Arvia - I read the reviews and didn’t believe them, now I do

[zap99]

On 10/8/2024 at 7:35 AM, Megabear2 said:

I'm not even going to waste my time answering that one I'm afraid, save my point was everyone has a view good or bad and is entitled to give it.  It remains a fact that whilst onboard and notifying of problems the ship's staff should be listening to the passengers who have problems and at the very least give the impression they want to help.

The customer is always right.??🤣

[alpha whiskey]

Just back from Azura, and tissues are a plenty! Box ran out half way through the cruise and was replaced at the next cabin service, without having to ask. 

[doog442]

Sorry to read this.

 

We were on the Arvia last January for a two week Caribbean, we enjoyed it so much we're back again in December, same balcony cabin with its million dollar view, same cruise.

 

The strengths of this particular cruise are we can fly from our local airport (only two flights a year). We get off the plane and straight to the ship . The price for two weeks (basically all inc with our OBC) in the Caribbean with flights in a UK winter is unbeatable (we do lots of land based holidays over there). It just works like clockwork.

 

Reference some of your earlier points we usually avoid the buffet on any ship unless returning from shore at a quiet time (not lunch). The app was fine for us as was the internet(one basic package with the other phone hot spotting) - we have modern phones smart phones - I saw people who didn't who were struggling. Starlink is excellent although I accept that issues can arise with any tech but we found the app and internet very stable. We ate in the 6th street diner once - not for us. We had a few negatives, not a great meal at Sindhu, trying to get a decent coffee - long wait, poor service as in not enough staff, noisy DJ at the sunset bar below, embarkation at some ports was a little chaotic when lifts were leading to deck 5 only for them to have the exit doors shut. 

 

Ref the MDR's I don't think I've seen so many 'managers' so they were bang on top of things, perhaps that's changed. 

 

That said the positives far outweighed a few niggles and you're going to get niggles anywhere although I accept its the way they're dealt with on board.   

 

We know the places to avoid and the times to eat. People talk about the crowds further up but we were in a quiet part of the ship (aft), we used the Crows nest most nights (pre and after drinks) and never that busy, utilised the speciality restaurants quite a bit did a few shows . You'd never think there were 5/6000 on board, it handles it well I think (outside of school holidays that is where I've heard there can be more issues)

 

I'll report back if our Dec Caribbean isn't up to spec, I think any organisation needs to keep on top of things, especially when it comes to customer service and the criticism is constructive. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zap99]

20 minutes ago, doog442 said:

Sorry to read this.

 

We were on the Arvia last January for a two week Caribbean, we enjoyed it so much we're back again in December, same balcony cabin with its million dollar view, same cruise.

 

The strengths of this particular cruise are we can fly from our local airport (only two flights a year). We get off the plane and straight to the ship . The price for two weeks (basically all inc with our OBC) in the Caribbean with flights in a UK winter is unbeatable (we do lots of land based holidays over there). It just works like clockwork.

 

Reference some of your earlier points we usually avoid the buffet on any ship unless returning from shore at a quiet time (not lunch). The app was fine for us as was the internet(one basic package with the other phone hot spotting) - we have modern phones smart phones - I saw people who didn't who were struggling. Starlink is excellent although I accept that issues can arise with any tech but we found the app and internet very stable. We ate in the 6th street diner once - not for us. We had a few negatives, not a great meal at Sindhu, trying to get a decent coffee - long wait, poor service as in not enough staff, noisy DJ at the sunset bar below, embarkation at some ports was a little chaotic when lifts were leading to deck 5 only for them to have the exit doors shut. 

 

Ref the MDR's I don't think I've seen so many 'managers' so they were bang on top of things, perhaps that's changed. 

 

That said the positives far outweighed a few niggles and you're going to get niggles anywhere although I accept its the way they're dealt with on board.   

 

We know the places to avoid and the times to eat. People talk about the crowds further up but we were in a quiet part of the ship (aft), we used the Crows nest most nights (pre and after drinks) and never that busy, utilised the speciality restaurants quite a bit did a few shows . You'd never think there were 5/6000 on board, it handles it well I think (outside of school holidays that is where I've heard there can be more issues)

 

I'll report back if our Dec Caribbean isn't up to spec, I think any organisation needs to keep on top of things, especially when it comes to customer service and the criticism is constructive. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's pretty much how we found it. A few niggles, but nothing worth mentioning. Different people have different expectations.  One of the reviews marked it as a 1. Only 34 chairs in the smoking area.

[Barbadossunshine]

Sorry to read about your holiday on Arvia. I hope it does not put you off cruising with P&O.

 

Our first time on Arvia was November 2023 to Caribbean and was wondering with all the negative reviews reading prior to us going what we were going to encounter. We all decided that we would face it with an open mind and take each day as it comes and raise any issues if they did occur. Yes, we did have a few niggles and brought them to the attention of the Cabin Steward. Think her mind was on leaving the ship the following week for her few months away. The positives outweighed the negatives. Our balcony cabin number was allocated to us prior to leaving with us picking the early saver price and it was on deck 8. But you know what we absolutely loved the deck and the cabin. Each to their own for this deck. Was a winner for us and would pick the same cabin again if ever on Arvia, as was a great starting point to get to other venues on ship.  
 

Never ever felt the ship was busy at all. Imo I feel I‘m tech savvy so had no issue with the app. And took the internet full package for the first time and this was great. Hubby, on the other hand likes to put his phone in the safe for the two weeks so all bookings left to me to action which is fine by me.

We booked a lot of the paying restaurants and enjoyed them all. With the exception of Sindu we just don’t like it at all have tried it on previous cruises and just not for us.  The best meal for us was in Green and Co on the cruise the meal and service from start to finish was excellent. We did go to the shows at night but imo were ok. Did the limelight twice and this was brilliant as well.

 
 

Off to the Caribbean again in February 2025 and will be on Britannia again. Again an early saver for balcony cabin so have no idea what deck will be on for this but again will take it with an open mind. For us we have only used P&O. We love the Caribbean and feel what we pay is value for money for 14 days away on a long haul flight. Only thing I would love is a change of itinerary for the Caribbean as Bonaire has not been visited by us, so we can tick that off our bucket list.

 

[TigerB]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

That's pretty much how we found it. A few niggles, but nothing worth mentioning. Different people have different expectations.  One of the reviews marked it as a 1. Only 34 chairs in the smoking area.

 

Only 34 chairs in the smoking area? Absolutely outrageous!🙄  I do hope that reviewer went straight to their local rag, with their, probably well practiced, compo face!

[zap99]

8 minutes ago, TigerB said:

 

Only 34 chairs in the smoking area? Absolutely outrageous!🙄  I do hope that reviewer went straight to their local rag, with their, probably well practiced, compo face!

We got back one day and the cabin hadn't been serviced....outrageous...DW said ' did you take the do not disturb magnet off the cabin door?.....whoops.🤣

[NewWestwardbound]

31 minutes ago, TigerB said:

 

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

That's pretty much how we found it. A few niggles, but nothing worth mentioning. Different people have different expectations.  One of the reviews marked it as a 1. Only 34 chairs in the smoking area.

 

Only 34 chairs in the smoking area? Absolutely outrageous!🙄  I do hope that reviewer went straight to their local rag, with their, probably well practiced, compo face!

 

What did you make of the other 29 1 •, 24 2•, and 36 3• reviews contributing to the overall mean score for Arvia of 2.9 • ?
 

Perhaps they were all written by “moaners” or those seeking “compo”?

 

[zap99]

21 minutes ago, NewWestwardbound said:

What did you make of the other 29 1 •, 24 2•, and 36 3• reviews contributing to the overall mean score for Arvia of 2.9 • ?
 

Perhaps they were all written by “moaners” or those seeking “compo”?

 

Can't really be bothered, but some of them are quite humorous.

[NewWestwardbound]

Just for everyone else, here’s the entirety of the 2• (not 1•) review commenting on 34 chairs in the smoking area. It seems that wasn’t the only observation the reviewer made : 
 

not good enough

Review for the Caribbean Cruise on Arvia

Chin00k47

2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

Rating by category

Cabin

Value for Money

Embarkation

Dining

Public Rooms

Entertainment

Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Mar 2023

So, let do an honest review with some suggestions. To the positives:

boarding - very smooth process, straight off plane, out back gate of airport to ship, into reception area and on ship within 10 minutes. Key cards to cabin are outside of cabin. Really good system

Cabin - balcony, good size, very clean, no complaints

Food - Good selecion, English Breakfast is amazing as are other meals, P&O have got the food perfectly correct in my opinion.

Entertainment - one word, outstanding, although the skydome bounces sound around and you cannot hear the singer very well.

To the bits that need some serious re-thinking:

Skydome - what a waste of space, a 3 deck hole with only room for about 300-400 people sat in deckchairs, whoever thought you could have a sail away party at the bottom of this hole (deck 16), no one can hear you or see you on other ships - designed by a 16 year old I think with an O level in design.

Outside Bars - Whoever is responsible for the bars needs to be sacked, what cruise closes the outside bars at 6.30pm in the carribean!!! forcing everyone inside, my god someone needs to get a life and open these areas in the evening with some good background music. top of the ship (Deck 18) is a dead area all evening, what a waste.

Smoking area - This is dire, (we are smokers) yes we accept some people do not like smoking, but to provide only 34 chairs for a ship of 5200, in a covered area away from everyone in a forgotten part of the ship is NOT the answer. if you are a smoker very seriously consider NOT going on Arvia. P&) either make a decison to ban smoking and suffer the losses of revenue (from smokers and non-smoking friends/family) or do what ever other cruise ship does and provide a pleasant area where stuff is going on (like Azura and Britannia). There was regularly up to 80 people in this area constantly. Why not provide the Beachcomber bar as a smoking area, or possibly that bar from 6.30 pm onwards for smoking, and keep the bar open. The current area is totally unacceptable and EVERY smoker I spoke to will never return to this ship despite the good parts of the review. Your choice P&O if you want to pretend smokers are scum class even though we pay exactly the same as everyone else and only get under 1% of the spca or we will not book. Make a decision and publish your policy, there is plenty of other choice out there so Arvia is off the list for smokers if it does not change.

Booking system for entertainment - wow who introduces a system where 100% of entertainment can be booked up before you even get on the ship! I'll tell you who, a designer who has crammed to many people into the ship, and not built big enough venues thats who. A large number of people do not know what they want to do until they are on holiday, this sytem forces people to click and book to not run the risk of seeing no shows, how many cancel the booking, most just do not show up. I would suggest 50% can be booked prior to travel and 50% on the day of the performance to cover customer choices.

Summary - some things are very good, some not good, a few tweakes and this would be much better - never lose sight that it is the Customer you are trying to please, not yourselves, and definitely not UK rules on smoking. You should consider some "secret cruisers" from P&O to mingle with paying cruisers, they will hear all the comments and then you might sit up and do something.

[S1971]

20 minutes ago, NewWestwardbound said:

Just for everyone else, here’s the entirety of the 2• (not 1•) review commenting on 34 chairs in the smoking area. It seems that wasn’t the only observation the reviewer made : 

 

It's always easy for people to criticise and laugh at others when reading selectively.

 

Only those with rose tinted glasses can't see the obvious 🙂 but it's their money, their choice, fortunately.

Edited October 9 by S1971

[miopyk]

Actually I’ve noticed that some posts have been pretty dismissive about other people’s experiences and opinions and rather than accept that sometimes other people might see things differently they attack the narrative because it doesn’t fit with their view of the world.
 

Then they claim that the silent majority think the same way they do with no evidence, selectively quote comments from others out of context to justify their position and frankly I have no respect for them or their opinion as they add nothing to the debate except ridicule when they think someone has agreed with them. 
 

We used to call them the playground bully but I think in today’s world they’re called something far more appropriate.

[zap99]

1 hour ago, NewWestwardbound said:

What did you make of the other 29 1 •, 24 2•, and 36 3• reviews contributing to the overall mean score for Arvia of 2.9 • ?
 

Perhaps they were all written by “moaners” or those seeking “compo”?

 

I started to have a look, but gave up after the diatribe about the pigeon on the balcony in Barcelona.

[Megabear2]

14 minutes ago, miopyk said:

Actually I’ve noticed that some posts have been pretty dismissive about other people’s experiences and opinions and rather than accept that sometimes other people might see things differently they attack the narrative because it doesn’t fit with their view of the world.
 

Then they claim that the silent majority think the same way they do with no evidence, selectively quote comments from others out of context to justify their position and frankly I have no respect for them or their opinion as they add nothing to the debate except ridicule when they think someone has agreed with them. 
 

We used to call them the playground bully but I think in today’s world they’re called something far more appropriate.

Do not think it is just on this section of CC, though.  Currently on the Cunard board there is the same sort of discussion on one or two threads on dining, ship maintenance etc and oh my goodness I once was bashed so badly on the Princess board over a medical emergency and payment of the associated bill I had to ask for the thread to be locked as it was making me feel unwell.

 

Most on this board are reasonable in comparison thankfully.

[S1971]

10 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I started to have a look, but gave up after the diatribe about the pigeon on the balcony in Barcelona.

 

Selectively reading then?

[zap99]

Just now, S1971 said:

 

Selectively reading then?

When I read a review I think ' will that affect me ' if not , not bothered. Selective yes. I ignore the rants about dress code, butlins and the class of the customers, cheese, tissues etc. So guilty as charged.

[Megabear2]

16 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I started to have a look, but gave up after the diatribe about the pigeon on the balcony in Barcelona.

Pigeon in Barcelona?  The guy was sailing the Caribbean Zap!!!

[Sussexboy]

7 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Pigeon in Barcelona?  The guy was sailing the Caribbean Zap!!!

Spanish pigeons in the Caribbean? No wonder it wouldn’t get off the balcony rail, it was probably very tired😂😂

[zap99]

11 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Pigeon in Barcelona?  The guy was sailing the Caribbean Zap!!!

Was that where it was?. Oh well.

[S1971]

3 minutes ago, zap99 said:

When I read a review I think ' will that affect me ' if not , not bothered. Selective yes

 

You obviously are bothered when someone gives a negative review because you've belittled it and picked it apart.

 

[zap99]

10 minutes ago, S1971 said:

 

You obviously are bothered when someone gives a negative review because you've belittled it and picked it apart.

 

I hadn't read any reviews for Ages ,not until 2.9 was quoted. After reading a few I won't be reading any more.

[Dermotsgirl]

1 hour ago, miopyk said:

Actually I’ve noticed that some posts have been pretty dismissive about other people’s experiences and opinions and rather than accept that sometimes other people might see things differently they attack the narrative because it doesn’t fit with their view of the world.
 

Then they claim that the silent majority think the same way they do with no evidence, selectively quote comments from others out of context to justify their position and frankly I have no respect for them or their opinion as they add nothing to the debate except ridicule when they think someone has agreed with them. 
 

We used to call them the playground bully but I think in today’s world they’re called something far more appropriate.

There’s two sorts or reports that I take with a pinch of salt. One’s that are complete rants, and ones that are so glowingly positive it seems that they have been written viewed through a rose coloured lens.

 

i would much rather read reports like yours. Well written and interesting and calmly providing information.

 

i totally get that a few niggles in isolation doesn’t cause too many issues. But, too many niggles ends up reaching a critical mass, and the whole cruise ends up being a bit of a slog.

 

Thank you for sharing your experiences, I’ve appreciated it, and I think quite a few readers will feel the same 

[miopyk]

48 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

There’s two sorts or reports that I take with a pinch of salt. One’s that are complete rants, and ones that are so glowingly positive it seems that they have been written viewed through a rose coloured lens.

 

i would much rather read reports like yours. Well written and interesting and calmly providing information.

 

i totally get that a few niggles in isolation doesn’t cause too many issues. But, too many niggles ends up reaching a critical mass, and the whole cruise ends up being a bit of a slog.

 

Thank you for sharing your experiences, I’ve appreciated it, and I think quite a few readers will feel the same 

Thanks, I try to provide a balanced view based on the facts as I see them but also think it’s important to point out that I’m aware that our situation may be somewhat unique amongst the other passengers on board. 
 

As it happens we’ve had a really good day today, breakfast in the Quays was good apart from they ran out of special k so I had cornflakes instead and we’ve just had dinner which was very good in terms of service and food. 
 

As I’ve mentioned previously we’re probably a bit more aware of things at the moment which is putting us at risk of appearing picky to we’re trying to be conscious of remaining objective and actually it’s turned into bit of a game.

 

One of these is “things that come in threes”. We’ve noticed that very often the wait staff will serve things in threes, so when ordering toast in the main dining room you get 3 half slices, grapes with cheese after dinner come in threes, sweetener sachets  with coffee come in threes, chocolates after black tie dinner came in threes and while these instances have been pretty consistent there have been others. Do you think they’re cost cutting by stealth or is there someone else getting the other piece of toast, grape, sachet of sweetener and chocolate? Fortunately we don’t fight over the 3rd item as we try very hard to be adults and take it in turns.

 

Bizarrely butter for breakfast comes in bits of 4 so the game was originally called the “curious case of the missing piece of toast” but gradually got expanded when we noticed the other things.

 

Anyway that’s enough foolishness from me. Thanks for all your comments and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, NewWestwardbound said:

Just for everyone else, here’s the entirety of the 2• (not 1•) review commenting on 34 chairs in the smoking area. It seems that wasn’t the only observation the reviewer made : 
 

 

not good enough

Review for the Caribbean Cruise on Arvia

Chin00k47

2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

Rating by category

Cabin

Value for Money

Embarkation

Dining

Public Rooms

Entertainment

Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Mar 2023

So, let do an honest review with some suggestions. To the positives:

boarding - very smooth process, straight off plane, out back gate of airport to ship, into reception area and on ship within 10 minutes. Key cards to cabin are outside of cabin. Really good system

Cabin - balcony, good size, very clean, no complaints

Food - Good selecion, English Breakfast is amazing as are other meals, P&O have got the food perfectly correct in my opinion.

Entertainment - one word, outstanding, although the skydome bounces sound around and you cannot hear the singer very well.

To the bits that need some serious re-thinking:

Skydome - what a waste of space, a 3 deck hole with only room for about 300-400 people sat in deckchairs, whoever thought you could have a sail away party at the bottom of this hole (deck 16), no one can hear you or see you on other ships - designed by a 16 year old I think with an O level in design.

Outside Bars - Whoever is responsible for the bars needs to be sacked, what cruise closes the outside bars at 6.30pm in the carribean!!! forcing everyone inside, my god someone needs to get a life and open these areas in the evening with some good background music. top of the ship (Deck 18) is a dead area all evening, what a waste.

Smoking area - This is dire, (we are smokers) yes we accept some people do not like smoking, but to provide only 34 chairs for a ship of 5200, in a covered area away from everyone in a forgotten part of the ship is NOT the answer. if you are a smoker very seriously consider NOT going on Arvia. P&) either make a decison to ban smoking and suffer the losses of revenue (from smokers and non-smoking friends/family) or do what ever other cruise ship does and provide a pleasant area where stuff is going on (like Azura and Britannia). There was regularly up to 80 people in this area constantly. Why not provide the Beachcomber bar as a smoking area, or possibly that bar from 6.30 pm onwards for smoking, and keep the bar open. The current area is totally unacceptable and EVERY smoker I spoke to will never return to this ship despite the good parts of the review. Your choice P&O if you want to pretend smokers are scum class even though we pay exactly the same as everyone else and only get under 1% of the spca or we will not book. Make a decision and publish your policy, there is plenty of other choice out there so Arvia is off the list for smokers if it does not change.

Booking system for entertainment - wow who introduces a system where 100% of entertainment can be booked up before you even get on the ship! I'll tell you who, a designer who has crammed to many people into the ship, and not built big enough venues thats who. A large number of people do not know what they want to do until they are on holiday, this sytem forces people to click and book to not run the risk of seeing no shows, how many cancel the booking, most just do not show up. I would suggest 50% can be booked prior to travel and 50% on the day of the performance to cover customer choices.

Summary - some things are very good, some not good, a few tweakes and this would be much better - never lose sight that it is the Customer you are trying to please, not yourselves, and definitely not UK rules on smoking. You should consider some "secret cruisers" from P&O to mingle with paying cruisers, they will hear all the comments and then you might sit up and do something.

Unfortunately for smokers, they now represent a small and reducing percentage of the passengers, and in general it is those non smoking passengers who set the tone of what the ship should provide for smokers. P&O like most other cruise lines are trying to walk a narrow line and keep both sets of passengers happy, but it is difficult for them. IncidentlyAzura and Britannia are also P&O ships, so if you feel happier on them, then maybe avoid Arvia in future.

[kenhem]

12 hours ago, miopyk said:

Thanks, I try to provide a balanced view based on the facts as I see them but also think it’s important to point out that I’m aware that our situation may be somewhat unique amongst the other passengers on board. 
 

As it happens we’ve had a really good day today, breakfast in the Quays was good apart from they ran out of special k so I had cornflakes instead and we’ve just had dinner which was very good in terms of service and food. 
 

As I’ve mentioned previously we’re probably a bit more aware of things at the moment which is putting us at risk of appearing picky to we’re trying to be conscious of remaining objective and actually it’s turned into bit of a game.

 

One of these is “things that come in threes”. We’ve noticed that very often the wait staff will serve things in threes, so when ordering toast in the main dining room you get 3 half slices, grapes with cheese after dinner come in threes, sweetener sachets  with coffee come in threes, chocolates after black tie dinner came in threes and while these instances have been pretty consistent there have been others. Do you think they’re cost cutting by stealth or is there someone else getting the other piece of toast, grape, sachet of sweetener and chocolate? Fortunately we don’t fight over the 3rd item as we try very hard to be adults and take it in turns.

 

Bizarrely butter for breakfast comes in bits of 4 so the game was originally called the “curious case of the missing piece of toast” but gradually got expanded when we noticed the other things.

 

Anyway that’s enough foolishness from me. Thanks for all your comments and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.

Thanks for your balanced review, we're due to board Arvia for the first time on Saturday and are looking forward to it.