Report on Aurora Northern lights cruise Nov 2023

[pete14]

As promised, here is the first post.

 

We are travelling as a trio, me, Mrs Pete and Pete junior (but not very junior). We have a midships suite, taking advantage of the third person travels for free. Booking a single cabin for Pete junior would have cost around £2000 so a no brainer.

 

Leaving sunny Stoke at around 8:00 am, on relatively clear roads, we arrived at Mayflower terminal and CPS car park at 11:50, having dropped off our luggage (lots of warm jumpers etc) as suite passengers we went straight to checkin and after a ten minute delay for security boarded Aurora. 
 

Reporting to the muster station was followed by an excellent lunch in the restaurant. Lots of house wine but also food of a higher quality than the wine at a window table with the sun streaming through the window. And two fellow passengers who were very pleasant. 

 

Unpacking many cases and bags followed and also introductions to the cabin steward and butler. Anyway, we are off to explore and probably to the glasshouse to check whether the drinks package is operating properly. I will hopefully be providing regular updates as we go along. 
 

[Angel57]

@pete14 what a lovely afternoon for a sail away.

You are on my favourite ship so I’m looking forward to reading your reports.

Have a fabulous time……

[sddsddean]

Hope you manage to see 'the lights' this time and not the snowstorms we had last time!

 

Simon

[pete14]

And we’re off! 👍🏼

[Eddie99]

Bon Voyage! 👋 

[Harry Peterson]

Always fancied that one - have a great cruise! 

[Selbourne]

Have a fantastic cruise @pete14. When you get chance, could you please let me know what the cut off times are for MDR breakfasts on Aurora? Pre Covid they used to be 9am on port days and 9.30am on sea days, but on some of the other P&O ships since Covid it has become 9.30am on port days and 10am on sea days, which we have much preferred. I’d also be interested to know whether they still do the ‘tiffin lunches’ in Sindhu on sea days. Many thanks. 

[Presto2]

Have a great time all and keep sending those photos. 

[Son of Anarchy]

Have a great cruise!

[Purdey16]

Enjoy your cruise and we look forward to hearing and seeing photos, and I hope you get to see the lights .

[Harryjacobs]

This voyage is on my hitlist and I am interested in what you shall report.

[Josy1953]

Have a great time.  I hope that you get some clear nights to see the the lights.

[Educator69]

We are on the Christmas cruise to the northern lights so we will be following your posts. 

[cruising.mark.uk]

2 hours ago, Josy1953 said:

Have a great time.  I hope that you get some clear nights to see the the lights.

There's a 'live from' QV Northern Lights on the Cunard board at the moment. They seem to be seeing plenty of the lights, so hopefully the passengers on this Aurora cruise will be equally fortunate.

[pete14]

Soon after setting sail, we passed Cunard’s new ship Queen Mary 2 which was parked, resting after an exhausting sea trial. Hooters were sounded between the ships. After sailing a small way down Southampton Water, we had to do some slow manoeuvres to enable the Captain to reset the magnetic compass. He did say he would give a further explanation today. Then, full steam ahead for the Channel where we turned left. 
 

After an OK evening meal at which I had roast leg of lamb (sorry Jean), not brilliant but certainly not a problem, a couple of drinks in the glasshouse and pretty much straight to bed. We didn’t fancy the Headliners show, which I’m afraid for us is not unusual. Selbourne may be a little envious but presumably pleased to hear that there are no creaks to be heard in the cabin. The sea was like a millpond, and still is but I didn’t sleep too well, maybe I need to get used to the bed. 
 

Overnight, Christmas arrived. A nice tall decorated tree and tinsel wreaths around the banisters in the atrium. Quite understated but, despite being too early, they add a certain something to the experience. Another perk of a suite is the breakfast in Sindhu. Special K, orange juice, bagel with smoked salmon, poached egg, hollandaise and a touch of caviar on the top followed by toast and a small jar of marmalade. Very attentive waiting staff under the watchful eye of the captain who chose to have a light breakfast at a nearby table. Maybe a late lunch is required. Tonight is celebration night so we will be dressed up in order to fit in.

 

For me, one of the highlights of today should be a talk in the theatre later this morning. Many years ago, before he became better known, I heard a talk by Gervase Phinn, a school inspector in the Yorkshire Dales. Several books, theatre performances and radio appearances later, he is now our guest speaker on Aurora. He should be well worth a listen. Unfortunately the Norwegian specialist speaker who was supposed to be joining us as well isn’t able to. 
 

 

 

[pete14]

13 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Have a fantastic cruise @pete14. When you get chance, could you please let me know what the cut off times are for MDR breakfasts on Aurora? Pre Covid they used to be 9am on port days and 9.30am on sea days, but on some of the other P&O ships since Covid it has become 9.30am on port days and 10am on sea days, which we have much preferred. I’d also be interested to know whether they still do the ‘tiffin lunches’ in Sindhu on sea days. Many thanks. 

This morning is of course a sea day and the Medina restaurant breakfast is 8:30 until 10:00 and the buffet, 7:00 until 11:00 although the first hour I think is light, continental only. I will let you know on Saturday, our first port day, the breakfast times in port. No mention of a tiffin lunch but I will try to find out. 

[Selbourne]

1 minute ago, pete14 said:

This morning is of course a sea day and the Medina restaurant breakfast is 8:30 until 10:00 and the buffet, 7:00 until 11:00 although the first hour I think is light, continental only. I will let you know on Saturday, our first port day, the breakfast times in port. No mention of a tiffin lunch but I will try to find out. 

Many thanks Pete. Only interested in the MDR times for breakfast if that helps. Good to hear that the cut off is 10am but very surprised it doesn’t start until 8.30am, as this must cause congestion, especially as many older folk are up and about very early! When we were on Britannia the cut off was 10am on the first sea day (after the clocks had gone forward) but reverted to 9.30am thereafter. 
 

Pleased to hear that you are off to a good start and especially that you have no creaking! If you hit the sort of weather we had then ask the maintenance guys to come armed with WD40. Worked a treat in our cabin on Ventura 😂 

[Stokiegolfer]

Off on Aurora for Christmas, to Norway so hoping see the Northern lights again (saw them at Alta in March 2019).  Solar activity is good this year so fingers crossed. Keep us all posted Pete if you see them.

[jh1809]

14 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Have a fantastic cruise @pete14. When you get chance, could you please let me know what the cut off times are for MDR breakfasts on Aurora? Pre Covid they used to be 9am on port days and 9.30am on sea days, but on some of the other P&O ships since Covid it has become 9.30am on port days and 10am on sea days, which we have much preferred. I’d also be interested to know whether they still do the ‘tiffin lunches’ in Sindhu on sea days. Many thanks. 

There were some tiffin lunches on sea days in Sindhu on Aurora at the end of last year; not every sea day, though, and you had to keep your eye out for the announcement in Horizon as to when they would be. I never had any trouble booking a table, however. IIRC they were all during the second half of the cruise. It was very similar on Arcadia this August, though they didn't use the little tin container things in a stack that they use on Aurora, just porcelain bowls IIRC.

[pete14]

3 hours ago, Stokiegolfer said:

Off on Aurora for Christmas, to Norway so hoping see the Northern lights again (saw them at Alta in March 2019).  Solar activity is good this year so fingers crossed. Keep us all posted Pete if you see them.

Welcome to  another Stokie. I think we are beginning to take over the world on here. I certainly hope we see the lights although I am sure it will be a great cruise whether we see them or not. Just got back to the cabin from a glasshouse lunch. Time for a snooze perhaps. 

[Educator69]

Any advice about Aurora or P&O Christmas cruising warmly welcomed. The only tour we have booked is a Northern Lights one out of Alta.

[Stokiegolfer]

Aurora is a lovely ship, we were on it in March 2019 to Norway. Never done a Christmas cruise so first experience there.  Booked the Tromso Northern Lights trip so depending on the conditions may look to the Alta trip too. Also there may be opportunities on ship / up on deck at night to see the lights.  As this year's solar activity is strong - as parts of UK have experienced the lights I'm hoping the opportunity in Norway will be greater. We travel down the day before and stay in a b&b which we found and leave the car there and they take us to the port and collect on return.

[Clodia]

I was horrified to see the Christmas decorations go up on Iona a couple of days ago, 6 weeks early. Don't even want to think about the C word till I get home from this cruise on the 25th. The Biscay transit was only moderately rough, not like the last Iona cruise and the Ventura one Selbourne was on! There are some people doing back to back and I had lunch with another lady travelling solo yesterday who told me all about it.

It's over 30 degrees in Tenerife today and Christmas seems a long way away outside the Atrium. 

I hope the OP does see the Northern lights and I think it's very likely. I live in the North East and have seen them twice in the last evenings before I boarded Iona last Saturday. 

 

[thornegirl]

1 hour ago, Educator69 said:

Any advice about Aurora or P&O Christmas cruising warmly welcomed. The only tour we have booked is a Northern Lights one out of Alta.

Take some heated hand and foot warmers.  We were on the 2019 northern lights cruise and did the Alta trip, my hands were like toast as I had bought a really good pair of gloves but my feet were so cold.  I had to keep going into the tent to get my feet warm. I’ve since bought some really good sheepskin lined boots as we hope to go to the northern lights again in 2025. 

[pete14]

1 hour ago, Stokiegolfer said:

Aurora is a lovely ship, we were on it in March 2019 to Norway. Never done a Christmas cruise so first experience there.  Booked the Tromso Northern Lights trip so depending on the conditions may look to the Alta trip too. Also there may be opportunities on ship / up on deck at night to see the lights.  As this year's solar activity is strong - as parts of UK have experienced the lights I'm hoping the opportunity in Norway will be greater. We travel down the day before and stay in a b&b which we found and leave the car there and they take us to the port and collect on return.

I agree that Aurora is a lovely ship - the best of those in the fleet that I have sailed on. When we came here for the first time a few years ago, the only night we did not see the lights in Tromso and Alta is when we did a trip on a bus almost to the border with Finland. Hence the reason why we have not booked any trips this time (plus the fact they are very expensive).