Arvia Pre-Booking Dining and Entertainment

[Interestedcruisefan]

Receiving OBC normally seems entwined with paying extra for balcony and/or choosing cabin location

 

When you travel with inside cabins and are decent  walkers paying extra for location in return for OBC has not added up as a good deal for us so far

 

Can't see that changing

[Selbourne]

4 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Receiving OBC normally seems entwined with paying extra for balcony and/or choosing cabin location

 

When you travel with inside cabins and are decent  walkers paying extra for location in return for OBC has not added up as a good deal for us so far

 

Can't see that changing

Although it is sometimes the case that the additional OBC offered on a Select fare equates to the additional price premium over a Saver, especially when you take parking into consideration as well, so you are effectively paying the same as a Saver but getting the Select benefits. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

Just now, Selbourne said:

Although it is sometimes the case that the additional OBC offered on a Select fare equates to the additional price premium over a Saver, especially when you take parking into consideration as well, so you are effectively paying the same as a Saver but getting the Select benefits. 

Hasn't for me last couple of cruises but will keep checking

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I honestly don't think seat specific is needed

 

It works now as it  is and saves a lot of messing about with people having to look for seats or be shown to seats and the normal having to apologise to people so much as you walk past them 

 

Everyone gets sat down far far quicker as a result of not having allocated seat numbers they need to find - especially later arrivals

 

You would also have people having to get points out and needless discussion that you've got my seats etc?

 

Seat numbers being allocated would just complicate it IMO

 

And I can't really see what benefit it would bring compared to how it is now John?

 

What am I missing that would improve with allocated seat numbers?

 

 

 

 

It doesn't work now because people are still queuing before the theatre doors are opened, if your booking allocated you a firm seat number, then there would be no need for queueing, and the limited accessible seating could then be specific for wheelchair dependant carers.

Edited May 29, 2023 by terrierjohn

[TigerB]

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

It doesn't work now because people are still queuing before the theatre doors are opened, if your booking allocated you a firm seat number, then there would be no need for queueing, and the limited accessible seating could then be specific for wheelchair dependant carers.

 

That's a good idea John and would be achievable, but I think the P&O IT team would put it in the too hard to do tray. Let's face it, some things that should be simple, they can't even get right.

Even if they couldn't or wouldn't roll something like that out, I would welcome them allowing the reservation of the wheelchair spaces and companion seats, and somehow make that available to those that have notified them ahead of special assistance. But again, that'll go in the same tray.

[Guest ccpm]

12 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

I tried Glass House yesterday. Joined app queue at 1.00pm two people in queue. 1.50 stil two people. I was sitting in the place about 14 people actually eating, loads just sitting. No waiters for food or drink in sight.  Put myself out of queue at 2.10pm. Ate elsewhere. Lack of staff seems likely cause.

Megabear I do not know why but on Iona (jan/Feb 2023)and Ventura (2 weeks ago) the putting yourself into the queue at the Glasshouse is OK BUT they rarely see it (well always my experience at lunchtime). This also happened many times at the Keel and Cow. What I do is add myself to the queue walk to the venue speak to someone and get a table. Hope that helps.

[Megabear2]

2 minutes ago, ccpm said:

Megabear I do not know why but on Iona (jan/Feb 2023)and Ventura (2 weeks ago) the putting yourself into the queue at the Glasshouse is OK BUT they rarely see it (well always my experience at lunchtime). This also happened many times at the Keel and Cow. What I do is add myself to the queue walk to the venue speak to someone and get a table. Hope that helps.

I never got in at Glasshouse or Keel & Cow to eat as everything was on the app and I wasn't called after quite a long wait. I did manage Keel & Cow breakfast but to truthful the MDR offering was just as good and free.

[Guest ccpm]

1 minute ago, Megabear2 said:

I never got in at Glasshouse or Keel & Cow to eat as everything was on the app and I wasn't called after quite a long wait. I did manage Keel & Cow breakfast but to truthful the MDR offering was just as good and free.

Yes that is true it is on the app and no I never got called walked round there and the podium guy seated me.

[JeanieC,Aston]

4 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I honestly don't think seat specific is needed

 

It works now as it  is and saves a lot of messing about with people having to look for seats or be shown to seats and the normal having to apologise to people so much as you walk past them 

 

Everyone gets sat down far far quicker as a result of not having allocated seat numbers they need to find - especially later arrivals

 

You would also have people having to get points out and needless discussion that you've got my seats etc?

 

Seat numbers being allocated would just complicate it IMO

 

And I can't really see what benefit it would bring compared to how it is now John?

 

What am I missing that would improve with allocated seat numbers?

 

 

 

 

With allocated seat numbers you can have the same serving team every night,then you can show your appreciation at the cruise end.

I have just returned from a Celebrity cruise where I booked dining pre cruise,,for different times on different days depending on port calls,,,,,and got the same table for x2  every time.

I let them know if I was dining elsewhere that night then they could release that table to someone else.

As did most people around us.

 

Btw,,I am diabetic so like to dine around the same time every night.

I could do fixed dining but they are usually too early or too late.

So I do ‘freedom dining’.,,dining at 19:30 is ideal,,,it also helps the MDR team prepare the usual table,,,,just after the early diners depart the table,,,win win for them and us.

 

Edited May 29, 2023 by JeanieC,Aston

[JeanieC,Aston]

Another thing with the App is the ‘unknowing bit’……how long is the queue?

On my Iona cruise in Feb you looked at the queues at the 4 restaurants and thought that’s the shortest queue I’ll go into that one.

It doesn’t work like that,,,,maybe it’s because of requested table size?

One night there was 49 in the queue and we where called in 15 minutes.

Another night there was 10 in the queue and we where waiting 1hr 45min,,,,we eventually got a table after a few irate visits to the desk….that queue never went down.

Edited May 29, 2023 by JeanieC,Aston

[zap99]

2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I'm wondering if OBC is what allows such hig prices to be charged for the shops on board

 

The drinks and speciality restaurants are reasonably priced in copmparison

 

But some people must be having  to buy things in shops to spend their OBC in full

We won't be spending much in the shops. Our OBC goes on drinks, restaurants and trips. I doubt that folk are fooled by any clever P&O marketing ploys. I'm sure that most will do the sums. 10% discount on something I book precruise means I have spent the 90% remainder with my real money.

[zap99]

2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Receiving OBC normally seems entwined with paying extra for balcony and/or choosing cabin location

 

When you travel with inside cabins and are decent  walkers paying extra for location in return for OBC has not added up as a good deal for us so far

 

Can't see that changing

We don't book a balcony cabin for extra OBC, we book a balcony because.....we want a balcony.But we have had this conversation.

[Son of Anarchy]

1 minute ago, zap99 said:

We don't book a balcony cabin for extra OBC, we book a balcony because.....we want a balcony.But we have had this conversation.

We have had one cruise where the amount of OBC for a Select fare was so much that the net cost of a balcony on Select fare was lower than a saver fare for an inside cabin.  Only once though.  Had a couple of cruises where the difference was only about £100.

[Megabear2]

5 minutes ago, zap99 said:

We won't be spending much in the shops. Our OBC goes on drinks, restaurants and trips. I doubt that folk are fooled by any clever P&O marketing ploys. I'm sure that most will do the sums. 10% discount on something I book precruise means I have spent the 90% remainder with my real money.

They had a "sale" on handbags last week, 20% off.  They were priced £50 with stickers each the day before, on the day of the sale they had no price tags.  I watched a lady buy one - £57 then minus the 20% rang up. She remonstrated as to the sales person's embarrassment the bag she was buying had the original £50 sticker accidentally left on.  Fascinating to watch as the wriggling began to say the bags had gone up in price.  The lady got her bag for £50 minus 20% though .

[zap99]

41 minutes ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

With allocated seat numbers you can have the same serving team every night,then you can show your appreciation at the cruise end.

I have just returned from a Celebrity cruise where I booked dining pre cruise,,for different times on different days depending on port calls,,,,,and got the same table for x2  every time.

I let them know if I was dining elsewhere that night then they could release that table to someone else.

As did most people around us.

 

Btw,,I am diabetic so like to dine around the same time every night.

I could do fixed dining but they are usually too early or too late.

So I do ‘freedom dining’.,,dining at 19:30 is ideal,,,it also helps the MDR team prepare the usual table,,,,just after the early diners depart the table,,,win win for them and us.

 

We have not had a serving team in the theatre,so don't tip them. We like freedom dining so we can go to different restaurants as the fancy takes us. We normally show our appreciation in the specialities as we go.

Edited May 29, 2023 by zap99

[zap99]

5 minutes ago, Son of Anarchy said:

We have had one cruise where the amount of OBC for a Select fare was so much that the net cost of a balcony on Select fare was lower than a saver fare for an inside cabin.  Only once though.  Had a couple of cruises where the difference was only about £100.

In some case the difference us a rip off. Sometimes not much in it. Folk will do the sums.

[zap99]

7 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

They had a "sale" on handbags last week, 20% off.  They were priced £50 with stickers each the day before, on the day of the sale they had no price tags.  I watched a lady buy one - £57 then minus the 20% rang up. She remonstrated as to the sales person's embarrassment the bag she was buying had the original £50 sticker accidentally left on.  Fascinating to watch as the wriggling began to say the bags had gone up in price.  The lady got her bag for £50 minus 20% though .

On RC they had a Micheal Coors hand bag that DW liked and we had a chunk of OBC. It was reduced from £280 to £140. DW went to buy it and the sales Lady said ' I will put it under the counter ma'am.  Pop down at 10.00am tomorrow,  I will be reducing it another 50% when we close tonight.

[JeanieC,Aston]

3 minutes ago, zap99 said:

On RC they had a Micheal Coors hand bag that DW liked and we had a chunk of OBC. It was reduced from £280 to £140. DW went to buy it and the sales Lady said ' I will put it under the counter ma'am.  Pop down at 10.00am tomorrow,  I will be reducing it another 50% when we close tonight.

Hi

Similar thing happened to me on Britannia last October.

I was about to purchase a couple of bottles of Irish whisky,,,the guy behind the counter said wait until the last day they will be on sale,,get here early as a queue will form.

Sure enough by 10:00 there must have been a hundred in the queue.

And sure enough they where selling Connemara Irish whiskey for £10 litre.

 

Just returned from a Celebrity cruise with $800 OBC,,,,a iPad mini and a ring for my wife plus a couple of bottles of Jameson’s for me,,,final onboard bill was minus $0.96.

 

[Son of Anarchy]

13 minutes ago, zap99 said:

In some case the difference us a rip off. Sometimes not much in it. Folk will do the sums.

Definitely.  Two weeks on Azura in Jan/Feb, was an inside Saver for us.  No brainer.  We even didn't use the shuttles in Funchal, and the Arrecife shuttle isn't worth the effort for most people even if you're on Select.

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, ccpm said:

Megabear I do not know why but on Iona (jan/Feb 2023)and Ventura (2 weeks ago) the putting yourself into the queue at the Glasshouse is OK BUT they rarely see it (well always my experience at lunchtime). This also happened many times at the Keel and Cow. What I do is add myself to the queue walk to the venue speak to someone and get a table. Hope that helps.

With the advent of the app and virtual queues, have the days of just popping in to the Glasshouse on a whim for a drink gone? Do you have to dine there, or virtual queue just to have a drink, or do they still allow walk-ins?

[Megabear2]

20 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

With the advent of the app and virtual queues, have the days of just popping in to the Glasshouse on a whim for a drink gone? Do you have to dine there, or virtual queue just to have a drink, or do they still allow walk-ins?

On Britannia you could pop in up to 6.00pm then app or queue took over.  On Arvia it was app based for eating, don't know about drinking as I never got served or asked if I wanted a drink!  It was a strange venue almost in a walkway in places nothing in my opinion anyway like the other ships.  On the adverse weather days a large number of its seats became just places to sit, only the dining tables section seemed to being serviced unless you walked to the bar.  Being alone doing that meant you'd lose your seat so I sat and waited in the app queue to no avail.  I didn't see a waiter to ask for a drink either.

[Guest ccpm]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

With the advent of the app and virtual queues, have the days of just popping in to the Glasshouse on a whim for a drink gone? Do you have to dine there, or virtual queue just to have a drink, or do they still allow walk-ins?

Not at all. You can pop in for a drink Selbourne from 11am but you may not like it. On Iona, I have not been on Arvia, it is very open, the seats are, in my opinion not too comfy, lots of banquettes. Plus it is a walkway but that is the same on Ventura from which I have recently returned. It is entirely opn to the Atrium both a plus and a minus - good people watching but can get noisy.  

[Happy afloat]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

With the advent of the app and virtual queues, have the days of just popping in to the Glasshouse on a whim for a drink gone? Do you have to dine there, or virtual queue just to have a drink, or do they still allow walk-ins?

I think this must depend on the ship. Recently on Aurora, no pre-booking was required for the Glass House and yes, you can just pop in for a drink. One of our favourite places on Aurora. The wife is very fond of the wine flights!

Food was very good, as was the service. 

[Happy afloat]

5 minutes ago, ccpm said:

Not at all. You can pop in for a drink Selbourne from 11am but you may not like it. On Iona, I have not been on Arvia, it is very open, the seats are, in my opinion not too comfy, lots of banquettes. Plus it is a walkway but that is the same on Ventura from which I have recently returned. It is entirely opn to the Atrium both a plus and a minus - good people watching but can get noisy.  

I agree about Iona, it's a bit like an airport departure lounge. Not conducive to a pleasant dining experience, IMHO. Also, when we were on board in november, it was pretty much a tapas style restaurant, possibly due Jose Pizarro being on board.

Does Ventura not have an area that is partially segregated? 

[daiB]

2 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

I never got in at Glasshouse or Keel & Cow to eat as everything was on the app and I wasn't called after quite a long wait. I did manage Keel & Cow breakfast but to truthful the MDR offering was just as good and free.

On Iona in March/April during the day we just went up to the restaurant found a seat and a waiter came and served us. never used the app at all.