Our Christmas Party Cruise!!

Well we are back from our Christmas party aboard the Aurora.  I had a fantastic time.  I thought the ship was really nice, I liked the size of the ship and thought the cabins were spacious and clean. We were lucky to have a deluxe balcony – not that the balcony was used!

There was certainly a party atmosphere onboard.  The bars were very busy throughout the day and night, but it never seemed too rowdy, just a lot of people having a good time, I think everyone onboard was in the Christmas spirit.  My main criticism was the food and waiting staff.  The 2 meals I had on the evenings were very bland and not cooked to a high standard, and I have to say I was not looking forward to the evening meal on the last night. The lunch and breakfast in the self service buffet were better than the restaurant. The staff didn’t seem to have much get up and go and I think they struggled with the amount of people in the bars.  I did notice when I disembarked in Southampton how many new staff arrived so maybe we had a lot of trainee staff.

The highlight of the cruise for me was my day in Bruges.  The weather kept dry and was not too cold.  I purchased quite a few chocolates much to the delight of my children!!  I had a look around the Christmas market and also treated myself to a waffle, ice cream with chocolate sauce.  I had to buy some of the waffles and chocolate sauce and treated the family last night for pudding, let’s just say they are all addicted to this now. 

There was a formal night on the last night and this was lovely to see everyone dressed up.  I have to say though the second night was certainly quieter than the first.  I think everyone partied too hard on the first night. 

A lot of cruise companies now offer mini cruises and they tend to depart either early April or May and then September October and December.