Almost live from Arcadia en route to Caribbean

[thranite]

I have been on Arcadia three times in the last 12 months & Artemis once, the menus were virtually the same so was the food & standard. Most enjoyable without being exceptional in any way, but "Absolutely appalling'' no way..I take it you couldn't eat any of it?

 

Out of 14 nights, we ate only 4 nights ion the Meridian. After complaining, the exec chef asked us to try it again but, even with special treatment, it was only passable. BTW, That was our 3rd cruise on Arcadia.

 

:)

[Johnthed0g]

So...what was wrong with the food??

[Norfolk Brit]

Sorry there is no possible way anyone can call the food in the Meridian "absolutely appalling'' It ain't 'fine dining' true, but appalling no, not fair.

 

OK then, it's abysmal.

 

Mary

[Norfolk Brit]

So...what was wrong with the food??

 

I can't answer for Thranite, but in our case it was poorly sourced and poorly cooked. In other words, there was nothing right with it.

 

Mary

[Johnthed0g]

I really find this astonishing, I have criticised P&O for having the same menu & same food on all the ships & I have been disappointed to find this when expecting a change, BUT I have never thought that the food was substandard for the grade of hotel we were in. OK I grant you that it isn't fine dining, but well presented food of good standard without being in any way exceptional, not abysmal or appalling.

[thranite]

I can't answer for Thranite, but in our case it was poorly sourced and poorly cooked. In other words, there was nothing right with it.

 

Mary

 

 

Ditto

 

:)

[Host Sharon]

All I can say is that the food was more than acceptable on the last Canaries Cruise in November, and one night I had the most wonderful venison steak that was IMO perfect! I grant you P&O are usually that imaginative although I find Andy Yuill's menus better than the others.

[Johnthed0g]

To those who don't like P&O food, what do you compare it with? other ships, hotels ashore? I really can't see what there was not to like.

[rtdiva]

We are boarding the Arcadia in San Francisco!

Please continue your postings on your journey!

Ann

[capnpugwash]

We had quite a rough day at sea with the ship pitching and rolling a little, but it was no big deal and Arcadia coped admirably. Last night was the first formal evening and it was the Commodore's cocktail party. As there are no public rooms of any size, they held it on Deck 9 at the Neptune Pool which has a retractable roof. Just as well as it poured with rain all night. All the decks have been locked off for the past 30 hours due to the wind. It seems to be an over-reaction as far as I can tell. It does mean that there is no chance for a little fresh air.

 

 

There has just been an announcement that we are now due into Madeira at around noon rather than our scheduled 1pm and we are here until 11.30 this evening. Apparently there is a local folk dance coming on board to perform, I believe that this is a Fado and it is a Portuguese custom and of course Madeira is a Portuguese island. My abiding memory of the Fado was in the hotels on the Algarve when we would stay whilst playing golf. In the evening once or twice a week we would be invaded by a swarthy bunch of gypsies who sang and danced at great speed whilst wearing the heaviest coats and jackets that you can imagine. Well even gypsies perspire and I am convinced that these coats had never seen the inside of a dry cleaners, put politely, they were malodorous once they warmed up. In truth when you danced with them you would tend to gag – honestly. I will not be attending in case I recognize one of them, or worse still they recognize me!

[ovccruiser]

Cap'n, sounds as if you are having a good start to your cruise. If you fancy a change in dining, Madeira, as you probably are aware has some excellent reastaurants which are in walking distance from the dock.

[Johnthed0g]

Keep up the news, looked a bit rough on the webcam...you say ''Commodore'' is Steve Burgoine in charge?

[capnpugwash]

Yes Burgoyne is in charge.

 

We had a nice time in Funchal and went to Reid's Hotel, which was very nice although quite smaller than we had imagined. There is no sweeping entrance driveway to a grand entrance, rather a modest gate with a narrow rough stone roadway leading to a door stuck in the corner, welcome to Reid's. Once inside it is reminiscent of the small but grand hotels found where England once ruled. It was spotless with beautifully intricate ceilings that would look good as the finish to any wedding cake. Because we had booked Afternoon Tea directly with the hotel we were shown to the terrace where tea would be taken. The curvature of the terrace allowed unhindered vision across the whole of thte bay. It was slightly overcast but still a memorable scene.

 

 

If you go to tea there as part of a cruise tour, you are relegated to a room in a different part of the hotel, I would not recommend that. There were ten or twelve different blends of leaf tea, both Indian and Chinese and they were delicious as were the sandwiches, pastries and scones. Not a tea bag in sight. Very very nice. The taxi from the ship ran at ten euros but the return was slightly cheaper. All in all an excellent visit. A stunning sight greeted those who ventured on deck as the lights of the city lay at our feet, utterly enchanting. We remained moored until midnight when we quietly slipped our ropes and sail off for Antigua where we are due in 5 days time.

 

 

I hope to see the sun today although the sea is slightly choppy.

 

 

My views of the Arcadia are of dark public rooms with little natural light entering and with most of them being corridors or passageways to other parts of the ship. I know that this corridor deal is the modern way but I don't like it. I don't like having cocktail parties or receptions around a swimming pool due to the lack of anywhere more appropriate. It is naff, The ship is full of a very much older group of passengers who have obviously been tempted by the lack of children, it never occurred to us that there would be no youngish parents as usual. There must be every model of electric wheels known to man on board, I am in the minority in not having a stick or a frame. At night I am sure that I hear the ship's engines whirring as they cope with the excessive demands to charge all of those batteries. And sadly with age comes dithering; at lift doors when it is a surprise that you have arrived, at every counter in the buffet as you seek the scone with your name on it and at every possible place on board where the corridor narrows slightly to form a spot for a chat, we are on holiday and there is no rush but really!!!

 

 

Compared to the Queen Victoria there is no competition really but I feel that the QV is lacking in pool area to cope with 2000 warm bodies who want to swim and bask. But on every other matter the QV is better. The service standard on P&O has slipped, or been lowered. The totally Indian hotel and waiting crew has been watered down with others from the Philippines, I imagine from the US ships of Carnival and this appears to be something of the problem. The line has a really loyal passenger base in the UK but I honestly feel that we are being taken advantage of. We have two further cruises booked for 2010 with P&O but I think that we may look elsewhere after those are completed. We are only on day 5, it may be too early to judge so I will keep an open mind.

[Norfolk Brit]

Thanks again, Cap'n - as usual greatly enjoying your reports. Agree with your comments on Arcadia's public rooms - dark, depressing and lacking atmosphere, even the Crow's Nest for some reason.

 

Our experience with service in May 2008 was much better than yours, but from what you've said they've had a change of crew - we found it excellent: it was what they were serving that was the problem:eek:. As you say, there is absolutely no contest between Arcadia and QV.

 

Mary

[thranite]

Compared to the Queen Victoria there is no competition really but I feel that the QV is lacking in pool area to cope with 2000 warm bodies who want to swim and bask. But on every other matter the QV is better. The service standard on P&O has slipped, or been lowered. The totally Indian hotel and waiting crew has been watered down with others from the Philippines, I imagine from the US ships of Carnival and this appears to be something of the problem. The line has a really loyal passenger base in the UK but I honestly feel that we are being taken advantage of. We have two further cruises booked for 2010 with P&O but I think that we may look elsewhere after those are completed. We are only on day 5, it may be too early to judge so I will keep an open mind.

 

Cap'n, I absolutely agree and have voiced this opinion several times to P&O over the past few years. Indeed, when I made the comment to Steve Burgoine, he just laughed and told me that I was mistaken. So much for the customer being right! We are of a similar opinion to you in respect of future cruises, but the only bright light is the new Adonia. We cruised on Tahitian Princess, which is another of the "R Class" ships and thought that she was lovely and would make an excellent replacement for Victoria. Time will tell.

 

:)

[Host Sharon]

Thanks again, Cap'n - as usual greatly enjoying your reports. Agree with your comments on Arcadia's public rooms - dark, depressing and lacking atmosphere, even the Crow's Nest for some reason.

 

 

Mary

 

I agree the Crows Nest is diabolical. Looks like they ran out of money and popped to Ikea!!

[Johnthed0g]

I haven't thought the public rooms dark or depressing & don't see how putting a wall up to avoid the corridor effect would help. To be honest we seldom used the public rooms really except at night as we had a nice cabin, I suppose if your cabin is not a place you want to spend time you will be in the public rooms more until the weather improves.

I have commented on the age group elsewhere but was accused of being insulting to older people!! just an observation & it is true. We like Arcadia as it makes us feel young & agile ..neither of which we actually are!! Did you get them making flipping tea in by the hot water tap in the buffet? put the bag in dear & bleedin' move!! One old dear asked did the lifts go down as well as up...... Is the ship still dead after the last show kicks out? How are the Headliners?

[capnpugwash]

We have three days left, not just to Christmas Day but also to when the best forecast is for the cloudy sky to clear enough to allow the sun through. I am not naive enough to expect our plight to elicit any sympathy when you are all suffering in the snow but you don't need to feel any envy of us, the winds are strong enough to preclude me sitting on deck as I would certainly need an overcoat, which I didn't bring strangely enough. Everyone has a long face and it feels more like an Old Peoples Home than a Caribbean cruise. We have just had the noon broadcast from the bridge for December 22 2009 and they have now closed the upper decks because of the wind so we are stuck inside, the officer broadcasting said that he wished us a happy fun filled afternoon. They must have some lap dancers in reserve I think!!

 

 

Our dinner companions are a real mixture, we have two gents of about 60 years traveling with their mothers who are both mid eighties and both fit as butcher's dogs. One of the couples come from Gloucestershire and speak awfully well, he, Graham is as camp as a row of tents but utterly charming and his mum, Esmé is delightful. The other couple are both cockneys from South London and I am very familiar with the area in which they live. She is very slim but healthy and her son is confined to a wheelchair through the effects of Polio. It is such a small world, he was talking about his best friend who lives now in the USA and I soon realized that the gentleman concerned was the same person that I had been doing business with since 1986. We are not friends but certainly good acquaintances. Funny old world isn't it.

 

 

We won the quiz last night and we had a margin of three questions over the winners from the previous evening who were subject to a 2 point penalty having won it twice in a row. I actually got a rap music question right which is fairly worrying and my wife was successful on Geography which for someone who believed the Dolomite Mountains were in Leicestershire is remarkable, they are in fact in Italy, so she is not even close. You can't strut your stuff when the ship pitching and rolling so we are having to act like restrained adults.

[Johnthed0g]

I must add that "happy & fun-filled" aren't the terms that spring to mind on a P&O ship for the afternoon...whilst we like the line well enough we have never found anything to grab our attention from the selection offered.

Capt. could you look at the ''officers list'' on the TV sometime for me to see if our friend Davide Rocca is on this cruise? thank you.

[DKNYC]

Hi Jim

Hope the conditions improve for you weatherwise. Here in New York it is bright and sunny. The 3 day old snow is getting yuckier by the minute though. You would definately need that missing overcoat if you were here. I love QV and don't swim, so I will be just fine on my next trip on her :).

 

Denise

[Johnthed0g]

You know what they say... Oceana for the continent, Arcadia for the incontinent!!

[cruisegal101]

Jim, thank you once again for your posts. They are, as always, entertaining and informative.:)

[Host Sharon]

Hi Jim, hope things improve! What do you mean your can't strut your stuff?? I managed very well in the Globe on Arcadia in a Force 10 - 11 in the Bay last month! Must try harder :D

[capnpugwash]

The sea is fairly rough and while the upper decks were reopened to passengers for a while this afternoon we walked across to get some fresh air. It was almost impossible not to be blown across from rail to rail and we were very pleased to have survived the adventure.

 

 

We had a very quiet afternoon staying inside, dull doesn't quite describe it, unfortunately. I like a bit of excitement in the sea but the combination with high winds makes life very difficult on board. Dinner and the evening were uneventful.

 

 

Overnight the sea conditions remain unaltered, the air is warming slightly to 73/23 degrees F/C but the wind is a force 7/8 so sitting out remains tricky.

 

 

I found myself surrounded by Single Persons traveling alone, hosted by Dave (he does remember you Sharon and says Hi) and had a free cup of coffee, it tasted so much nicer. They were an interesting bunch but we may not keep in touch. With the average age on board being higher than normal on a Christmas Cruise, it seems that the misery level increases. There are a few smiling faces but most look like they are sucking lemons. This my be due to the weather which really confines everyone inside, although one fellow, Justin who I have known for a couple of years from cruising showed me his pedometer. I wondered what the hell he was doing! Turns out to be for measuring miles and is nothing whatsoever to do with children. He had braved the howling winds and had walked over 12 miles!! Made me feel guilty waiting for the lift – but I soon got over it.

 

 

Skipped lunch as usual and played whist in the afternoon, during which the sun made its' first brief appearance. I won lots of hands but only 7 tricks to 6 so I didn't amass a winning score. In consolation and as the sun had disappeared I went to the Belvedere buffet and had a toasted teacake with jam and cream. I felt invigorated but in the absence of anything interesting to do I went to the cabin to shower and relax prior to our adventure with Asian fusion in the Lotus restaurant. The food was excellent without too much spice and the dessert of Thick Coconut Custard with a brown sugar crust or creme brulee was stunning, as was the lemon grass ice cream. Those two dishes are worth the £10 supplement alone..

 

 

The sea was rough overnight and standing and walking is a little tricky but there are handrails everywhere and I am not proud, I am acting nurse at the moment as my wife has a migraine. I am not good at this role but can do it for an hour or so if required. Come 9am I may abandon my post and put the do not disturb sign up. You have to know your limitations, if I were the nursing type she would never have married me.

 

 

It is almost 8am on Christmas Eve and at 5.45pm Santa Claus is due to climb down from the funnel. I have to wonder at P&O's logic in staging this particular event as there are no kids on board, the average age is about 86 and I could be the youngest on board at 57. Still the sun may be out by then, it is certainly warming up.

[lord of the seas]

Sounds like a complete nightmare being on The Arcadia old peoples ship in an inside cabin. :eek: