Arvia K308 - All aboard

[Son of Anarchy]

On 4/25/2023 at 8:31 AM, TigerB said:

Before ordering in the Beach House last night, our lass asked the difference. She was told the salt block is exactly the same as the lava block, hot so it cooks the steak, but with a coating of salt. She didn't fancy that as, when cutting and continuing to cook the slices, she would have found them too salty.

Had the salt block steak last night.  Lovely. Definitely could taste the salty difference, which was great for me. The king prawns were great as well.  The Ole Lady had the goat curry which was very good as well.  So much food we skipped the desserts.

[GinaS]

2 hours ago, Son of Anarchy said:

We used the shuttle bus at Valencia, Marseille and Barca (3 round trips). Our cards were only scanned on the return shuttle at Valencia.  Select fare, so I reckon P & O owe me a free cruise for mis-selling the benefits of Select fare 🤣😇 

Can I please ask where the Valencia shuttle dropped you off? We are onboard in a few weeks and are hoping to get to the City of Arts and Sciences.  I saw elsewhere that someone had said that the shuttle has changed to drop off there rather than in the city centre but it would be great if you could please confirm!

[alpha whiskey]

1 minute ago, GinaS said:

Can I please ask where the Valencia shuttle dropped you off? We are onboard in a few weeks and are hoping to get to the City of Arts and Sciences.  I saw elsewhere that someone had said that the shuttle has changed to drop off there rather than in the city centre but it would be great if you could please confirm!

City of arts and sciences was the drop off area just last week 👍

[poppyfield]

Observations, just something else I noticed when we first set sail, sail away parties have gone.

we haven’t cruised for a year, so I’m not sure when they stopped, just something else that’s gone bye the bye.

[GinaS]

Just now, alpha whiskey said:

City of arts and sciences was the drop off area just last week 👍

Thank you, that's so helpful! We were wondering how to get there with two little boys in tow. 

[alpha whiskey]

1 minute ago, GinaS said:

Thank you, that's so helpful! We were wondering how to get there with two little boys in tow. 

Once you are done with the Arts and Sciences if you carry on walking on the same side of the road it will lead you into a lovely park area. There is a 'Gullivers travels' type play area there, which your boys might enjoy. Makes a change from the usual swings and slides! 

We were impressed with how lovely the whole area was. 

[GinaS]

8 minutes ago, alpha whiskey said:

Once you are done with the Arts and Sciences if you carry on walking on the same side of the road it will lead you into a lovely park area. There is a 'Gullivers travels' type play area there, which your boys might enjoy. Makes a change from the usual swings and slides! 

We were impressed with how lovely the whole area was. 

Thanks for this tip, I just looked on google maps and this must be one of the strangest google earth views! It looks great though and they would really love this, the whole area looks really nice. Hopefully the shuttle will still stop there when we go. Thanks again!

[poppyfield]

I’ve been caught out 😎 just noticed there’s a sail away party when we set sail from Cadiz, is this the first one though or have I just missed the rest?

[Fionboard]

Had sailaway parties on Arcadia last Summer and on several cruises since, including current one on Aurora. Maybe not on the big ships though? 

[elmsliebev]

On 4/22/2023 at 1:42 PM, yorkshirephil said:

You can on MSC (larger ships), they have a great range of eateries, Hola (Mexican) served us some of the best food we have eaten on a ship, they have several packages where you can pick out where you want to eat. 

we were on MSC Virtuosa in March and had a package for 4 different eateries (Hola, Grill, Indochine & sushi). All were excellent and probably consistently the best food we've had at sea. Trying Oceania next year who are meant to be excellent for food. We are on Azura this October and Cunard's new ship June 2024, so I should be able to make some comparisons! 

 

[TigerB]

On 4/25/2023 at 1:31 PM, Selbourne said:

I believe that daiB has said that you can have the cheese board as well as a dessert and there’s no extra cost? Might be a challenge but one that I’m prepared to accept given all the photos that are being posted which are making me quite envious 😂 

 

On 4/25/2023 at 1:48 PM, TigerB said:

Well, if that's the game you're going to play....

 

I'm not really into cheese boards, but am all about the desserts, and there are at least two on tonight's menu that I really fancy.  Wish me luck!🤞🐷

 

On 4/25/2023 at 3:46 PM, daiB said:

However my post above was about the Epicurean. I asked and the waiter said of course sir. Now I don’t know if I just caught him in a good mood or he recognised me. But as they say in the NE shy bairns get nowt.   🙂 🙂 

 

So, Operation Double Dessert was executed on Tuesday evening with mixed results.
I was going to order two sweet desserts, most likely the banana and peanut butter cannelloni, and the crème brulée and white chocolate sphere. However, I bottled it when our lass looked daggers at me after I revealed my cunning plan.

Nevermind, I was now going to try my trump card; "Do you know what, Fernando? I really can't decide between that cannelloni or the cheese plate". Awkward silence; he didn't bite!
 "Would it be greedy of me to get the cannelloni and finish with the cheese plate"?  
"Oh, I don't know sir; this chef is on top of the auditing, so it may not be possible. I will ask". 
"No, don't worry about it; I'm all about the sweet anyway".
"Okay, sir".
0 Greedy Lad v Epicurean Chef 1

 

So, when he cleared our dessert plates he said he had asked the chef about the cheese plate, and it would be another five minutes. I was now quite full, and didn't have the heart to tell him that I couldn't face it. After all, he had probably been flogged by the chef for daring to ask.

"Oh, thank you Fernando; that is really nice of you".
"Shall I bring a side plate for Madam"?
"Oh, yes please; we can share".
Daggers again!

 

 

So, I'll mark Operation Double Dessert up as a partial success; dessert + cheese plate okay, if a little awkward; dessert + dessert incomplete due to spousal interference.😉

[yorkshirephil]

6 minutes ago, TigerB said:

 

 

 

So, Operation Double Dessert was executed on Tuesday evening with mixed results.
I was going to order two sweet desserts, most likely the banana and peanut butter cannelloni, and the crème brulée and white chocolate sphere. However, I bottled it when our lass looked daggers at me after I revealed my cunning plan.

Nevermind, I was now going to try my trump card; "Do you know what, Fernando? I really can't decide between that cannelloni or the cheese plate". Awkward silence; he didn't bite!
 "Would it be greedy of me to get the cannelloni and finish with the cheese plate"?  
"Oh, I don't know sir; this chef is on top of the auditing, so it may not be possible. I will ask". 
"No, don't worry about it; I'm all about the sweet anyway".
"Okay, sir".
0 Greedy Lad v Epicurean Chef 1

 

So, when he cleared our dessert plates he said he had asked the chef about the cheese plate, and it would be another five minutes. I was now quite full, and didn't have the heart to tell him that I couldn't face it. After all, he had probably been flogged by the chef for daring to ask.

"Oh, thank you Fernando; that is really nice of you".
"Shall I bring a side plate for Madam"?
"Oh, yes please; we can share".
Daggers again!

 

 

So, I'll mark Operation Double Dessert up as a partial success; dessert + cheese plate okay, if a little awkward; dessert + dessert incomplete due to spousal interference.😉

As me owd ma used to say "thi eyes are bigger than thi belly"

[TigerB]

 

1 minute ago, yorkshirephil said:

As me owd ma used to say "thi eyes are bigger than thi belly"

 

Very true!🐷

[TigerB]

So, this is what we ate in Epicurean on Tuesday...

 

Amuse Bouche - virgin Pina Colada

 

 

 

 

 

Pre-dessert palate cleanser - mango sorbet

 

 

 

Finishing of course with what Fernando forced us to eat, standing over us until we ate every last morsel:

 

 

[Son of Anarchy]

Talking of extra portions, had dinner in 6th St Diner when we overnighted in Barca.  Lots of people (not us) having 1 starters per person and an additional main between them.  The portions in 6th Street aren't small! Hate to sound like the food police, and I Iike a big portion myself, but I didn't realise you could have so much.  I skipped dessert, mainly because I didn't like the choices, though I did have the Monkey Bread starter in lieu.

[TigerB]

1 hour ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Talking of extra portions, had dinner in 6th St Diner when we overnighted in Barca.  Lots of people (not us) having 1 starters per person and an additional main between them.  The portions in 6th Street aren't small! Hate to sound like the food police, and I Iike a big portion myself, but I didn't realise you could have so much.  I skipped dessert, mainly because I didn't like the choices, though I did have the Monkey Bread starter in lieu.

 

We were in there last night and I fancied the monkey bread as an additional starter, but again, got the daggers from our lass. To be fair, we were fairly full after three courses. The couple next to us did have two starters each, though. We weren't there long enough to see if they doubled up on the mains.

[TigerB]

Before I lose my signal, these are from 6th Street Diner last night...

 

 

Nothing to write home about

 

 

 

 

[TigerB]

Further to the comments on shuttle buses and charging,

our cards were only scanned on the city bound shuttle in Valencia. Given the debacle in trying to get back, there were two white-shirts at the pick-up point, who appeared to be trying to get it sorted. I didn't see anyone have their cards scanned.

 

In Marseille and Barcelona, they appeared to have got their act together with the accessible shuttles, and had a specific member of staff to greet relevant guests and make sure they were boarded. As such, I didn't see any guests boarding the accessible shuttles having their cards scanned.

[TigerB]

Last few food pics coming up, as didn't have data from Cadiz to Southampton...

[TigerB]

These are from our second visit to Sindhu, on Thursday evening. Our waiter confirmed that, on Arvia and Iona there will only ever be one menu, albeit a mix of items from the two menus that are available on other ships.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TigerB]

On our last night, Saturday, we really couldn't be bothered with the hassle of trying to get into Zenith. Instead we joined the virtual queue for 6th Street Diner as soon as it opened; my phone buzzed two minutes later, just as we were leaving our cabin.

 

Now, this really shouldn't work but our lass said it really did!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TigerB]

Returning to our room after breakfast on Friday we found visitors in our room...

 

 

That is the first time we have had towel art when sailing with P&O.  A cynical person may think that, so close to the end of the cruise, a cabin steward is thinking about their gratuity. We just thought it was sweet. 🥰

[Britboys]

On 4/27/2023 at 5:02 PM, TigerB said:

Before I lose my signal, these are from 6th Street Diner last night...

 

 

Nothing to write home about

 

 

 

 

I'd only be tempted by the desserts....

[TigerB]

6 minutes ago, Britboys said:

I'd only be tempted by the desserts....

 

There's nowt to stop you going in, ordering coffee, and every dessert on the menu. Now, that sounds like my kind of party! 🤭🐷

[majortom10]

9 minutes ago, TigerB said:

Returning to our room after breakfast on Friday we found visitors in our room...

 

 

That is the first time we have had towel art when sailing with P&O.  A cynical person may think that, so close to the end of the cruise, a cabin steward is thinking about their gratuity. We just thought it was sweet. 🥰

I am cynical I would stick with your first statement. On our recent cruise on Iona we saw our cabin steward on first day on embarkation to introduce himself. Didn't see him at all for 14 nts and he suddenly appeared on morning of disembarkation to ask if everything was OK. Cynical of me was that he was hoping for a cash tip.