First time Cruise, Graham & Doreen |
| Reviewed By: Williams, Enfield on 5th Sep 2008 |
| Cruise Line: P&O Cruises |
Times cruised before: 0 |
| Cruise Ship: Arcadia |
Sailed:
August,
2008 |
| Destination: Mediterranean |
Age: 46-55 |
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It was our first cruise ever, myself,42, and my husband, 48, chose this ship as it was child free, and we wanted to visit venice mostly. we had read reviews on the arcadia before we were about to depart, and must say, we were quite worried about what we had read to the point of thinking that we had made a grave mistake in booking the arcadia. we set off on the sunday to southampton and was taken aback by the sheer size of the ship. After getting through passport control e.t.c we boarded the ship and went to our cabin. The cabin was spotlessly clean, and our steward introduced himself to us, and said that if we needed anything, we were not to hesitate in asking. the ship was very clean,and despite there were about 2,000 passengers on board, it never felt packed or congested, there were 12 lifts, very efficient and we were able to go to different bars where the bar staff were friendly and polite. There were 2 main restaurants where you could chose to eat, the meridian, which was the silver service restaurant which was based at the lower level of the ship, or the belvedere, which was at the top of the ship and was self service. This again, was very clean, with the waiting staff doing a superb job of clearing tables and getting you drinks if required. The food was plentiful and of a high standard. T he hygiene was very good, passengers were encouraged to use tongs at all times and there was anti bac hand gel at all points where food was served for passengers to use. There was plenty of room to walk around the deck, and if you were really eager you could join the morning club to walk round the deck 3 times, which equalled a mile in distance. There were lots of bars to choose from to have a quiet drink, and in the evenings most bars had live entertainment in the form of singing, piano playing and live bands. The casino was quite small for the size of the ship but was adequate for its purpose. There were lots of different classes and activities that you could participate in if you wanted to, or you could just chill on the sun decks with a book and totally relax. It is up to you how busy you would like to be. The shop offered a good selection of clothes and every day products if you had forgotten to pack any thing. Quickly going back to the waiters in the meridian, they were extremeley hard working and friendly and I couldn't fault them in any way. Shailesh and Pravin were our 2 waiters for the duration and were absolutely great. The head liners dance group did a good job of entertaining us, the costumes were bright and colourful, and I thought the 2 main female singers were good. The lack of a cinema was something I thought was bad, there were films shown each day, but the room was small and the projecter seemed to be on its last legs, but Arcadia is goihng for a refit soon, so maybe the company will fit a dedicated cinema in. There were sail away parties after leaving each port of call, so if you wanted a good dance, this was your oppoortunity to boogie the night away. Both my husband and I enjoyed our cruise, we both did our own things as well as doing things together, it was a totally relaxing 2 weeks and we would definately book another cruise with p&o. Our dining companions colin, elaine, clive and glynis, were excellent company and we all got on really well. We really enjoyed our cruise and hopefully this will be the first of many.
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