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Live Report Arvia 14 Nights From Barbados 18th Feb onwards

Interestedcruisefan

By Interestedcruisefan,
in P&O Cruises ( UK )

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Interestedcruisefan "Live from...." Rare

Interestedcruisefan

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Back home safely now

 

On Friday we paid 5 us dollars each for short transfer to Boatyard beach

 

(The boatyard sunbeds were actually full) 

 

A beach guy called Justin got  us a pair next door with umbrella for 15 us dollars. That included a rum punch or soft drink each at lobster live bar/restaurant

 

Same guy recommended a boat trip to Snorkel to see a shipwreck and swim with turtles. They delivered both and it was only 25 us dollars each. Lasted about 75 mins in total. You don't go far at all but both the shipwreck and swimming with turtles was great. We also saw a stingray and some huge fish that looked like sharks but they promised before we got in don't panic they aren't sharks!!

 

Lol

 

 Great easy day out in Barbados. You could actually walk to the  boatyard beach from the ship. About 25 mins walk. Plenty of taxis waiting to take people back to cruise ships

 

Cheap shore excursion regardless. You won't need to look far to get the snorkel excursion once on the beach

 

 

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Selbourne "Live from...." Rare

Selbourne

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13 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Another thing to mention is deck 8  sunset bar. Every night they have a loud Ibiza type DJ party outside 7pm to 10pm. It's behind the club house venue. 

 

Funnily enough when we went there were as many older passengers there as younger ones!

 

 

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Interesting. The fear of something like this was one of the several reasons that we decided against an aft cabin on Iona!

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sandancer

sandancer

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Thank you so much for your really informative thread. I have followed along every post and it is so helpful to have someone with first hand experience offering tips and info. We board on the 17th. We have an aft cabin on deck 11 so it looks like we’ll have the music from the DJ to listen to when dressing for dinner. Bring it on. 

 

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Selbourne "Live from...." Rare

Selbourne

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24 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Would you be in your cabins much between 7pm and 10pm though?

 


No, but we are often back in the cabin earlier than most and I can’t imagine that everyone leaves the venue at 10pm sharp! We never wish to be above a public venue or source of noise, especially an outdoor one. We have had aft cabins on Ventura, Arcadia and Britannia, but we also don’t like the fact that the aft cabins on Iona and Arvia are set back from the rear of the ship. Not for us I’m afraid, but I appreciate that what is a major negative for us may well be a positive for others. 

Edited by Selbourne
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Interestedcruisefan "Live from...." Rare

Interestedcruisefan

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33 minutes ago, sandancer said:

Thank you so much for your really informative thread. I have followed along every post and it is so helpful to have someone with first hand experience offering tips and info. We board on the 17th. We have an aft cabin on deck 11 so it looks like we’ll have the music from the DJ to listen to when dressing for dinner. Bring it on. 

 

I bet you won't hear it. And if you do you may enjoy it. It's  fun music!!

 

Have a great time

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Msuzelfk

Msuzelfk

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Back from Ariva this morning. Really jetlagged so have been napping all afternoon, thank god it's Sunday!

 

Awesome 2 weeks away. Some highlights off the top of my head:

 

- Green and co. On par with Epicurian. Went twice. Hubby loves his meat, but he couldn't get enough of this place. We asked the servers there if P&O were planning to make a brick and mortar restaurant on land. Seriously, I'd go back to arvia just for that restaurant.

- Pools. So many pools and whirlpools, fantastic after a morning excursion.

- Outdoor seating. Loads of outdoor seating. You might not get a sun lounger by the pool or on the sunny side of deck 8, but the chairs so lean back all the way so take two of those and you've pretty much good to go.

- keel and cow. We did the tomahawk. Amazing.

- 710 club. Go there! Lad on the piano is incredibly talented. Apparently this is his first gig out of uni, he's going to go far so see him before he gets famous, guys! Also the cherry negronis there are to die for. If it's fully booked, which it is most of the time, they do do walk ins.

- eggs beni at the MDR breakfast. Mmmmmm 

 

That's all my sleep deprived brain can drum up at the mo. Beautiful ship. Bravo!

 

 

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Britboys

Britboys

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Thank you so much for taking the time to post comprehensively about your cruise. Your enjoyment and enthusiasm shines through. Although Arvia doesn't interest me I have really enjoyed hearing all about your experiences.

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Interestedcruisefan "Live from...." Rare

Interestedcruisefan

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2 minutes ago, Msuzelfk said:

Back from Ariva this morning. Really jetlagged so have been napping all afternoon, thank god it's Sunday!

 

Awesome 2 weeks away. Some highlights off the top of my head:

 

- Green and co. On par with Epicurian. Went twice. Hubby loves his meat, but he couldn't get enough of this place. We asked the servers there if P&O were planning to make a brick and mortar restaurant on land. Seriously, I'd go back to arvia just for that restaurant.

- Pools. So many pools and whirlpools, fantastic after a morning excursion.

- Outdoor seating. Loads of outdoor seating. You might not get a sun lounger by the pool or on the sunny side of deck 8, but the chairs so lean back all the way so take two of those and you've pretty much good to go.

- keel and cow. We did the tomahawk. Amazing.

- 710 club. Go there! Lad on the piano is incredibly talented. Apparently this is his first gig out of uni, he's going to go far so see him before he gets famous, guys! Also the cherry negronis there are to die for. If it's fully booked, which it is most of the time, they do do walk ins.

- eggs beni at the MDR breakfast. Mmmmmm 

 

That's all my sleep deprived brain can drum up at the mo. Beautiful ship. Bravo!

 

 

Glad you enjoyed it like we did. Yes I had the cherry negroni in 710 club

 

We never did green and co or keel and cow. Couldn't fit them in. Although we did Mizhuana (inside green And co). That was really great!

 

 

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Ardennais

Ardennais

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, wowzz said:

I must say I was of the opinion that I would never cruise on Arvia (or Iona). 

I now may need to rethink !

We weren’t sure before our cruise on Iona but it was wonderful. In fact, I’m now thinking that the next few cruises we have booked are going to be rather sedate! Still not sure whether we would do the Fjords on Iona though. 

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grapau27

grapau27

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4 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Back home safely now

 

On Friday we paid 5 us dollars each for short transfer to Boatyard beach

 

(The boatyard sunbeds were actually full) 

 

A beach guy called Justin got  us a pair next door with umbrella for 15 us dollars. That included a rum punch or soft drink each at lobster live bar/restaurant

 

Same guy recommended a boat trip to Snorkel to see a shipwreck and swim with turtles. They delivered both and it was only 25 us dollars each. Lasted about 75 mins in total. You don't go far at all but both the shipwreck and swimming with turtles was great. We also saw a stingray and some huge fish that looked like sharks but they promised before we got in don't panic they aren't sharks!!

 

Lol

 

 Great easy day out in Barbados. You could actually walk to the  boatyard beach from the ship. About 25 mins walk. Plenty of taxis waiting to take people back to cruise ships

 

Cheap shore excursion regardless. You won't need to look far to get the snorkel excursion once on the beach

 

 

Thank you for posting one of the best Live From reviews I have read.

Graham.

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paperboy2

paperboy2

Posted
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5 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Oistins fish fry on Friday night's in Barbados

IMG-20230305-WA0022.jpg

IMG-20230305-WA0021.jpg

IMG-20230305-WA0024.jpg

Less than 2 weeks until D Day for myself and Mrs Paperboy2...You really have wetted our appetite.

One last question on WiFi.

 

I know its expensive but was WiFi useable when not in port. Going TA it will be our only option for 9 days of our cruise.

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Interestedcruisefan "Live from...." Rare

Interestedcruisefan

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6 hours ago, paperboy2 said:

Less than 2 weeks until D Day for myself and Mrs Paperboy2...You really have wetted our appetite.

One last question on WiFi.

 

I know its expensive but was WiFi useable when not in port. Going TA it will be our only option for 9 days of our cruise.

Yes as I've said elsewhere it was annoying as it automatically logs you out every 4 hours. But it's easy enough to log back in

 

Some days were slower than others. Most of the time it worked though whether at sea or in ports

 

One evening it was down for a while and that was annoying as I had some work to do that meant I had to get up very early next day to do it

 

But it worked ok in general

 

Just to confirm I had the essential package as did my wife. And when it went down briefly Im not sure if the normal app that everybody uses to book things on the ship was impacted. It was near the end of the holiday regardless when most people would have already booked everything they needed

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Twogaterz

Twogaterz

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On 3/5/2023 at 9:28 PM, Interestedcruisefan said:

Thanks Graham

 

I enjoyed writing the reviews

Thanks for a great review. I am taking my disabled (adult)  son Simon on Arvia in July (Med cruise) before the school holidays and based on some reviews and comments on the Facebook page have been really rather anxious. We’ve cruised many times esp when my husband was alive - mostly on Royal Caribbean when travelling with Simon as there is lots of pzazz. I had booked Arvia as it means no flying and we can just board and disembark in Southampton. There isn’t as much in the way of pzazz on Arvia as I’d hoped (no parades/deck parties/bbqs by the sound of it), but the elements of your review relating to life on board have been reassuring. I am very tech savvy so the thought of the ‘app’ doesn’t worry me - just queueing with Simon who is in a wheelchair. I have booked the Retreat for us as can’t face a sunbed battle and it does include some drinks and food - fingers crossed they don’t oversell it as I heard happened on one cruise!

 

I now feel much more upbeat about the trip so thank you very much.  😊

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