silver surfer 2010

 Looks as though Eavesway may not be running in 2020 which is disappointing especially as the future of air travel is in doubt. Have always used Eavesway but may have to swop to the opposition for our 2020 cruises unless things change

This is an interesting webcam to watch

http://portalta.kystnor.no/

Plenty of snow in Alta just now

We were there in March this year and stayed on the ship at Alta and the Northern lights were visible 4 nights running. We had to leave the TV on after going to bed and were alerted by the officer on the bridge with a gentle nudge "ladies & gentlemen the Aurora is now visible" so there was a mad scramble and we just sat on the bed wrapped in the duvet and watched lights for a good half an hour - it was fantastic.

Previously we had done a P & O excursion and at 2-30 in the morning it was minus 26 out on the golf course which again was quite an experience 

It's all the luck of the draw there are no guarantees

As suggested by Sharon, here are my tips as given to Fred Olsen passengers last March!

It is much better to wear a number of thin layers than just a few thick ones. The air trapped in between thin layers warms to your body’s temperature and acts as valuable insulation.

Make sure your clothes fit well and that some of your layers are of differing sizes so that you can still move comfortably….have a trial run before you go.

If you are travelling in a heated coach for an hour, you don’t want all your clothes on…but how easy will it be to add the final layers, in a coach in the dark?

In cold conditions, it’s better to wear wool, silk or synthetic polypropylene next to your skin.

Avoid cotton: if you sweat (as well you might dressed like this on a heated coach), cotton gets cold and clammy, and doesn’t dry out easily.

On top of your base layer, you’ll need to wear at least two or three additional layers, which should be made of fleece or wool.

Remember this applies to your legs too – its easy to add layers to our top halves but legs are not so simple

Once dressed….ladies should say to their husbands “Does my bum look big in this?” if he says no – which of course you have trained him to do – then maybe you don’t have enough clothes on!!!!

It’s a good idea to wear two pairs of gloves – one thick pair of mitts (mitts that don’t separate the fingers keep your hands warmer) and a thin pair of gloves underneath that allow you the use of your fingers when you need to do something fiddly, like make camera adjustments

You’ll need proper winter boots with good grip for walking on snow and ice…. And socks of wool…..not cotton

Take a woollen or fleece hat which covers the ears, as well as something to cover mouth, nose and cheeks. Noses and cheeks are especially prone to frostbite, and should be kept covered whenever possible – skin can freeze in minutes in very cold weather.

If you do need the toilet – remember that you are wearing multiple layers and it could take some time!! Remember the advice your mother used to give you – go before you leave!!

You don’t want to spend too long standing in a queue whilst a dozen ladies before you take 10 minutes each to do what is needed.

Hazel

Just back from a 12 night cruise on the Aurora and luggage had to be put out between 4-00 pm and 10-30 pm the night before landing as the cases cannot be allowed to cause a blockage in the corridors in case of an emergency, this really means that you must have your cases out before you go for dinner and that you dine in the clothes that you will be travelling in.

Super photo's

We are thinking of using the p&o coach transfer to southampton instead of as in the past driven there. Has anyone had any experience using the coach? Is it any good? We would be travelling from Cardiff.

We prefer to use Eavesway coaches as they have been providing the cruise service for a long time and are in constant touch with each other in case of any diversions/hold ups etc

If you book an excursion before boarding, then you still get your loyalty discount even if you have on board credit.

Brian

Fair comment, I had forgotten that

It is standard procedure that On Board Credit means anything bought ON BOARD but also remember that if you are due a loyalty discount this is NOT applied until such time as you have used up your OBC

They do a head count as there is always some one at the entrance using a clicker to count you in and they are supposed to check the cabins to see that no one is 'hiding'

An excellent reply English Lady, I couldn't have said it better

We are on the Aurora in 2018 - leaves around 9th March. Having done this cruise in 2014 I would not advise wellies , the snow is totally different and not wet but quite dry. Good boots are a better bet, A pole for stability is very handy but the grips for your boots are not recommended as they can be very slippy on the gangplank and you would not be popular on indoor carpets.

The Aurora and Oriana are sister ships and both are very stable and very comfortable ships.

A video camera is no use either

We always use Eavesway Coaches. OK leaves Glasgow at 3-30 in the morning but we are usually in our cabin by no later than 2-30 in the afternoon. 2 comfort stops for breakfast and lunch of about 45 minutes each and the odd pick up on the way but a very comfortable ride and bags of leg room. Usually manage to sleep most of the way so the time passes quite quickly and there is no problem with luggage - up to 3 cases each (20 kilos wieght limit each) plus hand luggage inside the coach

Adonia cruises starting July 2017 go on sale by P & O cruises on 7/8th December

I have just come across this story on another website about a couple from Oriana been robbed at gunpoint in New Orleans. Has anybody heard anything about it / is it true? I've walked through that area several times and always felt safe - till now!!!

 

http://crew-center.com/cruise-ship-passengers-fight-robber-handgun-new-orleans

A friend of ours is on that cruise. We have been to NOLA many times and never felt threatened

Given the 24 hour delay (at least) I would imagine that at least one port in the Caribbean will be missed. In such circumstances, would P&O offer any compensation, perhaps in the form of obc?

 

Sent from my SM-T700 using Forums mobile app

Usually if it is P & O fault then there will be some form of compensation, if it is an "act of god" then no go. I could be wrong though

H M Customs are usually very alert to people returning from the Canaries due to their special status and the problem of smuggling from these islands

Sorry, I think it's wrong to remove these gratuities as it goes to more folk than you receive direct service from. Actually in the scheme of things the £5.50 a day is small and should be considered and built in as part of your cruise cost.

Fully understand the desire to tip those who we feel have made your cruise just that bit more special, but what about all the behind the scene guys and gals. Like us, many folk put there hands in there pockets and give extra and don't withdraw them at the desk.

There is another point. By with drawing your tips, the overall pool becomes smaller and in the long run, the £5.50 will rise for the rest of us.

I can only see a case for withdrawing if you have received poor service. And, then only against the individual concerned which can be made known at the desk when you fill in your paper work.

A lot depends on the wage structure, the back room boys get better paid than those in the spotlight

We deleted the auto tips on the Arcadia a couple of weeks ago, we changed the amount to zero that was all. One form no problems

We had £100 pp compensation when engine problems on Arcadia delayed our departure from New Orleans for 24 hours therefore having to miss the next port of Key West. When we missed stopping in Jamaica because of bad weather there was no compensation. P&O will compensate passengers if they miss a port due to something wrong with the ship but not for bad weather as they have no control over that. Seems right to me.

Sounds reasonable

The captain is Luko Vojvoda.

But he goes off shortly and will not be back until 19th December, so he tols us at the Baltic Lunch. Very pleasant chap, but not passenger orientated. This is his first ship as captain

More balcony's on the Aurora I think. Both ships are about the same size, my favourite is the Oriana but as I said before it could be a little late.

If you look at the Bolsover cruise forum and then in their picture gallery you will find a number of photos that I posted there.

Sharon posted 'things she wished she'd known before she went' which is attached

"The last couple of weeks on Oriana were possibly the most amazing experience I have ever had but I do wish we had been briefed beforehand on certain things - such as how to photograph the lights if they appear, so I thought I would list the major points that we were told (or learned the hard way!). It didn't help either that the on-board photographers told us one thing and the local specialist another!

First it will be COLD with a capital C! OK, we knew this and were dressed appropriately! Some were not!! Hazel has already posted somewhere on how to dress - in layers - so I won't repeat that bit except to say the silk liner gloves were essential kit!

What none said before hand is that point and shoot cameras are very unlikely to work. I use an DSLR so that did not affect me but a huge majority of passengers only had a simple camera that could not be set to manual. You really need to be able to do this, or have another way of doing long exposures of not less that 15 seconds and often up to 10 minutes. For this reason video cameras will NOT work either!

The settings we were told we needed were

Use a tripod

Use as wide an angle lens as possible.

Switch to manual setting

Take off all filters including UV and Skylight - they reduce the light hitting the lens

Switch off vibration/shake reduction if available

Use an ISO of 400 (according to the onboard photographers) or 500 + (according to the local experts)

Set camera to as large an aperture as available

Set to bulb and experiment but you need exposures of at least 15 secs up to around to 10 mins

Set to daylight setting NOT fluorescent or artificial light or the colours won't be true

Use lens hood to keep frost/snow/ice off lens

Pre-focus to infinity or on a tree etc

Take spare batteries and keep in thermal sock close to body

And lastly - DON'T PANIC if/when the digital screen stops working! This happened to me and I thought the camera was broken but kept taking anyway. The screen came back on when it warmed up.

Also - acclimatise the equipment. One of the onboard photographers cracked a £600 lens

And finally - enjoy the Lights - don't watch all of them through a camera."

I am not sure but can you not order the flowers through your cruise personaliser?

If all else fails go through your travel agent they seem to have a separate way of communicating with P & O.

For a company the size of P & O their customer relations service leaves a lot to be desired

sorry should have read 'did NOT feel too bad'

Don't know why it is not linking to the webcam which I enjoy watching now and again.

Alta is the only port where the Captain needs permission from air traffic control to dock as he is so close to the end of the runway

We are on the 9th March Aurora as we feel that the 21st is maybe a little late.

Did this cruise a couple of years ago on the Oriana and had a fantastic time, hence the repeat trip in 2018. It is a totally different kind of snow - very dry and not slushy and although cold (minus 26 at 2-30am when out searching for the lights) it did feel too bad, Quite an experience, there is a webcam that you can watch

portalta.borealiswebcam360.com

No compensation offered (or expected as far as I was concerned), Last year we missed Monte Carlo because bad weather prevented tender transfer. Yet again, no compensation offered (or expected).

We live on the Isle of Wight where the sea dictates......it took King Canute a while to realise that.

:)

Well said Kathy