P&O Arcadia Cruise Ship Review
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- P&O Arcadia Cruise Ship Review | P&O Cruises
This is our P&O Arcadia Cruise Ship Review. P&O Arcadia is the second oldest, and second smallest cruise ship in the P&O fleet - and has long been a favourite amongst loyal P&O cruisers. In this P&O Arcadia Cruise Ship Review, we'll cover everything during our cruise in Mid November 2022 which invoked anger, frustration and sheer disbelief - and we'll explain why this is one of the worst cruises we have ever taken, and why we don't plan to sail aboard P&O Arcadia ever again!
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Arcadia is going for a refit end of 2024! Fingers crossed
This review is absolutely spot on!!! I had exactly the same experience on Arcadia last November. P&O used to be my absolute favourite cruise line. So sad they’ve gone down the pan. Won’t be booking with them again. As for the hairs on the table cloth and balcony 😩 utterly disgusting!!!!
Thanks for watching Beverley! Glad you've found our review fair and balanced based on your own experience, but sorry to read you had a terrible experience. If you are looking for a polar opposite experience, try Holland America.
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Have you sailed aboard Arcadia? Let us know your experience by dropping us a comment below!
My wife and I did the world cruise in 2020 on Arcadia. It was great until the outbreak. The crew went out of their way to keep us entertained and we were able to make the best of a bad situation. Then we went on the Ventura in 2022 around the Carrabeen for about 35 days and it was terrible. The ship was less then half full, most of the decks were closed of and it was crap. Did not enjoy Ventura as it has to many passengers cabins and limited entertainment. The ship is OK for a short trip but not for one more then a week as it gets boring. Most of the ships staff were not very helpful either which as not like this on Arcadia. You have me worried ow as we are going for the Med trip on Arcadia in April.
@@endofengland Hello Keith, hope you are well. Great your world cruise went well - we sailed on Arcadia for 24 nights to the Caribbean in 2017 and it was fantastic; a totally different ship to one we got off of at the end of last year. We hope that P&O take the negative feedback of their customers seriously, and that your time on Arcadia is much better than our own. Let us know how you get on :) All the best!
Been on the Arcadia a few times. All the dining venues mentioned have always been open. I agree the buffet is dreadful for 'hot' food. It's not always hot, more lukewarm.
We prefer tables for two on freedom dining. The last cruise we went on they'd upped their game to the point of seating us on the table, or in the area we preferred. If we were given buzzers the waiting times were greatly reduced.
The food and service in the main dining room was generally excellent.
Embarkation has never been an issue. We use the coaches which generally arrive between 2pm and 3pm. We've joined the ''snake queue' as soon as we arrive and been checked in within minutes. Whether or not its different if checking in earlier, I can't comment.
Since posting this video, P&O Cruises has reached out to us apologising for our onboard experience. They have relayed our points of disappointment and frustration to their team aboard Arcadia, and have confirmed that all dining venues which were closed on our sailing are now open.
all i can say is good luck on Ventura
We had similar on our Iona cruise, as issues raised during the third day. However the management could not rectify the service, food or noise within our state room. Simple shrug of the shoulders and walk away. Would never sail on P&O again and four other couples that we know have saide exactly the same after sailing on various P&O ships
When we sailed on Arcadia in 2019 she was starting to look tatty and she has always been plagued with water and wast leaks in the systems on board. We sailed on Iona last summer and totally agree with all your comments on the management on board they just don’t seem to think there is any problem at all. This also then get down to the crew who at best come across as unfriendly and un helpful. We also experienced restaurants shut no afternoon tea etc no sure what p&o are playing at but there standards are falling like a big stone.
Bit late after the event though? No afternoon tea on Arvia was our big disappointment.
Oh dear! We leave on a 35 night Caribbean cruise on Ventura tomorrow!!! We did a 2 week cruise in Nov on Iona which had similar issues but put it down to teething issues. We’ve already had one stop cancelled but ‘replaced by a relaxing day at sea’ with no goodwill gesture or any other response. Are we about to regret our decision to sail with P&O? It seems very likely 😢
You’re right. My friend had a dreadful time touring the Caribbean. There were fights over sun beds, lack of dress code, entitled people pushing in at the buffet, dreadful food, people being thrown off because of bad behaviour and the management said we don’t get paid enough to get involved. Absolute shambles. We won’t be booking with them at all
Behaviour like that was common on Arvia I fear. We certainly wouldn’t be booking anything again until p&o raise standards.
Hello, thanks for watching! Can't say that we blame you. We wouldn't book another cruise with P&O for pleasure. It's just not the company it once was!
I've just contributed to your poll asking if P&O are as good as they used to be, I said no along with 72% of others.
I find it incredible that P&O appears to be shrugging off complaints. They must be rapidly losing their loyal customers. Thanks again for your honest and thorough cruise reviews. Keep up the good work 👏
I don’t think they are bothered about loyal customers, I think they are focusing on a different market. Let’s face it the loyal customers like ourselves know just how standards have dropped but new customers don’t know any other standard.
Thanks David, it's much appreciated!
So true! Something we have said many times.
We completely agree, we did the Christmas cruise and we had no working toilet in the cabin for days on end, no aplogy, just attitude from Reception staff. Sindhu was open but it was so cold in there we had to wear out coats - no apology at all - like you say - just explanations! We have sailed on Arcadia 4 times and never again.
Hello Mike, thanks for watching and sharing your view! Sorry you had a terrible experience as well. Like you, we have sailed aboard Arcadia before - and we cant believe how she has fell from grace. We tried Holland America last month on the same class of ship, and it was FANTASTIC! All cruise lines are struggling post-2020, but P&O are really being shown up by their competition.
I have never felt compelled to comment on any RUclips until now. We were on the Christmas cruise as well and it was awful. No heating for over 2 days in -15 temps with no explanation (that I heard). So cold even the chef carving in the buffet had to wear a coat. This review is far more polite than I could ever have managed! I still don’t know how tinned carrots can be hard (Christmas Day evening meal in the buffet)!
That's so weird, I just got off Iona and the embarkation was fabulous. They literally just checked the boarding pass and passport, 5500+ people on pretty fast, no sitting around. Annoying its so inconsistent. :(
Wow, thought Iona would have been a nightmare embarking that amount of passengers! Glad your experience was better than ours - don't think we've ever had a great embarkation with Carnival companies out of Southampton.
We’ve just been on Iona from Southampton and the embarkation was absolutely fantastic, as was disembarking.
My sister and I had exactly the same issues during our 40 night Caribbean cruise in November 2022! We did complain and were given discount off our next cruise on aurora this year. I truly hope it’s better by then!
Thanks for watching and commenting! What ports will you be visiting on Aurora this year?! ☺️
As an addition, we went on the Christmas Cruise J222.
The food was absolutely awful, especially the main Christmas meal.
There was water leaking through some of the decks and buckets could be seen under the leaks.
It didn't help that someone had brought a virus on board which spread. I ended up with Coronavirus two days before we arrived back in Southampton and was ignored by the medical staff. Thankfully I was totally vaccinated.
Compensation! £300 per cabin for our next cruise.
We will still cruise with P&O because it can't get any worse than J222, can it.
We were on the Britannia in April and that was wonderful.
Arvia next month and Iona over Christmas for our 25th anniversary and my 75th birthday. All being well.
Keep up your good work.
Yet again, an honest and substantiated review, thank you 😊
- your video says it all
- certain looks like the CarniCorp suits in Miami are allowing and possibly facilitating P&O to run down one of their ships
- your observations are amongst many on social media
- disgusting, a real let down for their passengers
- we've never sailed with P&O and certainly don't think we ever will
Thanks for watching as always David - hope you are well. We still can't believe how bad this cruise was, there was no positive to take away from it - and believe us, we tried hard to find one. We sailed with Holland America a month later, on the same class of ship and it was SUPERB! All cruise lines seem to be struggling in one form or another in a post-2020 world - but P&O are floundering when compared to their rivals. P&O only seem interested in the big modern superliners like Iona and Arvia, and don't care for their most loyal of cruisers who prefer the smaller ships, and a more traditional way of cruising. It isn't until you try other cruise lines, she realise just how poor the standards with P&O have become!
Thanks for this I haven’t sailed with P&O for some years and don’t think I will hurray back. Fred have got me, some of the friendliest crew at sea!
They aren’t the company they once were! Fred are great. My grandparents took me on Braemar when I was 12 years old, and it got me totally hooked onto cruising! Such a shame she’s being retired, would have loved to sail on her one last time :(
On the Arcadia next week up to Norway and I'm sure that everything will be absolutely fine, this will be my 8th cruise with P and O and I've never had a single issue, but what I have noticed is that there are people on these cruise ships that are not happy unless they are moaning.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
Not moaning, just pointing out areas that need fixing, improving with evidence, however we’re sure you’ll have an amazing time 👍🏼
Interesting. Our VERY recent cruise on her almost couldn’t be more opposite. All the speciality/extra venues (Ocean Grill, Sindhu and Neptunes Grill) were all open and managed to book tables whilst onboard - the app doesn’t really work for her. Staffing levels were acceptable - although could have been better but this is something plaguing most ships and lines at the moment, and almost all members seemed to happy, attentive and efficient - especially the ones on reception. Menus in the main restaurant were ok to good, some very good and good to see loads of choice at the late night buffet etc. Agree that organisation in the main restaurant seems chaotic at times, but we had no real problem getting a table for two for lunch or dinner. Ship was being kept clean and lovely to see her exterior being painted and being kept up after her dry dock before coming back into service along with hand rails being varnished regularly. Sadly leaks and their resulting buckets do plague her - after all she is getting on for 18 years old and is by far the most intrepid ship crossing the globe and takes a hammering but yes perhaps maintenance teams could be increased and stepped up. However none of it really affected our time on her. It’s was our 28th cruise (all mainly with P&O Cruises, Cunard & Princess) and we had a superb time. She’s a very understated ship, no fake ritz or glitz but has class. Wouldn’t hesitate to cruise on her again - in fact booked 30 days to America and Canada in 2024 whilst we were on her…
Thanks for watching and sharing your view - glad you had a better experience than our own.
Very sad that this ship has gone this why p&o used to be very good keep up the good work boys, you’re doing a fantastic job. We look forward to looking at your videos.
Thanks for watching Julie! It's always appreciated :)
Never forget one of the times I went on a P@O cruise while in the public loo a member of the crew came in done his business and walked out without washing his hands !!! I was disgusted and regret not complaining !
Hello, that is disgusting. My mum witnessed the exact same thing on Queen Victoria last year. Very disappointing to see. It's astonishing how lax some cruise lines have become with hand sanitisation etc.
I have been on 2 previous cruises on Arcadia. I have just left Arcadia in Hong Kong. I have to agree with everything in the video. Nothing was right . I listened at breakfast when a woman placed her order, xxx omelette with bacon and sausage. Her omelette came with beans. The waiter disagreed, she'd ordered beans. Another member of staff came, and claimed she was wrong, and she had to have beans. She accepted this, so as not to cause a scene. A similar incident happened again at breakfast. Service has gone, there is a sense of "take it or leave it". Nothing worked perfectly, it was all "near enough". The entertainment was "working mens club" standard. It'll be my last time on Arcadia, and probably P&O.
Great true review. All cruise lines need to stop blaming the pandemic for issues that are clear about increasing profit and nothing more. If the guests on this cruise filed credit card disputes in mass, the cruise line would take notice and change their ways.
Hello Siam, thanks for watching and for your kind comment! All cruise lines have struggled to adapt to a new way of cruising - but none have suffered as badly as P&O have. 18 months into the startup of cruise operations, people are starting to lose patience now; especially seeing as cruise fares are now even more money!
Please bear in mind a lot of the cruise companies lost a lot of revenue during the pandemic and borrowed as much as they could. If a recession (being predicted) is realized, several highly indebted cruise lines may go under as they cannot support their debt load.
Went on the ship a few years ago and we had a good time. It’s a right shame that this ship and p&o have fallen from grace😢
Thanks for watching Cliff! It is a shame, I (Jay) sailed other back in 2017 for 24 nights and it was great. This was a totally different experience!
"Over the past year or so, we have sailed with 9 different cruise lines - and the issues described in this video are either unique to Arcadia, or are far worse onboard compared to other cruise ships we have sailed on." Can you please provide a brief summary of the other 8 ships and the scale of any issues you encountered on those? Thank you
Brutal review but seems absolutely fair for the 'experience' you had on board. Such a shame. Have you done the Feb cruise on Ventura yet? I see that that ship is currently in for a refit in Hamburg at the time of writing? Wondering if that was any better? Thanks.
Thanks for watching, and for sharing you view with us! We got back from Ventura last Saturday - and it was a better experience, however some issues persist. We had no problem booking speciality dining before the cruise, and Ventura was in a better state of condition despite some areas needing MAJOR attention. The persistent issues were poor service, rude staff, poor variety of food, substandard food in the buffet and poor drinks menus. It was way better than Arcadia, but still fell very short of our experiences with Holland America, Cunard and Royal Caribbean recently.
Prior Covid we undertook a number of cruises with P & O but as a result of your review, it would appear that due to their financial losses during Covid, they are cutting corners with meal choices, staff and other regular activities. We certainly will not be booking P & O in future until reviews like yours show an massive improvement.
Thank you so much for watching and commenting, we do hope they turn things around, as they used to offer such good value for money, but until things change like you said, we won’t be recommending this cruise line to our viewers and subscribers!
Have you got any other cruises planned for this year?!
No, flying everywhere this year.
Ahh fair enough well have an amazing time still! 😀
I'm on the Arcadia right now up in Alesund Norway and everything on the ship is absolutely fine, no issues whatsoever, I'd go ahead and book this ship, I wouldn't take too much notice of bad reviews on here, honestly it's a lovely ship, great food and fantastic crew 🚢
Have you done many cruises?
This is my 8th cruise, like I say there are always people not many however but always some passengers who are not happy unless they are moaning or complaining about something regardless of what cruise company they're sailing with, this will never change.
Take no notice of a review on here, but listen to you?😐
Seems unfair
@@bman7956id be unhappy. Did you watch the whole review? Sounds like hell
Sorry I have to disagree with you. I also was on that cruise and many points raised I totally agree. I have travelled with P&O before and their standards in comparison have dropped. I also noticed the Crew doubling up on jobs. One time to eat in the restaurants was a dining experience, now they cannot wait to get you out of the restaurant cause the waiters have obviously got other jobs to do. Will not return.
Just had a week on ARVIA in the Caribbean and it was fantastic. The staff couldn't do enough for the guests. All restaurants open looking forward to booking again.
Hey Kevin, we’re glad you had a better time onboard than what we did! :)
They have taken all the best P&O crew from across the fleet and put them on Arvia hence why standards are now so shoddy on the rest of the fleet!
Just returned from a 7 night cruise on Arcadia (J414) . All your comments over standards of service still apply. I have been on a number of cruises on many of the p&o ships and would never book on Arcadia again. I would think twice before booking any p&o cruise given the obvious drive to reduce service levels.
Very harsh just been and couldn’t fault it
Thanks for watching and commenting Jon.
Hi, with regret did our first p&o cruise in mid January. After 24 cruises with other companies we take the bad with the good and have never ever complained, as,generally food makes up for service or vice versa,entertainment great, staff fab etc. However, a cabin mix-up with excessive noise and vibration, then being given the cards to two other cabins,being fobbed off by reception and basically lied to. We couldn't make gala night because of the disruption. As a treat recommended by friends we tried to book Sindhu,only to be told a table was free when we were home!,A tired ship, not much entertainment and frankly possibly never again. Emailed customer service a week after getting home, got a response acknowledgement straight away, over a month later got emailed offering £75 pp future credit. Sorry, Azura,yes should have known but come on guys we won't be rushing back.
Hello, thanks for your comment! Sorry to read that you too had a bad experience with P&O. Things are really bad as P&O lately in our opinion, and it's not until you try cruising with other cruise lines, you realise just how bad. A month after this cruise, we sailed with Holland America aboard the same class of ship as Arcadia, and it was an utterly fantastic experience. We much prefer the old P&O which operated smaller, and more traditional cruise ships where standards when it comes to service and dinning mattered! Hope your next cruise is more enjoyable :)
I started cruising in 2002 on P&O Victoria. So impressed I wanted to enjoy another cruise with P&O. Over the years I have usually tried other companies as I like the smaller ship or the itinerary is not what I have wanted.
I fell in love with the Aurora and was due to enjoy it again in November. Unfortunately I had to cancel and transferred to the Arcadia.
After your crit I really am wondering if I should cancel again.
I am a single passenger and of course pay almost double for any cruise.
I accept it as I get a brilliant holiday in a decent Ocean View cabin and usually great staff, but now I am wondering if my luck has expired. At £4283.00 for 18days in the Med, am I just about to experience rage cruise from Hell?
Any updates on this ships cruise package “performance”?
Thanks for your honesty
Hey, so sorry for the delayed response some comments were hidden by YT! 🤦🏼♂️
Unfortunately we don’t have any updates as we haven’t been back on, and it’s the only ship we’ve ever done we vowed to never do again 😕 however if you join some of the P&O Facebook pages, you should be able to see recent updates from passengers who have sailed on her recently!
If there’s anything else we can help with please let us know!
Very good review. I feel sad about P&O, it was always our favourite to book, I wonder if they will take good all round reviews like yours into consideration.
Thanks Louise! If the response from P&O's PR & Marketing department was anything to go by, probably not. Was pretty blunt, to the point - and ignored every issue with the exception of the closed speciality restaurants. They used to be my favourite cruise line (Jay) - there isn't a cruise line out there I have sailed with more. We wouldn't rush to book again though. All the best!
I also sailed on Arcadia in Nov 2022 and experienced everything you did. Truly awful experience. The cabin was dirty and the food inedible at times. My complaint was ignored when on the ship and post cruise by customer service. I am worried about sailing on Iona in May…hoping P&O short themselves out by then!
Sorry to read that you had a similar experience to us; P&O just isn't the company they once were. Hope your cruise in May is better, but it seems that these problems are fleet wide.
So shocking! Really hope P&O see this.
Thanks for watching Christina! They probably wouldn't care, they didn't seem interested in our complaints onboard.
That's one ship we don't need to bother with. Thanks.
I’m truly shocked, hairs, ongoing maintenance, stains and poor service is not what P&O used to be like! I’ll stick to RCL for a while longer before going back with P&O
Thanks for watching! Sticking with RC sounds like a good idea - or just keeping away from P&O until they have demonstrated that they are at least trying to get back to what they once were.
We are regular P and O cruisers. We,ve been on seven cruises in two years and never had any real issues. Sounds like a lot of nit picking to me
Thanks for the comment, it made us smile. Hairs on tables, closed dining venues, limited menus, lack of ingredients to make drinks and countless decks closed for maintenance - hardly nit picking!
Not quite an experienced cdruiser as you and I have only sailed with P&O once, on Iona in July 23 to the Fjords. While we had a lovely cruise, the fjords as you know are fab, we did think the food on offer was lack lustre and the service in the dining rooms weren't up to scratch. Elsewhere, the crew was great. At least everything was open and the experience at the Epicurian was really good.
We're booked on the Arcadia in Dec 24 to the Canaries. It will be 2 years on from your cruise, so it will be interesting to see if it is different.
When was this cruise? We have done a few cruises on Arcadia & it was excellent. However we did a 5 nighters over new year 23/24 it was fairly awful for many of the reasons you have listed. Not to your levels but it was disappointing. I managed to get some compensation in terms of increased on board spend on our next cruise. We are having another go on Arcadia later in 2024 & hope it is an improvement on our last. Can empathise with your experience
Dan & Jay, I’m sorry to hear your disappointment on Arcadia. You may have been on the same cruise with me and Lucy (as pictured on my profile) in last Nov to Zeebrugge which changed to Rotterdam. We were a little disappointed by the MDR not serving afternoon tea and the pool grill closed though we’re happy to dine at the buffet on any ships. Thanks for your honest review. Our Ventura in this month has been cancelled due to her refit so that rebooked her for Sep next year. We’re having a break from P&O this year. June
Hello, thanks for watching and dropping us a comment! Yes, that was the same sailing as us! Hope your next cruise with P&O is more enjoyable - let's face it, I'm not sure it could be worse! All the best, Jay.
What a shame, we love P&O, but have to admit that Arcadia is probably our least favourite of the fleet. We were on their other adult ship Aurora last summer to Iceland and our experience couldn't have been more different, she was in good nick and we had very attentive service (admittedly there were only 1200 of us on-board.) Was yours a short weekend cruise? We often find them not to be the best as they are often so busy and it's very hard to book speciality experiences such as the spa in such a short window. Also crew always seem to be more stressed on the short party cruises, I guess they're extra hard work for them with a short turnaround.
It may be that P&O are putting all their best resources into Iona and Arvia at present which is kind of understandable. On the other hand, they are still using Arcadia for the worldies so you'd like to think they'd keep her maintained.
Really hope your next one on Ventura is a much better experience for you guys, she's having a refit right now so hopefully she'll be in good form.
Hello Emma, hope you are well! Glad you had a better experience on Aurora - we haven't sailed on her yet! It was a three night sailing, and while we agree with you about standards not being as high - this shouldn't be thew case, especially as the price per night usually works out the same as a longer cruise.
We were on Ventura just before she went into dry dock - despite some issues still presenting theirselves, it was a much better experience overall. However, is still falling very short of the competition out there at the moment in terms of cruising experience. Glad your experiences are better than ours, were always happy to read a different perspective :)
We've done 6 cruises with P&O, in recent times I've found their menus very repetitive and as I have diet issues doing away with the "always available" was a problem as that was always my back up if I couldn't eat off the menu. I've done 4 cruises since covid with them and have yet to find chicken on the menu !! Same experience as you on Iona last year and Ventura with speciality dining venues closed. No issues with hygiene tho. The final straw for me was boarding at 3pm going to get something to eat in the buffet after a long drive to the port and finding next to nothing on offer (not even a single cake) as it was about to close, preparing for the evening service. Really ?? I had to hang on until the evening food was rolled out a few hours later and make do with a cereal bar until then.
No way to start a cruise in my opinion.
For me that flipped my opinion, yes the new ships are lovely and great value but bottom line.......a buffet with no food on offer in the daytime on a boarding day is no use to me. Never had any issues actually boarding, yes it can be a bit random but it's always been handled very efficiently by the terminal staff. I got 2 further cruises booked for this year but neither are with P&O.
Hello Vik, hope you are well! Their menus have become sooo repetitive. Variety is severely lacking, and the quality is appalling or mediocre at best. We would agree with you, P&O seem to have transitioned to a bottom line, budget cruise line - but that isn't what they were a few years ago; and this is why loyal P&O cruisers are leaving in their droves.
Which other cruise lines are you sailing with this year?
@@sailawaymag Hi guys, our next cruise is with MSC on Virtuosa, mainly because I like Italian food especially pasta and the buffet looks like it has a huge selection, for this cruise we're not too fussed about using the MDR and I'm curious to experience MSC (good or bad and decide for myself). However later in the year we're on QM2 and we'll looking forward to a slightly more formal eating / cruise experience, so it's really one extreme to the other lol. Basically I just got really fed up with P&O food, I had the worst pizza in my life last time on Iona, it was a soggy mess fit for the bin and the bloke serving was very off hand to be honest.
Anyway, I fully support your view, it's a shame but I think they are aiming at the bottom end of the market now and it shows.
The arcadia is a fantastic ship with a superb crew. I've just spent over 3 monts on her and had an amazing time... no complaints whatsoever. A video which repeats the same clip of a hair on the floor of a balcony five times is hardly a fair or balanced assessment.
Hardly just that "one hair" is it - closed restaurants, limited bar menus, unable to get a table at dinner, closed decks, limited food menus etc. A catalogue of issues, ones which seem to be pretty common if you read the countless negative reviews on Cruise Critic.
@@sailawaymag Well they must have a miraculous change between your review and 3rd January. And if its not just one hair on a balcony, why concentrate on that with repeated video clips? I assume that your experience was as the industry was coming out of a worldwide crisis... maybe you didn't make allowances for that. My only disappointment after over 3 months is that the cruise was over... I'd have been happy to do it all over again.
Nope, you’re incorrect! This was November last year, which is around 18 months after cruise operations started! We don’t offer allowances to P&O, they offer a far inferior cruise experience to other cruise lines. Glad you had such a great time though.
We booked two P&O cruises over 10 Years ago, one of which was the Arcadia. The memory is as raw now as it was then. Having read through the review it appears nothing has changed. Embarkation was just as bad. I doubt the pandemic has made it any worse, there is not enough scope. I have an anecdote that accurately sums up my feelings😡”. If I found myself in a life raft and a P&O cruise liner sailed past, I would stay in the b****y life raft”.
Hello, thanks for watching and leaving us a comment! Your anecdote made us laugh - and it's probably one we would agree with. The food rations they keep in lifeboats couldn't be worse than the slop they were serving in the buffet!
@@sailawaymag Thank you , I didn’t include everything, it would mean writing a book!
I'm afraid to say we had a very similar experience on Arcadia May 2023 for 19nights to the Mediterranean and if we hadn't booked and paid for a 30 night Cruise on Aurora to USA and Canada prior to this we would have also called it a day on P&O too. We have cruised with P&O without problem since 2001, my husband is disabled and vegetarian and had difficulty with access around and off the ship and also on trips ashore. Vegetarian food was very limited and extremely poor quality on asking in the Meridian if we could see the vegetarian menu we were told they no longer do one. There are certain foods such as fungi and goats cheese that my husband has allergies to but virtually every meal had one or the other or both in the dish. We ate at Sindhu and paid extra 12 times and Ocean Grill once as I had a medium filet steak I could not cut through. Second day into the cruise Norovirus hit and we had to go on lock down for the entire cruise we were given £30 each compensation on board credit, those with D&V isolated to their rooms but they rarely did and being served food and teas and coffee water and juices by the staff rather than self served in the Belvedere. having to wash hands pre entering the food areas, people didn't and on challenging said "Mind your own business" or similar words unrepeatable. Our cabin toilet flooded without being flushed 3 times during the cruise urine and faeces from other cabins pouring into the bathroom and shower basin splashing up the curtain. it took from after midday until 23.30 at night to clean it up fully speaking on the phone 5 times and seeing the reception team in person on one occasion. They apologised and sent a bottle of wine but never offered us to change rooms even though it happened another two times. Surely a health hazard with the norovirus problem. It was only by luck we didn't pick it up. Disabled access was a problem my husband always wears a sunflower lanyard and book assistance in Southampton they were more than superb on land, on and off ship and on tours a different matter. We were stopped going by tender to France due to norovirus contaminating thetender but we were allowed to travel on shuttles and in bars and theatres and spas and restaurants which weren't being cleaned as thoroughly as they should have been. We were allowed an extra night in Barcelona but every time restaurants stayedopen whilst in port we had to pay extra 20% tax for food and drink The excursions team do not check accessibility of the train stations on tours we were parked the furthest from the station and made to walk then down the full length of the platform to change platforms at Rome all the lifts were being revamped and steep stairs had to be used. Once back the security made us walk the whole length of the ship to the far gangway once we had got there she let others on her end our cabin was that end. This was reported to the senior security officer and all he said was insist more forcefully to be allowed on the gangway you wish to use. On disembarking we were told to sit in Spinnakers Bar in the bulletin. An officious member of the staff told us to move to another area which we would have sat in if we'd have been told initially. he then proceeded to move a disabled elderly lady with her arm in a sling to another table because he wanted to use it and there were others empty he could have used. I sent a similar complaint to P&O head office when we landed but have yet to hear from them. I think after October it will be land based holidays in future.
Hey thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, it really does help people searching for these videos to hear it from an actual passenger. We’re so sorry to hear it wasn’t a good cruise, hopefully P&O respond to you and one day you’d revisit a crusie (be it another cruise line!)
What plans do you have for land based holiday’s, anything booked yet?! ☺️
Ouch. I cruised Azura in December and the cutbacks were noticeable... no afternoon tea in the MDR on sea days.. reduced menu in the MDR. no evening turn down etc... which other cruise
Line to choose tho?
Hey Richard, thanks for watching and sorry to hear you didn’t have the best time with the cutbacks onboard! Is there any cruise liens you like the look of? We would highly recommend Holland America Line as it’s our favourite cruise line!
Went on Azura in Feb this year and was my first cruise for 9 years and was a totally disappointing experience. The on board app was atrocious, the wifi almost never worked, staff were clearing the sewage pipes in the middle of the corridors and water leaked everywhere, the onboard freedom dining food was horrible and my friend had food poisoning for the first 3 nights on his first cruise ever, normal hospitality in the restaurants were none existent (wrong orders, asking 4 times to just have water topped up, asking for certain things removed from dishes not executed), the only redeeming was the Epicurean which at first you could never get a booking and we ended up just turning up and was allocated a table. Overall, it feels like a budget cruise company these days.
Hey thanks for watching and commenting, we’re sorry to hear you had such a bad time! Have you got any other cruises planned you’re looking forward to?! ☺️
My sister & myself sailed on Arcadia prior to the pandemic & we had a brilliant time, we were due to sail last March 2022 but it got cancelled 4 days prior to sailing by P&O due to staff shortages on their bigger ships , I believe that Britannia had just launched so our crew were displaced onto the bigger ships so their guests could enjoy the cruise , whilst we were left with no holiday & 3 pathetic alternatives that if we had wanted to go on would have booked them in the first place.
I’m boarding Arcadia on May 14 as the replacement cruise that was cancelled as it’s sailing to the ports that both myself & sister wanted to visit.. but after seeing this blog I’m now really anxious about what our holiday will actually be like..🥴😔
Hope you have a better time than we did Annmarie. Let us know how you got on :)
Hi! Looking to book an Arcadia cruise for next May, can I ask how you found your cruise last month? Thanks!
Just a quick update, we sailed May23 & other than someone bringing gastroenteritis onboard, we had a wonderful cruise , Arcadia’s app isn’t reliable as it’s mainly set up for the larger ships.. we had no problems booking into any of the restaurants… but I certainly agree the food has definitely declined in recent years, which is such a shame for P&O as guests that we met wouldn’t sail with P&O again… they are going to lose many more travellers..🤬😔🫣
We went on Iona August 2022, Cabin was great but the fact that you had to book your freedom dining and not just turn up added a sense of anaxity before meal times. Bar service and cocktails were terrible. Changed and cancelled ports, charges for room service and no turn down service added to list of negative points. Sad to say that's it. First time cruisers may well love it but P&O has had it's day, as far as I am concerned.
Great, informative video, thank you.
Hey thanks so much for watching and committing! Sorry to hear you also had a bad time with P&O, have you got any other crusies up coming? Have you cruised much with other lines?! ☺️
I'm on the Arcadia at the moment in Kiel.
Take no notice of this negative review he is taking rubbish.
The ship is fabulous and I've done many cruises.
Speak as i find, all the cruises we’ve done have been fantastic. I’ve only been on Arcadia once and it’s always been a leaky ship. Sounds like its gone downhill.
The stewards I’ve had post Covid have been assigned to cleaning the tables in the bars in the evening.
Only once, after numerous cruises have we had trouble in Ocean terminal and that was on a brand new Britannia. Even Iona and Arvia was very good. All other times, its been efficient. The coach passengers can go straight through when they arrive. QEII terminal and Mayflower were a bit hectic.
I hope you’ve complained to the powers that be?
Hello Carol, thanks for watching. We sailed on Arcadia in 2017 and we had a fantastic time - but this was like nothing we have experienced before. We did complain, and got £50pp FCC. It was a gesture, but we would have still much preferred to get the cruise we were promised on booking - especially as it was more my nan's 84th birthday. When's your next cruise?
Totally feel your pain. Cruises Norwegian Fjords on Aurora last June. We had similar impressions re food in main restaurants, thankfully our speciality restaurants were working and saved the day. Noise from engineering work taking place on the cruise, including angle grinders, acetylene torches, paint scraping and varnishing. Thank goodness the scenery and weather was good. Like you never again. Looking to try TUI Marella in future. 👍🏼
We share your frustration and after reading your account, P&O are getting worse; We enjoyed cruising for over twenty years & P&O was always our go to cruise company. Sadly, we noticed over time a decline in the customer service and the last straw was on the Aurora for a Christmas & New year cruise. Based on our 1st Christmas cruise on the Oceana and having a Brilliant cruise sailing around the Caribbean. We were looking forward to joining the Aurora and celebrating another Christmas Mediterranean cruise with P&O. Disappointed from the start of our cruise until we disembarked. No effort was made to dress the ship for the festivities, the food was absolutely terrible. We departed that ship at Southampton vowing never to sail with P&O again. P&O’s loss and both Celebrity & Fred Olsen's gain, and we have never looked back. Perhaps P&O should start looking at customer service as a priority rather than adding new ships to the group...
So sad to see this after coming off an amazing week on IONA (not faultless though) its sad to see rest of fleet not being maintained, as saying goes your only as strong as your weakest link! Thanks for the fair review backed with evidence.
Thanks for tuning in! It is very sad, especially as P&O used to be one of my faves! Glad you had a much better experience aboard Iona - she is a great ship!
Glad you enjoyed the IONA, if you look at the feefo reviews you will see hundreds of others like myself who didn’t. Check in embarkation was perfect, can never criticise P&O with that, the cabin best we’ve ever had but food/service/entertainment were the worst of any cruise we have had, it was clear that the waiters and bar staff didn’t want to serve you….try asking for some ice for the water, we got a pint glass just put in the middle of the table. A stupid system of having to book your night out certainly didn’t work we couldn’t even get in some of the venues for the whole cruise!! No more evening cabin cleans only the morning so if you’re a late riser you’ve shot it, don’t dare go to reception and ask for anything, they were rude and abrupt when I asked for something for the room, I was told I should have been out of the cabin earlier! Everything stripped down to the very basic of standards. I think the good reviews are probably from first time cruisers who probably sadly will never know how good they once were so they know no different. Sorry but P&O have sunk to new levels.
I meant to say a pint glass of ice…..
Arcadia does look a real shocker, I’ve seen more inviting building sites and that buffet really did look horrendous, I’ve seen a few of Jay’s reviews and they are always fair and thoughtful. However like you I loved Iona and had an absolutely brilliant time (only slightly marred by a small minority of foul, deeply unpleasant passengers who I witnessed being very abusive to crew). It mystifies me to this day that people say the food is ‘dreadful’ when you have the Quays, Glass House, Sindhu, Olive Grove all serving delicious meals (it really makes me wonder what these people eat at home , must be Michelin stars all the way). Sailing Arvia in a couple of weeks so I’m hoping for the best. The reviews seem mixed but mainly positive (and as ‘Emma cruises’ often says, happy customers routinely don’t leave reviews whereas disgruntled ones ALWAYS do).
Oh dear, looks like top management need to sort this ship out urgently.I too was on Arcadia about 3 years ago, and can relate to some of the problems in this post.I will be on Iona in July, hopefully with a good experience to report.Have been a loyal customer with P&O for 28 years
Hello Paul. If it's the same management onboard, then we don't hold out much hope. They were excellent at shrugging their shoulders and defending the indefensible, but not much else. Genuinely hope that you have a great time on Iona. At least you don't need to worry about maintenance issues, but we hope the crew shortages and problems with dining are far less noticeable when you go. All the best to you, Paul!
Hi, NCL correctly let you go through security and check in. Your then given a boarding number. But, if you have any Latitude status above Platinum you can just board at the very front. We arrive at 11am and board before guests who arrived at 9am. Also any Haven customer can board when it suits them. Not as bad as P&O but still a bit unfair on the early check in people.
Hello Steve. Yeah, that is a bit wrong. I'd rather cruise lines just allow people to embark as soon as they have gone through security and checked in. We have always had super efficient check-ins with RCL and Celebrity in Southampton. The Carnival companies always seem to be more hassle than they need to be.
When did u guy travel on board Arcadia? We are due to embark another P&O ship Iona on the 24th June 2023 :D
Also, was there even a sail away party? I had my birthday, Christmas and new year cruise cancelled last December aboard ambience so I understand ur frustration😔
Hello! We travelled mid-November last year - however we had friends who were onboard for the NYE cruise and they reported the same sort of issues. There was no sail away party on this cruise, but that could have been down the weather. Sorry to hear about you cancelled cruise aboard Ambience, did you rebook with them? Hope you have a great time on Iona, we loved her when we cruised aboard her in November 2021. It does seem apparent that P&O are focusing and investing into their newer ships, and neglecting the older ones in the fleet.
@@sailawaymag thank you for ur comment, yes we rebooked with ambassador for Christmas 2023 instead, we also used our 50% discount to book a 7 night cruise on Iona in June, hence my comment asking about the sail away :) the arcadia is the only smaller cruise I haven’t sailed with with P&O purely because I’m only 19 so only just turned an adult ahaha 🤣
Oh l am so worried now as we have booked a cruise on P&O's Iona in July for my 70th birthday! We are taking 15 of my family with us because we honestly thought that P&O was an excellent company! So disappointed. Hope your next cruise is better.
Hey thanks for watching and commenting! We’re sure you’ll still have an amazing time on board, happy sailings and happy birthday for when it comes! Let us know how the cruise goes afterwards ☺️
Thank you for this review! My Gran and I are going on Britannia for a Fjord cruise in 2 weeks time so hopefully it will be okay! We also want to do a Northern Lights cruise and saw a deal to do one on Arcadia, I came on here to find reviews of that ship and found this one and yeah, not going to book it.
Hey thanks for commenting! And sorry for the late response this one seemed to slip though our fingers!
Glad it was helpful and hope you had a fab time on Britannia! ☺️
Ooof. I hope P&O are getting a grip on this. Iona in December 2022 was fine. Bear in mind, they lost millions over the pandemic, so could still be playing catch-up to a) getting the books healthy again b) using what they can spare after that on much needed maintenance
Thanks for watching and commenting! Hopefully P&O pull things together! 😀
Oh wow you have seriously got me worried. We are booked on Arcadia for a lengthy cruise in 2024. It would appear that P&O seem to be in denial about their shortcomings how can this be fixed??
Hey Roger, we have to hope P&O stop making cut backs and listen to people’s feedback, have you got any other crises between now and then?! ☺️
@@sailawaymag we did book a short 4 nighter in June 2023 on Acadia so we can get a feeel. For her so to speak ????
Sailed on Britannia last year, Kids club staff MIA, that cruise was more fortunate than week before just had 6 more staff onboard so could run at least some for each age group. however only 2.5 hrs per day on average provided so far below what we paid for and expected. We did get a sorry from the Kids officer and assurances next time we cruise it should be back to normal. Same complaints as you though, no Marco and sindhu was open but running at 50% capacity. Main restaurant slow on freedom dining and limited choices and less 1 course than previous cruise. They had better improve or I may jump ship too... Wife will find out in April before we do a full family holiday in August. Florida 2024 so not booked another one yet....
Thanks for watching! Very sorry to see you had a somewhat negative experience too :(
I’ve been on Iona and couldn’t fault it but have heard the same from others about Arcadia I’m on Azura soon and that will probably be full so hopefully it’s better than hours
Hello Martin, thanks for watching! Glad you have a better experience aboard Iona - hope your cruise aboard Azura is as enjoyable for you, and doesn't go the same way as our time aboard Arcadia!
We are going on this ship in August and hopefully all will be sorted out!!!
Finger crossed! Let us know how you get on we’d love to know! ☺️
Think yourself lucky you had prawn cocktail ,we were on Britannia and never got one. Seriously ,p and o don’t want old, loyal customers ,they are after the new customers who spend more ,book trips and drink more. Having said that we paid less than a fortnight in Tenerife for a Caribbean cruise.we sat with a couple who were going to book canaries and said the same.all the standards have dropped,food wasn’t great, but it’s cheap, and you only get what you pay for in life. I just wish they would charge a bit more and get back to previous standards.
Thanks for watching Gary, and sharing your view. It's such a shame P&O have gone in this direction. Much preferred P&O when they listened to what their most loyal customers wanted, and they took standards seriously.
I’ve just booked aurora in three weeks and now I’m worried. It’s only four nights so if it’s bad it won’t be for long. I’ve been on Elizabeth and Victoria which were both good but did see someone walk out of the toilet cubicle and walk straight out to the dining area on Victoria, and they wonder why people keep getting unwell. I also went on Britannia for a two night taster cruise which turned out to be a stag and hen weekend in Blackpool with vomiting guests and some fighting. I would say my experience says Cunard were much better. I’ll see how I get on with aurora. 🤞🏻
Edit: if you are unhappy with the service can you opt out of gratuities like on Cunard?
Our experience on Arcadia on her round world cruise this year and found precisely the same issues. Six world cruises with them but we are trying Cunard line for our 2024 long trip. Poor standards and complete chaos in every department.
Couldn't agree more, P&O's new catchphrase should be..."The answer's no, what's your question?".
Hahah, that is so true. Never seen such poor customer service. They almost lecture back at you, rather than help put a situation right!
We were just about to book a summer cruise on Arcadia but changed our minds after watching this. We did several cruises every year with P&O pre covid and thought it was time to try again. Don’t fancy the monster sized ships so thought Arcadia was the best choice. We don’t like Aurora. Oh well! 🤷🏻♂️
Hello Andrew, glad the video was helpful - can't imagine you'd have liked Arcadia. If we could give you a recommendation, Holland America are superb. Smaller ships, impeccable Service, amazing food and the best music entertainment we've ever seen on a cruise ship!
Have a look at Marella, they are a really good option now they have newer ships, unfortunately not from the UK at the moment.
Great review,very informative
Thanks for watching Peter, hope you are keeping well!
Do you think the arrival of Arvia into the P&O fleet might explain some of the staffing issues you experienced? I guess Arvia has drawn experienced staff away from other ships in the fleet & it sounds like they are struggling with a shortage of both new & experienced staff across the fleet. Having said that we were on Ventura in late November & we didn't notice any staffing issues.
Partly, but we're at a loss as to why P&O are fairing so badly with crewing, even when compared to other Carnival companies! We have just returned from Ventura - while much of our time onboard was much better than Arcadia, the poor food and staffing issues presented theirselves each and every day of our cruise!
I wonder if the trouble is just confined to this ship because I have been watching lots of videos in the last week from various bloggers on the Iona and they couldn't praise the ship and P and O highly enough and with regard to embarkation they all said it was great with no queues. I just cannot believe the difference in your video and the videos from last week on Iona. As a post script I will not cruise with P and O again but the main reason is the size of the new ships and no club dinning either. Be interested in your comments. Thank you
Hello Alan, hope you are well. I wouldn't say it's confined to this ship at all - if you look at reviews of P&O ship's on Cruise Critic, they all seem to be having similar problems, particularly with reference to staffing, dining and noticeable cutbacks. The maintenance issues are going to be more prevalent on the older ship's of course, but P&O have really gone down hill in our opinion. This view is based on cruises aboard Britannia, Arcadia and Ventura in the last 8 months. Our cruise on Iona in 2021 was fantastic - but it's worth noting that the ship was sailing at only half capacity, so this would have made a difference.
We can't speak for other RUclipsr's experience on other sailings - we trust that they have given a fair reflection of their experience, as we have. We tried to find a positive onboard, but P&O didn't make it easy! The reality is that P&O are floundering against their competition - which we base on our cruises with 9 different cruise lines we have sailed with in the last year. Who do you cruise with Alan?
@@sailawaymag Thank you for the in depth reply which is very helpful. I have read some bad reviews of P and O over the last 18 months but again I would say that the You tuber's of last week were very glowing of P and O.
My cruising is with Cunard but have not been with them for a couple of years but now I have booked 3 for the next 18 months and looking at the reviews they all seem more positive than P and O - so fingers crossed. I have booked Britannia Club as I like the idea of having a reserved table thru out my cruise.
I was on Arcadia September 2022 and I assumed the shortcomings were because she had only just come back into service. The restricted cocktail menu in the various bars was very noticeable. No turndown service. Entertainment was mediocre at best. Food in main dining was fine, but repetitive. Crew members much reduced. Other passengers noted that she was a shadow of her former self. I have seen a comment that she is for sale; P&O concentrating more on bigger resort ships and "bums on seats".
Hello Stephen, thanks for watching and giving us your experience! P&O have been focusing on the newer, larger ship's in their fleet for a while - and chose to ignore the majority of their most loyal of customers who preferred the smaller, more traditional cruise ship's where fine dining and good service were important. As you said, now it seems to be a "bums on seats" mentality - cram as many passengers on as possible. P&O is virtually unrecognisable to the cruise line I started cruising with when I was 12 years old. It's a shame.
@@sailawaymag My first (and best perhaps) experience of P&O was on Oriana in October 2017, just before she was sold. Previously been on Cunard where drinks were ridiculously expensive. 2018 and 2019 were on Ventura. Sailing on Ventura again in a few weeks........I hope P&O have got their act together.🤞🤞
Ventura cruise...............P&O still disappointing.
I think standards are on a downward spiral with not just P&O but other cruise lines. Employing less staff to save on costs . I have no cruise bookings in the short or long distance future. No cruise bookings whatsoever. I cancelled a cruise on Iona , as I had second throughs about that ship , with lounges that look like large airport departure lounges , and many more hundreds of people on board the larger ship.
Hello, thanks for dropping us a comment - hope you are well. The standards have slipped across all cruise lines, you are right. However, the standards have slipped far lower with P&O than the other 9 cruise lines we have sailed with in the last year. The cuts are DRASTIC on P&O, whereas with lines like Royal Caribbean, Marella and Holland America they are quite subtle. I'd love to know why P&O are the only Carnival brand to cut the nightly turndown service, and why they are having to cut further and faster than sister companies.
I’m booked to go on Acadia this coming May (2023} I really hope that this was just a blip on their part because I will be very disappointed- 🤞
We hope so too Debbie, this was like nothing we have experienced before! Got everything crossed that your cruise is more enjoyable!
Absolutely spot on about Arcadia ! Just wish I watched the video before I booked 😞 P@O have definitely fallen behind other companies.
Thanks for watching Martin! Sorry you have had similar experiences P&O recently :(
Well I think it's a ship issue rather than a p&o one. We had been on azura twice in last 3 months and the food , service, cabin lady and cleanliness of the ship were all excellent. Thoroughly recommend it
We are on the Azura now and it’s not good. Same issues. Just off to cancel our world cruise for Arcadia in January. Gutted with the changes as P&O was our favourite line.
We recently cruised on the Arvia around the Caribbean, and I must admit the food in the main dinning restaurants in the evenings was awful , brisket that you could sole your shoes with, lemon sole done up like a roll mop and dry they have even done away with the after dinner chocolate, except on gala nights. The entertainment was more like Pontins than P&O, the atrium is very bland as well. The cabin was nice with a good size balcony, but no slippers dressing gown etc. Also difficult to book restaurants and again not overly impressed with the menus, on average it was costing 50 quid for a meal with a couple of drinks. As usual sunbed wars broke out on sea days and with the drinks package coming in at 40 quid a person the inevitable happens when someone wants to ensure they have their monies worth (8 pints at 5 quid a pint,) so all in all if you like a Butlins type of holiday afloat Arvia is the place to be.
Hello Bill, thanks for your comment! Sorry to read you had similar experiences aboard Arvia - but it's not the first time we have read your type of experience. Have you sailed with P&O before or was this your first time? P&O used to be really good, but it's like they have transitioned into a budget cruise line since the pandemic...
I’ve cruised with P&0 and others but predominantly P&O since I was 8 years old and I’m now 63. I will probably never cruise with them again after over 42 cruises.Standards have been dropping yr on yr since Carnival took over.The whole cruise experience has diminished especially over the last few years,this was happening before Covid so this is not n excuse.There is not a section of the cruise package that has improved recently from dining to service standards,from Itinerary content to entertainment.Modern cruise ships may have a bit more creature comfort but you can’t get by the fact that they all look like apartments blocks on sea
Hello Alan, thanks for watching and leaving us a comment! We are in full agreement - P&O are not the great line it once was. We much preferred them when they operated smaller, older and more traditional classes of ship - where they kept on top of maintenance and the upkeep of their vessels, and realised the importance of fine dining and good service so that their most loyal of customers returned time and time again. Now, P&O have a "bums on seats" mentality where they just want as many paying passengers as possible on their ship's, and they clearly no longer care about standards. Grabbing new cruisers is great, but having passengers that want to come back again and again is invaluable. We have lost count of the amount of people who have messaged us in the last week saying that they have sailed with P&O for many years and have now given up on them. It's like head office are tone deaf to these criticisms, and are pushing on in a new direction regardless of how damaging the early signs are.
Not surprised to see this video and comments on P&O's Arcadia. We sailed on Iona last November (21) and it was the worst cruise or holiday experience in our 47 years of travel. The worst food in a buffet ever seen and that includes 3* hotels in Spain during 1971 when at school. The service was also a bone of contention with staff simply unable to smile or say hello, except for the ladies cleaning the toilets and our stateroom steward. management could not care a jot and were the most ineffective management team you could wish to meet. Then there was the noise within our stateroom which was constant when moving. Appears to be design defect with cables or something similar moving within the walls. We cancelled all future cruises with P&O even though we would have lost deposits. However, on writing to the President of P&O all monies were returned to us including non refundable travel agent deposits. The taravel agent summed it up "They would never have refunded these fees if there had been no problem".
Hello, thanks for watching and leaving us a comment! Sorry to read that you too have had a bad experience with P&O! This is a totally different company to the one that existed before the pandemic, it's a shame!
@@sailawaymag Yes it is and we had three further cruises booked, all cancelled and we will never use P&O again. Issues can always occur, but when they do it is the actions that they take to resolve the matter that counts. iona's management were a complete shambles sadly.
Hmm got to say this is the impression of P&O I have BUT having not used this cruise line I've booked a week on Ventura so I hope I'm wrong. So far the mood music is good having completed a pre cruise survey that genuinely seems to want to know how to make my cruise the best it can be. I go with experience from other cruise lines and an open mind.
Hey Rob, thanks for watching! When will you be sailing on Ventura? We’d love to know what you think after the cruise! 😊
@@sailawaymag Not until October. I'll let you know what I think.
We sailed new year cruise 2022 and we had exactly same as you but with the added bonus of noro virus, only ever sailed with P&O we sailed on Britannia 5wk prevyto this one and everything was amazing we’ve got one on Azura this October so not booking anymore for next year u til we see what standard are like then.
Hello Hazel! Sorry to read you had a similar experience! Really hope your next cruises are more enjoyable!
Sad to see this guys, thanks for your honesty though. Maybe too much focus on staffing the larger ships? I do wonder how much longer she is going to be in the fleet, that’s still no excuse for lack of maintenance though.
Thanks for watching Steve, hope you are well! The standards should be consistently high on all of their ship's. It isn't until you cruise with other cruise lines you realised just how low the standards have fallen. Much preferred P&O before the pandemic!
@@sailawaymag I was quite impressed with Britannia recently but every cruise and every ship should be up to standard.
My friend booked, and went on a 4 week P@O cruise and hated it. She will never travel with them again, and I would never book a holiday with them either.
Can't say we blame them Howard. We would no longer book a cruise for pleasure with P&O. It's more so we can shine a light on the problems they are experiencing, to warn people of what they may encounter onboard. They are a totally different company to the one which we loved before the pandemic. They used to take standards really seriously, now they have a ferry mentality - the more full the ship is, the happier P&O are.
Nice video! I really love the ship's design. I'm sorry your experience was a disappointment, though. She looks like a very nice ship to sail on.
Thanks for watching! We sailed on her for 24 nights in 2017 to the Caribbean and we had a great time - and we liked her a lot as a cruise ship. But, she needs far too much work now - she's very tired and P&O need to put some investment into her, rather than keep focusing on their newer ship's. We hope they will, but we are hearing murmurs that she is on her way out and P&O are looking for a buyer!
Great video, my wife and I have just got back from a 2 week cruise on Azure around the Canneries , after 15 cruises with P&O were totally finished with them. The similarities of the problems has got to mean that this is a company policy. In my opinion P&O will be no longer in the next 5 years 😕 p.s. meant to say that like yourselves we encountered the problems with lack of hand sanitizer fluid especially at the buffet area and the disregard from staff in replacing empty vessels.
Hey Philip, thank you so much for watching and committing! Sorry to also read you had a bad time with P&O, do you have any other crusies planned with other lines for this year?!
Just been on azura and had no problems at all. What issues did u have out of interest
I've only been on 3 cruises, all with P&O. My first was on Aurora in 2018 and it was absolutely incredible.
My second was on Arcadia in 2019 and whilst we enjoyed our holiday we really felt that Arcadia was not the shop for us - lots of issues, lots of work going on, lots of things closed without explanation and a lack of a proper atrium made it an enjoyable holiday in spite of and not because of the ship.
Our most recent was Iona last year and despite a few issues and bugbears (inconsistent restaurant service, a couple of app glitches, understaffing in certain areas, the buffet being a complete mess and removal of the turn down service) we loved Iona so much and had such a fantastic holiday that we've booked on Arvia for later this year. We did say though that the SkyDome needs a major rethink and refit already as it's trying to be too many things at once and isn't doing a particularly good job of any of them
Hello, thanks for watching and sharing your own experience. We really enjoyed Iona too, however we sailed on her in November 2021 when the ship was at half capacity - so the crewing issues which have gained P&O post-2020 weren't too obvious. Totally agree with you about the SkyDome, we're not a big fan of the concept - as you say, too many things at once. The sound quality in there is also pretty poor, and doesn't do the musicians talent justice!
Sadly your experience on Arcadia is not limited to P&O but can be seen everywhere the UK. Staff shortages are evident right across the economy; many restaurants and pubs close on Monday and Tuesdays, public transport services are cut and cancelled, there are long airport delays etc etc. So many European workers have left because of Brexit, is it any surprise that businesses can't get workers. The politicians and media are in denial, they are scared to even mention Brexit.
Thanks for watching and sharing your view.
I’m so sorry you had such a disappointing experience. It’s reassuring to see P&O have apologised and that all the dining areas are now accessible. I am due to board Arcadia in May and am keeping everything crossed that we have a better cruise than some have had recently. Some very worrying reviews floating about! When you pay several thousand pounds of hard earned money for what you hope to be the experience that P&O advertise, you don’t expect any of the issues you have described in your video. Is this purely down to staffing issues do you think? Or just P&O cost cutting? And are just the older ships hardest hit with these problems or is it across the fleet?
Hey Clare, thank you so much for watching and commenting! Unfortunately we believe it’s down to both cuts backs and staff shortages across the fleet, P&O did reach out to say restaurants are now open, and our comments were passed onto the ship (so that’s a good sign!) what ports will you be visiting on your cruise?! ☺️
@@sailawaymag It’s the Norwegian Fjords and we’re calling into Haugesund, Trondheim, Romadalsfjord, Ålesund, Bergen, Kristiansand, and just one cruise-by at Nordfjord. Keeping everything crossed that P&O have rectified all the issues you’ve highlighted by May! We have travelled with P&O before (pre-Covid and not on Arcadia) and had the most wonderful and memorable holidays so really hoping this one is as great! Thanks for your really helpful video and quick reply!
We’ve also sailed P&O prior to the Big C and always had a good time, which is why we was so disappointed now. I’m sure you’ll have an amazing time though, but please do let us know how it goes we’d love to know! ☺️
We had sailed with P and O twice before and both times, first aboard Ventura, then Oceana. I could not fault the experience. My wife and I had a great time.
Then we sailed on Azura in September 2022. It was so lacking in all areas of the ship. Entertainment was dire, dining was uninspired and tastless, accommodation was adequate and many of the crew seemed disinterested. 3 grand for a week of below average.
It was common to see passengers complaining to crew about various things, some of whom, were very upset.
We won't be sailing with P and O again.
Hello Tee, thanks for watching! Sorry to see that you had a dire experience with P&O too 0 they just aren't the company they were :( who do you cruise with now?
@@sailawaymag We've only done three cruises, all with P and O. The last was in September 2022. Haven't booked one for this year as I'm afraid that all the cruise lines will be the same... cutting corners to recoup what they lost during the pandemic. Will probably avoid cruising for a few years until they have all caught up with themselves. 3 grand can get a good deal in a hotel....not the same as cruising, but I think more likely to be value for money. But when we do go back to cruising, I think we'll give MSC a go...I've heard good things.
Keep up the good work!
Carnival are no better. We were supposed to have had a butler on the Splendor for our suite. Never saw him!
Sorry to read that! You would certainly expect that with a suite. Hope your next cruise is less disappointing!
Have you been on the Ventura cruise yet? We were on this ship last year. It was one of our favourite ships, but not anymore.
Really dated and not well maintained. The toilets are always breaking down. The service was poor. Several restaurants were closed. Poor hygiene and cleaning. Some entertainment venues were closed. The entertainment was pretty poor. The headliners' shows are extremely dated and repetitive. They need to go.
Overall, we vowed to stay away from the older P&O ships in the future.
P&O used to be our favourite cruise line. But we're now looking elsewhere.
Hello David! We have - it was a mixed experience. Way better than Arcadia, but some issues presented theirselves once again - particularly with crew shortages, unfriendly staff and poor food quality - particularly in the buffet. No enforcement of hand sanitisation AT ALL in the 4 nights we were onboard, same old shows which desperately need a revamp (loyal P&O cruises must have seen these shows 100 times) and the the drinks menus are as limited as our drinks cabinet at home. It's not until you cruise with other cruise lines like Holland America and Celebrity etc, you realised just how low the standards at P&O are! All the best to you, David!
That review shocked me. I saw most of it then had to pop and see the Boss, Mrs G. We have been on old ships with the odd problem but thet were over 30 years old at the time and never witnessed anything like that. We have sailed many times on Marella and their current ships are far older than Arcadia - built in late 1990's not 2005. I then Checked, Arcadia was built in 2005 and has had two refits, seems more likely unfits! We have sailed on Ventura and Britannia and they were fine though that was several years ago. My thought was they had focussed so much on the new ships that standards slipped, lo and behold that seemed a possible view on the video. Common sense really but Dan and Jay said they noticed a gradual drift in quality elsewhere on P&O. Very sad.
Hello Ian. Yes, she shouldn't have this extent of maintenance issues at her age. I worked on Marella Explorer as a Deck Cadet a few years ago - a ship that was nearly 28 years old at the time, and she was in far better condition that Arcadia. There seems to be a slip in standards across all the ships - especially with crew shortages and poor dining, however it is undoubtable that P&O are putting all their focus on the two new ship's - and ship's like Arcadia and Aurora are being neglected. Makes us wonder how long they will be in the fleet for.
@@sailawaymag Thanks for your reply. It makes sense. The problem they may have is that many cruisers dont want mega ships, they dont need roller coasters, flow riders, 5,000 cruisers etc. They want decent quality and service in comfortable surroundings. P&O may well end up throwing the baby out with the bath water so to speak.
I have cruised for over 30 years now but stopped cruising 4 years ago when we went on cunards QE2 , it was absolutely appalling, poor service , disgusting food and drink prices so high. Years ago and I am only 60 years old by the way , cruises were luxurious, silver service , fantastic midnight buffet carveries served by head chefs . I’m afraid to say cruising is not for me now ,I’ve taken my children when very young to better holiday camps and that’s my personal experience of them now, too much greed not enough service.
Hello Jacqeline, hope you are well. Sorry to see that you have stopped cruising, but we know that cruising is very different nowadays. Having said that, we discovered Holland America at the start of this year, and we were blown away with dining, level of service and the overall value for money of the cruise. If you ever feel like jumping on a plane, we'd really recommend giving Holland America a go.
Very harsh, Embarkation was straight forward with no delays
😂
Lot of folk say P and O ships are like Butlins on a boat these days
Arcade is not my style of ship its too old and not cheap to go on ,very unusual for P and O ships I've been on are spotless is it being retired ?
Arcadia
It certainly looks that way - it’s like all investment into her has stopped!
I know I'm late to the party here, but I was on Arcadia in April and we were told she was going in for a large refit and refurbishment this November.
I have 180 days with P&O I was a loyal customer until they shit on us on a cruise on Oriana the lies we were tolled were just beyond belief I will never sail with P&O again.
Sorry to hear that Brian. P&O used to be so good. We don't like the direction they are headed - and their competition are totally outperforming them in all areas.
Came back a week ago on Aurora and was great. Thinking about the Azura for another cruise but might be having second thoughts now.
Hey we’re glad you had an amazing time on Aurora! What other cruise lines or ships would you think of choosing for your next cruise ☺️
Had a poor experience with P&O on Azura returning from the Caribbean in 2019. Vowed never to cruise with them again and haven’t. Unfortunately they have dumbed down in the race to the bottom so much that their reputation has all but disappeared. Typical of much of Britain in my opinion.
Hello Maurice, thanks for watching and dropping us a comment! Who do you cruise with now?
@@sailawaymag Mainly Cunard but Celebrity are also good.
Such a shame! 😭
It really was, not the P&O we were used to!