Ray's cruise to the Caribbean and back

[Ray B]

My final installment


Saturday evening our table of eight had a very enjoyable dinner at the Glass House. Sarah and myself had the fish stew (I recommend this) our table companions opted for the Haddock and chips. The conversion flowed more easily in the much more quiet surroundings.
We ended the night in the theatre and The Femmes sing Holywood hits from the golden age of musicals and films. They were very good entertainment.

Day 1 from the Azores.
The day started with a milky sun ,but as the morning progressed the clouds thinned and it is quite hot in the sun. The Bridge reporting 20c air temperature.
This morning the Captian took the Remembrance day service in the Curzon theatre , over 600 passengers and crew attended. Moving words in the readings,
well put by the ships nurse,a security officer and a passenger.
The 45 minute service ending with the 2 minute silence was started by a trumpeter playing the last post, after reveille, security office John Cartilidge read the words for the fallen, They shall not grow old........, and God Save The King brought the service to a close.

We started to pack a few things like jackets,suits,trousers and frocks that will not be needed for the last three nights,didn't take long, Sarah doing the packing, me as an assistant. My way of packing does meet the expected demanding standard required by Mrs B.
Gray clouds have caught up and passed ahead of us blocking the sun at 15.45. It's now looking drab and gray.
Tonight we will feast at the Beach House.
I did mention earlier how nice the interior of the ship looked ,but a minor detail to mention is the windows in the Horizon restaurant Lido deck, leaks have caused rusty streaks down the uprights between the Glass. A small but noticeable thing that would not take to much time time tidy up.

This afternoon was the chocoholics event with some sumptuously flavoured treats to indulge. Although a lot smaller than years ago , there did seem an awfully lot of sweets left, but not wishing to spoil dinner, I did resist the temptation and only had three sweets.

The clouds have really set in now, the horizon becoming a blur but still 19c.

We went again to the Beach House for dinner. Piri Piri chicken, king prawns then pork and beef ribs followed by dessert. Another delightful visit.
Steve Kingsbury played our night out at the piano in the Crows nest

Day 2 from the Azores. Temp 16c
The day was mainly overcast with the sun poking through on occasions .
We took the day slowly, catching up with a bit of rest after some late nights and in readiness for our fifth and final Formal evening. We had packed in anticipation of what is normally Black and white night, but it was not advertised as such. We stepped out dressed for B&W, as did a few other passengers. Non the less, formal night was very well adhered to. Dinner was very good with an Amuse Bruses, starter ,soup ,main course (we had the prawn and lobster tails) dessert and or cheese.
After dinner the Femmes were on at the theatre. From my point of view, they took their act as the Andrew Sisters in the wrong direction. With a plethora of songs from the 1940s and 50s, much suited to their way of singing, they 'adapted ' songs from the 50s 60s 70s 80s and 90s as they thought the Andrew Sisters would sing them. An opportunity to show how well they harmonise, lost.

Last sea day to Southampton. Temp 14c
The sun was shining on this final day, but as the day went on gray clouds and showers with the sun trying hard to cheer the day up. Finishing packing with just a few essentials to pack tomorrow morning, we made our way down to Sindu's for the final Tiffin lunch. This completes our visits to the speciality restaurants and what a culinary journey it's been, well worth the time spent enjoying such well presented offerings. It's also worth mentioning again the food in the MDR has been most enjoyable.
Tonight, our last ,will be the chef's parade, to give appreciation to the hard work to produce such a selection of wonderful dishes.
After a delightful starter of King Prawns and a beautifully cooked piece of Haddock, a pause for the parade of the Chefs followed by the waiters was met with a sea of napkins being waved and cheering.
After dinner we finished the shows at the theatre with a wonderful performance by the Headliners and Applause. Singing songs from the greatest musicals ,it was made ever more better because the singers could really sing, something in the past that was lacking. Rating this performance, quote, ab_so_lutely fab_u_lous .
Again having a few drinks in the Crows nest brought this very enjoyable cruise to a end.
May I mention a drinks waiter, all the waiters were so friendly but one waiter in the Crows nest, without hesitation ran halfway round the ship to get Sarah her drink as it was not available in the Crows Nest, that waiter was Bapan,a lovely guy.
If you are going on Aurora and the Crows Nest you will see what I'm saying.
Well Southampton greeted with sunshine as we left the ship and made our way to the car and home.

[oldbluefox]

Thank you for your reports Ray. Your cruise sounded so different to our experience. It's good to hear there is still an alternative to the larger ships on the good ship Aurora.
Pleased to hear you had a good time and hopefully, stocked up with such fine food the sea air hasn't shrunk your trousers.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Excellent reports Ray. So sorry to have missed you in Madeira. We'll have to give you our future dates so you can book cruises accordingly. Can you just remind me which bar you left the unpaid bill in, so I can avoid it? Need to conserve my funds. I'm buying John a half in March.

[towny44]

Excellent reports Ray. So sorry to have missed you in Madeira. We'll have to give you our future dates so you can book cruises accordingly. Can you just remind me which bar you left the unpaid bill in, so I can avoid it? Need to conserve my funds. I'm buying John a half in March.

A half bottle of brandy!!! That's exceedingly generous of you Merv.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Excellent reports Ray. So sorry to have missed you in Madeira. We'll have to give you our future dates so you can book cruises accordingly. Can you just remind me which bar you left the unpaid bill in, so I can avoid it? Need to conserve my funds. I'm buying John a half in March.

A half bottle of brandy!!! That's exceedingly generous of you Merv.

That's okay. Passed by the management.

[Ray B]

Foxy, glad you enjoyed my ramblings. The report is on my experience only, but would be very surprised if anyone left the ship disappointed.
The trousers for some unknown reason to myself did get to the point where doing them up became harder, luckily the new D J had braces.

[Ray B]

Thank you Mervyn, sorry ,I just can not remember the name of the Bar, your favorite one apparently. Maybe you can remind US ALL the name again.

[Onelife]

Hi Ray, your review has attracted 1,113 views. I'm sure most of them will have found it as interesting as I did.

Thankyou.