Just back from Arvia - K320

[Caravan 37]

We're just back from Arvia and thought I'd give a summary of our experience here.

Embarkation

Our scheduled time to embark was 13.45.   We arrived and were checked in with CPS by 13.15.  Went to board and were waved through to the terminal, not the early arrivals queue.  There was a sign apparently saying that all arrivals up to 14.00 check in could go straight through.  There was a bit of a snaking queue inside but it moved fairly quickly and we were through security and in our cabin by our scheduled arrival time of 13.45!  Cases arrived fairly soon after so were unpacked and settled in pronto.

 

Cabin

We had a FWD-MID cabin on Deck 12 starboard side (12329).  We liked this position as it was a bit cheaper than MID but didn’t seem too far for us to walk either to either end of the ship and it was close to the lifts and not too far from the laundrette either 😊.  We’ve been on Iona so no surprises in the layout.  A larger balcony than we had on Deck 5 of Iona and much bigger than balcony on Britannia.  Our steward was efficient and accommodating with any requests.  We did have some loud banging on our sail into Southampton on our last night – sounded like a man walking in hard shoes on a hardwood floor, not like creaking or banging because of the wind/seas.  Strange.

 

Dining

MDR - We only visited the MDR once for dinner – it was ‘ok’.  Acceptable food, decent portion, hot but just….not very exciting.  We had the ridiculous tables 4 inches apart but had a good chat to our neighbours, so it was fine. For breakfast we only went 3 times – it was ok, service was hit and miss though, asking for tea/butter/toast etc was a bit frustrating.

Chefs Table – Thought we’d try this out on one of the formal evenings – wouldn’t bother again.  Food, like the MDR, mediocre and felt very crowded so wouldn’t do this again.

Sindhu – went once on this cruise and have used on other P&O ships.  It was a nice meal and good service but I think it’s a bit hit and miss depending on your order so we probably wouldn’t go again for a while.

Epicurean – went once on our anniversary.  Good food, nice service.  Was busier than I’ve ever seen an Epicurean tbh but that added not detracted to the evening.

Glass House – went once only, simply because they only do the tapas dishes or the ‘big and bold’ with three different ways of eating say ‘chicken’ which all comes on a big plate.  We quite like the options on Britannia of having steak or something else.  But it was very good food and service.   We ended up having 6 dishes from the little menu which was really nice.

Olive Grove – didn’t really like this on Arvia but loved it on Iona when you had to pay a little extra.  Was booked in twice but didn’t go back.  Was really crowded, noisy, hectic.

The Beach House – went twice, we’d booked it in advance and assumed the menu would change the second week but it didn’t.  The food was ok but again hectic and preferred this venue on Britannia.

Keel & Cow – we’ve always liked this venue and ate here 3 times for dinner and 4 times for breakfast.  It was relaxed, good food and efficient service.

Horizon – we ate a few breakfasts here and a couple of - lunches.  It was ok food, not much selection (a LOT of curry and roasts everywhere it seems) but for a quick lunch while sunbathing or for quick breakfast before going ashore it was ok.

The Quays – we had a couple of lunches here but didn’t try the breakfast.  Fish and chips always good, the giant Yorkshire was good too but maybe more suitable to colder weather cruises

Taste 360 – this was a quick lunch venue for us a couple of times, but it was always really busy, not a problem, but the eating habits of some were shocking.  There was always loads of food on the floor!

6^th St Diner – only went once on our last night when we ate at 6.30 – we quite liked it but not necessarily when you are dressed up.  Music was great, food was unusual but surprisingly good.

 

Entertainment

We really enjoyed Leanne Mitchel (won The Voice 2012) in Headliners and Jayson Keeler.  We thought Vocal Extr3me were also very good.  We didn’t see the production shows but did book a few 710 Club slots.  I was a bit disappointed tbh – it wasn’t bad just wasn’t as great as I thought it would be given some of the rave reviews.  I guess it depends on the ensemble you have on board.  The Club House was something we tried once and left in a hurry – say no more.  We had used this venue previously, but it has changed and had lots of children running around unsupervised, older children throwing themselves on the sofas and their parents not much better, shouting and carrying on, shocking.  Maybe we’re just getting old 😊.  The pianists in Crows Nest/Atrium were always a pleasure to listen to.

Cinema – disappointing that there weren’t many films for adults and if there were they were all sci-fi or action man stuff.  I understand it was half term in Scotland so maybe that’s why?

 

My Holiday/Queuing

We’d booked what we could before we left so only used the dining queues for K&C/Glass House/MDR, they worked well.  We either joined the queue while having a drink or before we left the cabin and didn’t have to wait long at all.  We didn’t see any queues outside the venues at all.

Horizon – we always found a table easily quite near the buffet and this was breakfast and lunch.  Same The Quays although always a bit of a wait for fish and chips.

 

Overall we had a very enjoyable time – weather was great, ports were interesting, we always got a sunbed and observed that there were still loads of beds to be had at 11am which is a first in my view.  Clearly if you don’t start looking till after lunch on a sea day you’ll be disappointed not to get exactly the spot you want but what do people expect? 

 

Hope this helps someone.

 

[Red Ray]

Cinema – disappointing that there weren’t many films for adults and if there were they were all sci-fi or action man stuff.  I understand it was half term in Scotland so maybe that’s why?

 

This was a bugbear for us too last month. School holidays had finished but bearing in mind there are 4 screens, I think over the 14 nights there were maybe 3 films which weren't aimed at kids - and it was the same on the seascreen. Think it's the first time we haven't been to the cinema on a cruise. I get it's a 'family ship' but out of 5200 passengers I think there were about 100 rugrats so somewhat disappointing.

[mrsgoggins]

Thank you for taking the time to write about your trip.

 

We have not been on Arvia but have been on Iona - the cruise we enjoyed, the ship not so much! Your review has confirmed that we won't be on Arvia either, but was very interesting to read about nonetheless.

 

[majortom10]

2 hours ago, Red Ray said:

Cinema – disappointing that there weren’t many films for adults and if there were they were all sci-fi or action man stuff.  I understand it was half term in Scotland so maybe that’s why?

 

This was a bugbear for us too last month. School holidays had finished but bearing in mind there are 4 screens, I think over the 14 nights there were maybe 3 films which weren't aimed at kids - and it was the same on the seascreen. Think it's the first time we haven't been to the cinema on a cruise. I get it's a 'family ship' but out of 5200 passengers I think there were about 100 rugrats so somewhat disappointing.

Yes we were disappointed on our cruise 3-17 Sept that majority of films were all children based even though there was only 126 children onboard. The films that they did show we had already seen on Iona. Overall impressions was that we preferred Iona.

Edited October 16, 2023 by majortom10

[zap99]

27 minutes ago, mrsgoggins said:

Thank you for taking the time to write about your trip.

 

We have not been on Arvia but have been on Iona - the cruise we enjoyed, the ship not so much! Your review has confirmed that we won't be on Arvia either, but was very interesting to read about nonetheless.

 

We are booked on Arvia in April. Lots of ' casual ' dining options. That will do for us as we aren't too bothered about the MDR. It's only food and I doubt we will go hungry. Lots of OBC ,so Glass House, beach house and the others will do for us.

[zap99]

8 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

Yes we were disappointed on our cruise 3-17 Sept that majority of films were all children based even though there was only 126 children onboard. The films that they did show we had already seen on Iona. Overall impressions was that we preferred Iona.

In all the cruises we have been on, I can't recall ever going into an onboard cinema,  so not an issue for us.

[Red Ray]

10 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

Yes we were disappointed on our cruise 3-17 Sept that majority of films were all children based even though there was only 126 children onboard. The films that they did show we had already seen on Iona. Overall impressions was that we preferred Iona.

Yes Major that's the cruise we were on. We too preferred Iona.

[majortom10]

24 minutes ago, zap99 said:

In all the cruises we have been on, I can't recall ever going into an onboard cinema,  so not an issue for us.

It is an excellent product it is just like going to cinema in multi screen at home instead of showing films in theatre like they normally do.

[zap99]

15 hours ago, majortom10 said:

It is an excellent product it is just like going to cinema in multi screen at home instead of showing films in theatre like they normally do.

I'm sure many folk enjoy.  We go to the cinema at home a couple if times a year, so not something we miss. We did watch a new star wars release in America, but generally no cinema trips on holiday.

 

[Waju]

15 hours ago, zap99 said:

In all the cruises we have been on, I can't recall ever going into an onboard cinema,  so not an issue for us.

On a sea day when on Aurora there’s nothing better than picking up a Costa coffee and going to watch a good film in the little cinema 😊

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, Waju said:

On a sea day when on Aurora there’s nothing better than picking up a Costa coffee and going to watch a good film in the little cinema 😊

 

We enjoy the odd film or two in the ships cinemas as well

 

 

[Britboys]

3 hours ago, Waju said:

On a sea day when on Aurora there’s nothing better than picking up a Costa coffee and going to watch a good film in the little cinema 😊

Yes, it's a great venue for both films and classical recitals.

[Angel57]

5 hours ago, Waju said:

On a sea day when on Aurora there’s nothing better than picking up a Costa coffee and going to watch a good film in the little cinema 😊

I like Aurora’s cinema, but only gone a couple of times. I did saw Titanic on board many moons ago. It was quite a idd feeling and there were not many people in there!! Can’t think why!!

[Waju]

3 hours ago, Angel57 said:

I like Aurora’s cinema, but only gone a couple of times. I did saw Titanic on board many moons ago. It was quite a idd feeling and there were not many people in there!! Can’t think why!!

I remember going to watch La La Land in the Aurora cinema - it was a full house and then one by one people started to walk out!  I think I hung on for about 45 minutes by which time there were just half a dozen people still watching 😒  It was dire.

[Interestedcruisefan]

7 hours ago, Angel57 said:

I like Aurora’s cinema, but only gone a couple of times. I did saw Titanic on board many moons ago. It was quite a idd feeling and there were not many people in there!! Can’t think why!!

I remember when Titanic first came out at the cinema and I went with my then girlfriend (now wife) to watch it on a date night 

 

I queued up for over 3 hours to get tickets. But when I got to the front of the queue they told me "women and children only!"

 

(The old ones area the best!) Lol

Edited October 17, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Red Ray]

15 hours ago, Waju said:

I remember going to watch La La Land in the Aurora cinema - it was a full house and then one by one people started to walk out!  I think I hung on for about 45 minutes by which time there were just half a dozen people still watching 😒  It was dire.

Can't agree. Thought it was excellent.

[Waju]

44 minutes ago, Red Ray said:

Can't agree. Thought it was excellent.

Isn't it weird???  I just couldn't get into it 😒

[Red Ray]

All about opinions. The fantasy sequence was a bit naff but I thought Gosling & Stone were good & the ending excellent.

[Britboys]

On 10/17/2023 at 7:09 PM, Waju said:

I remember going to watch La La Land in the Aurora cinema - it was a full house and then one by one people started to walk out!  I think I hung on for about 45 minutes by which time there were just half a dozen people still watching 😒  It was dire.

I've seen a lot worse and thought it was an okay diversion for a couple of hours. Certainly couldn't understand why it was being talked about for lots of awards...

[Interestedcruisefan]

I went many years without watching Moulin Rouge (the 2001 version with Nicole Kidman)

 

 Thought it was brilliant when finally watched it recently

[Selbourne]

I like the actual venue on Aurora, and agree that classical recitals are superb, but I think I’d struggle to watch a film in there. The door seems to open and close with great regularity and you hear conversations from the corridor outside, plus the irritating people who come in to supposedly watch a film but feel the need to discuss it, or rustle sweet wrappers etc. Due to all these irritating distractions I don’t go to the cinema at home either! However, we have quite a few sea days on our first cruise next year, so I might have to take a chill pill and try to endure it, especially as I find sea days to be a bit boring and the cabin TVs on Aurora are rubbish 😂 

[terrierjohn]

9 hours ago, Selbourne said:

I like the actual venue on Aurora, and agree that classical recitals are superb, but I think I’d struggle to watch a film in there. The door seems to open and close with great regularity and you hear conversations from the corridor outside, plus the irritating people who come in to supposedly watch a film but feel the need to discuss it, or rustle sweet wrappers etc. Due to all these irritating distractions I don’t go to the cinema at home either! However, we have quite a few sea days on our first cruise next year, so I might have to take a chill pill and try to endure it, especially as I find sea days to be a bit boring and the cabin TVs on Aurora are rubbish 😂 

One of the benefits of having poor hearing is that I don't have problems with any of the issues you raise, and I tend to see positives if possible.

[Selbourne]

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

One of the benefits of having poor hearing is that I don't have problems with any of the issues you raise, and I tend to see positives if possible.

There are times when I actually look forward to having a degree of hearing loss John. 😂 

[Britboys]

13 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I went many years without watching Moulin Rouge (the 2001 version with Nicole Kidman)

 

 Thought it was brilliant when finally watched it recently

Didn't like that one at all. I'm not a fan of Baz Luhrmann's ofttimes ott style...

[Interestedcruisefan]

2 hours ago, Britboys said:

Didn't like that one at all. I'm not a fan of Baz Luhrmann's ofttimes ott style...

 

We were wowed by it - 8 Oscar nominations so enough people liked it I guess. But I know what you mean about his style!

 

My favourite musical remains Evita though

 

Keep going to re-watch at the theatre and even enjoyed the film Madonna made