CarlaMarie

Sorry to hear you have had a miserable day onboard. Please do share it with us on your other thread when you feel that you can. I hope tomorrow is much better for you.

Yes the two queue system seems to be operated by the terminal staff for each ship now, it was that way for Britannia last week. There were about 200 people in the 'early arrival' queue already at about 1130am. My Mum and Dad were on time, so at 12 o clock they went straight on.

Yes she is megabear (by the way, it is lovely to see you posting)

I think it is more dependent on the number of actual passengers they have to get on, and when they turn up. Plus if there have been any delays with the shoreside of operations. This cruise that ICF is on may be particularly busy. Megabear says her Arvia cruise is busy and it is isn't school holiday time. I hope they all get on soon and like others have said I hope they have access to the terminal facilities. It will be interesting to follow ICF's account of this cruise as I think it will be a different cruising experience compared to their Arvia Caribbean cruise.

From what I have read, due to the virus the Captain did not want to use the tenders. That's why the port has been dropped and they have an overnight in Barcelona.

Gastroenteritis onboard. It has been a problem for a little while I believe, it has been mentioned in many comments and reviews.

My parents have done the same as you and Andy. Reset what they are prepared to pay and expect.

I'm really sorry @Megabear2 that some have personally made accusations. The majority of us on here respect your opinions and know we can trust your reports of your experience, and that they are genuine. Social media in general is flooded with "influencers" and "P&O Ambassadors" (noticed a new former love island one recently) who mostly do get rewarded for their efforts and hence give very biased reports. New cruisers won't realise this, but the regular cruisers who have seen it all will and rate your experience that you are sharing with us very highly in comparison. It is also very clear across other social media posts that others on Arvia right now are experiencing the same as you. So it is not just you. What you all encountered today should not have happened. I completely understood what you meant when you said you have urged those who have mentioned issues and complaints to you to actually report them to the ships crew. In no way are you encouraging others to complain and cancel cruises. These boards always advocate that passengers report issues onboard for many reasons - the two notable ones are that often some issues are fixable whilst onboard and a solution can be found, secondly continuing issues such as with the app, shuttles, restaurant food etc... if not reported will just continue and deemed acceptable when they are not. We only have to look back at Christmas and Paul Ludlow's statement - we are now 5 months down the line from that and the app issues continue and inconsistencies on rules in general. If you can just turn up to a restaurant during the day to book for an evening then why on Britannia were passengers told no and that they would have to join the app? Why are passengers refused entry to the theatres when there are seats? Why are there babies in pools? Why do some ships check whether you have booked for the theatre, others do not. Why aren't passengers reports of smoking on balconies being taken seriously and acted upon? (The P&O of old would have normally acted upon a smoking report immediately). To me, none of it makes sense. Many cruisers may not want to complain, some first time cruisers may decide to just not cruise again, or the regular cruiser may just change cruise line. But if the issues are not consistently reported they they will keep being overlooked and ignored. To be fair to you Megabear, you said you would give Arvia a go despite all the reports you had read and heard of and especially after your disastrous Christmas cruise. Again this is what these boards advocate, try it for yourselves (new ship), be open minded and then make your own opinions. Unfortunately you have not had the best of cruises so far, which is not your fault at all but down to the management side of things. We know you took advice from others and booked your dining and entertainment, also excursions, before you sailed to improve your experience as a whole, but Arvia has had other plans for you! Factors outside of your control such as the itinerary, weather, cabin, and the number of passengers onboard also seem to have influenced this Arvia cruise massively, and this is not the first time we have heard this. To anyone reading these reports and think they are negative etc.. you must take it into consideration that some of the ship will not have encountered the same number of issues. Some issues are ship wide, others are not. Regular cruisers will notice cut backs, rules not being enforced etc... new cruisers won't so much. A passengers experience is still valid though. Sorry for my long post! But I hope you do continue to share your cruise with us!

@Selbourne There was no shuttle bus at Haugesund last week for Britannia. You are right that they used to be provided, last year they were there, but not this year.

This is exactly how I feel. Sometimes problems arise, and even if they cannot fix the problem immediately the response to it says everything. Showing respect to the passengers and sympathy costs nothing. From what @Megabear2said, it was a long time before a member of P&O crew turned up at the drop off/pick up point. The ship would have been well aware of the issues so they could have sent crew there much earlier to at least organise and talk to the passengers, get further assistance if needed for the elderly, those with mobility issues (they would know how many of each group they have onboard), water etc... I am sure passengers would have appreciated that. When there is no acknowledgement it is disappointing.

I live at a cruise port of call and when ships come in we have local coaches as well as those coming from all over the area to meet the demand that the cruise lines have requested. The agents are the best judges on these things, and as they said P&O didn't order enough then clearly they didn't. P&O advertise that the shuttle is available and that it is free for select passengers. Therefore it should provide what it is advertising and selling, by that I mean enough for the number of passengers it is carrying to get them back and forth in a reasonable amount of time. A 2+ hour wait to get back on a shuttle and being asked not to get off the ship due to congestion you really cannot defend.

Regarding the shuttle issue - P&O know how many passengers they have, they know they offer the shuttle free with the select fare and know that those who aren't select are likely to pay and use it. Complete underestimation yet again. I agree this is not an Arvia problem. However, the restaurants and theatres not meeting demand, small pools and lack of inside/outside space is an Arvia problem for the number of passengers she was built for.

Have just seen comments across social media, you are certainly not the only one @Megabear2 who has had problems throughout this cruise. There is a video of passengers queuing to get on the shuttle bus into Palma in a very lengthy queue. Pleased both you and @DS_Dean are back to the ship.

That was very good of you to get them a taxi. What time do you all have to be back onboard? I can imagine any crew who have gone ashore are worried, they get very little time as it is!

I'm so sorry you are all caught up in this. I honestly do not know what is going on. Are there staff there providing water? I dread to think of the queue size to get back on the ship on the dockside.

Pleased you are a bit more settled into your cruise now @Megabear2 and having a better experience (minus the cold water from the light!). Hope you have a lovely day in Palma today. Looking forward to your feedback of the Epicurean last night. It is a shame that there are app issues and queues for dining. You do feel for that young mum with her two children if that was her experience. Everyone's cruise experience differs, but at the moment it does seem primarily dependent on whether the technology works or not and the lack of consistency amongst the fleet. By the way, did you ever receive an email back from Paul Ludlow's office?

Some select fares you don't choose the actual cabin anymore. You choose the cabin area which has a minimum cabin grade. I think megabear was assigned a cabin and then that was upgraded.

The same happened on Britannia last week regarding vaping. Passengers in a balcony were also feeding seagulls, so my Dad phoned reception to report it and the receptionist said "I will have to check whether that is allowed or not".

Sleep well @Megabear2 I'm pleased they have finally found you a cabin and hope your possessions get to you tonight. Try and get plenty of rest and hopefully you will have a fresh start tomorrow.

I hope they come soon so that you don't miss your rearranged dinner reservation!

Again this is hit and miss being able to go to a restaurant during the cruise to book for a later date or time. My Mum and Dad had gone to the Glass House previously in the day and asked if they could book a table for that evening. They were told no and that they would have to join the queue via the app. It seems different cruises brings different experiences!

I really do feel for you, nobody should be put into this situation. I know full well how bad the onboard teams can be at times in handling problems. It is down to pure luck and you really don't understand until you have had a major problem onboard. It must be exhausting for you, not just physically, as you are having to chase people up or keep visiting reception. I am pleased that you have a back up plan to leave on Friday if necessary, and I hope that puts your mind at ease a little. Like Snow Hill has said, have you tried contacting shore side? We had to do that when we had the problem with our cabin on Arcadia (we felt like getting off the day we embarked, and we would have had we not sailed whilst still sorting the issue). It might be worth a try.

I am so sorry that you have been placed in this situation @Megabear2. I truly hope it gets sorted for you. This is why I asked if you had asked to be put on the upgrade list. A couple who my Mum and Dad got talking to on Britannia have been booking with a TA for many years, the man has mobility issues and can only have certain cabins and the TA gets them one of these and never says to upgrade (as the others would not meet his needs). Just before sailing they were notified that they had been upgraded to a cabin, they checked the information and it was one that they wouldn't be able to use. They phoned P&O who said that they couldn't do anything now as all cabins had been allocated. Their TA intervened on their behalf and they spoke to somebody else at P&O. The person they spoke to quickly sorted it and their original cabin luckily was actually still available. This seems to be happening a bit too often now, and also passengers being given the wrong information.

Family were on Iona last year in Haugesund and a shuttle was provided then also. So it must be a recent change for this year.

Were you asked if you wanted the upgrade? I am not sure how accurate this is, but from what I have heard the option of saying whether you would or would not like to be put on the upgrade list has been done anyway with. I would have thought that defeated the point of a select fare, which the majority of passengers who opt for select do so to get their cabin of choice. Hope the visit goes well!