Just back off Arvia

[poorer]

Just back today from Arvia.

Overall not a bad holiday but a few changes.

The glass house wine menu completely changed no more Boom Boom,Miravel,Velvet Devil now new wines recommended by Olly Smith not as good as it was.

Green and co restaurant really good but this is also having a menu change as not to popular each time we ate there only half  a dozen or so people eating.

The sunbeds were so hard to get one although it says a yellow tag would be put on recording time then items removed but never seen this actioned we were told people would be out really early to reserve.

Speciality restaurants really good but main dining in evening quite bland.

As I said it was a good holiday but not as good as it used to be .

 

Glad we went ,now there are 1000 children the next two weeks then 1500 after that  

 

[Fraann]

If you’d rather have a cruise with fewer children then you have to go early June as Ireland and Scotland begin their holidays early July (I think), before England. Personally, we’ve never had a problem with children on board(ex teachers so love the little souls! 😁) but it can have repercussions with dining reservations. 
We noticed that Green & Co was little used, I expect it will only be a matter of time until it is remodelled. 

[daiB]

44 minutes ago, Fraann said:

If you’d rather have a cruise with fewer children then you have to go early June as Ireland and Scotland begin their holidays early July (I think), before England. Personally, we’ve never had a problem with children on board(ex teachers so love the little souls! 😁) but it can have repercussions with dining reservations. 
We noticed that Green & Co was little used, I expect it will only be a matter of time until it is remodelled. 

We noticed this as well, a great shame as the food in this restaurant was excellent. We are not vegetarians.

[Windsurfboy]

We heard (butler) they were going to add Asian fusion to the Green and co menu to widen the appeal.

 

The restaurant is  lovely, food good, but likewise it was half empty.  No need to change restaurant,  just widen menu appeal. It will stay an upmarket speciality restaurant.

Edited July 8 by Windsurfboy

[Camberley]

4 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

We heard (butler) they were going to add Asian fusion to the Green and co menu to widen the appeal.

 

The restaurant is  lovely, food good, but likewise it was half empty.  No need to change restaurant,  just widen menu appeal. It will stay an upmarket speciality restaurant.

Yes that would be good to widen the menu in terms of dishes and cuisine. It has really superb food that deserves a much wider audience than it gets. I have always felt it to be too niche a restaurant on this ship sadly for it to be really popular - arguably with Arvia’s core demographic: and with many other venues that on paper look more enticing and look more “family enticing”, this is quite a hard sell.
 

That said, we very much look forward to dining there a few times on Arvia at the end of the month as it is always a peaceful affair among the many foodie highlights!

Edited July 8 by Camberley

[9265359]

15 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

We heard (butler) they were going to add Asian fusion to the Green and co menu to widen the appeal.

 

So P&O has finally realised that having a faddy vegan menu that only appeals to a tiny fraction of the population wasn't a smart move, and actually having a menu that most people actually want to eat (and pay for) would be a good idea.

 

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, 9265359 said:

 

So P&O has finally realised that having a faddy vegan menu that only appeals to a tiny fraction of the population wasn't a smart move, and actually having a menu that most people actually want to eat (and pay for) would be a good idea.

 

But they have eventually seen the light. 

However there have been lots of favourable reports about the food in Green &Co and if P&O had sold the idea of a meat free experience with delicious tasting vegetarian options, then it might have been more successful. 

But we all know that P&O don't really handle customer service very well.

 

[AlexMcSpot]

We are not vegan, but I applaud P&O for trying something different and recognising it's shortcomings and making changes. If they didn't try these new things it would be the same old thing all the time and we would soon be whinging mode again. 

[9265359]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

if P&O had sold the idea of a meat free experience with delicious tasting vegetarian options, then it might have been more successful. 

 

They wouldn't have been, as the many vegan restaurants that are closing in the UK are finding out.

 

Less than 4% of the UK population is vegan, and that falls to under 2% for those age 50 and over (which is a substantial proportion of the P&O demographic).

 

No matter how well you try and sell vegan food as an idea the vast majority of your customer base is going to give it a miss.

 

If you suggested running the Crows Nest bar as an alcoholic free drinks bar to appeal to the 20% of the population who don't drink then you would be decried as completely crazy - but that is what the Green and Co restaurant is trying to do.

[Whittleblue]

I mentioned this on another thread recently that ultimately it comes down to revenue. For a venue that size to take so little revenue means it’s repurposing is inevitable. 
 

I was staggered it was on there in the first place as it attracts a limited clientele and doesn’t fit with marketing and target audience of the ship. Not sure who made the decision but the why of it and the rationale would be very interesting indeed. 

[terrierjohn]

4 hours ago, 9265359 said:

 

They wouldn't have been, as the many vegan restaurants that are closing in the UK are finding out.

 

Less than 4% of the UK population is vegan, and that falls to under 2% for those age 50 and over (which is a substantial proportion of the P&O demographic).

 

No matter how well you try and sell vegan food as an idea the vast majority of your customer base is going to give it a miss.

 

If you suggested running the Crows Nest bar as an alcoholic free drinks bar to appeal to the 20% of the population who don't drink then you would be decried as completely crazy - but that is what the Green and Co restaurant is trying to do.

But lots of restaurant customers in the UK order veggie dishes. There are loads of vegetarian dishes among the mediterranean countries, and very tasty they are as well.

So I don't believe the idea for a veggie restaurant was I'll conceived, just not well presented as an alternative option by P&O.

[Red Ray]

4 hours ago, 9265359 said:

 

They wouldn't have been, as the many vegan restaurants that are closing in the UK are finding out.

 

Less than 4% of the UK population is vegan, and that falls to under 2% for those age 50 and over (which is a substantial proportion of the P&O demographic).

 

No matter how well you try and sell vegan food as an idea the vast majority of your customer base is going to give it a miss.

 

If you suggested running the Crows Nest bar as an alcoholic free drinks bar to appeal to the 20% of the population who don't drink then you would be decried as completely crazy - but that is what the Green and Co restaurant is trying to do.

Great post. Absolutely no need for this restaurant - there are enough veggie & vegan options on the MDR menus for those who follow these lifestyle choices. I don't drink alcohol but don't expect P&O to open a teetotal bar for me.

[Fraann]

If p&o are after more revenue, they should remodel it as Green & Co incorporating Nando’s 😁

[9265359]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

But lots of restaurant customers in the UK order veggie dishes. There are loads of vegetarian dishes among the mediterranean countries, and very tasty they are as well.

So I don't believe the idea for a veggie restaurant was I'll conceived, just not well presented as an alternative option by P&O.

 

The Green & Co part of the restaurant isn't vegetarian it is vegan which is substantially different.

 

And yes some customers order vegetarian dishes in restaurants that also serve non-vegetarian dishes, but there is a choice.

 

The issue with the Green & Co part is that like most vegan restaurants they only sell vegan food, because vegans seem to get very upset if they sell non-vegan food, even if it is just vegetarian food.

 

That is an issue for most people who are not vegans, hence lots of vegan restaurants going out of business, and if as well as the vegan dishes, they had vegetarian dishes, and non-vegetarian dishes then the place would be an awful lot busier than it is now.

[Windsurfboy]

40 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

 

The Green & Co part of the restaurant isn't vegetarian it is vegan which is substantially different.

 

And yes some customers order vegetarian dishes in restaurants that also serve non-vegetarian dishes, but there is a choice.

 

The issue with the Green & Co part is that like most vegan restaurants they only sell vegan food, because vegans seem to get very upset if they sell non-vegan food, even if it is just vegetarian food.

 

That is an issue for most people who are not vegans, hence lots of vegan restaurants going out of business, and if as well as the vegan dishes, they had vegetarian dishes, and non-vegetarian dishes then the place would be an awful lot busier than it is now.

 

It also sells  Sushi,  which is definitely not Vegan or even vegetarian 

[Fionboard]

2 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

It also sells  Sushi,  which is definitely not Vegan or even vegetarian

I think you can get vegan sushi.

[Eglesbrech]

52 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

I think you can get vegan sushi.

Yes you can. The main requirements are rice, vinegar and miran. Raw fish is often added but it is not required for the dish to be “sushi” so vegetables or nori is also often used.

[Sussexboy]

The menu includes both vegan and fish sushi, so it is not exclusively vegan.

Incidentally we found the food in Green and Co to be absolutely delicious. It was all beautifully presented and as good as any other specialty restaurant on board. It was very quiet in there though. It seems as though many people think that they can’t eat there as vegan food won’t be good/satisfying. Well…..they are missing out! I am a devout omnivore and a good meal is a good meal, regardless.

[9265359]

15 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

It also sells  Sushi,  which is definitely not Vegan or even vegetarian 

 

The Green & Co menu is vegan, and the sushi offering is from the Mizuhana part, hence the name 'Green & Co feat. Mizuhana'.

 

33 minutes ago, Sussexboy said:

It was very quiet in there though.

 

Because they are offering a niche menu to a niche audience, and most of that audience are not on P&O ships!

 

[Windsurfboy]

7 hours ago, 9265359 said:

 

The Green & Co menu is vegan, and the sushi offering is from the Mizuhana part, hence the name 'Green & Co feat. Mizuhana'.

 

 

 

Yes but you can have Sushi wherever you sit , at any table. So effectively it is one restaurant. The only thing is if you sit at Sushi bar you can only have Sushi. 

 

However it seems Sushi and Vegan food are too niche for Arvia,  hence adding Asian  fusion , which I expect will have heavy  Chinese element to widen clientele base.

[9265359]

14 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

However it seems Sushi and Vegan food are too niche for Arvia

 

Certainly is, hence the 95% empty restaurant.

 

14 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

hence adding Asian  fusion , which I expect will have heavy  Chinese element to widen clientele base.

 

Given what has happened to Sindhu over the years, and now that menu is little more than 'roast meat with an Indian name', then the 'fusion' aspect of this Asian menu rather hints that this will be the same.

[Clodia]

I'm  tempted to take extra hot sauce to Sindhu these days. Despite my telling them that I like spicy food, it's  too bland for me.

[Angel57]

16 minutes ago, Clodia said:

I'm  tempted to take extra hot sauce to Sindhu these days. Despite my telling them that I like spicy food, it's  too bland for me.

On Iona last month they offered me extra chilli sauce….

[Slugsta]

On Aurora, my husband - who doesn't tolerate spicy food at all - enjoyed his meal in Sindhu. He also ate a 'vindaloo' in the MDR. I am defo taking hot sauce with me next time as I found the 'spicy' food very bland.

[Windsurfboy]

In the end it doesn't matter, they need a popular upmarket  restaurants,  that doesn't overlap  with Epicurean or Sindhu and that's not niche. A sushi  (as they have it already) plus a Chinese would I think be very popular.