Aurora - A Bear, Sweep and Others Go Baltic!

[Megabear2]

Just now, showingdiva said:

 

😳   As in a sticker?   Upside down?   On a cabin door?

Indeed, not upside down, sideways but my BIL who is three doors down is monitoring it ...

[showingdiva]

2 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Indeed, not upside down, sideways but my BIL who is three doors down is monitoring it ...

 

🤣

[Selbourne]

3 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Thanks Selbourne.  Re Glass House following the recommendation we wandered long hoping for lunch in the same way as we do on Britannia and Azura.  Met by a lovely man when we asked if he had the food menu to which he replied "Sorry not on this cruise, boozy only".  Not sure if that's just for lunchtime, we will need to find out, but we ended up in the dining room for lunch.

 

The rest of the family are happy with the buffet, myself, my husband, SIL and BIL are not so that's a huge disappointment for us today.  It's been sunny but extremely windy today and most areas are full as a result. I feel a little cheated if the Glass House is only "boozy"!

 

I can confirm Dennis is indeed in the Glass House. We had a great time with him the night we boarded.

 

The heat inside is quite intense in areas.  We cannot get our cabin cooled down at all and I resorted to opening the balcony doors into the early.hours yesterday night.

 

Six of the family are in the very front Lido deck ibside cabins in the "secret corridor" and I do not know how they can sleep there it's so hot.  Also in the dining room (aft) a considerable number of gents were untying ties and a few jackets were being removed at Celebration Night yesterday.  

 

Have to note the food is very good so far, staff are charming and seem happy.  

 

As you will recall we all.swim, a big part of our day.  Even the indoor pool is freezing - Lauren the lady who.looks after the pools advised they are not going to get any warmer anytime soon. Rear hot tubs only one is hot, she's trying to get it fixed.

 

Hot and cold seems to be an issue across the board at present! 

 

We are enjoying the prom deck particularly for early strolls, it's very pleasant.  My favourite P&O ship Britannia could do with one of those!

 

We are enjoying ourselves, everyone is loving being together. 

 

At the Captain's welcome party yesterday he said we should continue to have nice weather with Kiel predicted tomorrow at around 26 degrees.  What's not to like I ask!

 

Oh and for the duck officianados - I can confirm 3 found to date and say it quietly a pineapple has been sighted ...

I sincerely hope that the Glasshouse situation is temporary, as it is always lunches that we enjoy in there rather than dinner. That being said, we have often been the only passengers dining in there at lunchtimes, so I’m not at all surprised if it has succumbed to a cutback. P&O are their own worst enemies at times though. It’s never really been advertised as being open for food at lunchtimes, and due to its location it gets no passing trade.
 

Compared to the bigger ships the choice of dining venues on Aurora is very limited. We don’t like Sindhu on Aurora and we never use the buffet. We also find P&O lunchtime MDR menus to be quite patchy these days, so the Glasshouse has always been our favourite spot.

 

Shocking that they haven’t fixed the air con issues that we experienced back at the start of the year. In fact it sounds far worse now. I can’t help but feel that the bean counters have determined that, given the likely remaining lifespan of Aurora, it’s just not economically viable to undertake major repairs. Again, they could help themselves by doing some other things. I’m no electrician and I don’t even know if this is possible, but being tall I was able to reach up towards the ceiling when waiting for the forward lifts and the light bulbs throw out an enormous amount of heat. If they could change them for LED ones I’m sure that it would help significantly. 

Edited August 28 by Selbourne

[janny444]

3 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Indeed, not upside down, sideways but my BIL who is three doors down is monitoring it ...

It's some number of years since we cruised with P&O but will be rectified next year.

I am at a complete loss as to what the stickers.....pineapple.....sideways....inside out even....mean 🤔

[Bin man]

I'm sure someone will say but apparently it's the best way to store your pineapple on its side to stop the juices going to the bottom of the pineapple but in this context I think they are a load of swingers!

[showingdiva]

2 hours ago, Bin man said:

I'm sure someone will say but apparently it's the best way to store your pineapple on its side to stop the juices going to the bottom of the pineapple but in this context I think they are a load of swingers!

 

10/10 for diplomacy.    But ... yeah!

[Selbourne]

Whilst I know (thanks only to this forum I should stress 😂) what a pineapple outside the cabin signifies, does anyone have any clue what an orange ping pong ball means? When we were last on Aurora one couple on our deck had one residing in their mail slot all 65 nights - well, until someone removed it, which really incensed them 🤣 

[mercury7289]

45 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Whilst I know (thanks only to this forum I should stress 😂) what a pineapple outside the cabin signifies, does anyone have any clue what an orange ping pong ball means? When we were last on Aurora one couple on our deck had one residing in their mail slot all 65 nights - well, until someone removed it, which really incensed them 🤣 

Possibly. looking for partners for whiff waff?

[Selbourne]

15 minutes ago, mercury7289 said:

Possibly. looking for partners for whiff waff?

Oh. How dull 😂 Hope you are both keeping well.

[mercury7289]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Oh. How dull 😂 Hope you are both keeping well.

Been a bit of a difficult year, but all is fine thank you.

On Arcadia early October, but have just cancelled Christmas on Aurora.

How is Mrs Selbourne doing?

[Bill Y]

9 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Indeed, not upside down, sideways but my BIL who is three doors down is monitoring it ...

So are the clientele on Aurora younger these days or are they members of the Fred Wedlock fan club?

[Megabear2]

Good morning.  Beautiful weather here in Kiel.

 

The Glass House situation is worse than we thought as it will serve no food for the entire cruise, evenings as well. We are extremely disappointed with this as it greatly limits our options.  

 

The pineapple remains at half mast so clearly no takers yet which doesn't surprise me as the age demographics wouldn't appear to offer many opportunities.

 

I can confirm our lights did not come back on after the works in the cupboard and we still await a repair.  Add to this our bathroom sink has apparently sprung a leak as there were pools of water on the floor to the right last night which I judiciously mopped up with the bath towel as there was a lot.  I blamed my husband for spilling it only to return from our evening entertainment to find it was back so definitely a leak and an apology having to be issued to my OH.  Currently I have another call in to maintenance for this and it will be repaired (!!) while we are ashore ... 

 

The MDR food remains good and the menus are running in the normal fleet rotation from what I can see so I won't go into any detail save to say the variety of vegetables has been largely root based.  I had green beans and broccoli with my veal loin yesterday and this was the first time I have seen them.

 

The crew are very nice and helpful, however our cabin steward has not been seen since the request for help with luggage storage and the lady dealing with the next block is bringing my ice every afternoon.  We are unsure if he is unwell or just avoiding us as his colleague just smiles and hands over the ice.  

 

Because of mopping the floor with the towels I have requested extra today which hopefully won't be a problem.  Incidentally on towels there are plenty of poolside ones available but yesterday there were also a large number unaccompanied on sunbeds!  

 

We are going ashore soon for a wander. The rest of the family are hiring electric bikes to ride  canalside and a few are going to Hamburg.  As it's going to be 28 degrees we are planning a stroll.around and then a nice lunch and glass of good German wine. 

 

It should be a good day!

Edited August 29 by Megabear2

[Angel57]

It is very bizarre that the Glasshouse is not serving food. I assume it’s staff shortage? It’s normally very popular so must be quite a loss of revenue for them.

I am sorry to hear about your bathroom leak. These things happen, but it’s how it is dealt with that is so important.

Lovely photos. Enjoy the warm sunshine.

[david63]

Any news on suitcasegate?

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

The Glass House situation is worse than we thought as it will serve no food for the entire cruise, evenings as well. We are extremely disappointed with this as it greatly limits our options.  

We would feel exactly the same. As previously mentioned, we don’t like Sindhu on Aurora, never use the buffet and found the MDR to be very average last time (pleased to hear that it’s improved since). We like the Beach House on Aurora, but once a week is enough and, of course, it’s never open for lunch. 
 

We love Aurora, but felt last time that she is feeling a little neglected, especially maintenance wise which is usually a P&O strength. Sorry to hear that you are experiencing some issues. 
 

Delighted to hear that you have glorious weather. We have done several Baltic cruises and loved all of them, helped by the fact that we have always had warm and sunny weather. They are all interesting and different locations but we’ve not been to Kiel so will be interested to hear how you find it. 

Edited August 29 by Selbourne

[Mollag]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

Good morning.  Beautiful weather here in Kiel.

 

The Glass House situation is worse than we thought as it will serve no food for the entire cruise, evenings as well. We are extremely disappointed with this as it greatly limits our options.  

 

The pineapple remains at half mast so clearly no takers yet which doesn't surprise me as the age demographics wouldn't appear to offer many opportunities.

 

I can confirm our lights did not come back on after the works in the cupboard and we still await a repair.  Add to this our bathroom sink has apparently sprung a leak as there were pools of water on the floor to the right last night which I judiciously mopped up with the bath towel as there was a lot.  I blamed my husband for spilling it only to return from our evening entertainment to find it was back so definitely a leak and an apology having to be issued to my OH.  Currently I have another call in to maintenance for this and it will be repaired (!!) while we are ashore ... 

 

The MDR food remains good and the menus are running in the normal fleet rotation from what I can see so I won't go into any detail save to say the variety of vegetables has been largely root based.  I had green beans and broccoli with my veal loin yesterday and this was the first time I have seen them.

 

The crew are very nice and helpful, however our cabin steward has not been seen since the request for help with luggage storage and the lady dealing with the next block is bringing my ice every afternoon.  We are unsure if he is unwell or just avoiding us as his colleague just smiles and hands over the ice.  

 

Because of mopping the floor with the towels I have requested extra today which hopefully won't be a problem.  Incidentally on towels there are plenty of poolside ones available but yesterday there were also a large number unaccompanied on sunbeds!  

 

We are going ashore soon for a wander. The rest of the family are hiring electric bikes to ride  canalside and a few are going to Hamburg.  As it's going to be 28 degrees we are planning a stroll.around and then a nice lunch and glass of good German wine. 

 

It should be a good day!

Hi MB welcome on board all good so far with us, the glass house is closed because they’re changing the menu and the chef can’t cook it at the moment, and have you seen up the crows nest yet and seen the dam they’ve built around the ladies toilet which has been there since we got on

Edited August 29 by Mollag

[Adawn47]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

Ican confirm our lights did not come back on after the works in the cupboard and we still await a repair.  Add to this our bathroom sink has apparently sprung a leak as there were pools of water on the floor to the right last night which I judiciously mopped up with the bath towel as there was a lot.  

Aurora is our favourite ship and I'm disappointed that you and your family are having all these issues with her. Certainly not a good first impression is it Megabear? Having not sailed on her since 2019 it seems they may be gradually phasing her out.

I hope things improve and that you enjoy the rest of your cruise.

Avril

[Josy1953]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

Good morning.  Beautiful weather here in Kiel.

 

The Glass House situation is worse than we thought as it will serve no food for the entire cruise, evenings as well. We are extremely disappointed with this as it greatly limits our options.  

 

The pineapple remains at half mast so clearly no takers yet which doesn't surprise me as the age demographics wouldn't appear to offer many opportunities.

 

I can confirm our lights did not come back on after the works in the cupboard and we still await a repair.  Add to this our bathroom sink has apparently sprung a leak as there were pools of water on the floor to the right last night which I judiciously mopped up with the bath towel as there was a lot.  I blamed my husband for spilling it only to return from our evening entertainment to find it was back so definitely a leak and an apology having to be issued to my OH.  Currently I have another call in to maintenance for this and it will be repaired (!!) while we are ashore ... 

 

The MDR food remains good and the menus are running in the normal fleet rotation from what I can see so I won't go into any detail save to say the variety of vegetables has been largely root based.  I had green beans and broccoli with my veal loin yesterday and this was the first time I have seen them.

 

The crew are very nice and helpful, however our cabin steward has not been seen since the request for help with luggage storage and the lady dealing with the next block is bringing my ice every afternoon.  We are unsure if he is unwell or just avoiding us as his colleague just smiles and hands over the ice.  

 

Because of mopping the floor with the towels I have requested extra today which hopefully won't be a problem.  Incidentally on towels there are plenty of poolside ones available but yesterday there were also a large number unaccompanied on sunbeds!  

 

We are going ashore soon for a wander. The rest of the family are hiring electric bikes to ride  canalside and a few are going to Hamburg.  As it's going to be 28 degrees we are planning a stroll.around and then a nice lunch and glass of good German wine. 

 

It should be a good day!

Beautiful photos.

I hope the cabin problems get sorted quickly.

[Josy1953]

15 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

Aurora is our favourite ship and I'm disappointed that you and your family are having all these issues with her. Certainly not a good first impression is it Megabear? Having not sailed on her since 2019 it seems they may be gradually phasing her out.

I hope things improve and that you enjoy the rest of your cruise.

Avril

Our favourite ship too, we are going on her later this year so I definitely hope that things improve.  We will be sad when she is phased out but it is inevitable given that older ships are less efficient and more polluting than the newer ones.

The largest ships that we have been on are Britannia and the similar sized Sun Princess and these are our limit.

We aren't tempted at all by the giants like Arvia.

[Purdey16]

I’m disappointed megabear that the glass house is not open for food for your cruise, we like to eat in there at lunchtime too as we generally don’t use the buffet, I hope your leaking sink gets sorted before you return and the heating problem that’s been ongoing for awhile, we are on her in middle of October so hopefully the glass house will be open for food again.

[Selbourne]

11 hours ago, mercury7289 said:

Been a bit of a difficult year, but all is fine thank you.

On Arcadia early October, but have just cancelled Christmas on Aurora.

How is Mrs Selbourne doing?

Sadly everything is becoming more and more challenging, even simple things that we all take for granted. We are on Cunard’s Queen Anne again in November, but don’t have any cruises booked beyond that. Our days of booking cruises years in advance are gone, as we just don’t know if we will be able to do them, so future bookings will be relatively short notice ones where we can secure an accessible balcony cabin at a decent price which, as you can imagine, relies very much on luck. I’m so glad that we did so many whilst we could, especially our 65 nighter at the beginning of the year - something that we never thought we would do, or enjoy!

[david63]

38 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

future bookings will be relatively short notice ones where we can secure an accessible balcony cabin at a decent price which, as you can imagine, relies very much on luck

And with the enhanced protocols if there is an evac chair available

[Selbourne]

20 minutes ago, david63 said:

And with the enhanced protocols if there is an evac chair available

Indeed, although with an accessible cabin we’ve thankfully never had an issue with that. The bigger issue for us is the policy of forcing scooter users who don’t really need an accessible cabin to book one, as it reduces the possibility of getting a booking for those whose level of disability means that a standard cabin just isn’t remotely an option. 

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Josy1953 said:

Our favourite ship too, we are going on her later this year so I definitely hope that things improve.  We will be sad when she is phased out but it is inevitable given that older ships are less efficient and more polluting than the newer ones.

The largest ships that we have been on are Britannia and the similar sized Sun Princess and these are our limit.

We aren't tempted at all by the giants like Arvia.

Sun Princess is 178000 gross tonnes and Iona/Arvia are 184000 gross tonnes, so you have already been on one of the new giants.

Edited August 29 by terrierjohn

[SausPud]

Aurora and Arcadia aren't being phased out anytime soon. Their serviceable years are still plenty. They can be around another 20+ years if maintenance and upkeep are kept up to standard. 

Spending the money on them both and having big dry dock refits should give them new serviceability for the future. P&O know how special they are to the passengers and will keep them going.

 

Even Royal Caribbean is looking into making some new "small" size ships. They plan to do a few Grandeur of the Seas size ships but with the new tech and toys onboard.

 

There is a huge demand for the 2,000-2,500 pax ships and the mega large ones like Arvia and Iona are massive money makers for the cruise lines, that's why nearly every cruise line has one or plans to have one. They only need 25% of the passengers allowed onboard to break even, the rest is profit. 

 

Hopefully, this refit will change the lights and overhaul the A/C plus other things needed. But this isn't any help for anyone sailing before April 2025 on Aurora or before Dec 2024 for Arcadia.