Arvia - Impressions from Maiden

[UKsatcom]

17 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

Paul Ludlow:

 

……..“99.9% of people went away delighted”……….

……..“5000 guests”……..

 

Hmmmm.  That’s just 5 people who didn’t go away “delighted”.

 

Take your pick from:

 

1 I have no concept of basic arithmetic.

2 Paul Ludlow has no concept of basic arithmetic.

3 Paul Ludlow is overfond of Porky Pies, a celebrated East End delicacy.

 

 

I think I can help with the Math[s]

 

Myself and my wife , the couple who followed us in to see Sharma and Maria , two more who saw the finance manager , one who was desperate to leave the ship  by the time we got to Madiera [but couldn't] plus the dozens more I personally  spoke to.

I don't deal in tittle tattle or hearsay , with a background in finance , investigative journalism , forensics , TV  and documentary making , I like to deal in facts. 

 

Ooops looks like I may have blown Mr Ludlow's comments out of the water.

 

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, devonuk said:

Maiden + 1 is a shocker, especially at evening meal times. A great ship but poor organisation 🤷‍♂️

So sorry to hear this. I hope they sort it for you all very soon and that at least apart from dining you are able to enjoy your cruise.

[Snow Hill]

56 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Totally different style of remuneration in the US. 

Yeas they have a minimum wage which has loopholes in it to allow employers to circumvent paying the full amount and rely on the public topping up the staff members wages via tips. Something that is not permitted under U.K. Minimum Wage law. 

[davecttr]

I have an Iona cruise next month and it will be interesting to see how it compares with my two previous  cruises aboard. I am not worried about the MDR shenanigans as apart from maybe the peninsular welcome lunch I won't be using it. On a 7 night cruise with good onboard credit and low alcohol consumption alternative dining is the order of the day. Moving the main meal to lunchtime helps as well.

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, UKsatcom said:

Really sorry to hear this , they promised everything would be sorted ......obviously not.

They need to scrap those two dinner sittings and the app for now and get back to "real" freedom dining.

When talking to the Hotel manager we suggested this and also said they should get folks into the dinning rooms without having to check in at the two desks [ obviously a system to expose those pirates who had boarded mid Atlantic to get a free meal ]

 

Sounds like you have already encountered the Covid incubating corridor.

 

Take care , try to enjoy at least something of the cruise

I thought the two sittings was only for Christmas Day and New Years Eve???

[UKsatcom]

52 minutes ago, Britboys said:

I thought the two sittings was only for Christmas Day and New Years Eve???

 

So did I , but they carried that idea right through our cruise , we had to book each meal using "My Holiday"

Our pre departure  Xmas and NYE  preferences were ignored.

Hence the two queues , prebooked and walk-ins , up to four deep stretching to infinity and beyond!

[zap99]

20 minutes ago, UKsatcom said:

 

 

 up to four deep stretching to infinity and beyond!

That's a looong queue. All the way to 2 Celebrity ships.

[bobstheboy]

Mixed reviews on current Arvia cruise. Just read comments post on another social media site full of praise, so I will do as I always do and board with an open mind, as I will on Iona when I board on Saturday, I need some warm weather !

[Britboys]

39 minutes ago, UKsatcom said:

 

So did I , but they carried that idea right through our cruise , we had to book each meal using "My Holiday"

Our pre departure  Xmas and NYE  preferences were ignored.

Hence the two queues , prebooked and walk-ins , up to four deep stretching to infinity and beyond!

I always book fixed dining out of choice but that really does make a mockery of Freedom Dining...

[grapau27]

29 minutes ago, bobstheboy said:

Mixed reviews on current Arvia cruise. Just read comments post on another social media site full of praise, so I will do as I always do and board with an open mind, as I will on Iona when I board on Saturday, I need some warm weather !

I hope you have an amazing cruise Bob.

[devonuk]

4 hours ago, UKsatcom said:

Really sorry to hear this , they promised everything would be sorted ......obviously not.

They need to scrap those two dinner sittings and the app for now and get back to "real" freedom dining.

When talking to the Hotel manager we suggested this and also said they should get folks into the dinning rooms without having to check in at the two desks [ obviously a system to expose those pirates who had boarded mid Atlantic to get a free meal ]

 

Sounds like you have already encountered the Covid incubating corridor.

 

Take care , try to enjoy at least something of the cruise

There is freedom dining only. The ship is great the service is poor. MDR’s in the evening I have queued for over an hour on 2 occasions to be given a pager for another 30 minutes 😧

Out of the number on this ship there will always be those that think it’s great and those that don’t. As an experienced cruiser and having now spent over a 100 nights with P&O i can IMHO say it’s poor. 

Edited January 10, 2023 by devonuk
Error

[purplesea]

25 minutes ago, devonuk said:

There is freedom dining only. The ship is great the service is poor. MDR’s in the evening I have queued for over an hour on 2 occasions to be given a pager for another 30 minutes 😧

Out of the number on this ship there will always be those that think it’s great and those that don’t. As an experienced cruiser and having now spent over a 100 nights with P&O i can IMHO say it’s poor. 

Perhaps I have had a lucky escape as we were supposed to be on Arvia now as well!

[Megabear2]

29 minutes ago, devonuk said:

There is freedom dining only. The ship is great the service is poor. MDR’s in the evening I have queued for over an hour on 2 occasions to be given a pager for another 30 minutes 😧

Out of the number on this ship there will always be those that think it’s great and those that don’t. As an experienced cruiser and having now spent over a 100 nights with P&O i can IMHO say it’s poor. 

Is that an indication the app is still not functioning properly if you are queuing for a pager?

[UKsatcom]

41 minutes ago, devonuk said:

There is freedom dining only. The ship is great the service is poor. MDR’s in the evening I have queued for over an hour on 2 occasions to be given a pager for another 30 minutes 😧

Out of the number on this ship there will always be those that think it’s great and those that don’t. As an experienced cruiser and having now spent over a 100 nights with P&O i can IMHO say it’s poor. 

Thanks for getting back re dining.

 

Again I'm really sorry this has not been resolved for you.

I know there are a number of your fellow passengers  who were on the maiden voyage [they stayed on]

 

Talked to a number of those myself. They were dreading their second leg and it looks like their fears were well founded.😒

 

 

 

[Bill Y]

25 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Is that an indication the app is still not functioning properly if you are queuing for a pager?

One sincerely hopes that P&O IT are not allowed anywhere near the ship's navigation or safety systems or even the engine room. Just waiting for a news report that Carnival House has sunk without trace following an IT upgrade,

[devonuk]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

Is that an indication the app is still not functioning properly if you are queuing for a pager?

For lots of people the app works fine but they still join queues having been told they’ve reached the top of their virtual queue 😊 
The app is intermittent for me but funnily enough I can always book a ‘pay’ restaurant 😉

 

[devonuk]

Booked on the left walk ins on the right… the queue at one stage reached the length of this particular corridor. No drinks or chairs offered, very hot and claustrophobic and this led to arguments between guest unfortunately 😳

 

 

[bobstheboy]

14 minutes ago, devonuk said:

Booked on the left walk ins on the right… the queue at one stage reached the length of this particular corridor. No drinks or chairs offered, very hot and claustrophobic and this led to arguments between guest unfortunately 😳

 

 

What time was this ?  Thanks

 

[devonuk]

1 minute ago, bobstheboy said:

What time was this ?  Thanks

 

19:36 exactly and we’d joined the queue at 19:00. We’ve also left it much later and found the same. The pic was taken on the ‘celebration’ black tie event and by the time we ate they’d run out of Amuse Bouche 🤦‍♂️

[Megabear2]

2 minutes ago, devonuk said:

19:36 exactly and we’d joined the queue at 19:00. We’ve also left it much later and found the same. The pic was taken on the ‘celebration’ black tie event and by the time we ate they’d run out of Amuse Bouche 🤦‍♂️

The whole idea of a corridor seems rather ridiculous.  I'm probably being very stupid but where does it go at the other end?  Does it open out into something and if so do the queues spill into any other area?

[devonuk]

7 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

The whole idea of a corridor seems rather ridiculous.  I'm probably being very stupid but where does it go at the other end?  Does it open out into something and if so do the queues spill into any other area?

It goes into another corridor and ‘shops’. 

[sandancer]

We are on Arvia for the return transatlantic in March. Have to hope that this awful situation will be resolved but planning to eat in the extra charge restaurants frequently. If we book these once the bookings open 2 weeks before sail date will our credit card be charged at that point or do we pay once onboard. Either way is ok. We are planning to spend our OBC on cocktails. 

[Selbourne]

11 minutes ago, sandancer said:

We are on Arvia for the return transatlantic in March. Have to hope that this awful situation will be resolved but planning to eat in the extra charge restaurants frequently. If we book these once the bookings open 2 weeks before sail date will our credit card be charged at that point or do we pay once onboard. Either way is ok. We are planning to spend our OBC on cocktails. 

You have to pay when you book (unless it’s changed now some restaurants are pay per item), so you can’t use OBC but any loyalty discount will be applied. 

[Megabear2]

16 minutes ago, devonuk said:

It goes into another corridor and ‘shops’. 

Assuming its the same for the other MDR a corridor leading to a corridor suggests they were anticipating they need a large queue area.  

 

Anyone who's sailed on Iona come across this "corridor" queuing area? I'm racking my brains and can't think of anything like it on the rest of the fleet.

[doog442]

1 hour ago, devonuk said:

Booked on the left walk ins on the right… the queue at one stage reached the length of this particular corridor. No drinks or chairs offered, very hot and claustrophobic and this led to arguments between guest unfortunately 😳

 

 

 

That's reminiscent of The Enchanted Princess last July although the queues then went up flights of steps. We got into the habit of getting a drink in just for the queue. We found that they had deliberately closed areas of the MDR (presumably underestimating the number of quests or based on staffing levels ). As soon as these areas were opened up about four / five days in, the queues vanished.

 

Can you do us a favour please and create merry hell, the reason I ask is that we're on in early Feb .I hope it gets sorted for you.  

 

 

Edited January 10, 2023 by doog442