Megabear2

On board day 1. Don't judge me. Nothing at all booking online for 14 days, hence the queues every night you told me didn't exist.

Thank you. However I can assure you I tried to change on several occasions

NO! I'm sorry but from day 1 absolutely no 8.30 show available anywhere on Arvia. From dayv1.

Your choice. I'm sorry but on these full up cruises if you want the 8.30 or that time there is literally no availability onboard. I'm not lying, and I'm a little tired of repeating myself. There is literally no availability, if you don't believe me, I can't change it. You go to early shows I cant comment on those but I am not making it up. The middle show is completely full and dining is full from early people until 8.15 or so. I've no reason to make it up, I wish it was different.

Booking onboard for speciality was almost impossible. All speciality and Limelight gone before boarding. Bee-ess very lucky to get them believe me. Entertainment is next ...

Any restaurant booking, any speciality dining. Been there got the tshirt. Sorry but until you need to do it, you really shouldn't criticise.

No seats on Arvia last two nights for any show before 1p.30. 40+ people waiting last night turned away. Not a dining reservation to be had after 7.45 last night either. Mayhem as people wanted the show. Limelight on two new ships and Britannia none if the others in the fleet. It's nigh impossible as word has got out about bookings on Arvia and to some extent Iona.

If you don't book at midnight your chances of getting in are slim to none. It was ludicrous for my cruise and continues to be so. Could not believe it to be honest but it is what it is. Very little available on boarding, so people have to try at ridiculous hours.

Impossible on Arvia from my experience. Book before or no chance. It's a total race.

They're absolutely everywhere on Arvia with long queues on Celebration Night.

I can offer a new take on sole(sic) food this evening! Ate in the Diner here on Arvia as I had several entertainment bookings and wanted quick but served. Seated in one of the sofa booths I was aware of a child screaming, not crying or upset but just screaming his lungs out. Tried to tune him out. My prawns were delivered, fork picked up ready to go when suddenly from nowhere a child's sandal flew over my shoulder and landed full and square in my food. Meantime it's owner, the screaming child arrived on the back of my seat behind me screaming even louder. His father was trying to drag him back while the waiter rescued the sandal from my dinner. Profuse apologies from the latter, a silly shrug of the shoulders from the former and his mother saying, it's his birthday he's over excited. New food was offered but as birthday boy was still screaming his lungs out I politely declined and left for the Quays instead.

Champagne tower on Princess ships?

Thanks. I've never seen Britannia's bar opened after the show do was intrigued. Actually on here this week.the show was far shorter than the act before and again the bar closed as the act finished. It was three quarters of an hour until the Limelighters were due on, however because the house lights came on everyone got up and left. The week before with the other act he played longer, the bar stayed open and everyone stayed for the rest of the night. It was a good alternative for anyone not wanting to wander too far as the Atrium bar was rammed to the rafters.

Have a wonderful cruise.

The screens on Britannia are very good but I was assuming ICF was referring to the set ups on Arvia and Iona. They are a very long way apart, even cynic me found Arvia's theatre offerings extremely upmarket. As a matter of interest regarding Limelight Club, on here it does indeed turn into a club venue after the dining/cabaret experience. Although advertised as such on Britannia I have never seen it do anything other than close immediately after the show. The turning into a venuevfor all on here has been very popular. Why did the Britannia Limelight never, as far as I know, get used for this purpose?

I'm sure it will be fine. Some voyages just have bad luck but thankfully few and far between from my experience. This is number 57, been eventful but not a disaster and number 58 already on the horizon for August. Wouldn't miss it for the world!

I doubt I'll be using RC either to be honest. I normally used them for transatlantic repositioning cruises or out of Fort Lauderdale, never sailed ex UK with them. Just too formulaic for me nowadays, very little variety. I loved Splendour of the Seas (now Marella Explorer I think) when I sailed.the Dubai, Oman and Abu Dhabi.cruise on her but the Allure and her sisters don't appeal so much now. I'm getting picky in my old age! Whereas once any cruise.at a cheap.price would do - it's a cruise after all - now I want to relax more and pick more varied itineraries. P&O and Cunard have always been my go to lines but the itineraries are offering very little variety into 2024 and 2025. I'm having to rethink everything. If I've got to fly cruise I've decided that Queen Victoria is a better choice than Azura (the latter is a personal favourite as well) for the food and service but realistically I'm looking at more Celebrity and Princess itineraries as the variety is there because they have more ships. So really for me with P&O it's Britannia for the Caribbean and odd ex UK one offs and Aurora for the longer more varied itineraries. Overall less cruises paying more to get the variety.

Rather than go back to the Arvia thread as I'm here I'll speak about second Celebration Night observations while I'm here. My booking was 6.15 in Zenith. No standby queue at all and I walked straight up to booked podium. Taken to an 8 man table. There wasn't a table anywhere in sight unoccupied. Waiters were almost running between tables! The background noise levels were very high and you couldn't hardly hear anyone apart from those immediately either side of you. The noise levels did drop further into the meal though. The food was good, no problems there. However drinks took forever to arrive, my neighbours arrived mid main course. The staff were quite literally overwhelmed with the numbers yet still managed to try to smile. No time to discuss menu choices though, literally just order. I felt sorry for them. The service unfortunately was slower than the last celebration night. I sat down 6.15 on the dot and at 8.05 still had no sweet. It arrived just as I was contemplating leaving before it as I had the 8.30 Take That show booked. I left at 8.20 to head forward for the show. My companions were still being served so had to excuse myself or miss show. Seas were fairly buoyant so had to be careful as I had heels on! On getting in to the theatre I struggled for a seat. Eventually saw one in the middle of the row which involved asking people to stand to let me in. I felt obliged to apologise and one grumpy lady said "you should try to arrive earlier rather than leave it to the last minute". I thought that very funny after all our discussion here. Incidentally in the "funnel" queuing area I passed around 40 people being held, I believe they may have been walk one but I doubt any made it as seats were very few and far between. The restaurant I only saw a couple of people admitted while I was in there. Certainly no one came in between 6.30 and 7.15 as the staff were so busy no tables were being cleared. Where the people were I've no idea no queue outside on leaving so I assume.no walk ups happened. Lady sitting next to me checked her app for her show booking and commented virtual queue for the restaurant showed full. This was around 8.00pm. Dress code well adhered to. Photographers out in force and Atrium Amber Lounge completely full as I passed through both times. An extra early evening performance of the Take That show has been added today presumably as it was over subscribed.

We thought about it! Actually we asked for three different ones and in the end said you tell us which ones are available. He pointed to the three on the left-hand page so we chose from there. If I recall I had the bottom one, something with candy floss if I remember rightly.

They have their own cast but the shows are smaller productions. I cannot recall when the new shows were introduced but think it was just before the pandemic on Britannia the more "modern" ones started. None of them are huge impressive jobs like on here. The shows haven't changed for a number of years, they do cost a lot to stage. I often by pass them now as I've seen them so often - but then the Arvia/Iona ones will obviously not change a lot either because the cost for any of these shows is large. You will as an RC customer in the past know that their theatre shows have not changed for years either. The cost for the cruise lines is massive.

Morning ICF. Looking at your Seven Wonders cocktail list made me laugh. We too have that list in the Atrium. On the first night I sat with another solo traveller and we thought we'd try one each. Waiter arrived and we have him our order. Sorry ladies we only have the ingredients to make the first three, the other four are off and wont be available this voyage. Last night we were down to one being available. Best make sure when you come back here in February you give them advance warning of your superstar status or you might be disappointed!

No, they'd be completely out of place on some of them as well. There is a limited screen effect on one or two shows on Britannia with the Headliners. The types of acts on the remainder of the fleet would not benefit from electronic screens. I would guess retrofitting items such as this would spend money better used upgrading more essential things.

More visitors, this time bringing free drink for this evening. I've still got the baby elephant, what with the Bear I've got quite a zoo going here!

Lots did change. I see no reason why not. Early seemed far more popular.

I had two Epicurean experiences one good one bad, I'll talk about them in a sum up once the cruise is finished. MDR here has been excellent, cannot fault the food. Personally I got lucky in Limelight had a table front row and centre. Like Ms Cherry but her performance way too short and finished by 9.25pm leaving us all sat there thinking we've got to leave now as the Limelighters weren't on until 10.15 and they'd shut the bar as well. I assume its intentional but when Chesney Hawkes was on it finished much later and people just stayed on.