Aurora finally gets a refit

This week saw P&O Cruises announce that the Aurora will be having a £26 million refit between the dates of the 29th November and the 18th December in Hamburg, just in time for her to be ready sail on her Christmas and New Year cruise and then onto her South America and Pacific Adventure World Cruise. The Aurora came into service in 2000 and was last refitted in 2009 so is definitely due another refit. P&O have advised the ship will be the first in the fleet to receive the new livery design which celebrates P&O Cruises heritage and its place as Britain’s favourite cruise company. It features a contemporary version of the Union Flag on its bow and new blue funnels with illuminated rising sun designs  Other areas of the ship which will be refitted are as follows: Restaurants/Bars:  Celebrity Chef Atul Kochar will have his restaurant Sindhu on board and this will be on deck 8 and will replace the library.  Also on deck 8 Cafe Bordeaux will be replaced by the Glass House restaurant and wine bar – this will b open for brunch, lunch and dinner and will have wines selected by expert and TV presenter Olly Smith. The buffet restaurant on the Lido deck is going to have a complete refurbishment with new decor. In the evening, The Beach House menu replaces the Pennant Grill menu to include family favourites such as Fillet of Beef on Lava Rock  Finally Aurora will introduce the popular freedom dining in the Medina restaurant and there will be more tables for two and also on gala night will have choices of Marco Pierre White’s dishes. There will also be a refurbishment of the Sidewalk Cafe and will also introduce Costa Coffee as well as a brand new Grab and Go counter.
Cabins: Will receive new soft furnishings and all cabins will receive flat screen TV’s Other public areas:  The library will now be located to the cyb@study space which is adjacent to the crows nest on deck 1. There will an upgrade of all sound and light equipment in the theatre and show lounge. The Oasis Spa will also receive a refurbishment as well as the shops and also the Photo gallery which will include more screen technology. There will also be a complete refurbishment of The Reef children’s clubs with room names changed to reflect Reef club names across the rest of the fleet. The Casino and Champions will also have a refurbishment which will have an open plan design, new furniture and an improved stage area for entertainment, live music and quizzes   Sounds like P&O have planned quite a big refurbishment and will be certainly bringing the Aurora more up to date with the rest of the newer ships in the fleet.  I was speaking to a regular cruiser on the Aurora and he agreed it was about time the ship had a refit. I think the introduction of the freedom dining will be such a big improvement to the ship as this is certainly a popular dining choice now. What do you think of the Aurora’s refurbishment plans?