Following a post by @Technoman2 giving his review about Arvia K309 cruise....
,...... that "triggered" us to write about our experience on Arvia on the previous cruise K308 as some of his comments about his experience seems similar to ours (others maybe not)
I know some P&O passengers and fans may disagree with us, that's fine, but our views seem to reflect that of some passengers we spoke to on our cruise.
THE GOOD POINTS
*Cabin Bathroom was spacious and clean.
*Zennith Restaurant manager was very helpful and friendly
*The last night "last minute" replacement show in the Headliners Theatre ,a repertoire of songs by Ben Ian Gordon , was superb.
*Staff were generally hardworking but some seemed too shy to say "hello" or "goodmorning"
*Ship was clean.
*No touch doors into public toilets was a plus
*The Crows Nest was a nice "sanctuary" for a quiet read.
*Wash basins and handwash stations in many areas.
*Regular announcements by the Captain who said he comes to meet and speak to passengers for hours (we didn't see him personally but we don't have any reason to doubt his word).
*Transfer buses from ship to port entrances were relatively good, although in Marseille, there was yet another long queue under the sun.That wasn't too bad, really, you have to accept to queue a bit sometimes, we are not some presidents or kings!
*Breakfast sausages were not so good, but their "wild boar" sausages, available on some days were great. Also, their scrambled eggs at breakfast was still being kept runny, not hardened as in some buffets.
AND NOW, THE NOT-SO-GOOD POINTS
P&O cutbacks were evident, and new booking and queuing arrangements at the cost to the passengers were not really acceptable. You just seem to queue everywhere.
It started with the first day, when the queue to speak to the receptionist was as long as the queue to wait for entry into the main dining room (Zennith) and the Headliner Theatre. It's also queue in most other places too.
EMBARKATION
Embarkation was rather "chaotic". As we had not stapler our baggage tag, upon arrival in Southampton Ocean Terminal, we were asked to look for someone who would be sitting in a little desk. When he showed up, he found his stapler did not work. He had to call to get a replacement. As there was a huge queue, we suggested he used the handwritten one. Didn't know why he did not do it before I suggested it even though the queue was getting longer and longer. Then, we were passed from one baggage handler to another to hand in our suitcases.
THEATRE & ENTERTAINMENT
Headliner Theatre entertainment quality and availability were reduced compared to a few years ago. We had to book to see a stage show in the theatre. and most times were already booked almost on the first day. Plus shows are limited to only one show per passenger.That's fine if you have different shows different nights. They repeated the shows over several days, and since we were not even allowed to see the repeat shows, we just sat in the cabin on sea days getting really bored.
Even if you had booked your "slot" for the show, you are not given a seat, so you have to wait more than 30 mins before that to get a decent seat.
Most of the theatre shows were pretty not that inspiring anyway. Choice of songs mostly for those in their 20's or 30's (but passenger profile on our cruise appeared a lot older). So bad was one when the group of singers asked the audience to stand up and clapped, only about 20 out of 700 stood up. Before the show could end, the audience was already rushing out of the theatre!
The best show was because the Gary Barlow Take That show was cancelled as a performer was injured, and they had to have a replacement show. This came in the form of singer Ben Ian Gordon . With his powerful voice, his versatility, and his excellent choice of songs, that brought the audience to their feet at the end of show. It was fabulous
MEALS
The main restaurant needs booking for your meal and even after that you still queue, and you may have to wait up to 30 mins before the doors open because others were already there. If you don't book, you'd queue in a different line and you'd get in slower by up to ten times. Food, even on special Marco Pierre White nights, were not "special".
We had been informed by some passengers that they did not experience such ridiculous queuing on Iona which they had been. However, they did say that when they sailed on Iona, it was only about half full.
Food in the Horizon buffet very repetitive.
The salads were practically the same every day during lunch and dinner throughout the entire cruise. They were also not dressed, and they lack any imagination. Only exception was during one meal when they had a Ceaser Salad behind the glass counter but you have to ask for it as it had to be done for you individually. Hams and meats felt as if they have been in the fridge for little too long.
They had about 9-12(?) different kinds of little cakes which they take out a choice of 4 at each meal but they seemed boring after 2 weeks. Quality ingredients like marzipan, ground almonds or nuts appeared to be missing. For their version Tiramisu(?), we couldn't detect the TiaMaria However, the Horizon have pouring cream if you ask. And if the custard is too weak for you, add yourself a knob of butter to "enrichen" it! We wish the ice-cream served weren't melting almost every evening they were available.
STAFF SERVICE STANDARD
Unfortunately some staff a behaved like "Little Napoleons". For example, at the Zennith Restaurant had asked to speak to a manager for help with our booking as the head waitress refused to help, she just just snubbed us and spoke to another passenger . (On the other hand the restaurant manager, when we managed to find him ourself and managed to speak to him,he was very professional helpful and friendly ) .Other staff gave incorrect information. For example, in the second last night, we called reception to asked to borrow a weighing machine for our luggage. She said they did not have it on board, that they only had it for their Caribbean cruises and not our Mediterranean cruise. However, when we went down personally to reception to ask for it, the receptionist managed to get us one. At the beginning of the cruise,when we called reception, it went on for about 45 mins (?) or so until it got cut off!
CABIN
Our balcony Cabin on deck 15 and the width of the room seemed narrow relative to cabins in other ships we have been on.The interior designer probably has to "slot" the table into the sofa to make some room. Also due to the narrowness of the room, it appears the beds may be shorter than normal. My partner, who is only 5ft10in, when he slept, his feet was jutting out at the bottom of the bed! The bed cover also did not even cover the whole body.
Apparently, we weren't the only ones who experienced that. An English couple from the Southampton Area had the same experience too with their beds.
SUMMARY
And on and on it goes. Before we went on the K308 cruise, we had wanted to book future cruises with P&O, We had pinpointed the 21 day cruise to Norway and Iceland, and another 21 day Transatlantic cruise. However, just after a few days on the Arvia,that changed our minds and we haven't booked any future cruises with them. We will cruise with other cruise lines for the time being. As for P&O we would wait and see if their standard would come back up in the future.
After leaving the ship, in Southampton Airport, we met a Scottish couple who seemed to agree with many of our views and experience with the Arvia, and we had a good few minutes "moan" to get it off our chests! Like us, they indicated they won't be returning to P&O in a hurry.