Arvia K415 - not quite as good as last year

[Helenk1234]

Anyone on the Arvia at the moment who did the Arvia last year? We did and think it isn't as good. We loved the DJ in the Sunset bar early evening last year but they aren't there this year. A few other things are not as good. Anyone else think that?

[Harryjacobs]

2nd trip is never as good as the 1st

[showingdiva]

4 minutes ago, Harryjacobs said:

2nd trip is never as good as the 1st

 

Oh I don't know.   I booked a round UK float on MSC Virtuosa in 2021, mainly thanks to a healthy NHS discount and her being one of the first operating post-lockdown.   Here I am, less than three years and five cruises later, two more booked, still loving her craziness.

[Helenk1234]

We have done many cruises but the Arvia last summer was one of the best and we couldn't wait to do it again. The main thing we liked last year was the entertainment- good comedians on at the club house, a fantastic Ibiza club experience in the Sky Dome etc. But this year the comedian has been showing on the Limelight club and queues started forming at 10pm for the 11pm performance so there was clearly not enough space in the venue. And the Ibiza experience last night at the Sky Dome didnt have any of the wow factor special effects on last year and very mediocre dance music. Such a disappointment.

[Megabear2]

I have friends boarding Arvia a week today for their first ever cruise.  They are beyond excited so hopefully they will feel the way you did last year!

 

You mention the comedian etc, are the theatre acts and shows identical to last year or are they different? 

 

I hope your second week onboard is more enjoyable for you.

[Helenk1234]

I am sure your friends will love it. It is still good. Some theatre shows are the same but there are fewer of them (shows that were not repeated last year are shown more than once this year). The comedians are different. We think the food is even better than last year.

[Ljdoc]

I was on the cruise before this (K414) and did the exact same cruise last year on Arvia at the same time and fully agree. The cruise overall was fantastic but the entertainment was not up to the same standards of any of my previous P&O cruises. On Iona and Arvia previously there was always a flow of entertainment in different venues, people always were leaving one venue to go to the other after an entertainer was over, which meant seats were alway becoming available and there was plenty of entertainment for all tastes. 
 

We would normally go to the Clubhouse and Sky Dome every night to watch the entertainment but it felt on this cruise it was one or the other. We had the football on twice so meant 2 less nights to put entertainment on and there was a sickness for the Greatest Days so that changed things a bit too as the singer was changed to the theatre rather than the Sky Dome. They put on a movie on in the Sky Dome which was empty so you couldn’t get a seat in the Club House and the Atrium was packed too. There were more comedians last year and they would have done 2 shows each in the Clubhouse. This year there was 1 or 2 but would have done 1 in the clubhouse then reverted to shows after 11 in the adults only venues. 

 

There was some great entertainment but felt like it was just not spread out well enough leaving some nights lacking. There was lots of entertainment during the day and plenty for kids and the kids club were excellent as usual. 
 

Overall, it was a great cruise and I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone and I will book Arvia and Iona again.

[Fraann]

We were on Arvia in July 2023 and again on K412 this year. Whilst we really enjoyed our cruise, we did find the entertainment had declined somewhat. After the embarkation dinner was cancelled (due to extra cleaning), we also had the first night theatre show being the film Oppenheimer. I know it’s won Oscar’s but a film about nuclear war is not really what I want to watch on the first night of my cruise. It was a rather disappointing start. 
As your friends won’t have seen the theatre shows, I am sure they will enjoy most of them. The Headliners on this cruise were very energetic. 

[snaefell]

On 7/27/2024 at 7:07 PM, Harryjacobs said:

2nd trip is never as good as the 1st

Wouldn't agree with that but we are all likely to have different experiences & opinions.

We enjoyed our 2nd trip on Britannia more than our first,we found navigating Britannia wasn't easy on the first cruise on her,we were better prepared the 2nd time!