Rare Host Sharon Posted June 29 #151 Share Posted June 29 I note you never ate in the mdr in the evening. Is the food that bad there? Got my first P&O cruise in five years coming up and not really looking forward to it that much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Windsurfboy Posted June 29 #152 Share Posted June 29 Like Grapau can't comment on MDR, no one I spoke to complained about food, more the queues at peak times. If you are early diner can get fixed table But Epicurean, Sindhu and Mizuhana are great as a treat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare TigerB Posted June 29 #153 Share Posted June 29 19 minutes ago, Host Sharon said: I note you never ate in the mdr in the evening. Is the food that bad there? Got my first P&O cruise in five years coming up and not really looking forward to it that much. We've never found the MDR to be 'bad' as far as food is concerned. You get good days and some not so good days, in our experience, more of the former. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Sharon Posted June 29 #154 Share Posted June 29 44 minutes ago, TigerB said: We've never found the MDR to be 'bad' as far as food is concerned. You get good days and some not so good days, in our experience, more of the former. Thanks. I'll be on Aurora so queues are unlikely. I just keep hearing about a drop in choices and quality. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapau27 Posted June 29 Author #155 Share Posted June 29 (edited) 2 hours ago, Host Sharon said: I note you never ate in the mdr in the evening. Is the food that bad there? Got my first P&O cruise in five years coming up and not really looking forward to it that much. Our last 8 and next 5 cruises are on P&O. We always pre-book all of our dinners in the Speciality restaurants. I cannot stand for more than 10 minutes with my hip arthritis so queuing is difficult and we don't mind paying for the better Food. Service. Ambience. in the Speciality restaurants and not having to queue and sitting where we want. The food is good at lunchtime in the MDR and we ate there 9 times out of 14 days on our Arvia cruise. Unless you want to eat at 5.30pm in the MDR which you can book on the my holiday app you have to go onto a virtual queue on the My holiday app or take your chance in the No reservation queue. Edited June 29 by grapau27 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokey01 Posted June 29 #156 Share Posted June 29 2 hours ago, Host Sharon said: I note you never ate in the mdr in the evening. Is the food that bad there? Got my first P&O cruise in five years coming up and not really looking forward to it that much. Since Covid we have cruised RCL, MSC, Princess (one and only time in a suite) and P&O (Iona 4 times/Arvia once). I much much prefer the P&O MDR food. The other lines had more attentive service but for me the P&O food was the best. But I do like simple British food, so no lobster, pasta or fancy dishes for me! I also look at the speciality menu’s and on Princess and MSC we get a suite/loyalty free speciality meal that has not impressed me. So maybe I’m not the best judge of food. As far as P&O goes I have only been on Iona/Arvia since covid but I do think when we book the next P&O cruise it will be on one of the older ships with traditional dining, as long as second sitting is available when booking. I’m fed up of not knowing when I’m going to eat although I’m confident that the food will be at a minimum good/ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdey16 Posted June 30 #157 Share Posted June 30 Thank you graham for your lovely photos of your cruise, I’m a little late just catching up on here , great to hear you and Pauline had a wonderful time but nice to see you home with your dashboard sea views breakfast 🥤🥯 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winifred 22 Posted June 30 #158 Share Posted June 30 (edited) 20 hours ago, Host Sharon said: I note you never ate in the mdr in the evening. Is the food that bad there? Got my first P&O cruise in five years coming up and not really looking forward to it that much. I normally sail on Cunard but do some P &O a year Last year on Britannia I was impressed with the food and thought it as good as Cunard. I only eat simple British style food but found it hot, plentiful and always to my liking . Had lunch in MDR and buffet. To be honest only reason I didn’t eat lunch in MDR every day was as I needed to rein it in !! And not have 2x 3 course meals daily. I have never paid for a speciality restaurant as I refuse to pay extra when the included meal suits me fine. I was once persuaded to go with a friend to Epicurean afternoon Tea and 3 years on still wrangles what a waste of money it was . It was £15.50 and all I ate was a couple of cakes I could have got for free in the buffet or the included afternoon tea. Please do not look forward to your cruise I am sure it will be fine. Edited June 30 by Winifred 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zap99 Posted June 30 #159 Share Posted June 30 22 hours ago, Host Sharon said: I note you never ate in the mdr in the evening. Is the food that bad there? Got my first P&O cruise in five years coming up and not really looking forward to it that much. We ate in the MDR around 4 times on our Arvia med cruise in May. Cruise was brilliant and the MDR food very acceptable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zap99 Posted June 30 #160 Share Posted June 30 2 hours ago, Purdey16 said: Thank you graham for your lovely photos of your cruise, I’m a little late just catching up on here , great to hear you and Pauline had a wonderful time but nice to see you home with your dashboard sea views breakfast 🥤🥯 I have acquired a brand new, unused Greggs paper bag. I will walk around Anthem in September to see how many folk think I'm Graham.🤣 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapau27 Posted June 30 Author #161 Share Posted June 30 6 hours ago, Purdey16 said: Thank you graham for your lovely photos of your cruise, I’m a little late just catching up on here , great to hear you and Pauline had a wonderful time but nice to see you home with your dashboard sea views breakfast 🥤🥯 Thank you for your nice words and best wishes tomorrow for a wonderful holiday as you fly to Fuerteventura to celebrate your FILs birthday. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapau27 Posted July 2 Author #162 Share Posted July 2 Pauline took this photo from our aft balcony around 5am. I was still asleep. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapau27 Posted July 2 Author #163 Share Posted July 2 In case anyone is interested this was the restaurant and bars opening times. There were late snacks up to 1am in the Horizon buffet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandancer Posted July 3 #164 Share Posted July 3 On 6/24/2024 at 12:30 PM, grapau27 said: Good afternoon. We had a fantastic cruise on Arvia. We stayed in the Grand Harbour hotel in Southampton on June 8th and had a nice balcony overlooking the Solent. On June 9th there was a 3 hour delay for boarding while they did a deep clean but we boarded at 15.00pm. Our cabin was at the back with fantastic views of the ships wake. I had pre-booked our 14 nights Speciality restaurants on line. I booked 6 nights in Epicurean. 4 nights in Sindhu. 3 nights in the Beach house. 1 night in Limelight club where we saw Joe McEldery the 2009 X factor winner who lives 20 miles from us. Our itinerary was. Southampton. La Coruna. Valencia. Marseille. Barcelona. Alicante. Cadiz. Southampton. For breakfast we went to the Meridian restaurant. The Quays. 6th Street diner. For lunch we went to Meridian restaurant. The Quays. I have posted a selection of photos and if anyone has any questions please feel free to ask. VID_20240616_183826.mp4 VID_20240613_212851.mp4 Can I ask a pre-cruise question Graham? I have booked both the Premier Inn West Quay and the Grand Harbour for 2 nights pre-cruise. It’s a big birthday for hubbie so thought maybe somewhere nicer than the Premier Inn. Do you think the Grand Harbour is worth the extra cost? Thanks, Elaine ps. Glad you enjoyed Arvia, we certainly did. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplesea Posted July 3 #165 Share Posted July 3 42 minutes ago, sandancer said: Can I ask a pre-cruise question Graham? I have booked both the Premier Inn West Quay and the Grand Harbour for 2 nights pre-cruise. It’s a big birthday for hubbie so thought maybe somewhere nicer than the Premier Inn. Do you think the Grand Harbour is worth the extra cost? Thanks, Elaine ps. Glad you enjoyed Arvia, we certainly did. May I answer this question? As an ex-employee of the Habour group and having stayed at the Premier Inn at West Quay, The Grand Harbour Hotel has the extra luxury. If it was me I would choose the latter. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandancer Posted July 3 #166 Share Posted July 3 Thanks. That’s a done deal then. I assume it is a taxi ride to the dock gate although we don’t know which one yet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapau27 Posted July 3 Author #167 Share Posted July 3 (edited) 2 hours ago, sandancer said: Can I ask a pre-cruise question Graham? I have booked both the Premier Inn West Quay and the Grand Harbour for 2 nights pre-cruise. It’s a big birthday for hubbie so thought maybe somewhere nicer than the Premier Inn. Do you think the Grand Harbour is worth the extra cost? Thanks, Elaine ps. Glad you enjoyed Arvia, we certainly did. Thank you and happy birthday wishes to your DH. We had a lovely stay at the Grand Harbour. Breakfast buffet is included in the Marco Pierre White restaurant picture 3 and lovely. We had a small balcony with a nice view of the Solent. There was a 3 hour delay in boarding Arvia so we got a free late check out and had lunch there before getting a taxi to Ocean terminal. Edited July 3 by grapau27 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandancer Posted July 3 #168 Share Posted July 3 Thanks Graham. I’ve now cancelled the Premier Inn. Between you and purplesea I’ve had some great advice. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Windsurfboy Posted July 5 #169 Share Posted July 5 On 7/3/2024 at 6:02 PM, sandancer said: Can I ask a pre-cruise question Graham? I have booked both the Premier Inn West Quay and the Grand Harbour for 2 nights pre-cruise. It’s a big birthday for hubbie so thought maybe somewhere nicer than the Premier Inn. Do you think the Grand Harbour is worth the extra cost? Thanks, Elaine ps. Glad you enjoyed Arvia, we certainly did. We often book in New Forest, have you looked there , 20 minutes away from Southampton. We like Brokenhurst nice little town and cafes at lunch , some nice but not arduous walks., Careys Manor or Rhinefield house, similar price level to Grand Harbour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandancer Posted July 5 #170 Share Posted July 5 We are flying to Southampton so no car. The long drive from the NE is no fun these days. We want to be near the docks so we’ve settled on the Grand Harbour. Thanks for the advice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionboard Posted July 5 #171 Share Posted July 5 Can recommend Holiday Inn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Windsurfboy Posted July 5 #172 Share Posted July 5 50 minutes ago, Fionboard said: Can recommend Holiday Inn. We stayed at holiday inn, it's fine but no better than a Premier Inn. So my thinking now is either spend more for Grand Harbour or save and go Premier Inn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindylooellalouise Posted July 5 #173 Share Posted July 5 1 hour ago, sandancer said: We are flying to Southampton so no car. The long drive from the NE is no fun these days. We want to be near the docks so we’ve settled on the Grand Harbour. Thanks for the advice. Hi sandancer are you flying to Southampton from Newcastle or Teesside if so who with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Windsurfboy Posted July 5 #174 Share Posted July 5 1 hour ago, sandancer said: We are flying to Southampton so no car. The long drive from the NE is no fun these days. We want to be near the docks so we’ve settled on the Grand Harbour. Thanks for the advice. Have a great stay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandancer Posted July 5 #175 Share Posted July 5 53 minutes ago, lindylooellalouise said: Hi sandancer are you flying to Southampton from Newcastle or Teesside if so who with Newcastle with Loganair. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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