Just back from 2 week Mediterranean cruise around Spain & Marseille in France on Arvia, fantastic experience, so many restaurants to choose from, brilliant entertainment & crew were so friendly & helpful.
Im single and alot of friends are busy with their own family. Im actually going away with a family in august and i hope this gives me the confidence to go alone x
Brilliant video guys - really interested to see this one after recently cruising on Toscana & Smeralda. The finish onboard looks really high - I'm keen to give it a try!
Thanks Fraser, hmmm I’m not the sure the finish was as high as it looks personally (Rach) there were areas of the ship where corners had clearly been skipped which was disappointing.
What a great vlog, we’re on Arvia in October, had a few negative views from other vlogs about number of passengers and having to book everything so will have to wait and see 😊
Thank you very much 🙂 as always we would say it’s whatever you make of it, either sit around moaning or just go off and do other things 🤷♀️ we had a great time despite the negatives. Have a great cruise 😊
Fantastic tour of Arvia guys, your best ship tour yet :) she looks like a stunning ship, and we're excited to sail on her to the Caribbean later in the year! Compared to Iona, she seems like the better sister - the ship just seems to have a bit more character. Have been on both recently, which do you prefer?
Thank you very much gents, she is a beautiful ship, hopefully you will have better luck with sun beds than us in the Caribbean 😂. I think of the two Arvia just has the edge with the new restaurant concept and the little extras, however it was nice that it’s the exact same layout as we knew our way around straight away, will be interested to see what you think of her 😊
Hi Guys, Great to meet you on board and a great video. My preference is still Iona over Arvia. As I said to you on board compared to MSC and Royal Caribbean we found that P&O is still lacking essentials for kids like a water slide. I can still hear those Spanish dancers/clappers in my head !!!
Thanks Ray, it was lovely to meet you also 😊 watch out for todays video as you made the thumbnail lol. Agree with all of your points, maybe next time P&O will add something actually for kids 🙄 as those high ropes are for 10+ really due to height restriction. Thank you for watching 😊
hello great vid, we are due to go on the arvia in july 24 after seeing ur walkaround we are more excited. can i ask .. can you go in the pools with the kids at anytime? also does it feel like you can walk around free or is there loads of people in ur face ? thank you
Hi, thanks for watching and commenting, much appreciated. All pools are child friendly except the beachcomber which is adults only, but this one is far away from the rest. The inside one closes around 6 to get ready for evening entertainment. Others normally close for the night sometime in the evening for cleaning etc. Certain places especially on sea days can feel busy (buffet, around pools on nice days etc) but you can escape these always and find a quieter place, port days can be especially quiet. Have a great cruise.
Very interesting to hear that there are so many differences to Iona. I get why there’s more to do outside because it’s a warm weather ship year round but changes to restaurants seem more perplexing. The 6th Street Diner and Green & Co look amazing, I wonder if they will be retrofitted? Sindhu is my favourite P&O Specialty Dining restaurant but I can’t wait to try the Keel and Cow soon.
Hey as always thanks for commenting and watching. Diner was my favourite, foods good but it’s the theming! Loved it. Green and Co was the big shock, really tasty such a shame it was half empty a lot of time! Will be interesting to hear your thoughts on keel and cow. It was a great ship to film.
Hey, thanks for watching and commenting again, always apreciated. Yes certainly has far more, the kids appreciated it, although maybe some more would of been good.
Thanks for sharing!! QUESTION: As a family with two children, did you opt for a drinks package? We going in July and also have 2 kids, and we are pondering its value.
Hi Andrew, thanks for watching. We decided against it and always do on p&o. The drinks prices are very good on p&o and the drinks package is expensive in our view. Remember you can take as much soft drinks as you like , we take whole suitcase and top up in port and one litres of alcohol each (for use in cabin 😄). If you take water bottles plenty of water stations around the ship. We drank quite a lot never worried on what type of drink we were having and didn’t go near the cost of drinks package. Also with 5/6 ports you then can have drink off the ship. This is just our opinion others will differ, Hope have a great cruise. Any other questions please ask. Tom
Hi, great vlog, we're boarding Arvia next week (17/9). Couple of questions, Sindhu, I'm sure you said if you book in advance & pay cover charge (£10pp) that they give you 20% discount on total bill. Is that true because it doesn't mention that on the website? Can you go in the Keel & Cow just for drinks or do you have to order food? TIA, Mike
Hi Mick, thanks for commenting and watching. Yes when we were onboard, early June. We booked two weeks before when the bill came at end of the cruise the £10 pp and 20% discount was added. Definitely can head to keel and cow just for a drink, it kind of all mixes into one in the atruim, but your be able to see the bar area to the side. Anymore questions just ask have great cruise
Hi Andrew, this is the link you want it’s sport 24, in the room and in broadies. All the big stuff are on it, unfortunately for me it’s not a fan of cricket 🤣 (my fav sport) football, f1, tennis etc will all be on. sport24live.com/schedule
Just asking for a friend, going on his first ever cruise, to The Caribbean with P&O in December. The travel agents where he booked his cruise keep sending him emails regarding excursions during the cruise. Is it worth booking these in advance, or can they be booked during the actual cruise. Do they work out the same price, or is there an advantage to booking early (within the UK) or late (during the cruise
Hi Brian. Thanks for watching and commenting. Regards excursions the only advantage of booking before is if it’s at risk of selling out. If your onboard you can Ofcourse use onboard credit you can’t if booking before. If want ideas on Caribbean Arvia cruises and excursions then I would check out cruising Coleman’s some great ideas.
Hi, thanks for watching. Everyone is different but for family of four without drinks package our spend was £1500-£1750, obviously with drinks package it would be less. If you want to do a lot of official excursions then yes you would be heading upto 3k but we find in the med, DIY is cheap and easy.
Thank you very much, I think it’s very difficult the compare the two ships as completely different brands etc, however I think I’d have to say me personally (Rachael) I prefer anthem 🙂
just did a 2-week Caribbean trip, and to be truthful the ship is nice but very generic in style, no real wow factor other than the sky dome which is always full, hard to find a place to sit, and has no actual sun lounges inside only seats. sun lounges are found along the sides of the sky dome in the shade. The crew and wait staff are lovely and helpful but there is just not enough for the size of the ship and the amount of guests they have to cater for. The cabin guys don't even fold your towels into fun animals anymore, I know it's such a small thing but that really used to make my day. the booking system is very annoying, especially with the timings, sometimes you end up running to get to your booking or missing dessert after dinner if you are dining in the restaurants. there are also a lot of initial charges to do certain activities like; the altitude walk, mission control or the limelight club, etc. This is really annoying as you have already paid a premium just for the holiday in the first place and this cuts down your entertainment options. Food for P&O has very much gone downhill, very inconsistent in the quality of the food and how hot it is. As someone with coeliac disease (so not gluten) I was very limited in choice and spent 2 weeks dining in the Meridian restaurant, the only thing that came consistently hot was the soup. I had the steak multiple times and sometimes it was cooked perfectly but others it was overcooked and chewy. In the Horizon restaurant which is the buffet-style eatery, cross-contamination was a big problem, the foods were all laid out next to each other with no separation other than being separated into; cold cuts, hot food, and dessert and you served yourself rather than someone behind the counter doing the dishing out the food, for people who have severe food allergies this not ok and could possibly end up putting someone in the hospital. P&O also changed the time of our excursion booking from 9am to 1:30pm only telling us the night before and when we enquired as to why this was, they said it was due to 'technical problems with the catamaran' so we cancelled and got our money back, but on the shore day we saw at 9am a P&O booked catamaran excursion going out when we asked the people going on it, it turned out to be the same exact excursion we booked. so P&O obviously overbooked, changed some people to a different time but also lied to us about why it was changed. Side note some friends who were on the same holiday as us had one of their excursions cancelled the night before. I have been on five cruises now including a P&O Ventura cruise (which I loved) and this one really disappointed me in so many ways, some I haven't written down, these were just the main points I felt people should know before booking because it's not a cheap holiday.
@@hayleyharris9908 thank-you Hayley for very detailed review. I agree on booking process, a proper app would help. Also agree on the food definitely gone down hill. Hope you head back to the seas sometime soon and it’s a better experience
Hi Brian thanks for watching. While we were onboard lots had wheelchairs and buggies and all seemed to be accessing the ship well, plenty of lifts etc and access points wide enough. If worried I would contact P&O directly for further information. Tom
Hi Sally, thanks for watching and commenting. I tend to agree with you on size and on the staff, our review will be out soon and we may be agreeing on that as well 🤣
If I recall there are different packages of WiFi, you can buy each day or for the whole time, it’s approx £14 for 24hrs (although don’t hold us to that lol) but it’s not cheap and not the best connection.
I’m not even half way through this vid but I can tell you now I could probably spend a few days just in the sky dome, lovely. I know it’s cliché but it really does look like a floating city. One day I’ll get there😊
Hi thanks for watching. Certainly some varying reviews, here is our take on the ship: Exploring P&O Arvia: Uncovering the Reality Behind the Hype ua-cam.com/video/avMM1bT2VxE/v-deo.html
Nice ship. Not so nice when the 5000 passengers are on board and you can’t get a table / seat in the theatre / sunbed by the pool or served a drink at the bar….according to many reviews I have read. Be great to see someone do a video when the ship is full and at sea….?
Hi Gary, thanks for watching. Totally agree we mention it in our review, which is here: Love or HATE it? ARVIA our full review, P&O newest cruise ship #cruise ua-cam.com/video/avMM1bT2VxE/v-deo.html
My husband work in arvia ,he a os seaferer, very nice ship
Just back from 2 week Mediterranean cruise around Spain & Marseille in France on Arvia, fantastic experience, so many restaurants to choose from, brilliant entertainment & crew were so friendly & helpful.
Thanks for watching, glad you had a great cruise ☺️
Brilliant tour of Arvia, we're on Arvia in September'2024. It'll be our first holiday without the kids!!!
Hey Colin. Thank-you for your kind words. This is exciting stuff, September a great time to go with more of adult feel. Have great cruise.
I just came back from 14 day Mediterranean cruise on the Arvia great quality. I went alone and found the ships crew very friendly.
Thank you for watching and glad you had a great cruise 🙂
Im single and alot of friends are busy with their own family. Im actually going away with a family in august and i hope this gives me the confidence to go alone x
Doing this one in September with my dad can't wait! It will be our 2nd p&o cruise after the Azura
Brilliant video guys - really interested to see this one after recently cruising on Toscana & Smeralda. The finish onboard looks really high - I'm keen to give it a try!
Thanks Fraser, hmmm I’m not the sure the finish was as high as it looks personally (Rach) there were areas of the ship where corners had clearly been skipped which was disappointing.
Great tour
Thanks for watching and commenting mike
Definitely has more to offer than the Iona!
Great overview and your personal tips/suggestions about the ship are really helpful.
Thank you 4b’s
Thanks as always for watching Kim, and yes most definitely does have more to offer than Iona.
What a great vlog, we’re on Arvia in October, had a few negative views from other vlogs about number of passengers and having to book everything so will have to wait and see 😊
Thank you very much 🙂 as always we would say it’s whatever you make of it, either sit around moaning or just go off and do other things 🤷♀️ we had a great time despite the negatives. Have a great cruise 😊
Me too!
Great tour! Looking forward to the rest of the series.
Thanks Anne for watching and commenting. We’re looking forward to putting it altogether.
Very good video thank you
Thank you for watching 😊
Great video guys
Thank you very much 🙂
Great video, well explained and informative. Thank you.
Thanks Eddie for watching and your kind words
Great tour! Looking forward to getting a round in at the crazy golf. Looks like more to do for the kids here than on Iona. Top work 4b’s
Thanks James for watching, yes it definitely is upgrade kids wise than Iona.
Thanks for putting in the effort to making the video - really appreciate it 👍
Thanks for watching and your kind words
Fantastic video going on arvia in 2026 with my family let's them give a good insight to the ship and facilities a big thank you
Hi Hugh, thank-you for watching and your kind words, always appreciated. Have any arvia questions in run up to 2026 please ask. 😁
Great review, well presented
@@NorrisLawton thank you very much for watching 🙂
Fantastic tour of Arvia guys, your best ship tour yet :) she looks like a stunning ship, and we're excited to sail on her to the Caribbean later in the year! Compared to Iona, she seems like the better sister - the ship just seems to have a bit more character. Have been on both recently, which do you prefer?
Thank you very much gents, she is a beautiful ship, hopefully you will have better luck with sun beds than us in the Caribbean 😂. I think of the two Arvia just has the edge with the new restaurant concept and the little extras, however it was nice that it’s the exact same layout as we knew our way around straight away, will be interested to see what you think of her 😊
Hi Guys, Great to meet you on board and a great video. My preference is still Iona over Arvia. As I said to you on board compared to MSC and Royal Caribbean we found that P&O is still lacking essentials for kids like a water slide. I can still hear those Spanish dancers/clappers in my head !!!
Thanks Ray, it was lovely to meet you also 😊 watch out for todays video as you made the thumbnail lol.
Agree with all of your points, maybe next time P&O will add something actually for kids 🙄 as those high ropes are for 10+ really due to height restriction. Thank you for watching 😊
hello great vid, we are due to go on the arvia in july 24 after seeing ur walkaround we are more excited. can i ask .. can you go in the pools with the kids at anytime? also does it feel like you can walk around free or is there loads of people in ur face ? thank you
Hi, thanks for watching and commenting, much appreciated.
All pools are child friendly except the beachcomber which is adults only, but this one is far away from the rest. The inside one closes around 6 to get ready for evening entertainment. Others normally close for the night sometime in the evening for cleaning etc.
Certain places especially on sea days can feel busy (buffet, around pools on nice days etc) but you can escape these always and find a quieter place, port days can be especially quiet. Have a great cruise.
Very interesting to hear that there are so many differences to Iona. I get why there’s more to do outside because it’s a warm weather ship year round but changes to restaurants seem more perplexing.
The 6th Street Diner and Green & Co look amazing, I wonder if they will be retrofitted?
Sindhu is my favourite P&O Specialty Dining restaurant but I can’t wait to try the Keel and Cow soon.
Hey as always thanks for commenting and watching.
Diner was my favourite, foods good but it’s the theming! Loved it. Green and Co was the big shock, really tasty such a shame it was half empty a lot of time!
Will be interesting to hear your thoughts on keel and cow. It was a great ship to film.
Excellent video very informative
Great ship tour! Looks like there's so much to do for the kids on there compared to some of the older P&O ships 😉
Hey, thanks for watching and commenting again, always apreciated.
Yes certainly has far more, the kids appreciated it, although maybe some more would of been good.
My dad was in the first whirl pool u showed I was on the ship at the same time
Thanks for sharing!!
QUESTION: As a family with two children, did you opt for a drinks package? We going in July and also have 2 kids, and we are pondering its value.
Hi Andrew, thanks for watching.
We decided against it and always do on p&o. The drinks prices are very good on p&o and the drinks package is expensive in our view. Remember you can take as much soft drinks as you like , we take whole suitcase and top up in port and one litres of alcohol each (for use in cabin 😄). If you take water bottles plenty of water stations around the ship. We drank quite a lot never worried on what type of drink we were having and didn’t go near the cost of drinks package. Also with 5/6 ports you then can have drink off the ship.
This is just our opinion others will differ, Hope have a great cruise. Any other questions please ask.
Tom
Amazing, just what we needed to know! Thank you so much.
Hi guys, this looks great, booked her for Caribbean next year, can I ask if the beachcomber pool is adult only? 😊
Hi Jude, thanks for watching and commenting. That pool certainly is and lovely little area. Have a great cruise in the Caribbean! Lovely. Thanks Tom
Great video! Love this ship 🛳️
I’m looking to go on this cruise ship in March for transatlantic how many restaurants are included in the cruise fare?
@@uhchazz6658 hi thanks for watching, the main mdr, the diner, the quays, the horizon buffet and olive grove.
Hi, great vlog, we're boarding Arvia next week (17/9). Couple of questions, Sindhu, I'm sure you said if you book in advance & pay cover charge (£10pp) that they give you 20% discount on total bill. Is that true because it doesn't mention that on the website?
Can you go in the Keel & Cow just for drinks or do you have to order food?
TIA, Mike
Hi Mick, thanks for commenting and watching.
Yes when we were onboard, early June. We booked two weeks before when the bill came at end of the cruise the £10 pp and 20% discount was added.
Definitely can head to keel and cow just for a drink, it kind of all mixes into one in the atruim, but your be able to see the bar area to the side.
Anymore questions just ask have great cruise
Question: Does Arvia broadcast live sport? Do they have Sky Sports? Many thanks!
Hi Andrew, this is the link you want it’s sport 24, in the room and in broadies.
All the big stuff are on it, unfortunately for me it’s not a fan of cricket 🤣 (my fav sport) football, f1, tennis etc will all be on.
sport24live.com/schedule
Amazing, thank you
Just asking for a friend, going on his first ever cruise, to The Caribbean with P&O in December.
The travel agents where he booked his cruise keep sending him emails regarding excursions during the cruise.
Is it worth booking these in advance, or can they be booked during the actual cruise. Do they work out the same price, or is there an advantage to booking early (within the UK) or late (during the cruise
Hi Brian. Thanks for watching and commenting. Regards excursions the only advantage of booking before is if it’s at risk of selling out. If your onboard you can Ofcourse use onboard credit you can’t if booking before. If want ideas on Caribbean Arvia cruises and excursions then I would check out cruising Coleman’s some great ideas.
Is the sunset bar a smoking area.
Hi Joyce no it’s not, there’s one on deck 17 and one on 18 i believe.
I was the first passenger in this ship
Wow impressive, was that the maiden? Thanks for watching and commenting
We’re you the captain
@@willrs9811no, probably not because he said passenger not person
@@willrs9811no, probably not because he said passenger not person
@@roseliu3992 thanks for ruining the joke
Would you recommend Arvia over Britannia?
Hi Neil thanks for watching. We sadly have not been on Britannia hope to this year.
Looked great but stopped watching after 4 minutes with 2 adverts already !
Thanks for watching first four minutes. Unfortunately we don’t get a say in the placing of the adverts.
Wat would you recomend as required spends ££ for 14 day trip £3-4k
Hi, thanks for watching. Everyone is different but for family of four without drinks package our spend was £1500-£1750, obviously with drinks package it would be less. If you want to do a lot of official excursions then yes you would be heading upto 3k but we find in the med, DIY is cheap and easy.
@@cruisingwiththe4bs thankyou for reply our drinks package included
How do you rate this vs anthem of the seas . Great vid btw
Thank you very much, I think it’s very difficult the compare the two ships as completely different brands etc, however I think I’d have to say me personally (Rachael) I prefer anthem 🙂
@@cruisingwiththe4bs I am on the anthem at the mo . My friend is going on the Arvia in July 👍 thanks for the reply
@@k20aa your welcome 😊 are you enjoying anthem?
@@cruisingwiththe4bs yes really like it and have booked for next year 👍👍
@@k20aa brilliant 🤩 enjoy the rest of your cruise.
just did a 2-week Caribbean trip, and to be truthful the ship is nice but very generic in style, no real wow factor other than the sky dome which is always full, hard to find a place to sit, and has no actual sun lounges inside only seats. sun lounges are found along the sides of the sky dome in the shade.
The crew and wait staff are lovely and helpful but there is just not enough for the size of the ship and the amount of guests they have to cater for. The cabin guys don't even fold your towels into fun animals anymore, I know it's such a small thing but that really used to make my day.
the booking system is very annoying, especially with the timings, sometimes you end up running to get to your booking or missing dessert after dinner if you are dining in the restaurants. there are also a lot of initial charges to do certain activities like; the altitude walk, mission control or the limelight club, etc. This is really annoying as you have already paid a premium just for the holiday in the first place and this cuts down your entertainment options.
Food for P&O has very much gone downhill, very inconsistent in the quality of the food and how hot it is. As someone with coeliac disease (so not gluten) I was very limited in choice and spent 2 weeks dining in the Meridian restaurant, the only thing that came consistently hot was the soup. I had the steak multiple times and sometimes it was cooked perfectly but others it was overcooked and chewy.
In the Horizon restaurant which is the buffet-style eatery, cross-contamination was a big problem, the foods were all laid out next to each other with no separation other than being separated into; cold cuts, hot food, and dessert and you served yourself rather than someone behind the counter doing the dishing out the food, for people who have severe food allergies this not ok and could possibly end up putting someone in the hospital.
P&O also changed the time of our excursion booking from 9am to 1:30pm only telling us the night before and when we enquired as to why this was, they said it was due to 'technical problems with the catamaran' so we cancelled and got our money back, but on the shore day we saw at 9am a P&O booked catamaran excursion going out when we asked the people going on it, it turned out to be the same exact excursion we booked. so P&O obviously overbooked, changed some people to a different time but also lied to us about why it was changed.
Side note some friends who were on the same holiday as us had one of their excursions cancelled the night before.
I have been on five cruises now including a P&O Ventura cruise (which I loved) and this one really disappointed me in so many ways, some I haven't written down, these were just the main points I felt people should know before booking because it's not a cheap holiday.
@@hayleyharris9908 thank-you Hayley for very detailed review. I agree on booking process, a proper app would help.
Also agree on the food definitely gone down hill. Hope you head back to the seas sometime soon and it’s a better experience
What about disability client? Electric buggy?
Hi Brian thanks for watching. While we were onboard lots had wheelchairs and buggies and all seemed to be accessing the ship well, plenty of lifts etc and access points wide enough. If worried I would contact P&O directly for further information. Tom
Lovely ship, but prefer the smaller ones. Spent 2 weeks in May on her. Seemed to be short of staff.
Hi Sally, thanks for watching and commenting.
I tend to agree with you on size and on the staff, our review will be out soon and we may be agreeing on that as well 🤣
Hi, I am going later this year, what is the price of wifi or is it free?
If I recall there are different packages of WiFi, you can buy each day or for the whole time, it’s approx £14 for 24hrs (although don’t hold us to that lol) but it’s not cheap and not the best connection.
Umm so when I went on I never got to do much but go in the inside pool I did in fact go sunbathing and to the bar
That’s a shame, it is a very busy ship! I think we only found outside sunbeds twice! Thanks for watching
I’m not even half way through this vid but I can tell you now I could probably spend a few days just in the sky dome, lovely. I know it’s cliché but it really does look like a floating city. One day I’ll get there😊
Hey Steve. Thanks as always, sky dome was our favourite!! I will get you on cruise soon….mmm idea for vlog….
She looks like Iona
Iona’s sister ship a few differences but not many 🙂
Fuck i used to work for carnival this vid made me miss working at sea.
Thanks for watching alan
I've read so many negative reviews this ship
Hi thanks for watching. Certainly some varying reviews, here is our take on the ship:
Exploring P&O Arvia: Uncovering the Reality Behind the Hype
ua-cam.com/video/avMM1bT2VxE/v-deo.html
Nice ship. Not so nice when the 5000 passengers are on board and you can’t get a table / seat in the theatre / sunbed by the pool or served a drink at the bar….according to many reviews I have read. Be great to see someone do a video when the ship is full and at sea….?
Hi Gary, thanks for watching. Totally agree we mention it in our review, which is here:
Love or HATE it? ARVIA our full review, P&O newest cruise ship #cruise
ua-cam.com/video/avMM1bT2VxE/v-deo.html
5000 passengers not including staff off 1800
Mmmmm. Looks bland! I wonder if the service was as crap as Iona?🤔 P&O is probably the worst cruise company that I’ve traveled with!
@@mdiz4564 hi, thanks for watching agreed it definitely could do with some colour
Looks to big
Hi Nicole thanks for watching…yes if not a fan of larger ships Arvia wouldn’t be for you
Just off this ship too busy too many queues not enough staff poor portions in specialty dining food ok. RC so much better for all
We dreading Arvia after recently being on Ventura They wouldn’t give our deposit back when try to cancel. Agree RCL and Carnival much better.
We went peak school holidays so if avoiding them should be ok. I would do again just for an extra cruise outwith school holidays