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Aurora Cruise Review

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 15

Overall rating:

3.4 out of 5
Aurora

Mediterranean

Sail date: October 12, 2022

Ship: Aurora

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

We had been so looking forward to this cruise, but it was hugely disappointing, due to the food. I hope P&O can improve & get back to where they were pre-pandemic.

Embarkation

3 out of 5
We had checked in on line, but process in terminal seemed confused. It may be teething troubles. No physical check of Covid vaccination passports. Staff simply took our word, even though we had them ready to be examination. This was poor. Porters no longer unload cases from the car. Might be a small thing, but adds to that special feeling of being on a cruise.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5
In comparison to previous cruises with P&O, food was poor, whether in buffet or restaurant. Poor choice, repetitive & a make-do-and-mend approach to menu offerings. Who knew lasagne is a British classic, with or without pesto mashed potato? Excepting breakfast, food in the buffet was often tepid at best. The menus in the restaurant were not representative of the menus on P&O’s website. Don’t regard Lancashire hotpot or cottage pie as “decadent” or “fine dining”. There was an over reliance on beef, sweet potatoes & squeaky French beans.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Whilst I didn’t go to the shows, there was a lack of singers in the bars. Just one poor fella, The Busker, who was run ragged to the detriment of his voice.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Staff as ever, superb. There weren’t enough of them though so they were super busy, but always smiling.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
Ship is looking a little tired. No evening turndown service anymore, so no chocolate on the pillow. No lotions & potions in the cabin either. Both might seem trivial, but they make passengers feel special & mark the difference between an overnight ferry & a cruise ship.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Ship tip

Be prepared to eat in one the pay dining rooms if you want a plentiful, hot meal with great choices available. I’d recommend The Beach House.

Ports of call

Ferrol, Spain

2 out of 5

Cadiz (Spain)

4 out of 5

Gibraltar (U.K.)

4 out of 5

Southampton (London), England

4 out of 5

Genoa, Italy

2 out of 5
No shuttle buses & there should’ve been. It was a long walk. There weren’t any drop kerbs for wheelchair users to take them out of the road, so it was back to the ship. This is an adult only ship with many passengers with mobility problems.

Barcelona, Spain

4 out of 5

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

1 out of 5
No accessible shuttle buses so wheelchair users confined to ship.

Sorrento, Italy

5 out of 5
One word - beautiful!

Lisbon, Portugal

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Smooth as ever.

Traveler Photos

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