Scuttlebutter

I booked this cruise because the cabin I wanted unexpectedly became available. I knew what to expect having been in a similar positioned cabin on Aurora. Large cabins. Yes it is high up and passengers are advised susceptible to more movement in rough seas. Described as midships all be it just so no problem there. Arcadia is designed for the north Atlantic and ocean voyages. Just looked at the log of cruise to remind me where we had rough seas. From San Francisco to Honolulu we had force 7 and 8 :evilsmile:. Arcadia rode it well :ship:. My cabin did creak a bit but nothing to make me feel sick.

The position is good for access to Crows Nest (no noise) :cocktail:, Spa, stair well and stairs, open deck and pool.

Just got back from Arcadias World Cruise. It was wonderful. :) There is nothing to worry about. The maintenance crew where on top of everything needing doing.

I can only comment on my cabins décor on Sun deck added in 2013 which was clean and in good condition. My Stewart spotted before I did the only thing that needed doing. The shower fitting (plastic) had cracked. The only problem was dust circulated by the air-conditioning.

She is looking good after ongoing refurbishments and major repairs. The Neptune pool skydome spent 1 day being repaired that included drilling away all rust, repainting and greasing the mechanism. Aquarius pool was drained, repaired and painted last week. 3 tender boats davits repaired. Most of Prom deck white paint and railings painted. Continuous washing of decks especially down wind of the funnels soot emissions. There were industrial dryers in 3 or 4 places, the worst I saw (and smelt) outside the shops on Prom deck.

I had no problems with my cabins toilet suction. Most people adhere to advise given re what can go down toilet. Nothing worse than having to report a problem. There was one officers tannoy announcement reminding passengers in as polite a way as possible what can go down.:eek: I noticed one of the public toilets was still out of service. Not a problem unless you are caught short as passengers are encouraged to use their own facilities.

Arcadia and Delhi Belly

Just heard from a friend that there maybe a spot of mild food poisioning on board. Ship is currently anchored off the Norfolk coast sheltering from the previous rough seas.

I hope it is only a mild outbreak and not norovirus. If more than 2% of passengers and/or 2% of crew get it then an outbreak of infectious intestinal illness will be declared and we should be told at embarkation. Deep cleaning may be needed.

This was the case at the start of Aurora’s 2014 World cruise. We sensed heightened cleaning going on although we were not told officially until we reached our cabins and read a letter from the Medical officer warning us and setting out what we can do to protect ourselves.

There are higher food handling standards, such as crew serving only at the buffet for the first 2 to 3 days at the beginning of any winter cruise. I also will wipe down all hard surfaces in my cabin with bleach.

We can as responsible passengers maintain high personal hygiene ie hand washing in hot soapy water to Happy birthday before eating.

The other thing I am keeping an eye on is the weather coming across the North Atlantic. We do not want storm Doris or Ewan to arrive in the next 8 to 10 days. :eek:

Happy Christmas. :)

What do you think about P & O's new booking web site?

On the last version I did not like having to do the - Please tell us about yourself - page each time you want to do a dummy price enquiry. It is still there although you can just put an initial for each passenger to save some keystrokes. The other thing that seems odd is on the first cabin type price page the lowest lead price is sometimes not available on the next grade prices available. :confused:

Was it the elephant orphanage? It has been pulled on personaliser. Strange. Difficult to believe cancelled due to lack of interest. I thought the orphanage relied on tourist revenue.

You are right, a lot of RWC passengers book trips on board after hearing the port talks and talking to passengers.

I was tempted to pre-book the trip to Kandy even though I did in 2014 because is billed as new for this year. It now includes part of the trip by train but according to essential information still has 7 hours of travel. :eek:

I would like to go to a beach in Colombo but the pando offering has mixed reviews. Taxi to another local beach is being considered but again mixed reviews as it can be rough sea. There is a worry about traffic congestion and the reliability of taxis.

A swerve around Sri Lanka to Seychelles would suit me.

Arcadia World Cruise 2017 roll call is discussing DIY excursions.

I have stayed in Britannia single balcony cabin L217. 4th December 2015 Caribbean. I was originally booked into single inside cabin L203 which I found small. I went to see if there were any single Balcony cabins available. There was one just across the corridor for an upgrade cost of £300.

Here is a video of the cabin and balcony.

I have more videos and will edit and add more asap. It gives you an idea of size and layout. The first thing that struck me was the position of the bed with "pole dancing" pole ;). You can lay in bed looking out to sea. I did find the balcony small. It seemed odd to have 2 upright loungers in a single cabin. I made the suggestion to have just 1 laydown lounger on comment form.

As to noise I was conscious of sun beds being put out on Sun deck above early morning. They sounded like they were being dragged across the deck. I hope this teething problem is solved and they now lift and place them. I was more annoyed by what appeared to be cabin doors slamming early morning. The cabin doors have soft shut hinges so it must have been a crew door across the corridor from L215. Again I hope this has been sorted. I did not notice any noise from Crows Nest or Lido area.

The balcony is described as partially shaded so not constant sun. This is due to the Sun deck above over hanging the rail about 1 to 2 metres. The cabin felt a little claustrophobic at night when curtains closed.

I was on the whole happy with cabin. Position good for me near Serenity pool and Horizon.

Hope this helps.

I did a Christmas markets cruise in 2012 on Oriana. The most memorable thing about that cruise was the snow in every port. It was the first time I had seen a cruise ship covered in snow. We had a snow storm in Copenhagen but I still managed to see The Mermaid and local sights - just! It was treacherous under foot and I fell down a snow covered pot hole and had a glove blow away in the snow. I went on the evening tour to Tivoli Gardens which was pretty with all the Christmas lights, but I thought it a bit rundown, it was good for those people who wanted to go on the amusements and rides for an extra cost.

I remember swimming in the outside pool, having to dash to the warm water over the snow. The worst part was getting back. Luckily my cabin was one of the new cabins by the pool, built where the children’s area was pre the adults only conversion.

The ship was decked out Christmas decorations. The markets were festive if a little icy underfoot and expensive. I like Host Sharon liked Hamburg best

In conclusion it was good to “do” the Christmas markets cruise but once is enough for me. I prefer a warm weather cruise to be able to do outdoor swimming, deck sports and walking.

Photos are of Oriana's snow covered pool deck, The Little Mermaid and Oriana in snow storm.

Filling bottles it is still frowned on, not just the hygiene risk but it is selfish if passengers have watch and wait while they do it. Just fill a glass and drink it.

Having been on the cruise dubbed 'holiday from hell' on the 'plague ship'

dailyecho

telegraph

I know the consequences of getting norovirus and try and minimise the risk as much as possible.

I was in the theatre when the passenger was struck down with norovirus so badly crew responded as a suspected heart attack. The medical bill was in the £1,000s.

Best not to touch any food you or someone else is going to eat. On my last cruise I even avoided touching my bread roll at dinner. Using my knife and fork to cut it up and fork to eat it. Funnily my table companions just looked on and did not say anything. :mad:

Why take a chance getting ill. Follow the washing your hands advise given onboard at all times. It is not that hard and does not take that long.

I suspect people who have not experienced norovirus are more likely to be laissez faire. :(

I wonder what Oriana is doing from 4-1-17. Could it be a World cruise?

The local tour guides have been attracting the turtles to Paynes bay and other bays by feeding them every day. A strongish swimmer can swim from the beach, its about 100 metres. Do not go out until you see the tour boats gathering and begin attracting them. Viewing them is OK especially the young ones, so cute, but I am not sure about touching them.

I had the opportunity to touch a grouper on The Great Barrier Reef. The guide said he liked being touched. He had been interacting with snorkelers for years

I did this cruise last year as a single in a Superior balcony for the same amount as you. It was a great cruise.

I originally wanted to do another in 2017 especially with the prospect of Azura doing her first Worldie. I was booked in a single cabin on Azura’s Grand World cruise leaving in 2013 but as you know it was cancelled due to low uptake. I am hoping she will be able to go through the by then open wider Panama canal. I thought it better to aim for 2018 in a single cabin. It may seem a bit ahead but it is not that far taking into account planning and saving then bookings open in September 2016.

Scapnana

Yes the number of singles looking to do World cruises is high and growing. It was difficult to know exactly how many there were on Aurora 2014 RWC. There were about 100 at the first singles meeting in Anderson’s and that was during a force 9! We had one single lady who had done 20+ RWC‘s.

I am thankful to have had the opportunity to book long expensive cruises in 2, 3 and 4 birth shares with the then enlightened cruise company P & O. They recognised the need and it made business sense helping to fill the ship.

I enjoyed reading your blog imagining I was there. It was interesting to compare experiences. I have sailed with Cunard on QE2 and am seriously considered one of their World cruise.

It has been 6 months since returning from my World cruise and I am pining to do another. It was all I had expected and more. P and O are now charging 75% single supplement. This must reflect the number of single people wanting to cruise. Supply and demand.

Having done a World cruise in my own cabin I can appreciate the benefits of more space in the cabin and no chance of any inconveniences. Such as being woken up in the night, wanting privacy when changing for dinner and strong perfume use.

These worries can be easily abated by mutual cooperation to each persons wishes.

I have shared 4+ times in the past and never had any problems. I have in the “old days” done 4 birth shares and they turned out to be great cruises I remember well.

I am looking to find a nice lady to share my next World Cruise. £8000+ extra is a lot to pay to be on your own. I am aiming for Azura or Aurora 2018 Grand / World Cruise but would consider any RWC with a good itinerary.

That gives enough time to plan and save. We could even meet up or do a short get to know you cruise.

I am doing a World Cruise 2014 blog aboard the traditional UK P & O Liner Aurora.

I aim to post nearly everyday with photos, video and interesting commentary.

To include: Weather, Noon announcements, Special / notable events, Launderette / grape vine gossip, Food and much more.....

Please sign up to receive email alerts on new entries. Enjoy.

For all Solo World Cruisers - I have started a blog from the perspective of a traditional UK World Cruise 2014 from Southampton on P & O Liner Aurora.