Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

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Suekersh
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Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

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Post by Suekersh »

Hi all,

Sorry it’s a long one as first day we have had internet since leaving Southampton.

Saturday 4 January- Aurora ‘s Grand Voyage 2020
Aurora was docked by 06:30 a.m.

We had a lazy morning waiting for new pax to board and wandered around the ship looking at different cabin grades.

We hadn’t had a card with our dining arrangements confirmed so went to reception to enquire. We were told by the receptionist that we didn’t need them as today was boarding day we could go to either restaurant at any time as it was open seating. We asked if she was sure as we had booked club dining but she assured us that it was open dining.

Luckily Garry went to the restaurant to confirm and the restaurant manager was astounded that firstly we hadn’t had a card confirming dining as these had been sent to admin two days earlier and secondly the information we had been given by reception was completely incorrect. He did however inform us that evening dinner times had changed to 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. the reason given was that it was at passenger request. Strange that every pax we have spoken to are both surprised and unhappy about this. Us included. We always felt 6:30 was too early and 8:30 too late. We tried freedom but it didn’t work for us. We are now stuck with eating at 6 p.m. or going to the buffet or the speciality restaurants. The show times have been changed by half an hour to fit in with the dining arrangements.

The priority lunch started at 12:15 where we met up with friends we hadn’t seen since Oriana’s Christmas cruise in 2015. The bubbles flowed well as usual and as we had no unpacking to do I made the most of it.

Muster was delayed by 15 minutes as not all passengers had boarded.
We should have sailed at 5:15 with fireworks to see us off. This was delayed until almost 6 p.m. The fireworks only lasted a few minutes but were good and a nice touch for the Grand Voyage but this meant that we were late down to dinner as this wasn’t delayed because of the late Sailaway.

The waiters have changed dining rooms so we have two new waiters, Niko and Rajesh his assistant, who had only boarded that day. Niko was a little concerned that the service had been slow but we expect that on the first night especially when a new waiter has to to find his way around the galley plus we aren’t in any rush to get out.

The show in the theatre was the headliners performing ‘Horizon’ We saw it last cruise and felt we needed to see it again as we didn’t understand it the first time. We left still not understanding it and probably won’t go again. The singing and dancing was superb but the story line was non existent.

Hughie Taylor is back on as Entertainment manager although he was introduced as Jamie Taylor by one of the headliners. I wouldn’t like to be in his shoes.

We headed for Carmens and a group called Ukebox. We thought they were a ukulele band but the instruments were more like small guitars and one of them had a whistle on top which made a duck sound. We stayed for about 20minutes thinking that it would improve but decided life is just too short. Needless to say we won’t be going to their second show.

Another nice touch was that we had chocolates from Hotel General Manager as a thank you for staying on board for the Grand Voyage.

We now have to cross the Bay of Biscay again and we have three sea days to Madeira.

Sunday 5 January - 1 st sea day to Madeira.
The weather was a bit grey and very cold but the seas very calm. Totally different than our crossing 2 weeks. We actually hadn’t travelled very far overnight and were still in the Channel.

I went to the 7 a.m. fab abs class in the gym and was surprised how busy it was. Over 20 other passengers doing the class and last cruise I was ‘Billy no mates’ in the gym.

Garry caught up on some more laundry whilst I was tucking into scrambled eggs and smoked Salmon for breakfast.

At 09:15 Fit steps was held in masquerades which isn’t an ideal venue but there was a cookery class in Carmens where Fit steps is usually held.

The two headliner girls running the class were new to fit steps and there was a problem with the music which delayed the start a little. I enjoyed the session and will keep it up on sea days until the sun gets hot enough to sit out. We were assured that tomorrow the class would be held in Carmens.

P & O had organised a Facebook meet up in Anderson’s at 11 a.m. which was attended by around 15 passengers. Not many considering how many were posting on the group. We spent an hour chatting and it was great to put names to faces.

A busy morning for me as the Battle of sexes followed straight afterwards. It was held in Champions and last cruise it wasn’t a great venue as there were too many of us and now there are double the numbers it is even worse. There was a very loud group practising in there prior to the Battle and the sound was deafening.
The ladies lost the day by 80 points so we have some catching up to do.

The evening entertainment in the theatre was Maurice Grumbleweed. He was so funny. Fabulous entertainment. The old ones are certainly the best. A brilliant all round entertainer. We are looking forward to his second show.

Peter Cutler was in Carmens but as we had seen his show in there last cruise we opted for drinks in the Crows Nest where the new band Kool Blue were playing.

When we returned to the cabin gifts had been delivered to commemorate Auroras 2020 Grand Voyage in the form of silver photo frames. Very nice. Thank you P & O. We also had invites from the Loyalty team to a coffee morning for passengers who had been on the Christmas Cruise.


Monday 6 January- 2 nd Sea day.
Another early start in the gym for a fab abs class. The seas were still calm and Aurora travelling so slowly that we still hadn’t got through the Bob.

Garry paid yet another trip to the laundry this time to do the white wash whilst I was enjoying Mondays breakfast of Eggs Benedict. Is it really a week since I last had it! He met lots of other passengers in there who recognised him from previous cruises.

Fit steps as promised was in Carmens a much better venue and we got through quite a lot in the 3/4 hour allotted time. Carmens was packed out with passengers. I guess that the numbers will tail off when ‘the sun gets its hat on’

We to the Glass House for the Loyalty coffee morning. It was a lovely way to spend an hour on a sea day morning. Officers mingled with the passengers and I caught up with both Ann and Sunil who I hadn’t seen since the Arcadia and the Gin & afternoon T events. Unfortunately this event isn’t going to be on Aurora. I am sure I will get together with Ann for a few G & T’s.

The Battle continued in Champions and the men once again won the day but only by 20 points, making them 100 points in the lead. Still loads of time to catch them up.

The first formal night of the cruise and the Captains Welcome on board party. As the dinner time has been changed the cocktail party started at 5:30 p.m. It was well attended and Captain Pembridge gave the good news that the weather was going to be fine in Madeira and the long term forecast for the Atlantic crossing was very good.

Formal night dinner and Marcos Beef Wellington menu was excellent and I had the port marinated Stilton to finish.

The entertainment was the Ukebox in the theatre and as the Crows Nest and Carmens were being used for the Second sitting Welcome on board party we went into Anderson’s for a drink before the Formal Night Ball started in Carmens.

What a difference from the Balls on the last cruise which were dire and watching paint dry would have been more fun. Tonight Carmens was packed. Kool Blue were playing and the dance instructors and hosts Linda and Michael were on the floor dancing with passengers. Garry was being careful with his knee but he tested it out and it held up fine.


Tuesday, 7 January 2020- last Sea day to Madeira
No gym class today and when we woke we had no hot water. It was back on by the time I had finished breakfast.
The sea has turned Blue over night and looks like glass. The Dolphins were performing on each side of the ship. Still too cool to sit out without jumpers but looks lovely.

Fit steps was very busy and we learnt a Disco dance which was good fun.

Mid morning we went to visit the Food & Beverage Exposition in Raffles. Tasty Samples from Sindhu were being handed out and there was the usual guess the weight of the cake and identify the spices through smell challenges.
We booked for the scenic Sailaway party from St. Vincent’s. There is only one of these events on this sector of the cruise.
It wasn’t as busy as I thought it would be but it was in competition with the Art class, the Port presentation on Tobago, Art presentation, Deck Quoits and the Ukulele get together.

The Battle of the sexes had been moved to Masquerades which is a much better venue for this quiz. The gents stormed ahead again. A bit controversial today which is a shame and hopefully it will get back to friendly banter on Thursday.

The sun was out but still quite cool unless sat in the sun out of the wind.
I spent an hour ironing to get it out of the way as I won’t be doing any chores once the sun is out.

The evening entertainment was the fabulous Maurice Grumbleweed who played to a packed theatre. His show was equally as good as his first one.

A new group called The Choice were playing Beatles music in Carmens. I had heard them in the pub when I thought they were far too loud for such a small venue. Carmens is the right venue for them and it was great entertainment. They sang around ten of the most popular Beatles songs and the lead singer and guitarist continued even though he had broke a string during the first number.

Tomorrow we dock in Madeira exactly a week since we left the island.


Whynd1
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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

#2

Post by Whynd1 »

Sue has kindly agreed to send me her reports so they can be posted if she is unable to do so directly.
It's very good of her and I like others on this forum look forward to reading them.

Lindsey

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GillD46
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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

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Post by GillD46 »

Oooh lovely to start your trip with you. Have a fab-u-lous time x
Gill

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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

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Post by GillD46 »

Whynd1 wrote: 08 Jan 2020, 22:28
Sue has kindly agreed to send me her reports so they can be posted if she is unable to do so directly.
It's very good of her and I like others on this forum look forward to reading them.

Lindsey
Thanks Lindsey.
Gill

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Happydays
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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

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Post by Happydays »

Thank you to Sue and Lindsey. I do enjoy reading about Sue's adventures 😂😂

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Kenmo1
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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

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Post by Kenmo1 »

Whynd1 wrote: 08 Jan 2020, 22:28
Sue has kindly agreed to send me her reports so they can be posted if she is unable to do so directly.
It's very good of her and I like others on this forum look forward to reading them.

Lindsey
Thanks Lindsey.


anniec
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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

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Post by anniec »

Happydays wrote: 08 Jan 2020, 23:21
Thank you to Sue and Lindsey. I do enjoy reading about Sue's adventures 😂😂
And thanks from me - I love them too.

Annie :D :D


cruisin_duo
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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

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Post by cruisin_duo »

Really enjoy reading Sue’s blogs.

Thank you for posting Sue. Have a great time.


MaureenB
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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

#9

Post by MaureenB »

Thank you Sue for sending your posts again. I do enjoy them very much indeed. Ignore the ignorant individual on Face cloth, he/she has probably progressed no further than Janet and John mouthing the words aloud!!

Is there any chance you could post your musings on the Christmas cruise here? I would love to read those as well as I have had a couple of Christmas' on Aurora in the past.

Enjoy your Worldie

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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

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Post by Suekersh »

MaureenB wrote: 09 Jan 2020, 12:06
Thank you Sue for sending your posts again. I do enjoy them very much indeed. Ignore the ignorant individual on Face cloth, he/she has probably progressed no further than Janet and John mouthing the words aloud!!

Is there any chance you could post your musings on the Christmas cruise here? I would love to read those as well as I have had a couple of Christmas' on Aurora in the past.

Enjoy your Worldie
Hi Maureen, I will try to send them to Lindsey to post when she has time.

X

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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

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Post by Suekersh »

Latest from Sue
Wednesday, 8 January 2020 - Madeira

I did the early Fab Abs class in the gym. Not as busy as it has been probably due to it being a port day.


It was sunny but a cool 15 degrees early morning in Madeira. However by the time we disembarked we certainly didn’t need our jackets.

We took the shuttle in and the first stop was for a coffee in the shopping centre. We spent 1/2 an hour catching up with e mails and messages as we hadn’t had wi fi since leaving Southampton before setting off to explore an area of the town we hadn’t wandered through previously. We came across a beautiful plaza with tables in the sun but weren’t ready for another stop. There were some lovely little shops and we ended up again just by the market area.

We stocked up on cabin essentials in the supermarket Pingo Doce and even though we were quite early the Schweppes light tonic shelf had been decimated. I am well stocked up with them so not desperate. Just hoping I get something other than Britvic in America.


On our way back to the shuttle we found the plaza we had passed earlier and sat at a table in the sun. It may be traditional to have coffee with the custard tarts but we were badly in need of a beer. The tarts were delicious as usual and the beer so good I ordered another.


The sun was on the aft deck when we returned to the ship so after a small late lunch in the buffet I grabbed a bed in the sun and stayed there.


The evening entertainment was Steph Webber singing songs from the musicals in the theatre and in Carmens it was the band The Choice who had performed the Beatles music last night and tonight it was Hitsville USA Soul and Motown Classics.


We finished the night in Anderson’s bar.


We now have six sea days until we reach Barbados and the clocks go back an hour over night

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GillD46
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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

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Post by GillD46 »

Ooh, the thought of sun and warmth makes me green with envy, and it’s still 10 weeks - to the day actually - until we fly to Singapore. Enjoy those lovely sea days.
Gill


Ilovemygarden
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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

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Post by Ilovemygarden »

anniec wrote: 09 Jan 2020, 09:16
Happydays wrote: 08 Jan 2020, 23:21
Thank you to Sue and Lindsey. I do enjoy reading about Sue's adventures 😂😂
And thanks from me - I love them too.

Annie :D :D
As do I. Thank you for brightening up the dull January days!


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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

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Post by CaroleF »

Thank you very much for posting these; I can imagine being back on Aurora, we were on the 65 night South America trip two years ago and are hopefully back on her in July for the Norway trip. Enjoy that lovely Caribbean sun.

Carole

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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

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Post by Suekersh »

Hi all further report from Sue
Thursday 9th January- My Birthday Sea day.

I woke early as usual and opened my cards and presents before I went to the exercise class. Half way through the abs class I thought that I must be mad doing this when I could have been enjoying a champagne breakfast in the cabin.


There is an offer on at the gym for £45 you can do every class for the whole cruise. This looks on the face of it an extremely good offer but when I asked for a list of the class times the instructor told me as per the Horizon. As the early morning class is free anyway the only other one I would be interested in is Pilates. This used to alternate mornings and afternoons with Yoga but this cruise so far Pilates has always been at 4 p.m. no use to me as we are early sitting and I prefer to get my torture out of the way early in the day. As the gym is now open 24 hours I will go early do my own Pilates regime and then stay on for the free Abs class.


Straight after breakfast I went to the fit steps class where we learnt the waltz. This class certainly gets your heart rate up.


The weather was slightly disappointing after the hot sunny day in Madeira and not a swimwear day although it was warm enough to sit out and walk around the open decks.


Battle of the sexes was back in the Champions bar and as it was after midday I had my first glass of birthday bubbles. The format changed slightly today and although the men were still being aggressive and trying to wind the ladies up we rose above it and the day ended as a draw.


We had a light lunch in the buffet as we knew our evening meal was going to be an extravaganza of food and drink.


I went to the gin talk in Masquerades. It was quite informative but it was given by the liquor specialist Rahul . I don’t think he had any experience of speaking to an audience and was very nervous. The equipment was also not functioning correctly which made it worse. He made up for it by offering free tasting samples at the shop.


It was there I met an old family friend of my parents. She actually used to babysit me. Last time I saw her was on the South America cruise in Tobago on a snorkel trip and before that over 30 years ago.


Our second formal night of the cruise and Garry had booked us a special meal at the Chefs table. This was held in the ‘secret room’ in the Glass House.

We started with canapés and a glass of bubbles in an area of the glass house before we were escorted into the ‘secret room’ where the photographer was waiting to take the official photo.


There were ten guests and two hosts. The executive Chef Eldon D’Silva sat at one end of the table and Deborah Thomsen the Hotel General Manager at the other.


A glass of Tattinger champagne was served with a tea cup of the most delicious white tomato wine and cream soup. Eldon explained how the flavours were expressed from the tomatoes. Samir the head wine waiter introduced the champagne and explained how the dryness complemented the sweetness of the soup.


The explanations of the food, the cooking process and the wines were given before each course. Eldon and Samir answered any questions.


A delicately spiced chicken dish followed with a glass of Kung fu girl Riesling from Washington Estate.


The next course was Lobster and scallops served with Sauvignon blanc Cloudy Bay from the Marlborough Estate. More scallops were cooked and offered around the table. They were so sweet and perfectly cooked.


The main course was the Onley beef fillet served with the ardent wine Chateauneuf du Pape Maison Favier. Any of the wines were available for the main course. I stayed with the recommended one but Garry went back to the Cloudy Bay as he isn’t keen on French Reds.


The hosts changed seats to allow all guests to speak to them both.


The chef then surprised me with a birthday cake and everyone around the table sang Happy Birthday which was a lovely extra touch. It was also another passengers birthday so they sang to him as well.


The desert was a Double chocolate Raspberry Parfait creation and was exceptional. It tasted as good as it looked and was served with a sweet wine Chateau Petit Vedrines Sauternes.


The penultimate course was the Artisan cheeseboard with biscuits bread and fruit and served with Grahams port, followed by coffee and another creation of a burnt sugar basket containing different chocolates and petit fours.


The whole meal was unbelievable and an amazing array of different tastes and textures which the Chef and his team had produced to tantalise our palates.


It was a fabulous night and a birthday meal I will never forget.

It was around 11 p.m. when it finished and we staggered back to the cabin.


We missed the evening entertainment which was Stephen Williams Jr a Magician and illusionist in Carmens and the Headliners Fantasy show in the Curzon theatre.


Friday 10 January 2020 2nd Sea day to Barbados.

There was no Fab Abs today but even had there been I wouldn’t have made it. After last nights fabulous food and wine we slept later than usual although we were wakened at around 4a.m, with an announcement over the speaker system. Not sure if this was intentional to go into the cabins.


After breakfast I went to fit steps then walked around the deck to make up for not going to the gym. The sun was out and it was quite warm.

I got a bed on the aft deck and it was lovely up to midday when it clouded over. It was still warm enough but the sun had lost the battle with the clouds. We did notice that the ship had speeded up and was cruising at 23 knots which will certainly get us into the warmer weather quicker.


I missed the Battle of the sexes as I was happy on deck but caught up with our Team Captain June later on to find that it had been a draw again.


I spent a lazy afternoon and stayed out until the sun really got socked in by cloud and it became cool.


The evening entertainment was Jon Courtenay in the theatre. He is an excellent comedian and a musician as well. Our issue was the show was word for word the same as when we last saw him. There are so many repeat cruisers that the Cabaret acts should make an effort to find new material and mix it up a bit. As we were sat near the back at the end of a row we found a chance to get out and as we did others followed us.


We headed to Carmens for a drink where the party band The Choice would be starting their Country & Western show. Sunil my fav gin man found me and told me they were planning a gin event and would I be interested. Omg would I, is the pope a catholic?


The Choice are a very talented band and Amanda the entertainment host started off the dancing and the floor soon filled up. A slight criticism is that the drummer is far too loud. During these party nights we like to have a drink and chat but it was impossible to hear what anyone was saying. We did finally meet up with David & Lesley having not seen them since they boarded. We eat at different times so go to different show times. We need to meet again in a quieter bar so that we can catch up properly.


We left quite early as we were both tired and I wanted to be in the gym by 7 am in the morning. When we returned to the cabin there was a voucher from the liquor shop allowing a litre each of drink to be purchased for in cabin drinking. The prices in the shop are reasonable so we will probably take them up on this offer.

The Horizon had been delivered and a quick glance showed no early morning exercise class planned. Very disappointing as in the past these have been a daily event and on the long cruises very well attended.


The ships clock go back another hour over night putting us at GMT -2

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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

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Saturday 11 January 2020- 3rd Sea Day to Barbados


I was up and about early and went to the gym at 06:30. I did my warm up and was part way through my Pilates when the gym instructor turned up to do a stretch class. There has hardly anyone there for the class as it hadn’t been advertised in the Horizon, however there is now a gym class schedule and it was on that. I just wish they would get their act together.


I went into a corner and finished my Pilates regime and continued with an abb workout. I found Garry walking the decks so finished my days exercise lapping the prom deck.


I had no intention of going into fit steps as the sun was hot and on the aft deck. I got a sun bed at 8 a.m. and Garry got into the hot tub whilst I went to the buffet for some fruit and yoghurt for breakfast. No time today for a long winded restaurant breakfast as the sun was calling me.


It got to 26 degrees and the ship was still speeding towards the Caribbean at around 23 knots. Looking at the map we appear to be over half way from the Canaries to the Caribbean with 3 full sea days plus tonight before we are due to dock in Barbados on Wednesday.


I left the pool at 3 p.m. aware that it was the first full day in hot sun since we left Mauritius last May. Although the Canaries had been sunny and hot last cruise we had been in port so not out in it all day.


Another excellent meal in the Alexandra restaurant then instead of going to the theatre to see Pamela Ivonne Cole, tribute to Aretha we went on deck and spent the evening there. The stars were out and it was full moon, the air was warm it is just what we cruise the Caribbean for.

The headliners were in Carmens with their show Top of the Billboards but even they couldn’t entice me inside on this balmy evening.


The clocks go back another hour overnight.

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GillD46
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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

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Post by GillD46 »

Sounds wonderful. Can I ask about your Chef’s Table meal? I am a non meat OR fish eating vegetarian, was there a vegetarian menu?
Gill

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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

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Post by Kenmo1 »

Fabulous way to enjoy your birthday meal, Sue. Thanks to you and Lindsey for the update.

Maureen

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Post by Suekersh »

GillD46 wrote: 12 Jan 2020, 21:11
Sounds wonderful. Can I ask about your Chef’s Table meal? I am a non meat OR fish eating vegetarian, was there a vegetarian menu?
I think you would have to ask. There is a photo of the menu on my Facebook page I will try to post here,

Just tried but it is too big.

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Post by Suekersh »

CaroleF wrote: 10 Jan 2020, 10:13
Thank you very much for posting these; I can imagine being back on Aurora, we were on the 65 night South America trip two years ago and are hopefully back on her in July for the Norway trip. Enjoy that lovely Caribbean sun.

Carole
Carole we loved the South America trip so much we have booked it again for next year.

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Post by Suekersh »

Update from Sue

Sunday 12 January 2020, Sea Day to Barbados

As the clocks had gone back another hour overnight I was up very early and in the gym for just after 6 a.m. Many pax were already in there so I wasn’t alone. I think I actually prefer to do my own regime it is just having the dedication to do it.


I got a sun bed on deck around 7 :30 a.m. and again it was already very busy. Garry had some laundry to do but then he came back to save the loungers whilst I went for the scrambled eggs and smoked salmon breakfast in the restaurant. The conversation around the table was how bad last nights entertainment had been in the theatre. Apparently many walked out. Looks like we didn’t miss anything.


We had a bit of liquid sunshine early morning but it only lasted a couple of minutes before the hot sun was back.


We are still doing 23 knots and on the interactive map we look very close to Barbados. We have suspected for a couple of days that there must be a medical reason for the speed and use of fuel.

The Captain came over the speaker system and confirmed our thoughts and we will arrive in Barbados at 21:30 tomorrow (Monday 13th )so we will have an extra night and day there. He wasn’t sure if immigration would clear the ship that evening but as it’s a formal night I doubt we would have got off at 10 p.m. The crew will have a whale of a time if the officials allow disembarkation as we will be there for three nights and three full days. On the downside someone is extremely poorly and I hope they can get the medical attention they need in Barbados.


I stayed in the sun and my butler brought me lunch at my sunbed. Then followed this up with an ice cream Annoyingly the bar on the aft deck is rarely open and no iced water is left there for the passengers to help themselves.

Occasionally a waiter comes round but it’s not the same as having a bar open.


The clouds came over about 3 p.m. but as I felt quite toasted I decided to head for the cabin and shower.


After dinner we gave the entertainment a miss again and sat out on deck drinking and chatting. The entertainment was Steph Webber in the theatre who we would have liked to go and see but sure we will catch up with her again in the future. The illusionist was in the Carmens Lounge but although reports have been very positive I just don’t enjoy these acts.

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Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

#22

Post by gilly88 »

really enjoying these reports its lovely to have some sunshine (yours!) along with the wind and rain. (mine!)..thank you.
regards gilly.

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Post by Suekersh »

Update from Sue, trying this on my phone, so fingers crossed.
Monday 13 January, final sea day to Barbados.

It must have rained quite heavily over night as the decks were soaked early this morning.

Gaining 4 hours over 4 days meant that I was wide awake before 5 a.m. after trying to go back to sleep I gave up and went to the gym.

I wasn’t alone and by 6 a.m. it was busy. I then walked the deck for 20 minutes and once again was surprised how many passengers were out at that time. It was a beautiful morning and the decks dried up very quickly.


I got the sun beds sorted just after 7 am and other than breakfast I stayed there until 3p.m, whenI had an appointment with my butler. He took his laundry hat off and put his hairdressing one on and coloured my hair.


Our 3 rd formal night of the cruise and after we dinner we returned to the cabin and changed in casual wear as we had no intention of seeing any of the entertainment on offer. The headliners were in the theatre with their show Destination Dance and there was a Black Tie Ball in Carmens. Another lovely balmy night as we watched the sail into Barbados.


Arcadia was still docked and we watched her sail away to carry on with her world cruise. It brought back memories to 2017 when we were on board for the World Cruise. A heavy squall came through but only lasted 2 minutes and we were under cover on A deck.


At around 10 p.m. the Deputy Captain announced that Aurora had been cleared and passengers could disembark. We decided to stay where we were but will get off tomorrow night after dinner.

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Suekersh
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Joined: January 2013
Location: Lancashire

Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

#24

Post by Suekersh »

Another update from Sue

Tuesday, 14 January - 1 St Day in Barbados.

Despite the amount of alcohol I consumed last night I was awake early again and in the gym for 5 a.m. Today I was the first there. I did an hour of exercise before returning to the cabin to prepare for the day.


We breakfasted outside on the aft deck. Our plan had been a beach day but decided to leave that until tomorrow as I had not only forgotten to bring my snorkel tube but also can’t find my beach shoes anywhere so a shopping day instead.


We started in the terminal where the water shoes were 18US dollars. At home in Sports Direct they are about £6. We caught a shuttle taxi into the city and walked to Carlisle bay to find Hazzels Water world and hopefully buy the snorkel tube and beach shoes. On the way we spotted Pirates Cove which had been recommended by a friend (Thanks Linda) we checked it out and chatted to one of the locals there . We intend to go back there tomorrow.


Garry had researched Hazzels Water world on line. It was due to open at 10 a.m but wasn’t and after having a Banks beer in a local bar it still hadn’t opened by 10:40 so we gave up and walked back to the city.


We found a barbers in Independence square and Garry had his head and beard shaved at less than half price the ship wanted and a really good job as well.

We bought the snorkel tube at one of the Waterfront shops but the beach shoes were more expensive than at the port. We gave up and stopped at the Waterfront Bar, sat in the sun and enjoyed the view, beer and free wi fi. A lot of the ships passengers were there and when we were ready to move on people were waiting for tables.

We wandered around the city centre making small purchases until the heat got too much and we got a taxi back to the port, bought the expensive beach shoes, stocked up on soft drinks and walked back to the ship. Not the day we had planned but we saw parts of Barbados we hadn’t seen before.


We had a late lunch sat outside and finished just before a torrential downpour. It lasted about 15 minutes before the sun came out again and dried up all the rain. An afternoon siesta was much needed after my early morning and the walking around the city in the heat.


After dinner we headed back out to the terminal. We were disappointed that Coconuts the bar there was closing as we arrived. I had thought that with ships overnight in port it would stay open. We took advantage of the free wi fi and then headed back to the ship.


Jon Courtney was back in the theatre and the resident band in Carmens. Once again we ditched the entertainment in favour of the aft deck and the balmy evening.


Another two full days in Barbados to come.


Whynd1
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1832
Joined: February 2013
Location: Gower, Swansea

Re: Aurora Grand Voyage 2020

#25

Post by Whynd1 »

I am away at Warners from Friday to Monday,but am hoping to use the wifi and my mobile phone to post any reports that come through from Sue.

Lindsey

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