Christmas Markets Cruise – December 2019

We decided to join Aurora for this cruise which was much shorter than most trips we tend to do and heading into cooler rather than warmer weather. We’ve cruised on P&O many times before and have always found them to be great value for money and this trip was no exception.

The ports of call were Hamburg, Oslo, Copenhagen and Bruges all of which we enjoyed although the hoped for snow for the full winter effect was replaced by rain in all but Brugges. Everywhere we visited was very seasonal with Christmas markets and illuminations. Really festive. We’d love to visit these ports again but will probably choose a summer cruise next time.

P&O are trying to keep their prices competitive and it is noticeable that they are having to make some cutbacks to achieve that or alternatively, sell more services onboard. Such things as cover charges for speciality restaurants seem to have increased significantly in recent years. We have always enjoyed the Sindhu Indian restaurant in the past but at £17.50 per person extra, we decided to stick to the included meal options which we really enjoyed. It was noticeable when we passed Sindhu on a couple of occasions during mealtimes that most other passengers appeared to have done the same as the restaurant was almost empty. We avoided other extra cost options such as the new drinks packages which at £39.50 we felt was not value for money.

All in all, we enjoyed this trip but have decided that our next cruise will be to sunnier climes.