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Any one on Arcadia now

cruzadict

By cruzadict,
in P&O Cruises ( UK )

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Valfan

Valfan

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I'm on Arcadia at the moment. Well, I'm in a terminal building in Lisbon but you know what I mean. First time I've been on her in 6 and a half years. She's definitely showing her age: little bits of tiled walls round the pool areas have fallen off and never been replaced, corners in rooms look dirty, as if no one can be bothered cleaning thoroughly, etc.

Maybe I've just been spoiled as my last 3 cruises have been on shiny new Iona.  But the ship doesn't look great.  As for the mask wearing, it's never been any more than "recommended" in Captain's announcements, and each day's Horizon says "It is suggested".  Most people  had them on the first couple of days after the suggestion, but I noticed a lot fewer masks in the theatre last night.  

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cruzadict

cruzadict

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We have just arrived home after our fjords cruise. Whilst we enjoyed the cruise with friends none of us would sail on Arcadia again and would probably not do P and O again.  Celebrity cruises are far superior now.  Embarkation was great and was on the ship by 12.15.  When told that our cabins were ready at 1.30 want down to our suite to find no door keys outside.  We went down to reception to be told that there was a problem with a few cabins our side as the cabin steward had gone off duty and taken the keys with him. After half an hour my husband eventually got reception to issue us with new keys (very reluctantly.

 

Our suite, whilst quite a good size, was lacking in so many things.  No bathrobes and waited 3 days for these to arrive and no shampoo or conditioner for the bath.  These never appeared even after 12 days.  The balcony was so dirty with sand from the previous cruise.  This was eventually cleaned after complaining to the deck manager, Dennis who was very helpful. 

 

I know food is very subjective but found that the buffet in Belvedere to be very monotonous. Same salads every day and same curries.  The queues for the Meridian freedom dining on the first 2 nights were huge. Wait time hour and half.  From then on wait time was anything between 15-45 minutes.

 

Bathrooms, cabins and balcony showing huge signs of wear and tear and not very welcoming.

 

The ports of call were lovely and other than the above we enjoyed our cruise.

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cruzadict

cruzadict

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Oh forgot to say there was an outbreak of Noro on the ship.  Our friends had it the last 3 days.  They still had no one insisting that you wash your hands before entering the Belvedere and self service was still in place.

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Red Ray

Red Ray

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We were on the same cruise and thoroughly enjoyed it - couple of negatives in having to change cabins halfway through because there was work going on early mornings at the lifeboat outside our cabin (this was rectified quickly by the housekeeper manager & we were given a free meal and drinks for 2 in Sindhu.) In addition we were disappointed that the virtual queuing system for dinner wasn't in operation but we wandered down & were given a pager which meant generally a wait of about 20 minutes (though 1 night that stretched to 45).

 

The buffet was excellent and I was surprised at the number of people eating there in the evenings. The last night saw Asian night and it was absolutely superb.  Sindhu & Ocean Grill were both top class and lunch in the Glass House also very tasty.

 

The entertainment was top class - really good shows from the Headliners,  Michael Buble tribute act Michael Appleton and the comedian Jon Evans were all excellent. We didn't go to the violinist but everyone we spoke to said she had been brilliant.

 

Every single member of staff was friendly & approachable, the ports of call were beautiful - even rainy Bergen - and of course the scenery was spectacular.  Would have like the Captain to have had a bit more personality and he made a bit of a fool of himself by reading the 'script' about Covid & that masks were being recommended - only to come back on a minute later & say in fact they weren't and there was some gastro enteritis on board & not Covid. There were ample hand washing & sanitising facilities available and we saw no evidence of any illness.

 

The Coronation was celebrated nicely with plenty of tv coverage, bunting, special cocktails & menus and everybody got given a gift bag with popcorn, gin & tonic water.

 

Would we sail on Arcadia again? Without a doubt.

 

PS There was also a guest speaker who gave talks on Tommy Cooper, Ronnie Barker, Coronations of the 20th Century & his life as a Funeral Director. The Coronations one was the best, just found his style & delivery somewhat lacking.

Edited by Red Ray
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davecttr

davecttr

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44 minutes ago, Red Ray said:

We were on the same cruise and thoroughly enjoyed it - couple of negatives in having to change cabins halfway through because there was work going on early mornings at the lifeboat outside our cabin (this was rectified quickly by the housekeeper manager & we were given a free meal and drinks for 2 in Sindhu.) In addition we were disappointed that the virtual queuing system for dinner wasn't in operation but we wandered down & were given a pager which meant generally a wait of about 20 minutes (though 1 night that stretched to 45).

 

The buffet was excellent and I was surprised at the number of people eating there in the evenings. The last night saw Asian night and it was absolutely superb.  Sindhu & Ocean Grill were both top class and lunch in the Glass House also very tasty.

 

The entertainment was top class - really good shows from the Headliners,  Michael Buble tribute act Michael Appleton and the comedian Jon Evans were all excellent. We didn't go to the violinist but everyone we spoke to said she had been brilliant.

 

Every single member of staff was friendly & approachable, the ports of call were beautiful - even rainy Bergen - and of course the scenery was spectacular.  Would have like the Captain to have had a bit more personality and he made a bit of a fool of himself by reading the 'script' about Covid & that masks were being recommended - only to come back on a minute later & say in fact they weren't and there was some gastro enteritis on board & not Covid. There were ample hand washing & sanitising facilities available and we saw no evidence of any illness.

 

The Coronation was celebrated nicely with plenty of tv coverage, bunting, special cocktails & menus and everybody got given a gift bag with popcorn, gin & tonic water.

 

Would we sail on Arcadia again? Without a doubt.

 

PS There was also a guest speaker who gave talks on Tommy Cooper, Ronnie Barker, Coronations of the 20th Century & his life as a Funeral Director. The Coronations one was the best, just found his style & delivery somewhat lacking.

Confused, Arcadia does not have a Glass House

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Red Ray

Red Ray

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Just now, davecttr said:

Confused, Arcadia does not have a Glass House

It's a section of the Intermezzo Bar on Deck 2 which sets up for lunch on some of the sea days. Tapas style dishes £6.95 for 3.

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tring

tring

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1 hour ago, Red Ray said:

 In addition we were disappointed that the virtual queuing system for dinner wasn't in operation but we wandered down & were given a pager which meant generally a wait of about 20 minutes (though 1 night that stretched to 45).

 

 

 

Shame about lack of virtual queue, it was working extremely well on Aurora in November, but we are due on Arcadia in three weeks, so probably not working then either.  The problem we have found with pagers on other ships is that you need to remain very near the restaurant, or they do not work.  Can I ask if you know how far you can stray whilst carrying a pager and still have it work - I presume the Crow's Nest would be out of range, but what about other bars or areas with seats?

 

Also if you went down early, say 6.30pm or 7pm, did you still need a pager, or could you just walk in?

 

 

 

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Red Ray

Red Ray

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4 minutes ago, tring said:

 

Shame about lack of virtual queue, it was working extremely well on Aurora in November, but we are due on Arcadia in three weeks, so probably not working then either.  The problem we have found with pagers on other ships is that you need to remain very near the restaurant, or they do not work.  Can I ask if you know how far you can stray whilst carrying a pager and still have it work - I presume the Crow's Nest would be out of range, but what about other bars or areas with seats?

 

Also if you went down early, say 6.30pm or 7pm, did you still need a pager, or could you just walk in?

 

 

 

If you're happy to share a table then I think there is hardly any wait at all. We prefer a two-top when it's freedom dining as we can't be bothered any more with all the small talk with people we may never see again. I did the individual quiz every night at 5.30 and people were queuing down the corridor past Spinnaker's about 5 minutes after that - bearing in mind the doors don't open until 6.15!

 

We always used to get a pager and go up 1 deck to the Piano Bar. For tables of 2 we saw they were still giving out pagers at 8.45.

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tring

tring

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25 minutes ago, Red Ray said:

If you're happy to share a table then I think there is hardly any wait at all. We prefer a two-top when it's freedom dining as we can't be bothered any more with all the small talk with people we may never see again. I did the individual quiz every night at 5.30 and people were queuing down the corridor past Spinnaker's about 5 minutes after that - bearing in mind the doors don't open until 6.15!

 

We always used to get a pager and go up 1 deck to the Piano Bar. For tables of 2 we saw they were still giving out pagers at 8.45.

 

Thanks for the reply, we prefer a table for two,  but will share at times.  This is where the virtual queue for our 28 nights on Aurora was brilliant last Nov, we knew if we joined the queue once the tables for two were likely occupied, we would be called early on in the second wave and just had time to pour a couple of drinks and sit on the balcony, just popping into the cabin from time to time to see if we had been called (we were allowed 15 mins to get to the restaurant after being called).  We prefer to be waiting outdoors if the weather is good.

 

We will see how it goes.

 

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coco-girl

coco-girl

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2 hours ago, Red Ray said:

We were on the same cruise and thoroughly enjoyed it - couple of negatives in having to change cabins halfway through because there was work going on early mornings at the lifeboat outside our cabin (this was rectified quickly by the housekeeper manager & we were given a free meal and drinks for 2 in Sindhu.) In addition we were disappointed that the virtual queuing system for dinner wasn't in operation but we wandered down & were given a pager which meant generally a wait of about 20 minutes (though 1 night that stretched to 45).

 

The buffet was excellent and I was surprised at the number of people eating there in the evenings. The last night saw Asian night and it was absolutely superb.  Sindhu & Ocean Grill were both top class and lunch in the Glass House also very tasty.

 

The entertainment was top class - really good shows from the Headliners,  Michael Buble tribute act Michael Appleton and the comedian Jon Evans were all excellent. We didn't go to the violinist but everyone we spoke to said she had been brilliant.

 

Every single member of staff was friendly & approachable, the ports of call were beautiful - even rainy Bergen - and of course the scenery was spectacular.  Would have like the Captain to have had a bit more personality and he made a bit of a fool of himself by reading the 'script' about Covid & that masks were being recommended - only to come back on a minute later & say in fact they weren't and there was some gastro enteritis on board & not Covid. There were ample hand washing & sanitising facilities available and we saw no evidence of any illness.

 

The Coronation was celebrated nicely with plenty of tv coverage, bunting, special cocktails & menus and everybody got given a gift bag with popcorn, gin & tonic water.

 

Would we sail on Arcadia again? Without a doubt.

 

PS There was also a guest speaker who gave talks on Tommy Cooper, Ronnie Barker, Coronations of the 20th Century & his life as a Funeral Director. The Coronations one was the best, just found his style & delivery somewhat lacking.

 

We were also on the same cruise and had the most wonderful time... even in the rain in Bergen!!

 

 The cabins and bathrooms are dated, but we obviously knew that before we boarded.  Our balcony cabin was clean enough, although admittedly, a little dusty in the corners of the room.

Our cabin steward was friendly, and attentive if we had any requests/issues.

 

We found the food in buffet to be good and we were always able to find something tasty to eat.

 

On this occasion occasion we found both Sindhu and Ocean Grill to be lacking and not really worth the upcharge, but that was us....

 

We were on Freedom Dining and, in our opinion, the virtual queuing system is quite simply not fit for purpose! 🙂

But it was not a great hardship to go to pick up a pager, then called in when a table was ready.

 

Would we sail on Arcadia again? Yes..

 

Would we sail with P & O again??  We booked 2 future cruises whilst onboard...

 

 

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snaefell

snaefell

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On Arcadia now,just arrived in Cadiz,embarkation was brilliant,yes she is battle scarred but still a beautiful  ship IMO,as for being dated I think I would call her classy,Ocean Grill on first night for my Wife's birthday was superb,worth the battle we had booking it,virtual queue for MDR seems permanently unavailable,went down last night & joined a long line receiving pagers,45 minute + wait time being advised so we headed to the buffet which has been superb.

Cases of gastric enteritis on board so staff serving the food in the buffet.

Lots of comments about rude crew from others,we have not seen that,only rude people we have encountered were passengers!😎

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Fionboard

Fionboard

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Posted
1 hour ago, jaydee6969 said:

 

Quick question, it looks like lots of tables for 2.  We will be a group of 6, and would more than likely try it a couple of times, are there larger tables?

Can be pushed together. 

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Britboys

Britboys

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2 hours ago, Gettingwarmer said:

I always remember the Intermezzo Bar having tables. It usually had people playing cards. 

It's a long time since I've been on Arcadia but I don't recall seeing people playing cards there. May well have changed since then.

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