And, before anyone says "well the bottle didn't smash", how many people know there was a 2nd ceremony the day after?

The youngest crew member onboard had the task of "doing the bottle" the same as the Princess Royal had done the day before.

I happened to sail on the maiden voyage, and although we broke down, we were treated brilliantly, and lets face it, anything mechanical can break down or fail at anytime.

The following year I sailed on Aurora again, to Venice, and it was a most memorable trip, and the ship was just stunning!

I complained to the BBC about their reports back in January saying they painted an unfair picture and the reporter was trying to stir up controversy. Quite ammusing that they had trouble trying to find any passengers that were treated unfairly and could complain, everyone interviewed apart from a couple who jumped on the whinging bandwagon had nothing but support for the crew and how they were treated.
If anyone wants to see the reply, I'll post it.

Excuse my rants, but everytime I hear, "the jinxed P&O cruise ship Aurora" it annoys me!

I wish them all good luck and a great year ahead.

It is part of the humanization and personification of a ship.

Re : Oriana being a "luckier" ship :
Why was "Aurora" called "Aurora" ? I don't seem to remember a (prestigious) predecessor (cfr. Oriana or Arcadia) with this name ? And if not, why naming a luxury cruise ship, meant to be travelled upon by well-of older passenger, and owned by a company with Imperial roots, after a communist/socialist symbol, the "New Dawn", "L'Aurore", "Aurora".
This unlucky naming is perhaps the another aspect of "Oriana" being a luckier ship.

BTW, Aurora will normally be in Zeebrugge this weekend, and Oriana on the saturday of Pentecost.

Being my favourite P&O vessel I can honestly tell you her sea manners are probably the best in the fleet, except for Oriana as they share the same hull design.

Below a force 4 there is no movement whatsover, and even when it is rough, her behaviour is that of a ship who's draft is more than Aurora's 8m.

With her duck tail stern, smaller funnel than Oriana and other design differences she is one of the most beautiful modern cruise ships afloat, closely followed of course by Oriana!

I defy anyone to stand at the top of her tiered stern, look down on the open "ampitheatre" style and not say its stunning!

I only have to try and convince my wife and her family that the ship is not "jinxed", as its very shortsighted to hear the drivvle of the press and come to those conclusions! Of course, nobody of the press mentioned the 4 years of exemplary service, hundreds of voyages and thousands of very happy passengers before the unfortunate Norwalk virus and events of January.

The sooner I am back onboard sailing out of my wonderful homeport, glass in hand, the better!

quote:

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Originally posted by NAL:
That's one of many reasons why I dislike the BBC.

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quote:

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Originally posted by OceanVoyager:
I defy anyone to stand at the top of her tiered stern, look down on the open "ampitheatre" style and not say its stunning!

I only have to try and convince my wife and her family that the ship is not "jinxed", as its very shortsighted to hear the drivvle of the press and come to those conclusions! Of course, nobody of the press mentioned the 4 years of exemplary service, hundreds of voyages and thousands of very happy passengers before the unfortunate Norwalk virus and events of January.

The sooner I am back onboard sailing out of my wonderful homeport, glass in hand, the better!

Best Rgds,
Andrew

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Would that I had the opportunitiy to do so. I'm working on it though...

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Originally posted by Sea Wanderer:

Would that I had the opportunitiy to do so. I'm working on it though...

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I ask because I could be very tempted to cruise on one of these ships next year, but I don't think I can afford the price of a more typical cruise. The seven-night ones however might be achievable.

quote:

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Originally posted by CGT:

You should rephrase that as "That's one of many reasons why I dislike any American television network news" Because the BBC is so superior to anything available in the U.S. it's just pathetic.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Tom Burke:
For those who know Aurora (and Oriana), how do the short cruises (the 7 day ones especially) compare with the more typical 13, 14 & 15 -night cruises?

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Although I’ve yet to cruise with P&O, I have done one-week and two-week cruises with other cruise lines.

I think that it is true to say that in American waters, a one week cruise is pretty standard. Where as in Europe we seem to have many two-week cruisers, on offer. This probably stems from the British tradition of going on an annual two week summer holiday.

A two week cruise is great. By the second week you are really getting ‘into’ ship board life. Although the second week always seems to pass quicker than the first. You are likely to make stronger friendships with the fellow passengers. You also normally get more sea-days, so you can relax a little more than a more port-intensive shorter cruise.

However, I have been on one-week cruises and also enjoyed them, too. The main appeal to me is that they are so much cheaper are require less anual leave.

One week onboard a ship is still quite a long time. You still get a full cruise experience. It also a good way to try a line and vessel. So in conclusion, go for it if you get the chance!

[ 04-21-2005: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

I am usually pretty tolerant and if people are misinformed I correct them (as I would expect to be put right myself). This bloke would not stand corrected and even hoped the Aurora would sink. That was the last straw and I ended up telling him he was talking out of his arse and thoroughly losing my rag with him. I'm afraid I even called him a "****ing pillock" so angry he made me.

[ 04-22-2005: Message edited by: Sea Wanderer ]

Once again you could see from Sally Taylor's face on BBC South Today that she was ready to pass a sarky remark at the end of the Aurora report last night, but seemed to leave it out at the last minute.

Lets face it, QE2 has had heaps more problems, yet these seem to be forgotten, and look at dear old Canberra, her career had lots of incidents!

I am 100% sure Aurora will prove to be another wonderful ambassador not only for P&O, but for Souuthampton and UK cruising.