Aurora versus Arcadia?

[AndyMichelle]

Hi all, 

Some guidance please. 

We have found 2 almost identical cruises at the same price that we are interested in. 

The question is, do we stick with Aurora, which we love and have cruised on numerous times, or try what will be the only ship in the fleet that we haven't sailed on, Arcadia, for a change. 

There are other threads requesting current information on Arcadia and, in honesty, they seem to be getting little feedback, good or bad. 

Any thoughts or guidance would be much appreciated. 

Andy 

[Dorset cruise fan]

Arcadia is a stylish, elegant ship with beautiful glass artwork throughout and the nicest (balcony) cabin we have had. We didn't like the flow of the public rooms as much as on Aurora and the theatre looks really stylish but has terrible sight lines. Aurora will always be our favourite too but there is much to like about Arcadia and I'm sure you will have a great time on her.

[Danamis]

We have cruised on both in the last few months. They are both traditional style ships which we love.

 

We found that Aurora had the edge for entertainment although Arcadia seemed to have more bars to relax in. Aurora had a far better buffet but MDRs were on a par with each other. We like the Glasshouse and Beachouse as alternative dining venues on Aurora. Arcadia didn't have as many choices.

 

I would be happy to choose either for future cruises but for longer cruises would prefer Aurora. These views are purely personal and no doubt others will think otherwise.

 

I hope P and O keep these ships for a long time to come.

[Clipper Chick]

I have sailed on both and am sailing Arcadia world cruise in January.  Arcadia lacks a quiet bar and I do miss Anderson’s where you can have a drink and talk.  However it does not come close to being a deal breaker.  Arcadia’s cinema only seats 30 but again I do not cruise to watch films if I can get in fine if not there is always plenty to do.  In short if you have not sailed on Arcadia give her a go.

 

Mandy

[AndyMichelle]

Thank you all for the positive replies. 

Andersons is our go to place for a nightcap, pre dinner drink or chill out, so would miss it, but we have managed on the other ships, so shouldn't be a deal breaker. 

Some passengers seem to like Arcadia, but not many seem to rave about her like they do Aurora, so just a little concerned. 

I think we will give her a go, 

Thanks again, 

Andy 

[jaydee6969]

Following this with interest, as we have similar situation.  Cruise we are looking at is either Aurora or Arcadia.  Previously we have only sailed on Azura, Ventura and Britannia, with Azura our favourite.  Having not been on the smaller ships not sure which one to go for.

[terrierjohn]

32 minutes ago, jaydee6969 said:

Following this with interest, as we have similar situation.  Cruise we are looking at is either Aurora or Arcadia.  Previously we have only sailed on Azura, Ventura and Britannia, with Azura our favourite.  Having not been on the smaller ships not sure which one to go for.

It's  a long time since we sailed on Arcadia and although I thought it a bit drab after  Coral Princess, it did not give me the same  claustrophobic feeling I felt on Aurora earlier this year. If we did not need an accessible cabin, which are too small on Arcadia, then it would probably get our vote mainly because of the bigger standard balcony cabins and the much bigger balconies.

[Eglesbrech]

 Andy if you are an art lover then Arcadia is worth a visit just for that aspect alone. She was set up to have an eclectic mix of interesting pieces and when launched initially P&O did art walks around the ship. There are interesting things on the walls but also free standing sculptures round every corner and in little inglenooks.

 

I love both Aurora and Arcadia, they both have great selling points. Aurora is probably more elegant but Arcadia always feels less compact and feels like there is more space.
 

oh to have such difficult choices - life is good.

[kruzseeka]

1 hour ago, AndyMichelle said:

Thank you all for the positive replies. 

Andersons is our go to place for a nightcap, pre dinner drink or chill out, so would miss it, but we have managed on the other ships, so shouldn't be a deal breaker. 

Some passengers seem to like Arcadia, but not many seem to rave about her like they do Aurora, so just a little concerned. 

I think we will give her a go, 

Thanks again, 

Andy 

 

Agree about the cinema being too small on Arcadia but then it doesn't seem to be an issue for you.  It depends a bit on length of cruise, itinerary and number of sea days (and whether its likely to be warm enough to be on deck) whether the option of a film is of interest to us.   We've  done a couple of longer cruises on Arcadia e.g. NY/Canada when the weather and TA makes the indoor space more important. 

To that effect, Aurora is rather better imo - and as mentioned before,  Anderson's and other lounge spaces are excellent on Aurora.  But having said that we were perfectly happy on Arcadia and found areas we liked developing a very comfortable pattern of what to do and places to settle down.  It has a nice Crow's Nest.  The coffee bar, Caffe Vivo is a bit claustrophobic being tucked in an internal area by the cinema but there are other lounges like the Piano Bar for coffee -  iirc they also serve hot drinks in the Crow's Nest too.

Our friends who love Aurora, Britannia (and Oriana), like Oceana but not Ventura recently went on Arcadia for the first time - didn't like it on first impressions but loved it by the time they got off!!!!!

We like Arcadia and have more trips booked on her (as have our friends!) and are very much looking forward to it.  I'm sure you'll find it has a similar vibe to Aurora and will enjoy discovering Arcadia.

[Spike11]

Given the choice I would pick Aurora every time. Although Arcadia is a good ship and has some positives, I have always found her a bit soulless and the decor of the cabins extremely bland ( especially the beige bathrooms!). I think it shows that she was originally going to be a Holland America ship, then part way through construction was swapped to Cunnard and then finally P&O. For me she seems to be a bit of a mix of all sorts of styles. On the other hand you’ll never really know what she is like until you’ve actually sailed on her!

[Otter18]

Aurora for me too. I like Andersons, the tiered deck, the glass house and Carmens. Although we have sailed on Arcadia the most, and going again in January, it is still a nice ship.

[Tablelamp]

16 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

Hi all, 

Some guidance please. 

We have found 2 almost identical cruises at the same price that we are interested in. 

The question is, do we stick with Aurora, which we love and have cruised on numerous times, or try what will be the only ship in the fleet that we haven't sailed on, Arcadia, for a change. 

There are other threads requesting current information on Arcadia and, in honesty, they seem to be getting little feedback, good or bad. 

Any thoughts or guidance would be much appreciated. 

Andy 

 

[Tablelamp]

I have travelled on both.  Aurora is far superior (in my opinion)

[Hols4]

Hols4

We did our first 3 cruises on Arcadia and enjoyed them but after doing a cruise on Aurora we found it had far more outside seating area's and a nicer buffet and coffee bar.

the balcony cabins are a bit bigger on Arcadia but we find Aurora more friendly and will be going on her for the 5 th time next week.

[Clipper Chick]

5 hours ago, kruzseeka said:

 

Agree about the cinema being too small on Arcadia but then it doesn't seem to be an issue for you.  It depends a bit on length of cruise, itinerary and number of sea days (and whether its likely to be warm enough to be on deck) whether the option of a film is of interest to us.   We've  done a couple of longer cruises on Arcadia e.g. NY/Canada when the weather and TA makes the indoor space more important. 

To that effect, Aurora is rather better imo - and as mentioned before,  Anderson's and other lounge spaces are excellent on Aurora.  But having said that we were perfectly happy on Arcadia and found areas we liked developing a very comfortable pattern of what to do and places to settle down.  It has a nice Crow's Nest.  The coffee bar, Caffe Vivo is a bit claustrophobic being tucked in an internal area by the cinema but there are other lounges like the Piano Bar for coffee -  iirc they also serve hot drinks in the Crow's Nest too.

Our friends who love Aurora, Britannia (and Oriana), like Oceana but not Ventura recently went on Arcadia for the first time - didn't like it on first impressions but loved it by the time they got off!!!!!

We like Arcadia and have more trips booked on her (as have our friends!) and are very much looking forward to it.  I'm sure you'll find it has a similar vibe to Aurora and will enjoy discovering Arcadia.

Having sailed on Oriana, Aurora and  Arcadia sailed on Ventura 35 nights in February not sure about her when I boarded, 2 weeks in decided would sail again but would never be my first choice then loved her and did not want to get off!!!  In the last 18 months I have learnt that you need to try all the ships.  
 

Mandy

[AndyMichelle]

2 hours ago, Clipper Chick said:

Having sailed on Oriana, Aurora and  Arcadia sailed on Ventura 35 nights in February not sure about her when I boarded, 2 weeks in decided would sail again but would never be my first choice then loved her and did not want to get off!!!  In the last 18 months I have learnt that you need to try all the ships.  
 

Mandy

You are right Mandy, we need to try Arcadia. 

Every time I board Aurora I have doubts, but a couple of days in, love it. 

We are pretty easy going and can make the most of whatever we are faced with. Theses ships are big enough to find your comfort zone. 

Thanks again to everyone for the great advice. 

Andy 

[claudiniusmaximus]

A vote for Arcadia over Aurora for me. Have sailed on both and wouldn’t do aurora again. 

In terms of the cinema, yes the Aurora cinema is much better - but on our 17 night cruise on her they only showed films on port days, so it wasn’t open on sea days (which seemed odd). 
 

I didn’t like Anderson’s because it’s a closed off room, so no people watching, and the piano bar was just a dozen chairs in a small space which was just basically the entrance to Anderson’s. The pub and the casino rolled into one and the pub was full of kids (this was the year before it went adults only). 
 

I also found the crows nest oppressive and dark with a dark heavily patterned carpet and all that dark brass everywhere. Reminded me of the 1970s (although some might like that). Less of an issue in the evening. 
 

Love the Crows Nest on Arcadia, so light, and large. Thought the entertainment on Arcadia was much better (but guess that varies depending on which group of performers are on board). Love the fact the bars and lounges on Arcadia are set back from the walkways but have a pavement cafe feel, you can people watch as people go about the ship. Also like the decor, think she’s elegant, understated, all those light blues and light woods. 
 

I think Sindhu is a lot better on Arcadia (maybe we just had a poor night in Aurora). I think the buffet food on both ships is dire, but prefer restaurant on Arcadia. 
 

Lots of windows in the lounges on Aurora were blown so permanently clouded between the panes. Annoyingly so, even in the crows nest. 
 

Would be nice if Arcadia had a beach house or glass house. We’ve been on Arcadia four times and Aurora once. Be nice if Arcadia didn’t leak!