Arcadia - Christmas cruise to Panama Canal

[mancunian]

Can someone who has just returned from this cruise please give us some information. Did you enjoy it. Where the flights OK.

[Sparkle 123]

Hi mancunian

We have just returned from the Arcadia xmas cruise.

We did enjoy it, the Pamana canal transit was amazing. We liked the ship and had an aft balcony cabin which was brilliant for viewing the locks of the canal.

Have to say the flight out to Barbados was pretty tedious and coming back from Acapulco airport was an experience although the flight home wasn't as bad as I thought and on time!

Have to go to work now but if you have any questions I will be happy to answer them for you.

Lisa

[Sparkle 123]

Hi mancunian

We have just returned from the Arcadia xmas cruise.

We did enjoy it, the Pamana canal transit was amazing. We liked the ship and had an aft balcony cabin which was brilliant for viewing the locks of the canal.

Have to say the flight out to Barbados was pretty tedious and coming back from Acapulco airport was an experience although the flight home wasn't as bad as I thought and on time!

Have to go to work now but if you have any questions I will be happy to answer them for you.

Lisa

[The Piano Player]

Hi mancunian

 

We too have just returned from Arcadia's Christmas cruise through the Panama Canal. We had a thoroughly enjoyable cruise, generally exceeding our expectations. We particularly enjoyed visiting such a diverse range of countries throughout the Caribbean and Central America.

 

We've travelled with P&O on two previous occasions, though this was our first fly/cruise. We found that Arcadia had its plus points and minus points, compared to the previous ships we have used. Our balcony cabin on C deck was particularly good, with plenty of space and very clean. The food generally was very good. On the negative side, the entertainment was of variable quality. Jane Macdonald was good. As was the Pearl Duo (two young ladies in their twenties who play classical piano/violin to an exceptional standard). We thought the theatre company was less exciting than previously, with too much focus on acrobatics.

 

Talking to other passengers on the ship, there seemed to be a divide between those who were having a great time and those who were somewhat disappointed. It took a while to work out why this was the case. I concluded that those who had booked the trip solely because it went through the Panama Canal had not really considered that this would be only 1 day of the 14 day cruise. They often seemed unenthusiastic about the other countries en route, whereas for us, this was one of the main attractions and we thoroughly enjoyed the diversity of all the places en route. It is worth pointing out that most of the Central American countries visited had little to offer around the ports, so are not really suitable for those who just want to get off and stroll around. Only by taking the tours could you really experience what these lovely countries have to offer.

 

We found that those on board came from a good age range. Our table of seven had ages ranging from mid twenties to fifties. Most of the passengers were in the 40s/50s range, with few older than the 60s. We shared our table with some really nice people (including Abbafan who has already replied to your mail).

 

As for the flights, they were entirely as I had expected, i.e. very cramped for a 10 hour flight. Having said that, both the Thomas Cook Airlines flights used very new Airbus A330 aircraft and both were on time. This was a blessing indeed, since the departure from Acapulco can only be described as a scrum and it was lucky we didn't have to stay there more than a couple of hours.

 

Overall, we look back on our cruise with great memories. Having seen how reviews on other cruise lines vary, we shall probably stick with P&O, since they generally deliver what we want from a cruise. However, next time, we'll probably revert to cruises from Southampton or those involving shorter flights.

[mancunian]

Thank you for your replies. It sounds good. It will be our first time away at Christmas and I suppose I do wonder what it will be like. Did you enjoy Christmas on the ship.

 

Also Abbafan if you have time two other questions:

a) how many formal, informal, casual nights were there on this cruise. Where there more formals with it being Christmas.

b) If your suitcase does not fit under the bed does your cabin steward store it somewhere as they do on Artemis or do you have to walk around it for the fortnight?

 

Glad you both had a good trip. We are not looking forward to the flight either, but take the view if we want to travel to these places we just have to grin and bear it.

[Sparkle 123]

Hi

In answer to your first question, there were 4 formal nights of which Christmas day was one,another was a black and white theme. As it was a tropical itinerary the rest were 'smart casual'. I think P&O relax the dress code on the Caribbean cruises due to luggage restrictions, however I did notice some people still dressed up on the smart casual nights so you wouldn't be out of place either way.

Can't answer your luggage question as our hard sided cases fitted easily under the bed.

We did enjoy Christmas on the ship, santa made an appearance on the ships funnel on Christmas eve, everyone got a present left in their cabins. There was midnight mass and a passengers choir. Jane Macdonald opened the Gingerbread village which remained on display throughout the cruise. There was a tropical themed deck party on Christmas eve and traditional Christmas dinner was served in the restaurant, with plenty of other choices if you didn't want turkey!

 

Hello Keith!

Glad you found your way to these boards, congratulations on your first post!

I do agree that the itinerary for this cruise was fantastic, a nice mix of beaches, nature, scenery, culture, shopping, and relaxing sea days.

I am hoping to post some pictures on the web next week. I will post the link on here when I do.

 

Bye for now

Lisa and Andy

[mancunian]

Thanks so much for your help. It seems a long way ahead to be asking these questions, but of course now is really the right time with you all returning from the identical cruise.

 

Abbefan - we may not of course have problems with our luggage - we take two suitcases which on other ships have always gone under the beds, but the slightly larger of the two would not on Artemis. Possibly there is a problem there because before our luggage had even arrived in the cabin, the cabin steward had said if your luggage does not fit under I will take it away and store it.

 

Piano Player - thank you for your advice re excursions. Whilst the Panama Canal was probably the first draw to this cruise, we are very interested in everything else too. We will take your advice I think and do excursions because we are probably unlikely to return to that particular part of the world.

[Compo55]

Hello all,

 

My wife and I are also going on this cruise at the end of the year, so this information is really useful thanks. We know Mancunian from a previous cruise, so look forward to meeting up again.

 

I am looking forward to seeing your photos Lisa, when you get time to post them.

 

Any recommendations for trips to take would also be very welcome.

 

Many thanks

 

Ian

[Compo55]

Hello, it's me again,

 

I have just thought of a couple more questions, if someone doesn't mind taking the time to reply sometime.

 

1. What sort of innoculations did you need to take for this trip?

 

2. When transiting the canal is it extremely crowded on deck, or is it possible to find a space to get a good view of the shore?

 

Many thanks in anticipation

 

Ian

[Sparkle 123]

Hi Ian

We went to see our practice nurse before the cruise and had to fill in a travel questionnaire stating where we were going etc. She recommended the usual typhiod, tetanus, hep A which we had free on the NHS. She also advised us to have a yellow fever jab for Panama at a cost of £40.00 each but we decided not to as the risk is minimal. Luckily we didn't need to take malaria tablets as you are not in ports at night when the mosquitos are prevelant. We just used a strong insect repellant when we did a rainforest trip. We didn't get bitten much except the odd nat bite! Best thing to do is ask your practice nurse for advice, although P&O don't require you to have any vaccinations for the cruise.

In answer to your second question, a lot of people moved around the ship and there were lots of places to view the shore although the front did get a little crowded. To be honest we had a fantastic view of the locks from our balcony right at the back of the ship and we watched the front view on our in cabin TV!

Don't worry about asking questions so far in advance. I booked this cruise in April 2005 and the planning and anticipation is half the fun, I can't believe its been and gone already!

Will hopefully find time to post some pictures on Mon or Tues.

Bye for now

Lisa and Andy

[Compo55]

Hi Lisa,

 

Thanks for your reply, which is very useful. As you say, the planning is all part of the holiday.

 

I get the impression that the charter flights aren't that special from Acapulco, so just hope that at least the flight to Gatwick is direct, as the brochure says that sometimes they have a stop to refuel or change crews.

 

Looking forward to seeing your photos.

 

Thanks again

 

Ian & Ellena

[libra-sue]

:) Hi

We had a balcony cabin on Arcadia, and took 2 VERY large cases on wheels, the biggest you can get, and they fitted underneth the bed ok.

We also took a medium case with shoes and bits n' bobs in, and that fitted inside the lg case, under the bed - a good tip.

Also - take a lg freezer bag for your doggie bag - i brought back about 36 packets of priory crumbles/ginger biscuits !!! They get refilled at least twice a day, and are a nice reminder of your cruise when at home!! Also the pillow chocolates, we were always too full to eat either and they were put in the bag too!!

 

sue

 

back on Arcadia again in June this time to The Med.:)

[Sparkle 123]

Hi everyone

I have finally got around to posting the pictures of the Panama Canal transit on the web. heres the link:

http://www.cruisemates.com/gallery/view.php?id=3239

 

I will add another gallery of the ship and other ports of call when I get the chance!

 

Lisa

[Compo55]

Hi Lisa,

 

I just had a quick look at the photo's before heading off to work, and they look good. You certainly seemed to have a good view from your balcony!

 

Will have a better look tonight, and look forward to seeing the rest sometime.

 

Thanks again

 

Ian

[The Piano Player]

Hi all

 

Lisa

 

Your photos look good. Looking forward to seeing the rest of them (including your dinner companions!)

 

Ian & Ellena

 

Regarding whether the flights are direct, I think this is a bit of a lottery. It took 6 planes to get us all back from Acapulco, using Thomas Cook, Monarch and Thomsonfly and a variety of different aircraft types. We were on a Thomas Cook Airbus A330 which did the return trip direct, whereas other aircraft had to refuel en route. However, since P&O allocate your flight and the airline your aircraft, then you have no say in this. The only apparent criteria seemed to be that where there were multiple flights (e.g. 3 from Gatwick) then those on first sitting appeared to be allocated to the earlier flights, which presumably helps ensure they arrive in time for first night's dinner.

 

Keith

[Compo55]

Hi Keith,

 

Thanks for your information. We are flying from Gatwick and will be on early sitting dinner, so hopefully that means an early flight out to join the ship. I also really do hope we get a direct flight coming back.

 

Do you know what sort of time the early flights left Gatwick, and was there time to go into Bridgetown after getting checked onto Arcadia? We have relatives in Barbados and it would be good if we had time to meet up, even if only for a quick drink.

 

Many thanks

 

Ian

[cruisebore]

If you contact the flights department at P&O

they will tell you which flight you are on. Should it be the dreaded Monarch or if a Thos Cook direct is available you may be able to get them to change it. Some people we met on our November cruise got their flight changed as they said the return flight was too late for them.

Also when talking to P&O about one of our flights they asked if "this is ok"

the inference being we could have changed to the other flight that day

 

Hope this helps

 

Cb

[Compo55]

Hi cb,

 

Sorry for the delay in replying, but for some reason I never got the auto email advising that you had left a message.

 

I will send an email to P&O and see if I can find out any details, but they will no doubt say it is too early.

 

Thanks again

 

Ian

[Sparkle 123]

Hi all

I have just posted the rest of our cruise photos. Heres the links:

 

http://www.cruisemates.com/gallery/view.php?id=3248

 

http://www.cruisemates.com/gallery/view.php?id=3249

Hope you find them informative.

 

Regarding the flights, we got a letter about 3 months before the cruise advising us of our flight timings but then they changed the times about 8 weeks prior to departure so you can't always rely on making any plans around the flights.We were originally meant to depart from Gatwick at 08.00 then they made it 12.15. It is about an hours drive to the ship from the airport so we didn't board until about 7.00pm. They had the lifeboat drill at 8.00pm and dinner that night was arranged in 2 sittings according to your flight number, after that it was regular dining times.

[Compo55]

Hi Lisa,

 

Many thanks for your reply with information about tickets. I have emailed P&O and will see if they respond.

 

Thanks also for the links to the rest of your photos. We will have a look at them this evening.

 

Best wishes

 

Ian

[The Piano Player]

Hi Ian

 

I think Lisa and others have already answered your questions about flight times - good luck with getting what you want.

 

Unless you can get a very early flight, then I think it will be optimistic for you to do anything in Barbados before the ship sails, especially noting the need to attend the emergency drill. In fairness to P&O, they don't bill Barbados on the itinerary as somewhere you get the chance to see on boarding day. In practice you are whisked effortlessly from the aircraft steps to the ship (which is very much appreciated after a long flight).

 

The other disadvantage of a very early flight is a ridiculously early check-in at Gatwick.

 

Suggest you take all these factors into account.

 

Best wishes

 

Keith

[Compo55]

It looks as though we are provisionally booked on Thomas Cook flights, but some of the other threads say their P&O flights on TC were awful.

 

No doubt we will just have to grin and bear it!

 

Ian :mad:

[UK family]

It looks as though we are provisionally booked on Thomas Cook flights, but some of the other threads say their P&O flights on TC were awful.

 

No doubt we will just have to grin and bear it!

 

Ian :mad:

I appreciate the TC flights are not the most comfortable of long haul flights - but realise that they do try to keep the costs down as much as possible. - Having done the Gatwick-Barbados route often with P&O, it is very effortless (re the straight from the plane/coach/ship routine that they have down to a fine art) - and all so different to the circus of our recent first (and last fiasco with Princess)

Enjoy your cruise - the flight part of it, although seeming endless at the time is a small part of it Hope you have a wonderful time:)

[autumn lass]

Thanks for posting this question, we are also thinking of taking this cruise at christmas 2007 flying from Manchester and have found the responses very helpful. We have flown back with Thomas Cook before (although from Barbados) and although cramped it was not as bad as the flight out to join our Princess cruise with Thomsonfly.

[mancunian]

Autumn Lass. We are flying from Manchester on the Christmas Panama cruise and have just developed cold feet after all the reports and upgraded to Premium. Feel that if we are delayed and perhaps are onboard for refuelling we might as well be as comfortable as possible. I know it is the coward's way out.