44 Nights World Cruise - Southampton to Sydney Cruise

Second Time On Arcadia, Even Better Than Expected!

Our second time on Arcadia,our first had been a Med cruise two years ago,despite being blighted with Gastric problems on board & ongoing mainteneance due to,in one Officers words,the ships being badly neglected during the pandemic,we thoroughly enjoyed it,a beautiful,IMO,a 'proper' ship,not a floating block of flats & no kids! So on Monday May 12th we boarded an Intercruises coach at Chester Services for the uneventful journey down to Southampton,arriving at the Mayflower Terminal just after 1330hrs,5 other coaches were there before us so we had a bit of a wait before we were led into the terminal,check in was freindly & efficient,through security before boarding,once on board a visit to our muster station,The Palladium Theater in our case,where we had our passes scanned & we made our way to our cabin,first big improvement,2 years ago a number of lifts were out of order for the entire cruise,no such problem this time & we were soon in our chosen cabin on Canada Deck,deck 6,same as last time,comfortable cabin in a quiet area with a decent size balcony,it was to be a very comfortable home for 18 nights! Our cases were with us pretty quickly,we unpacked while listening to the safety video,contact made with our cabin steward,the lovely Rachel who was to be a superstar,nothing was too much,she was wonderful! We were on Freedom dining,on our last cruise on Arcadia we had got into lining up outside the MDR on deck 2 from 1715hrs in order to get an early enough table to make the 2030hrs show in the Theater,not something I enjoy doing but we had some fun in the queue with like minded souls,discussing the days events & putting the World to right! The seating was sorted by another lovely Rachel,on our first night we were in Heaven,table 123,in the raised area looking out over the stern,great view,not too closed in by other tables & 2 excellent waiters,thanks to Rachel we were to have this table for the entire cruise,with the exception of one night,more of that later. This was to be a very different cruise to 2 years ago,on that occasion there were many passengers much older than ourselves(68 & 70),many of which seemed to know members of the crew well & who made me feel young,one fellow passenger remarked that it resembled a floating care home! Now 2 years on there were very few older than ourselves,certainly a mainly younger age span,unbelievable to some(!),for whatever reason that was the case. We enjoyed this cruise even more than we expected,we met some wonderful people,the quality of food in the MDR was exceptional,the new menu had great choices,one complaint if any was that the wonderful Mixed Grill was only on once(!),our 2 waiters were brilliant,end result being that we ate there every night with the exception of the 3rd night,my Wife's 70th Birthday,I had booked Ocean Grill,great food & lovely staff as ever but the quality of the offerings in the MDR meant that was the only evening where we didn't eat in the MDR. Breakfasts & Lunch we ate in the Buffet,great food,good variety,it could be awkward getting a table sometimes as there were people who stayed there reading between meals & of course you will get impatient people who won't wait their turn & are not looking where they are going(or not going where they are looking if you like!). The ship at first looked great after her refurb but on closer inspection,as nice as the new carpeting is it hasn't worn well or been fitted well in some areas,some very dodgy patching in places,if it was in your home you would not be pleased! Entertainment was excellent,the Headliners are so talented,great dancers,awesome singers & amazing fast change artists as well,the other acts were so enjoyable too,especially Analysa Ching,a Chinese Violinist,mad as a hatter but absolutely brilliant & The Flyrights,an amazingly talented trio of singers & dancers. Our ports of call:Lisbon Been there twice before,easy to stroll into town just to get off the ship,always enjoyable. Alicante Only been to the airport before,took the shuttle bus into town,pretty promenade but seeing Burger King, MucDonalds,KFC,Stabucks,etc made us feel we could be anywhere. Barcelona Been there before so a lazy day on the ship Civitavecchia Took the shuttle into town,pretty little place Olbia Our first tour,Baja Sardinia was beautiful,second stop was pretty but basically a shopping mall Casablanca Another tour,impressive mosque,insane traffic,enjoyed it Tangiers Another tour,enjoyable,especially the Medina but it was hard work,cobbles & steps Ferrol Another shuttle bus into town,pretty little place. Arriving back in Southampton disembarkation was well organised,sadly once again our return trip by coach was a prolonged drag with arrival at Chester Services at 1815hrs,,need another holiday after that so there is some doubt as to whether or not we will do it again,sad because we had enjoyed this cruise so much,we love Arcadia but being 20 years old now how much longer will she be with us,plenty to thinks about,at least I got my Trek The Deck T Shirt for doing 6 laps of the Promenade Deck for Charity,still recovering from that!

An Enjoyable Cruise on a smaller ship.

Our first cruise on Arcadia, the smallest ship we have been on so far. First impressions - the Atrium is quite compact not the wide sweeping staircase one sees on the newer ships, that said fine by me. As it was a very short cruise we opted for an inside cabin Deck 8 forward. Three wardrobes !! including shelf space, cabin clean and tidy, no wear and tear at all. The bathroom seemed slightly larger than on other ships, certainly the shower was larger than usual, yes the ship is circa 2005, so a shower curtain which was NEW. Everything worked, super shower pressure and hot too. Usual Tea/coffee and the Tv screen was much larger than on Azura, but even so we do not go on a cruise to watch TV. We dined ' freedom ' in the Meridian - lower level, breakfast lunch and dinner, the restaurant was spacious light and airy, service very good at all times, and choice on the menu to suit our tastes. One night in the ' Ocean Grill ' - the service there was outstanding and attentive., fine dining I chose the sirloin steak, amazing, apple tartin to finish - brilliant. Our favourite bar - The Crow's Nest, surely the finest bar in the P&O fleet. At the front of the ship, light and very wide amazing views, good entertainment too. Service was excellent from Reuben, no problem at any time getting a drink. We liked the Theatre and chose the headliners '' Mr Tinkertons circus '' show, very enjoyable, one we had not seen. Our first cruise on an adults only ship, was fine, although never had any problems on previous cruises with younger ones on board. Did note the ' age demographic ' certainly lower on this cruise. Would be sail on Arcadia in future - YES and a much longer cruise already booked in 2025, Arcadia is due a ' re-fit November 2024 ' that said, it's usual for just furnishings to be updated. How long Arcadia( and Aurora ) will remain in the fleet only the highest up in P&O will know. I just cannot comprehend the previous review.

Lovely cruise despite hiccups

We have been cruising now for many years and in that time have encountered many events at sea. When choosing a cruise in November from Southampton it is likely we will experience some inclement weather ( it is Autumn/Winter after all ). Storm Ciaran was one such event that kept us in port ( and safe ) for 2 extra days thus impacting the remainder of the trip and missing 3 ports. However, as a result of the hold up we got to visit Le Havre, a port we have never been to and really enjoyed. We were told that there was an outbreak of noro virus on board and therefore would have to Wash Hands and sanitize before entering restaurants ( surely that is a normal undertaking before any meal ???? ). The washing facility in buffet caused queues ( and obvious disgruntle from many !!!!) but we were in no particular hurry to go anywhere so got on with it ( holidays are for chilling!!) Visited Genoa, a great port not visited before and really enjoyed our time there. A deep clean was then ordered while in this port as numbers of passengers infected was rising so we ( where possible ) vacated the ship. We have been to Civitivecchia many times, visited Rome from there but never the port itself so had a wonderful day roaming the fabulous market, then the promenade, had a lovely meal in Bar Pyper ( thoroughly recommend the pizzas!!) Sadly, a migrant boat in mid Mediterranean upset passengers, then a Medevac caused a stir. How such a procedure could be viewed as entertainment is beyond me but apparently some needed to photograph this event and we re sternly rebuked by Captain ( I give him 10/10 ). So finally, Gibralter and then Lisbon, all had gone well until final run into channel and bad weather. We boarded the pilot early (3am)to get us into port ( one lady explaining to friends that the final TRAUMA on the cruise from hell was this procedure..... must say,at3am we missed it!!!) So, after these hiccups we had a ball, great food, met some Amazing people, loved the entertainment, laughed with Brilliant crew,and, in truth experienced NOTHING we haven't experienced on other cruises.