| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 08/05/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 26 |
| Copyright: Other |
False dawn for disaster-hit Aurora
Agents at the naming ceremony of P&O’s newest ship were impressed but just hours later, the vessel’s maiden voyage was cancelled. Tanya Jefferies reports
THE launch of P&O Cruises’ brand new ship Aurora was marred when technical problems forced it to turn back just 18hrs into its maiden voyage.Just days beforehand, the official naming had been carried out by the Princess Royal in a flurry of excitement and public fanfare. This reversal will embarrass P&O in the short term but realistically, Aurora is likely to be back on the seas before too long.
And the company will be able to comfort itself with the knowledge that the reaction of travel agents, who will help determine the level of trade sales Aurora generates in the future, was overwhelmingly positive during P&O’s programme of ship visits in Southampton.
The layout and decor of the vessel came in for particular praise by agents and it was clear a great deal of thought had gone into these elements.
Evidently, P&O had impressed the fact that Aurora will be a British ship operating out of Britain very firmly on the designer’s minds.
To take just two examples, a sliding roof has been built over one of the ship’s two pools to keep off the rain and the Orangerie, a casualbuffet restaurant, has been carefully laid out with lots of little island serveries to minimise queues.
The ship’s decor also has a very British feel to it, although while some rooms like Anderson’s Gentlemen’s Clubroom are traditional, others like Charlie’s Champagne Bar are surprisingly modern. As such, Aurora is as likely to appeal to fans of Cool Britannia as of Rule Britannia.
Agents feel that younger cruisers will be attracted to the ship as a result of this. They also believe it suitable for families because of its extensive children’s facilities.
Ann Austin, owner of Austin Travel is Sutton Coldfield said:”Aurora will encourage younger people to cruise. The age profile for cruising is getting more youthful.”
Aurora will add a sizeable chunk of extra capacity to the ex-UK cruising market and this is considered no bad thing by agents who are seeing signs of very strong growth in this sector.
P&O managing director Gwyn Hughes said 80% of capacity on Aurora between now and the end of the year had already been sold.
And managing director of cruising specialist Ocean World Travel Michele Dance, who is based in Birmingham, said: “For us, sales are going through the roof. We are 100% up and business was up 100% last year too.”
Technical problems: the Aurora had problems 18hrs into sea
Christened: the Princess Royal names Aurora as celebrities, P&O management and agents look on
Factfile
aurora
Passenger capacity: 1,874.
quotes
“I was really impressed with the ship. The decor was gorgeous, old fashioned and very British. I particularly liked Anderson’s, the gentlemen’s club room, which was very sophisticated. This ship will appeal to a slightly younger market than usual in the 25-45 age range. The cabins were a bit small – although having a balcony is more important to people than the size of their cabin.”
Michele Dance, managing director, Ocean World Travel, Birmingham.
“Aurora was everything I hoped it would be. It’s an elegant ship and the decor is very tasteful. There is a lot of space, even in the swimming pool areas, which they have broken up so there seem to be around 20 sun beds in one place rather than 1,000. I like the way the layout seemed to flow from one room to another.”
Andrew Dickson, managing director, St Andrews Travel, Bolton.
“This was an extremely warm and welcoming ship. The children’s facilities were absolutely excellent. It’s going to be a family ship. I was very taken with the fact that, although it’s a large ship, a sense of intimacy was created. I came away confident I could sell this ship to my customers.”
Ann Austin, owner, Austin Travel.