snaefell

On Arcadia now,just arrived in Cadiz,embarkation was brilliant,yes she is battle scarred but still a beautiful ship IMO,as for being dated I think I would call her classy,Ocean Grill on first night for my Wife's birthday was superb,worth the battle we had booking it,virtual queue for MDR seems permanently unavailable,went down last night & joined a long line receiving pagers,45 minute + wait time being advised so we headed to the buffet which has been superb. Cases of gastric enteritis on board so staff serving the food in the buffet. Lots of comments about rude crew from others,we have not seen that,only rude people we have encountered were passengers!😎

If Arcadia is averaging 75+ & resembling a floating nursing home at just turned 70 the next few weeks on her should have me feeling like a youngster!😀

We sail Sunday & so far just an email telling you not to travel if you have had recent Co vid symptoms & to make sure your insurance includes Co vid cover.

I was surprised it survived the refurb in Singapore,there were a few Chinese passengers on our cruise,they were the only ones who seemed to use the place!

Fair point about repo cruises & supply issues,our cruise on Quantum came after she had spent 6 months in China doing cruises aimed at convincing Chinese people to love cruising,some non Chinese nationals did occasionally take these cruises,and result was usually a complaint about how different everything was especially the fact that the food was Chinese(!😂). Her departure from China apparently involved a huge change in crew,hence many complaints about the food & the service because of the number of new people not being used to working on her. There were a few other hangovers from her Chinese holiday,the Casino had been extended,Johnny Rockets was the Noodle Shop & part of The Music Hall was being used as a premium lounge,on the first night there was still a sign outside the pub advertising local delicacies like chickens feet,KFC eat your heart out!😎

The only speciality restaurant we tried back in 2019 was Chops on our first night,good food & service but the sides portions were so meagre we were glad we overordered! The second night we headed for the MDR,food & service were both abysmal & left us hungry,after that apart from breakfast in the Solarium Bistro one morning we ate in the Windjammer,almost always outside at the stern which was magical especially at night out in the South China Sea with lightning flashing away in the distance...might not be quite so magical in cooler places! We avoided Wonderland,the extra cost was way too high for the menu IMO,as for Jamies we really didn't fancy the menu,sounds like it has changed. Thanks for the review!

Thanks for that lindyloo,I really couldn't see it being open 24 hours!

Just curious to know from anyone who has been on Arcadia lately about the Belverdere Buffet opening times,I have read a number of articles saying that it is open 'around the clock',is it actually open 24 hours these days?

Thoroughly enjoyed this thread thanks guys,a trip down memory lane both for the times we spent in the Hawaiian Islands years ago & the memories of our time on Quantum Of The Seas,last time we saw her she was heading for a major refurb,glad to see they kept the artwork in the lifts,I read about them before our cruise & tried to see as many as possible,sad eh!😮 Safe travelling guys!

Maybe an age thing,when I was younger sun bathing for 5 minutes had me stir crazy,these days I could handle as many relaxing sea days as they could throw at me!😎 I can see the advantage of having people around you that you know & get on with though,we only do the occasional cruise,we are social people but meet too many people on cruises who only want to talk about.......well cruises,how many they have done,how many they have booked,etc,it's 20 years since our first & our upcoming one will be our 5th & probably last so we are at a bit if a disadvantage there!😂

Know what you mean,we are on a 19 night cruise soon,my Wife drinks but I don't,we would be looking at over £1500 for effectively one person to have the drink package,crazy!😙😙

The change of climate can give amusing results IME,in 2018 we sailed from Barbados to the UK in March,there was a marvellous Caribbean band on board who performed by the main pool every midnight,wonderful at the start of the cruise but it didn't seem quite the same the last few nights as the temperature plummeted,the crowd all but vanished & they really didn't look quite the same wearing coats,hats,gloves & scarfs!😂

Loved the quirky art work around the ship,especially the lifts,brings back great memories👍👍

Thanks,seems obvious now!😆

In English please?!

We enjoy buffets &,apart from the odd night in specialty restaurants we have tended to use them for most meals,we enjoy being able to see & pick bits of different items.

Always a matter of opinion,as long as you consider it worth paying extra it usually means dining in more relaxed surroundings than you will find in the main dining room where it can be a bit of a mad house.

I can well imagine,even in those days Waikiki was considered horrendously commercialized but still had a magic about it,we knew pretty much every inch of the place,so many favourite places,exchanging pleasantries with young ladies standing on street corners for some reason(!😆) as we headed back to the hotel after a hard night,remember it so well,strange when I have trouble remembering what I did yesterday!😂

You of course really only get a taste of a place on a cruise visit,it usually leaves you wanting more! Our two vacations in the Hawaiian Islands back in 1989/90 involved two two week stays in Waikiki with day trips to Hawaii,Maui & Kawaii,at the time Maui seemed like one huge building site,hotels going up everywhere,seemingly turning into another Honolulu,On Kawaii there was peace & quiet & a determination to not go the same way,we were in LA a couple of years later when Kawaii suffered huge hurricane damage,so much for keeping it as it was! Quantum was on the way to Singapore for a major refurb after 5 years of service when we sailed on her,hard to tell she was in superb condition & yes she is so smooth to travel on.

Everybody has different opinions of course,there were a few at the front of the theatre who were jumping up & down,cheering & waving their arms in the air,very much in the minority. I maybe expecting too much but I think when somebody attempts to imitate somebody as special as Queen they are on dodgy ground!

I'm not understanding the reply !?!?

Quoting £335 for the Ultimate Package for our upcoming 19 nighter...ouch!😦😦

Really enjoying this thread,hits home on a number of levels. We had our Summer vacation in the Hawaiian Islands in 1989 & 1990,loved the place & vowed to get back,still haven't managed it! Our last cruise was on QOTS in October 2019,a repo cruise from China to Singapore,fantastic cruise,beautiful ship,we would have got back on her if Covid hadn't brought life grinding to a halt,as a result the stay in Singapore for QOTS lasted a couple of years! One low spot of the cruise oddly enough was a Queen tribute show,dreadful & saw a mass exit from the theatre,sound familiar!?😆 Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

Yes,we booked it because of the Itinerary but one of the ports we were really looking forward to was Gibraltar,I know many on here think that it's omission is good news, I know many people who love the place & it would have been nice to find out for ourselves first hand! Nothing new for us though we have cruised with Royal Caribbean who seem to change every itinerary after booking,sometimes even during the cruise! The reviews for our Royal Carib cruise taught to take it as it comes,the reviews were awful,the cruise was amazing! We WILL enjoy,hope you do too!