McPhee1 Posted February 26, 2023 #151 Share Posted February 26, 2023 Great reviews so far, thanks very much for taking the time to post these. We are on board soon and looking forward to it, more so after reading these reviews. Did you notice if the shops have a good choice in perfume and how the prices compare to home/duty free? Just weighing up if to wait until cruise before purchasing or not. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert2251 Posted February 27, 2023 #152 Share Posted February 27, 2023 @InterestedcruisefanHow does the booking for the theatre work, do you get numbered seats etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted February 27, 2023 Author #153 Share Posted February 27, 2023 16 hours ago, McPhee1 said: Great reviews so far, thanks very much for taking the time to post these. We are on board soon and looking forward to it, more so after reading these reviews. Did you notice if the shops have a good choice in perfume and how the prices compare to home/duty free? Just weighing up if to wait until cruise before purchasing or not. Will check 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted February 27, 2023 Author #154 Share Posted February 27, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, Rupert2251 said: @InterestedcruisefanHow does the booking for the theatre work, do you get numbered seats etc? Although I do believe the seats are numbered when you book currently you don't get allocated a number That would probably slow down everybody getting seated in there tbh - having to find specific seats But by only allowing the right number of people to book each night everybody seems to be able to arrive and get seated easily. It all works really smoothly There's not really any bad seats in there We've been getting there 10 to 15 minutes max before the start just because we actually like to sit in there for a bit. With the big screens now there's interactive stuff happening online the screens for most of the shows. And always plenty of seats. Plenty of people arriving just before it starts and easily getting seats as well It just seems to work well. No queues outside other than very short queues at times to give cabin number to the ladies with the iPad's checking you in So much better than the old days IMO where I remember having to get to the theatre 30 mins before the start in case you couldn't even get in for a show Now you can just dine with less time pressure on you or stay in a cocktail bar longer!! No need to rush to the theatre like in the past The apps work very well in that respect It's all very civilised I also booked all our shows at same time in advance so this hasn't been a daily thing to have to worry about Edited February 27, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted February 27, 2023 Author #155 Share Posted February 27, 2023 (edited) It was a sea day yesterday It was really hot so we went to watch a movie at 3.15pm to get out of the sun for a while It's just walk ins for the cinema. No charge. And no pre-booking The cinema we were in I would say could hold about 80 people and was three quarters full We watched "See How They Run" Was a decent and fun film and made a nice break in the day for us Nice cinema - lovely comfy seats and obviously air conditioned Edited February 27, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted February 27, 2023 Author #156 Share Posted February 27, 2023 Nice photo from our balcony early evening last night 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted February 27, 2023 Author #157 Share Posted February 27, 2023 (edited) 17 hours ago, McPhee1 said: Great reviews so far, thanks very much for taking the time to post these. We are on board soon and looking forward to it, more so after reading these reviews. Did you notice if the shops have a good choice in perfume and how the prices compare to home/duty free? Just weighing up if to wait until cruise before purchasing or not. What I can say without checking is the prices in the sweet shop are astronomical 6 pounds for a family pack of malteesers! 7.75 for a family pack of dairy milk miniatures! People are paying those prices though (including me) They only had whole nut dairy milk miniatures left last night!! So they've sold a lot of the normal dairy milk miniatures!! Edited February 27, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted February 27, 2023 Author #158 Share Posted February 27, 2023 (edited) And just to show I'm not only saying positive things about Arvia and cruising in general My one big negative is the fact you have to pay for Wi-Fi and the cost I need to keep in touch with work back home (it's my own business) and my wife likes to keep in touch with our kids and friends etc It's cost us approx 300 pounds between us just to sign up for what they call the essential Wi-Fi package for 14 nights That's a negative which seems to apply to all cruises that you tend not to have to pay in hotels nowadays Although I realise some hotels especially in US do apply resort fees you have to pay that include getting wifi I will balance it slightly by saying we also would in the past have to pay similar in tips after a 14 day cruise with the US ships which is not the case on P and O Edited February 27, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted February 27, 2023 Author #159 Share Posted February 27, 2023 Yesterday as a change to having buffet lunch or lunch from The Quays we went to 6th street diner. It's a free of charge restaurant on board. Table service. For lunch you can just do a walk in without pre booking It made a nice change. I would say it would be a big hit for families Pictures below 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy1978 Posted February 27, 2023 #160 Share Posted February 27, 2023 Can you tell me about your transfer to Maho beach please? Was it just a taxi at the port? How long is the transfer? How did you get the return? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted February 27, 2023 Author #161 Share Posted February 27, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, figgy1978 said: Can you tell me about your transfer to Maho beach please? Was it just a taxi at the port? How long is the transfer? How did you get the return? Thanks There's lots of minibus shuttles at the port entrance just lined up together that just go to Maho Beach and back. Big sign advertising Maho Beach/airport beach 16 us dollars per person return. They give you a wristband on the outward journey to show when you want to come back Takes 20 to 25 minutes And they drop you in a car park next to the beach. You don't have to book a time to return. As long as it's before 3pm they will be waiting Just head back to the car park (1 minute walk from the beach) there when you want a shuttle back and as soon as 6 people are ready to return they will put you in a shuttle together Easy Ps the best time for the big planes landing which make the best photos is between 1.30pm and 2.30pm ish normally so that's normally a good time to still be there Some of the US large plane flights to the island come in then There's a surf board at Sunset Bar next to the beach which shows the ETAs of the larger planes written on it There are smaller planes coming in all the time Edited February 27, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted February 27, 2023 Author #162 Share Posted February 27, 2023 St Lucia today Here's the view from our balcony this morning 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TigerB Posted February 27, 2023 #163 Share Posted February 27, 2023 19 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said: There's lots of minibus shuttles at the port entrance just lined up together that just go to Maho Beach and back. Big sign advertising Maho Beach/airport beach 16 us dollars per person return. They give you a wristband on the outward journey to show when you want to come back Takes 20 to 25 minutes And they drop you in a car park next to the beach. You don't have to book a time to return. As long as it's before 3pm they will be waiting Just head back to the car park (1 minute walk from the beach) there when you want a shuttle back and as soon as 6 people are ready to return they will put you in a shuttle together Easy Ps the best time for the big planes landing which make the best photos is between 1.30pm and 2.30pm ish normally so that's normally a good time to still be there Some of the US large plane flights to the island come in then There's a surf board at Sunset Bar next to the beach which shows the ETAs of the larger planes written on it There are smaller planes coming in all the time It's odd watching the planes taking off from that runway; when you see them going past that clearing it looks like they are not going fast enough to take off, then the next thing you see is them appearing from the tree canopy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted February 27, 2023 Author #164 Share Posted February 27, 2023 Some more pics of St Lucia from the ship this morning 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionboard Posted February 27, 2023 #165 Share Posted February 27, 2023 4 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said: St Lucia today Here's the view from our balcony this morning Lucky you, berthed at Seraphine ( the town side is horrible!). Rum Therapy is the place to go!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted February 27, 2023 Author #166 Share Posted February 27, 2023 (edited) 7 hours ago, Fionboard said: Lucky you, berthed at Seraphine ( the town side is horrible!). Rum Therapy is the place to go!! Arvia and Aurora both docked together in St Lucia today They put size before age and gave Arvia the nicest dock We had a great day today Joined up with some other passengers and paid 30 us dollars each for a minibus tour to the North side of the island. We stopped at Pigeon Bay or Beach (can't remember) for 3 hrs as part of the tour. Our beach was directly adjacent to Sandals. We did some nice snorkelling (took our own snorkels) saw plenty of fish and a school/shoal of 15 squid!! Fabulous guy selling coconut, watermelon and pineapples filled with rum from a boat Pics to follow We paid 15 us dollars for a watermelon filled with rum and 2 straws (with a free refill included) lol Edited February 27, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted February 27, 2023 Author #167 Share Posted February 27, 2023 Note aurora also visiting st Lucia today. They got the short straw having to dock next to all those containers 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted February 27, 2023 Author #168 Share Posted February 27, 2023 Plus we had a local beer as well!! 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveJ Posted February 27, 2023 #169 Share Posted February 27, 2023 Very informative 'blog', thanks. Although I'm going to Spain/Portugal on Iona in 5 days' time, & should be quite satisfied with that, have to say I'm pathetically jealous ! Do keep tantalising us ! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Selbourne Posted February 27, 2023 #170 Share Posted February 27, 2023 24 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said: Note aurora also visiting st Lucia today. They got the short straw having to dock next to all those containers I know that I am sad (before anyone says) but I find it interesting to sit on a balcony watching a busy commercial port in action. All part of the cruise experience for me! I can think of few things more boring or uncomfortable than sitting on a beach in blazing sunshine, but thankfully we are all different 😉 😂 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted February 27, 2023 Author #171 Share Posted February 27, 2023 We are heading to the Limelight Club soon to enjoy dinner (hopefully) and to watch Mary Mac A drag act from Scotland!! Lol That's going to be a first for us. On or off a cruise Will take some pics and report back tomorrow!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted February 27, 2023 Author #172 Share Posted February 27, 2023 1 hour ago, Selbourne said: I know that I am sad (before anyone says) but I find it interesting to sit on a balcony watching a busy commercial port in action. All part of the cruise experience for me! I can think of few things more boring or uncomfortable than sitting on a beach in blazing sunshine, but thankfully we are all different 😉 😂 I kind of agree about sitting on a beach in blazing sunshine not being great. We sat/lay in the sea most of the afternoon (which was lovely in comparison), drank rum and watermelon and snorkelled in between 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
showingdiva Posted February 27, 2023 #173 Share Posted February 27, 2023 1 hour ago, Selbourne said: I know that I am sad (before anyone says) but I find it interesting to sit on a balcony watching a busy commercial port in action. All part of the cruise experience for me! I can think of few things more boring or uncomfortable than sitting on a beach in blazing sunshine, but thankfully we are all different 😉 😂 That's why I love Rotterdam so much 1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said: We are heading to the Limelight Club soon to enjoy dinner (hopefully) and to watch Mary Mac A drag act from Scotland!! Lol That's going to be a first for us. On or off a cruise Will take some pics and report back tomorrow!! Never heard of her (and I'm Scottish for what it's worth) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrierjohn Posted February 28, 2023 #174 Share Posted February 28, 2023 23 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said: And just to show I'm not only saying positive things about Arvia and cruising in general My one big negative is the fact you have to pay for Wi-Fi and the cost I need to keep in touch with work back home (it's my own business) and my wife likes to keep in touch with our kids and friends etc It's cost us approx 300 pounds between us just to sign up for what they call the essential Wi-Fi package for 14 nights That's a negative which seems to apply to all cruises that you tend not to have to pay in hotels nowadays Although I realise some hotels especially in US do apply resort fees you have to pay that include getting wifi I will balance it slightly by saying we also would in the past have to pay similar in tips after a 14 day cruise with the US ships which is not the case on P and O What's the arrangement for mobile roaming passports in the Caribbean, for Europe we pay £2 per day and then can use our normal roaming, calls and messages as usual. With mainly port days in the Caribbean if the cost is similar it must surely be a cheaper way to stay in contact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted February 28, 2023 Author #175 Share Posted February 28, 2023 1 hour ago, terrierjohn said: What's the arrangement for mobile roaming passports in the Caribbean, for Europe we pay £2 per day and then can use our normal roaming, calls and messages as usual. With mainly port days in the Caribbean if the cost is similar it must surely be a cheaper way to stay in contact. I'm not sure what the cost for data roaming would be for me nowadays. I know it's been brutal in that past. But I have to have daily access to emails and do some online work daily from my cabin. I can't just do that stuff on port days sadly. I did consider it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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