Aurora Review
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Our 14th Cruise with P&O and 4th on Aurora. We chose this cruise as seeing the Northern Lights has always been on our bucket list. We weren’t disappointed!
As with all previous Cruises on Aurora, food and service in the Medina restaurant (freedom dining) was superb throughout. The only (minor) criticism would be the portion sizes of vegetables, which were far too small in relation to the main dish. We had one meal in the Beach House (average) and several lunches in the Glasshouse (very good). We didn’t use Sindhu as it isn’t up to the standard of the excellent versions on Britannia and Ventura, not least because it lacks ambiance and is noisy being in the atrium.
Entertainment, as on all P&O cruises, was mixed. The Headliners troupe was far better than the team we had on board Aurora in October. At least this lot could sing! We always enjoy performances from Caravan and this was no exception, other than two of their performances were somewhat spoiled by irresponsible parents allowing toddlers to run around between the audience and the performers, which was incredibly distracting for both and terribly discourteous. None of the guest singers were particularly impressive. Peter Haworth was average but really fancied himself and we left early as a group of passengers arrived late and then proceeded to talk through the performance (a persistent problem we find). The Brit Tones (4 piece male vocalists) were dire. One of them has a comically low voice and the chatter between songs was far too long and frankly juvenile. Georgina Jackson had a reasonable voice but ruined her act by unnecessarily playing the (shrill) trumpet. Craig Halliday (violinist) was the best performer by a mile. Several classes above the usual standard of P&O entertainment. All performers were let down by the Aurora Orchestra whose backing arrangements were rather odd and, at times, a distraction. Another good artist was Flamenco guitarist Adam Westcott. Really nice guy and incredibly talented but we went to all 5 of his shows and there was far too much repetition.
Cabin Review
Balcony Stateroom with Bath/Shower
Accessible cabin, ideal for wheelchair users, who cannot cruise without one, so please do not book one if you have a mild degree of disability or are just elderly as these are really needed for those with serious disability.
Port Reviews
Andalsnes
Not a lot to see here. A very minor Fjord and a tiny town with little to see or do. The Scenic Rauma Railway was pleasant but only 45 minutes and the views from the road are just as good.
Tromso
Northern Lights Museum was quite good. Nice harbour and decent town centre. Had a great view of the Northern Lights between 10 and 11pm. Would have preferred more time here and less time in Alta.
Stavanger
Pretty old town adjacent to where the ship berths. Not a great deal to see here. You can wander around the whole city in a couple of hours. Nice not to have to use shuttle buses.