TigerB

The Sky Dome on Arvia was always loud at night, but we never heard it from our cabin, which was four decks lower and about eighty feet or so further back; that was even when we were on the balcony.

The issue is currently being discussed on this thread: https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2909585-arvia-dining-expectations-vs-reality/ I appear to have started something...🙄 Anyway, on that thread I write that I had never known it before, and that they may be trialling it on Arvia before rolling out to the fleet. Another contributor clarified that being able to book so far ahead for the MDRs is only relevant to early sittings, up to 18:15 in Meridian, and 19:00 in Zenith.

£10? Rich tastes!🙄 When I do my wine shopping it's when the 25% offers are on, and then I select bottles as near to the £5 threshold as I can. #Yorkshire 😄 It's makes no difference what you take on, just so long as it's up to the one litre per person allowance. That said, I don't think security would be that bothered if you were a little bit over.

On Arvia I can confirm that Pino Grigio was available by the bottle and glass. I think Merlot was by the bottle; I seem to recall my brother-in-law asked for a glass of it, but was offered Malbec instead.

As Roaming Rover writes, a lot of the wines on the MDR drinks menu can be ordered by the glass. Unlike some of the other venues, the full drinks list does not appear on My Holiday, so you can't peruse before you go for dinner. If you're not sailing for a while, you could perhaps ask if anyone on board now or due to sail soon could photograph the wine list and post it.

Which shows that the ability to pre-book those quieter times before you board isn't the problem. I like the idea of being able to get all my ducks in a row before joining the ship; less anxiety for me. As I previously stated in an earlier post, the only times there was any long queue at Zenith was on the first formal night during the peak period, which appeared to be exacerbated by stretched staff not being able to clear tables quickly enough.

We were on deck 11, port side, which got the sun all day as we crossed the Atlantic; hence, the promenade deck was heaving. That said, you could only hear noise, and it wasn't that loud, if you were sat on the balcony. The automatic sliding balcony door, when it closes, pulls back to the frame and creates a soundproof seal. Believe me, you won't hear anything from outside apart from the occasional muffled announcements from the bridge.

It was back in December and I have slept since then but, to the best of my recollection, it was the early times, between 17:00 and 19:00. I didn't really pay much attention as 18:30 is always our preferred time to eat, so that was the time I was looking for. I'm not sure if it was a trial for Arvia or just our cruise, to see if it could be rolled out across the fleet, or to try an alleviate the problems from the first cruise. That said, pre-booking was available as early as 24th December, which was before the problems of Christmas Day. I agree that it may cause problems if folk are selfish and book but don't cancel. However, the restaurant hosts along with the head waiters do have the ability to cancel bookings so, if a party were a 'no show' for a couple of nights running, they could cancel the rest of their bookings. To be clear, there was only a lengthy queue on the first formal night, and I don't think it was caused by 'no shows' and tables being left empty due to that. The Zenith was heaving by about 19:30 and the only tables that I could see as being empty were those that hadn't been cleared after folk had finished and left, because there wasn't enough staff. I could see a couple of head waiters, a host and who appeared to be the restaurant manager in discussion near to us. Then, within ten minutes or so, there was an influx of staff from other restaurants who set about clearing dirty tables and then helping the waiters.

Hi Selbourne, Our cruise sailed on 6th January. I've just checked my emails to establish when we made bookings. On 24th December, through the Cruise Planner, I booked the following: - Dinner in Zenith for four, including a wheelchair at 18:30 for every night of our cruise, except the 20th On 28th December, through the Cruise Planner, I booked the following: - All the shows that were listed for the Headliners; my sister did the same for her and her husband. - Dinner for four, including a wheelchair at 18:45 on the 19th in Epicurean. My sister did the same for the 9th. - Dinner for four, including a wheelchair at 19:00 on the 11th in Sindhu - Lunch for two, including a wheelchair at 12:45 on the 8th in Green & Co. It was on that day I cancelled the reservations at Zenith for the evenings we had booked the speciality restaurants. To be fair, if the option was there to book other speciality restaurants, then we may have done so. There was an option to book 6th Street Diner, but only for dinner; we wanted to try it for breakfast first. I would have liked the option to book Olive Grove before we sailed, but that was not an option. Once on board, it was busy every night. In retrospect, it didn't really matter as we didn't enjoy our meal there. On 5th January, just after checking into our PI in Southampton, I saw that bookings had opened up for Zenith on the 20th, so I made a reservation for the four of us for 18:30. Yes, I was surprised that we could book so far ahead for the MDR; we couldn't do so for Britannia last September. The options though were just for dinner; you could select how many guests, if there is a wheelchair, and if you wanted a private or shared table. You don't have to pre-book a table for breakfast, you can just do a walk-in. I only found out about that on our third day when I was flicking through My Holiday. By then, we had already decided upon our preferred table, and wanted to keep the same table for breakfast also, for the rest of the cruise. So, I booked through My Holiday for 08:15 every day up to the 19th, except for the day I had booked 6th Street Diner. It was only later in the cruise when the 20th became available for breakfast. I must say that Claudette at the Zenith was fantastic; after just a couple of days she recognised us as we approached the desk and thereafter I didn't even have to give our cabin numbers; she welcomed us with a smile and said table 735 was ready for us. Also, after our third day, the bookings on My Holiday were all populated with our table number. The option to book for breakfast on our last day, the 21st, never appeared on My Holiday. I just asked Claudette the day before and she booked our table there and then. I have to be honest when I say that, on the first formal night when there was a long queue of folk who had just turned up or joined the virtual queue a little earlier, I felt a little smug that I was the early bird. Folk will say that the booking system and My Holiday was a shambles; not so, in my opinion. It was easy to use and the option to book at early as 24th December was open to everyone. Right, wheelchairs..... My wife is a full-time electric wheelchair user and remains in it to dine; the one she uses to travel in is 62cm wide. On the first night, we were shown to a table in the first section of Zenith, just as you enter from the left side of the host's desk. She was able to get between two tables and position herself at our table. That was fine as there was nobody else at nearby tables. When we finished though, there was someone behind her, so she found it a little difficult to manoeuvre her chair. On the second night we were shown to table 735, which was near to our waiters' station and on what you may refer to as a thoroughfare. That said, there was at least eight feet between the back of my wife's chair and the table behind her. Also, it wasn't a particularly heavy flow area. The best thing about it was that she could just wheel straight to the table and position herself at it, instead of edging back and forth. If you prefer to sit away from the heavy traffic then there are plenty of options, and if your wife's chair is narrower that mine, then she shouldn't have a problem. If you are taken to a table that isn't suitable just tell them, we do. In every other restaurant we had no problems whatsoever with getting a table that suited my wife's needs. The only exception was in 6th Street Diner when the host wasn't really paying attention and allocated us a booth. When we got to the booth I simply told our escort that it was no good and walked towards a more suitable table. Believe me, nobody would dare tell us we couldn't sit there. I don't think your wife will have any problems; the crew are very disability aware. That cannot be said about some other passengers. Don't get me started on lifts!🙄 I also don't think you will have any problems with bookings if you was aware of them opening up on your Cruise Planner and get in early. As for the My Holiday function, just embrace it. If you have two devices, just load it onto both so you have one to jump straight onto if the other crashes. Finally, a small negative... Although you can book for multiple guests for dining reservations, you can only book the entertainment venues for those in your cabin. As we were travelling with others, we would have liked the option of being able to link our cabins so one party or the other group could book for everyone. Hopefully, they may tweak it in the future to be able to do that. Good luck 🤞🙂

I bet you are now going on Amazon! 😉

As were we. We didn't get a bill from Green & Co., and when a very small amount was charged against our OBC I thought they had made a mistake. It was only when we checked in at Sindhu the next day that the host, Love Joy, explained the discount for pre-booking. Certainly, in the future we will pre-book all our speciality restaurants and save the OBC for booze and the shops.

Are you referring to nail scissors or Wallet Ninjas? The latter are not listed but as far as scissors are concerned, all airlines we have travelled with state that scissors with blades of more than 6cm must be carried in checked baggage. So, if you've had nail scissors seized then you have been unlucky.

Nail scissors can go in hand luggage. I also carry a Wallet Ninja in my phone case and have never had a problem.

For us (two couples): MDR Before we boarded I booked a table for four in Zenith for every evening at 18:30. I later cancelled for those evenings we had booked a speciality restaurant. Once onboard, I used My Holiday to book a table for four for breakfast at 08:15 each morning, again in Zenith. On the first night we were sat in a section that was difficult to access for my wife in her wheelchair. On the first morning we were sat on a table not far from a window. On the second evening we were sat on table 735, it was easier for my wife and the waiters were great. We decided we would like them for the remainder of the cruise. The next morning I spoke with the restaurant host, Claudette (she was lovely), and we were allocated the same table for breakfast and dinner every day. We had breakfast in Zenith every day except one, and dinner, including the formal nights, every day except four. Overall, the quality of food and choice was good to very good, except for perhaps about three days when choices we made didn't match our expectations. Every day, the service was excellent apart from the first formal night where the delivery of food was slower, due to how busy it was. On the first few mornings there were breakfast items missing, including cereals, juices and decaffeinated tea. It was my understanding that there were pallets of food that had not been unloaded due to staff being deployed to other areas. By day 3 it was sorted but, unless you pre-ordered it, smoked salmon was not available at breakfast for the entire cruise; instead they offered grilled salmon. Folk will know that the same menu is offered in both the MDRs onboard; the differences I noted were that the Meridian appeared to be slightly larger and the tables did not have tablecloths, apart from the formal nights. Epicurean This is always a must for us so, before we boarded I booked a table for the 9th and the 19th. That was £24 each, less the Peninsular discount, making it £22.80 each. If booked onboard it would have been £30. Both meals were excellent and the service was second to none. In other posts it was mentioned that standards had dropped in Epicurean; not so when we dined there. We had menu A the first week and menu B the second. At the time of eating, they were still not preparing the Crêpe Suzette at the table. We had two excuses for this when we were on Britannia last September; one was Covid, and the other was due to that pesky H&S. This time, the excuse was that there was no butane. Sindhu Again, always a must for us but my sister and brother-in-law weren't sure if it would hit the mark for them. Consequently, I booked for just one night initially, the 11th. The pre-boarding price was £10 each, less the Peninsular discount, making a pre-payment total of £38 for the four of us. On the afternoon of our booking the other two cried off, so it was just me and my wife. We enjoyed an excellent meal of two courses each, plus a dessert for me, and a drink each. Don't be scared about asking for extra sides or breads; I never am!🐽 The service was excellent. A few years ago you paid a set price, I think it was £15, for three courses; if you didn't have three courses there would be no discount. Now that it is à la carte, it costs more if you book onboard. However, you can make savings if you pre-book; you receive 20% discount on all food items. So, we paid £38 for a booking of four; only two of us turned up, but as we had pre-paid, we still had an allowance of £40 to be deducted from the bill. After the 20% discount for all food, and then the £40 allowance, for a very good meal of five courses between the two of us, and a drink each, just £1.25 was charged against our OBC. The only downside is that on the Arvia they don't serve complimentary coffee after the meal; it is Costa coffee that they fetch it from the ice cream bar just around the corner. I don't know what the situation is on Britannia now; it was complimentary last September, but the nearest Costa concession on that ship is a good distance from Sindhu. Green & Co. My brother-in-law is a full-on carnivore, so he and, by extension, my sister didn't bother with this. My wife and I ate here once, having pre-booked before boarding. The upfront fee was £10 each, less the Peninsular discount, making a pre-payment total of £19 for the two of us. We ate at lunchtime on our first Sunday and, although we pre-booked, we could have just walked in as it was so quiet. Apart from the sushi served from Mizuhana, which is in the same restaurant, everything on the menu is vegan. They also have vegan beers, wines and cocktails. Our waiter promised us a taste experience like no other, and she was not wrong. We shared a large starter, and had a main each; I had a cocktail at the end. We enjoyed a very nourishing meal, perfectly prepared and presented like works of art; it was, to paraphrase Brian Potter, "the future, I've tasted it". As with Sindhu, if you book before boarding, all food items are 20% off. Green & Co. is a new concept for P&O and I really hope it takes off, but it was quiet almost all the time. I hope they don't bin it in the future; we would have eaten at least a couple more times at lunchtime on this cruise, but it didn't fit in with our schedule. We are on the Arvia next year for the end of season repositioning cruise, just the two of us, and we will certainly eat in there more frequently, providing it has not closed before then. Glass House We have all enjoyed this previously when on Britannia, so it was on our list. We weren't able to book before boarding. On the evening we decided to go, my sister and brother-in-law came to our cabin as normal for pre-dinner drinks; I then joined the virtual queue, with three ahead of us. After twenty-five minutes there was no change to the queue, so we went to sit near the restaurant, thinking that we may get called any second. We sat for a further ten minutes, still with three in the queue ahead of us, and the restaurant area empty apart from two couples eating. We then perused the menu, and I asked the host if it was the dinner or lunch menu; he said it was the dinner menu. It was very limited to say the least; not at all like the choice we had when on Britannia. So, we sacked it off and went to the Olive Grove. Olive Grove We were unable to book this before boarding, but intended to try it once onboard. We looked at the menu for the first week and it looked good, albeit not much choice; there was though something across all courses that each of us fancied. As it happens, it was busy all the time with only sharing tables available at the time we wanted to eat. We could have booked a table for four at 17:30, but that was too early for us. After walking away from the Glass House disappointed, we decided to see if we could get in; after all, we had already given up our table in Zenith. The virtual queue was not due to open until 18:30, but I approached the desk at 18:25, and was given a buzzer. We sat in Anderson's, expecting to be waiting at least thirty minutes before being called back. We had only just started our drinks when it went off. Unfortunately, menu B was now in operation, so the dishes we had been salivating over were no longer available. The choices were very poor, with very little choice for the two pescatarians at the table, me and my sister; the only fish dish starter had chorizo in it, and the only main fish dish was deep fried baby squid, mussels, prawns, and smelts. The service wasn't up to much either; I think we had been spoiled by the dynamic duo in Zenith. We all agreed that it was a poor experience, and we would only go again if the other menu was on. With just the two menus and limited choices, I cannot fathom out why folk would want to eat here three or four times. 6th Street Diner We were, before Covid, frequent visitors to the US and were keen to see how this place compared; it was, from what I had heard, supposed to be like the genuine article, not an English restaurant serving up food like you get in Murica. Our go-to restaurant for breakfast when over there was Cracker Barrel, so I know what to expect when I ask for eggs, or French toast, or from-scratch pancakes. It doesn't open until 10:00, so we made a reservation for that time, after seeing the queues on previous mornings. When we arrived the was no system as per the MDRs, left side for bookings, right side for walk-ins; there was just one queue and it was a bit of a free-for-all. Once in, I asked for a table by the window and, despite seeing my wife in a wheelchair, the restaurant host allocated us a booth. We were then shown to another table that was more suitable. Now, the food; it was served quickly and was hot, but was it like the genuine article? NO! The pancakes were the pre-made ones you get in the MDR, and the hash was essential small roast potatoes; not at all like the hash made with home-style potatoes we are used to in CB. The eggs are served sunny-side up as standard. I asked for mine over-medium which, over the pond are always consistent if you ask for them that way: hard white, runny yolk, and turned once. The ones I was served up were hard white and hard yolk. I must say though, the service was very quick, but it was a little disconcerting and awkward hearing the waiters trying to be American, with all the patter too! "Have a great day, y'awll" The Quays We didn't have any particular expectations before we boarded, but were keen to try it. Hook, Line and Vinegar: Nice enough, but don't expect it to be like your local chippy. The haddock is pre-battered and frozen, but cooks up nice enough. The chips are chunky but frozen; it was busy all day so I would have thought they could have made chips from fresh taties. They were sometimes refried too. The mushy peas were nice, but the curry sauce was watery. Fusion: There was always a choice of three dishes, with the bottom one being vegan. Whenever we had something from here, the quality was consistently good. Roast: The large Yorkshire puddings are not made fresh, and I think it would be difficult to do so; they are your Aunt Bessie type, but nice enough. They do different roasts for the carnivores, and have a selection of veg: carrots, roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese and peas, I think. Be aware though if you don't eat meat; the gravy on offer for you to serve yourself from, is not vegetarian; you can ask though for vegetarian gravy. The next menu item was generally a Yorkshire pudding wrap with a meat item and veg in it. Every day, they serve a vegan wrap, which were always good. One lunchtime I couldn't decide what to have, so I got a big Yorkie and filled it with my fish and chips. Now that is classy cuisine! Just around the corner from the serveries are chillers with salads and desserts in; so if you just wanted something like that you could just get it from there, without heading up to Horizon and fighting through the masses. Taste 360 This is on deck 16 at the forward end of the sky dome. It wasn't necessarily on our to-do list, just somewhere we would visit once or twice for a veggie burger or pizza slice. It was very popular and, on sea days, there was always a long queue to order burgers. It was on those days that I skipped the queue to grab a few slices of pizza (all ready to go), some fries, and go back to our cabin for us both to eat on the balcony. On the quiet port days, when there wasn't a queue, we would get veggie burgers. The veggie burgers were good as were the pizza slices; they always had Margherita pizza on, and sometimes Funghi too. Additionally, they had a serve-yourself hot dish on; paella or fish curry, for example. They also have GF pizza and burger buns available. That said, I didn't witness anyone ordering them, so could not see if there was a risk of cross-contamination. Horizon I'm not a big fan of the buffet; it's often like a cattle market and certainly would not like to go there for breakfast. Call me old fashioned but, when on a cruise I liked to be served breakfast at a table; a much more relaxing experience. We only attended Horizon occasionally and, when we did, only had a little to eat. On Arvia there certainly wasn't a much choice for pescatarians as we had encountered previously on Britannia; well, not when we attended. I just don't know how some folk can go an entire cruise and only try the buffet. We loved the afternoon tea when it was served in the MDR and, when we were on Britannia last September, and found the free one to be only in Horizon, we tried it once and once only. Never again! Beach House We did intend to eat in Beach House, at least once. As it turned out, we didn't bother; the menu choices were much the same as in September and the price had increased to £9.50. We didn't eat anywhere else on this cruise. As with Chrish2, using and booking through My Holiday whilst on board was a breeze; there were a few times when it wouldn't load up immediately, but I think that was a cookies problem on my phone, rather than the application; a quick reboot would do the trick. It worked first time, every time on my tablet. The only time I saw a long queue for any restaurant was on the first formal night at Zenith. When I went to the toilet near the end of our meal it was level with the opening to the stairs and lifts, and when we left the restaurant at 20:30 it had reached the first shop. On both occasions there was no distinction between the booked or walk-in queues, it was a mass of grumpy folk in their evening gowns and dinner suits. Now, after the supposed, and over-hyped by the press, events of Christmas Day, I would have thought that more folk would have pre-booked, either before they got on the ship or as soon as they could log onto My Holiday. To try a walk-in in at the MDRs after 19:00 on a formal night is asking for trouble. Dress codes: Apart from the first night, where some folk hadn't yet received their cases, the dress codes were well observed in the MDRs for the first week, particularly on the formal night. In the second week, and especially after we had visited our first Caribbean island, dress became more casual and, while some still wore smart trousers and nice frocks (mostly women), there were some that wore shorts, t-shirts, and flip flops. I'm not a 'dress code snob', but if there is a particular dress code for a part of the ship, you should at least make an effort. On our evening in Sindhu, although not a formal night, everyone was well turned out. Then, in walks a couple who are dressed appropriately, with a young lad aged late teens or early twenties, wearing scruffy trainers, high cut shorts and a slogan t-shirt. Heads turned! I must though applaud the restaurant host on the second formal night; a woman in a beautiful dress had really made the effort, whereas her male companion wore loafers, no socks, slacks and an open neck shirt. He was told to change into more appropriate attire. She didn't half give him what-for; I heard a "I told you so", as I passed.

That is correct, you can book a table through your Cruise Planner before you board, or through My Holiday once on board. You will be given the option of a private table for two or a shared table. If you want a private table you will need to book all your dates as soon as you can, as the popular times will be busy. When you check in on your first night make a point of speaking with one of the restaurant hosts. Tell them you have made bookings and for which nights and times. If you want a private or shared table each night, tell them; they will input your preference onto the computer. Tell them also if you would like the same table each evening. If, you enter one evening and tell them that you fancy a private table after previously sharing, they will accommodate you but you may be asked to wait a few minutes. In my experience, if you approach the restaurant hosts with a smile and the right attitude, they will accommodate you, if they are able to do so.

Of your questions not already answered... I seem to recall that you could book tables up to eight in the MDRs through My Holiday. I think though that the largest tables seated eight; if there are ten in your party they could probably squeeze you onto such a table. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Mission Control was £20 each; I didn't try it but heard one of the hosts tell someone as I passed by. It was booked solid throughout our cruise so, if you are keen to do it, book it as soon as you can.

Yup! Looking outside our cabin, some folk were bagging sunbeds on the port side of the promenade deck before 6am. 🙄

When did yours arrive? We're still waiting for ours

It's essentially an abridged version of sorts of the West End show, performed by the Headliners theatre group, that lasts about 50 minutes.

As others have posted, you'll get assistance on arrival if you have requested it. Even if you haven't and you are spotted on your crutches, you will likely be offered a wheelchair and be pushed onboard. I am afraid to say though that on our return yesterday it was a totally different experience, a very poor one. From the ship to the airport, no problem. On arrival at the airport and being escorted through security to the accessible seating area, no problem. Everything thereafter was diabolical. In every other airport we have used, wheelchair users and others requiring assistance are boarded first. At Barbados yesterday they called such passengers to the gate. The very officious female member of the assistance team then declared that only the wheelchair users could go on the air lift vehicle; all family members, including essential carers, had to board by taking the bus with other passengers. When I said I need to dismantle my wife's power chair after she boards the aircraft, I was shut down with, "What did I just say?" in a rude school ma'am tone. There were elderly wheelchair users and those with complex needs who were visibly upset being separated from their carers, with just one young man from the accessibility team accompanying about a dozen of them in the air lift vehicle. My wife spoke with an elderly gentleman who said he had never been apart from his wife for many years, and she would be fretting about not being with him. Why they didn't use two vehicles, I have no idea. Anyway, I was on the aircraft at least thirty minutes before the air lift vehicle arrived. Consequently, we were an hour late taking off. Then, on arrival at Manchester, despite my wife's and at least three other power chairs being labelled as needing to be returned to the aircraft door, all were taken to the luggage carousel. It was thirty minutes before a manual airport wheelchair was brought for my wife, which I had to push all the way to baggage reclaim. That left about ten others onboard the aircraft that required chairs to be brought to them, with just two members of the special assistance team to deal with them. Frank Gardner is spot on about the diabolical way in which disabled passengers are treated when arriving at UK airports.

Yup! As the lad from Yorkshire writes, the difference is the voucher for a meagre (less than half full) glass of sparkling wine.🙄

If you had asked me a couple of months ago I would have been opposed to being in one but, having just spent two weeks onboard, I wouldn't say no to being allocated one as an upgrade or if on a saver rate. I note they all have one way glass to the doors and frosted glass to the balcony/verandah, and only nosey folk taller than about 5'8" would be able to have a good look onto the balcony/verandah, apart from the ones right at the front, for which the rail is at waist/chest height where is an incline of the promenade. Anyway, looking up from deck 8 to the cabins above, perhaps up to deck 12, you can see a couple of feet onto the balcony, so it wouldn't really matter if you had your thru'pennies out on deck 8 or the slightly higher ones; you would still be seen. I noted that some of them are conservatory mini-suites, so would be more expensive than a balcony located on other decks.

Strictly speaking, yes; however, we and others openly carried bottles of duty free booze onboard that was bought in St Maarten, and security didn't bat an eyelid. All of ours was taken home at the end, of course.🤫

We disembarked from the inaugural TA cruise yesterday and thought the overall entertainment package was underwhelming. There were no acts that I would class as 'headliners'. Do you see what I did there?😉 If you wanted to see a mediocre singer of other artiste's ballads, who was a runner up BGT in 2011 or the second cousin of that lass who was on The Voice that time, then you would be very happy. The guest artiste's in the main theatre were: Dean Stansby (crooner pianist) CJ Illusions (magic) Remixed (male vocal trio) Shellyann (female vocalist) Jon Udry (comedy juggler) ...yes, you read that right! Monroe (female vocal trio) If I've missed any, I'm sure someone will fill in the blanks. The resident theatre company's performances were (trying to be constructive here) mixed, and occasionally cringeworthy; good visual and lighting effects, though. Elsewhere on the ship were the usual pianists, crooners, and upbeat bands, including 'Caribbean Band' Phoenix and the resident 'Party Band' Pulse; the former playing mainly in the Sky Dome and the latter in the Club House. We didn't care much for the Sky Dome - too full-on beach party, loud and with poor acoustics. But, don't let our opinion put you off. We preferred the Club House and Pulse, who performed a wide range of music. The latter were a fairly young band but gelled well together; the two singers were better than the the Britannia incarnation last September. That said, Mark, the musical director for the Britannia Pulse, had very similar musical tastes to mine, and their interpretations of 70s rock classics were better, including an enjoyable Pink Floyd set. The Club House is better laid out than the Live Lounge on Britannia, has better acoustics, and there are plenty of screens dotted around it. If it's comedians you want, there were a grand total of two, not including the fella juggling his balls. Before Tenerife, it was Jason Patterson who was okay, but the daytime guest speaker, retired DCI Terry Brown, had funnier anecdotes and kept a full Club House hanging on his every word. There was another comedian that was listed on the My Holiday booking doodah (I can't remember his name) but had to fly home without giving a performance. He was, I think, replaced by Jack Ryan, a Scouser who often failed to reach his target audience, with some stony faced septuagenarians at the earlier sets; why sit right at the front when a comic is performing and be surprised or offended if he targets you? He appeared to hit the mark though with his late night adults only show. If you are interested in the 710 club, book early; it is only small and was booked solid from the beginning to the end of our cruise, apart from several of the quarter past midnight shows. As for dining, there is plenty of choice. If it is your plan to eat in one of the MDRs most, if not all evenings, then book on the planner before you board to get your preferred time. If you wait until you get onboard and use the My Holiday booking system, you may not get your preferred time or have to join the virtual queue each day. Certainly, if you want to dine in an MDR on a formal night, book well in advance. The two MDRs are the same, albeit the Meridian does not have tablecloths except for the formal night. Apart from when we ate in speciality restaurants, we had the same table in Zenith for breakfast and dinner. Of the extra charge restaurants, we had excellent meals in Epicurean, Green & Co, and Sindhu. If you book before you board you will benefit by getting cheaper prices. For example, Epicurean cost us £24 (less Peninsula discount) each before we boarded but was £30 if booked on board; Green & Co and Sindhu cost us a £10 cover charge (less the dizzy) before we boarded, and then we got 20% off all food items, which is deducted before they deduct the cover charge. Overall... Entertainment: hit & miss Dining: generally good