portcbob Posted September 2, 2018 #1 Share Posted September 2, 2018 Hi guys. Going soon on a 8 nighter from Brisbane out to the islands on the aria and we are a bit concerned about bad reviews. Can anyone actually put our minds at rest with a decent review please. Cheers bob.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin jenkins Posted September 2, 2018 #2 Share Posted September 2, 2018 went on her last march, ship is ok good layout, food is mediocre, angelo's was ok dragon lady not impressed, don't buy drinks package when we were sat at the bar watching them make cocktails the nip pours were half of what they should have been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorpe Posted September 2, 2018 #3 Share Posted September 2, 2018 It’s been a year since I went on her but I like her and The Eden. I love the Thermal suite and with food being subjective I much prefer Dragon Lady to Angelo’s. I enjoy the Pantry and as stated the layout of the ship is good. I haven’t read any reviews so I can’t comment on what is being said is bad. Because she isn’t a big ship the tender process to the islands is better than the bigger ships. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinbadThePorter Posted September 2, 2018 #4 Share Posted September 2, 2018 Hi guys. Going soon on a 8 nighter from Brisbane out to the islands on the aria and we are a bit concerned about bad reviews. Can anyone actually put our minds at rest with a decent review please. Cheers bob.:) Bad reviews are just the noise that whiny people make. People who like their cruise are inclined not to make comments. The Aria is fine. A nice ship, well laid out. The food is P&O standard. Which means edible, so long as you are hungry. Angelo's is the pick of the food outlets on board. No fridges in the Inside and Window cabins, which is annoying. But the rooms themselves are as good as on any other ship and much better than tired old Dawn and Jewel and even Explorer. On the whole Aria (and Eden) are P&O's best ships at the moment. Just don't expect Princess or Celebrity and you will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkmw Posted September 3, 2018 #5 Share Posted September 3, 2018 Bad reviews are just the noise that whiny people make. People who like their cruise are inclined not to make comments. The Aria is fine. A nice ship, well laid out. The food is P&O standard. Which means edible, so long as you are hungry. Angelo's is the pick of the food outlets on board. No fridges in the Inside and Window cabins, which is annoying. But the rooms themselves are as good as on any other ship and much better than tired old Dawn and Jewel and even Explorer. On the whole Aria (and Eden) are P&O's best ships at the moment. Just don't expect Princess or Celebrity and you will be fine. We went on the Eden recently and we enjoyed the ship and we bought an Internet package for about $89 for 9 nights and halfway thru the cruise we asked for our money back as it was hopeless, we got our refund with no dramas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi_cruiser Posted September 3, 2018 #6 Share Posted September 3, 2018 I have done two trips on the Pacific Aria (once just after she joined the fleet in Dec 2015) and then again in Nov 2017 to PNG. I found the food better on the 2nd trip, then the first. She is smaller then the rest of the ships in the P&O fleet. Pacific Aria is a nice ship and there is northing wrong with her :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portcbob Posted September 3, 2018 Author #7 Share Posted September 3, 2018 Thanks guys who have responded. Sounds not to bad. We always enjoy ourselves so hopefully can't see any change. Went on the solstice not long back so I realise it will be a letdown from that ship. Regards bob.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted September 3, 2018 #8 Share Posted September 3, 2018 We found the Aria fine, it is an older ship but still newer than the older P&O ships which have left already or will be. We were on the inaugural cruise back in 2015 which reportedly had lots of issues. We didn't find any real problems except for the dinner bookings on the first night. Some people did tell us about some issues with public toilets but we rarely use these as we tend to go back to our room for the facilities. Yes, it will be a step down from the Solstice but then it would be a much cheaper cruise as well. Don't stress over the little things, make the best of it and you will have a fab time, they are fun ships.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ru2on Posted September 3, 2018 #9 Share Posted September 3, 2018 Thanks guys who have responded. Sounds not to bad. We always enjoy ourselves so hopefully can't see any change. Went on the solstice not long back so I realise it will be a letdown from that ship. Regards bob.:) We went on The Aria and The solstice within a couple of months of each other.. yes its a step down in but we actually had a better time on The Aria !! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Big_M Posted September 3, 2018 #10 Share Posted September 3, 2018 We went on The Aria and The solstice within a couple of months of each other.. yes its a step down in but we actually had a better time on The Aria !! And that's the main thing. The only reservation I have about that cruise is the sameness/food quality for 8 nights on P&O. But aside from that on the ship, I wouldn't have any concerns with the rest of the cruise and, like others, enjoy Aria and Eden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted September 3, 2018 #11 Share Posted September 3, 2018 Agreed, IMO, food quality/consistency and variety will not be like on X but it is still good. P&O know how to through a party and I think they actually have better participation for these than X (younger and different demographic).:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ru2on Posted September 3, 2018 #12 Share Posted September 3, 2018 And that's the main thing. The only reservation I have about that cruise is the sameness/food quality for 8 nights on P&O. But aside from that on the ship, I wouldn't have any concerns with the rest of the cruise and, like others, enjoy Aria and Eden. Yes The Aria food is not up to the standard of The Solstice but we sorted our dinners out by , 1st night at Angelos, 2nd Dragonlady 3rd Waterfront, 4th The Salt (paid), 5th Angelos, 6th The Pantry and last Dragon Lady. Dragon lady changes her menu half way through your cruise, which is interesting. My favourite non paid is Angelos I am just as happy to go there as “Lukes Salt,” I love The Salt quality but am a bit bored with their menu which has hardly changed in all the years I have been cruising PnO and they have a real lack of Vegetarian option so I always end up with Potato Gnocchi as my main. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
castaway01 Posted September 5, 2018 #13 Share Posted September 5, 2018 We have been on the Aria twice now and going again in November, we have found the ship to be ok, with only 1500 pax, its much faster to get on and off the ship, and less crowded on board, the food was fine, and plentiful, we had our meals in MDR and pantry, only thing was the room air conditioning was a bit warm for me at ~ 24'c, had hard time getting it lower we have an outside cabin. Crew were friendly, and some had been on previous cruises.. Did not try Angelos, or Dragonlady, and I point blank refuse to spend an extra $100 to eat at the salt grill.. There was no part of the ship I did not want to be in, its all fine. If you want to pay for glitz , gold and marble and four times the price look at Princess or Cunard or X. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portcbob Posted September 5, 2018 Author #14 Share Posted September 5, 2018 Hi castaway01. Point taken. Cheers bob.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted September 5, 2018 #15 Share Posted September 5, 2018 Definitely try Angelo's and Dragon lady if you can, book early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portcbob Posted September 5, 2018 Author #16 Share Posted September 5, 2018 Thanks mic. 1st job on board will be that. Thanks mate. Cheers bob.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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