Hampshire Steve

Next refurb is just a few weeks away but they don't make it new again they just update things a bit, we are on now and back on after the refurb. Favourite ship but we know it's not everyone's ideal. Good medium size ship and fairly well behaved if you get poor weather, we have been on it in 10 metre seas off Iceland and still managed to go for dinner! Air con is just different, there is no off switch you just get to choose the temperature, because of this there are plenty of dry throats and you hear "Arcadia Cough" We like Sindhu and Ocean Grill but these are much the same on other ships (Sindhu and Epicurean on most of the others) No Glass House, sometimes a pop up version. No Beach House. We hope the refit might bring more choice but doubt it! Plumbing - I would like to say it's ok but it has issues although not enough to put us off, If your loo doesn't flush someone will fix it pretty quickly, hasn't happened to us in a long time now. You do see buckets and carpet driers on occasions with overhead pipe issues but less on our last cruise and not one on any of the decks we have seen so far the cruise. We consider the ship as the means of getting to where we want to go rather than a holiday resort, on board entertainment doesn't suit us. If Arcadia was to go we would hope Ventura became an adult only ship and took on similar itineraries. We liked Aurora but we prefer not to hear our neighbours talking/snoring/shutting drawers 🙂 As ever, our thoughts are subjective.

We are also currently on Arcadia. We would agree that there are many new crew members on board but they seem a happy smiley bunch and we have little to complain about. I don't like the noise of MDR so we tend to use Sindhu, Ocean Grill & Room service. All pretty fair so far, few minor mistakes but nothing worth a hissy fit over. We gave up with the ships buffet after the return from lock down, you could still see fairly obvious places where hygiene was not best, not necessarily things I would blame the ship for either. Just a couple of days ago I saw a chap call for a lift with the bottom of his walking stick, oh yuck the rest of us people have to press that button next! On our section of deck have only seen one blue tray (Isolation) left outside a cabin, no doubt more around but not a massive amount I think. CDC did get on in Boston, not New York, don't know the results yet but presume a pass otherwise we would not have continued to other ports in the US. You can see previous inspections here - https://wwwn.cdc.gov/inspectionquerytool/InspectionSearch.aspx I have, in the past, had things to complain about with P&O and whilst Arcadia is a bit of an old rust bucket (we accept it's 19 years old and so will not be perfect) we have 5 more booked on it, next one is right after refit in November, be interesting to see if it's more than carpets this time. We have noticed more wifi extenders and are very happy with internet at sea (perhaps not the price), we have noticed new CAT5 connections behind the TV so assume there will be video on demand at last. We are told Sindhu is getting a make over, also told that the restaurant and so we presume bar staff will be able to take orders electronically and send direct to the kitchen/bar

Eight people saved, is that not better than moaning about dinner or weather? Well done Arcadia

SAR on scene now

Some pleasant news tonight. Arcadia was on the way towards Gibraltar this evening. About an hour ago the ship was tasked by Spanish authorities to look out for a boat adrift, after a short search pattern Arcadia came alongside a boat with eight persons onboard, Acadia has provided some hot food and water to them and as the boat is safe we are now standing by the boat awaiting a rescue vessel from Cartagena.

A zero passenger count onboard was the desired position by the Captain, he did say if it was not possible (rather than a disinclination) for you to go ashore you could spend the day at the neptune pool but with limited seating it was not preferred. As we left the ship it was like a ghost town, all internal fire doors were closed and as we departed on a shuttle there were no people visible on balconies. As to smells on board, can't say I have ever noted them and have to say this is our third trip this year on Arcadia with a number of previous as well. This is just the bad one, started by weather issues.

Tour due to leave the ship at 1.45pm, because of the sanitation process there was a last minute change to leave at the bus station in town, so that's where we all went only to find out that there were no arrangements in place for tour coaches to enter so we all bussed back to the ship to pick the coach up there. Difficult to write this stuff without it sounding like a joke. Anyway left the ship a little late, encountered a small traffic diversion and then met Mr Happy in charge of himself at the Ostia Antica archaeological site who refused entry as we were 4 minutes past entry time, even though there were plenty of visitors still on site.

Another day of joy! Having been asked to vacate the ship early today we strolled around until our designated tour time of 1.45, joined the coach, drove for an hour an half to find the venue had closed and entry was refused, so a whole coach load of unhappy cruisers took a slow drive back to the ship. Tour refunded and £38 compensation each. Trying to keep smiling

4th cruise this year and being fair mostly went to plan, just this one playing on my mind, we have four more booked over the next 18 months, two of them quite special and we are looking at the company attitude to missed ports and wondering if we should invest further.

As it's mostly weather related that will be a conversation with insurers later. P&O have given £20 to each guest of OBC to cover lunch today

Nothing is P&O's fault - they remind us all the time. After spending two days at Southampton due to weather, then instead of our first three Mediterranean ports we end up in Le Havre, can't find much nice to say about that! Cartegena added in as a stop, nice place but we ended up doing a tour of Cartegena that was actually to a small strip of beach without any facilities, looking across to the Mar menor then back on the coach to the town centre - only across the road from the ship - what a waste of effort. Today at Genoa, our tour was cancelled last minute so we did an alternative down the motorway to a village that in the summer would be a delight but in the winter that's a different matter. Back on board to be told the Norovirus that has been on board since last cruise is getting worse so everyone must disembark at Civitavecchia between 10.00am and 4.00pm, pain if you are on a 1.45 tour so just hanging around while waiting for what will be a long day and possibly in the rain tomorrow. Then of course we have the industrial action to look forward to at Lisbon on the 16th (possibly) Not sure if I am finding cruising as relaxing as I used to! Just a whinge because I know nothing is the fault of P&O - they remind us weather is beyond their control as is the illness us nasty people bring on board. Although as was pointed out to me the other day, on this forum, all these water leaks on board are because of foreign objects flushed down the loo, so does that mean all the puddles we pass are from sewerage not clean water🤢

I agree the wait was essential and no way the fault of P&O. Anyway Arcadia always provides on ship entertainment in dodging the buckets, Today the piano bar is fully open for the first time - Carpets dry! Deck below's turn today with water laying on the carpets, plumbing problem present for years now but we still come back to this one! Just entering the straights now, flat calm and warm so better things ahead perhaps

Oh great joy! Currently on Arcadia, missed Cadiz, Missed Valencia, Missed Ajaccio, down to the recent weather - Lisbon is on our schedule for the 16th

We are in an aft cabin and it is fine for us, last time we were on in July we were midships and couldn't even get the my holiday app to work most of the time, as far as I am aware Arcadia is still on the old system but it is working for us, possibly still not the case everywhere. I don't carry my phone around on the ship so have not checked elsewhere. We pre paid for single device basic internet, think it worked out more like £9 or £10 per day

Currently on Arcadia....using the wifi. I am using it for remote access to work and finding it's good enough, not as good as my recent experience of Skynet on Princess but acceptable. Web browsing is fine. I am also connected to WhatsApp without issue

The little bowl of Fox's fruit sweets has made a comeback! Loyalty lunch was also on today, that was missing earlier in the year.

Sat on board Arcadia now, watching the sky turning black in the distance, grateful not to set sail!

Oh joy! We have been on Arcadia in 10 metre seas out of Iceland before, it does handle quite well and it's unlikely to keep me out of the Ocean Grill! Shame we might miss a port however Cadiz on a Sunday is not the most exciting place (in my opinion)

On Arcadia tomorrow, received this message last night from P&O...... So looking forward to a night watching Southampton dockside! Dear We are looking forward to welcoming you on board Arcadia on Wednesday. Due to the severe weather forecast for the South of England on Wednesday 1st November, we have taken the decision to delay Arcadia’s departure by 24 hours. Arcadia will be remaining alongside in Southampton on Wednesday evening and into Thursday, allowing for the worst of the weather to pass overhead. Your embarkation remains unchanged, please therefore ensure that you arrive on Wednesday at the time shown on your boarding pass. Scheduled entertainment and dining will remain unchanged during the time alongside in Southampton. We are keeping a close eye on the weather forecast and will make necessary adjustments to the itinerary should this be necessary. We look forward to welcoming you on board. Kind regards P&O Cruises

Just completed USA/Canada Transatlantic on Sky Princess, because I do remote work anyway I took my laptop and found Skylink really good, few duff spots but they tended to be close to land, thought it was worth the money @ £172.50 for 23 days (didn't bother until day after leaving Southampton) On Arcadia soon, doubt I will do anything other than 4G when close to land, still find plenty of time for the holiday!

Princess say the same but we ignore that rule as we do for P&O - No tutting please! Boarding in Southampton, if packing it well within your cases nobody is there to police it, same from a steward point of view, they won't tell. Might be a different story for carry-ons. Mini bar set up for us this time, currently in a suite on Sky, was 4 small bottles of Whisky, 4 of Vodka, 2 bottles of Peroni, 2 cans Sprite, 2 cans Coke and bottled water. The water is replaced daily but not the other items. (By the way the Skynet internet connection is well worth the money)

sorry never had one of the packages. I think, and happy to be corrected, that whilst many things on room service are free, there is still a charge for premium items, for example after you have paid your approx $15 for your first room service delivery (no charge after that) you would get say a burger and fries free but would pay for a steak. Drinks are shown as chargeable on room service but perhaps someone who has paid for one of the packages would clarify that.

Princess, from the UK, have a small kettle, Douwe Egberts coffee sachets and single pack Tetley tea bags. Unlike P&O no biscuits. You can get specialty coffees, teas and hot chocolate on room service at a charge - from $2.50 up to $8.00 for an Irish Coffee

Suite Breakfast - From Room service