Anthem or Arvia?

[Bagpuss]

If you had two similar quotes, 1 for 9 nights on Anthem of The Seas, 1 for 14 nights on Arvia, which would you choose?  Haven't cruised in years, (although have cruised with Royal Caribbean before), and not sure which to choose.  It's for 2 adults, 1 x 16yr and 1 x 12yr.  My first choice would be Royal Caribbean, however, value for money veers toward P&O, as it's a longer cruise for pretty much the same price!  Has anyone been on both that can compare the two? Thanks.

[CruiserBruce]

I would always go for longer. But without knowing anything about the itinerary, not a complete answer. 

[leaveitallbehind]

If in your cruising opinion the two lines are similar enough for your enjoyment, then I would tend to agree with @CruiserBruce that for a similar budget the longer itinerary would be the direction I would be leaning.  Itinerary would of course also play a large role and as you indicate, prior experience with RCCL would be a factor as well.  But if all that was neutral, I would research P & O further to confirm their on board experience to your liking and maybe give them a try.

Edited January 24 by leaveitallbehind

[John Bull]

Anthem -and RCI in general - is much more of a "wow" experience, lots of design innovations and lots of whistles & bells.

Arvia - and P&O in general - is rather more laid-back, and  the design & decoration is (dare I say it?) rather bland, especially compared to Anthem of the Seas. That said, since you've not cruised for years you'd still find Arvia amazing.

I don't know your kids, but I'd bet my house that they would prefer Anthem.

 

But the whistles & bells would to a large extent be wasted if Anthem's itinerary is port-intensive - like @CruiserBruce and @leaveitallbehind.I'd need to know your itinerary.

And - because one is P&O - whether the sailings are from Southampton or preceded by flights. P&O's included charter flights and airport-to-ship transfer arrangements are so very very easy and seamless. 

And whereas Royal Caribbean, like most cruise lines, want you off the ship by about 9.30am (with luggage that's awkward if you don't fly until the evening), on a P&O fly-cruise other than the cabin you have the run of the ship (pools, bars, dining etc) until your flight transfer is called.

 

Anthem has many more extra-pay dining venues, but Arvia has quite a few too.

On both ships the included buffet is good for daytime and the included main dining rooms are good for dinner. There's no need to use the extra-pay venues unless you particularly want to push the boat out one evening.

 

If you're finding P&O to be better value, I'll hazard a guess that you're using their "saver" fares, not their "select" fares.

Most of the advantages of "select" fares are irrelevant on Arvia .....

- choice of dining times? The whole ship is "anytime" dining

- included port shuttles? In the Caribbean I'm not aware of any, in Europe on a "saver" fare you can opt to buy tickets for any port shuttles (Zeebrugge is one I can think of) for a few pounds.

- the only worthwhile advantage of "select" is choosing your cabin location. With "saver" you are guaranteed the grade of cabin that you booked for, you might be lucky & get an upgrade or you might be unlucky & get an inconveniently-located cabin.

 

Also bear in mind

- P&O's drinks prices are about the same as UK hotels. Royal Caribbean's are higher, and like other US ships a service charge (now about 18%?) is added to each drink.  If sailing from the UK, check whether that service charge is applied.

- Royal Caribbean also add a daily "gratuities" charge of about $14 per person (incl. the kids) per night. Normally that charge is included in the fare for sailings from the UK, but do check cos that can add $504 to your costs.  

 

Your fellow-passengers on Arvia will be overwhelmingly British.

Sailing from Southampton your fellow-passengers on Anthem will be a mix of Brits, Americans, and a sprinkling of Europeans. Sailing from mainland Europe it'll be multi-lingual, sailing from the other side of the Pond it'll be mainly Americans. 

 

Itineraries make a difference, and not just for the ports visited. 

Yours are ...................... ?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc7PkTueIRo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tqihktkp7l8

 

JB 🙂

[Bagpuss]

On 1/23/2024 at 11:01 PM, CruiserBruce said:

I would always go for longer. But without knowing anything about the itinerary, not a complete answer. 

Thank you very much 🙂 

[Bagpuss]

22 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

If in your cruising opinion the two lines are similar enough for your enjoyment, then I would tend to agree with @CruiserBruce that for a similar budget the longer itinerary would be the direction I would be leaning.  Itinerary would of course also play a large role and as you indicate, prior experience with RCCL would be a factor as well.  But if all that was neutral, I would research P & O further to confirm their on board experience to your liking and maybe give them a try.

Thank you very much 🙂 

[Bagpuss]

11 hours ago, John Bull said:

Anthem -and RCI in general - is much more of a "wow" experience, lots of design innovations and lots of whistles & bells.

Arvia - and P&O in general - is rather more laid-back, and  the design & decoration is (dare I say it?) rather bland, especially compared to Anthem of the Seas. That said, since you've not cruised for years you'd still find Arvia amazing.

I don't know your kids, but I'd bet my house that they would prefer Anthem.

 

But the whistles & bells would to a large extent be wasted if Anthem's itinerary is port-intensive - like @CruiserBruce and @leaveitallbehind.I'd need to know your itinerary.

And - because one is P&O - whether the sailings are from Southampton or preceded by flights. P&O's included charter flights and airport-to-ship transfer arrangements are so very very easy and seamless. 

And whereas Royal Caribbean, like most cruise lines, want you off the ship by about 9.30am (with luggage that's awkward if you don't fly until the evening), on a P&O fly-cruise other than the cabin you have the run of the ship (pools, bars, dining etc) until your flight transfer is called.

 

Anthem has many more extra-pay dining venues, but Arvia has quite a few too.

On both ships the included buffet is good for daytime and the included main dining rooms are good for dinner. There's no need to use the extra-pay venues unless you particularly want to push the boat out one evening.

 

If you're finding P&O to be better value, I'll hazard a guess that you're using their "saver" fares, not their "select" fares.

Most of the advantages of "select" fares are irrelevant on Arvia .....

- choice of dining times? The whole ship is "anytime" dining

- included port shuttles? In the Caribbean I'm not aware of any, in Europe on a "saver" fare you can opt to buy tickets for any port shuttles (Zeebrugge is one I can think of) for a few pounds.

- the only worthwhile advantage of "select" is choosing your cabin location. With "saver" you are guaranteed the grade of cabin that you booked for, you might be lucky & get an upgrade or you might be unlucky & get an inconveniently-located cabin.

 

Also bear in mind

- P&O's drinks prices are about the same as UK hotels. Royal Caribbean's are higher, and like other US ships a service charge (now about 18%?) is added to each drink.  If sailing from the UK, check whether that service charge is applied.

- Royal Caribbean also add a daily "gratuities" charge of about $14 per person (incl. the kids) per night. Normally that charge is included in the fare for sailings from the UK, but do check cos that can add $504 to your costs.  

 

Your fellow-passengers on Arvia will be overwhelmingly British.

Sailing from Southampton your fellow-passengers on Anthem will be a mix of Brits, Americans, and a sprinkling of Europeans. Sailing from mainland Europe it'll be multi-lingual, sailing from the other side of the Pond it'll be mainly Americans. 

 

Itineraries make a difference, and not just for the ports visited. 

Yours are ...................... ?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc7PkTueIRo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tqihktkp7l8

 

JB 🙂

Thank you very much, this is really useful. Both sail from Southampton, Anthem has 5 stops and Arvia has 6.  We prefer the itinerary on Arvia, prefer the ports and happy with some sea days to hopefully relax!  You are absolutely right, on so many aspects!  Our kids would love Anthem, which I think is what keeps pulling me towards Royal Caribbean, as well as nostalgia, it was the first cruise we ever did for our honeymoon on Monarch of the Seas!  However(!) my kids (16 and 12) would know no different, having never cruised before, Arvia would probably be a wow for them!  And the value for money does pull me towards P&O.  And as pointed out, the gratuities would be an addition on Anthem, and would also need to weigh up how much time we'd spend on the ship for the kids, and us(!), to take advantage of what's on board.  Will sleep on it tonight, but appreciate you, and 'leaveitallbehind' and 'cruiserbruce' taking the time to reply 🙂