Thank you very much, this is really useful. Both sail from Southampton, Anthem has 5 stops and Arvia has 6. We prefer the itinerary on Arvia, prefer the ports and happy with some sea days to hopefully relax! You are absolutely right, on so many aspects! Our kids would love Anthem, which I think is what keeps pulling me towards Royal Caribbean, as well as nostalgia, it was the first cruise we ever did for our honeymoon on Monarch of the Seas! However(!) my kids (16 and 12) would know no different, having never cruised before, Arvia would probably be a wow for them! And the value for money does pull me towards P&O. And as pointed out, the gratuities would be an addition on Anthem, and would also need to weigh up how much time we'd spend on the ship for the kids, and us(!), to take advantage of what's on board. Will sleep on it tonight, but appreciate you, and 'leaveitallbehind' and 'cruiserbruce' taking the time to reply π