Arvia - Impressions from Maiden

[UKsatcom]

14 hours ago, lincslady said:

Precisely.

This was one of the reasons given by the Hotel Manager when we were interviewed.

So , if that is the answer , why not switch back to four.

 

He explained that not everyone realised that the Olive [grove] and diner were free. However not everyone wants to sit in Black Tie in a diner  , or any other time for that matter and the Olive Grove menu isn't to everyon'es taste

 

Switching back to Four MDRs would go a long way to easing the situation.

 

Finally Arvia is advertised as Freedom dining only....where is thefreedom when there are two fixed dining times on the app ???

[Selbourne]

39 minutes ago, Sonyar said:

We're flying out to join Arvia today and don't plan on using the MDR at all. 

As  Vegans we don't find it very good. We've a couple of bookings for Green & Co which we're excited about. 

Can't wait to get some Winter sun on this amazing new ship.

When on a 7 night cruise we tend to only use the MDR for formal nights and the speciality restaurants for the rest. However, having read all the reviews regarding queues, staff shortages, small portion sizes etc with the MDR, I can see us using the speciality restaurants every night during our summer fjord cruise on Iona! 
 

Thankfully, after our next two P&O cruises we are booked on Cunard in Britannia Club, where we will have our own dedicated table for our sole use throughout the whole cruise, so we can turn up whenever we like (Breakfast, lunch or dinner) and not have to queue (virtually or physically).
 

As Britannia Club is a smaller / separate dining room to the MDR on Cunard (other than on QM2), P&O could have adopted the ‘Club’ concept on Iona and Arvia, using one of the two smaller dining rooms. It would have provided an extra income stream (Britannia Club carries quite a price premium over the standard Britannia class on Cunard, even though the cabins are the same size) and taken some pressure off the MDR’s, as those who book Club are more likely to be the type of cruisers that prefer to use MDRs. I guess the stumbling point would be that there may be insufficient numbers of people willing to pay the premium with P&O, given the re-positioning of the brand, particularly with Iona and Arvia, towards the budget cruising market?

[Selbourne]

3 minutes ago, UKsatcom said:

Finally Arvia is advertised as Freedom dining only....where is the freedom when there are two fixed dining times on the app ???

Is that the case? If so, no wonder they are having problems. Also, customers aren’t getting what they have paid for - the freedom to dine when they wish. 
 

[Sonyar]

5 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

When on a 7 night cruise we tend to only use the MDR for formal nights and the speciality restaurants for the rest. However, having read all the reviews regarding queues, staff shortages, small portion sizes etc with the MDR, I can see us using the speciality restaurants every night during our summer fjord cruise on Iona! 
 

Thankfully, after our next two P&O cruises we are booked on Cunard in Britannia Club, where we will have our own dedicated table for our sole use throughout the whole cruise, so we can turn up whenever we like (Breakfast, lunch or dinner) and not have to queue (virtually or physically).
 

As Britannia Club is a smaller / separate dining room to the MDR on Cunard (other than on QM2), P&O could have adopted the ‘Club’ concept on Iona and Arvia, using one of the two smaller dining rooms. It would have provided an extra income stream (Britannia Club carries quite a price premium over the standard Britannia class on Cunard, even though the cabins are the same size) and taken some pressure off the MDR’s, as those who book Club are more likely to be the type of cruisers that prefer to use MDRs. I guess the stumbling point would be that there may be insufficient numbers of people willing to pay the premium with P&O, given the re-positioning of the brand, particularly with Iona and Arvia, towards the budget cruising market?

You could be right, though we will only pay for Green &Co. Apart from that we're looking forward to trying Olive Grove and the diner. 

[Sonyar]

6 minutes ago, UKsatcom said:

This was one of the reasons given by the Hotel Manager when we were interviewed.

So , if that is the answer , why not switch back to four.

 

He explained that not everyone realised that the Olive [grove] and diner were free. However not everyone wants to sit in Black Tie in a diner  , or any other time for that matter and the Olive Grove menu isn't to everyon'es taste

 

Switching back to Four MDRs would go a long way to easing the situation.

 

Finally Arvia is advertised as Freedom dining only....where is thefreedom when there are two fixed dining times on the app ???

Having included MDR alternatives was a big part of our decision to book on Arvia. Looking at the menu it hasn't changed since we first cruised with P&O in 2020.

It's very early days, I'm sure the diner and Olive Grove will prove to be popular.

[UKsatcom]

3 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Is that the case? If so, no wonder they are having problems. Also, customers aren’t getting what they have paid for - the freedom to dine when they wish. 
 

Yes the app only bgives two options[all the way through the cruise]

Most of the time , trying to book the "first" sitting produced a fully booked or not available response even though the dining room was half empty.

 

Total shambles...  and yes I did use the app to destruction.I help create and test software so I know when something is not fit for purpose .

I would say its in the "BETA" stage at present , at best.

 

[Selbourne]

14 minutes ago, UKsatcom said:

Yes the app only bgives two options[all the way through the cruise]

Most of the time , trying to book the "first" sitting produced a fully booked or not available response even though the dining room was half empty.

 

Total shambles...  and yes I did use the app to destruction.I help create and test software so I know when something is not fit for purpose .

I would say its in the "BETA" stage at present , at best.

 

I agree it’s crazy and I’m surprised that this isn’t featuring more in all the reviews, as the ability to dine whenever you please is a major attraction for those of us who like Freedom dining. So it’s not people’s reluctance to use the app that’s the problem and causing the queues, it’s the fact that you can’t use the app as advertised to dine whenever you wish? I’m staggered. 

Edited January 21, 2023 by Selbourne

[UKsatcom]

6 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I agree it’s crazy and I’m surprised that this isn’t featuring more in all the reviews, as the ability to dine whenever you please is a major attraction for those of us who like Freedom dining. So it’s not people’s reluctance to use the app that’s the problem and causing the queues, it’s the fact that you can’t use the app as advertised to dine whenever you wish? I’m staggered. 

Exactly

[Bill Y]

33 minutes ago, UKsatcom said:

Switching back to Four MDRs would go a long way to easing the situation.

 

Finally Arvia is advertised as Freedom dining only....where is thefreedom when there are two fixed dining times on the app ???

It is a cynical ploy by P&O to take their customers as mugs. It must be sailing close to the wind with trading/advertising standards, as "Freedom" implies walking in an getting a table when you want.

 

I once worked for an organisation that had the word choice in a management initiative, this however took the choice/power away from one group of people and gave it to the accountants

 

[Megabear2]

I understood the move to fixed dining was only on the maiden and had reverted to freedom on the transatlantic.  Perhaps Bobstheboy will clarify when he posts on his return.  I understand he had a meeting with the beverage and dining managers so hopefully more news soon.

[Eglesbrech]

18 minutes ago, Bill Y said:

It is a cynical ploy by P&O to take their customers as mugs. It must be sailing close to the wind with trading/advertising standards, as "Freedom" implies walking in an getting a table when you want.

 

I once worked for an organisation that had the word choice in a management initiative, this however took the choice/power away from one group of people and gave it to the accountants

 

To be fair to P&O they do make it very clear that you may not always be able to just walk in.

 

“If you'd rather go with the flow and be flexible, dine together anytime from 6.00-9.30pm. At peak times, we'll give you a pager to let you know when your table is ready, so you can sit back and relax with a drink in the bar.”

[Britboys]

If P&O has planned the mdr's, Diner and Olive Grove purely around families, that is a big mistake considering families are largely only sailing for a small proportion of the year...

[davecttr]

1 hour ago, UKsatcom said:

This was one of the reasons given by the Hotel Manager when we were interviewed.

So , if that is the answer , why not switch back to four.

 

He explained that not everyone realised that the Olive [grove] and diner were free. However not everyone wants to sit in Black Tie in a diner  , or any other time for that matter and the Olive Grove menu isn't to everyon'es taste

 

Switching back to Four MDRs would go a long way to easing the situation.

 

Finally Arvia is advertised as Freedom dining only....where is thefreedom when there are two fixed dining times on the app ???

On Iona the only restaurants where formal wear is required are the MDR's, Epicurian, Sindu and the Chefs table. Only bar is the Crows Nest. Formal dress for an American diner? It might make sense if they were serving the MDR menu, same for the Olive Grove.

 

What I want to know, is the Beach House still available on the celebration night or do they convert it into the chefs Table.

[Ardennais]

3 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Thank you, a most interesting perspective from someone who has actually sailed on the ship!

 

I note your observation that the families in particular were expected to move away from the main dining rooms to the more casual eating establishments.  Having come across the thread from cruisemummy regarding her experience on the Arvia maiden I wonder if the misconception made by P&O is that they thought families would gravitate towards the more "junk food" end of the food onboard?  Looking at the menus posted there for those restaurants I would imagine that many responsible parents would use these restaurants as a once or twice treat but would not be keen on allowing their children to eat the food offered for more than that.

 

In my experience most modern mums wouldn't want to feed their children a repetitive diet of chips etc.  I’ve no children or grandchildren personally but am surrounded by family and friends with children ranging from a month old to university age and all of them would I think view 6th Street Diner and Olive Grove menus as treats not regular meals for a fortnight's holiday.

 

Hopefully this link won't get me in trouble and is allowed.  It goes into quite a lot of the menus.

 

https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/po-arvia-restaurants/

I think families suspend their normal eating rules on holiday and wouldn’t worry too much about junk food. Same as adults who drink far more alcohol than they would normally do at home, judging by the frequent questions here about bringing alcohol onboard etc! 

[Harry Peterson]

32 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

To be fair to P&O they do make it very clear that you may not always be able to just walk in.

 

“If you'd rather go with the flow and be flexible, dine together anytime from 6.00-9.30pm. At peak times, we'll give you a pager to let you know when your table is ready, so you can sit back and relax with a drink in the bar.”

Very true - and this has always been the case with Freedom Dining. Popular times always meant some sort of managed wait.

 

And actually, if you chose to eat even at the ‘opening time’ there was a longish queue - though it moved quickly of course.

[cruising.mark.uk]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

As Britannia Club is a smaller / separate dining room to the MDR on Cunard (other than on QM2), P&O could have adopted the ‘Club’ concept on Iona and Arvia, using one of the two smaller dining rooms. It would have provided an extra income stream (Britannia Club carries quite a price premium over the standard Britannia class on Cunard, even though the cabins are the same size) and taken some pressure off the MDR’s, as those who book Club are more likely to be the type of cruisers that prefer to use MDRs. I guess the stumbling point would be that there may be insufficient numbers of people willing to pay the premium with P&O, given the re-positioning of the brand, particularly with Iona and Arvia, towards the budget cruising market?

I think this is spot on and can very much see P&O adopting this approach in due course.  It's easy to implement and has marked benefits for those willing to pay the premium.  We've not done Britannia Club on Cunard but have done Club Class on Princess, which is broadly the same concept (centre of the ship mini suites and a private / reserved dining area with dedicated seats).  It was great and they appear to be developing the idea further with 'reserve class' on their forthcoming ship.  I'm not sure what the demand is for Britannia Club, but Princess Club Class always seems to sell out pretty early. I'm sure this would work on P&O, even if they are going more mass market, so long as the cost premium was not excessive.  My wife and I used the MDR twice on our cruise on Iona last year and I don't think we'll use a MDR at all on our Apr cruise on Arvia.  But, we'd happily pay perhaps £200pp more for a two week cruise with a dedicated table in a separate dining room.

[Britboys]

12 minutes ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

I think this is spot on and can very much see P&O adopting this approach in due course.  It's easy to implement and has marked benefits for those willing to pay the premium.  We've not done Britannia Club on Cunard but have done Club Class on Princess, which is broadly the same concept (centre of the ship mini suites and a private / reserved dining area with dedicated seats).  It was great and they appear to be developing the idea further with 'reserve class' on their forthcoming ship.  I'm not sure what the demand is for Britannia Club, but Princess Club Class always seems to sell out pretty early. I'm sure this would work on P&O, even if they are going more mass market, so long as the cost premium was not excessive.  My wife and I used the MDR twice on our cruise on Iona last year and I don't think we'll use a MDR at all on our Apr cruise on Arvia.  But, we'd happily pay perhaps £200pp more for a two week cruise with a dedicated table in a separate dining room.

I don't see P&O going this way with Iona and Arvia. The emphasis is on a more casual experience. The new Sun Princess is only 10,000 tons smaller than the P&O pair but carries around 1000 fewer pax too, which may make it easier to have more such dining options.

[cruising.mark.uk]

3 minutes ago, Britboys said:

I don't see P&O going this way with Iona and Arvia. The emphasis is on a more casual experience. The new Sun Princess is only 10,000 tons smaller than the P&O pair but carries around 1000 fewer pax too, which may make it easier to have more such dining options.

Thanks.  I hadn't realised how many more pax Iona and Arvia hold than Sun Princess.  That lower pax load might, at least partially, explain why the maiden season cruises on Sun are so flipping expensive!  Is P&O slated to get any Sphere-class ships in the future?

[Britboys]

4 minutes ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

Thanks.  I hadn't realised how many more pax Iona and Arvia hold than Sun Princess.  That lower pax load might, at least partially, explain why the maiden season cruises on Sun are so flipping expensive!  Is P&O slated to get any Sphere-class ships in the future?

P&O don't have any ships on the order books at the moment. I guess Carnival Corp are waiting to see how Iona & Arvia fare...

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

If P&O has planned the mdr's, Diner and Olive Grove purely around families, that is a big mistake considering families are largely only sailing for a small proportion of the year...

I'm booked on Arvia Feb 18th

 

If I hadnt read this thread I would have no idea Olive Grove and the Diner were free

 

Neither would have appealed to me for speciality dining so probably would have avoided them

 

Now I've read this will be sure to try them as an alternative to MDR

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

I agree it’s crazy and I’m surprised that this isn’t featuring more in all the reviews, as the ability to dine whenever you please is a major attraction for those of us who like Freedom dining. So it’s not people’s reluctance to use the app that’s the problem and causing the queues, it’s the fact that you can’t use the app as advertised to dine whenever you wish? I’m staggered. 

But you can use the app by joining a virtual queue for the restaurant of your choice. However I agree that continuing to allow passengers just to turn up, and be seated fairly quickly, probably by delaying people on the virtual queue, does nothing to increase the use of the app. Until this is rectified then the major benefits of freedom dining are being lost.

[Britboys]

2 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I'm booked on Arvia Feb 18th

 

If I hadnt read this thread I would have no idea Olive Grove and the Diner were free

 

Neither would have appealed to me for speciality dining so probably would have avoided them

 

Now I've read this will be sure to try them as an alternative to MDR

But surely once on board you would have sought them out to have a look at the menu, which would show that only a small number of items is chargeable???

[Interestedcruisefan]

3 minutes ago, Britboys said:

But surely once on board you would have sought them out to have a look at the menu, which would show that only a small number of items is chargeable???

Yes most probably

 

Will just check them out sooner now

 

Probably won't do formal nights this cruise. Just want a relaxed 2 weeks. I do too much formal for my business!!

 

Do you guys know which restaurants on Arvia are happy for smart casual on formal nights?

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

If P&O has planned the mdr's, Diner and Olive Grove purely around families, that is a big mistake considering families are largely only sailing for a small proportion of the year...

Not really our experience in October, I know that half term did figure in part of our 14 nt cruise, but most schools only have one week. However there were lots of young families on the cruise with children under school age, as well as quite a few who possibly decided a fine was a bargain, if they could have a holiday away from peak school holiday prices.

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Eglesbrech said:

To be fair to P&O they do make it very clear that you may not always be able to just walk in.

 

“If you'd rather go with the flow and be flexible, dine together anytime from 6.00-9.30pm. At peak times, we'll give you a pager to let you know when your table is ready, so you can sit back and relax with a drink in the bar.”

Being fair to P&O is novel. Of course freedom is the right to turn up at any restaurant in town and expect to be seated right away. Off to a restaurant this afternoon. Booked on line. If we had just turned up when we felt like it, could have been a takeaway from the Chinese.  ...your delivery will be in the next 90 minutes sir...