mike x ftc

Hi, we were on here Christmas cruise and to be honest it was a bit of a mixed bag. We like Arcadia, this was our 4th time on her but we had issues this time. Our toilet kept not working, all day Christmas Eve it was not working from 9am through to 6pm. There was Noro virus on board and the Captain kept announcing not to use public washrooms and use the one in your cabin - but we couldn't!! No apology from anyone, it was out whole corridor that was out not just us. Our friends toilet backed up and they had to vacate for a whole day while the cabin was sanitised. There were buckets everywhere around the ship. We went to Sindhu and it was so cold in there we had to go back and get jumpers and COATS just to eat the meal, again, no apology from anyone. Guest relations were just useless and frankly quite rude. It's like P&O have given up with this ship. On the plus side we had a lovely table in fixed dining with lovely wait staff, the ship generally looks good (definitely a case of paining over the cracks!). As it's an adults only ship the passengers were very old - we're mid fifties and our friends early 60's and we were like the kids on board and the entertainment (certainly for the Christmas cruise) was obviously geared to match the average age of the passengers - 95!! The pianists and singers only did slow (dull) songs and there was nothing much late to see or do. It was all very sedate and I know a lot of people will like this and it will suit them so I'm not knocking it, entertainment is very subjective. I'm no disco bunny but we could have done with something a bit more lively. The food was good, the bars are nicely done and comfortable with plenty of seating and the staff friendly, we had no problem being served anywhere. Freedom dining was very busy early with pagers all the time but if you were prepared to eat after 8pm you could get seated straight away. I hope that helps.

Perhaps their trying to secure some bookings before they announce they're selling her and cancel them.....

What was the alcohol free beer, does anyone recall?? I find it helps me pace myself!!

We have also just booked Bolette for our first Fred experience, do they have formal nights??

We were on this cruise and completely agree with everything, our toilet stopped working at least 4 times, on Christmas Eve it wasn't working all day until 6pm. The cutbacks are just so obvious. Very limited menu and small portions. I know the weather wasn't P&O's fault but I do think they could have worked harder to find us somewhere to go for the last couple of days, a day in Amsterdam and a day in Bruges were replaced with 2 sea days bobbing up and down the North Sea in a force 8 gale!! What about Rotterdam, Cherbourg, Le Havre, even Dover!! It has certainly put us off P&O.

Arcadia looks good in the bars etc but there have been plumbing problems for years that have just never been dealt with properly - yes she is an older ship - but not that old!! Other lines seem to maintain their older ships far more efficiently. We had no toilet on 3 separate occasions - one of them was Christmas Eve and it was not working for the entire day, it started working again about 6pm after a few pointless visits to reception - they really need to work on looking like they care! Our friends had dirty water coming up out of their toilet on boxing day, it took a while but eventually it was fixed and sanitized. You just lose faith a little..

We were on Arcadia, got back this morning, we were supposed to be in Bruges yesterday but could not berth safely so we made our way back to Southampton early, it was a bit wild out there so it was nice to have the evening tied up and calm! We missed the 2nd day in Amsterdam as well on the 27th as the wind was getting up we would not have got out of the locks - so 2 port days turned into 2 rough North Sea days!

We were on Marella Explorer earlier this year and we thought she was lovely, she is smaller than Ventura and doesn't have the large atrium but the bars and spaces like the coffee shop are modern and well fitted out. The cabins are, like Ventura's, are a bit older but she was built for Celebrity and you can just tell she is a 'quality' ship that was very well built. Personally we now prefer Marella to P&O, their whole experience is just friendlier and better. We'd love to share a taxi with you but unfortunately we can't make this one!! I hope you book and enjoy.

We watched Jamie's review at the weekend and thought it was very good, very balanced and honest. I think it is poor that P&O are acknowledging staffing issues as he said they sent him an email and yet they are still packing the ships to capacity - it is unfair on passengers and the staff, they will just become exhausted. It would have been interesting to know what sort of times he was going to the main dining room in the morning and evening.

I bet it was 20 years ago on one of their old old ships! The newer Marella ships are really good, I think their overall product is now better than P&O. Although saying that I'm on Arcadia for Christmas this year following the cancellation of Aurora's last year. Christmas on a ship is lovely.

Hi, does anyone know if P&O still have the separate vegetarian menu?? I've read a lot recently about reduced menus. They used to give vegetarian guests a veggie menu the day before along with the next days main menu to make their selection. Is this still a thing?? We're on Arcadia in December and just getting a bit concerned about lack of choices. Thanks