin, so I wouldn't get to choose my cabin in advance. Lo and behold, the next day my cabin has been confirmed and to my surprise, I was given a Seaview single cabin. There are only 4 of these cabins on the ship and I was quite happy to get it as it's rather unique!

 

Itinerary wise, this is a 4 day cruise from Southampton with an overnight stay in Amsterdam. Now, as a young (ish) solo traveller, I was glad to see the overnight stay was a Saturday so I can experience some of the fun of Saturday night city nightlife in Amsterdam, hit up some bars and see the party atmosphere.

 

I hope you will all enjoy my posts regarding this cruise as I know I often enjoy reading trip reports from others. If there's anything you want to see or know, please let me know and I will do my best for you!

 

Thanks all 🙂

[AndyMichelle]

Have a great time, looking forward to following your journey. 

Andy

[Selbourne]

I’m really looking forward to your blog. Please be extra careful in Amsterdam as there are lots of pick pockets. I was a victim of one within an hour of arriving. It’s a great place with a vibrant night life, but be vigilant. 

[P&O SUE]

I’m looking forward to this too as I’ve just booked a four night cruise to Amsterdam on Aurora for Easter 2024. Have a great time.

[Technoman2]

On 5/14/2023 at 11:10 PM, P&O SUE said:

I’m looking forward to this too as I’ve just booked a four night cruise to Amsterdam on Aurora for Easter 2024. Have a great time.

Might be a good time to visit the Tulip Fields Sue, spectacular.

https://www.tulip-garden-tickets.com/?msclkid=c552297a398e12f066a64d1911ff574f&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Amsterdam - Keukenhof - English - Netherlands - Search - All - All - cid1549&utm_term=keukenhof&utm_content=Generic - Exact - English - All

[P&O SUE]

3 hours ago, Technoman2 said:

Might be a good time to visit the Tulip Fields Sue, spectacular.

https://www.tulip-garden-tickets.com/?msclkid=c552297a398e12f066a64d1911ff574f&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Amsterdam - Keukenhof - English - Netherlands - Search - All - All - cid1549&utm_term=keukenhof&utm_content=Generic - Exact - English - All

Yes, I had this in mind but wasn’t sure if it was a bit early for the tulips, it’s somewhere I’ve wanted to go for ages. I see there’s already a trip on my Personaliser!

[ScratchTheRat]

The case is packed, the clothes are ready, just the normal things now of having to wait til the morning to pack toiletries, chargers and all that kinda stuff!

 

I'm getting up bright and early to go to the gym at 6am (save me) and then I will be heading to Southampton on the train from Cardiff. I aim to get to the terminal for around 12:30 and hopefully be on the ship for lunch!

 

Look forward to providing you with updates! 

[Landon90]

8 minutes ago, ScratchTheRat said:

The case is packed, the clothes are ready, just the normal things now of having to wait til the morning to pack toiletries, chargers and all that kinda stuff!

 

I'm getting up bright and early to go to the gym at 6am (save me) and then I will be heading to Southampton on the train from Cardiff. I aim to get to the terminal for around 12:30 and hopefully be on the ship for lunch!

 

Look forward to providing you with updates! 

Have a lovely time. I did this cruise last month on Ventura, 4 days Southampton to Amsterdam and back. I’m also in my 30s and went solo. I paid £318 for an inside room. 
 

I had a great time. The ship arrived in the evening, I got off and had a few beers at the bar directly to the right as you leave the cruise terminal. The staff were hilarious, had some good music playing and was a lovely sunset. In town I visited a few bars including one called Temple Bar. The next day I visited some more

bars, did a few tourist sites, tried some ‘Amsterdam tobacco’, had a lovely meal at a place I cannot remember and then got a taxi back to the cruise terminal. 
 

We left Amsterdam around midnight and the next day we were at sea so I had a good time at the casino and eating at the restaurants on the ship. 
 

Really enjoyed the cruise. 🙂

[ScratchTheRat]

8 minutes ago, Landon90 said:

Have a lovely time. I did this cruise last month on Ventura, 4 days Southampton to Amsterdam and back. I’m also in my 30s and went solo. I paid £318 for an inside room. 
 

I had a great time. The ship arrived in the evening, I got off and had a few beers at the bar directly to the right as you leave the cruise terminal. The staff were hilarious, had some good music playing and was a lovely sunset. In town I visited a few bars including one called Temple Bar. The next day I visited some more

bars, did a few tourist sites, tried some ‘Amsterdam tobacco’, had a lovely meal at a place I cannot remember and then got a taxi back to the cruise terminal. 
 

We left Amsterdam around midnight and the next day we were at sea so I had a good time at the casino and eating at the restaurants on the ship. 
 

Really enjoyed the cruise. 🙂

That’s amazing to hear! I got the same deal and upgraded me to a sea view 🙂