I say every year that I would like to go on holiday at Christmas as it seems like a good way to get out of the chore of Christmas cooking duties and providing 24 hour buffet services, so displaying his usual impeccable timing, hubby this year booked us a holiday which ended on 20th December, leaving me four days to prepare what usually takes months of planning.
The holiday was my Christmas present - a cruise on the P & O Cruise ship Aurora. As many will probably know, this had a particularly virulent bug some time ago resulting in the ship not being allowed to dock at various ports for fear of infecting the locals, so armed with that knowledge and the impending festivities, I viewed the holiday with some trepidation.
The price of the cruise in the brochure, for a cabin on A deck, which is what we had, is listed at £3000+ per person, but I dont believe anyone ever pays the full price and everyone we spoke to seemed to have paid a different price. As our trip was arranged in secret by hubby I don't know exactly what he paid, but he did say he got a good deal, so should imagine it was a fraction of the brochure price.
For those who need to know, the spec for the Aurora is:
Gross tonnage 76,000 Overall length 886 feet Maximum speed 24 knotts Cost $200 million Flag British Passenger capacity 1950 max Passenger cabins 939
When we arrived at the dock at Southampton the first impression on seeing the ship is that it can't possibly float, it's just too huge. Alongside that thought was the one that it would be an ideal terrorist target, you just couldn't fail to miss something so big if you really wanted to do it some damage.
The luggage disappears as if by magic inside the terminal, to reappear in your cabin before you get in to it so, no lugging bags hither and thither.
We received a programme of events and dress codes prior to leaving home and there were numerous formal nights which required us to pack all our finery and this alone weighed a ton, so it was extremely handy having someone else take the strain.
As no real money changes hands onboard the ship we were each given a P & O credit card which is wonderful, I could shop till I dropped and everything went on hubby's credit card, which was registered when we first boarded. Seriously, there was one sort of general store, a beautique and a "designer shop" which charged exhorbitant prices for pretty average clothes. There was also a jewellers but daren't risk putting the odd diamond on the card, he just might have noticed when it came to settling up.
Having been given our door key/card and credit card in a very handy P & O card wallet we were quite pleased with the room we were allocated. It had a queen sized
double bed, which if you looked closely at the join, was two double beds pushed together with appropriate bed covers which stretched over the two to give the impression of a very large double bed.
We also had a fridge, sadly not stocked with anything - that was left to us, our cabin steward and the magic credit card to enable us to fill it.
A little card on the dressing table told us our cabin steward's name and our every whim would be his command. Needless to say, hubby soon had him lugging bottles to us to fill the fridge.
As well as the bed we also had a settee to lounge in front of the tv if the mood took us, a balcony with chairs and table in case we felt the need to avail ourselves of room service and eat al fresco, a generous sized bathroom with shower and bath and a programmable safe to put all the family jewels in. It's left unlocked upon your arrival and it's left to you to select a code and programme it in. Not many jewels in the Thompson household but it was handy for storing the passports and any other valuables .
Having unpacked (really disappointed that I had to do it myself, after witnessing all the luxuries on hand) we had a quick read of the in-cabin information book which told us the various decks and what was on each. As far as I could see these consisted of the sun deck, lido deck and decks a, b,c,d, promenade,e and f.
First thing I needed after unpacking was a quick promenade so dragged hubby to the lifts, conveniently situated near to our cabin and off we went to walk the walk. To my great excitement, the first person I encountered on my walk was Jimmy Saville (can anyone remember him?). I was really pleased to be sharing my cruise with his exhalted personage. As it turned out, on later encounters, he is a really nice guy. Still dripping with huge gold medallions and with the token (unlit) cigar. But, give him his due, he paid a lot of attention to all those in wheelchairs and the disabled, young and old alike, received plenty of attention from him.
We were also told later that the king and queen of Nigeria were also on the cruise. As I didn't previously know that they had a Royal family, I looked out for the resident royalty and a very tall gentleman clad in a white suit and a suitably exotically dressed lady were pointed out to me as "being them". Still not sure if I was being wound up, or if this was a fact.
The boat is also equipped with a gymnasium and a beauticians. Didn't feel the urge to try the gym and the prices in the beauty parlour were breathtaking, so that didn't get much trade either.
Also on the dressing table in our cabin was a note of the table we had been allocated in the dining room.
Having been forwarned about the dreadful illnesses on previous cruises, I wasn't very enthusiastic about eating onboard, but, after having sampled the food, I can honestly say that it was some of the best I have ever eaten and I didn't ever get any sort of illness during the holiday, so Ican recommend it wholeheartedly. Also, our waiter, with the eye to the big tip, insisted on giving my hubby double portions of whatever was on offer. No namby pamby nouveau cuisine for us, just pile it on. My hubby is a pretty big guy and he obviously thought he needed feeding up.
There were five areas allocated to us for dining but, sadly each required us to adhere to the dress code of the day. I would have preferred to be given the choice to slob out if we chose to and eat informally but this WAS NOT ALLOWED. I must admit the formality got to me a tad and after eating in the finery, I couldn't wait to get back to the cabin and rip the posh frock off which meant I was confined to barracks for the duration of the evening if I didn't feel I wanted to prance about in my glad rags.
Anyone who wants to enjoy a laid back, informal holiday should take note, this is not for you. I too, found this very trying. I can do "posh" with the best of them, but when it comes to enjoying yourself I like to decide what I wear and not be told what I have to. Obviously, I am not a suitable candidate for a life on the open seas - well, not on a P & O cruise anyway.
Our cruise was entitled Iberian Adventure which consisted of day 1 at sea, day 2 at sea, day 3 at sea, day 4 at sea. This did get a tad boring. Despite the superb food which was available 24/7, there was nothing much to appeal to me during the time at sea other than the odd demonstration of hair care or beauty products which were basically to encourage everyone to book into the beauty parlour and spend vast amounts of money. A shampoo and blow dry was priced at £22 - I know I had the magic credit card but even I couldn't bring myself to spend unreal money on some of the things on offer.
The following day saw us at the first port of call, Madeira. There are numerous, vastly priced excursions available via the booking office on the ship or you can just get off and do as you will, which is what we did. Hubby absolutely refused to be treated like some sort of livestock and given a sticker to be
Pictures of P & O
Jimmy digging in a skip
allocated to whichever trip was available.We managed to explore Madeira with no assistance from P & O which resulted in hubby taking me to various back of beyond cafes - where real people eat. His theory did seem to work though as we found ourselves in a back street cafe with nairy an English person to be seen and he found himself a particularly tasty fish dish and I had the best darned coffee this side of the Mississippi.
As he took us to God knows where, I was very pleased to find that we were something of a novelty, having strayed from the beaten track and everyone seemed very friendly and smiling - or were they secretly thinking "the poor fools". We were made very welcome and conversed with many smiles and raising of the coffee cup to each other. Was quite amazed at the jobs that the women do there, dustcarts were driven by females, also the roadsweepers seemed to be predominantely female. Nothing new here then, the superior of the species run the country.
The curfew was 5.30 pm by which time we had to be back on board, or turned into a pumkin. This we managed to accomplish, successfully and strolled back with Jimmy, Sir Jim, call him what you will and by now we were on first name terms. I must just mention that he looks exactly as he did all those years ago on tv, complete with straggly white hair (though now it had a bald bit on top). Feel rather sad for him that after all his years of fame he's now resigned to cruising alone and palling up with whoever he finds along the way. Seems rather a sad old man to me - but what do I know.
Next day found us docking at La Palma. By this time we had managed to find a couple of like minded voyagers (piss artists) to ourselves and our excursions on this day were as a foursome. After having a trawl round the port, we shared a taxi and he took us to various beauty spots and afterwards to a restaurant of his choice which we asked to be one that he would like to eat at. He was probably on a huge commission to take us there by the owner but we had a very lovely meal, copious amounts of wine and a trip of the island which cost 30 euros which I thought was excellent value
The next day saw us dock at Santa Cruz harbour in Tenerife. This was to be my big present shopping day as I've been several times to Las Americas and know where all the shops are. A taxi to take us there would cost 75 euros each way, so we gave this a miss and hired a car for the princely sum of 35 euros. This resulted in a hair raising drive (with hubby at the wheel) to Las Americas, where much to my disappointment, my companions only wanted to eat. So I had a sulk and took myself and the croissants brought from the boat and went to do my shopping. Afther they had enjoyed a pleasant meal and me an exhausting shopping session it was time to go back to port.
The ship stayed in Santa Cruz until midnight but after we crawled back aboard with our hair standing on end after hubby's driving we didn't feel up to going back ashore again, although there was a spectacular music festival complete with fireworks in the town square.
After being lulled to sleep again that night by the gentle motion of the ship we arrived at Lanzarote the next day.
I am the world's worst sleeper but I can thoroughly recommend a life on the open sea to combat insomnia. I slept like a baby for the entire trip.
When we arrived at Lanzarote it was a Sunday and everything was closed so all we managed here, with our partners in crime, was a stroll along the sea front as the shops were a no no and a few drinks.
The following day saw us arrive at Gran Canaria. This was a shopper's paradise but would you believe, they only gave us half a day here. This resulted in frantically whizzing around the shops with my new found female friend from the ship whilst our partners found the nearest cafe and imbibed.
So much to do and so little time but we managed to wear our little legs out with the effort while the men sat and sipped.
We now had another day at sea and then to Vigo. Being a bit thick, I'd never heard of this place before but what do I know. After the days of sunshine we docked here to grey skies and weather more suited to the English. To get anywhere involved much uphill walking, so needless to say, the men took it easy in the nearest cafe/bar while we females were despatched to shop for last minute gifts.
Last day saw us at sea again until we docked at Southampton the day after.
Would you believe, there had been a security alert which meant that we couldn't dock in the allocated spot and had to go elsewhere which meant hubby had to leave and fetch the car. The hold ups meant that we were considerably delayed in getting back to the car and heading home.
I have been on cruises before, departing from Miami and arranged by Americans and much as it chokes me to admit it, they do the whole thing so much better. If you want to be informal, you can by going to a different restaurant.
I found the formality of the P & O cruises extremely stifling. I don't want to be told what I can wear and when.
The food was superb and faultless.
The snobs were in abudance - thank god for Sir Jim - and the general atmosphere definitely not to my taste
If you like dressing up and swanning around in your finery P & O is for you. If you're a bit more common and relaxed, avoid this like the plague.
Wonderful food, wonderful service. Multitudes of snobs who look down their nose at the common folk and Jimmy Saville. This is P & O.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I just re-read this as I'm looking to a book a cruise for next year's holiday. I think you have just made my mind up for me about P&O. I can't be doing with formality for every dinner - so i think it's going to have to be another cruise line. Many thanks for this Rob
MAFARRIMOND 05.11.2007 14:58
Not for me! I would hate anything so formal. Maureen x
theblonde2000 27.02.2005 14:07
Hi, thanks for your comment, this review is excellent-all areas covered! I am a navy gorl myself -my mum and dad mt whilst working for P&O Cruises, they have the best stories from their 20 years of cruising I went on one at the age of 9 but alas, I miss the sea-going gene and was sick sick sick! but between the wretches I had a wonderful time!
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Record Rent a Car is present in the main spanish airports and has a very wide fleet. We offer: exceptional discounts, free additional drivers,
unlimited mileage... subscribe to our Club Record and take advantage of special offers.
Advantages: Relaxing travel, good price, If you want a cruising taster a good option Disadvantages: Expensive onboard food, innacurate cabin, transfer bus confusion.
likka75 22.08.2008 (22.08.2008)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of P&O Ferries
Dec 26th, 2003
exceptional by (9%):
very helpful by (91%):
