We chose this cruise as a nice break before catering for a busy family Christmas. It is a while since we have been with P&O our last cruise on Aurora was to the fjords and lofoton island about 3 years ago which we loved. We have recently travelled several times with Princess HAL and celebrity. I know Aurora is due for another refit next year but we found our cabin A205 a mid ships balcony to be clean and comfortable. The only sign of wear was the bathroom sink. The public areas and carpets were kept clean and appeared to be in reasonable condition, and the ship was nicely decorated for Christmas. We have been on Aurora several times but always in the summer and the ship did seem smaller when we were we were unable to use the outside spaces. A bonus for the few people with young children on board was the covers pool which enabled them to swim. The food was reasonably good. The meat dishes were not up to the quality on Princess or Celebrity and were generally cheaper cuts. The portions were also smaller which suited us. We booked a select fare and so were on freedom dining as we requested, however we had to wait around 45 mins a night for a table for 2 which was a bit frustrating, but we had a pager and went for a drink whilst waiting. We ate twice in Sindu where we had excellent food and service and once in the Glass house where we had a good meal with a beautifully presented steak with prawns. Wine and drinks are reasonable price and much cheaper then other cruise line, and there is no 15 or 20 percent service charge on drinks with P&O, I fact we get an 8 percent discount on our whole bill due to our past cruises with them. We have seen all the shows before with different groups of headliners some good some really not good so we didn’t bother with them. After other passengers comments on the comedian we gave that a miss too. We visited Hamburg where we took the shuttle bus to the markets in the city then we booked an evening excursion to the markets at nightwhich included a tour of the city with an entertaining Commentary from our guide especially when driving through the red light district. We finished with a visit to a beer Keller. Next was Copenhagen where we have been before, having visited Tivoli Garrdens in the day and evening we decided to take the shuttle bus and walk to the waterfront. We found Christmas market stalls all along the front, from there we walked back into town and went into a store for coffee and a warm up. Oslo was next and although freezing cold, but we were well prepared, it had a beautiful Christmas market with fantastic lighting and an ice rink in the centre. The city was very clean and very expensive with lots of designer shops. Again we went in a store for coffee and a warm up. The final port was Amsterdam, which was much warmer but for us a real dissapointment. We went on a ships tour which included a city walk followed by free time and a canal trip. The walk guide was not very good and the city was very dirty with blue rubbish bags piled up around all the bins. We thought there must be a strike on but apparently when I asked the guide it is due to people having no space to store their rubbish so they just put it out in the street every day. We went into a cafe for coffee and cake as we couldn’t find a store, and when we asked to use the facilities we were told it was for staff only. On meeting up With the others before the canal trip we found others had the same experience in other cafes. We were supposed to be in Amsterdam for nearly 2 days but the Captain decided to leave early morning on the second day due to weather warning as he has to get from the canals back to the North Sea. Read Less

Just back from the Christmas Market cruise to the Baltics, let's start with the positives. The crew were absolutely fantastic, polite, efficient and humble in every area of the ship. Our cabin steward was exceptional and the waiting staff, especially in the bars were great. The food was very good in the Alexandria restaurant and there was plenty of choice in the buffet, if not always to the highest standard. There was also a good mix of passengers on board, from young families to the elderly. Most people seemed to be having a good time and overall, we had a great holiday. Now for the negatives, unfortunately there are quite a few... The ship is old, so has its issues relating to this and certainly lacks a lot of things that are standard on the newer ships. Stability is poor, with excessive movement even in calm seas. Ironically, it seemed to cope better in the force 9 winds we had on the way home than the calm waters on the way out. Our cabin creaked like an old pirate ship during the night. They seem to have some sort of sewer problems as the bathrooms stink like a public convenience, not just ours, others also complained to be told there was nothing that could be done. The sound insulation between cabins is non existent. You can hear every word of your neighbours talking in normal voices and listen to their TVs. The TVs are pointless and the entertainment was adequate at best but nowhere near the standard of what we saw on Britannia in May. In summary, we liked some aspects of Aurora but prefer the modern comforts of the newer ships. Read Less

WOW ! Saga thank you very much. What an amazing experience cruising with your Company. Everything from being collected from home until the second of arriving home was done with a professional approach and the level of caring staff I would imagine would be difficult to find anywhere else. The age range was from mid 50’s with a large % in their late 80’s up to the grand age of 98. As with anything in life ‘money doesn’t buy manners’ and so sadly there were some sad miserable people who we quickly learnt to avoid! Their desire to talk loudly about how many nights cruising they had done soon ended as people were bored rigid about having to listen to this pretentious nonsense! There were also people who weren’t safe being there and whose families had obviously booked a cruise to escape from their relatives for a week. There were at least 2 people who didn’t even know what they were doing there. Saga need to somehow deal with this and ensure everybody is safe but equally neither they as staff or ourselves as fellow passengers should have to cope with this. The staff are caring NOT carers and the other passengers are on holiday. It is NOT a residential or nursing home and nobody should even consider going unless they are safe, independent and aware of why they are on a ship. We were disgusted that somebody’s relative had obviously considered this suitable for someone with advanced dementia but selfish people in life exist and money equally doesn’t buy common sense either! There were several people using walking sticks who would complain they couldn’t walk but kept their sticks at least 6 inches off the ground and as soon as they wanted to do something could mobilise like a 5 year old complaining loudly about younger disabled people who were slowing them down ! Again money doesn’t buy manners and they had no understanding that disabilities are nothing whatsoever about age ! A standard cabin is very nice and more than adequate for most people who use it to sleep in ! A small bathroom,, an upright chair next to a small desk and another chair were more than adequate for anything you might need. A very comfortable bed and excellent cabin service was very much appreciated. Dining was either a formal dining room or exactly the same food in a more relaxed atmosphere thankfully. The waiters and wine waiters learn people names and quickly they can manage to keep track of what you like/need and provide excellent care and attention to detail. A very nervous young waiter who was learning how to work there was the only time we had to wait and explain anything but he was very friendly and we expect the next time we see him he will be one of the best as had a fantastic smile too. People on special diets have amazing care and attention to detail if it is really required. Embarkation was ok although the lady didn’t seem to understand very much about the process or show interest in answering questions or talking to anybody. There are a wide range of activities although some of there were heavily about ‘up selling of expensive/extremely over priced goods or services in the salon or spa which is extremely poor. There were people employed to assist with crafts and some demonstrations about food etc. Some of these were good, some were excellent and some were at best chaotic and extremely poorly arranged- we are unsure if this was saga or the actual people they chose to employ! We suspect it is however the latter as saga seem to expect a very high standard for everything as it should be! Some of the entertainment was excellent and some favoured heavily the extreme upper end of the cruise ship age range. They need to remember something a 50 year old might enjoy would not be met necessarily by someone singing songs from the 40’s -60’s OR playing some game they haven’t even heard of ! Similarly they need to consider not everybody can cope with late nights and some fantastic entertainment doesn’t start until about 22.30. A lot of people who cruise sit in the same seats in the library and do nothing else. They glare at you if you speak and don’t want anything to do with other people. There’s a mixture of others who are fantastic fun and age is irrelevant. Be prepared for anything that happens is the best way to cope with this situation! The consumption of alcohol is encouraged heavily. People would buy drinks in the bar before their lunch, have 2/3 glasses of wine with their meal and then drink in the bar again! They would also be there again in the evening and repeat this process. After dinner there was also a push on buying more alcohol at your dinner table. Saga need maybe to consider the effects this can have on people especially after a week or more of this. Their responsibility for mature adults is zero but stupidity doesn’t also get covered by having money and inclusion of alcohol seems to mean a % of people will see it as their right to drink it all regardless of their health , wellbeing or the comfort and safety of other passengers too. One lady was ridiicculed by rude elderly lady who fancied herself as important because she chose not to drink. She was unable to drink due to medication but the elderly lady knew better evidently and was extremely rude and actually sadly offensively awful about how cruising was that important everybody had to drink especially with the captain! The captain was rather slow in talking and would talk a lot about the weather- all information you could get by looking out the window or seeing details on your cabin tv about wind speed or how many nautical miles we have traveled! There was a few things to do re fitness but the assumption seemed to be you were either super fit or helpless- we didn’t get to the small gym after hearing what was there . Wait and see if the new ships will be better for younger but sadly disabled people. Not everybody who has limitations is 99 !!!!!! Saga don’t seem to grasp this at all from our experience with this cruise. The public rooms were excellent and the library was large and spacious with a wide selection of books magazines and information. The bar and other rooms have a wide range of chairs and were clean bright and very well maintained considering how old the ship is. The shop staff seemed less interested tha. Anybody else about anything. Be warned- it is ridiculously expensive and a can of deodorant was £5 !!! Don’t forget yours if you use it! Cabin service is fantastic and all other aspects of service were excellent too. Some people complaining made it dull but you learnt how to avoid them quickly so your holiday wasn’t ruined! Remember to pack some basic first aid supplies and your medication! Medical care is expensive and we were shocked at how some people had used this service and had massive bills without having had more than some very basic first aid care. Several people seemed very unwell and again please take into consideration your health and well being before deciding on a cruise holiday. talking to some people it seems their health isn’t very important until they are there , away from home and forgetting the sea happens to have a naughty habit of moving but they didn’t pack anything to assist them with sea sickness or know how they would cope with poor mobility when the ship was moving through rough seas ! Equally they didn’t have a clue about the currency they would need or where they were in the world ! It has a bit of a habit of being cold in Norway in winter and also dark by mid afternoon | makes sense to research the cruise holiday you will be going on and what to expect from the areas before complaining its cold or dark etc etc. Someone was moaning they almost fell over on the ice ! That was not SAGAS responsibility! In the main the shore excursions were excellent. The level of walking isn’t always accurate but sadly maybe people have no idea what people can manage. Don’t book tours unless you are really certain you can manage the coach steps and this means getting on AND off the coaches without ANY help or ANY support whatsoever- there isn’t anything saga or the coach staff can or will do to assist you. Rudeness was again heard from the selective few who were so affected by their snobby views about people being slow, we even heard one lady said maybe if they lost weight the coach would not have been so slow- be prepared for anything that anybody might come out with. There were some lovely people who were ready for a good time with their new friends. It is at risk of being a floating residential home and this is a concern. We had several people who were taken to hospital and sadly even on the day of disembarkation someone was very poorly. A lady who was waiting for assistance was complaining about delays as she was a special level with priority for everything! We just quietly said ‘be thankful that you are going home and think about other people for a second’ she just said she would be complaining and demanding to know what happened to stop her disembarking before other people were going! Unbelievable that level of ignorance exists. Overall thank you saga. You are not responsible for the rudeness of a small minority of ignorant and rude elderly people especially it seems ladies who almost sound like they will choke themselves when they speak. We just spoke to everybody in our normal voice about life. Some very odd people exist in this Country and we just hope they weren’t so rude when on land if they bothered to get there. A % never ever get off the ship and evidently never ever do on any cruise they do as they go for the food and fact they aren’t alone or having to cook at home !! Extremely expensive for that service! There were a lot of people on their own. They had a special meeting so they could get them together and stop them crashing in on couples time together thankfully. Read Less

We chose this trip as we wanted to see Norway and the Northern lights. When we got to Tibury we were sent round in circles. The signs were few and far between and not very well positioned. We followed the signs only to be told that we were in the wrong area. It was like Custers last stand! There were cars going round and round in circles all being in the wrong place. We finally got to the right area and had to sit under a marquee with rain, whipped up by high winds, blowing through!! The first impression of the ship wasn't good. It looked pretty unkempt . We were on deck 7 and the smell of sewage and fuel oil was overwhelming . I made a comment to one off the crew and we were told " It's an old ship " and that this was it's last trip before a refit. The smell got worse over the next 4 days particularly when the Captain made a decision to sail with a force 11 predicted!! We had 7/8 metre waves and hurricane force winds. This was a full day at sea. The opinion if the guests was that we shouldn't have sailed. The smell after was REVOLTING. It made your eyes sting and you held your breath until you got away from the stairwell. The food was bland and pretty much the same every day. The trouble was seating. There simply wasnt enough seats and tables to cater for everybody. We had to sit on the window sills on two occasions!! They were constantly running out of cutlery and crockery. Mugs were at a premium. The room staff were SUPERB, as were the waiters, but other bar staff had a couldn't care less attitude. We were served the wrong drinks numerous times and had our cards swapped on 3 occasions. The shows were, well what do I say?. Queen tribute night summed it up. The backing ' band' were terrible. The 4 singers went from English to their native tounge if the couldn't remember the words. I didn't know if to laugh or cry! We walked out after the third song. Some people did say they enjoyed it to be fair. The comedian we saw had the oldest jokes you could think of. To make matters worse he tried to play the guitar! He couldn't keep up with the back music AND played out of time and time. The tours were good and we saw the Northern lights, which was the reason for the cruise. The tour guides were very helpful. We wouldn't sail again on the Meggelan. I know this was it's last trip and it showed, but it just lacked the things that make it a nice ship. Perhaps after a refit things might be different. But going on our experience, this was a outdated old smelly ship and had we known that, we wouldn't have booked it. Read Less

We saw it in a newspaper as BOGOF offer. This was not correct. By the time we had paid extra for the all inclusive element it ended up costing as much as going to the caribbean. Guests on our dinner table had paid far less. This ship is very old (over 50 years) and it shows. The cabin window rattled all the time. The cabin was ok, beds comfortable, bathroom acceptable. The food on board was very good, with good choices available although the dinners really had too much on the plate. The staff were very good, helpful, efficient, friendly. The entertainment was very third rate. However, it should be noted that at 66 we were some of the youngest on the voyage. The days at sea were miserable, and we had to stay on our beds for most of that time, due to the inclement weather. Excursions were expensive, so we opted to sort ourselves out and found getting buses very easy. Most places we stopped at were mostly closed, but the whole point for us had been the opportunity to see the Northern Lights, which we did 2 nights running in and near Alta within the Arctic Circle. Would we choose this cruise line again? No. Ship late getting back into Tilbury, mess-up with the coach back to Victoria, lost our onward connection, had to get new ticket, very long day to get home. Read Less

Having been diagnosed as Celiac four weeks before the holiday going away and eating out lots was of great concern for me. However, during the whole trip I was so well looked after with custom made meals in the dinning hall and a good selection of food in Windjammer. The gluten free pizza in Sorrento's is fabulous, and made fresh to order also. This was my four trip on Independence so I have assumed to I would be looked after but the service was even better than I thought. It was my first experience of a suit as we had decided to try and Junior suit- the room was massive in comparison to a balcony or ocean view. As it was October it was not hot enough to sun bath but it was so nice to sit and watch the world go bye. Embarkation and disembarkation in Southampton was very smooth and my party really enjoyed the new crazy gold area and the all new Sky Pad. We will be back on Indy again. Read Less

This is my 27 cruise. My third on HAL. We chose this cruise for the great itinerary and Koningsdam being a fairly new ship. The experience was wonderful. The quality of the food and selection were some of the best we have had. There are several dining options. We had "anytime dining" and never had to wait for a table in the main dining room. The lines in the Lido Buffet for breakfast and lunch moved quickly. Having a pizza custom made at "NYC Pizza & Deli" made for a great late night snack. Cabins are slightly smaller than other HAL ships. We had a "family stateroom" which was plenty of room for the two of us. Entertainment was Hit or Miss. The ships singers and dancers were good. Some of the quest performers were just okay. HAL is trying to give more of a contemporary twist with the new stage and format. If one likes classical music Lincoln Center Stage Live put on wonderful performances. BB King live was pop and Jazz music. There were enough music venues for anyone's taste. The staff and crew were as always very friendly and went out of there way to make our experience extra special. It is obvious the HAL executives are looking to attract a younger demographic with this new class of ship. This new Pinnacle Class is going to be competition for Celebrity. We would definitely consider taking another cruise on the Koningsdam. Read Less

I chose this cruise because my boyfriend and I love taking cruises. I had been to Europe a few times, but he had never been. I thought this was a great way to see Paris a few days before, cruise to a few different locations and spend an extra night in Germany before coming home. He has never been a sightseer or history buff, but he absolutely LOVED it. This was the most efficient organized cruise I have ever been on, and I believe it was #10 or #11 for me. we landed in Southampton very early on the 15th. Our boarding time was not until after 4PM. We grabbed some breakfast at the airport, but had no idea what to do until 4PM. It was cold and rainy, so we thought we'd just drop by the ship around noon to at least unload our luggage and find something to do. EVERYONE was so kind and welcoming. They took our bags with no problem, and we asked if there was any way we could board prior to 4PM. They welcomed us onto the ship and told us to go get some lunch and warm up. We were told our bags probably wouldn't be to our room until 2:30PM (almost apologetically) but by the time we loaded our cruise card with money for fun, ate some lunch and went to just see where our room was located - our bags were already there. From noon to 1PM, we arrived, checked in, ate, and were in nap mode. That was an answered prayer for two jetlagged people ready to cruise later. The stops were all amazing. We didn't purchase excursions because we like to wing it and see how the locals do it. I don't regret it at all. I was so happy that we got so many hours to explore each port. I will advise passengers who want to see the Anne Frank house to purchase tickets months in advance. They do sell out and you won't get in most likely. We were happy to just see it. This is the first cruise where we went to trivia, saw every comedy show, and other shows in the main theater. Everything was so much fun. Sophisticats isn't something I thought I'd be interested in, but we loved it. we purchased the 30 euro laundry package because it was supposed to rain for most of our trip (never rained once after we boarded) but that was a very nice feature. We had a slight hiccup with our Fantastica drink package. We were given water coupons instead of the beer, wine, and soft drink. They immediately fixed this once we realized it. The only thing I did not like, and it is 100% my issue, not theirs, is Mediterranean Night was 100% fish or veal on the menu. We do not eat either of those things. It was awkward to see the menu and leave, but again I know that is my issue not theirs. I would hve just liked a beef or chicken option as well. I just really can't say enough. I had read some reviews about the state of the ship and other things, and it was the prettiest ship I've ever sailed on. The people were wonderful and we met a lot of great passengers as well. It will actually be hard to do the standard beachy cruise again after this. It was a dream come true, and we cannot wait to come back again. Read Less

Having done over 12 cruises this was the first with MSC and I have to say it far exceeded our expectations. The food was excellent the Spa was amazing the staff were friendly and helpful such amazing value for money we will definitely be sailing with MSC again. The itinery was really what we booked this cruise for, leaving from southampton the embarkation was the sleekest I have ever encountered, the ship whilst mid to large size was easy to navigate. I was impressed by the covered pool area which was great on the cooler days although I was a little shocked that the pool was salt water. We booked the thermal spa experience and used the spa area every day which was great especially after doing 25000 steps in Amsterdam. The buffet was excellent and I found out over 400 pizzas are cooked every day I indulged in a few very tasty. The dining experience was fabulous never left Hungary and our server Kadek was amazing. The shows were great with acrobatics dancing singing etc something for everyone. Well done MSC Read Less

We booked this via Vision Cruise on TV as the price was excellent for 8 days including a drinks package and ocean view cabin. We should have realised it was cheap for a reason. Arriving at Southampton, embarkation was badly organised. On previous cruises we've been 15 minutes from car to ship, over an hour this time. Queuing to board was not pleasant. The ramp had steps up one side and a ramp the other. No organisation which meant people queuing where they liked, no accounting for disabled passengers (the chap behind me in a wheelchair had to stand for 20 minutes). Once on board there was a quick search and a photo taken and our cabin was ready and the room keys were inside (just as well nothing of value was already in the cabin). At this point I must point out the smells on Magnifica - the corridor to our cabin stank of drains and sewage for the entire 8 days we were on board, it was awful (lobbies frequently stank of cigarettes too). As we had the all inclusive drinks package we thought water in the room was complimentary although we were billed for it. When we challenged it we were told water in the room is not included in the package (even though its EXACTLY the same water). Food on Magnifica is rubbish - cheap and poor quality. Breakfast was by far the best meal of the day in the (ridiculously overcrowded) Sahara buffet. Lunch options were horrendous with the same food being served every day (catering for the UK market does not mean serving a lump of roast beef EVERY day!) and little variety. We popped there one day as we wanted to grab a quick bite before heading in to Amsterdam for the evening - it was worse than lunchtime - it was awful, I've had better in a Harvester. We left it and ate in Amsterdam. Evening dining is ok, but not what we've been used to. Presentation isn't great (I could do better), and the quality is often poor (my sister had beef one night which was so fatty it was inedible). We were not aware that the ship carries passengers from every port (unlike previous cruises where all passengers embark and disembark together). Most passengers were rude, obnoxious and frankly had no appetite to queue politely. Every lift meant people pushing in before you could get out, the buffet was chaos with passengers and crew pushing and shoving. One of the crew carrying a plate of dirty dishes knocked my sisters head, no acknowledgement or apology. With six languages on board, EVERY announcement, EVERY quiz, EVERY theatre introduction takes forever, and after a few days really starts to grate. Entertainment was average, given the language barrier it was predominantly dance (and almost exclusively tap and flamenco which they tried to include in EVERY show - does Carmen have flamenco in it!?). After a few days this got tedious and boring. There was however an english hypnotist on board and he was excellent. There were issues most days. We'd requested twin beds not a double - this was wrong. We'd specified the later sitting for dinner, this was wrong. On day 2 the toilet randomly blocked itself. On day 3 the safe broke so we had no security. Reception staff were very dismissive and always directed us elsewhere. One of our excursions didn't have tickets printed, which we were told weren't needed. Surprise surprise they were which meant a last minute dash around the ship to get them. Dress code is strange. We had two 'elegant' nights which aren't compulsory. Granted people can't be forced to dress up but on both nights I was sat in a dinner suite next to people in shorts and flip flops which made the whole thing somewhat pointless. Every British passenger we spoke to all said the same thing - never again will they cruise with MSC, and I agree. This is one cruise I actually looked forward to leaving - a view shared with others as we joked when we collected our baggage from the cruise terminal at Southampton. Read Less