{"id":3041,"date":"2017-10-21T22:00:23","date_gmt":"2017-10-21T22:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.karenandjon.co.uk\/blog\/?p=3041"},"modified":"2025-10-31T18:45:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T18:45:19","slug":"aurora-day-2-going-nowhere-fast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hweb.uk\/?p=3041","title":{"rendered":"Aurora: Day 2 – Going Nowhere Fast!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Saturday 21st October 2017<\/h2>\n

Sea: A Little Bumpy
\nWeather: Sunny but Breezy<\/h3>\n
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We had booked tickets for the trip to Ypres to visit the Menon Gate and Tyne Cot cemeteries.\u00a0 The trip was due to leave at 8am so with alarms set for 7am and as a back up, we’d arranged a wake up call via room service.<\/p>\n

The TV was switched to Channel 1 but when the screen came up showing the ships path, it was pretty obvious that Aurora was unable to dock at Zeebrugge.\u00a0 We had arranged to meet mum and Callum at 7.45 , have breakfast and then set off on the excursion straight afterwards.\u00a0 I woke mum up at 7.30 (they had overslept!) and I tried to find someone to confirm what we already knew.\u00a0 \u00a0No one would confirm … not even the shore excursion team who must have been made aware as I spoke to them 2 minutes before the Captains Announcement.\u00a0 They simply said to go down for breakfast as normal and the captain would make an announcement in due course.\u00a0 I would have prefered to have been told when we asked the first person so\u00a0 we could have gone back to bed for an hour!<\/p>\n

As I left the Shore Excursions desk, the Captain was broadcasting to all areas.\u00a0 Winds too strong and the conditions were worse than expected so the pilot and captain had made the decision that it was too dangerous to attempt to dock so we would be spending the day at sea.\u00a0 To avoid the worst of the weather, we would be spending the day bobbing around the Thames Estuary.<\/p>\n

We headed down to the MDR for breakfast and Callum decided to go for the P&O breakfast so just could try the White and Black pudding (bingo requirement). White pudding got the thumbs up but Callum was not impressed with the Black Pudding … and that was before Jon told him what was in it!<\/p>\n

What to do today. A leaflet with extra activities was in the cabin but nothing terribly exciting. We went for a wander around deck 13 of the ship.\u00a0 Various interpretations of Quoits and Shuffleboard being played and a quick couple of games of table tennis for Jon and Callum. Back down to Champions for the Picture Quiz – guess what the object is from extreme close up objects. We got 12 …. the winners got 17.<\/p>\n

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Grandad J would have disowned Callum as he decided to give Bingo a whirl.\u00a0 \u00a36 for a single card – one sheet for each round.\u00a0 This was proving to be very popular as it was moved from Champions into Carmen’s.<\/p>\n

Line dancing was in Carmen’s beforehand and the dance floor was packed.\u00a0 Varying degrees of co-ordination with people ending up facing different directions and doing all the right moves at all the wrong times.<\/p>\n

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Carmens was really filling up with people playing bingo – judging by the prize fund, it was proving popular. Five rounds with prize money of \u00a3150, \u00a3250, \u00a3350, \u00a3500 and \u00a3750!!\u00a0 Alas, all the winners were over the other side of the room. \u00a0Lesson learnt by one chap. \u00a0Had the two lines but his card was invalidated as he’d marked it in pencil. \u00a0Someone gave him a dabber and he remarked his card and claimed it on the next number. \u00a0They did say at the beginning that all card had to be marked in pen or with a dabber … and that cards must be kept intact (not split).<\/p>\n

At lunchtime we were off the coast of Lowestoft but the ship would be turning around and heading back to Southampton where things may get a little lumpy. We met up with Mum in The Glass House for lunch. \u00a0I indulged with a glass of FMC, Jon a Rekorderlig Cider (followed by a glass of FMC) and mum a glass of Pinot Grigio. \u00a0Callum was happy enough with a bottle of diet coke.<\/p>\n

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The Tasting Plate menu had changed since we last cruised but we all enjoyed the selection on offer. \u00a0Between all of us we had the Hot Smoked Salmon Scotch Egg (huge!), Lamb Koftas, Beef Kebabs, Tempura King Prawns, Scallops, Popcorn Chicken with Kimchi Slaw and dipping sauce. \u00a0All really tasty and rather filling.<\/p>\n

Callum wanted to do Bingo again so Jon duly obliged a went to play in the afternoon – not even close to winning a line or full house but a few erroneous claims – two lines but not on the same grid!. \u00a0We spent an afternoon just chilling before getting ready for our meal in Sindhu that evening.<\/p>\n

Tonight\u00a0was formal night so we all got dressed up. \u00a0Pre-dinner drinks in Raffles before heading over to Sindhu for our 7pm reservation.<\/p>\n

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We were shown to our seats and were rather pleased that we had the menu featuring lobster. \u00a0Mum chose a bottle of Sancerre to accompany the meal and it complimented the food perfectly. \u00a0Pre appetizer was spicy cauliflower soup. \u00a0For starters, we had the lamb chops, chicken and beef on paratha bread. \u00a0Main course, Jon, Mum and I had the lobster (delicious!) and Callum had the tandoori chicken. \u00a0A champagne sorbet cleansed our palate before puddings. \u00a0Chocolate Textures for Jon and I, ice cream for Callum and a blueberry and yoghurt mousse for Mum. \u00a0All washed down with coffee and petit fours. \u00a0A fabulous meal enjoyed by everyone.<\/p>\n

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After dinner, Mum went to Carmen’s as Caravan were playing the Bee Gees whilst Jon, Callum and I settled down in Champions for the Movie Quiz. \u00a0A game of Carcassonne beforehand timed perfectly with the start of the quiz. \u00a0Different member of entertainment team running the quiz this evening – and the quiz started promptly as advertised (and the football switched off without any hassle from anyone).<\/p>\n

We got 11\/20 – should have got one more as we knew it was Gene Hackman (not Wilder!) that played Lex Luther but it was good fun and Callum was chuffed he knew a couple of answers.<\/p>\n

Gaining an extra hour in bed this morning … only to lose it again tomorrow night!<\/p>\n

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Callum’s Bingo Check list:<\/h3>\n