P&O Aurora to receive £26 million pound make-over

P&O cruises have recently announced that one of their ships the Aurora is to receive an extensive £25 million pound refit later this year.  The refit is set to take place from 29th November to the 18th December 2014.

Launched in 2000 the Aurora hasn’t been refurbished since 2009 so it will be nice to see her brought up to modern standards.

This extensive refit will include the following :-

• A new look 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
• The introduction of Sindhu restaurant for evening fine dining (replacing the library on deck 8) with an Indian fusion menu designed by Michelin-star celebrity chef Atul Kochhar
• The Glass House restaurant and wine bar is replacing Café Bordeaux on deck 8. Available for brunch, lunch and dinner it will house wine displays and wines selected by expert and TV presenter Olly Smith. Enomatic wine systems allow passengers to buy premium wines by the glass. There will also be a private room for wine tastings and dinners
• A complete refurbishment of the buffet restaurant (Lido deck, deck 12) with new décor
• In the evening, The Beach House menu replaces the Pennant Grill menu to include family favourites such as Fillet of Beef on Lava Rock
• 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 introduction of Freedom Dining to Medina Restaurant with more tables for two and Marco Pierre White dishes on gala evenings
• A refurbishment of the Sidewalk Café and the introduction of Costa Coffee and brand new “Grab and Go” counter, a great option for breakfast and lunch on the go
• The library relocates to the current cyb@study space adjacent to the Crow’s Nest on deck 13
• Casino and Champions refurbishment with new open-plan design, new furniture and improved stage area for entertainment, live music and quizzes
• Photography gallery upgrade to include more touch screen technology
• An extensive shop refurbishment
• Refurbishment of Oasis Spa
• Upgrade of all sound and light equipment in the theatre and show lounge
• New soft furnishings for all cabins with flat-screen TVs

P&O are investing heavily in their fleet as they also not long ago spent a large amount of money doing refurbishments and bringing new features to the Ventura and Arcadia.

It is nice to see that P&O cruises are putting a lot of their revenue back into making their product a better experience for cruisers.

I also hear on the grapevine rumours of an all-inclusive drinks package being trailed at some point but I unfortunately haven’t been given and indication of when, what ship and how much this will cost. I would like to see P&O introduce this as although their drinks are very competitively priced on board, it would mean that people would have the option of doing  this to put a cap on their bar bill and it is something that many of P&O cruises competitors offer.