Arvia Adventure Begins - May 2023

[Megabear2]

Glorious weather today and the Sky Dome roof opened.  The whole atmosphere in that area changed from a noisy hub to a pleasant environment to enjoy for everyone.  A totally different experience where it was a pleasure to stop and have a drink or an icecream.  With the roof closed all cruise  it's been hot and humid and the noise levels remind me of a school holiday float session at the local baths, not in any way relaxing.  Arvia certainly felt calmer.

 

Tomorrow however is a different story apparently.  Going to have more of those wonderful showers and a head wind of quite substantial force which may include forward decks being closed.  Doubt we will see the roof opened again but it was a pleasant experience.

 

I visited future sales today.  The magic P held and a nice man moved all my future bookings around without losing my money - I had expected to so that was a nice surprise.  Going back to Britannia rather than Iona and Arcadia this year and made a nice new booking for Caribbean on Britannia in January.  Very happy with that one as I've managed to book my favourite deck 14 deluxe balcony and premium economy flights for the two of us with £620 OBC. We rarely get anything substantial in OBC so that will be very nice.  

[CarlaMarie]

3 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Glorious weather today and the Sky Dome roof opened.  The whole atmosphere in that area changed from a noisy hub to a pleasant environment to enjoy for everyone.  A totally different experience where it was a pleasure to stop and have a drink or an icecream.  With the roof closed all cruise  it's been hot and humid and the noise levels remind me of a school holiday float session at the local baths, not in any way relaxing.  Arvia certainly felt calmer.

 

Tomorrow however is a different story apparently.  Going to have more of those wonderful showers and a head wind of quite substantial force which may include forward decks being closed.  Doubt we will see the roof opened again but it was a pleasant experience.

 

I visited future sales today.  The magic P held and a nice man moved all my future bookings around without losing my money - I had expected to so that was a nice surprise.  Going back to Britannia rather than Iona and Arcadia this year and made a nice new booking for Caribbean on Britannia in January.  Very happy with that one as I've managed to book my favourite deck 14 deluxe balcony and premium economy flights for the two of us with £620 OBC. We rarely get anything substantial in OBC so that will be very nice.  

 

Really pleased you've been able to move your bookings. Did he enquire as to why? 

 

I hope the weather isn't as bad as anticipated tomorrow. 

 

[CarlaMarie]

11 hours ago, DS_Dean said:

I've noticed kids in the swim up bar all cruise. Sounds like a nice idea to have a swim up bar but I guess the lower water level is more appealing for children. 

 

If it isn't allowed then the staff member should really put a stop to it. Not being negative, but I don't understand why passengers cannot follow the rules or why the cruise line allows them not to. 

[Megabear2]

6 hours ago, CarlaMarie said:

 

Really pleased you've been able to move your bookings. Did he enquire as to why? 

 

I hope the weather isn't as bad as anticipated tomorrow. 

 

I've not ventured out yet as was up at 5.30 and decided to catch up on work rather than doze and go to the gym when it opened.  I can confirm there's a bit of movement and banging up here at the front so the tales of front winds of 40 plus seem to be true.

 

Being super organised for once I've also done most of my packing, seemed silly to waste good time later today and tomorrow so now I can relax.

 

The man was great.  He went in to my account- didn't realise but he can see my Cunard record as well. I was a bit surprised when he asked me how the Coronation cruise went and I thought he'd gone into the wrong Mrs Megabear until he said lovely ship the Queen Mary 2!  He said why no Iona and I explained I was worried because of my experience on here which elicited the reply I fully understand this ship isn't for everyone.  I laughed and he said this has been a very busy voyage for rearrangements and new bookings.  He was actually really good, looked at rebooking a cruise I have later in the year on Britannia because he could see there had been a huge price drop and better OBC.  He explained he thinks much better to treat existing customers fairly even if it means losing the deposit and rebooking.  He saved us nearly £900 on that one which was great.  

 

As Azura is now all fly cruise looks like I'll be sticking to Britannia and Aurora for the foreseeable because if I'm going to fly it will be Cunard and Celebrity with even dare I say it Princess having the itineraries I like the best.  

 

I thought this future cruise man was the best and most helpful I've had in years.

 

Incidentally there was a huge queue and nearly everyone chatting wanted to book the Canaries for 2024 end 2025.  Looks like the go to spot for a while.  There were comments about too many repetitive cruises to cities in the Med and Norway.  Anyway I'm very happy as I have my Britannia Caribbeans sorted plus Scandinavia and a Med cruise on her.

[Technoman2]

Great you managed to get the  result that you wanted MB with your future bookings. 

That sounds like the kind of wather and headwind we had off protugal. We found the best sheltered place to sit was at the back of the ship on deck 8 with a towel around our neck to ease off the breeze but it was relaxing to see the wake behind the ship and have the sun, it was the only day i got mildly sunburned so take what you need with you and bag a good seat.

[mrsgoggins]

44 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

He said why no Iona and I explained I was worried because of my experience on here which elicited the reply I fully understand this ship isn't for everyone.

 

Like you, we are computer literate and able to sort out issues that arise, I also fall into the 'not for me camp' when it comes to the 2 new ships based on our 2 (okay) weeks on Iona in the Canaries in March, despite there being much I did like.  Also like you, we met people who loved the ship and had travelled on her before, and also those who said 'never again' - and they were not always those who could not manage the technology or missed ballroom dancing!

 

Essentially, if I were interested in the cheap last minute fares - on my cruise I heard 'this is costing me £50 a day; I can eat more than that' in addition to the 'cheaper than staying at home' comments - I too would probably would have thought it was great.  But as we paid a full, not insignificant fare, with little OBC (booked early as per the advice on this site at that time) I would choose to spend my money elsewhere; Lake Garda is one of my 'go to' places due a return visit.  We are very fortunate people.

 

I have Cunard booked in the future, a first for us, along with Celebrity, Princess and also Ventura. We may try Britannia at some time.  I think you have done a splendid job of highlighting your cruise, with its pitfalls at the start, and I thank you very much.  Safe travels home 🙂

[Technoman2]

35 minutes ago, mrsgoggins said:

 

Like you, we are computer literate and able to sort out issues that arise, I also fall into the 'not for me camp' when it comes to the 2 new ships based on our 2 (okay) weeks on Iona in the Canaries in March, despite there being much I did like.  Also like you, we met people who loved the ship and had travelled on her before, and also those who said 'never again' - and they were not always those who could not manage the technology or missed ballroom dancing!

 

Essentially, if I were interested in the cheap last minute fares - on my cruise I heard 'this is costing me £50 a day; I can eat more than that' in addition to the 'cheaper than staying at home' comments - I too would probably would have thought it was great.  But as we paid a full, not insignificant fare, with little OBC (booked early as per the advice on this site at that time) I would choose to spend my money elsewhere; Lake Garda is one of my 'go to' places due a return visit.  We are very fortunate people.

 

I have Cunard booked in the future, a first for us, along with Celebrity, Princess and also Ventura. We may try Britannia at some time.  I think you have done a splendid job of highlighting your cruise, with its pitfalls at the start, and I thank you very much.  Safe travels home 🙂

We have stayed in Garda a couple of times MG and it is really nice. Tui are ripping the backside out of prices for the lakes this year charging double the price pre pandemic. Garda is pretty cental for north or south of the area. 

The cheapest and most cost effective way of getting around the lake is by bus. At the bus station in Garda which is where you will get dropped off from the airport you can get a 1 day ticket for 10 Euro or a 20 Euro ticket for 3 days. IMPORTANT NOTE if you want to go on the cable car to Monte Baldo at Malcesine then ask for ther voucher that comes with the ticket when you buy the one day or 3 day pass as it gets you 10 euro off the price of the cable car so instead of paying 22 Euro you only pay 12 Euro for the cable car. See the back of the bus timetable and read it carefully. ( these prices were a few years ago)

A one day pass for the ferries is around 35 euros. Its not a cheap place for a holiday but it is beautiful , Riva is like an Austrian village. Avoid the hotel Palme in Garda very poor regimented half board.

[Megabear2]

46 minutes ago, Technoman2 said:

We have stayed in Garda a couple of times MG and it is really nice. Tui are ripping the backside out of prices for the lakes this year charging double the price pre pandemic. Garda is pretty cental for north or south of the area. 

The cheapest and most cost effective way of getting around the lake is by bus. At the bus station in Garda which is where you will get dropped off from the airport you can get a 1 day ticket for 10 Euro or a 20 Euro ticket for 3 days. IMPORTANT NOTE if you want to go on the cable car to Monte Baldo at Malcesine then ask for ther voucher that comes with the ticket when you buy the one day or 3 day pass as it gets you 10 euro off the price of the cable car so instead of paying 22 Euro you only pay 12 Euro for the cable car. See the back of the bus timetable and read it carefully. ( these prices were a few years ago)

A one day pass for the ferries is around 35 euros. Its not a cheap place for a holiday but it is beautiful , Riva is like an Austrian village. Avoid the hotel Palme in Garda very poor regimented half board.

We stayed in Sirmione last September for 3 nights before catching the train across country to Marostica to see Andrea Bocelli.  Magnificent holiday finished by 2 days in Venice before flying home from there.

 

I love the Lakes, often catch the train down from Worgl (in Austrian Tyrol) and spend a few days there after a walking holiday.

[Cathygh]

1 hour ago, Technoman2 said:

We have stayed in Garda a couple of times MG and it is really nice. Tui are ripping the backside out of prices for the lakes this year charging double the price pre pandemic. Garda is pretty cental for north or south of the area. 

The cheapest and most cost effective way of getting around the lake is by bus. At the bus station in Garda which is where you will get dropped off from the airport you can get a 1 day ticket for 10 Euro or a 20 Euro ticket for 3 days. IMPORTANT NOTE if you want to go on the cable car to Monte Baldo at Malcesine then ask for ther voucher that comes with the ticket when you buy the one day or 3 day pass as it gets you 10 euro off the price of the cable car so instead of paying 22 Euro you only pay 12 Euro for the cable car. See the back of the bus timetable and read it carefully. ( these prices were a few years ago)

A one day pass for the ferries is around 35 euros. Its not a cheap place for a holiday but it is beautiful , Riva is like an Austrian village. Avoid the hotel Palme in Garda very poor regimented half board.

We also like the lakes. Been to Garda a few times and Maggiore twice. I think Maggiore has the edge. The ferries on Garda are pretty reliable but they don't all call at some of the smaller places. We stayed in Gardone one year and we had to plan timings quite throughly. Even so we had a wonderful holiday at the Grand Gardone, which I booked for the food reviews and I was not disappointed. (unlike my recent experience in QG).

Last time we went with Inghams as we could fly from Southampton. I don't know how their prices compare wit TUI's.

The other thing I liked is that though we have been mainy in August there are very few children around and the Italian ones know how to behave in a restaurant.

I've not been since the pandemic so I can't comment on how thigs are there now.

[mrsgoggins]

1 hour ago, Technoman2 said:

We have stayed in Garda a couple of times MG and it is really nice. Tui are ripping the backside out of prices for the lakes this year charging double the price pre pandemic. Garda is pretty cental for north or south of the area. 

The cheapest and most cost effective way of getting around the lake is by bus. At the bus station in Garda which is where you will get dropped off from the airport you can get a 1 day ticket for 10 Euro or a 20 Euro ticket for 3 days. IMPORTANT NOTE if you want to go on the cable car to Monte Baldo at Malcesine then ask for ther voucher that comes with the ticket when you buy the one day or 3 day pass as it gets you 10 euro off the price of the cable car so instead of paying 22 Euro you only pay 12 Euro for the cable car. See the back of the bus timetable and read it carefully. ( these prices were a few years ago)

A one day pass for the ferries is around 35 euros. Its not a cheap place for a holiday but it is beautiful , Riva is like an Austrian village. Avoid the hotel Palme in Garda very poor regimented half board.

 

My husband would often work out in Northern Italy and I would go out with him when I could, at all times of the year, and stay in Bardolino, next door to Garda, which is handy for the motorway network and hence, his job. We have seen snow in Bardolino and walked in the main street, towards the church, when we were the only people around. I used the buses quite a bit when I was by myself during the day and know all of the resorts around the lake very well.

 

These days - pre-pandemic and post retirement - we would go out at least once a year to our favourite lakeside hotel in Bardolino (where many of the staff have been there for the 20+ years of our history with it) either at the start or the end of the season, booking directly with the hotel.  I can recommend April (before the TUI season begins) when the lakeside is in full bloom with tulips - the planting provided by Sigurta gardens, which I can highly recommend.

 

I am now off to work out when we can next go ...... after your reminders of how much I love it 💐.  Happy to note that you and MB share my affection for the area.

 

Cruising is a good and relatively easy way to see nice places, but still happy to travel under our own steam while we still can 🤞

[Megabear2]

More visitors, this time bringing free drink for this evening. I've still got the baby elephant, what with the Bear I've got quite a zoo going here!

[CarlaMarie]

22 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

More visitors, this time bringing free drink for this evening. I've still got the baby elephant, what with the Bear I've got quite a zoo going here!

 

It is nice that someone is trying to brighten your days onboard with these.

 

Enjoy the formal night tonight and the MDR.

 

That's really good also that the future cruise man was understanding, which I think says alot. 

[amajaa]

@Megabear2 years ago when Carnival had that big problem with the banks ( it was the banks fault not Carnival) and they took double payments for cruises off peoples credit cards, we had a payment for a short cruise on QM2 taken off twice. Carnival gave people OBC to make up for it and as we had already been on the cruise I emailed back and said thanks very much but we haven’t got any Cunard cruises booked but we do have some P & O ones. I then got an email back saying they had added the OBC to our Aurora cruise so as you say the info for Cunard and P & O obviously are listed together for the operators. Good on them I thought 

[Interestedcruisefan]

10 hours ago, amajaa said:

@Megabear2 years ago when Carnival had that big problem with the banks ( it was the banks fault not Carnival) and they took double payments for cruises off peoples credit cards, we had a payment for a short cruise on QM2 taken off twice. Carnival gave people OBC to make up for it and as we had already been on the cruise I emailed back and said thanks very much but we haven’t got any Cunard cruises booked but we do have some P & O ones. I then got an email back saying they had added the OBC to our Aurora cruise so as you say the info for Cunard and P & O obviously are listed together for the operators. Good on them I thought 

You say "good on them"

 

Surely if they had taken double payments for your cruise the money should have been refunded back to you full stop?

 

Not given back as OBC?

 

 

[AndyMichelle]

2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

You say "good on them"

 

Surely if they had taken double payments for your cruise the money should have been refunded back to you full stop?

 

Not given back as OBC?

 

 

I believe the money was refunded, the obc was an extra in way of an apology. 

Andy 

[Interestedcruisefan]

9 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

I believe the money was refunded, the obc was an extra in way of an apology. 

Andy 

That makes more sense now!!

[amajaa]

3 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

You say "good on them"

 

Surely if they had taken double payments for your cruise the money should have been refunded back to you full stop?

 

Not given back as OBC?

 

 

Yes of course the money was refunded, the OBC was an extra. They didn’t have to give anything extra as it was their bank’s fault but I suppose they felt responsible.

[purplesea]

We too were on this cruise and although we did not experience the problems with noise that MG had we did have a lot of creaking that could be heard from our cabin.

The queues we did not like. One morning we had joined the virtual queue for Meridian and been informed our table was ready so went down and joined the actual queue which was quite long. On the opposite side of the corridor was for those that were just walk-ins. People who were in the walk-in side of the corridor where just show straight into the dining room while the rest of us had to. On getting to the desk, we where told that there was a glitch in the app and we shouldn't have been able to book!

On our second day we were haing lunch in the MDR one of the gentlemen on our table said he hadn't had anything to eat on embarkation day as everywhere was booked or full. 

I had problems with the app as it kept freezing when trying to book dining venues, so often just went down as a walk-in, some days we had to wait some we didn't.

I was surprised as to the number of children on board as it was still term time and didn't use the pools because of them. 

A lot of people that I spoke to weren't happy with having to book everything using the app, saying it took away the spontaneity of being on holiday.

These are just some of my comments of being on board. Would I sail on Arvia again? Maybe, if the itinerary and price was cheap enough.

 

[purplesea]

On 5/26/2023 at 5:06 PM, Megabear2 said:

More visitors, this time bringing free drink for this evening. I've still got the baby elephant, what with the Bear I've got quite a zoo going here!

Snap!!

[Interestedcruisefan]

30 minutes ago, purplesea said:

We too were on this cruise and although we did not experience the problems with noise that MG had we did have a lot of creaking that could be heard from our cabin.

The queues we did not like. One morning we had joined the virtual queue for Meridian and been informed our table was ready so went down and joined the actual queue which was quite long. On the opposite side of the corridor was for those that were just walk-ins. People who were in the walk-in side of the corridor where just show straight into the dining room while the rest of us had to. On getting to the desk, we where told that there was a glitch in the app and we shouldn't have been able to book!

On our second day we were haing lunch in the MDR one of the gentlemen on our table said he hadn't had anything to eat on embarkation day as everywhere was booked or full. 

I had problems with the app as it kept freezing when trying to book dining venues, so often just went down as a walk-in, some days we had to wait some we didn't.

I was surprised as to the number of children on board as it was still term time and didn't use the pools because of them. 

A lot of people that I spoke to weren't happy with having to book everything using the app, saying it took away the spontaneity of being on holiday.

These are just some of my comments of being on board. Would I sail on Arvia again? Maybe, if the itinerary and price was cheap enough.

 

Walk ins need to be the ones queuing longer for anything

 

They were on Iona (in the very rare event  anyone was queuing that is. But only a small few). There should definitely be a reward for pre-booking and a deterrent for not pre-booking. Otherwise nobody will e-book and we all suffer queues we don't need

 

Let walk ins have their "spontaneity" but not at the expense of guests prepared to take just a few  seconds to use the booking system.  It is literally a few seconds

 

(Re the gentleman who allegedly didn't eat anything on boarding day. That really is unfathomable and not point questioning that further. It will just go pear shaped). 

Edited May 29, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[TigerB]

2 hours ago, purplesea said:

Snap!!

 

For a second there, I thought that was one of ICF's photos.🤭

[cruising.mark.uk]

34 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

One thing that has increased in recent times is the pressure to want to use the pay restaurants.  The archive link I posted elsewhere is dated 2012 and refers to Seventeen on Azura, this is now Epicurean.  There is mention from one of our still very regular posters of the new cost: £28.00 at that time. The Bank of England inflation calculator shows that in March 2023 that would be £37.56, a figure much more in line with a speciality restaurant meal on RC or Celebrity which many on these boards say are very expensive. Back in 2012 (or 2010 when Azura launched) the extra pay restaurants were a treat not a necessity to even out passenger load as they are now.

I think when considering Arvia, this might more appropriately be worded pressure to use ‘alternative’ restaurants, given that Olive Grove, the Diner and the Quays are no cost.    And, while the business model on Arvia (and to a slightly lesser extent Iona) clearly requires more use of alternative restaurants, in my opinion, the price of those on P&O makes doing so much less of a financial commitment. 

 

I sense that Epicurean and Sindhu are perhaps those that most closely align with speciality restaurants on the other lines you mention and, as you say, the prices are broadly comparable, although P&O probably come in a little lower.  But, on Arvia it’s also possible to get very good two course meals at Keel and Cow, Beach House, the Glass House and, I think (although I never tried it) at Green & Co in the £10 to £15 range and, of course, there’s loyalty discount for many to deduct from that (and no 17.5 or 20% extra service charge at P&O restaurants, like there is on other lines). 

 

That will still add up over the course of a fortnight, but – as others have mentioned – OBC on P&O will often cover a lot of it.  In Apr, we had enough OBC to pay for wifi, all our drinks and alternative restaurants every day on a 14 night cruise and still had to do a trolley dash in the onboard shops on the last day to burn off the last £250.

Edited May 29, 2023 by cruising.mark.uk
I forgot the Quays!

[Megabear2]

42 minutes ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

I think when considering Arvia, this might more appropriately be worded pressure to use ‘alternative’ restaurants, given that Olive Grove, the Diner and the Quays are no cost.    And, while the business model on Arvia (and to a slightly lesser extent Iona) clearly requires more use of alternative restaurants, in my opinion, the price of those on P&O makes doing so much less of a financial commitment. 

 

I sense that Epicurean and Sindhu are perhaps those that most closely align with speciality restaurants on the other lines you mention and, as you say, the prices are broadly comparable, although P&O probably come in a little lower.  But, on Arvia it’s also possible to get very good two course meals at Keel and Cow, Beach House, the Glass House and, I think (although I never tried it) at Green & Co in the £10 to £15 range and, of course, there’s loyalty discount for many to deduct from that (and no 17.5 or 20% extra service charge at P&O restaurants, like there is on other lines). 

 

That will still add up over the course of a fortnight, but – as others have mentioned – OBC on P&O will often cover a lot of it.  In Apr, we had enough OBC to pay for wifi, all our drinks and alternative restaurants every day on a 14 night cruise and still had to do a trolley dash in the onboard shops on the last day to burn off the last £250.

You make good points. I was not actually intending to compare the cost, more the methodology behind how each line worked.  My point on pricing was more that P&O is extremely cheap for its select dining in comparison with the pricing point of 2012.  That, in my opinion, makes it likely to attract far more people to use it and as you say those with extremely large OBC will book the restaurants as to them it is "free" so to speak.

 

However as a lone traveller the OBC offering is frequently small - some 2025 cruises currently offer £50 to £80, in fact even for a couple that's relatively small.  Over the years OBC on offer has in my experience (my first sailing on P&O was 2010 on Azura so not as long as many on here) been far smaller hence my comment at the unexpected £620 for the January cruise I booked onboard.  

 

Regarding pressure I probably needed to express myself better! By pressure I really mean from individual cruisers who think they are missing out if they don't use the much trumpeted select dining on any ship, it's now perceived as a must do due to the advertising making it look far superior, building it up psychologically that if you haven't gotten in you've missed something vital from your holiday.  For my part I used all options for eating except the Glass House and Keel & Cow (latter for breakfast) all were excellent including all the included options.  For me the one standout was Green & Co, ironically the only one you could normally get into really easily.  I've just checked me bill for there - one booked at home before departure and one via the app onboard.  Total bill for them was £20.60 for first and £24.30 for the second so again much in line with the figures for Epicurean.

Edited May 29, 2023 by Megabear2

[Fionboard]

I do not like dining alone, so never use speciality restaurants. Fixed dining in MDR is much better for me. 

[cruising.mark.uk]

4 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

 

However as a lone traveller the OBC offering is frequently small - some 2025 cruises currently offer £50 to £80, in fact even for a couple that's relatively small.  Over the years OBC on offer has in my experience (my first sailing on P&O was 2010 on Azura so not as long as many on here) been far smaller hence my comment at the unexpected £620 for the January cruise I booked onboard.  

 

 

I know we are very lucky with OBC and we also benefit from military and shareholder OBC, which many will not.  A tip, though, - but certainly not financial advice as I'm not qualified to give that and it would be inappropriate on here - at current prices, buying 100 CCL shares will cost about £800.  For that, you (as a single traveller or a couple, there's no double dibs for a couple if they are both shareholders) will get £150 OBC for every 2-week cruise you do on P&O and $250 on Cunard, Princess and Holland America.  For someone who travels as much as you do on CCL ships, I sense that you'd more than recover your initial outlay in the first year after you bought them.