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World cruise Wight off
By Jamie Pyatt
January 12, 2005

PASSENGERS who booked a luxury three-month world cruise were left stunned when they were instead taken on a voyage around the ISLE OF WIGHT.

Engine problems meant P&O's £200million flagship liner Aurora's 104-day Grand Voyage failed to set sail on Sunday.

Prices ranged from £10,000 to £41,000 for a cabin on the ship - notoriously hit by the norovirus bug in October 2003 which infected over 600 passengers and crew.

This trip was scheduled to visit 40 ports in 23 countries - including Brazil, the Falklands, Australia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan and America.

But passengers were left sitting at Southampton docks before being offered a journey around the Solent.

A day trip to the Isle on a Red Funnel ferry normally costs £9.40.

P&O offered free drinks to the 1,769 passengers as the ship carried out "sea trials". It will spend the day circling the isle to test repairs, then set off on a reduced voyage today - if the problems are solved.

Officials did not say whether they will drop ports of call. A spokesman confirmed: "Following a technical problem with the Aurora's propulsion system it has proved necessary to delay the start of her Grand Voyage."

Spokeswoman Clare Cole added: "The Aurora will go no further than the other side of the Isle of Wight."

Passengers on the Aurora, which has three swimming pools, 12 bars, a cinema, concert hall and gym, have been offered compensation if they cancel.

The German-built ship has been plagued with problems since its naming ceremony in May 2000. Princess Anne failed to smash a champagne bottle on her and it fell in the dock - a traditional sign of bad luck.

A week later the Aurora broke down on her maiden voyage, leaving a £6million compensation bill.

When the norovirus hit it was dubbed 'The Plague Ship' and it sparked a diplomatic incident by docking in Gibraltar. Spain shut its border with the Rock for the first time in 18 years.

The Sun

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Princess Anne failed to smash a champagne bottle on her and it fell in the dock - a traditional sign of bad luck.

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If you are superstitious.

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Aurora's 4 engines are diesel/electric (not diesel/mechanical and act as a power plant not directly driving the props. Word from staff onboard has it that experts are being flown in (no doubt from the German shipyard), for further repairs and she will undergo yet another sea trial.

I have been following Aurora's position on both AISlive and the webcam as I have a vested interest in her current situation. I am due to board her in Sydney on 27 February for the return voyage to Southampton, so as you can imagine I'm hoping it will turn out to be only a delay, not a full cancellation.

I'm trying to stay away from the usual rubbish posted in the press - even the BBC got it wrong - said passengers were enjoying the use of Aurora's 35 tennis court! Gosh, she has had one hell of a refit since I was last onboard! Wonder where they put them all ???? The official version on P&O's website is that her open deckspace could accommodate that many - not that she actually has that number!

Thursday, 13th January 2005

9:18pm (UK)

Cruise Passengers Stranded for A Week

By Martin Halfpenny, PA

The luxury liner Aurora will not sail until next Tuesday because experts cannot fix its motor immediately, but passengers can stay on board if they want, P&O Cruises said tonight.

In a statement, the company apologised to the 1,752 passengers on the liner docked at Southampton and promised compensation for the delay and any curtailing of their round the world trip which was due to take 104 days.

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Originally posted by sslewis:
Malcom,
BBC regional news confirmed the trial cruise round the Isle of Wight would end this am.
I rand VTS who confirmed she left 7.10am, but as just login, she is returning to Southampton!
Check AISlive and the Soton radar!

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Aurora’s world cruise delayed
January 13, 2005

P&O Cruises’ Aurora is not expected to start her delayed world cruise until January 18. Over 1,750 passengers remain on board the vessel which has been docked in Southampton since the weekend.

Built in 2000, Aurora was due to head for Madeira on Monday but propeller problems identified on her last voyage forced a delay to the 103-day trip. ‘We conducted tests yesterday at sea and have identified a problem with the motor,’ a P&O Cruises’ spokeswoman told Seatrade Insider. Repair work will start today whilst the vessel is in dock. This will be completed by Sunday after which Aurora will undertake further sea trials.

‘The anticipated day of departure for the grand voyage is Tuesday,’ she added. Once repairs have been completed a revised itinerary will be announced.

Passengers have been invited to stay on board the ship until that time, with a full entertainment programme laid on plus complimentary drinks. They can embark and disembark as and when they wish. Those returning home will be kept fully informed of when the ship is ready again, said the company. The spokeswoman said passengers would be reimbursed for the trip's lost days and compensation offered. So far seven passengers have decided not to continue on the voyage.

Seatrade Insider

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news.independent.co.uk

We aren't sailing, we aren't sailing:
Delay drives 'Aurora' to free drink
By Cahal Milmo
14 January 2005

If all had gone to plan, the webcam on the bridge of the Aurora installed to excite envy with live images of the £106m ship's travels would have shown the turquoise seas and white sands of the tropics yesterday.

Four days after leaving port, passengers who have paid up to £42,000 for a 103-day "Grand Voyage" round the world should have been sipping cocktails at a carnival night in Catfish Bay on the Cape Verde Islands off equatorial Africa.

As the breathless brochure of P&O Cruises puts it: "Head off on an epic voyage, knowing that adventure, sunshine and some of the world's most wondrous sights lie just days away."

Instead, the vista before both the Aurora's webcam and its 1,792 passengers yesterday was the somewhat less wondrous sight of the grey-roofed warehouses of Southampton Docks and the chilly waters of the river Test.

Crippled by the failure of one of its two giant electric motors, the 886ft-long Aurora remained moored to the concrete quay from which it had been due to depart on Monday on its three-month tour of 40 glamorous destinations from Honolulu to Bora Bora.

P&O Cruises, owned by the American leisure giant Carnival, confirmed last night that 30 customers had decided to accept a refund and disembark.

After 48 hours of tests, which included a whistlestop cruise around the Isle of Wight instead of the planned visit to the Portuguese island of Madeira, managers said the earliest departure date for the Aurora was now next Tuesday - eight days late.

Among those abandoning their gin and tonics to walk down the Aurora's gangway were Roger and Alice McDonald, who had left their home in Lerwick in Shetland expecting to wake up next Tuesday in Brazil.

Mr McDonald said it was unlikely they would be returning to the ship: "It's a cruise of a lifetime. But if you cannot get to the port that you want to get to, that kind of spoils it all."

The cruise company pledged to reimburse all passengers on the full voyage for the eight days they will lose from their trip and offered immediate refunds for the remaining 40 per cent who were undertaking just part of the itinerary.

But faced with a delay and compensation bill potentially running into millions, the managers of the German-built and American-owned vessel resorted to a very British remedy to placate their remaining travellers - free booze.

Philip Price, the company's brand manager, said: "We will do all we can to look after our customers, many of whom have sailed with us before. We are working very hard to ensure that the repairs to the Aurora are successfully completed. In the meantime, we are laying on extra entertainment and complimentary drinks are being offered on board."

In the Aurora's 12 bars, five restaurants offering delicacies from champagne and caviar to Belgian truffles, West End-style theatre and fully equipped library, there was evidence of suitably stiff upper lips being deployed among the stranded passengers, who have paid a minimum of £9,800 for the full voyage, rising to £41,985 for a two-level penthouse with a personal butler.

Marian Miller, 70, from Poole in Dorset, who is travelling to Australia with her husband David, 71, for their 50th wedding anniversary, said: "Most people are prepared to make the most of it. It's not a big problem and we are all very comfortable.

"I don't mind about the delay. I was looking forward to going to Madeira but I've been there before and most of us really want to go to South America. We have every single thing we would want. Why would we want to go home?"

Others, such as Joan Withnall, 81, a retired delivery driver from Hull, were quite happy to swap the delights of Catfish Bay, where the Aurora was originally due to arrive tomorrow, for some retail therapy. She said: "Most people are very happy. There have been a few grumbles, but on the whole everyone is pleased and we have free drinks."

The problems began for the Aurora last week as it limped back into its home port from its previous cruise. Overheating coils in one of the two motors that transfer power to twin propellers from the ship's four diesel engines meant it could only operate at a fraction of its top speed of 24 knots.

Engineers identified the problem on Tuesday after sea trials included an impromptu cruise around the Needles at the western tip of the Isle of Wight. But a further five days are needed to complete repairs and another sea trial.

Managers insisted that the full cruise, now reduced to 95 days, was not endangered but admitted it was still possible that the Aurora would not meet the revised departure date.

Mr Price said: "We are confident that she will sail but, due to the complex nature of these repairs, there is still a possibility we will not sail on Tuesday."

It is not the first time the Aurora has hit problems. On her maiden voyage in 2000 she broke down with damage to a propeller shaft after less than 48 hours. And two years ago a stomach virus made 580 passengers ill, causing a diplomatic incident with Spain when the ship docked in Gibraltar and Madrid ordered its border shut.

P&O Cruises said it was happy with the ship, pointing out that despite the mishaps more than 200,000 people have taken cruises on the 10-deck vessel.

[ 01-14-2005: Message edited by: CGT ]

Update on Aurora's Grand Voyage

P&O Cruises can confirm that the schedule of repairs to rectify a problem with one of Aurora’s motors is going to plan.
It is estimated that it will take until Sunday to complete the necessary repairs and test these again at sea. The earliest anticipated departure date for Aurora’s Grand Voyage will therefore be next Tuesday, 18 January.

Passengers are being invited to stay on board Aurora as guests during this period of further work. While the ship is in Southampton they are being offered a full entertainment programme that is being enhanced with guest appearances from Jimmy Tarbuck, and Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee. Passengers are also being offered shore excursions to London and areas of historical interest (London, Winchester and Portsmouth). During this time passengers will be welcome to disembark and re-embark at their leisure.

Passengers wishing to return home during this period will be kept fully informed of the revised arrangements and offered assistance with their homeward travel.

Once the repairs have been concluded, the company will be in a position to confirm the revised Grand Voyage itinerary.

Passengers will be refunded for the number of nights the cruise has been curtailed and further compensation to acknowledge the change of cruise itinerary.

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AURORA CRUISE DISASTER: TARBY TURNS UP
January 15, 2005
By Geoffrey Lakeman

CRUISE giant P&O has drafted in comic Jimmy Tarbuck and magician Paul Daniels to try to raise spirits on its troubled ocean liner Aurora.

But passengers will remain stuck in the ship's home port of Southampton until Tuesday, due to engine problems.

Today is the sixth day since the £106million flagship cruise liner was due to depart for Madeira in Portugal, the first stop of 40 in a 104-day 'Grand Voyage'. Instead the 1,759 passengers, who paid up to £41,985 each, spent two days cruising round the Isle of Wight and the rest in dock.

So far 23 passengers have quit the ship, while the remainder slake their thirst on free booze, put on by P&O - so far consuming 6,000 bottles of wine and champagne and more than 4,000 pints of beer.

Daniels said he'd make light of the situation, adding: "The comedy will come from the people themselves. It will be topical when they expected it to be tropical.

"They have been round the Isle of Wight - where else could you want to go?"

Daniels will perform with wife Debbie McGee tomorrow, while Liverpudlian Tarbuck, 64, was on stage last tonight.

P&O spokeswoman Clare Cole said: "That is above and beyond the entertainment which was previously on offer."

The Mirror

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
P&O has drafted in comic Jimmy Tarbuck and magician Paul Daniels...

There's no need for P&O to punish the passengers, as well!

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It could have been worse. P&O could have hired Craig Douglas and/or Helen Shapiro to sing.

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Originally posted by Brian_O:

It could have been worse. P&O could have hired Craig Douglas and/or Helen Shapiro to sing.

Brian

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The managing director of P&O, David Dingle, said the trip would now take 95 days instead of 103, and that passengers would be compensated for the loss of days or offered a full refund if they did not want to go.

edited from: Cruise ship undergoes sea trials

BBC News

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Now we await to know which ports will be omitted.

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Originally posted by bmajor:

Is Helen Shapiro still around?

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I believe so, doing gospel music. She stopped giving live performances a couple of years ago. When she was doing concert tours, Craig Douglas was often a "guest".

(providing all is OK)

That could mean my trip from Sydney starts 10 days late on 9 March instead of 27 Feb. My only concern would be arriving late into Soton. I have flights/accommodation in Venice from 25 April (3 days after original arrival of 22 April). These I can't change as I have 5 friends arriving in Venice from New Jersey, California and St Maarten. May have to jump the ship early in San Francisco!