After the excitement of Norwegian Breakaway in Rotterdam and then the Solent, and not to mention the short post about some odious legislation going through the relevant processes, I am beginning to catch up with the stuff I want to post on here!
We arrived in the North Sea Canal early on Friday morning although a tad late thanks to the persistent fog in the North Sea. The weather was awful, misty, cold and wet but we know AIDAluna would be passing our port side on her way back to the North Sea and Dover. There was a nice 'frank exchange of views', via the horns, between the ships as we passed.
I really like these AIDA ships, despite the eyes and lips paint scheme, which I'm not a big fan of, the ships themselves are good looking, particularly from the front and prove that modern cruise ships, balconies and all, don't have to be jarring to the eye (Norwegian Breakaway also falls into this category).
I went back to sleep afterwards, it'd been a late one the previous night and the weather was rubbish so I didn't bother staying out once the AIDA had passed us.
We caught the train down to Rotterdam after lunch to see Norwegian Breakaway and the now permanently moored 55-year old liner SS Rotterdam, both ships whose photos you can see and which you can read about
here.
This was an overnight stop and we were due to depart from Amsterdam at 0700 the following day, Saturday 27th April. We sailed on time, and in sunny weather, it was a pleasant cruise along the canal to IJmuiden Locks, which never fail to amuse, and the North Sea.
The Cowes-registered Natacha-C - always nice to see an Isle of Wight connection abroad!
The tankers Bloom and British Serenity
The refrigerated cargo ship Frio Arkhangelsk
At the locks, the tanker Pretty World was arriving, just as we had cleared the locks, and there was an entertaining mini 'horn battle' with her.
The ferry King Seaways, better known to myself and other South Coast enthusiasts as Brittany Ferries' Val De Loire which I sailed on in 2004, was arriving on her regular run from Newcastle. The photos were taken at the 400mm end of my 100-400mm lens and vapours, etc, drifting over from the steelworks opposite have done nothing to improve them!
Out into the North Sea, there was quite a lot of shipping about, as you'd expect.
Birka Exporter was just picking up the pilot on her approach to IJmuiden.
While there were tankers and bulk carriers in the anchorage
Look closely at the photo below and you can see Queen Victoria in the distance, between the third and fourth wind turbines; she was on her way to Hamburg at the conclusion of her World cruise.
The ships kept passing.
Lowlands Berlin
Mignon, a regular caller at Southampton
MSC Lausanne
Golar Viking, this was as we got near to the Dover Strait.
Passing through the Dover Strait, some three hours later than the captain stated (I think he underestimated the time a 10 to 12-knot amble down the North Sea would take and we sped up to nearly 19 knots to get to Southampton on time), we saw Spirit of France overtaking My Ferry Link's Rodin. I did take a few photos but, as it was dark, they're not worth the effort of uploading.
The dress code for the evening was 'smart' (i.e. trousers which aren't jeans, smart jacket/top, etc) but as both Patsy and myself couldn't be that bothered with it - Patsy couldn't be bothered with the smart top bit and I couldn't be bothered with dinner in the main dining room - we gave dinner a miss and went to the Orangery instead, where some fabulous curries were on offer - much better than what was on offer in the Alexandria dining room! We both had seconds.
We arrived in Southampton on a cold but sunny Sunday morning. I'd been having a lot of sinus trouble since losing a lower back molar in August and didn't hang around on deck, as the cold wind played havoc with it.
Qingdao Tower was still laid up in the port, although she'd been moved up to 107.
We had to vacate the cabin by 0800 but not before breakfast, so we headed to the Medina restaurant where were found the queues were huge, the waiters woefully understaffed and overworked and the service very slow indeed. I ordered what was described on the menu as 'scrambled egg with smoked salmon' but what was, in reality, a revolting concoction which looked like something my cats would have puked up. It was every bit as disgusting as it looked and I swear that the so-called 'smoked salmon' was bog-standard tinned salmon. It was bloody awful and I was glad that this was actually my second breakfast and that I'd had fried eggs and toast in the Orangery two hours before. I feel sorry for anyone who had to travel a significant distance with only this to sustain them!
A phone-cam shot of the 'cat puke on toast' I was served.
When the time came to disembark, we joined a huge queue for the gangway. This, in itself, wasn't a problem, but people were coming down the stairs and out of the lifts and barging in, which was not only rude but also caused further hold ups. I made a VERY loud remark, which all could hear, and directed at the pushers-in, prompting a woman in front of me to tell me I was braver than she was! Not brave, just intolerant of people taking the piss! If ever there was a time for a crew member to be on hand directing people to behave in an orderly fashion this was it but they'd all vanished apart from the staff on the gangway.
Anyway, we eventually got off and caught a taxi round to Town Quay where I waited for my 0945 Red Jet to Cowes and Patsy for her 1000 ferry to Hythe.
While we were waiting, I photographed container ship CMA CGM Fort Ste. Marie departing. With a lovely calm day, there were some gorgeous reflections in the water.
Svitzer Ferriby
So, what did I think of Aurora? Well, she's a nice ship but let down by bad service. Apart from in the Crow's Nest bar, it was hard to get served anywhere, because she was woefully understaffed. Lunch in the Café Bordeaux on Friday was a joke, we were served the adjacent table's order and when I asked for a coffee it never arrived! It was quiet and I hate to think how badly things would go when it was busy in there.
Fixtures and fittings were looking the worse for wear, with the port side Orangery automatic door stuck and other bits and pieces falling off in places, but whether that was general wear and tear after a world cruise or the result of cost cutting is not known.
I much preferred Oriana last year and Oriana being adults-only is one of those reasons. There were toddlers in the Crow's Nest at 11pm which is not fair on adults who want a quiet drink or on the kids themselves, who ought to be in bed at that hour. No, I don't particularly like small children but, putting prejudices aside, it really isn't ideal and I don't think a cruise ship is a suitable environment for anyone under 12 years old (stands by for hate mail!).
The other is that the service was better and I generally like Oriana more as a ship. I didn't dislike Aurora, far from it, but things need some improvement, not least the service - or lack of it - onboard.
Would I go back? Yes but not at the prices they charge for singles and I'd hope the onboard service improves.
