Florry

My advice is to use the laundry on E deck as it tends to be quieter, this is because there are no laundrettes on A and B deck so C and D fill up the fastest. [emoji4]

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One of the crew told me they get the same food, the curry isn’t hot enough so they stir lime pickle into it to spice it up [emoji38]

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Arcadia is most definitely one of our favourite ships, our cruising friend once said ‘she has a little bit of everything’ and I think this is a very apt way of summing her up. For some reason we have always found the service better on Arcadia, I wonder whether it’s because of the typically older-child free culture. She has a prom deck, nice theatre, a small cinema but films are screened elsewhere, a great crows nest (if you can get a seat), a thermal suite (I would say buy daily passes rather than whole-cruise because whilst not guaranteed they always seem to be available), the buffet is nice, the layout is intuitive, there is n Icean Grill (my absolute favourite P&O restaurant get there early for a window seat), not too big, orchid bar is lovely. We tend not to sunbathe or sit around the pool but there are plenty of lovely spots. The aft bar is also very nice. The bar outside the ocean grill does nibbles before dinner. Have a wonderful time, I hope you like her.

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Thanks for this John, it made me look at the SS Uganda footage. I’m so lucky to have sailed on her and seen things such as the Garden of Gethsemane, the Wailing Wall, Church of Nativity, the Pyramids. I will always appreciate how hard my parents saved for me to go on that trip [emoji4]

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The Indian buffets are not a patch on the one's that used to be on P&Os ships years ago before the arrival of Sindhu on the ships. They used to come round asking if you wanted tickets for the buffet during dinner on MDR on first few nights. On Aurora they decorated the whole buffet area with Indian flags etc. and all staff were dressed in traditional dress. It was free but very popular and was ticket only to able to attend, not anything like the current Indian buffet when there is just a small selection menu as part of a general buffet selection.

I agree, the buffet on Aurora circa 2003 was an amazing event, we are lucky to have experienced it! We still like the Indian night in the buffet but it’s not the gala event it once was.

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I am going to Le Havre in September, and rather than go on an escorted tour, I thought it will be cheaper to take a Taxi, from the port to Honfleur. Any idea on current prices, per taxi?

Can’t help with the taxi, I joined the cheapest guided tour but ditched the tour on arrival. I was on my own as my husband chose a different tour. This was possibly one of my favourite cruise memories, the sun was out, there was a fabulous market and I sat drinking coffee watching the world go by. I am very jealous and wish you a great trip - the advantage of the taxi is you aren’t limited to time. Enjoy!

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I don’t mind the name, it’s tomorrow’s chip paper.

We won’t go on the maiden voyage but would consider a short early cruise in the maiden season. I think Britannia was ok in the early days once ‘broken in’, but the staff on this large ship now seem ‘passenger-weary’ and the service and quality just wasn’t the same as medium sized adult-only ships in my experience - unless you paid for speciality venues. They feel like budget holidays which is fine unless you are used to the days when P&O cruising was something more special.

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We have sailed on all the ships, including several NY and short cruises.

We travelled once on Ventura and disliked her, yet we found we loved Acura her sister-ship. We are going back a while and there were several factors. We much prefer Arcadia, she has a little bit of everything - good decor, good cabins, prom, thermal suite (pay extra), crows nest, ocean grill (love it), orchid bar, easy to navigate, covered pool etc. Most of our cruises have been on this ship.

We have never had an issue docking at NY, luck of the draw I guess. But we have had lots of experience of not docking, so there are no guarantees. You will still have a great time.

The short cruises are my favourite.

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Yes, Venice is very easy by yourself. Out of the port and follow the signs to the People Mover - little train which takes you to Piazzale Roma, then pick up the Vaporetto (boat) down the Grand Canal to the main square.

Great advice, we got the people mover (p&o don’t advertise there is one for obvious reasons), it’s quick, cheap, and easy. We turned left when we got off and walked, following the cobbled streets by the river to St Marks Sq. Lots of places to have lunch etc. The square was flooded as were some of the streets, and we did wish we had wellies! I think some of the shops shut in the afternoon too.

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Loved reading this, our happiest and the majority of our cruises have been on Arcadia. Glad you had a good time and got the cabin ship-shape [emoji4]

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Regarding dress code, I would advise you to reach a decision which you are happy with, then just have the confidence to be comfortable with your decision. You can’t make a wrong choice as both suits and DJs are worn. The proportion depends on the ship, the destination and the time of year. My husband wears DJs but hates it as he wears them a lot at home, sometimes he just takes a suit on shorter cruises. The key is not to get hung up on what other people think. For some reason being on a cruise seems to propel some people’s idea of their social standing into the atmosphere and they suddenly feel the right to be judgemental, once you remember they are just ordinary people you learn to ignore it.

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Stressing? Why would you stress over a holiday? Sheesh!

I’m always stressed before a holiday. I’m usually working down to the wire and we have this thing in our family, where generation to generation seems to have passed down the need to leave the house in an immaculate condition [emoji30] roll on retirement!

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They can’t even put allergens on fixed menus in select dining so I doubt they would ever go to the expense of calculating calorific data.

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While filling out my updated contact preferences there was this bit at the bottom, wonder what that's about then:

 

"Updated Loyalty preferences will take effect from cruises commencing after 1 December 2018."

Probably means they’ve had to set themselves a goal post that doesn’t move [emoji57]

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Have you told your bank you are going abroad?

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If you get your shopping delivered book a slot for the evening you get back. Keep a carton of UHT milk in to save you having to go to a shop on the way home.

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When we were on Ventura last year there was no Limelight Club..has that changed ? We used Glasshouse on one or two formal nights and that was good and not too expensive.

DOH! Sorry I thought it was Britannia 🧐

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If I was you I would leave the DJ at home and book the Limelight Club on all formal nights. The sooner you book the better seats you get, whilst you don’t know the nights until you are onboard you can sometimes guess. In the past cruisers who have previously done the same cruise have told me which were formal nights on their cruise and I have been guided by this. The Limelight Club has good quality food, the entertainment is variable but it’s a great way of doing something special without having to wear a DJ.

Hope you have a great trip.

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It is best to book the limelight on the personaliser when it opens, that way you get the best seats. Some acts are better than others, we saw an absolute show-stopper (Judy and Liza) but thought one was quite poor (Eric and Ernie). It really doesn’t matter if you are in formal or not, over half the people in there on a formal night will be wearing formal. The food is very good as is the service. Enjoy!

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Definitely Cabin and Deck, whether they are floating hotels or not.

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No - I think it is almost two years since P&O first said they were making changes, but the launch never seems to happen. I think I will be a fossil before they do anything.

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If you self disembark you will be highly likely to get a cab, if you don’t you may have to queue but how long is anyone’s guess.

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Someone will remind me what it’s called but the food in the coffee place is free - people don’t always realise that.

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Yes

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I’ve found this thread interesting, it seems that ultimately you get what you pay for.

I looked into Silversea cruises, they sounded fab until I heard the 10k price tag for 10 nights..... that’s each!

I won’t pay those sorts of prices, but equally I won’t settle for the P&O offering either. I feel as though I would rather not go on a cruise rather than feel unhappy with what I’m buying. I may try Celebrity, got a Princess booked - possibly moving house this summer may change everything!

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