Arvia

Yes a large ship! but we found ourselves asking where is everybody? With so many venues on board we had no issues with queing. Ships crew were all very attentive.

Embarkation & disembarkation were all very well organised & efficient. All crew were polite, although did not get to know waiting staff so well as no regular table / sitting area in dining rooms. Meals were good, but lacked offer of vegetables & abit bland on occasion

We would consider ourselves seasoned cruisers now and have to say we were disappointed on our first Arvia cruise this time. If this had been our first cruise, I feel that we would have loved it but the cabin we were "upgraded" to was poorly laid out (bed directly under the air con so that I spent my nights being alternately too hot or too cold and the wardrobes difficult to access). If this was an upgrade, what was the cabin we booked like. However it was really well positioned within such a large ship and easy to find. We missed two ports due to Trump bombing Venezuela and the airspace being closed which was disappointing but understandable and at least we avoided all of the confusion suffered by the passengers due to leave or arrive on the Saturday. The Horizon buffet was a disappointment as dinners were always over loaded (it seemed) with very spicy food (noticed this on Britannia last time too) and the decaff coffee (kept in insulated pots rather than sachets as before) was almost undrinkable as it was over strong (always needed watering down) and luke warm. However the food in the other eateries was very good, especially in the Quays and the main dining rooms. Most of all, for us, there were too many passengers and too few crew. A cruise used to be a luxury experience but sadly this now seems to have been downgraded with cabin stewards having far too many cabins to attend to and the bars on board having long queues. The crew were all lovely despite having such tough jobs, with my standout member of staff being Imogen (or Immy) from Creative Waves particularly battling on on her own with no colleague to help her! Again, for first time cruisers, facilities on Arvia are good with several pools, one being adult only (although it was like a scene from Titanic on sea days with so many people in there!); the theatre, the cinema, the clubs all good. We will sail again with P&O as they have always been good with their organisation but will have to consider more carefully which ship to travel on.

Extensive dinning and entertainment options as you would expect on a larger ship. Cabins are comfortable, plenty of storage space and reasonable sized bathrooms for a cruise ship. Crew are helpful and generally cheerful. As a large ship it can feel busy, particularly on sea days when loungers on the sun decks are at a premium.