Views on Arcadia?

[CABINET]

We're thinking of going on a cruise to the fjords next year and Arcadia is one of the ships we could choose.  I have looked at customer reviews but of course it tends to be those who aren't particularly happy who leave them.

 

I can see she is quite an old ship but had a refurbishment in 2013. 

 

Can anybody who has sailed on her give me a view on what they think of her? We are particularly interested in good food and having things that work as they should.  Researching this and other ships does throw up comments about poor air conditioning for example.   We aren't unduly bothered about shows.

[purplesea]

We are due to sail on her, for the first time, at the end of November and she is due a refit just beforehand.

[showingdiva]

A lot of very fond memories of a lot of lovely cruises on this ship.   Haven't been on board her since 2017, because I've left cruising with P&O for the time being, but always liked her size and layout.   She had (maybe still has) a reputation that her passenger age demographic were older, but I never found this.  She has had plumbing issues on and off for a number of years, but again, I've never experienced this.   Balcony cabins are a bit larger than some of her newer fleet mates.   The food and drink, I always enjoyed (as a teetotal pescatarian) - but that was pre-pandemic standards and the new restaurant booking system (not even sure if this applies to Arcadia, or just the new bigger ships).

[Hampshire Steve]

3 hours ago, CABINET said:

We're thinking of going on a cruise to the fjords next year and Arcadia is one of the ships we could choose.  I have looked at customer reviews but of course it tends to be those who aren't particularly happy who leave them.

 

I can see she is quite an old ship but had a refurbishment in 2013. 

 

Can anybody who has sailed on her give me a view on what they think of her? We are particularly interested in good food and having things that work as they should.  Researching this and other ships does throw up comments about poor air conditioning for example.   We aren't unduly bothered about shows.

Next refurb is just a few weeks away but they don't make it new again they just update things a bit, we are on now and back on after the refurb.

Favourite ship but we know it's not everyone's ideal. Good medium size ship and fairly well behaved if you get poor weather, we have been on it in 10 metre seas off Iceland and still managed to go for dinner!

 

Air con is just different, there is no off switch you just get to choose the temperature, because of this there are plenty of dry throats and you hear "Arcadia Cough"

 

We like Sindhu and Ocean Grill but these are much the same on other ships (Sindhu and Epicurean on most of the others) No Glass House, sometimes a pop up version. No Beach House. We hope the refit might bring more choice but doubt it!

 

Plumbing - I would like to say it's ok but it has issues although not enough to put us off, If your loo doesn't flush someone will fix it pretty quickly, hasn't happened to us in a long time now. You do see buckets and carpet driers on occasions with overhead pipe issues but less on our last cruise and not one on any of the decks we have seen so far the cruise.

 

We consider the ship as the means of getting to where we want to go rather than a holiday resort, on board entertainment doesn't suit us.

 

If Arcadia was to go we would hope Ventura became an adult only ship and took on similar itineraries. We liked Aurora but we prefer not to hear our neighbours talking/snoring/shutting drawers 🙂 

 

As ever, our thoughts are subjective.

 

 

[Harryjacobs]

Only been on Arcadia once and that was for a 4 nighter to Amsterdam but I fell in love with her (i know its corny)  She is a great ship and being smaller than the others very easy to get around.  

 

[daiB]

Going on her again on Thursday, ask me early November.

[gsmt47471015]

She is getting on a bit now , as long as you are ok with a slightly dated but spacious interior and the odd plumbing issue you should have an enjoyable cruise , don’t expect massive refurbishment after the refit though 

[jeanlyon]

we are on board late October, having not sailed on her for 10 years.  But not concerned at all.

[Sonyar]

We're currently on board (first time on Arcadia) and have found it fine.

Personally, as Vegans, we wouldn't sail on her again as the choice of restaurants is limited. The pool grill hasn't opened at all and we do like the occasional pizza.

Other than that we'd happily go again, can't fault the service.

[CABINET]

Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated.

[SausPud]

22 hours ago, Hampshire Steve said:

We like Sindhu and Ocean Grill but these are much the same on other ships (Sindhu and Epicurean on most of the others) No Glass House, sometimes a pop up version. No Beach House. We hope the refit might bring more choice but doubt it!

 

I don't believe that the Ocean Grill is on any other P&O ship and it is exclusive to only Arcadia.

The beach house could easily be added as it's mainly in the Buffet area on the other ships. We will see what the refit does when it happens. 

[LondonLad60]

34 minutes ago, SausPud said:

 

I don't believe that the Ocean Grill is on any other P&O ship and it is exclusive to only Arcadia.

The beach house could easily be added as it's mainly in the Buffet area on the other ships. We will see what the refit does when it happens. 

I don't think The Buffet/Beach House option would work on Arcadia - the last few times I was on there, one side of the buffet was closed off to passengers every evening as it was used as an Officers' dining area, and as I understand it, up until a few months ago this was still the case, although I stand to be corrected.

 

[gsmt47471015]

3 hours ago, LondonLad60 said:

I don't think The Buffet/Beach House option would work on Arcadia - the last few times I was on there, one side of the buffet was closed off to passengers every evening as it was used as an Officers' dining area, and as I understand it, up until a few months ago this was still the case, although I stand to be corrected.

 

You are indeed correct about the evening buffet arrangement's ,the pop up beach house opposite the ocean grill on certain lunchtimes was very popular, which proves that the market is there for one, the downside is that the ocean grill and beach house would have to share kitchens so not sure how that would work on an evening

[Gettingwarmer]

1 hour ago, gsmt47471015 said:

You are indeed correct about the evening buffet arrangement's ,the pop up beach house opposite the ocean grill on certain lunchtimes was very popular, which proves that the market is there for one, the downside is that the ocean grill and beach house would have to share kitchens so not sure how that would work on an evening

It is a pop up Glass House opposite the Ocean Grill at lunchtime not Beach House. 

[davecttr]

6 hours ago, LondonLad60 said:

I don't think The Buffet/Beach House option would work on Arcadia - the last few times I was on there, one side of the buffet was closed off to passengers every evening as it was used as an Officers' dining area, and as I understand it, up until a few months ago this was still the case, although I stand to be corrected.

 

I was on Arcadia in August and the officers dining area was still in use in the evenings. There is no room for a Beach house which is an evening venue. I believe Arcadias buffet is the worst in the P&O fleet. At least unlike last year we did not have a lot of shop/spa/entertainment staff decending on the buffet like a plague of locusts stripping the serveries. Passengers MUST take priority, after all we are paying for it all. The pop up Glass House should be open on all sea days as well.

[gsmt47471015]

9 hours ago, Gettingwarmer said:

It is a pop up Glass House opposite the Ocean Grill at lunchtime not Beach House. 

Thanks for correcting my mistake ,just another senior moment, now what days is it !!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[jh1809]

2 hours ago, gsmt47471015 said:

Thanks for correcting my mistake ,just another senior moment, now what days is it !!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Judging by the cruise I was on in the summer, random sea days. One had to keep an eagle eye on Horizon.

[snaefell]

Our first time on her May 2023,lovely ship but looking a bit tired,we were told by one officer how nothing had been done for a couple of years due to the pandemic hence much maintenance work going on during the cruise.

Cabin was roomy & comfy with good sized balcony,the theatre is beautiful as is the pub,food & service was great in the MDR with the best meals we have had at sea in Ocean Grill with Sindhu not far behind.

Back on her again in May 2025,can't wait!😎11

[Son of Anarchy]

We were on this years worldie.  A bit tired in places, but then so am I.  Great Crows Nest.  The best main theatre in the fleet imo.  We did fixed dining which worked well for us.  Poolside grill was ok, would have been better if they did pizzas as well.  The Globe smaller theatre/show lounge was good as well.  We only used the Glass House pop up once and enjoyed it.  Ocean Grill and Sindhu in the evening were not as good.  We had an aft balcony.  Decent size cabin and spacious balcony.  Shower over a bath in those cabins as well.  Spacious open deck by the aft pool.

 

Overall she remains my favourite.

[bbtablet]

On 9/27/2024 at 7:12 PM, gsmt47471015 said:

She is getting on a bit now , as long as you are ok with a slightly dated but spacious interior and the odd plumbing issue........

As I read this I thought "How do you know so much about me?"

[tring]

Came off Arcadia on Thursday after 37 nights.  Part of buffet still used for staff in the evenings who have loads of space there whilst passenger area gets very busy.  No pool grill at all on those two cruises.  No pop up glass house at any time either and we were told it was something to do with a changed glass house menu, which had not been adapted for Arcadia, which only ever has the smaller dishes from the menu on occasional lunch times.  Does not sound like a glass house will appear any time soon. 

 

Cabin fine, with no issues which could not be resolved.  We found the wardrobe and other storage space very tight though for a longer cruise.  I would hate to have to manage a world cruise with that lack of storage space.  Both of our cabins were very quiet.  We had a deck C midship balcony for the second 30 night cruise and a midship obstructed outside for the first one week cruise.  Wardrobe and storage space was the same in both cabins, apart from an extra wall cupboard above the settee in the balcony cabin, but that cupboard was no use at all because of it's height and that it had a very high ledge at the front, so anything put in there would just get lost. Very small dressing table area as well in both cabins.

 

We cruise for the ports and would use the ship again, but very much prefer Aurora.  We have been on Aurora a fair bit and have never had noise problems on her either.  We do not travel on bigger ships, so cannot compare with those.

 

The narrow section has bigger balconies on most decks, but not on deck D due to lifeboats.  Have travelled in a rear section balcony previously and the balcony is not as big as the ones in the narrower section.

 

Food in the MDR was fine, though buffet food was not good in the evening, with a strong emphasis on curries, which I do not eat at night.  Sindhu food was not particularly good and much more highly spiced than we have had on Aurora or Azura, with no other taste discernable because of that.  We went to the Ocean Grill twice.  Food ok the on one visit, but DH's steak was well overcooked and my vegetarian choice very disappointing on the other visit.  Will stick to MDR for any future cruises.

 

Launderettes are tiny with very little facilities compared to Aurora.

 

Edited October 5 by tring

[tring]

On 9/28/2024 at 2:44 PM, LondonLad60 said:

I don't think The Buffet/Beach House option would work on Arcadia - the last few times I was on there, one side of the buffet was closed off to passengers every evening as it was used as an Officers' dining area, and as I understand it, up until a few months ago this was still the case, although I stand to be corrected.

 

 

You are correct, no space for a beach house.  The officers eat in the Ocean Grill at lunch times.

 

 

[Presto2]

1 hour ago, tring said:

Came off Arcadia on Thursday after 37 nights.  Part of buffet still used for staff in the evenings who have loads of space there whilst passenger area gets very busy.  No pool grill at all on those two cruises.  No pop up glass house at any time either and we were told it was something to do with a changed glass house menu, which had not been adapted for Arcadia, which only ever has the smaller dishes from the menu on occasional lunch times.  Does not sound like a glass house will appear any time soon. 

 

Cabin fine, with no issues which could not be resolved.  We found the wardrobe and other storage space very tight though for a longer cruise.  I would hate to have to manage a world cruise with that lack of storage space.  Both of our cabins were very quiet.  We had a deck C midship balcony for the second 30 night cruise and a midship obstructed outside for the first one week cruise.  Wardrobe and storage space was the same in both cabins, apart from an extra wall cupboard above the settee in the balcony cabin, but that cupboard was no use at all because of it's height and that it had a very high ledge at the front, so anything put in there would just get lost. Very small dressing table area as well in both cabins.

 

We cruise for the ports and would use the ship again, but very much prefer Aurora.  We have been on Aurora a fair bit and have never had noise problems on her either.  We do not travel on bigger ships, so cannot compare with those.

 

The narrow section has bigger balconies on most decks, but not on deck D due to lifeboats.  Have travelled in a rear section balcony previously and the balcony is not as big as the ones in the narrower section.

 

Food in the MDR was fine, though buffet food was not good in the evening, with a strong emphasis on curries, which I do not eat at night.  Sindhu food was not particularly good and much more highly spiced than we have had on Aurora or Azura, with no other taste discernable because of that.  We went to the Ocean Grill twice.  Food ok the on one visit, but DH's steak was well overcooked and my vegetarian choice very disappointing on the other visit.  Will stick to MDR for any future cruises.

 

Launderettes are tiny with very little facilities compared to Aurora.

 

Interesting what you say re Sindhu. IN January on Britannia the food was so spicy I couldn't feel my lips and I'd asked for a very mild spice. The person by me was the same and drinking loads of water. It spoiled our meal and we canceled the next one. Shame. When will people realise that we don't all like very hot spices .....

[Clodia]

18 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Interesting what you say re Sindhu. IN January on Britannia the food was so spicy I couldn't feel my lips and I'd asked for a very mild spice. The person by me was the same and drinking loads of water. It spoiled our meal and we canceled the next one. Shame. When will people realise that we don't all like very hot spices .....

I do

[Scriv]

I love Arcadia.. she's smaller, she's traditional, she's elegant and yes, she's quieter than the biggies with fewer people. And she's adult only.... 

And I love that P&O still offer across the range, so there's variety and something for all of us.