R516 Central Med

[Linda67]

Always read other people's reviews, so this time I thought I would do a quick one myself - it's my first so please be gentle with me!

This was our 8th cruise, all with P & O, but our first on Aurora.

We travelled to stay with family the day before, half an hour or so away from Southampton. We had a check in time of 3.00pm, and had a cabin on B deck. As we were leaving the car with the family, they insisted on taking us to the dock, the downside being that it would have to be early due to other commitments. Having read on here and facebook the change to the embarkation process, we knew that we were likely to have a wait in the terminal, and so we did - we arrived at 11.30 and were given a red card A. Check in didn't open until 12.45, and red A was called at about 2.45pm. (There were some cheers from others in the terminal at this point, so we were not the only ones who had arrived early!) The lady handing the cards out said that they were now boarding by deck. We were on board just after 3.00pm, the cases were in the cabin, grabbed something to eat from the buffet, and had managed to unpack one case before the muster drill. Not as a relaxing start as previously, when we have been on board earlier, but in the great scheme of things, the wait went quite quickly, plenty of people watching to be done, and we still consider ourselves lucky enough to be in the position to be on holiday.

The weather was fairly kind to us, and had unexpected sunshine on the first 2 days, and the bay of biscay behaved itself. We didn't do any excursions, with the exception of Koper, we had been to all the ports before. The ports were Cadiz, Valetta, Venice, Koper, Dubrovnik, Corfu and Gibralter.

To be continued....

[Linda67]

Part 2.

Cadiz was warm and sunny, enjoyed stretching our legs and having a walk around the market.

Valetta again was very sunny, we got a bus to Sliema and had a walk around, have to say it's one of my least favourite ports, not sure why though!

Venice had a damp sail in, and watched from the Crow's Nest, we were lucky enough to be docked until 10.30pm, so we used the ships shuttle, £15 each for unlimited use, and were in St Mark's Square just after 10.00am. The weather was cooler, but dry, and the square was so quiet compared to previous visits. As the queue to the belltower was so short, we went up in the lift 8 euros each, 20 seconds in the lift, and was amazing to see the view from the top. Spent the rest of the morning wandering around by the Rialto and the market. We were flagging by 2ish, so took the shuttle back to the ship, and once refreshed went out again, and were in St Mark's Square when dusk fell (only spoilt by the thrusting of roses between us from the looky looky men!) The temperature dropped very quickly and were glad to get back to the ship. We went up onto the top deck for the sailaway, the first time in the dark for us, and was good to see.

Koper was very nice, spent a nice couple of hours having a walk around the streets from the main square and around the waterfront.

Dubrovnik this was our 3rd time here, and how quiet from the other times. We took the shuttle to the old town, and could walk through Pile Gate without feeling like a sardine! We took a boat trip to Cavtat, where we spent a couple of hours wandering round. The boat was 80 kuna each, although some people in front had done some bartering and got it for 60 kuna, so managed to get it for the same price! It was our longest stay here, docking at 9.00 and not leaving until 5.30pm, so was not the rush as on other occasions when we left at 3.00pm, so still had time for a wander around the old town on our return from Cavtat.

Corfu was mostly wet! Took the shuttle to the old town, quick walk around the new town, then the old town, and back to the ship.

Gibralter, well was Gibralter, and as a Sunday, new that a lot of shops would be shut. We had a walk around the Ocean Village, which was mostly closed, and then off to Morrissons for the duty free!

To be continued.....

[Linda67]

Part 3.

It was a bit bumpy on the way back home, but we did have a cabin very near the front of the ship, and could certainly feel some movement. 6 meter swells were forecast, but luckily they only reached 4! But on the last day, the sun did shine by lunchtime, and we did manage a couple of hours in the sun, although a little windy at times.

It was our first time on Aurora, and although the ship was spotless, and the staff very friendly, there's something about it we couldn't put our finger on, and think our favourite is still Oriana, plumbing problems and all! Our cabin, an inside, was as any other inside cabin, although it did have some very fierce wardrobe doors whose magnets worked from a foot away! It was also difficult to see into the wardrobes and prefer the open ones of Ventura and Azura. The only downside to the cabin was that we seemed to be surrounded by serial drawer slammers, early morning, late at night, even the middle of the night, we've never had this problem before, and have to admit, rather childishly, on occassion we joined in too!!

The food we found to be very good, we were freedom dining, and apart from 1 night we had a table for 2. We had pager for the first 2 nights, but then had a table straight away every other night. I am Coeliac, so order my meal the night before, and the head waiter was really helpful. We had breakfast and lunch in the buffet, which took a bit of getting used to the layout, and there was never any problem finding a table.

We have done a similar itinerary twice before, in June and September, and to be honest we weren't expecting the weather to be as good as it was, so that was a bonus, although it dropped very quickly and sunset was mostly around 6.00pm ish. Corfu in particular looked like it was in the middle of shutting down for the season, but it was nice to sailaway in the dusk from Dubrovnik and Corfu.

The entertainment for us was hit and miss, but that's our tastes. Roger Wright was excellent (played Simba in the Lion King and came 3rd on an ITV talent show with Andrew Lloyd Webber), Adrian Walsh, comedian, first show was ok, but second, well, it felt like maybe we were a bit too young for it (late 40's), The Spinettes, a female trio singing songs from the 40's, 50's and 60's, and the Headliners, one good show, the rest... well not the best, but that is our opinion.

Overall we had a great time, and as with all the other ships we've been on, we would go on Aurora again, if it was going to the right place, at the right time, at the right price! We had booked a select fare only 7 weeks before going, we had a cruise deposit to use, and with the extra OBC the fare was almost identical to the saver, and we got our own choice of dinner sitting.

As I say, this is our review and our opinions, and know that not everybody will agree with us!

As a parting shot, I'll leave you with the best 2 comments overheard - number 1, from Venice, what was the big queue for in that square, and number 2, from Gibralter, wife to husband in the buffet, oh gosh, he really could have parked it somewhere better!!!

[barney]

Lovely review and an enjoyable read

thank you Linda

[oldbluefox]

A good read Linda, thank you. We did this cruise earlier in the year so it was interesting to hear what you thought of it. We often have a cruise in October so now we know what we missed!!!
I agree with your comments about Roger Wright. A very talented and versatile singer.

[Kenmo1]

We have visited the ports you called at several times except for Koper. We always enjoy them and your review brought back lots of good memories. Thanks for the review.

Maureen

[barney]

I would add Linda, that if you find yourselves in Malta again, don't bother with Sliema

There are some wonderful places to visit that are not far away.

Mdina is very worthwhile or just stay in Valletta

[Gill W]

Thanks for your review, sounds like a good cruise

[qbman1]

Excellent, Linda, thanks for sharing. We'll be expecting reviews of all your cruises now !!