Arvia K308 - Why after that Cruise, we decided NOT to go on future cruises with P&O at least for a while.

[Gnoelj]

Following a post by @Technoman2 giving his review about Arvia K309 cruise....

,...... that "triggered" us to write about our experience on Arvia on the previous cruise K308 as some of his comments about his experience seems similar to ours (others maybe not)

 

I know some P&O passengers and fans may disagree with us, that's fine, but our views seem to reflect that of some passengers we spoke to on our cruise.

 

THE GOOD POINTS

 

*Cabin Bathroom was spacious and clean.

*Zennith Restaurant manager was very helpful and friendly

*The last night "last minute" replacement show in the Headliners Theatre ,a repertoire of songs by Ben Ian Gordon , was superb.

*Staff were generally hardworking but some seemed too shy to say "hello" or "goodmorning"

*Ship was clean.

*No touch doors into public toilets was a plus

*The Crows Nest was a nice "sanctuary" for a quiet read.

*Wash basins and handwash stations in many areas.

*Regular announcements by the Captain who said he comes to meet and speak to passengers for hours (we didn't see him personally but  we don't have any reason to doubt his word).

 

*Transfer buses from ship to port entrances were relatively good, although in Marseille, there was yet another long queue under the sun.That wasn't too bad, really, you have to accept to queue a bit sometimes, we are not some presidents or kings!

*Breakfast sausages were not so good, but their "wild boar" sausages, available on some days were great. Also, their scrambled eggs at breakfast was still being kept runny, not hardened as in some buffets.

 

AND NOW, THE NOT-SO-GOOD POINTS

 

P&O cutbacks were evident, and new booking and queuing arrangements at the cost to the passengers were not really acceptable. You just seem to queue everywhere.

It started with the first day, when the queue to speak to the receptionist was as  long as the queue to wait for entry into the main dining room (Zennith) and the Headliner Theatre. It's also queue in most other places too.

 

EMBARKATION

 

Embarkation was rather "chaotic". As we had not stapler our baggage tag, upon arrival in Southampton Ocean Terminal, we were asked to look for someone who would be sitting in a little desk. When he showed up, he found his stapler did not work. He had to call to get a replacement. As there was a huge queue, we suggested he used the handwritten one. Didn't know why he did not do it before I suggested it even though the queue was getting longer and longer. Then, we were passed from one baggage handler to another to hand in our suitcases.

 

THEATRE & ENTERTAINMENT

 

Headliner Theatre entertainment quality and availability were reduced compared to a few years ago. We had to book  to see a stage show in the theatre. and most times were already booked almost on the first day. Plus shows are limited to only one show per passenger.That's fine if you have different shows different nights. They repeated the shows over several days, and since we were not even allowed to see the repeat shows, we just sat in the cabin on sea days getting really bored.

 

Even if you had booked your "slot" for the show, you are not given a seat, so you have to wait more than 30 mins before that to get a decent seat.

 

Most of the theatre shows were pretty not that inspiring anyway. Choice of songs mostly for those in their 20's or 30's (but passenger profile on our cruise appeared a lot older). So bad was one when the group of singers asked the audience to stand up and clapped, only about 20 out of 700 stood up. Before the show could end, the audience was already rushing out of the theatre!

The best show was because the Gary Barlow Take That show was cancelled as a performer was injured, and they had to have a replacement show. This came in the form of singer Ben Ian Gordon . With his powerful voice, his versatility, and his excellent choice of songs, that brought the audience to their feet at the end of show.  It was fabulous

MEALS 

The main restaurant needs booking for your meal and even after that you still queue, and you may have to wait up to 30 mins before the doors open because others were already there. If you don't book, you'd queue in a different line and you'd get in slower by  up to ten times. Food, even on special Marco Pierre White nights, were not "special". 

 

We had been informed by some passengers that they did not experience such ridiculous queuing on Iona which they had been. However, they did say that when they sailed on Iona, it was only about half full.

 

Food in the Horizon buffet very repetitive. 

 

The salads were practically the same every day during lunch and dinner throughout the entire cruise. They were also not dressed, and they lack any imagination. Only exception was during one meal when they had a Ceaser Salad behind the glass counter but you have to ask for it as it had to be done for you individually.  Hams and meats felt as if they have been in the fridge for little too long.

 

They had about 9-12(?) different kinds of little cakes which they take out a choice of 4 at each meal but they seemed boring after 2 weeks. Quality ingredients like marzipan, ground almonds or nuts appeared to be missing. For their version Tiramisu(?), we couldn't detect the TiaMaria However, the Horizon have pouring cream if you ask. And if the custard is too weak for you, add yourself a knob of butter to "enrichen" it!  We wish the ice-cream served weren't melting almost every evening they were available. 

 

STAFF SERVICE STANDARD

 

Unfortunately some staff a behaved like "Little Napoleons". For example, at the Zennith Restaurant had asked to speak to a manager for help with our booking as the head waitress refused to help, she just just snubbed us and spoke to another passenger . (On the other hand the restaurant manager, when we managed to find him ourself and managed to speak to him,he was very professional helpful and friendly ) .Other staff gave incorrect information. For example, in the second last night, we called reception to asked to borrow a weighing machine for our luggage. She said they did not have it on board, that they only had it for their Caribbean cruises and not our Mediterranean cruise. However, when we went down personally to reception to ask for it, the receptionist managed to get us one. At the beginning of the cruise,when we called reception, it went on for about 45 mins (?) or so until it got cut off!

CABIN 

 

Our balcony Cabin on deck 15 and the width of the room seemed  narrow relative to cabins in other ships we have been on.The interior designer probably has to "slot" the table into the sofa to make some room. Also due to the narrowness of the room, it appears the beds may be shorter than normal. My partner, who is only 5ft10in, when he slept, his feet was jutting out at the bottom of the bed! The bed cover also did not even cover the whole body.

 

Apparently, we weren't the only ones who experienced that. An English couple from the Southampton Area had the same experience too with their beds.

 

SUMMARY

 

And on and on it goes. Before we went on the K308 cruise, we had wanted to book future cruises with P&O, We had pinpointed the 21 day cruise to Norway and Iceland, and another 21 day Transatlantic cruise. However, just after a few days on the Arvia,that changed our minds and we haven't booked any future cruises with them. We will cruise with other cruise lines for the time being. As for P&O we would wait and see if their standard would come back up in the future.

 

After leaving the ship, in Southampton Airport, we met a Scottish couple who seemed to agree with many of our views and experience with the Arvia, and we had a good few minutes "moan" to get it off our chests! Like us, they indicated they won't be returning to P&O in a hurry.

 

 

 

[zap99]

6 minutes ago, Gnoelj said:

Following a post by @Technoman2 giving his review about Arvia K309 cruise....

,...... that "triggered" us to write about our experience on Arvia on the previous cruise K308 as some of his comments about his experience seems similar to ours (others maybe not)

 

I know some P&O passengers and fans may disagree with us, that's fine, but our views seem to reflect that of some passengers we spoke to on our cruise.

 

THE GOOD POINTS

 

*Cabin Bathroom was spacious and clean.

*Zennith Restaurant manager was very helpful and friendly

*The last night "last minute" replacement show in the Headliners Theatre ,a repertoire of songs by Ben Ian Gordon , was superb.

*Staff were generally hardworking but some seemed too shy to say "hello" or "goodmorning"

*Ship was clean.

*No touch doors into public toilets was a plus

*The Crows Nest was a nice "sanctuary" for a quiet read.

*Wash basins and handwash stations in many areas.

*Regular announcements by the Captain who said he comes to meet and speak to passengers for hours (we didn't see him personally but  we don't have any reason to doubt his word).

 

*Transfer buses from ship to port entrances were relatively good, although in Marseille, there was yet another long queue under the sun.That wasn't too bad, really, you have to accept to queue a bit sometimes, we are not some presidents or kings!

*Breakfast sausages were not so good, but their "wild boar" sausages, available on some days were great. Also, their scrambled eggs at breakfast was still being kept runny, not hardened as in some buffets.

 

AND NOW, THE NOT-SO-GOOD POINTS

 

P&O cutbacks were evident, and new booking and queuing arrangements at the cost to the passengers were not really acceptable. You just seem to queue everywhere.

It started with the first day, when the queue to speak to the receptionist was as  long as the queue to wait for entry into the main dining room (Zennith) and the Headliner Theatre. It's also queue in most other places too.

 

EMBARKATION

 

Embarkation was rather "chaotic". As we had not stapler our baggage tag, upon arrival in Southampton Ocean Terminal, we were asked to look for someone who would be sitting in a little desk. When he showed up, he found his stapler did not work. He had to call to get a replacement. As there was a huge queue, we suggested he used the handwritten one. Didn't know why he did not do it before I suggested it even though the queue was getting longer and longer. Then, we were passed from one baggage handler to another to hand in our suitcases.

 

THEATRE & ENTERTAINMENT

 

Headliner Theatre entertainment quality and availability were reduced compared to a few years ago. We had to book  to see a stage show in the theatre. and most times were already booked almost on the first day. Plus shows are limited to only one show per passenger.That's fine if you have different shows different nights. They repeated the shows over several days, and since we were not even allowed to see the repeat shows, we just sat in the cabin on sea days getting really bored.

 

Even if you had booked your "slot" for the show, you are not given a seat, so you have to wait more than 30 mins before that to get a decent seat.

 

Most of the theatre shows were pretty not that inspiring anyway. Choice of songs mostly for those in their 20's or 30's (but passenger profile on our cruise appeared a lot older). So bad was one when the group of singers asked the audience to stand up and clapped, only about 20 out of 700 stood up. Before the show could end, the audience was already rushing out of the theatre!

The best show was because the Gary Barlow Take That show was cancelled as a performer was injured, and they had to have a replacement show. This came in the form of singer Ben Ian Gordon . With his powerful voice, his versatility, and his excellent choice of songs, that brought the audience to their feet at the end of show.  It was fabulous

MEALS 

The main restaurant needs booking for your meal and even after that you still queue, and you may have to wait up to 30 mins before the doors open because others were already there. If you don't book, you'd queue in a different line and you'd get in slower by  up to ten times. Food, even on special Marco Pierre White nights, were not "special". 

 

We had been informed by some passengers that they did not experience such ridiculous queuing on Iona which they had been. However, they did say that when they sailed on Iona, it was only about half full.

 

Food in the Horizon buffet very repetitive. 

 

The salads were practically the same every day during lunch and dinner throughout the entire cruise. They were also not dressed, and they lack any imagination. Only exception was during one meal when they had a Ceaser Salad behind the glass counter but you have to ask for it as it had to be done for you individually.  Hams and meats felt as if they have been in the fridge for little too long.

 

They had about 9-12(?) different kinds of little cakes which they take out a choice of 4 at each meal but they seemed boring after 2 weeks. Quality ingredients like marzipan, ground almonds or nuts appeared to be missing. For their version Tiramisu(?), we couldn't detect the TiaMaria However, the Horizon have pouring cream if you ask. And if the custard is too weak for you, add yourself a knob of butter to "enrichen" it!  We wish the ice-cream served weren't melting almost every evening they were available. 

 

STAFF SERVICE STANDARD

 

Unfortunately some staff a behaved like "Little Napoleons". For example, at the Zennith Restaurant had asked to speak to a manager for help with our booking as the head waitress refused to help, she just just snubbed us and spoke to another passenger . (On the other hand the restaurant manager, when we managed to find him ourself and managed to speak to him,he was very professional helpful and friendly ) .Other staff gave incorrect information. For example, in the second last night, we called reception to asked to borrow a weighing machine for our luggage. She said they did not have it on board, that they only had it for their Caribbean cruises and not our Mediterranean cruise. However, when we went down personally to reception to ask for it, the receptionist managed to get us one. At the beginning of the cruise,when we called reception, it went on for about 45 mins (?) or so until it got cut off!

CABIN 

 

Our balcony Cabin on deck 15 and the width of the room seemed  narrow relative to cabins in other ships we have been on.The interior designer probably has to "slot" the table into the sofa to make some room. Also due to the narrowness of the room, it appears the beds may be shorter than normal. My partner, who is only 5ft10in, when he slept, his feet was jutting out at the bottom of the bed! The bed cover also did not even cover the whole body.

 

Apparently, we weren't the only ones who experienced that. An English couple from the Southampton Area had the same experience too with their beds.

 

SUMMARY

 

And on and on it goes. Before we went on the K308 cruise, we had wanted to book future cruises with P&O, We had pinpointed the 21 day cruise to Norway and Iceland, and another 21 day Transatlantic cruise. However, just after a few days on the Arvia,that changed our minds and we haven't booked any future cruises with them. We will cruise with other cruise lines for the time being. As for P&O we would wait and see if their standard would come back up in the future.

 

After leaving the ship, in Southampton Airport, we met a Scottish couple who seemed to agree with many of our views and experience with the Arvia, and we had a good few minutes "moan" to get it off our chests! Like us, they indicated they won't be returning to P&O in a hurry.

 

 

 

Oh dear. Seems like P&O isn't for you. Oh well, at least you tried it.🤔

[Fionboard]

Don't judge P&O by Arvia. Believe me, she and Iona offer different experiences from the other ships in the fleet.   Some love Arvia style, and others, like me, prefer to stick with the smaller ships. Horses for courses. 

[zap99]

1 minute ago, Fionboard said:

Don't judge P&O by Arvia. Believe me, she and Iona offer different experiences from the other ships in the fleet.   Some love Arvia style, and others, like me, prefer to stick with the smaller ships. Horses for courses. 

Sometimes large ships can have advantages.No African wildlife on Aurora😁

[daiB]

I can confirm after being on Iona for 2 cruises last month, this is not our experience at all. You say the queue was before the doors opened at 5.30. This is not due to the booking system it is due to passengers wanting first sitting, which of course they can’t have. It has been happening on all cruises we have been on since “Freedom Dining” started.

 

Staff I find to be very polite and helpful especially when you treat them with respect.

[majortom10]

I think the problems you had and was one of your complaints about luggage tags. If you had stapled them yourselves prior to arriving as requested then all of that hassle would have been avoided. You would have dropped suitcases of at specified luggage point and proceeded straight to terminal in matter of a few minutes.

Edited May 8, 2023 by majortom10

[majortom10]

6 minutes ago, daiB said:

I can confirm after being on Iona for 2 cruises last month, this is not our experience at all. You say the queue was before the doors opened at 5.30. This is not due to the booking system it is due to passengers wanting first sitting, which of course they can’t have. It has been happening on all cruises we have been on since “Freedom Dining” started.

 

Staff I find to be very polite and helpful especially when you treat them with respect.

 

4 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

 

We had no complaints at all on our recent cruise on Iona and the only real queue we encountered was for fish and chips at The Quays and was worth the wait.

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by majortom10

[wowzz]

All I I would say is that it is probably wrong to write off every other P&O ship just because of your experience on one of the two "mega" ships.

 

[Fionboard]

3 minutes ago, wowzz said:

All I I would say is that it is probably wrong to write off every other P&O ship just because of your experience on one of the two "mega" ships.

 

Agree. They are all different. 

[TigerB]

It's a shame you had a generally poor experience, although, as has been alluded to by another poster, the baggage problem at the start was perhaps of your own making.

 

Was this your first trip with P&O, or just on such a large ship? Having sailed on her at the beginning of January, we knew what to expect, so adapted our approach accordingly when it came to dining and some other aspects. Consequently, we had a generally positive experience. My thoughts after the cruise are here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2931167-arvia-k308-all-aboard/page/10/#comment-65318444

 

Generally, the crew looked less stressed than they did in January and, in time, I'm sure most, if not all the problems, will be ironed out. Reports from folk who have sailed on Iona would suggest that to be so. I spoke with Simba, the chap you refer to at Zenith, and he was saying how much they've moved on since the first cruise. 

 

As others have written, try not to let a poor experience on a large and new ship put you off sailing with P&O.

 

[Gnoelj]

16 minutes ago, TigerB said:

It's a shame you had a generally poor experience, although, as has been alluded to by another poster, the baggage problem at the start was perhaps of your own making.

 

Was this your first trip with P&O, or just on such a large ship? Having sailed on her at the beginning of January, we knew what to expect, so adapted our approach accordingly when it came to dining and some other aspects. Consequently, we had a generally positive experience. My thoughts after the cruise are here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2931167-arvia-k308-all-aboard/page/10/#comment-65318444

 

Generally, the crew looked less stressed than they did in January and, in time, I'm sure most, if not all the problems, will be ironed out. Reports from folk who have sailed on Iona would suggest that to be so. I spoke with Simba, the chap you refer to at Zenith, and he was saying how much they've moved on since the first cruise. 

 

As others have written, try not to let a poor experience on a large and new ship put you off sailing with P&O.

 

 

It was not the first cruise we had with P&O, it was the third. The first one, on Aurora from Rio to Valparaiso was excellent. The food was good and there were so many activities, including in the evenings. We remembered that after dinner (no booking no queues), we were moving from one show to another show and then  yet to another. During the day, when not in port for excursions,  there were art and Spanish classes, etc. It was so much fun.

Our second cruise was on the Ventura. That was a bit disappointment too unfortunately, but that was mainly due to the poor quality of the food (I lost a few pounds AFTER the cruise!) On the Ventura,  I chatted with the Maitre D' who recognised me from the previous cruise when she was on the Aurora. She indicated  then the quality of cooking on P&O was coming down because of cutbacks.

On the Arvia,we weren't banking on "haute cuisine"  but we were hoping at least the standard of entertainment and cabin comfort would be better as it is a bigger ship (more passengers, higher entertainment budget, new ship more comfortable, etc) .Unfortunately, we found that to be the opposite, The choice of music of the majority of the singers seems to be that which attract young people in the 20's and early 30's, not the more mature ones in their 50's or older.

Edited May 8, 2023 by Gnoelj

[davecttr]

I was quite pleased with the Arvia experience and and set out to find what the buffet was like. Surprisingly there were 14 different menus, one for each day of the cruise. This was confirmed by the chef. Each menu had several different categories. The salad selection was much better than the sad offerings on previous P&O cruises. For example there was smoked salmon, smoked trout, smoked haddock, Gravilax, Fresh cooked salmon and sea food combo. I also based a salad around meat choices from the main serveries. I prefer to put my own dressing on salad anyway

 

finally they reintroduced two theme nights Indian and Asian/Oriental

 

For those interested the 14 daily Horizon menus can be found online. Actually 28 different menus counting lunch and dinner. These were the hot buffet categories for the evening and not the same dish each category. The Chef did say they had to modify some dishes because of ingridiant availability.

Hot Savoury

Great British Classic

The Carvery

Global Favourite

Vegetarian & Vegan

European Rotisserie

American Grill

Asian Stir Fry

Middle Eastern

Fish

 

With salads that adds up to 14 different meals without any repeats.

 

Off on Aurora soon, it will be interesting to see what the salads are like, they used to be really sad and repetitive.

 

Cruising impressions can be a Marmite thing!

[davecttr]

19 minutes ago, Gnoelj said:

 

It was not the first cruise we had with P&O, it was the third. The first one, on Aurora from Rio to Valparaiso was excellent. The food was good and there were so many activities, including in the evenings. We remembered that after dinner (no booking no queues), we were moving from one show to another show and then  yet to another. During the day, when not in port for excursions,  there were art and Spanish classes, etc. It was so much fun.

Our second cruise was on the Ventura. That was a bit disappointment too unfortunately, but that was mainly due to the poor quality of the food (I lost a few pounds AFTER the cruise!) On the Ventura,  I chatted with the Maitre D' who recognised me from the previous cruise when she was on the Aurora. She indicated  then the quality of cooking on P&O was coming down because of cutbacks.

On the Arvia,we weren't banking on "haute cuisine"  but we were hoping at least the standard of entertainment and cabin comfort would be better as it is a bigger ship (more passengers, higher entertainment budget, new ship more comfortable, etc) .Unfortunately, we found that to be the opposite, The choice of music of the majority of the singers seems to be that which attract young people in the 20's and early 30's, not the more mature ones in their 50's or older.

You were on the wrong ship, the target demographic for Arvia and Iona is  a younger age group. The problem was all us oldies going to see what it was like and not liking it.

[Gnoelj]

3 minutes ago, davecttr said:

You were on the wrong ship, the target demographic for Arvia and Iona is  a younger age group. The problem was all us oldies going to see what it was like and not liking it.

If the Arvia is for the youngsters, how come the majority of the passengers appear to be "oldies"? Have they all chosen the wrong ship as well?

[Gnoelj]

1 hour ago, Gnoelj said:

Following a post by @Technoman2 giving his review about Arvia K309 cruise....

,...... that "triggered" us to write about our experience on Arvia on the previous cruise K308 as some of his comments about his experience seems similar to ours (others maybe not)

 

I know some P&O passengers and fans may disagree with us, that's fine, but our views seem to reflect that of some passengers we spoke to on our cruise.

 

THE GOOD POINTS

 

*Cabin Bathroom was spacious and clean.

*Zennith Restaurant manager was very helpful and friendly

*The last night "last minute" replacement show in the Headliners Theatre ,a repertoire of songs by Ben Ian Gordon , was superb.

*Staff were generally hardworking but some seemed too shy to say "hello" or "goodmorning"

*Ship was clean.

*No touch doors into public toilets was a plus

*The Crows Nest was a nice "sanctuary" for a quiet read.

*Wash basins and handwash stations in many areas.

*Regular announcements by the Captain who said he comes to meet and speak to passengers for hours (we didn't see him personally but  we don't have any reason to doubt his word).

 

*Transfer buses from ship to port entrances were relatively good, although in Marseille, there was yet another long queue under the sun.That wasn't too bad, really, you have to accept to queue a bit sometimes, we are not some presidents or kings!

*Breakfast sausages were not so good, but their "wild boar" sausages, available on some days were great. Also, their scrambled eggs at breakfast was still being kept runny, not hardened as in some buffets.

 

AND NOW, THE NOT-SO-GOOD POINTS

 

P&O cutbacks were evident, and new booking and queuing arrangements at the cost to the passengers were not really acceptable. You just seem to queue everywhere.

It started with the first day, when the queue to speak to the receptionist was as  long as the queue to wait for entry into the main dining room (Zennith) and the Headliner Theatre. It's also queue in most other places too.

 

EMBARKATION

 

Embarkation was rather "chaotic". As we had not stapler our baggage tag, upon arrival in Southampton Ocean Terminal, we were asked to look for someone who would be sitting in a little desk. When he showed up, he found his stapler did not work. He had to call to get a replacement. As there was a huge queue, we suggested he used the handwritten one. Didn't know why he did not do it before I suggested it even though the queue was getting longer and longer. Then, we were passed from one baggage handler to another to hand in our suitcases.

 

THEATRE & ENTERTAINMENT

 

Headliner Theatre entertainment quality and availability were reduced compared to a few years ago. We had to book  to see a stage show in the theatre. and most times were already booked almost on the first day. Plus shows are limited to only one show per passenger.That's fine if you have different shows different nights. They repeated the shows over several days, and since we were not even allowed to see the repeat shows, we just sat in the cabin on sea days getting really bored.

 

Even if you had booked your "slot" for the show, you are not given a seat, so you have to wait more than 30 mins before that to get a decent seat.

 

Most of the theatre shows were pretty not that inspiring anyway. Choice of songs mostly for those in their 20's or 30's (but passenger profile on our cruise appeared a lot older). So bad was one when the group of singers asked the audience to stand up and clapped, only about 20 out of 700 stood up. Before the show could end, the audience was already rushing out of the theatre!

The best show was because the Gary Barlow Take That show was cancelled as a performer was injured, and they had to have a replacement show. This came in the form of singer Ben Ian Gordon . With his powerful voice, his versatility, and his excellent choice of songs, that brought the audience to their feet at the end of show.  It was fabulous

MEALS 

The main restaurant needs booking for your meal and even after that you still queue, and you may have to wait up to 30 mins before the doors open because others were already there. If you don't book, you'd queue in a different line and you'd get in slower by  up to ten times. Food, even on special Marco Pierre White nights, were not "special". 

 

We had been informed by some passengers that they did not experience such ridiculous queuing on Iona which they had been. However, they did say that when they sailed on Iona, it was only about half full.

 

Food in the Horizon buffet very repetitive. 

 

The salads were practically the same every day during lunch and dinner throughout the entire cruise. They were also not dressed, and they lack any imagination. Only exception was during one meal when they had a Ceaser Salad behind the glass counter but you have to ask for it as it had to be done for you individually.  Hams and meats felt as if they have been in the fridge for little too long.

 

They had about 9-12(?) different kinds of little cakes which they take out a choice of 4 at each meal but they seemed boring after 2 weeks. Quality ingredients like marzipan, ground almonds or nuts appeared to be missing. For their version Tiramisu(?), we couldn't detect the TiaMaria However, the Horizon have pouring cream if you ask. And if the custard is too weak for you, add yourself a knob of butter to "enrichen" it!  We wish the ice-cream served weren't melting almost every evening they were available. 

 

STAFF SERVICE STANDARD

 

Unfortunately some staff a behaved like "Little Napoleons". For example, at the Zennith Restaurant had asked to speak to a manager for help with our booking as the head waitress refused to help, she just just snubbed us and spoke to another passenger . (On the other hand the restaurant manager, when we managed to find him ourself and managed to speak to him,he was very professional helpful and friendly ) .Other staff gave incorrect information. For example, in the second last night, we called reception to asked to borrow a weighing machine for our luggage. She said they did not have it on board, that they only had it for their Caribbean cruises and not our Mediterranean cruise. However, when we went down personally to reception to ask for it, the receptionist managed to get us one. At the beginning of the cruise,when we called reception, it went on for about 45 mins (?) or so until it got cut off!

CABIN 

 

Our balcony Cabin on deck 15 and the width of the room seemed  narrow relative to cabins in other ships we have been on.The interior designer probably has to "slot" the table into the sofa to make some room. Also due to the narrowness of the room, it appears the beds may be shorter than normal. My partner, who is only 5ft10in, when he slept, his feet was jutting out at the bottom of the bed! The bed cover also did not even cover the whole body.

 

Apparently, we weren't the only ones who experienced that. An English couple from the Southampton Area had the same experience too with their beds.

 

SUMMARY

 

And on and on it goes. Before we went on the K308 cruise, we had wanted to book future cruises with P&O, We had pinpointed the 21 day cruise to Norway and Iceland, and another 21 day Transatlantic cruise. However, just after a few days on the Arvia,that changed our minds and we haven't booked any future cruises with them. We will cruise with other cruise lines for the time being. As for P&O we would wait and see if their standard would come back up in the future.

 

After leaving the ship, in Southampton Airport, we met a Scottish couple who seemed to agree with many of our views and experience with the Arvia, and we had a good few minutes "moan" to get it off our chests! Like us, they indicated they won't be returning to P&O in a hurry.

 

 

 

 

Something else which put us off the cruise, and it is not P&O's fault at all, was that there were so many people coughing out loudly without covering their mouths, etc. This happened so often, we could have heard about two dozen "coughers" every hour! Imagine carrying your tray of food in the buffet and someone coughed onto your food. It happened to us. Would you like your food to be so respectfully treated?

 

You are right if you say it could happen in any cruise, but it would happen more frequently in larger cruises merely by the larger number of passengers.

 

We hope we haven't upset anyone with our comments. You have every right to disagree and we respect that.

[wowzz]

16 minutes ago, Gnoelj said:

If the Arvia is for the youngsters, how come the majority of the passengers appear to be "oldies"? Have they all chosen the wrong ship as well?

The demographics will alter depending in school holidays. I'm betting that in August the average age will be 20 years less than on your cruise. 

[zap99]

10 minutes ago, wowzz said:

The demographics will alter depending in school holidays. I'm betting that in August the average age will be 20 years less than on your cruise. 

The demographics of a cruise doesn’t bother us at all. In fact if we wanted an oldies cruise we would go on another line.

[daiB]

1 hour ago, Gnoelj said:

If the Arvia is for the youngsters, how come the majority of the passengers appear to be "oldies"? Have they all chosen the wrong ship as well?

Well I must be now in the older group now after cruising 22 years and we both simply loved Iona, all aspects. Arvia is for everyone. If it were not P&O would go out of business as the younger element do not have the time or money to cruise in the winter months. 

[Cloudyrain]

I think “sitting in the cabin being bored” is a tad extreme because there wasn’t a headliners show you can go and see: but each to their own.

 

A smaller ship, maybe adult only, would maybe be better if you want a more intimate/older style. I cannot imagine why you would pick the Arvia if that’s what you want. Plus the newer “family” ships have lots of facilities to target even young-oldies: just because someone is over 50 doesn’t mean they don’t want to listen to modern music. Having said that I’ve heard oldies complain that music from the 80s was “modern rubbish” on a previous P&O cruise - so I suppose perspective and personal taste comes in to it a lot 😂

[Ardennais]

I’m afraid that I’ve cancelled a future cruise on Arcadia with P&O following our recent cruise on Britannia. Although levels of service were good, the food was so disappointing. To be fair, that’s not the only reason for cancelling Arcadia - the ports were all going to be repeats and we actually enjoyed our Iona cruise and felt that there was more going on. So for us, we’ll probably book Iona again - but during term time!