Aurora Eastern Mediterranean

[Eboracum_d]

My overall feeling after a three week cruise on Aurora was one of disappointment. The ship appeared to me to be tired. The obvious signs were the deficiencies in the plumbing systems and the appearance of buckets in various locations to cope with leaks. We noted that a stairway into one of the Dining Rooms needed vacuuming. The same debris was there 24 hours later when I mentioned it to the Restaurant Management. Litter remained in the small Atrium for some hours after a shopping event.

 

 

The same lack of sharpness, was apparent in the day time activities where, with one or two exceptions, entertainment officers seemed to be going through the motions without enthusiasm. The same lack of enthusiasm seemed to have found its way into the catering staff -- the chefs parading on the last formal night gave every impression of wanting to be somewhere else,

 

There were some good points. The Ship performed well in sailing through force 11 winds and high seas. The Cabin was reasonably large and comfortable and was serviced by a Cabin Stewardess who seemed ever-present and ever cheerful. Evening entertainment was good although would have been better with more sympathetic management of the Sound and Lighting. The guest Classical Pianist was excellent. the Entertainment did redeem themselves to some extent with an impromptu concert in our last sea day..

 

Many off us were disappointed by the various revisions to the itinerary. We learnt only at embarkation that Israel was being omitted and the replacement port of Limmasol was not a good exchange. Having set off from Malta with Cadiz as the last port of call. That was not to be, the Captain deciding to by pass Cadiz in favour of an earlier crossing of the Bay of Biscay and calling instead at L' Havre which is not perhaps a first-choice destination in mid December although the local Tourist Board made us very welcome.

 

Old- style port lectures by people who knew their subject have long since gone. We now have a member of the shore excursion team. No attempt was made to introduce a tally about L'Havre. There was one about Limmasol but the information was not up to date .

Much was made in the going ashore announcements of the fact that at L'Havre all the shuttle buses could accommodate wheelchairs. This, however, was followed by an announcement that the gangway was at too steep an angled to allow wheelchair use.

 

A problem for those returning to P and O is that on each cruise it is possible to detect further cost-cutting measures that have been implemented since the last cruise. At least for me, I think the point has now been reached when I would prefer to pay a little more in order to receive a better experience,

[the english lady]

Well was I on the same cruise as you..I thought I was R220, but I read your report and decided I wasn't.....

We had booked this cruise for Haifa really, but as the situation changed with in a couple of days of booking, we knew we would not be going there. It always surprises me that people don't think a port will be cancelled , when there are rockets flying around, which there were, at the time.

We were more than happy with an overnight in Istanbul. We loved it.

As regards the stairway, I was too busy holding on, and putting squirty stuff on my hands to notice the state of the carpet.

The missing of Cadiz, to avoid the storm...what would you have had the Captain do? The tropics are a nice stop in Mid december, but that would not get us back to Southampton on the Sunday. Anywhere was going to be cold. I would much rather that ,than getting caught up in a storm.

You should never book a cruise and expect all the ports to stay the same. "life happens"

This could happen with your more expensive cruise lines as well, only you would have paid a lot more for it to happen again to you.

The CD, when we started I was not too sure about, but having spoken to him a few times, decided he was good. He was very good taking the Sunday service, when the Captain was on the bridge.

Shows, we only watched one, but that was good. Lembit Opik, went to his talk expecting to not like him, came away very very impressed.

Buckets, they were around in 2010 when we were on her...I guess until they can get her into dry dock to sort out the problem, it will continue, as will toilets not working. However the toilets is probably down to people putting down things they shouldn't.

All in all we were more than happy with the cruise, and ports of call. The Captain reading the exhaltation as we passed the Gallipoli landings was very special.