10 things that I loved about cruising onboard P&O Aurora, the oldest ship in the P&O Cruises fleet
I took a cruise on the oldest ship in the P&O Cruises fleet: P&O Aurora. To be honest, I wasn’t totally sure what to expect from a cruise ship of this age - she was built back in 2000, so I entered with really neutral expectations. That way, I couldn’t be disappointed, right?
Over the years, I’ve cruised on some older ships that are in urgent need of some care, attention, and quite frankly some love. However, I’m delighted to report that this wasn’t the case at all with what I found onboard P&O Aurora - I was so impressed with so many aspects of the cruise experience on this ship, and I’m going to tell you about 10 things that I loved about this ship in this post today!
If you’d like to SEE onboard Aurora, then come over to my YouTube channel, where I’ll be posting lots from my time onboard. You can watch my cabin tour already - just click the video below. While you’re over there, remember to hit the ‘subscribe’ button to support my channel!
Ok, let’s get started on my list of 10 things that I loved about cruising onboard this little beauty of a ship.
1) My cabin!
For this cruise, I chose to book a cabin type that I very rarely find on cruise ships: a solo balcony cabin. In terms of location, this put me in a quiet little section towards the back of Deck 8. There aren’t actually many cabins back there - only 23 - so there isn’t a huge amount of noise from your neighbours moving around trying to find their rooms at night, or making their way out in the morning.
The only point I would highlight from a location point of view is that there’s a door to the Terrace Bar and Pool (the pool area at the back of the ship that I’ll show you later in this post) at the end of the corridor just along from this room. I cruised out of the UK on a relatively fresh Spring-time cruise, and so it may be a little busier in this corridor if the ship’s operating in warmer climates, when more passengers might want to spend the day outside soaking up the sun.
In terms of the room itself, let me show you…
So, what did I love so much about this room? Well, for starters, isn’t it lovely to cruise solo and not feel like a second class passenger? I found this room to be absolutely perfect for my cruise! After visiting some cabins that my friends had booked for this cruise, it was also clear that my cabin was much newer than some others. In fact, when the ship was last refurbished to transform her from family friendly to adult only, they apparently removed the kids club and inserted a bunch of cabins (mine was one of them). Clever, right?
So, take it from me - if you’re cruising solo on Aurora - book yourself into a solo balcony cabin - mine was a real treat!
2) The tiered aft Terraces and Pool deck
Before I talk about this part of the ship, let me cut straight to a photo - how gorgeous is this?!
I love modern cruise ships, but in more recent times I’ve grown to really love the older ones too. I really respect when a cruise line resists the urge to replace the traditional wooden decks with the cheaper/more modern alternative commonly found on the much bigger, newer ships.
I cruised on a ship last year (which will remain nameless for the purpose of this post - it wasn’t a P&O Cruises ship!) which had a top deck in a terrible condition, but not Aurora. The wood on here is clearly looked after really well, as I couldn’t find many parts at all that were requiring a touch up - impressive when you’re looking at a space the size of this, isn’t it?
Another great thing about how this aft section of the ship is set up is that there are vantage points from every single deck, meaning that you don’t really find yourself fighting the crowds to get a good view facing the back at any point. Having completed a short cruise on here, I now think this would be a brilliant ship (from a views point of view) for some of the big bucket list itineraries. If this ship completed the canal transits for example, I’d really consider booking myself on!
3. The Promenade Deck!
Deck 7 of Aurora is home to the Promenade Deck. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find a cruise ship that features a wrap-around promenade deck, offering passengers an alternative to sitting on the top deck, way above the surface of the ocean.
I was delighted to find that not only was there a wrap-around promenade deck on this ship, but it was also entirely unobstructed and therefore offered some stunning vantage points down to the water, and across to the horizon - take a look!
All around this deck, there was ample seating. You could either sit on one of the traditional wooden benches (these are pretty common on cruise ships), on the more modern chairs that you can see in the second photo above, or you could take residence at a table and chairs further towards the back of the ship.
Due to the fact that the lifeboats are stored above this deck (again, a feature that I love - it reminds me of cruising on the Queen Mary 2), there’s loads of shade down here, so it’s a lovely little place to spend some time reading, or some time ocean watching without the inconvenience of getting too hot from the sun out there!
4) The onboard cinema: The Playhouse!
With Aurora being one of the oldest and smallest ships in the P&O Cruises fleet, I was a bit nervous that the facilities could be really out of date. However, they have a really lovely little onboard cinema venue onboard, offering an intimate retreat from the much larger Curzon Theatre (I’ll show you this later in this article - don’t worry!).
On a day at Sea, I’d find that there would be several movies playing throughout the day, which would offer you something to do to pass the time, and it was totally included in your cruise fare, which is always a win! This venue was so well used during my cruise - I actually struggled to get in here to take a photo due to the fact it was always in use…!!
5) The food…
Before taking this cruise on Aurora, I’d taken a number of cruises with P&O, but I couldn’t really remember if their food game was much to report. Would I end up hungry? Well, I doubted that, but I was looking forward to finding out just how good it was going to be, especially when I considered that I hadn’t paid a massive amount to cruise on here for this trip!
The food on this ship ended up being a really great quality and overall standard, both in the Speciality venues (I ate at Sindhu, the Indian venue), and also the included options. Let me show you in the photos before just one of my evening meals - I was really impressed that this was the food coming out without any additional charges and in the Main Dining Room!
If you’d like to see more of the food from this cruise, then be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel, where you’ll find a full Dining Guide being released in the future!
6) The sauna - it’s included!
I absolutely LOVE when the sauna is included with your cruise fare. Admittedly, this is something that you VERY rarely find on the newer ships, as cruise lines have got wise to the fact that people will happily pay to use this facility, and an onboard sauna is certainly considered a luxury on a cruise ship, rather than a necessity.
What better way to end your day than to sit up here, watching the sun going down, while wildlife spotting down below? Wonderful!
It’s important to note - there are complimentary sauna facilities, but this doesn’t mean the spa is free. You’ll still be required to pay to use the other facilities in there!
7) The Curzon Theatre - look at the traditional design touches!
On the newer ships, the onboard theatre is a really good way for the cruise line to flex their muscles when it comes to showing off. On Aurora, I really love how traditional it feels, thanks to a few little touches that didn’t go unnoticed while I was onboard.
First, the carpets are exactly what I’d expect to find in a traditional theatre, and is completely different to what you often see on cruise ships. Most importantly though, look at the wood finishes on all of the walls around the theatre! Some people may look at this element and think it looks quite old fashioned, but I absolutely loved it. Sitting in here, you could’ve been transported back a decade or two - a real rarity nowadays. Well done with the maintenance in here, P&O!
Even looking at the signage at the entrance to the theatre - those theatrical masks paint such a traditional picture for this space, and I love that they haven’t been replaced with a more modern interpretation!
8) The space between the tables when dining!
You’ve probably had a laugh looking at the dining venues on some cruise ships - the tables are sometimes so close together that you might as well be dining at a Wagamama’s. However, I didn’t find this to be the case on Aurora at all - I was so impressed!
I really struggle, especially when I’m cruising solo, sitting at a dining table that’s really close to my neighbour. I often enjoy ‘keeping myself to myself’ in that environment, and that always isn’t possible when there’s such little space between the tables. If I’m dining with someone, I want to dine with THEM, rather than all of the people on either side of us.
Let me show you an example from Aurora - you can see here that each table is really quite private. If someone at the next table started a conversation, they’d have to be going out of their way to do so - plenty of space between you and them!
9) The oversized deck chair…
It was bound to feature within the top 10, wasn’t it? I’ve seen these on all (I think…) of the P&O ships that I’ve cruised on, and I find them such a great little (or large) novelty. They’re so fun for a photo opportunity - I especially love watching people settle down for a photo, and then see the fear come over their face when they realise they need to find a way to get back out of the chair, ha!
Oddly, although I think it’s a great photo opportunity, I haven’t actually got a photo of ME in one of these chairs. Perhaps that’s one that will need to go on the ‘to do list’ for my next cruise with P&O Cruises? Watch this space…!
10) The connection with the Ocean that I got while cruising on here!
If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know that I don’t love a cruise ship where I struggle to see the Ocean. At home, I live in the middle of England, at one of the furthest away points from the water, and I think about the sea often.
As a result of this, every time I cruise, I want to be able to SEE the water, in order to feel like I’m not on dry land! I found P&O Aurora to have so many great vantage points to allow for uninterrupted ocean views, whether that be from the large windows in the public venues onboard, or the open decks with the standard height railings, allowing you to stand up there and look straight out to sea.
I’ve never figured out why some ships have huge glass walls above the railings - it must be to do with the size of the ship, as it’s often the case on mega-ships. Here’s the top deck view from Aurora - stunning, isn’t it?
If you haven’t already figured it out, I really enjoyed my time onboard P&O Aurora. I was onboard for a short cruise out of the UK, but I’d have absolutely no hesitations with booking a longer cruise on this ship.
I’ll tell you more about the overall onboard experience over on YouTube in due course, so be sure to come over and subscribe to hear all about that, and so much more!
To check out more posts from P&O, you can click here. Otherwise, why not check out another post below? Thanks for being here today and supporting ‘Fraser at Sea’ - I appreciate it so much!