Megabear2

Gary is doing as you did, telling us bones and all about his personal experience. It's rather rude to say he's being vague, he's on holiday for goodness sake! You didn't use a kids club on Arvia so probably didn't need to know either. Apart from Arvia how many P&O cruises have you taken, when and which ships? I doubt you ran around on them taking note on facilities. Perhaps you could point us to your reviews for the other ships? Apart from Azura which you mentioned (and if it was Caribbean Christmas it sounds like a few years back) where have you actually sailed to/from on P&O?

Yes but those of us who stood by the cruise lines (all of them not just P&O) are being very badly treated by them in favour of newcomers jumping in on the lower prices. No matter how much OBC was thrown at the problem last year for bookings for the current and next seasons we have been soundly rodgered. Problem is us old loyal customers are very wiley, we won't forget and get burned again. When the new people tire of the same old itineraries on the shiney new ships (which I think is inevitable) it will be us picking up the pieces and no doubt still being taken for a ride. Elephants live a long while and don't forget so do I. It really wouldn't hurt the cruise lines to let those trapped into bookings costing literally thousands more than they're selling them at now at least move cruises to something that doesn't have to cost more. The cynic in me says the flexibility went back to the old system just because they knew 100% sailings were returning and they'd mined everyone's pockets very nicely, thank you.

Sorry, I've missed the point or misunderstood you. You've got 5 nights in pay extra restaurants on there. Several people have made the point that don't see why they should be forced into using them. You've also said you didn't book for them but indicated you managed to coerce the restaurant into giving you the booking. Judging by what's apparently happening now Gary and his fellow passengers haven't got that luxury. I politely suggest his experience is way different to yours and perhaps in trying to be a denier and blaming it on the good folk who've booked a family ship for them and their children you might just this once say Arvia is sadly not coping on this occasion and P&O have dropped a clanger. This thread is about Gary's experience on his cruise and the Arvia appreciation thread may be more appropriate to sing her praises.

That's a new one for you!

It is under normal circumstances but if everywhere is either fully booked up, turning people away or only the buffet available when they are turned away, people are going to look at booking the speciality restaurants throughout their entire cruise - we already have people on here who deliberately eat only in speciality restaurants throughout their cruise. Whilst I agree that they aren't designed to be every night dining it appears they regularly are - probably good for P&O's coffers. From reviews on CC and elsewhere Green & Co doesn't appear to be booked out every night so if you're not into buffets and fast food you may well find it your only option. Much as I like a pizza or fish and chips I would get very unwell if I had to live on them for a fortnight! I noticed in your blog you're very keen on quick turnaround when you eat which if it suits you is fine, however I eat far more leisurely and at a slow pace so the MDR or alternative restaurants are my choice. If I find it difficult to do this I'll simply eat my main meal ashore but if I've paid for my food in the fare surely I have the right to expect to eat onboard apart from in the buffet?

Regardless of whether its old fashioned, silver service or fine dining, I appreciate being able to eat in pleasant surroundings in the company of those I choose and at the pace I want. In the old days of fixed club dining (I still love it on my QM2 crossings for instance), I had no problem sharing a table with the same people every night, but come freedom dining I expected that to include choosing not to share a table with random other guests. The situation with not enough room in the MDR would not enamour me to that cruise line anymore than the situation Vamps described on her MSC cruise.

Err no, bit more than that! Try this for size ... https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/why-choose-malta/young-adults/

Sorry I didn't mean you'd ditched P&O, I just meant you were going to try other lines and the new Celebrity ships offer excellent tendering for wheelchair users from what I've seen.

No idea, until 2020 the ports used to mix up with smaller and more interesting islands like Dominica. For someone like me who do it every year, sometimes several times, it was good as you could get variety. This has clearly stopped now with the 2023, 2024 itineraries being identical to 2021 and 2022. At least Arvia is adding some variety with the welcome return of Tortola together with Martinique and La Romana. Mind you with the vast number of cruise ships in the Caribbean an awful lot of the islands will be booked seasonally by one line with little room for others to dock and P&O are not keen on tendering.

I know you're moving on to newer pastures, perhaps you could consider the Edge class Celebrity ships as they offer the special drive on/off tenders. Apex is going to be sailing from Southampton next year, might be worth a punt.

Plenty of weight restrictions on me when I get off though!

Thank you. Well the Sicilian Lemon Tart is at least Italian!!! I'd better stock up on treats in La Spezia or rob the Bocelli Estate when I go on my tour there!

I'll never stop cruising but possibly will sadly have to leave P&O due to the repetitive itineraries you mention. There's only so many times I want to visit Barcelona or Cadiz. I'll still cruise the Caribbean, possibly on Britannia who I have a personal love of. The jury is out on Iona/Arvia until I've actually tried them. If, however, more varied itineraries with new Italian ports, Croatia, Greece etc come back I'll be very happy to return. I have reignited my love affair with Cunard booking the 35 night Queen Mary 2 January 2025 Caribbean cruise. It will be a first as my husband is accompanying me on a cruise of more than 15 nights for the first time. We sail the same date as Iona leaves on her first Caribbean transatlantic but interestingly the Queen was slightly cheaper. Why did I choose her? Well the daytime offerings are more in keeping with the type of things we like, the dining is superior and our fellow passengers will hopefully be multi national and offer good company. No land based holiday can ever replace my love of hearing the gentle hush of the waves and watching the wildlife out mid ocean. I love the excitement I feel every time I see a ship - I have countless photographs of ships I'll never sail on - and the actual thrill of walking onboard. Nothing makes me smile more than being welcomed home every time I sail on Queen Mary 2 because that's what she is, my home away from home. Britannia instils the same feeling, like visiting old friends who wrap you in comfort and remove the worries and horrors of the modern world.

I like the relaxed cruise style bit as it offers variety. Not so keen on an over priced booze cruise if that's what comes with the new generation of cruisers.

Actually now I come to think of it, judging by the drunken idiots I encountered at Christmas on Britannia maybe A&D are the perfect ambassadors for the 18-45 target audience ...

Oh dear, I wasn't aware of that and as a lover of all things Italian had hoped to dine there on several occasions.

Unfortunately ICF, our original correspondent Gary informs us these are also unavailable due to the length of queues and bookings made before sailing. I meant to ask you, is there the fish 'n chip place on Arvia the same as there is on Iona? I understand that is extremely popular.

That's a bit unfair, not many say they hate the multi-generational bit. What is being said is that the standards onboard have been dropped considerably to achieve this. If A&D really are the level of entertainment P&O think the 18-45s want they may be misguided as very few people I know in that age group would even give them house room. Basically they are considered "old hat" by my nieces and nephews. Aiming for the younger people is all well and good but the actual onboard entertainment is way off for them, things like buskers, cover groups of people like Freddie Mercury, Elton John and even Paloma Faith aren't going to cut it as high end entertainment for that age group. Bingo, race nights, karaoke, art gallery talks etc aren't going to amuse an 18 year old either. Seems a bit like the research got hold of a few youngsters from the posh school and assumed the local comprehensive kids like the same things!

Jeepers!

That's interesting. I went there on Azura after the big hurricanes in 2017 changed all the itineraries and found it to be beautiful and natural. I loved the French influence as well and had actually researched how to take a land based holiday there but never made it due to the pandemic. The DinP excursion only works out of season when the actual filming is happening. The shack etc are props built on the beach as temporary structures every year and the police station is an educational storage place in normal times. The local tour operators have permission to place signage on the buildings and sites to try to make it authentic. Like any film set visit it's all down to the individuals' imagination. I'm a sucker for a good film or television set, one of all time favourites is the Inspector Montalbano tour in Sicily. Yes, I know it's very sad.

Is there a list somewhere then? I presume it's not something available to the public but it's always nice to know in advance who's onboard.

As I say, I'll hold judgment until I've tried it. However the OP of this thread is onboard now and it doesn't sound much fun for them. Fingers crossed that P&O can see the problems and ease them as quickly as possible. A summer of miserable cruises whenever they take place really would be bad for all concerned.

We don't actually know that for a fact. The ships are now sailing at or very near capacity whereas before they weren't. I'll let you know!!

Hmm ... Pray do tell what special knowledge I may have to make calls on. I have a husband who will not sail P&O anymore because of our Christmas incident mentioned elsewhere so I'm currently on my own on P&O using up all the FCC. As I said, I've never had any problems dealing with P&O if a matter is genuinely worrying. Maybe that's because I try to be tactful and deal only in facts. Megastar (hoping that you're not being sarcastic here) I am not I'm afraid but I will where necessary fight for the rights of others if I can see an injustice. That doesn't make me any less likely to get the rubbish cabin or be unable to get into a show or whatever, I get the same treatment as most others. As for the magic "P" which has caused you joke about it, I've no idea what it means and to date no one else does either. Meanwhile I just carry on like everyone else.

There are quite a lot on here who've cruised Azura recently. Perhaps another topic based purely on how people found booking the speciality restaurants once onboard might give you an idea? A lot of the general hubbub is about Arvia and Iona so you may find the Azura updates more in line with your requirements. Certainly I cruised a full up Britannia over Christmas and was able to book the speciality restaurants on day 1 including for Christmas day (the app didn't work for us so we used reception) however we had no dining options to book before departure apart from Limelight Club week 1 so the playing field was fairly level.