H.Thorne

36 minutes ago, wowzz said:

what is Arcadia doing at Christmas? Thanks. 

24 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Have you got the Arvia Caribbean cruises and no fly Mediterranean on other ships? Thanks. 

On 9/28/2019 at 6:59 PM, darknightsdespiser said:

3rd time on P and O, never cruised in Europe before but chose this one (Greece, Croatia and Venice) due to regional direct flights.

 

Flights (Jet2) were punctual and comfortable and the transfers to and from ship very easy and efficient.

 

The ship is lovely, has a logical layout and beautiful public areas; we never had real competition for seats/loungers anywhere we wanted. I thought our cabin (inside) was shorter on hanging space than previously.

 

The food was excellent - we ate twice in the Beach House and half the time in the restaurant and buffet - I love that the buffet had a theme every evening and was never packed.  Compared to other cruises we have been on (mainly Princess) I am always a little underwhelmed at the breakfast choice on P and O but the quality was good.  Drinks prices were British - not Wetherspoons but not London either!  I loved the beer flights in the Yacht and Compass.

 

Only did 2 excursions - Santorini and Venice - Both well organised but both places mega busy.  Dubrovnik was my favourite stop - got off early and got on the city walls before the crowds!

 

The Headliners once again put on several truly West End standard performances; the dancing in particular was breathtaking.  Enjoyed also the quizzes and English pub night. The British sail away is always fun but lacked something without the flags!

 

BUT (isn't there always?!)

 

The entertainment apart from that mentioned above was at best lacklustre - we felt the atrium lacked a string quartet and was quite quiet at times you would expect it to be lively and the "solo entertainer" Jonny Youle was simply the worst act I have seen on a cruise (or possibly anywhere) - his guitar playing seemed promising but then he insisted on "singing"; this was simply the murdering in a droning Manchester accent of several classic hits; annoyingly while he could be avoided indoors when on deck he could be suffered throughout the open decks. How someone so devoid of both talent and personality passed what is undoubtedly a rigorous audition is a mystery!

 

The wait with a pager for tables was too long on occasion.

 

Finally just something that amused me - I received I think 3 separate notifications telling me I couldn't wear a football top or novelty clothing (there were several football tops on board) but nothing advising that face cloths have been discontinued - a cost cutting too far?

I also loved the Oceana! I agree that the sail away was lacking without the flags. I also thought that the entertainment isn’t that good on the Oceana.

On 10/10/2019 at 11:44 AM, ozzysdad said:

Does anybody have a copy of the drinks list they serve onboard in the Costa on Oceana, or one from any of the P&O fleet, I'm interested in the Ultimate drinks package but would like to know what if any Costa drinks are included. I'm quite partial to a gingerbread and cream latte but I'm more interested in what smoothies, coolers and iced teas are served onboard and whether indeed these are included within the package, Thanks in advance.

I don’t have a list but they only serve general costs drinks (not seasonal) such as flat whites and mochas. They also serve the coolers. Hope this helps 👍🏻 
 

https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/life-on-board/coffee_shops

10 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

There are alternatives to the MDR and Buffet on Aurora as well, not been on Arcadia or Oceana recently but I assume they, like Aurora, have a lido grill with Pizzas, Burgers, hot dogs etc as well as the grab & go option, if P&O could be persuaded to offer a pub grub option in one of the other bars that would round it off nicely, however I suspect it may reduce the lunchtime trade in the paid for options, so perhaps that would not be in their interests.

There is the Horizon Grill on Oceana which offers poolside dining. They offer burgers, chips and pizzas. The Horizon Grill becomes the Beach House at night.

54 minutes ago, Jennizor said:

We have cruised on most P&O ships and Azura is our favourite. Personally I like the bigger ships. We were on Arcadia in June, only because we wanted to go to the Fjords, but I found it quite claustrophobic. We had sailed on her before, but after trying the bigger ships we now know we prefer them. Each to their own however. We have upcoming cruises on Britannia, Azura and Iona and wouldn’t go back to the smaller ships unless for the itinerary.

Thank you. I have sailed on the QM2 so I do like the bigger ships but I do like mid-sized ships such as the Oceana. Thank you for this opinion. I am think about sailing on the Arcadia for the world cruise or Baltic cruise. 

1 hour ago, Mysticalmother said:

The balcony cabins on Arcadia are all classed as “ deluxe” balcony cabins, and all ( or virtually all) have a sofa. They are certainly quite spacious. The balcony sizes do vary a bit...have a look at the deck plans eg on C deck the Midships cabins have deeper balconies than those at the fwd part of the ship. Be wary of the cabins next to the glass lifts...not from the noise but people can see on to your balcony ! The cabins on D deck midships have smaller balconies and are quite shaded...but the ones fwd and aft are ok.

there are no cabins on Lido deck, but some A deck cabins suffer with noise from the deck above...particularly from deck chairs being dragged across the deck, 

as long as someone is 18 at the time of sailing they will be ok to be booked on the cruise.

Thank you for this information it has been really helpful. Thank you 👍🏻 

1 minute ago, AndyMichelle said:

That's our thinking too. 

P&O are not perfect, but we find them good value for money, certainly good enough for us, enabling us to cruise more often. 

Be realistic with your expectations and you will have a fantastic time. 

Andy 

 

I agree, P&O aren’t perfect but good value for money for example I only paid approx £3500 for a mini suite on the Oceana for a week which is the equivalent of Princess Grill (I believe) and the princess grill would be approx £6000 for a week plus drinks. P&O are good value for money despite its faults. 

7 minutes ago, philred said:

have cruised on the azura twice we love the ship so spacious with great staff  and fab entertainment food was top class always found something we both enjoyed we did the transatlantic  last march we  also like you upgraded to premium cabin to fly out to barbados we both thought it was worth the extra money we were lucky enough to fly out on the dreamliner cabin was so spacious the crew were very good always coming round with drinks & snacks we cruised back to southampton after a fantastic cruise around the caribbean islands  i am sure you will have a fantastic time   

Thank you, I have only cruised with P&O Cruises once (on the Oceana) and I really loved the experience so I booked a cruise on the Azura. I normally travel on the Cunard Line so I look forward to the welcomed change. 

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

Its difficult to say what to expect from an individual ship as we all experience them differently.  If you like large ships with options for eating and entertainment, then I am sure you will enjoy her.  It might be helpful if you could ask specific questions.

I haven't flown TUI with P&O but did so for a Marella cruise ex Jamaica.  I thought the Premium cabin was good and worth the extra.  It is a quieter cabin with quite a bit more personal space.  The food and service was very good.

Thanks, this has put my mind at ease as my expectations were really low for an airline like TUI / Thomson as I normally travel on airlines like BA and Virgin Atlantic.

51 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

We sailed on Azura in April and had a brilliant cruise. Ironically we didn't like Ventura but loved Azura. We are giving Ventura another go just incase it was because of the cabin. I wouldn't hesitate to go on Azura again and would recommend her to anyone. Looking back, the crew we amazing, so friendly and so professional. It was a 'happy ship'.

Thanks, I do like the bigger ships like the Cunard QM2, I have sailed on the Oceana so I am expecting a similar atmosphere just on a bigger ship. 

3 hours ago, Tablelamp said:

Are these tables out on the open deck or under the dome.  
Would they be there at 7.30am?

They are just along from the covered area on the same deck. I can recall them being out at that time. 
 

They have the tables set out like this:

I have booked a cruise on the Azura for the 27th November 2020 sailing from Barbados. I have never sailed on the Azura, I have also upgraded the flights on the chartered TUI flight and I have never flown with this airline. I don’t know what to expect from the ship or flights, can anyone give their opinions as I have seen mixed reviews. 👍🏻 

I personally think that Azura is a nicer ship than Britannia as it isn’t as big and Britannia just looks a bit too modern for me. I would also look at the ports as some may appeal to you more than others. The price in cruise may differ due to popularity and port charges 

I haven’t been in an inside cabin however B deck/deck 10 is really good as it is not too far from the lido deck however there is no noise from the top decks or the theatres as there is an accommodation deck below and above. 

I am looking at booking a cruise on the Arcadia for December 2022 and I have a couple of questions:

Are the balcony cabins spacious?

Can a person be booked on the cruise before they are 18, if they will be 18 at time of sailing?

Is the Lido Deck loud (due to entertainment and music etc)?

thank you. 

No it doesn’t however there are normally some tables out just down from the buffet on port side, these are put out along the deck. Hope this helps.