P&O Cruises - Arcadia Ship Cruises Reviews

We were on Arcadia at Christmas.we enjoyed the sun and the company.The entertainment we made between us was the best.perhaps some up and coming entertainers would have been better than the dear old boys deserving of retirement! We were 2nd sitting and the service in restaurant was so slow we missed theatre and often quiz.into week 2 we mannaged to get to speak to the restaurant mannager who was helpful and things improved.BUT very little entertainmemt is available for 2nd sitters,the cruise Director agreed and basically said go to the Belvedere then! On the Christmas angle wonder how many know that the carol singing on Christmas Eve and at Church srvices was there because of the goodwill of fellow passengers.My husband spent many hours at Choir ,with others and no one received even a winners token or a complimentary drink from P O! We still love the cruising experiance but P O need to be aware standards are slipping!

We were on the cruise too and were delighted with most things. Our cabin was just fine, on D deck with a balcony so we enjoyed the sail ins etc. The bed was fine but a matress topper would have made all the difference to cover the area where the 2 singles are pushed together to form a super king.The food was generally OK but not terrific. The White Room was excellent and worth the supplement. The choices in the Belvedere are noticeably less now and a bit repetitive. The main dining room food was variable and I do think the size and quality of some items like steak need a real overhaul. These were often very poor and inadequate- a small sirloin sliced in half! Kevin the head waiter was lovely 'though. I actually thought the cruise director was very friendly and out going so obviously views do differ. The Christmas entertainment was verging on abyssmal in all honesty and P&O need to get this sorted out. Tom O Connor is getting too old now and his diction is failing. Bobby Knutt is amusing but rather old hat. The final show was good but once again harked back to wartime days. Please note we are not all over 70! Overall we did enjoy the cruise and the weather did us proud. We did our own thing in most ports and had a grand time. Although we had no ghastly norovirus on board - is it not time these cruise ships all had regular time off to really deep clean and refurbish. OK costs may rise but so be it. Cleanliness is paramount after all. All ports of call were enjoyable but it would have been good to slot another in as there were a lot of days at sea. What about Cape Verde or even the Bahamas? Just a thought.

Totally agree. Lack of any type of Xmas feel and compared with other Xmas cruises hardly any effort to make it special. As usual the waiters/stewards were first class. Headliners were great and shows got better as the cruise progresssed(there weren't any newcomers just the usual 4 singers and 8 dancers) but you will find that on every cruise - they an outsourced company and have a budget. The old stage adage of leaving them on a high still prevails. The Entertainment team were a mixed bunch.The cruise director was a disgrace(the usual failed comic) - his ultimate faux pas being his cooking 'show' with Tom oConnor when he related his 15 mins of fame playing a young Roy Castle in a documentary and his demands for more and more money when he realised there was no understudy and the production was behind schedule summed the bloke up. When was there any entertainment on the telly?Must have missed that night. When we left Southampton we had the Xmas band playing us away (even the Customs sniffer spaniels had flashing collars and antlers) and for me that was the best part of the Cruise.Downhill after that.New Years Eve on deck was totally pathetic- as soon as they rang the ships bell for midnight the DJ put a tape of non dance music on and the bar staff started to clear up.By 12.15 it was deserted. For the premium they put on a 23 night Xmas Cruises it was a rip off.

Could not agree more with you about the entertainment and the absence of the Christmas feeling onboard. Having thoroughly enjoyed Caribean christmas 3 times previously aboard Aurora, Oriana and the Black Watch we were really looking forward to having a wonderful time but completed the cruise with a feeling of disappointment and dejection. The officers and cruise director were conspicuous by their absence unlike on other cruises he obviously needs lessons from Neil Oliver What really took the biscuit was caribean night when at the sail away party there was no steel band but you will never guess - The entertainment crew dressed in western clothes leading the line dancing, bazaar or what? There was a steel band another day but it was at 3-00 pm on a port day when we ashore. This is likely to be our last cruise with P&O as the standards have really come down, it will take a lot of persuading to change our minds. Overall it was poor value for money, thoroughly enjoyed the caribean islands though.

A few years ago Jayne mcdonald was the xmas entertainment she was brilliant.Totally agree about Tom O Conner,hes on every xmas P and O must get him cheap!!