Arvia - Impressions from Maiden

[Megabear2]

2 hours ago, Amelia Noylam said:

This is the only site with the same moaners, so thank you for an excellent review

I believe you will be on Arvia very shortly so you can judge for yourself.i hope you have a great cruise.

[Amelia Noylam]

58 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I believe you will be on Arvia very shortly so you can judge for yourself.i hope you have a great cruise.

Thank you, I am just hoping it's as good as the Iona and Arvia hopefully not as bad as what people are saying.

 

[Amelia Noylam]

2 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

Moaners or people with who have had a bad experience?

 

There seems to be a spectrum of feelings about this sailing from the shiny happy, all is perfect through the good and bad bits, to dreadful. All these opinions are represented across various parts of social media.

 

A bit unfair to call people moaners surely when their experience is their experience?

I can understand people been upset on Christmas day, but after that it seems everyone had a good cruise and the Captain apologised.

Everyone got £150.00 OBS, which some people will say it went back into P&O pockets which I suppose it does,  but was still a nice gestor.

New Year apparently was very good and wine on all tables, but people still want to complain.

I go on this ship in seven days, and I am really hoping it's not has bad as people are saying. But will be going with an open mind. 

[Eglesbrech]

5 minutes ago, Amelia Noylam said:

I can understand people been upset on Christmas day, but after that it seems everyone had a good cruise and the Captain apologised.

Everyone got £150.00 OBS, which some people will say it went back into P&O pockets which I suppose it does,  but was still a nice gestor.

New Year apparently was very good and wine on all tables, but people still want to complain.

I go on this ship in seven days, and I am really hoping it's not has bad as people are saying. But will be going with an open mind. 

Absolutely go with an open mind. Your cruise is your cruise and what might really annoy others might not bother you and vice versa.

 

Most people don’t “want” to complain (I certainly don’t, I much prefer having fun) what they want is for the cruise company to get it right first time. £150 OBC is nothing if your Christmas is spoiled.

 

To put this into perspective we took my mum away for Neerday for her last New Year. It was a disaster. Any other year we would have shrugged it off and put it down to experience but not that year as we can never ever get it back. Wine on the table did not make that better (which happened) so yes I did complain, moan, whinge and make my feelings be known (it was not P&O for clarity).

 

I’m sure your cruise will be better by virtue of the fact that it’s not Christmas and New Year so will probably be quieter. If something does go wrong then you are not a “moaner”, you are a customer who has not received what was promised in the shiny brochures. Let’s hope that is not your experience.

 

Bon voyage and have a great cruise.

 

 

[grapau27]

51 minutes ago, Amelia Noylam said:

I can understand people been upset on Christmas day, but after that it seems everyone had a good cruise and the Captain apologised.

Everyone got £150.00 OBS, which some people will say it went back into P&O pockets which I suppose it does,  but was still a nice gestor.

New Year apparently was very good and wine on all tables, but people still want to complain.

I go on this ship in seven days, and I am really hoping it's not has bad as people are saying. But will be going with an open mind. 

I hope you have an amazing cruise Amelia.

Graham.

[Dentist at Sea]

In truth the CEO Paul Ludlow is just making his comments up as we only just this week received our full online feedback forms, so his comments are baseless or just made on hearsay. Analytically P&O probably will not have the true picture from the survey of Arvias inaugural cruise for at least a couple of weeks. 

We have been on enough cruises to know this one was rubbish just very poor. It is not about moaning or groaning or nit picking, for what we paid which was a lot of money, 99% of passengers would have said the same. 

Just one detail out of many. We booked the Retreat for a couple of days at a charge of £60 per person per day. It is something we always do as we like the quiet and the comfy beds plus service.  The comfy day beds were very comfy the service non existent. If you want a hot drink you make your own from a jug of hot water provided. Mid day meal sort of ok if you like eating out of plastic boxes. The much heralded afternoon tea was two miniscule scones with a pot of jam again enclosed in a hard plastic box.  

Every other Retreat or similar we have been in, and there have been dozens, were far far better provisioned and serviced 

Prior to this  cruise we had booked  Arvia  for a 15 day further cruise which we have now cancelled and are awaiting feedback from P & O . 

[Britboys]

26 minutes ago, Dentist at Sea said:

In truth the CEO Paul Ludlow is just making his comments up as we only just this week received our full online feedback forms, so his comments are baseless or just made on hearsay. Analytically P&O probably will not have the true picture from the survey of Arvias inaugural cruise for at least a couple of weeks. 

We have been on enough cruises to know this one was rubbish just very poor. It is not about moaning or groaning or nit picking, for what we paid which was a lot of money, 99% of passengers would have said the same. 

Just one detail out of many. We booked the Retreat for a couple of days at a charge of £60 per person per day. It is something we always do as we like the quiet and the comfy beds plus service.  The comfy day beds were very comfy the service non existent. If you want a hot drink you make your own from a jug of hot water provided. Mid day meal sort of ok if you like eating out of plastic boxes. The much heralded afternoon tea was two miniscule scones with a pot of jam again enclosed in a hard plastic box.  

Every other Retreat or similar we have been in, and there have been dozens, were far far better provisioned and serviced 

Prior to this  cruise we had booked  Arvia  for a 15 day further cruise which we have now cancelled and are awaiting feedback from P & O . 

Think yourself lucky that you received a full feedback form. I've not had one for my Aurora cruise and it seems they now only seek full feedback from a (?small) percentage of customers. They now seem to prefer brief feedback via feefo although whether that will remain given the number of negative reviews remains to be seen...

[P&O SUE]

On 1/10/2023 at 8:39 AM, wowzz said:

That alone would put me off ever cruising with RCL ! 

I would just ignore them!

[Amelia Noylam]

18 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

Absolutely go with an open mind. Your cruise is your cruise and what might really annoy others might not bother you and vice versa.

 

Most people don’t “want” to complain (I certainly don’t, I much prefer having fun) what they want is for the cruise company to get it right first time. £150 OBC is nothing if your Christmas is spoiled.

 

To put this into perspective we took my mum away for Neerday for her last New Year. It was a disaster. Any other year we would have shrugged it off and put it down to experience but not that year as we can never ever get it back. Wine on the table did not make that better (which happened) so yes I did complain, moan, whinge and make my feelings be known (it was not P&O for clarity).

 

I’m sure your cruise will be better by virtue of the fact that it’s not Christmas and New Year so will probably be quieter. If something does go wrong then you are not a “moaner”, you are a customer who has not received what was promised in the shiny brochures. Let’s hope that is not your experience.

 

Bon voyage and have a great cruise.

 

 

Thank you, and when you put it like that I totally agree with you.

[devonuk]

Update…

Mostly okay now re dining. A few issues with iPhone users losing some functions on the my holiday app. A change of time was required to reset the ‘system' 🤷‍♂️

A few products such as Weetabix, grapefruit juice etc are in short supply but not the end of the world 😀

All in all now things are settled it’s been an enjoyable week and the weather now makes everything seem okay, even with the 7am sunbed rush 🤦‍♂️

I’d never book a 15 deck cabin anywhere near the sky dome though, the noise is unbearable at times and continues through the night 🤬

[terrierjohn]

5 minutes ago, devonuk said:

Update…

Mostly okay now re dining. A few issues with iPhone users losing some functions on the my holiday app. A change of time was required to reset the ‘system' 🤷‍♂️

A few products such as Weetabix, grapefruit juice etc are in short supply but not the end of the world 😀

All in all now things are settled it’s been an enjoyable week and the weather now makes everything seem okay, even with the 7am sunbed rush 🤦‍♂️

I’d never book a 15 deck cabin anywhere near the sky dome though, the noise is unbearable at times and continues through the night 🤬

But there is only a small section of deck 15 which is under the skydome, all the forward section has cabins above it, and not sure how noisy it is being under the buffet?

[Megabear2]

17 minutes ago, devonuk said:

Update…

Mostly okay now re dining. A few issues with iPhone users losing some functions on the my holiday app. A change of time was required to reset the ‘system' 🤷‍♂️

A few products such as Weetabix, grapefruit juice etc are in short supply but not the end of the world 😀

All in all now things are settled it’s been an enjoyable week and the weather now makes everything seem okay, even with the 7am sunbed rush 🤦‍♂️

I’d never book a 15 deck cabin anywhere near the sky dome though, the noise is unbearable at times and continues through the night 🤬

Delighted to hear things are on the up.

 

[Amelia Noylam]

On 1/13/2023 at 8:29 PM, grapau27 said:

I hope you have an amazing cruise Amelia.

Graham.

Thank you Graham, I have my fingers crossed. Just hoping it's as good as the Iona.

Hope Sarah is feeling better.

[devonuk]

10 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

But there is only a small section of deck 15 which is under the skydome, all the forward section has cabins above it, and not sure how noisy it is being under the buffet?

A good 30 inside cabins are effected by the noise unfortunately 😧

[ElmaLee]

7 hours ago, devonuk said:

A good 30 inside cabins are effected by the noise unfortunately 😧

Is this because of the entertainment going on late?

[devonuk]

2 hours ago, ElmaLee said:

Is this because of the entertainment going on late?

It’s all hours of the day and night but more noticeable during the early hours when the crew are ‘banging around’. The worst for us was a Sky dome sound ‘check’ at 04:40 on the first full morning on board we wondered what the hell and more so, why? 
We would sail again on the Arvia but most definitely nowhere below the sky dome on 15 deck and I guess the balcony cabins will have some of the same issues with chair and sun-bed movements but I’ve not asked anyone yet. 

[Megabear2]

14 minutes ago, devonuk said:

It’s all hours of the day and night but more noticeable during the early hours when the crew are ‘banging around’. The worst for us was a Sky dome sound ‘check’ at 04:40 on the first full morning on board we wondered what the hell and more so, why? 
We would sail again on the Arvia but most definitely nowhere below the sky dome on 15 deck and I guess the balcony cabins will have some of the same issues with chair and sun-bed movements but I’ve not asked anyone yet. 

Did you speak to reception to see if these sound checks or whatever could be done at a more sociable hour?

 

We had a noise problem on deck 15 of Britannia in a deluxe balcony in 2019 and after most in the area complained they tried to do things at a later period.  Admittedly they didn't do anything about the very loud music until 2.00am but on our return they did give us compensation of £300.

 

 

[Eglesbrech]

1 minute ago, Megabear2 said:

Did you speak to reception to see if these sound checks or whatever could be done at a more sociable hour?

 

We had a noise problem on deck 15 of Britannia in a deluxe balcony in 2019 and after most in the area complained they tried to do things at a later period.  Admittedly they didn't do anything about the very loud music until 2.00am but on our return they did give us compensation of £300.

 

 

The problem is P&O the must know exactly where there are noise issues. Plans to select a cabin are pretty detailed about cabins which are overlooked, obstructed etc but nothing at all about about noise. I’m not talking about the odd scrape of a chair or sun bed but loud, consistent, sleep robbing noise like disco music.

 

I would and have indeed successfully argued that the primary purpose of a cabin is a place to sleep. I had a dispute with Cunard over a cabin which was lovely right up until the deafening noise began. Long story short I got a move but I’m sure the next week someone else was back in a cabin where you could not hold a conversation because of the noise.

 

Now I am a lark and get up early so go to be early and would hate noise to 2am. These cabins could still be sold to the people who are night owls so are likely to be out until 2am and would be less bothered about the noise. A bit like those who happily book an obstructed view.

 

 

 

 

[Selbourne]

8 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

We had a noise problem on deck 15 of Britannia in a deluxe balcony in 2019 and after most in the area complained they tried to do things at a later period.  Admittedly they didn't do anything about the very loud music until 2.00am but on our return they did give us compensation of £300.

 

 

 I do think that cruise companies let themselves down with things like this. We tend to go to bed earlier than many and being disturbed until 2am every night would completely ruin a holiday for us and £300 wouldn’t even come close to making up for it. They are very transparent about views from balconies (obstructed, part obstructed, steel fronted etc) yet will happily sell cabins in known areas of excessive noise with no warning. Night owls wouldn’t worry about having those cabins and would probably snap them up if they were slightly cheaper as a result of the noise issues, whereas for others it can completely spoil a cruise and maybe deter them from booking another. 

[Selbourne]

2 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

The problem is P&O the must know exactly where there are noise issues. Plans to select a cabin are pretty detailed about cabins which are overlooked, obstructed etc but nothing at all about about noise. I’m not talking about the odd scrape of a chair or sun bed but loud, consistent, sleep robbing noise like disco music.

 

I would and have indeed successfully argued that the primary purpose of a cabin is a place to sleep. I had a dispute with Cunard over a cabin which was lovely right up until the deafening noise began. Long story short I got a move but I’m sure the next week someone else was back in a cabin where you could not hold a conversation because of the noise.

 

Now I am a lark and get up early so go to be early and would hate noise to 2am. These cabins could still be sold to the people who are night owls so are likely to be out until 2am and would be less bothered about the noise. A bit like those who happily book an obstructed view.

 

 

 

 

How funny. We posted at exactly the same time and made exactly the same point, almost word for word 😂 

[Megabear2]

1 minute ago, Selbourne said:

 I do think that cruise companies let themselves down with things like this. We tend to go to bed earlier than many and being disturbed until 2am every night would completely ruin a holiday for us and £300 wouldn’t even come close to making up for it. They are very transparent about views from balconies (obstructed, part obstructed, steel fronted etc) yet will happily sell cabins in known areas of excessive noise with no warning. Night owls wouldn’t worry about having those cabins and would probably snap them up if they were slightly cheaper as a result of the noise issues, whereas for others it can completely spoil a cruise and maybe deter them from booking another. 

Until that time we always booked deluxe balconies but now if the availability on Britannia is not in the higher two grades which aren't on deck 15 we will just book a standard balcony with sofa. Although we love the extra room the premium is in our opinion not worth it if a deck 15 cabin is all that's on offer.

 

I did fight for more than £300 but they wouldn't budge. Eventually I thought it wasn't worth the stress and accepted it.  Interestingly no NDA was required.

[Megabear2]

4 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

How funny. We posted at exactly the same time and made exactly the same point, almost word for word 😂 

You're obviously psychic as you and I did the same the other day!

Edited January 16, 2023 by Megabear2

[lincslady]

You are all right about noisy cabins, and as far as I know no cruise line is going to mention this problem.  Once you are a seasoned cruiser, you just look closely at the deck plans,  and do not book anything over or more particularly under a public area where there could be noise, i.e. where there is music or where there may be scraping of chairs etc., like the pool deck, which often happens early in the morning when the crew get there to sort it out.

[Selbourne]

3 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I did fight for more than £300 but they wouldn't budge. Eventually I thought it wasn't worth the stress and accepted it.  Interestingly no NDA was required.

I find that they roll out the NDA when you have declined the first one or two offers to settle!

[Selbourne]

4 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

You're obviously psychic as you and I did the same the other day!

Indeed. Perhaps you are Mystic Meg(abear)? 😂