Arvia Adventure Begins - May 2023

[TigerB]

Wrong thread! 🤭

Edited May 20, 2023 by TigerB

[CarlaMarie]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

I agree wholeheartedly Andy. I would always take your reviews as gospel, even if 100% positive, because you aren’t one of those who makes defensive or sarcastic comments at those who raise legitimate concerns. Like you, I would much rather know what issues others have faced and go prepared, managing our expectations accordingly. We’ve also reset the dial on what we are prepared to pay to cruise with P&O based on much of the consistent feedback post Covid. I am hoping that we will be pleasantly surprised, in which case we’ve had a bargain. If we experience the same problems as others then at least they won’t come as a complete surprise! 

 

My parents have done the same as you and Andy. Reset what they are prepared to pay and expect.

[bee-ess]

10 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

This is sadly taking a turn for the worse and getting a bit too deep and personal.  When people start telling me I'm enticing people to complain and cancelling holidays I think the time has come for me to.move on.  I have decided not to post anymore on this link as it isn't and never was intended to be anything other than posting on my holiday experience.  Thanks.

I'm very sorry that you are not posting on this topic anymore. We are on  Arvia in 3 weeks time and am very grateful to you for your posts that have highlighted many things to avoid such as Palma shuttles. I have found your posts to always be very fair and to the point. From a selfish viewpoint I would like to you keep posting as it highlights deficiencies that can only help us and future cruisers on Arvia, but fully understand why you choose to stop. Please enjoy the rest of your cruise and thank you for your helpful posts on this topic. 

[Technoman2]

I think that onboard feedback that both Tiger B and myself presented while we were onboard Arvia gives a balanced view to the current experiences that MB is having at the moment. After the dissapointing experience we had on the December 8th 2 week cruise on Azura around the canaries with the standard of food, poor supply of wine and beer and also the level of sickness onboard we were in 2 minds whether to cancel the Arvia cruise. What tipped the balance  there for us what the lovely experience we had on Iona a year last September as we were coming out of covid. 

I dont think we will be doing anymore Sea cruises this year probably a land based hol in late september or maybe a Danube river cruise taking in Vienna in July. 

I truly hope that the irritating experiences that MB has endured are going to stop and she can continue to have a better holiday.

The ship normally docks walking distance to the town in Cadiz and turn left out of the port and walk about 400yds til you see Burger King on the right across the road and this road will take you to the old town and cathedral. Simples.

 

[Fionboard]

30 minutes ago, Technoman2 said:

I think that onboard feedback that both Tiger B and myself presented while we were onboard Arvia gives a balanced view to the current experiences that MB is having at the moment. After the dissapointing experience we had on the December 8th 2 week cruise on Azura around the canaries with the standard of food, poor supply of wine and beer and also the level of sickness onboard we were in 2 minds whether to cancel the Arvia cruise. What tipped the balance  there for us what the lovely experience we had on Iona a year last September as we were coming out of covid. 

I dont think we will be doing anymore Sea cruises this year probably a land based hol in late september or maybe a Danube river cruise taking in Vienna in July. 

I truly hope that the irritating experiences that MB has endured are going to stop and she can continue to have a better holiday.

The ship normally docks walking distance to the town in Cadiz and turn left out of the port and walk about 400yds til you see Burger King on the right across the road and this road will take you to the old town and cathedral. Simples.

 

On Iona in Cadiz last December we were docked away from the terminal. Not allowed to walk out and queue for 5 minute shuttle was horrendous. Be prepared, just in case! 

[Jazzytelly]

9 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

On Iona in Cadiz last December we were docked away from the terminal. Not allowed to walk out and queue for 5 minute shuttle was horrendous. Be prepared, just in case! 

Once when we docked in Cadiz, we were fine but Britannia was docked further away in the port so they had to have a shuttle which dropped them off next to our ship. On that occasion we caught the shopping bus that El Corte Ingles provide that used to be parked next to the ship and left about  10 o’clock and we met some of the passengers off Britannia. Do they still do that shopping bus I wonder as this was before Covid? You got a voucher for a little bit of tapas and a glass of wine and 10% off if you spent so much. We then always used to walk back to the ship, a nice easy walk. ( don’t be fooled by the way the bus goes as it goes round in a circle to get there, one way streets or something I guess). 

[zap99]

19 minutes ago, Jazzytelly said:

Once when we docked in Cadiz, we were fine but Britannia was docked further away in the port so they had to have a shuttle which dropped them off next to our ship. On that occasion we caught the shopping bus that El Corte Ingles provide that used to be parked next to the ship and left about  10 o’clock and we met some of the passengers off Britannia. Do they still do that shopping bus I wonder as this was before Covid? You got a voucher for a little bit of tapas and a glass of wine and 10% off if you spent so much. We then always used to walk back to the ship, a nice easy walk. ( don’t be fooled by the way the bus goes as it goes round in a circle to get there, one way streets or something I guess). 

On  Britannia in October we docked right by the dock gates in Cadiz.

[Jazzytelly]

9 minutes ago, zap99 said:

On  Britannia in October we docked right by the dock gates in Cadiz.

I assume Britannia docked further in because we ( can’t remember which ship might have been Ventura) were already docked at the gates. We have docked near the gates on Britannia before but I guess on this occasion they drew the short straw. 

[Selbourne]

Luckily we have always docked right by the dock gates in Cadiz. It’s so much nicer when you can walk into a place and not have to faff about with shuttle buses (especially when with a wheelchair user). We are due in Cadiz twice over the next 18 months, on Ventura and Queen Anne. Fingers crossed that we will do the same. 

[carlanthony24]

Love the reports but just go and enjoy what you can and post on the return or every couple of days maybe.

[happy v]

18 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

I'm sorry you read it that way.  I'm not enticing anyone to complain or cancel and my experience is just as I see it.  This started as a happy thread, I booked a holiday to enjoy.  Events I experience are my own. Others are unaffected and having a nice holiday without a doubt.

 

It is not my intention at all to say everybody will encounter the same.  I wouldn't dream of cancelling a holiday based on a thread on a website from someone I don't know from Adam and is like to assume that most would feel the same.

 

I cannot change.my personal experience.  I am not running around telling people to complain, that's for them but a post above indicated that I was being singled out for special treatment.  I can assure you I'm.not, I was a long way down the list of complainants.  I reiterate however that everything is not bad on here, it's stuff that can be rectified, and if it's done soon there's no.need to worry.

 

I've chosen to cancel a couple of holidays based on my experience and expectations.  There's no need for others to do it as they aren't the ones who had the problems.

Mb. Just to say I think this post is excellent. It puts everything in into prospective. If people are choosing to cancel it is definitely down to them. Not you.

On a lighter note. You have achieved without even meaning to what YP has been trying for months!😄. You must be more believable 

Edited May 20, 2023 by happy v

[Castle25]

18 hours ago, davecttr said:

For information these are the berths at Palma

Yellow - Arvia

Green - RoRo berths

Red - original cruise berths

Blue - nearest public transport No1 bus terminus

 

In the olden days Ocean village use the Arvia berth at times, as did Thomson

 

 

We was dock here when in on Harmony of the Seas - took us about 1 hour to walk to cathedral.  Tui and Norweigan were in on the 'Red' docks as they had boarding

[Technoman2]

1 minute ago, Castle25 said:

We was dock here when in on Harmony of the Seas - took us about 1 hour to walk to cathedral.  Tui and Norweigan were in on the 'Red' docks as they had boarding

Both on Iona and Arvia we docked right next to the port exit and it took a leisurely 20mins to walk to cathedral. Perhaps we were lucky on both occasions. 

[DamianG]

On 5/20/2023 at 7:27 AM, lindyloo22 said:

Do keep posting Megabear, I agree with Angel57 your posts are invaluable. If people want to cancel that’s down to them. I’m on Arvia July and found your posts very informative but doesn’t make me want to cancel I will just be aware what could go wrong but I won’t go looking for it.

Hope the rest of your cruise is much better.

 

I absolutely second this, please keep posting as all the information you're providing is invaluable. We will be onboard in August with our biggest ever travelling party (7) so the more we know the better prepared we can be for whatever situation we find ourselves in. Hopefully we'll have minimal issues or none at all since (as @lindyloo22 states) we won't go looking for problems either.

Edited May 21, 2023 by DamianG

[mrsgoggins]

On 5/19/2023 at 11:44 PM, Megabear2 said:

This is sadly taking a turn for the worse and getting a bit too deep and personal.  When people start telling me I'm enticing people to complain and cancelling holidays I think the time has come for me to.move on.  I have decided not to post anymore on this link as it isn't and never was intended to be anything other than posting on my holiday experience.  Thanks.

 

I salute you in your efforts to give people full information of your cruise; warts and all.  It takes time and effort to post in such detail, and yours are obviously considered posts.  I often intend to post more about my experiences (this year 2 x Celebrity, Iona and Ventura so far) but then the desire evaporates as it takes such a time to avoid giving offence when you recognise that others' experiences are likely to be very different to yours.  The point you made so eloquently in a previous posts and something of which you are clearly mindful.

 

I note you are still posting on other threads, which I was pleased to see, and like others, do hope that you will be able to return to this thread and continue to give us the benefit of your experiences. Well done for getting a taxi for the old ladies in Palma and for a fulsome report on what an ordeal that whole boarding process was.

[sandancer]

We really enjoyed our Transatlantic cruise on Arvia and encountered very few problems. Our only real complaint was with the MDR food (might have been unfair as we were comparing with Cunard/Celebrity) but we simply ate elsewhere. On the strength of that we have booked a Med cruise for next year on Arvia. However, it appears that the experience is likely to be very different as far as ports are concerned and also how busy the ship is going to be. Fortunately we only paid a £50 pp deposit so we can cancel if reports continue to be poor. We will definitely go back for another Transatlantic on Arvia though. 

[Selbourne]

11 minutes ago, mrsgoggins said:

 

 I often intend to post more about my experiences (this year 2 x Celebrity, Iona and Ventura so far) but then the desire evaporates as it takes such a time to avoid giving offence when you recognise that others' experiences are likely to be very different to yours.  The point you made so eloquently in a previous posts and something of which you are clearly mindful.

Interesting point and one I can relate to. After around 20 P&O cruises we recently took our first cruise with another line (Cunard). In a dull moment (and primarily for our benefit) I compiled a bit of a review of what we thought was better than P&O, what was worse than P&O and what was the same. Whilst I have mentioned one or two of these things since, I might have ordinarily posted the full review, but decided against it for similar reasons to you (especially as the longest list was the things that Cunard do better)! Also, there are a tiny number of folk who take great umbrage at any criticism of P&O and dismiss it because their experiences or expectations are different, or resort to sarcasm to try to belittle the points being made.
 

Like many, I was finding Megabears blog to be invaluable and balanced, even if it’s not what some wanted to hear. I hope that it resumes. 

[DamianG]

23 hours ago, Fionboard said:

On Iona in Cadiz last December we were docked away from the terminal. Not allowed to walk out and queue for 5 minute shuttle was horrendous. Be prepared, just in case! 

 

Thank you, I've never heard of ships not docking in the usual place at Cadiz so this is just the sort of information that is worth knowing. In fact, I've just checked which ships will be in certain ports on the same day as us so that we will be prepared and it appears that Arvia is the only ship due in Cadiz on our August cruise. I hope that it stays that way and that it berths in the usual place.

[lindyloo22]

What’s the best site to check what ships are in certain ports, can’t remember where I looked before.

thanks

[BrianI]

3 minutes ago, lindyloo22 said:

What’s the best site to check what ships are in certain ports, can’t remember where I looked before.

thanks

https://www.cruisetimetables.com

Brian

[DamianG]

46 minutes ago, lindyloo22 said:

What’s the best site to check what ships are in certain ports, can’t remember where I looked before.

thanks

 

I used this one:

Port of Cadiz, Spain - Arrivals | CruiseDig

[Host Hattie]

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Interesting point and one I can relate to. After around 20 P&O cruises we recently took our first cruise with another line (Cunard). In a dull moment (and primarily for our benefit) I compiled a bit of a review of what we thought was better than P&O, what was worse than P&O and what was the same. Whilst I have mentioned one or two of these things since, I might have ordinarily posted the full review, but decided against it for similar reasons to you (especially as the longest list was the things that Cunard do better)! Also, there are a tiny number of folk who take great umbrage at any criticism of P&O and dismiss it because their experiences or expectations are different, or resort to sarcasm to try to belittle the points being made.
 

Like many, I was finding Megabears blog to be invaluable and balanced, even if it’s not what some wanted to hear. I hope that it resumes. 

I'm sure your review would be of interest on the Cunard board. 

We often get questions comparing the 2 lines so a recent comparison would be very welcome. 

[Selbourne]

32 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

I'm sure your review would be of interest on the Cunard board. 

We often get questions comparing the 2 lines so a recent comparison would be very welcome. 

There were a few things that we preferred about P&O though. Are there as many defensive folk over there as there are here? 😂 

[Host Hattie]

38 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

There were a few things that we preferred about P&O though. Are there as many defensive folk over there as there are here? 😂 

Generally no, just try not to get involved in discussions about dress code!

[Pink-belle]

2 hours ago, lindyloo22 said:

What’s the best site to check what ships are in certain ports, can’t remember where I looked before.

thanks

I use “what’s in port”