Sheila127

6 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Good morning. This is not a live from and will be a random selection of posts as and when the whim takes me. Basically a quick dip in here and there iif something we see/do seems worth noting.  For context we are a large group consisting of some first time cruisers, some P&O regulars, some fans of Aurora and some (like myself) who have never been on either of the P&O small adult ships.  

 

I'm finding this a baptism of fire. The smallest ship I have ever sailed on was QE2 and I feel a little like I'm living in miniature!  It's going to be an interesting experience for me personally as a result.  My overall impression so far is that the ship is very pretty but I personally feel like I'm in a time warp and it is going to take me a while to adjust. Strangely despite my nearly 70 previous cruises I'm actually the one in our group who feels like the newbie here and my SIL who's on her only her second cruise is taking me in hand!

 

A great example was suitcase gate so many thanks for the advice on suitcases elsewhere.  In the end I put one in the wardrobe and one under the bed, not ideal but it works! I'm astonished by the number of coat hangers we have but perplexed with only on shelf being so used to Britannia, Azura etc with the walk in storage area.  The drawers are really useful, however I now have an inbuilt dread of them making a noise - I think my daily read of Selbourne's Caribbean adventure has heightened my senses to the perils of what they can do to your neighbours!!  Certainly I noticed that soundproofing is not Aurora's strongest feature so i was tip toeing around when we returned to the cabin last night!

 

Anyway ur little drama on storage is now past, others in our group however have slight more interesting hurdles to clear! 

 

One of my BIL's had his hard shell suitcase arrive badly broken and another had a flooded bathroom on arrival.  It seems there are a small group experiencing this and I hope it's not catching.

 

The broken suitcase is an interesting one.  After three different people have had their say on it it's been taken away to the engineering depot to see if they can  mend it.  Now told my BIL if it's not fixable he'll be given OBC which he has said no to because quite simply he wants a suitcase/bag to put his clothes in to get off the ship at the end not money to spend on things he neither needs nor wants.  Looking at the damage I can see this one running for the next 16 nights. My SIL.thinks she may end up with a collection of carrier bags for the foreseeable!

 

So apart from luggage dramas and floods, we wake to meet a new day!

 

I can confirm dinner was very good, no complaints although we are dotted around the restaurant rather more than expected. It's a work in progress to seat us near each other apparently.  I get the impression that rent a crowds like us are a little unusual on Aurora who seems to be a little over awed with all of us being used to more genteel couples and solo travellers.  

 

My OH and I were for the first time ever anywhere looked up and down by another guest yesterday evening when we walked through Andersons while looking for my sister.  Our sin? Wearing the tshirts we boarded in as we hadn't had time to change after the dramas.  I confess i felt uncomfortable after that and it has rather put me on guard as to what and who my fellow passengers think we are.  I joked many months back that I thought people seeing us invading Aurora would think we were gypsies and the looks given to my OH and I last night have rather heightened my anxiety on that one.

 

Anyway it is going to be interesting!

 

General observations. I am astonished at the huge difference in pricing on some of the bottles of wine from our January cruise.  One particular favourite was £36 on Britannia in January and is now ,£49.50 on here!  I passed. When sailing on Queen Anne in May although priced in dollars i now see only about 50p difference in that bottle's price which i found noteworthy. It seems P&O are definitely now looking to push up the bottle price on the "higher" end wines.

 

I've also noted a huge cut in the number of wines by the glass and also those included in either drinks package - none of us have one on here but I'm interested as I do have the Deluxe one on Britannia in December.  It will be interesting to see how many other things are now not available in those packages.

 

The good news is the sun is out. I also like the balcony as I can lay in bed and see the sea.  

 

As I said my small ship experience is going to be an interesting one.  I was never sure it would be for me and only time will tell.  The main thing is the luxury of all of our family being together for the first time in.i catell you how many years.

Reading with interest as I will be on Aurora soon for the first time! 

17 minutes ago, AlexMcSpot said:

The Riviera Pool is on deck 11, with an open balcony around it that is on deck 12. There are some images on Cruise Deck Plans that show the layout.

Thank you!

Oh I see, was a little confused! Thank you!

My cabin will be on Deck 10 and according to the plan the Riviera Pool is showing on Deck 11 alongside a fitness room..  But looking elsewhere it states the Riviera Pool is on Deck 12. Can anyone advise.  Thank you!

My cabin will be on Deck 10 and according to the plan the Riviera Pool is showing on Deck 11 alongside a fitness room..  But looking elsewhere it states the Riviera Pool is on Deck 12. Can anyone advise.  Thank you!

5 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

Solos pay the cost of two people for the upgrade. As a solo I never bid as I don’t think it’s right to pay double. They price them at what they think and experience tells them people will pay. 

I have considered upgrading to seaview but it would be £430 x 2 and this is the minimum which wouldn't necessarily be accepted! I am just shocked that the minimum to upgrade to a balcony is £2760.  I have now been allocated my cabin and am reasonably happy with the position so will stay put! Thank you for your comments!

9 minutes ago, david63 said:

You don't say which ship or length of cruise as both could have a bearing on those prices but on the face of it those bids would appear to be somewhat on the high side if they are per person.

 

Also it could be affected if the cruise is fully, or nearly fully, booked.

 

With the upgrades you need to do your sums by comparing what you paid against what the price of the upgraded cabin is and decide whether it is worth it - and bear in mind that the "upgraded" cabin may not be in as good position on the ship as your current cabin.

Thank you for your comments, much appreciated!

The prices are based on two people.  It is a 24 day cruise on Aurora.  I did wonder whether being a solo traveller made any difference but looking at comments on Facebook group of the  couples, all of them are saying the same thing! Not willing to pay them!  Just thought if nobody is willing to pay these upgrade prices what is the point! Will continue wondering🤫🤫

It is a booked cruise in an inside cabin. The upgrade minimum offers are:

Inside to Larger inside - £840

Inside to Seaview - £860

Inside to Larger Seaview - £1760

Inside to Balcony - £2760

Inside  to Balcony de Luxe - £3660

These are the minimum you can offer!

Looking at upgrade prices on a soon to be cruise they seem ridiculously high and cannot imagine many taking up the offer! If this is the case what is the point? Surely P and O are just wasting their time! Am I missing something here?

2 minutes ago, shipgeeks said:

OP, I'm curious what your other ports are. 

St John's, Sept Iles, Quebec, Saguenay, Charlottetown, Iles de la Madeleine, Halifax and Sydney! I have planned most ports except Sept Iles and Iles de la Madeleine! Excursions look poor and pricey so may just explore on my own!

2 hours ago, tring said:

 

You can also search this forum (Canada/New England, ports of call board) for those ports.  I have asked about Iles de La Madeleine in the last couple of years, so that should come up, though not a lot else on here as I think most people travel on the bigger ships, that do not call there.  Make sure you are into the main page for this Canada/US forum and that the search is just for this board, or all sorts will come up.  This year we have booked the transfer to La Grave, then will stay ashore afterwards.  Of course, being a tender port, the people on excursions will have priority for the tenders, so could be fairly late morning before others get ashore.  We often book ships excursions for tender ports for that reason.  People who did not do tours last year were very miffed about the stop all together, but being a Sunday certainly did not help.  Tender ports are always a bit iffy as well, depending upon sea conditions, so might even find you do not get there, we were lucky last year and did get ashore.

 

We did a St Lawrence cruise a few years back with Fred over a longer itinerary and were able to go as far as Montreal, which we liked a lot.  Quebec is ok, but too touristy for our liking, though that does mean there are plenty of bars there.  We took a local bus to Montmorency Falls on our first day in Quebec, which was good.  The bus took us to the top of the falls and we walked down, then took the cable car back up for the return bus journey.  The bus went from near the train station, so we walked to there before catching the bus, but the city was right by where the ship (Black Watch) docked.  That was one of the port days we will always remember and no panic to get back as we were staying overnight.  I cannot remember the full details, but the bus route and details were all searchable on line, possibly with help from kind people here, or on the Trip Advisor forum.

 

Hope you enjoy the cruise, it is something I would like to repeat sometime, though we are getting older and other things we would like to do as well.

 

 

Thank you Tring! I have booked Montmorency Falls so looking forward to that! Good suggestion about booking excursions atTender ports, must check up on that! Thank you once again for your help, very kind of you!

16 minutes ago, tring said:

 

Yes, I wrote the review which mentioned people standing at the boat sides and that I did not see the lobster demo as I was out on the front of the boat when they brought up the lobster cage.  The trip was ok though, and we did see the caves and coast line close up, but would advise to stay in the main seating area as coming up to the lobster demo - worth asking when they will do it.  Bit risky to do private tours in that area imo and in some places I suggest impossible, but all own choice.

 

No idea which day you are in Iles devla Madeline.  I have not been to Sept Iles, but true a number of small ports up there, so I do suggest looking closely at the P&O excursions.  Quebec is fine ot course.  Will have a look at your itinerary later and may add to this.   If you post your ports, perhaps on a new thread in this ports of call board, you will likey get replies from people who know the area well.

  

 

Thank you Tring! I am more or less organised for the other ports it is just these two I have yet to plan! As you suggest may create new thread just for these ports! Thank you for your help and guidance!

7 minutes ago, tring said:

 

Which P&O cruise are you doing?  Is it the one to New York and back, or the one which leaves a bit  later and goes up the St Lawrence to Quebec, before returning to the UK?  We have done both routes including the NY one last year and are booked again for this year and most ports are fine to do independently without excursions.  Not much in Iles de La Madeleine, but at least we are in on a week day this year, whilst last year were in on a Sunday and people who did not take trips were complaining everything was closed, apart from one coffee shop and the coffee machine broke.  We did the boat trip along the coast.

 

I can give a few pointers if you let me know which cruise you are doing.

 

I am doing the 24 day cruise up the St Lawrence to Quebec!  The ports I am wondering about is Sept Iles and Iles de la Madeleine! The P and O excursions have bad reviews so was hoping there may be local tours on arrival or there is enough to see! The boat trip along the coast did you book through P and O? Thank you!

5 minutes ago, Cathygh said:

We are doing a NewEngland/Canada cruise in September (not with P&O) and I found somethings on the Cruise Critic Canada/New England port page and by googling the ports. 

I have done a lot of googling, including whatsinport! Will keep looking, though I am sure David is correct with his summing up! Thanks Cathy!

54 minutes ago, david63 said:

Once out of the major Canadian cities the tourist infrastructure is not always that good - in fact it is virtually non existent. For example when we were in Canada a few years ago with P&O some of the excursions used school buses for transport (obviously outside of school hours) as there were no other options.

 

The lack of the tourist infrastructure is one of the reasons why the excursions have bad reviews.

 

You might find that ranging from either difficult to impossible.

 

If you cannot find anything on the major excursion sites that is probably because they do not exist - it is very much go with what P&O have to offer or don't do anything.

 

Having said all of that we went on some brilliant excursions with P&O in Canada

Thank you David for the information and advice!

Visiting the East coast of Canada in September.  If anyone has done this cruise please can you advise if local tours are offered at the ports! Have booked some P and O and Get your Guide excursions but some P and O excursions have poor reviews so am wondering whether to book locally on arrival! Any advice greatly appreciated!

9 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Adults only ships do the fjords. More expensive though. 

Unfortunately  can't find any which cover my Birthday! But will keep looking! Thank you!

On 3/24/2024 at 6:56 PM, Klou142 said:

Hi,

 

I've just booked my dining for my Norwegian Fjords cruise in a couple of weeks. Chef's Table and Sindhu were available to book but Olive Grove was not and only once on board.

 

I did a similar cruise last May and found the hot tubs lovely but cold getting out. I'm not a big swimmer but some of the days would have been fine for swimming in and plenty of people were. I've cruised the Fjords a few time in May and August and swam both times as we had lovely weather 24-28 degrees. Obviously it isn't always like that and the weather can change quickly in Norway. 

 

Last year I did the Loen Skylift which was amazing! The views were stunning and I loved it. Previously I took a boat trip from Stavanger through the fjord to see Pulpit rock. The scenery was again stunning and well worth seeing although seeing Pulpit rock from below was very underwhelming. This might have been because on a previous cruise with a different line I had climbed to the top. 

It is also easy to do a lot of the ports yourself and see some amazing things. 

 

Hope this helps and have a fab time😊 

Hi thinking of booking a cruise August 2025 special Birthday! I appreciate its school holidays but wondered whether this destination is popular with families  especially young children! Having travelled in August would appreciate your comments! Thank you!

Hi,  my 70th Birthday is in August 2025 and am looking at the Norwegian Fjords and appreciate this is during school holidays! Just wondered whether this destination is popular with families and young children! Has anyone been at this time and can advise.  Thank you in advance!

2 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

Does this mean you must use stockperks, or can you still use old method of email as well

When I applied, by email, to P and O I was directed to Stockperks!

On 3/6/2024 at 12:49 PM, Sheila127 said:

Me too!

Just had notification of OBC for my September cruise!

And thank you from me! It has been fabulous following your adventures with great humour and honesty! Safe journey home!

1 hour ago, Malcolm142 said:

It's not working that quickly for me.

I applied yesterday (5th march) for a cruise this coming October.

Stoclperks have confirmed that they have successfully submitted it to P&O and I should hear 

back in 5 days but heard nothing yet.

Me too!

2 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

I had the same message for my request but that was before the July end date was extended to Dec. 

Just reapplied and has been accepted and processed!