Arcadia’s Absent Atrium!

Becoming something of a weekly occurrence, I once again travelled to Southampton, this time to visit one of P&O Cruises adult only ships – Arcadia. It was a warm pleasant day as I arrived at Southampton’s Ocean terminal, a large stream of passengers were flowing against me as I battled my way to check in.

First impressions 8/10

The ship is a beauty, as are most. But the round ‘East bar’ structure on the top of the ship reminded me of Queen Victoria, Arcadia was actually first destined to be a Holland America ship, she was then taken over by Cunard before she was finally, after being pushed from pillar to post, taken over by P&O. The ship has the famous buff coloured funnel with her aft decks resembling that of Queen Elizabeth, another vista class ship.

Interior public areas 7/10

For me, my favourite part of any ship is the Atrium, usually a grand, 4+ decked large open area bustling with activities, shops, cafés, and a general good vibe. However, possibly down to being passed around so much, Arcadia really lacks an atrium, and actually only has a 3 deck deep hole randomly positioned in the middle of the ship, there is no real wow factor to it, and just feel’s wrong. A great shame. The cinema was a highlight with extremely comfy seats. The main restaurants were also lovely, split over two levels with high standard furnishings and a comfortable feel. The newly refurbished Commodore club was a real highlight with modern mood lighting and 270 degree sweeping views it really was lovely.

External public areas 7/10

Some lovely areas on the external decks of this ship, a full looping promenade deck – something that many british clients love. A large pool with sliding roof for when it’s raining, and also a terrace pool with lots of deck space for sunbeds and tables and chairs. The external areas were very well kept and clean, a good sized sports court and many different quiet areas to pull up a chair and read your kindle.

Food 8/10

A different ship visit menu welcomed me today, a recent change for P&O as I had my heart set on the Madeira chicken which I’d had a few times before. For starter I had Salmon Parfait which was lovely, main was Lamb en Croute, again lovely but the pastry was sickly, and dessert was chocolate indulgence, need I say more? Superb standard as always from P&O in their main restaurants.

Cabins 7/10

Some nice sized cabins on this ship, however they just seemed a little old fashioned. Tinted mirrors took up a lot of the room so that made the room feel larger, ample storage space, good sized bathrooms and large vanity units with a vast array of teas and coffee’s to make. The balcony’s were of a good size and came equipped with two chairs, a table, and a footstool.

Overall:

A lovely ship with some of P&O’s signature features. She is everything British with her British pub, I’m just not sure she’d be for me, I would not say no to a week on her at the right price but yet again she is still not my first choice.