Aurora by Carla

Ship - Aurora
Line - P&O Cruises
Date - 6 June 2008

The wedding was booked and the dress was chosen, all I needed to do now was to decide where to go for my Hen weekend. 

P&O’s brochure for 2008 had just been launched and whilst flicking through the pages I spotted the Party Cruises. Fantastic I thought – something different for the girlies to try. With my Mum, Aunty and Mother –in Law to be celebrating with me I wanted something to suit all ages. I called a few of my friends to run the idea past them and it was a resounding ‘YES’, and so 40 ladies travelled from Cumbria to Southampton on Friday 6th June 2008 ( yes I am still recovering ) to cruise onboard Aurora.

Friday 6th June

Living in the North West an early start for our journey to Southampton was needed.  At 7am we were on our way, arriving in Southampton in plenty of time. Check in was quick and easy, with only a short queue the time passed as we were easily distracted watching a beautiful bride arrive for her reception onboard (my thoughts went to my wedding day, the Hen weekend was just the beginning of the celebrations!)

All onboard, bags unpacked, our group met at the back of the ship for Sailaway cocktails at the Pennants Bar. I would definitely recommend a Strawberry Dacquiri or two to get the party going.  Shortly after arriving at the bar I was frog marched back to my cabin where two of my close friends had a very special outfit for me to wear. Fortunately tonight the dress code was Smart/Casual and I was to be  Wonder Woman! As I walked around the ship fellow passengers would callout – Wonder Woman!!! Just like on the Tv programme – I felt like a celebrity!

Champions was our choice of venue for pre-dinner drinks, this is a British pub style sports bar with a juke box for you to choose music. Once everyone had arrived we made our way to the Alexandria restaurant for dinner. Having requested for all of our group to be sat together on large tables I was delighted to be escorted to the best seats in the house – tables together at the back of the ship with floor to ceiling windows to watch the sunset as we dine.  Dinner was wonderful with plenty of choice no-one in the group was dissappointed. My friends who had never cruised before definitely knew they had got value for money after dining like Royalty.

After dinner the group split up, half of us wanting to watch the Tribute to Queen and half ready for a dance in Masquerade’s the nightclub. The Queen Tribute was lots of fun with a lot of  Freddie’s favourites, I will never forget ‘ I want to break free’, the guy was dressed just like Freddie in the video and I can guarantee that every lady in that room would have been envious of his legs – they were up to his armpits. Off to the nightclub a good dance was needed to work off dinner, as I entered some of the girls had arranged fro the DJ to be playing Bonnie Tyler – ‘I need a hero’…. That was me on the dancefloor until the early hours.

Saturday 7th June

I must have been running on adrenaline, I was up and having breakfast for 9.30am – the Orangeray was perfect for us as we had a wide choice of hot and cold options, ranging from a fresh fruit salad to a Full English breakfast , with the best doorstep fried bread I had ever had. My mum and Aunty opted to visit the restaurant both mornings, finding this to be the quieter option. I think they just enjoyed being waited on and not having to worry about the washing up afterwards.

10.30 am our group all met in the Atrium to make our way into Bruges. Today we were all Superheroes with our tour T- shirts, they had the Superman logo on the front and on the back Carla’s Hen Aurora 2008. There was lots of shore excursions to choose from however we decide to take the free Shuttle bus to Blakenburg and then the train onto Bruges. All in all costing us only 3 euros each return. Bruges is a quaint, picturesque city. The buildings are only 2 – 3 storeys high which helps keep the traditional look.  We headed to the square where there was a number of cafes , shops and bars to visit. It didn’t take much for me to be persuaded into having a local Cherry beer  - lovely!  All shopped up we caught the last bus back to the ship to get ready for dinner.

Tonight was Formal night with the Captain’s cocktail party to attend – I finally got to glam up and wear my new dress. Again we used Champions as our meeting point and headed into Carmens the show lounge for the cocktail party – here we had the opportunity to have our photo taken with the Captain and some of his officers. What a treat! Along with the waiters walking round to serve you with your drinks this was a lovely start to the evening.

Dinner this evening was superb, the best Beef Wellington I have had at sea. Tonight we ensured that we visited the other bars onboard so we headed to the Crow’s Nest, a very relaxed piano bar where a duo sang, then onward to Champions before dancing the night away in the Masquerades. Some of the group headed to Carmens where a 60’and 70’s night was taking place – they had a fantastic time dancing  to the good old tunes.

Sunday 8th June

Sadly this morning we had to disembark but not before a hearty breaksfast to set us up for the journey home. Disembarking was a smooth process and as we boarded our coach we waved the Aurora Goodbye or should that be Until next time.  All in all a wonderful weekend which I would highly recommend for any family celebration or special occasion.  The only thing now is to work out an excuse to go next year... What can I tell my new Hubby!

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