After the disappointment of Aurora in March, It was with mixed feelings that I returned for her cruise to Canada this autumn.
But on the whole I needn’t have worried. Aurora has rediscovered what first attracted me to the ship ten years ago - the friendly atmosphere of a smaller ship, waiters and bar tenders who within days had learned what I wanted even before I did, a range of interesting daytime activities to keep me occupied during the Atlantic crossing, and cleaning standards that were a credit to my cabin steward and to the housekeeping team who kept the public areas so spruce.
Dinner is an important part of a cruise holiday and standards in the main dining rooms were high even if the menus were a bit samey with beef in all its forms and salmon making regular appearances. I prefer something different. My sea bass and lemon sole were excellent, ditto the liver and bacon, but if variety is the spice of life why not a crew curry occasionally? As for desserts, full marks for the lemon posset. On formal evenings, I had no complaints: the lobster was grilled perfectly - moist, hot and tasty.
Not huge, by any means, but plenty of drawers and wardrobe space. My superb steward, Floyd, kept it ship-shape and he had finished his work by the time I had finished breakfast. The shower (over the bath) had moderate power. The TV is small, but it complements the cabin size. Deck 8 is central, close to Raffles for Costa coffee (£2.80), the theatre and the cinema.