Exploring P&O Arvia: Uncovering the Reality Behind the Hype
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- Опубліковано 22 лип 2023
- In December 2022 P&O cruises launched Arvia, this cruise ship was promoted as family friendly, so the 4bs have put Arvia to the test, and after spending two weeks onboard this cruise ship we give it the full review.
P&O Arvia has some new cruise features for P&O including high ropes, mini golf and an cruise ship escape room but did these new cruise features live up to the hype?
P&O Arvia also has some new restaurants for P&O including the 6th street diner and Green and co which is a plant based/ fish restaurants.
Arvia also has the P&O staples including Broadies sports bar, Quays fast food outlet, Andersons bar, cinema, horizon buffet plenty more and review it all.
When doing our cruise review we mark it out of 40 and have eight subjects that we mark out of 5 on each including Embarkation, ship, cabin, service, food, entertainment, ports, value for money.
We then pop it in our leader board of all the cruise ships we have headed on after covid. the leader board.
As always if you agree or disagree pop it in the comments, what's your view on Arvia?
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#Arvia #p&ocruises
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We are cruising with the four bs we love cruising and traveling so come along with us and pick up hints and tricks along the way.
Fair review for me! Great work as always 4 b’s!
Thanks James, maybe arvia for next cruise?
Excellent review, very honest and helpful for future cruiser’s, thank you.
Thank you for watching Kim 😊
Great Review and this is why this channel is so Great I love cruising but I will give this one a miss
Looking forward to the next one 👍👍👍👍
Thank you for your kind comments and watching 🙂. I hope with this vlog we haven’t put anyone off but have merely given them the positives and negatives. We’re excited to try some new cruise lines with the kids to see what they have to offer 😃
Hey Bs! Another great video as always, watching this is making us even more excited for our Arvia cruise later in the year! Agree on Kids Pool, there should be a dedicated pool for them! The cabin looks so spacious, but again not sure how we’d feel about people walking past the balcony 😅
Hopefully they sort crewing numbers by the time we go, we’ve had similar experiences with crew on past P&O crusies … but let’s see how they hold up later in the year! 😂
As always thanks for watching 🙂 with any luck you will have a quieter sailing or more crew by then 😂.
Love the leaderboard guys! Fab vlog as always :)
Thanks Sam 🙂 we’re hopeful one day a ship may get the full 40 🤷♀️😂
You never know 😂 had to watch this on 2 sittings around work and kids but I thought it was fabulous!
@@EverAfterAdventures thank you so much 😊
We went on Britannia in April is the service couldn’t have been more opposite, it was incredible. The ship was fully crewed, and noticeably less overworked. Most crew actually had the time to stop and talk to you. I think a ship was 3500 passengers is just far more manageable than 6000!
Hi Reece. Thanks for watching. We had the exact same on Ventura the year before, great service.
Also service is something that can be changed so easily, a bit training a few more staff etc, such a shame as so many good things about the ship.
Interesting to hear your thoughts on Arvia. Travelling with kids probably gives it a different feel to travelling as a couple.
It’s such a shame the service wasn’t great but it seems as though this is getting to be the case with P&O.
Completely agree with the Take That show. We really didn’t rate it. We left after about half an hour…
Love your ship reviews! We’re looking forward to the next one 😀
Hey Colemans. As always thanks for watching and commenting. I think you hit the nail on head 100% as you saw we liked Arvia with two big disappointments the family angle and service.
Service can easily be turned around and I really think like you if we went as a couple in the Caribbean (one day!!) I think we would of had much more of positive view!
Lovely of you to mention the review, Queen Mary next!
@@cruisingwiththe4bs ooh Queen Mary! She’s high up on our list but it’s trying to find one that fits in with our plans. We’ll be interested too see how you get on.
An adults only trip to the Caribbean will come soon enough for you 😀
Looking at this ship for next summer. Thanks for your honest opinions. Not OTT like some reviews on YT.
Thanks Ian, we really appreciate your comments, we really strive to just say how we saw it, glad it comes over like that.
As you saw Arvia has a lot of good points, for right price I would definitely consider it.
So excited to try the diner!!! ❤🎉
Don’t forget to ask for a token for the jukebox 😃 thanks for watching 😊
@@cruisingwiththe4bs I will!! :D
Been on all the P&O ships several times pre pandemic never had a bad cruise with facilities, food, service and entertainment, it dies sound like standards have dropped in several areas can't comment on Iona & Arvia but for me Britannia, Ventura & Azura are big enough with bigger deeper pools from what ive read thanks for your upload.
Thanks Mick for watching and a detailed comment. We liked quite a few things about Arvia, just a couple of things missed the mark although these things can be easily rectified. Had great cruises on Ionaand Ventura looking forward to experiencing the whole fleet at some point.
Agree on seating inside and sunbeds outside, always a problem to get. Not family friendly if you have under 5s. 2 hrs in kids club but nowhere else for them to play. The splash park was never open when we were on the end of May. P&O trying to get too big without the staff or planning. Spent a 3rd of holiday waiting , either for a drink in bar or to get a reservation for resturant. All the other seasoned cruisers like us agree 'never again'. We are back to the smaller ships for us
Couldn’t agree more!!! I still say Ventura is my favourite p&o ship! And actually kids had more fun on there! Thank you for watching 🙂
On Ventura in February, can't wait.
Looking forward to it already.
Thanks for your support, let us know what think after. Tom
Hi 4bs, Nice balanced review, We were first time Cruises on Arvia at the same time, We are traveling again on Arvia 2nd of December hope they at least take on board some of your ideas.
Thanks for watching Dennis 🙂 glad you enjoyed your cruise enough to book another, if the price was right and not in the holidays we may go again. I mean it would be amazing but I don’t think any of our things will be taken onboard, had the service been better it would have definitely come up a lot higher, the Caribbean will definitely be a very different feel and I imagine much better 🙂
We have just been on Iona, everything you pointed out for Arvia was similar to Iona, love the way you presented this review, 5 out of 5
Thanks for watching and for the feedback much appreciated 🙂 yes we had very similar on Iona back in feb! Hope you had a good cruise though 😊
@@cruisingwiththe4bs yes we will go on Arvia or Iona again
@@michaeldocherty2488 if the price is right and a good itinerary and a quieter ship we would 😂 may have to wait until we don’t have to do a half term cruise for that 🤷♀️
I am ssooooo looking forward to my 2 weeks on Arvia holiday. But I am nervous of the service. I agree with Rach on their service and especially with what I experienced on Iona in May. But we are like you where we will go with the flow and make the best of it. Got lots planned. ❤️
Hi Lorna, thanks for watching. We always stress that we always have an amazing time, this time to us the service wasn’t there, but for you it maybe, either way never let it effect your cruise, your cruising around the med it can never be bad! A few more videos from arvia to come so keep watching.
Do you have view on arvia, do you agree or disagree with us? Let us know in the comments.
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Have you seen our Arvia ship tour:
ARVIA FULL REVIEW. P&O Cruises newest ship what did we think? #cruise
ua-cam.com/video/avMM1bT2VxE/v-deo.html
Great review. Can I ask did you go in the school holidays? Cheers
Thank you 🙂 yes we went one week of May half term one week of term time, the two weeks we went they did a big kids go free.
Agree about greatest days must have been written by a infant .Only reason we didn't walk out is it's rude worst show at sea
Hi thanks for watching and commenting, yep agreed that was only reason we stayed
Another great vid, thank you. Did you ever speak to staff about the deckchair issue? Wondering why they can’t put signs up saying don’t hog the chairs, and move people’s stuff who do..Bit concerned about that for our upcoming trip!
Oh..one other thing, is the Wi-Fi any good?
Thank you very much 🙂 and thanks for watching. The staff weren’t interested to be fair! A few times I was tempted to move towels myself, the only time they moved towels was passed 4pm when they wanted to pack chairs away lol.
As for WiFi couldn’t fault it, we brought it a few of the seadays and it was pretty good 😊
I guess they might be a bit more staffed up during summer holidays, especially in kids clubs when teachers take holiday jobs. On that note looking forward to your kids club video 👍
It was a shame that the service on Arvia was not up to standard. We sailed on Arvia and Iona, and we felt the service was excellent at all times. Pleased you enjoyed your cruise. Maybe if you sail again, hopefully it will be better next time. Have really enjoyed your videos. They are so informative. X
Thank you Jackie, that’s really kind of you to say. Service was a shame however it didn’t have too much of an impact on our holiday 🙂 I think it always depends on how many are onboard having a full sailing I’m unsure if that made a big difference 🤷♀️ Ventura during covid with less passengers we had excellent service. But again we still had a great time. Thanks for watching 😊
Loved watching your vlogs,very informative thank you,we have booked our first Caribbean cruise for next year,couple of questions if you don't mind,do we need different currencies for each island we visit?
And the vaccinations we need is a minefield (what do we need) we are visiting Barbados, st Lucia,St.Kitts and St.Maarten,would be so grateful for any advice.thank you B's
Thank you very much for your kind words and for watching 😊.
Afraid we are not much use for your question regarding vaccines (wouldn’t have thought you need any?)
As for currencies I’d say just take dollars and use cards to pay for things but we haven’t done a Caribbean cruise so don’t take that as gospel.
The best people to ask regarding arvia in Caribbean would be @cruisingcolemans these two have lots of great ideas on trips in the region and could help.
Thanks again for watching and kind words.
Hello! The 4Bs have asked us for suggestions for you for the Caribbean.
Currency wise, US dollar is king. The only port where this was different was Martinique which is euros.
Vaccines - speak to your GP. Apart from the usual tetanus, etc, we didn’t have anything else.
We’ve been to a few of the islands - we have some videos that I’ll link below that might be helpful.
St Maarten, we went to Maho beach which is fantastic for plane spotting. We also went to a beach on the French side for relaxing.
St Lucia - we’ve previously done the aerial tram which is popular through P&O. We’ve also done the St Kitts railway through P&O. Also very popular.
Barbados has lots of beaches close by. Taxis are easy and cheap if you share, which most people do. There are plenty to choose from. We went to the Boatyard which I think was $35 for 2 loungers and an umbrella. They also do swimming with turtle trips from the beach.
Hopefully that’s all been helpful. Have an amazing time!
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@@CruisingColemans thanks for posting, that looks excellent advice to me.
@@CruisingColemans thank you so much for the advice and info,much appreciated,it's ages before we go,but getting tips and advice makes a little less daunting for someone that has never ventured beyond Europe before!!
Thanks again
David P.
Fair review
Thanks for watching as always michael
Great review of your cruise. Everything rang true. The thing that really grated was the service - as you say, not enough crew for the capacity. All lovely people one on one. But as you say too may supervisors on board, not enough people doing the actual job. They put drinks menus in the quays - but you’d wait 20 minutes to be able to order one, by which time you’d have eaten.
Didn’t o as us entertainment as I did Iona - but my goodness P&O, please please please deal with sort acoustics in limelight club. Oh and you really don’t need to shout into Mike
Hi Daniel, thanks for watching and commenting.
Couldn’t agree more with all you said, after coming off recent cruises on Cunard and MSC yacht club, I saw how service should be done on P&O, as you say numbers would really help.
Thanks again
Hi there thanks for the great insight into Arvia cruise ship , we are going on the Arvia in August to the med for two weeks. I don't think that you mentioned the internet package on your previous videos on Arvia, so I'm wandering if you have any advice on this and actually how often can you pick up mobile phone signals when sailing down the Spanish coast etc!. We have a seaview room on deck 4 , any thoughts on this kind of room? Many thanks Brent.
Hi Brent, thanks for watching, so if you watch the first part of our embarkation vlog my mother inlaw had a seaview on deck 4 loved her room there’s a little tour 😊
We only had the internet package for a few of the seadays and it was pretty good, as for signal I’d say unless you can see lane have your phone on aeroplane mode so you don’t incur additional charges. Have a great cruise 😊
Thank you for your reply! And help :) me and my partner are looking forward to our first ever cruise holiday to the Mediterranean on Arvia , just trying to work out what to book and not book on the cruise, many thanks Brent.
@@rocco020508 your welcome, any more questions just ask 😊
Omg different type of people who go from Southampton …. If you fly to the Caribbean the staff there are amazing and the foods brilliant ….
Hi thanks for watching and commenting. Caribbean is on the wish list….
I['m going on Arvia in April 24, only my 2nd ever cruise but this ship is soooo much bigger than my previous ship. They don't have an app which I find bizarre and I didn't know this before this video, of course it's not a deal breaker. Some very interesting points here that at least have made me prepared for "issues". thanks for this video, I was worried that Holland America set my bar very high for a first cruise and now it seems that it won't be a bar that I should use because it is too high.
Hey! Thanks for watching and commenting.
The app thing really annoys me, it’s a webpage that really is unreliable! P&O need to invest the money.
Arvia really has a lot of positive so I would go with open mind. Not done Holland america but my friends Dan and Jay love them, need to book something!
Have a great cruise
How long does it normally take to drop off your luggage in Southampton? Were just decided how much time to allow before our embarkation time, if that makes sense 😊
You literally turn up and take your luggage to the right place (they mark the floors) you drop off and can come back later if your embarkation is later 🙂
Hi, looking to book arvia in October. Offered interior cabins on decks 5 or 10. Which do think is best option? It's our first cruise. Thanks
Hi, if it’s your first cruise normally best to be a little lower down the ship as less movement 🙂 also most restaurants etc are on deck 6,7,8 so I’d go deck 5.
We where on your cruise ❤
Hi Shane ,thanks for watching. What did think of the cruise? Seems a lifetime ago now!
Great video and thanks for sharing . Been a p&o customer for 16 years and still generally enjoy but ( similar to your experience) service has gone down the pan … finding it difficult to book again ☹️🤷
Hey thanks for watching and commenting.
Think you describe it perfectly, enjoy it but things are puzzling like service. I hope p&o get back on track, but seem to be making a few strange decisions recently.
@@cruisingwiththe4bs it’s definitely a company policy issue , staff are great but training poor . Eg on last cruise sommeliers didn’t recognise wines on their lists , they were unaware of stock issues and on two occasions the wine never turned up . Main restaurant was slow and waiters had more tables to attend and obvious new crew looked panic stricken at times . Oh well never mind🤷 keep up your great reviews . A joy 👍
Sailed July /August and couldn't agree more, apart from the 'food bit' thought it was well below par! I thought 6th Street diner was rubbish Not sure if it's just Arvia and it needs time to sort itself out or is it P&O in general diluting it's quality (hope not) Great video though!
Interesting review, 7 ports in 14 nights does seem on the skimpy side.
Shame that the service wasn’t up to scratch, seems like this is becoming more common.
I’m looking at Caribbean cruise and was tempted by Arvia but I think I’ll keep on looking.
Thanks for watching, I don’t know Caribbean may be very different 🤷♀️
Was actually only 5 ports but 6 port days so yes very skimpy on the stops, next med cruise we will definitely be looking for more port days 😊
@@cruisingwiththe4bs It’s a huge ship and you do need days to explore it but getting off is also a huge part of the cruise experience.
Do you have any ports on your must do list?
@@ALifeintheParks all of Norway, and I’d love to experience coco cay (sorry Rach here I’m not great with ports but I’m sure that’s what it’s called 😂) we will wait for the kids to be a little older before we do the Caribbean though.
How about you?
@@cruisingwiththe4bs
The kids will enjoy it more when they’re older.
Eastern Caribbean is where I’d like to go next and I have some cruise credit to use.
After that? I’m tempted by a river cruise, have you done one of those?
@@ALifeintheParks no haven’t tried a river cruise, definitely on the bucket list for just Tom and I 😊
Very interesting. A bit sad really, but good to know. Lately, Marella has really caught my attention. Never cruised with them. What are your thoughts on them? Would you try them?
Hi Stu, thanks for watching. Marella was actually the first cruise we did as a family and we loved it, however in recent years they come up very pricey compared to some of the other cruise lines for us. Our friends did voyager a couple of weeks back and have their review going up tonight so I’ll be interested to see what the ship looked like and what they thought. Any ship in particular?
It is a bit sad agreed, we hyped this up so much as a holiday and we’re so excited just a shame it didn’t deliver.
@@cruisingwiththe4bs Yes, I do find Marella more expensive. But I guess if you cost in the tips and a drinks package, it's almost on par. But not everyone has the drinks package on P&O for example.
I think the bigger ships have their pros, but I think for size, 3,500 max is the sweet spot. You get the right mix of things to do, no queues and booking and service is generally consistent.
@@stubear35 yes have to agree with you there, I personally prefer a smaller ship!
And again with costings it’s a matter of paying upfront or the same difference on board so it does even out. Well let us know if you get one booked 😊
Would say that P and O are more fanily otiented than adult. Which drives customers elesewhere if they want adult only, as P $ O only have old adult ships,
Thanks for the comment Ken, think I’m out experience of p&o we would say that they are more adult focused with entertainment but have more of a family feel but many other companies which are much more family focused, I’d say p&o are very mid range, other than virgin and the few older p&o ships I can’t think of any other adult only?
@@cruisingwiththe4bs hi B s . At 70 we tend to prefer the more sedate ambiance. But have found even in school term time a few cruises that have pre school little ones . Guess I'm just getting old.
@@kenchilds5111 haha we have young kids and I couldn’t think of anything worse than being surrounded by children! So I’m with you there! But when there’s only a couple of hundred it’s not too noticeable
Went on med cruise on Arvia, this was our 8th time with P&O never had a bad cruise, but have to say this was poor for P&O standards. our worst cruise ever. the ship is so grand and awesome, but a ship or a hotel is only as good as the staff that run it, unfortunately there wasn’t enough staff. Go on Arvia if your prepared to queue and wait for everything, drinks at the bar, meals, (good luck with that one) or even a game of table tennis on deck, queue queue queue, even then your not guaranteed to get what you queued for. Will be looking elsewhere for our next cruise, sorry for the negative comment P&O but your standards have really dropped.
Thanks for the comments Alfie, we have to agree with you on the most part, it could be such an amazing ship but service and adequate staffing really let it down. We haven’t got anymore p&o booked yet but will be looking to see how some of the older one compare (Ventura is still my favourite), have you booked another cruise?
@@cruisingwiththe4bs
No not booked yet we’re still looking, thinking we may try another cruise company.
@@248BananaSplitz we’re trying Cunard this year and then princess early next so really looking forward to seeing how they compare, also MSc in October but we always know what to expect from them 🙂
Totally agree with you, wouldn't go on her again, 2hrs in kids club a day for little ones... nothing else. Waste of £8000!
Mayb e don’t take kids on cruises haha go aboard Simple’s
Thanks for watching! Well a cruise is abroad 🤷♀️
It’s at sea 80% of the time 100% land aboard kids would far more enjoy everyone was a kid once upon a time cruise surely people would get that in 2023
Just take the towel offf I do don’t moan after the fact it’s pointless really anit it
Hi thanks for watching. Arghh didn’t think of that, yeah agreed it is a bit pointless
I don’t think I’d go on a P&O ship if you paid me. Everything about the ship looks bang average. And for a flagship vessel it really is disappointing. I would say that P&O is the Premier Inn of the Cruising World. Underwhelming Decor, badly designed pool deck, poor service and kids everywhere.
Thanks but no thanks👎🏻
Hey thanks for watching and your review. It’s definitely not for everyone, good thing is so much choice now.
Shame about the service - I think I have been thoroughly spoilt now by Emma taking me on Celebrity Edge! Service and amount of room per person was amazing on that (but not so good with daily service charges + and 20% on every drink and 18% on top of every speciality meal. 🫣
Thanks for watching Gaynor, yes unfortunately you most definitely get what you pay for! Any American lines we like to have all in or all those hidden costs soon mount up 🤦🏼♀️