snaefell

Out on Deck in the Med last month on Arcadia it could vary hugely in various areas,if you were in the sun but out of the breeze it could be pretty hot,forward on Deck 11 where it has glass screens it was like a furnace!

On May 14th cruise on Arcadia our Intercruise coach arrived slightly early,we were given cards & then dropped off at the doir,led straight to check in & security & were on board in 10 minutes,very impressive!

You learn something new every day,I really expected that as one act left another would immediately take over,bad luck if you are on the cruise where the changeover happens. On the 19 night Med cruise in May there was quite a variety of entertainment,besides the Headliners,not our sort of thing but they were energetic & colourful,Eric & Ernie,an Elton John tribute,a couple of decent comedians,the superb Four Harps,all in the theatre,Pulse were impressive in the Globe,there were two buskers,Ged & Luke at various venues around the ship,although Luke disappeared late on in the cruise,there was also a band on in the Crows Nest one night which to us didn't seem to fit very well,much preferred Britann's Crows Nest with a pianist,much more relaxing! There was quite a bit of coughing on board which increased noticeably during the cruise,' luckily' it was largely ignored due to the Gastric Enteritis Outbreak!

After years of well planned road trips to the USA,often meeting others who obviously had done zero planning,around 20 years ago I was persuaded by my Wife to try a cruise,she had been speaking to a neighbour who was a regular cruiser,I much prefer sailing to flying but the thought of being 'stuck' on a ship for two weeks really didn't appeal but I gave in,we found a Princess Cruise to Iceland & Norway which fitted in with my fixed holidays & booked under the impression that 'everything' was included & paid for😒 Our neighbours didn't drink alcohol so they hadn't mentioned buying drinks,OK so you expect to pay higher prices when you are a 'captive' audience but what I didn't expect was the amount added on for tips,then the biggest shock when we found out about the daily amount we would each be charged for tips for the crew,,over subsequent years I have heard so many people mention how they didn't know about this until after they booked,in all the times I have enquired with a TA about cruises only once have I been told about this charge up front,if you are on a long enough cruise this can add up to a substantial amount,inconvenient to say the least when the cruise was stretching your budget in the first place! So yes despite being good at planning regular holidays cruising is different,once you have done one you know,but finding a cruise line that suits isn't That simple,the itinerary,dates & price also dictate who we,at least,book with & then we work around that.

I really don't care what anyone wears anywhere,anytime,people should be able to wear what they want anytime.

We are all different & I thought the glass skylight over the atrium was beautiful! You meet so many on board who 'know' exactly what the future holds,for some she is old,doesn't fit in & is 'on her way',others claim she is definitely having a major refur b in September 2024 & is 'here to stay',given that she is due to leave early September for the USA that just shows how definite these ideas can be!😮

Agree,looking at other cruises on her & they seem pretty expensive,no 7 nights for £499 like I see advertised for Arvia & Iona,attracting many oldies I hear but to me speaks volumes about which is the nicer ship to cruise on!

Typical CC,the negative reviews get noticed,the positive ones get ignored seemingly. We have recently returned after a 19 night Med cruise on Arcadia,our first time on her,we loved the ship & would love to go on her again. Yes she is 18 years old(so is my newest car!),you can't t expect her to look brand new with the travelling she does,that just isn't practical,we have travelled on many ferries of a similar ages or older so don't really notice the wear & tear,to us she seemed a classy ship,more so than Arvia or Iona from what I have seen. The Rising Sun is a fabulous room,as is the Crows Nest,The Palladium Theatre is a lovely venue,same with the Globe,the MDR is a classy room with tables not on top of each other,the Ocean Grill & Sindhu were both outstanding with amazing staff. I cringe when programmes appear on TV describing cruising as the height of luxury,those days are gone,reflected in the price you pay these days,head off with that idea in mind & you WILL be disappointed!😎

We came off her last Friday after a 19 night Med cruise,I would take reports about cleanliness with a pinch of salt as other scaremongering on here,we loved Arcadia,no complaints about cleanliness as far as we were concerened accept maybe with rude passengers with unhygenic habits,but you get that anywhere in life. Shortage of crew,maybe,there were certainly many new & obviously inexperienced people working on board,with the crew serving on the buffet resources could be stretched. If it wasn't for the people we would be back on her anytime,yes she is battle scarred but we have been on countless ferries as old & older than Arcadia,you can't travel like she has & look brand new,beautiful ship IMO!

It is I guess a matter of opinion what cider is supposed to taste like,I agree the fruit ones can be sweet & taste like the fruit they are supposed to be,when I drank cider I loved the taste of Strongbow as it wasn't too sweet,for me many ciders taste just like Apple juice with a kick!

Yes Lucky Saint is a nice one,even better as you can get it on draught,my favourite is Adnams Ghost Ship,on Arcadia there was Heineken Zero in cans,seemed very gassy compared to bottled,they also had Kopperberg Mixed Fruit cider,a bit sweet for my liking but preferable to how gassy the Heineken was! Never ceases to amaze me as to how in supermarkets the AF gin seems to be as expensive as the alcoholic version!

Hope you guys enjoyed Amsterdam. just curious,during the cruise were you able to serve yourself at the buffet or was it down to the crew?

Yes things have changed in recent years,there is a huge variety of AF drinks these days,as an ex real ale drinker I still love the taste of beer so that is good news,IME many beers have a sweet aftertaste which isn't to my liking,but some compare very favourably with the best real ales I ever tasted. What isn't so pleasing is the pricing in bars of AF beers,anything up to £8 a pint,a joke when a pint of Stella is £4,not a great incentive to not drink & drive,don't know if that applies to AF wines in bars.

Our arrival slot was from 1415hrs,our coach arrived around 1345hrs. Liverpool is very close to us but from when I have found a Saga or Fred cruise that sounds interesting the price has put us off.

Love predictive text! Embarkation was a breeze,we were dropped off at the entrance,led straight to a check in desk,security & were on board in minutes, once on board we were directed to our muster station,read the rules,had our boarding passes scanned & we were free to go,15 minutes at the most.

So true,sadly with so much traffic on the road these days getting to & from them can make it seem not worth the effort!😎

Getting off the ship was a nightmare yesterday but we were on our coach back to Cheshire & mobile by 0945hrs,that was when things really went pear shaped,Southampton seemed quite quiet but we soon joined the M3 queue & from there on did a wonderful tour of Britains Motorway Car parks,finally getting home around 1900hrs,my Wife won't fly anymore & after yesterday I have no chance of getting her to go to/from Southampton again,looks like Blackpool from now on!

Jealous as hell because we love the Netherlands too,got two sea days left to find somewhere to hide until she sails! Enjoy

Noticed all the left over sprouts,must have been a bad evening all round,after good food so far last night my steak was incredibly dry!

Absolutely, we are on Arcadia now & love it,could be wrong but I get the impression that some are still mired in the old cruise image,times have moved on for good or bad,take what you find & not what you wish/hope to find,enjoy!

Last time I saw photographers on a cruise they looked like a bunch of students,not very professional!😙

When it works!

We are on Arcadia now,we used the buffet the first couple of nights,then it changed to the crew serving so we tried the MDR,we went at our normal 1845hrs,there was a large queue, all receiving pagers,on our turn we were told 45 minutes to an hour so went to the buffet. The following night as advised we were there at 1730hrs,were given a ticket,doors opened 1800hrs & we have done that most nights since,hated the idea at first but it seems to work!

Certainly for the current cruise the speciality restaurants were not bookable until on board,strange how the first night was seemingly still pretty full as soon as we got on board. Booking with the app can be challenging as it sometimes isn't working.

It certainly was 0900hrs today Selbourne