Almost live from Arcadia en route to Caribbean

[fg_hb]

Hello,

 

I enjoyed reading every of your stories you wrote on Arcadia and the other ships. It's like doing the cruise with you.

 

It's good to hear you are save home now.

 

Frank

[fatty48]

Thank you again Capn your posts have been the funniest "camper than a row of tents" I've read in ages. You should get a job doing it full time. Good health to you and yours for 2010 & happy travels.

It was just like being there.

Regards Roger

[Johnthed0g]

& thanks from me....now what can I read...

[LibraLass41]

Enjoyed the blog too.

A worry about the stability, haven't been on her since the refit maybe you have discovered a problem then:)

[heywood]

Thanks for the posts, Cap'n I have thoroughly enjoyed reading them.

I have also been interested in them as two acquaintances are due out on the World Cruise and they much prefer Arcadia to our favourite ship - one of your other regular ships :)

I do hope that they managed to get to the port and that you get home safely.

Thanks

heywood

[Johnthed0g]

Enjoyed the blog too.

A worry about the stability, haven't been on her since the refit maybe you have discovered a problem then:)

Been on Arcadia before & after the refit, same cabin (aft) no difference I could see, similar itineries.

[Summergee]

Thank you for your posts. I have enjoyed reading them. I am waiting for you next trip.

I am trying to book for a voyage later in the year that I have realised you are doing as well.

Hope to meet up with you sometime.

[LibraLass41]

Just a quickie re the instability of Arcadia, even people who had sailed on her before noticed it. The consensus was that the refit of the stern cabins has adversely affected and altered the wind signature and the way she rides. I can't think of any other reason, but it was not good.

 

 

Heres another reason from a Officer onboard...

 

'' the extra aft cabins should have

had no effect on her sea keeping as the underwater hull shape is still the

same. All they're doing is adding a bit more weight on top and a bit more

windage.

 

One of the senior officers onboard will be in charge of keeping her upright

and making sure she won't snap in half at any point during our holidays.

Anyhow, the senior officer will fiddle around with the ballast tanks fitted

in the bottom of the hull which will therefore change her trim and something

called her GM which is effectively, how quickly she'll ping back upright

when the waves make her roll.

 

Giving her a GM that's too high will mean that everytime she rolls, she'll

ping from one side to the other and straight back upright in a very fast,

solid motion that'll soon leave everyone onboard feeling rather seasick.

A lower GM will mean that she takes much longer to roll from one side to the

other and back up again in a slow, calm motion.

 

Which is all a roundabout motion of saying how comfortable she is at sea is more likely to be a case of the officer onboard filling his ballast tanks

slightly differently in order to account for the weather, fuel usage, and

levels of fresh water stored onboard.''

[elaine61]

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.

 

Hi Capn Pugwash

 

I think we did see each other, but neither of us approached each other ;)

 

Capn, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but you most certainly were not the youngest onboard :( OH is now 51 and I am only 47, so I must have been the youngest ;):D

 

Aurorabore

[capnpugwash]

Hi Capn Pugwash

 

I think we did see each other, but neither of us approached each other ;)

 

Capn, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but you most certainly were not the youngest onboard :( OH is now 51 and I am only 47, so I must have been the youngest ;):D

 

Aurorabore

 

AB where did you see me then, and yes I admit I am older than you young sprites:)

[elaine61]

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

 

Hey, when the wind finally settled down and the sun finally came out I didn't have any problems getting a sunbed. The crinklies (as we nicknamed them) don't like sitting out in the full sun :D:eek:

[elaine61]

The on board entertainment seems very low key, the Entertainment Officers all try their hardest but it is the shows or cabaret that let them down. We have had second rate singers in the past but last night Alan Mullery appeared twice in the main theatre as a speaker. He is an ex professional soccer player from the 1960s or 70s who apart from unsuccessfully managing a couple of teams has done very little. Ok perhaps bring him on as an afternoon lecturer for an hour but two entire shows to an almost empty theatre is ridiculous.

 

 

I gatecrashed the Singles Traveling Alone again today and I was speaking to Elsie who is a small lady who was born a long time ago in Nevis and she happens to be black, she is with her daughter and she told me about her first night on the ship at dinner. As they arrived at their alloted table for four, they found an elderly gent and his wife. Well they sat down and the other couple shuffled their chairs away from them and ignored them completely throughout dinner. The other couple left first and as Elsie and her daughter passed the Maitre D's station they overheard the man insisting that it was unacceptable that they should have these people on their table as they had paid so much money for their cruise. This is the 21st Century and racism is still alive and thriving. It is unfortunate that they did re-seat this couple but they don't like confrontation I suppose. I found it very difficult to say anything to her that didn't sound weak and weedy.

 

Went to the shows that appealed to us (loved their panto on Xmas day night - 2nd sitting performance was hilarious)! But the acts were just not to our taste. OH has heard Alan Mullery on the football cruises and wasn't interested in listening to him again. The other acts were not our taste either. I guess it's difficult trying to appeal to ALL age ranges!

 

As for that incidence at dinner. How downright disgraceful :mad: GGGRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrr some people make me ashamed to be called British :mad:

[elaine61]

Yes, I have always fancied it too but have to say I am having second thoughts.

 

Am really enjoying your daily log - saw you on the Baltic QV in May but was too shy to say hello.

 

As the queen of scones, what are they like onboard;)???

 

I have to admit that this was the worst crossing we have had in the 10 or so years that we have been doing the Xmas cruise. I guess they call it global warming :rolleyes:

[elaine61]

Speaking to those people who ventured ashore today the consensus was that the island was a dump, which I think is harsh as it is just underdeveloped. People seem to want shops and sophistication together with museums showing how it was before it was spoilt. In my mind, the true beauty of a “new” place is the unsophisticated nature of the place so that you can actually see what the true nature of the place is. I hate what is done in the name of progress. One just needs to look at the so called developed resorts with their over building and appalling shops to see the downside. They all look the same and all offer the same rubbish for sale. Cheap rum, steel bands and dreadlocks make it all seem tropical. In the early 70's I was fortunate to visit Bali before it had any high rise hotels and it was marvelous, now it is covered with high rise buildings and it has lost the charm that ran through its' streets. It is a pity that we continue to do this to the beautiful places in the world.

 

I get so irritated when people complain about a port and have only ventured to the port gates :mad:

 

We did a 7 hour tour which took us to where they filmed pirates of the caribbean. I found St Vincent (as with most caribbean ports) to be an island of either really poor people or very rich people! The coach trip was up and down hills all the time - felt like I was back in the cabin :D

 

I enjoyed it and loved it's undeveloped charm!

[elaine61]

I am going to take advantage of the warm evening and spend an hour on deck as the ship and its' air conditioning seem to be spreading a sore throat and a cold to many of the passengers. Fresh air can't hurt, can it?

 

Tell me about it Capn! I hadn't been home more than half an hour and I started sneezing yesterday and today I feel awful! I'd managed to avoid it for most of the holiday! At least I didn't get it onboard so that it could ruin my holiday :)

[elaine61]

AB where did you see me then, and yes I admit I am older than you young sprites:)

 

Mainly at the quizzes. OH and I used to do the individual quiz. Also I think we passed your dinner table every night at dinner. We were the first table of 4 (with just 3 of us on it) up on the balcony level - as we nicknamed it ;):D

[Johnthed0g]

Out of interest, I found the beds on Arcadia really uncomfortable, anyone else? I did mention this elsewhere & was shouted down (as I was about the age thing)

[elaine61]

Out of interest, I found the beds on Arcadia really uncomfortable, anyone else? I did mention this elsewhere & was shouted down (as I was about the age thing)

 

Can't say I had a problem with the bed. I am funny about the quilts etc as I always think about who may have had it near them before me :eek: Even with a duvet cover on them ;) I didn't like the pillows, but as I have said elsewhere, I didn't approach my cabin steward either to see if there was any alternatives we could have had. I have to say the best pillows we have ever had have been in Marriott hotels. You can buy them at something like £55 each :eek:

[capnpugwash]

Mainly at the quizzes. OH and I used to do the individual quiz. Also I think we passed your dinner table every night at dinner. We were the first table of 4 (with just 3 of us on it) up on the balcony level - as we nicknamed it ;):D

 

I only did the individual quiz twice, and we were on the first table of six to the right of the Maitre D's stand on deck 3. Re beds, yes they were uncomfortable but lots of people would have 2 or 3 duvets put on the mattress to really cushion it. I put the lifebelts under the foot of the mattress to raise it. I think one of the problems might be that the mattresses are designed for use on a sprung divan, but they put them on a solid wooden base.

[Johnthed0g]

We asked for a topper & got a 4 inch thick foam one!....bliss, well not bliss but better. As for the quilts & pillows I try not to think about it!! Also ask yourself....do they wash the stateroom glasses up in the stateroom or replace them daily, if they don't it makes you wonder......yuk

[elaine61]

I only did the individual quiz twice, and we were on the first table of six to the right of the Maitre D's stand on deck 3. Re beds, yes they were uncomfortable but lots of people would have 2 or 3 duvets put on the mattress to really cushion it. I put the lifebelts under the foot of the mattress to raise it. I think one of the problems might be that the mattresses are designed for use on a sprung divan, but they put them on a solid wooden base.

 

We were up on the raised bit just to the right there! I also watched the who wants to be a millionaire thing. UUUrrrmmmmm don't think Mrs Santa was too happy about people suggesting her and Dave had a thing going :eek: She mentioned it in battle of the sexes. I also went along to most of the quizzes at 11.30am too. I think you marked one of our papers for one of them. Can't remember which one it was now. Oh I know the quiz in the globe - with Magic Mikey! Or whatever he was called. I think it was his big 50 TV quiz!

 

Elaine (aurorabore) :)

[LibraLass41]

We asked for a topper & got a 4 inch thick foam one!....bliss, well not bliss but better. As for the quilts & pillows I try not to think about it!! Also ask yourself....do they wash the stateroom glasses up in the stateroom or replace them daily, if they don't it makes you wonder......yuk

 

Yes, but this could be said of ALL cruiseships in the pando fleet, infact all cruise ships..

 

I get fed up seeing Arcadia slated for general pando problems....one woman on another site moaned about this cruise and complained about the crap portunus present, she would of had the same present if she had been on Oriana or Aurora....

[Johnthed0g]

Yes, but this could be said of ALL cruiseships in the pando fleet, infact all cruise ships..

 

I get fed up seeing Arcadia slated for general pando problems....one woman on another site moaned about this cruise and complained about the crap portunus present, she would of had the same present if she had been on Oriana or Aurora....

You know I love Arcadia, but the beds we had were so uncomfortable, when visiting other cabins they didn't seem as bad as ours.

[LibraLass41]

My beds on Arcadia have always been great. Queen size, so big, I found them fine, perhaps I like harder mattresses.

[Stitchman]

Out of interest, I found the beds on Arcadia really uncomfortable, anyone else? I did mention this elsewhere & was shouted down (as I was about the age thing)

I loved the bed comfortable and huge and Mandy didn't complain either (nudge nudge wink wink etc). Mind you they were quite new at the time .

 

Stitch x