15 Nights Caribbean Transatlantic Cruise

Impressive

A very impressive operation by P&O on Arvia. I was apprehensive about booking having read some negative reviews, however, the cruise itinerary was attractive and April in the Med makes a very pleasant break. The ship is beautifully appointed with great attention to style and detail. There are comfortable areas across the ship to relax on sea days and many options for dining. The quality of the food in all the restaurants we tried, including the buffet, was very good with imaginative options for vegetarians. We never had to wait long for service in the bars or restaurants. I booked Epicurian in advance to ensure we could secure a table on a sea day. Tip: as trays are no longer available in the buffet (to save food waste), you may like to bring your own as it’s very awkward to walk around with a hot plate, napkin and cutlery while adding food, never mind a glass of water as well! If you can’t get to grips with the P&O app to book dinner or entertainment, you can do this by phone or in person. The crew worked very hard to keep the ship clean and safe, and were always helpful and friendly. The captain’s daily updates were interesting and useful, and he thoughtfully thanked all the crew on the last day for their hard work. Our balcony cabin, on deck 12 forward, was a little on the narrow side and short of shelving storage for clothes, but we managed for the two weeks. Tip: If you don’t like those pesky milk sachets, ask room service to deliver a jug of milk to the cabin each day (no charge). We had room service breakfast on shore days so we could be out and about early (£2.50 charge per cabin) - well worth it. We enjoyed the entertainment in the Limelight Club, and Peter Howarth of The Hollies in Headliners was excellent. Dancing to Pulse was fun as always. I did miss the chance to do some ballroom and Latin dancing which would have made more use of the Atrium floor. It seems this happens only on the mid-size ships now. The shopping area could have been better presented, with a more varied offer of merchandise rather than the usual expensive watches, designer fashion, and overpriced P&O branded goods. It was good to see some Sea Salt clothes though. Tip: Wait for the sale in the second week before buying. I needed a needle and thread on board but was unable to buy or borrow this on board, however there is a seamstress available - who knew? - to save the day. As for the ports, I was particularly interested in visiting the Cinque Terre from La Spezia which we did ourselves by train (taxi to the station) which is easy and well worth it even in the rain. Get an early start as it gets pretty busy by lunch time in the villages. All the other ports were worth visiting and there’s always something new to find if you you’ve been there a few times before. Some of the P&O excursions, although varied, did not offer enough time in the resort, eg, to Peurto Pollenca in Majorca - it seems crazy to rush everyone around for a few hours to get them back for lunch. We treated ourselves to a taxi to have a more relaxed experience and more time to explore. All in all, we were very impressed with ARVIA and glad that we tried if for ourselves rather than be guided by some poor reviews. If you can accept that you are on a large ship with quite a bit of walking and many other passengers, then I think you will enjoy the cruise, and I hope this review is helpful. There is nothing like being at sea and arriving in port as the sun rises and see it come to life. Bon voyage!

Wonderful experience

We had a wonderful time onboard Ariva. Although it's a large ship, it never felt crowded. We never queued for anything for more than a few minutes, the virtual queues on the My Holiday App are really good. We ate in the main dining rooms mostly, but also enjoyed Green & Co, Sindhu, 6th Street Diner, and Olive Grove - all were excellent with plenty of choices (I'm a vegetarian). The food was always delicious. Service was great, all the crew were friendly and helpful. Enjoyed variety of entertainment including theatre, live music, quizzes, comedian. Particularly recommend a night in the Limelight Club (we saw Chesney Hawkes who was great). Also enjoyed the Club House (never had a problem getting served by the waiters there). We were in cabin which had an extra large balcony. Our steward was great, the cabin was clean and modern. We flew to/from Barbados with Tui - had a great experience there - embarking and disembarking was really simple and easy. Had a great time in the Caribbean, including several P&O organised excursions. This is our third P&O Cruise holiday (also been on Iona and Ventura) and we have had a fantastic experience each time.

Wonderful.

I'm not by nature a complainer, and seeing some of the reviews of this ship have surprised me. 'No turn down service' you are adults for heavens sake! This was our second P&O cruise, and as with the first the flights, transfers and embarkation were spot on. No lengthy queues or unnecessary admin. We has a 3-4 hour wait for luggage but to be fair they are lugging hundreds of cases from the plane to the ship. Cabin. We booked a balcony and were given a free upgrade to a deluxe at the front of the ship. The cabin was large and well equipped, the steward Ricky kept it clean and he was polite, friendly and helpful. Plenty of space in the wardrobes, comfy bed and a really good selection of films on the TV. Not that we spent too much time in the cabin to watch them. As previously mentioned (and seen in critiques of the ship) no turn down service but as a pair of grown adults we coped remarkably well without this outdated and unnecessary service. Dining. We didn't eat in the restaurant (not that this was our intention) but we found the informality of the buffet and the Quays far easier. The Quays - chip shop, asian fusion and carvery was fabulous. Battered Haddock was fresh and tasty, and the carvery meats were tender, juicy and full of flavour. These might not be for everyone but the speed of service suited our holiday plans. We did look at some of the specialised restaurants and the menus looked really good and inexpensive, maybe next time. Entertainment. The only black mark. The headliners theatre felt small and poorly planned, anyone tall in front of you and you can forget seeing the stage. I'm 6ft but couldn't see above the chap in front of me who wasn't particularly tall. The Take That musical was, in my opinion, awful. The story was generic and the general idea of having the group (not the real Take That of course) singing to the characters just didn't work. Interesting idea, but should have stopped as just an idea. The acting was really poor not helped by the insipid cliched characters and bland dialogue. That said the music and singing was terrific and the choreography enjoyable. The Crystal bar was a lovely room and we played bingo there one night. The first night there was a comedian on. Most of his jokes seemed to come from The Comedians (70's stand up TV show). Seriously most of the jokes were so old they had walking sticks. Then he finished the act playing drums...... Apparently he did an adult late night act later in the week, but we didn't see anything to encourage us to go back to see him again. Another night there were three male singers, although they were very good the sound system was too loud at the back and the heavy bass removed the quality of their voices and harmonies. They appeared three times on the same night and sang the same songs each time! It's not hard to learn new songs surely? We never saw the entertainment manager, and the entertainment team, what little we saw of them, had the talent, enthusiasm and personalities of wet fish with one exception, I think he was called Dave, late twenties with a beard, was very good, he knew how to entertain and keep an audience interested. The rest could certainly learn from him and you wonder where the young talent from our holidays camps has gone? The band was average, typical Butlins/Pontins cabaret backing. OK but not terribly entertaining. We were so disappointed with the entertainment that we were not tempted to part with £42 to see Ray Quinn, The headliner apparently. From speaking to other passengers we made the right decision there. On the last night in Barbados there was a Barbadian night in the sundome, this was really good, strong singers, great band and dancers in carnival costume. We enjoyed that. Overall the entertainment was far better on Azura last year. We expected that Arvia would be even better but sadly that was not the case. Staff The bar staff seem to work in teams on or off in turn during the day, we found one of the teams at our favourite bar in the sun dome brilliant, really friendly, welcoming us each day and really looking after us. We tipped them individually at the end of the week and were happy to do so. The second team provided a good bar service but did so without the smiles and hospitality of the first. In general all the staff on the ship were great. In general the bars are all pretty good and service was quick with a great choice of drinks (particularly beers for me). I found Brodies to be far too big, much like a large Weatherspoons, busy with an unfriendly atmosphere and the same people siting at the bar each night And there seemed to be a quiz on every time we stepped in there whether it was morning, afternoon or evening. Cinema was a surprise but nice to have with three small screens and a good choice of films over the week. I only used it once and found it very comfortable. Entertainment aside we had a great time, loved the ship, the staff and the food. It is highly likely that we will be booking the same ship for next year.