A happy thread on smaller ships re bigger ships

[snaefell]

We sailed on Britannia the first year she was in service,at the time these forums were full of people complaining about her size & how they wouldn't go on anything that big,here we are years on & Britannia seems to have many fans & when you see her next to Iona or Arvia she looks small.

For us we liked her eventually,found her a bit dark & gloomy inside with some questionable,IMO,artwork,not the easiest to navigate but the Crows Nest is wonderful & Brodies is a wonderful room spoilt by the fact that there nearly always seemed to be Bingo,Pub Quizzes or Kareoke going on,all of which we hate!

We had a 19 night cruise on Arcadia earlier this year & loved her,I had read so many bad reviews on here making reference to her age mostly & wondered what the hell we would find but we loved the ship,we have travelled on many ferries at least as old if not older & didn't really notice anything age related,loved our balcony cabin,thought the Pub was a wonderful place to be,something about the Crows Nest that really didn't hit the spot for some reason & yes there is a shortage of places to eat but it wasn't a problem for us,made more so maybe by the fact that the food & service we received in the Ocean Grill was so good,probably the best we have ever had at sea,Sindhu wasn't far behind,perhaps the biggest problem with a small ship is that it isn't that easy to get away from people wining about nothing apart from the fact that it seemed to keep them happy!

I have seen pictures of the Atrium area on Arvia & Iona & think it looks awful,a bit like an airport/shopping mall food court,not something that attracts me to either of them.

Just to show that I am not entirely against big ships IMO the best ship we have travelled on by some way was RCI's Quantum Of The Seas,a beautiful ship,quirky artwork,always seemed light & airy wherever you went & despite being full never seemed crowded. .

We are booked on her sister ship Anthem OTS in April next year & Arcadia the following April just to mix it up a bit!  

Edited November 2, 2023 by snaefell

[Britboys]

22 hours ago, snaefell said:

We sailed on Britannia the first year she was in service,at the time these forums were full of people complaining about her size & how they wouldn't go on anything that big,here we are years on & Britannia seems to have many fans & when you see her next to Iona or Arvia she looks small.

For us we liked her eventually,found her a bit dark & gloomy inside with some questionable,IMO,artwork,not the easiest to navigate but the Crows Nest is wonderful & Brodies is a wonderful room spoilt by the fact that there nearly always seemed to be Bingo,Pub Quizzes or Kareoke going on,all of which we hate!

We had a 19 night cruise on Arcadia earlier this year & loved her,I had read so many bad reviews on here making reference to her age mostly & wondered what the hell we would find but we loved the ship,we have travelled on many ferries at least as old if not older & didn't really notice anything age related,loved our balcony cabin,thought the Pub was a wonderful place to be,something about the Crows Nest that really didn't hit the spot for some reason & yes there is a shortage of places to eat but it wasn't a problem for us,made more so maybe by the fact that the food & service we received in the Ocean Grill was so good,probably the best we have ever had at sea,Sindhu wasn't far behind,perhaps the biggest problem with a small ship is that it isn't that easy to get away from people wining about nothing apart from the fact that it seemed to keep them happy!

I have seen pictures of the Atrium area on Arvia & Iona & think it looks awful,a bit like an airport/shopping mall food court,not something that attracts me to either of them.

Just to show that I am not entirely against big ships IMO the best ship we have travelled on by some way was RCI's Quantum Of The Seas,a beautiful ship,quirky artwork,always seemed light & airy wherever you went & despite being full never seemed crowded. .

We are booked on her sister ship Anthem OTS in April next year & Arcadia the following April just to mix it up a bit!  

I know what you mean about Arcadia's Crows Nest. Although it's a long time since I sailed on her, I had that feeling too. There are two possible reasons. I seem to recall that the ceiling is quite low for one thing and also the bar is an odd circular 'standalone' affair. I tend to use the Crows Nest late-night and unless it has changed, there was no way to secure the bar and it was emptied and bottles taken away on a trolley rattling across the bar area...

[Fionboard]

Just now, Britboys said:

I know what you mean about Arcadia's Crows Nest. Although it's a long time since I sailed on her, I had that feeling too. There are two possible reasons. I seem to recall that the ceiling is quite low for one thing and also the bar is an odd circular 'standalone' affair. I tend to use the Crows Nest late-night and unless it has changed, there was no way to secure the bar and it was emptied and bottles taken away on a trolley rattling across the bar area...

Strange, as I think Arcadia's Crows Nest is one of the nicest. Spent a lot of time in there to and fro from Canada last month. I dislike Metropolis on Ventura, cold and dark. 

[Britboys]

26 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Strange, as I think Arcadia's Crows Nest is one of the nicest. Spent a lot of time in there to and fro from Canada last month. I dislike Metropolis on Ventura, cold and dark. 

I haven't been on Arcadia since they refitted her so it might feel a bit different now but I love Aurora's and loved Oriana's. I haven't been on Ventura but wasn't keen the Planet Bar on her either.

[snaefell]

It wasn't just the room itself which didn't feel right for us,we had been used to the guy on the piano on Britannia which for us gave a nice relaxed ambiance,on Arcadia it wasn't bad one night we were there & there was a busker on but other nights there was a band on who were quite loud & really changed the whole feel of the room.

[Fionboard]

Nowadays, Crows Nest tends to have either a pianist or the Arcadia Orchestra, who are very good.  Not seen any loud groups in there. Pulse are in The Globe most nights - a venue I dislike as it is extremely noisy!