Amsterdam Xmas Market cruise Aurora 27th November

[cruzadict]

Was just about to book this 4 day cruise but thought I'd check on the Xmas market in Amsterdam.  So glad I did because even though the ice skating rink will be open the Xmas market does not start until 13th December !!!!!

[Selbourne]

That’s interesting. I’d suggested that one to my wife as a little ‘filer’ cruise as we haven’t been on Aurora since 2019, but she didn’t bite. Probably just as well. Not sure that ice rinks and wheelchairs are a good combination, although at least I’d have something to cling on to 😂 

[CarlaMarie]

1 hour ago, cruzadict said:

Was just about to book this 4 day cruise but thought I'd check on the Xmas market in Amsterdam.  So glad I did because even though the ice skating rink will be open the Xmas market does not start until 13th December !!!!!

 

This would apply for Arcadia's J316 as well, 19th to the 23rd! 

[Cathygh]

False advertising?

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

We are looking at that Amsterdam cruise on 27th. It is 4 nights... I wondered if being just 4 nights whether it is likely to have a "booze cruise" thing going on...?

[terrierjohn]

3 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

We are looking at that Amsterdam cruise on 27th. It is 4 nights... I wondered if being just 4 nights whether it is likely to have a "booze cruise" thing going on...?

It will more than likely have a different passenger profile to most longer cruises.

[Britboys]

On 9/16/2023 at 3:00 PM, cruzadict said:

Was just about to book this 4 day cruise but thought I'd check on the Xmas market in Amsterdam.  So glad I did because even though the ice skating rink will be open the Xmas market does not start until 13th December !!!!!

I was away at the time of your original post so have only just seen it. I was on a cruise (not P&O) that called in at Amsterdam last December. The Christmas Market was open but to be honest was pretty pathetic. Maybe a couple of dozen stalls very few of which were selling really christmassy stuff. Lots of hats & scarves and some food. Fortunately we also called at Hamburg so were able to visit the wonderful Christmas Markets there.

[Selbourne]

21 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

We are looking at that Amsterdam cruise on 27th. It is 4 nights... I wondered if being just 4 nights whether it is likely to have a "booze cruise" thing going on...?

Not entirely, but you are likely to find quite a few large groups travelling together and they can tend to get very noisy and spoil the ambiance for others in whichever bar they end up in. 

[Winifred 22]

I am not sure people can buy the drink package on short cruises. You can now on Cunard but don’t think they have introduced that yet on P&O ?It is  more expensive for the under 5 night sailings by $20 but on a recent 3 night sailing there was obviously no shortage of takers looking at the sign up lines on the first day. 

Edited October 26, 2023 by Winifred 22

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

We won't be going.

[CarlaMarie]

On 10/25/2023 at 10:33 PM, Snaxmuppet said:

We are looking at that Amsterdam cruise on 27th. It is 4 nights... I wondered if being just 4 nights whether it is likely to have a "booze cruise" thing going on...?

 

We have been on a 5 night and a couple of 2 night cruises. As Selbourne mentioned you will find large and smaller groups travelling together as shorter cruises always do attract these parties, but they are not always solely younger people. If I was comparing the 2 nighters to the 5, I would definitely say that the 2 nighter attracted more younger groups. However none of these groups were that noticeable until late into the evenings. 

 

I also think it is important to factor in the ship as well, Aurora for example isn't likely to attract the same group of passengers which say Ventura would. Plus also take into consideration when she sails - more groups will be attracted to a cruise that falls over a weekend as compared to a midweek one. 

[Selbourne]

17 hours ago, Snaxmuppet said:

We won't be going.

I hope that you aren’t making that decision based upon the comments that several of us have made about groups, because they can easily be avoided. I’ve never been on a booze cruise but having heard about them I don’t believe that anything on P&O comes close.
 

We did a 4 night Amsterdam cruise on Ventura and I can only recall one individual who was drunk to the point where he was causing a nuisance. In that instance the person in question was being offensive to a bar singer who was getting distressed by his comments and I asked the staff to call security. They came and removed him. That could happen on any cruise.
 

On the occasions on Aurora where we were bothered by large groups, it was just that they were very loud and ruining the ambiance of a bar for others, rather than drunken behaviour. We moved bars as a result, but never felt threatened. Unfortunately thoughtless people can be found wherever you go, not just on cruise ships. 
 

We really enjoyed our 4 night Amsterdam cruise. I particularly enjoyed travelling through the sea lock on the way there and the departure from Amsterdam was really interesting. The cruise terminal is also a short level walk from the heart of the city (assuming that P&O are going there again - there was a period when they were berthing some distance short of Amsterdam and doing bus transfers to save port fees). 

[Angel57]

18 hours ago, Snaxmuppet said:

We won't be going.

I did a two nighter on Oriana about 10 years ago.

it was a very different experience to my normal Oriana/Aurora cruises but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable. Everyone was up until the early hours and everyone looked bleary eyed the next morning.

If you did decide to go, it is a great short break, but just not what you would normally expect from a 2 week cruise. We saw no really bad behaviour.

But if you are concerned then listen to that voice within you and do something else.

 

[Britboys]

54 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I hope that you aren’t making that decision based upon the comments that several of us have made about groups, because they can easily be avoided. I’ve never been on a booze cruise but having heard about them I don’t believe that anything on P&O comes close.
 

We did a 4 night Amsterdam cruise on Ventura and I can only recall one individual who was drunk to the point where he was causing a nuisance. In that instance the person in question was being offensive to a bar singer who was getting distressed by his comments and I asked the staff to call security. They came and removed him. That could happen on any cruise.
 

On the occasions on Aurora where we were bothered by large groups, it was just that they were very loud and ruining the ambiance of a bar for others, rather than drunken behaviour. We moved bars as a result, but never felt threatened. Unfortunately thoughtless people can be found wherever you go, not just on cruise ships. 
 

We really enjoyed our 4 night Amsterdam cruise. I particularly enjoyed travelling through the sea lock on the way there and the departure from Amsterdam was really interesting. The cruise terminal is also a short level walk from the heart of the city (assuming that P&O are going there again - there was a period when they were berthing some distance short of Amsterdam and doing bus transfers to save port fees). 

Yes, P&O - and most lines are now berthing right in the city again rather than out at Ijmuiden. I was on the first call to Ijmuiden aboard Azura and it was a nightmare.

That was a 4 night cruise too and I didn't experience any poor behaviour. I think the 4 night ones are generally less of a booze cruise than the 2 night ones.