Beautiful Norway – 7night cruise with P&O Arcadia

Embarkation
We travelled down to Southampton the day before and stayed at The Pig in the Wall hotel very close to the docks (recommended) so we turned up at the terminal a couple of hours before our embarkation time but that wasnt an issue. We had also arranged parking with CPS and when we arrived our car and cases were immediately taken away and within 20 minutes we were on board Arcadia and heading towards the buffet for lunch and a glass of wine.

Cabin
All cabins were ready by 2pm and our steward Stanley was there to greet us and to ask if we needed anything. We had chosen a balcony cabin and it was a comfortable size and very clean and the storage space was adequate.

Food
This was only our second cruise and this time we opted for freedom dining as we like the idea that we can choose our own time to dine and where. We were a little worried that this might mean chaos at dinner each night but the Meridien restaurant (following the recent refit) now caters for freedom diners on the top tier whilst fixed dining is on the lower tier. This meant that they were able to allocate tables quickly and efficiently. We asked for a table for two and depending on what time you arrive, if one isnt available you are given a pager which will buzz when your table is ready. This only happened once so we went to the nearest bar for a pre-drink and within 30 mins our table was waiting. No problem at all.

The food in the meridien restaurant was good, not mind blowing but it usually had a nice selection to suit most tastes. For two nights however we chose to eat at Marco Pierre White’s restaurant which was really yummy but at ?œ17 each supplement we couldnt do it everynight, however I think we might have done if we could!! Also ate at East which made a nice change if you are fond of Thai food.

Buffett/Grill were always nicely stocked with food and we did take advantage of the midnight buffet on a few nights….very naughty!! I would say however that breakfast was always a scrum so we opted to have a table in the Meridien because it took half hour to find a spare table in the buffet restaurant and it was way too manic for me in the morning, especially after a few wines the previous evening!!

Arcadia
Arcadia is a very comfortable ship with some lovely public areas and places to sit and unwind with a drink. The Crow’s Nest bar was a favourite of ours as it had a really nice atmosphere and great views. The Palladium theatre set over two tiers was nicely laid out with plenty of comfortable seating. Overall, everywhere was clean and tidy, our only dissaspointment was that it doesnt really have a ‘wow’ atrium unlike on Ventura which we felt was the real hub of the ship. Also felt that the prices in the Spa were extorntionate – we actually wanted to try out the spa pool and spa rooms but the minimum time they offereed was a three day pass at ?œ60 each!! We only wanted to try it for an afternoon so wasnt going to pay ?œ120 to do that!

Entertainment
Overall there was plenty going on and the evening entertainment was pretty good. Our highlight was Maurice Grumbleweed (yep from The Grumbleweeds!) who really surprised us and was a real fun showman, good interaction with the crowd, some songs and lots of comedy. Unfortunately he was the only comedian on for the whole week which was dissappointing as there are only so many ‘singers’ you can take every night!

For three nights the ‘Headliners’ (cruise ship’s own entertainers) put on productions in the main theatre and whilst they tried hard, we felt that it was all very lack lustre, a bit cheesy and a bit cheap looking….think Red coats. We would have like to see more high end acts including more cabaret shows to mix it up a bit.

Ports of Call
Bergen – lovely city with good mix of the old and new. We didnt do an excursion and if you havent been to Bergen before its a nice place just to ‘do you own thing’. You must wander through the fish market and take the funicular up to the moutnain to see the views. We decided on a one way ticket and walked back down which took an hour or so but was a lovely walk and took you through some of the old town. Beware though – prices in Norway are a shock at first!!!

Gerainger – first taste of Gerainger was waking up at 6am, pulling back the curtains and staring at a mountain, only metres away, with a beautiful waterfall cascading into the fjord….just wonderful. The fjord here is really narrow so the scenary is at its best. Gerainger itself isnt very big, a small village really with a few shops and eateries. We went for a walk up to a wee chuch and to the Fjord centre and had a lovely icecream and then met our P&O rep for a trip on a RIB speedboat through the fjord to see the waterfalls up close. This excursion was a little expensive and only lasted an hour or so but we had such fun and I would recommend it. My husband hates coach tours so I always try to find something different to do!! The sailaway here was a highlight, they played classical music as we slowly made our way out of the fjord and past all the waterfalls….just beautufl and everyone just seemed so calm and happy.

Flam – another small place in a beautiful valley. Its main selling point is the Flam Railway which goes through the valley up to a waterfall and then returns. We had booked this trip through P&O as we wanted to make sure we got a train ticket and although we enjoyed it and the scenary was lovely, we were all crammed into two train carriages and were only allowed off the train at the waterfall for three minutes to take a quick photo. We just felt herded and not everyone got a seat….everyone seemed to feel the same and there were a few complaints afterwards.

Stavanger – a large town which on arrival was a bit of a dissapointment. It was our last port and gone was the beautiful scenary of the fjords and it just looked like a busy port town, nothing pretty about it. It had good shops but because the prices are so high, one was reluctant to buy anything!! So most folk seemed to get off the ship, wander round for an hour, and were back by lunch. It was ok but for your last port, was a bit of a let down.

Disembarkation
A day before you depart, you recieve a note asking you to inform reception if you have a preferred disembarkation time. We didnt do this so was given a time of 10am. Trouble was, we had to be out of the cabins by 8am so had to sit around for two hours waiting our turn to get off the ship! However, that was our fault really and we should have requested an earlier tme. When we did depart, everything ran smoothly, our cases were waiting and we collected our car keys within minutes.

Overall
Lovely week’s cruise and the Norweigian Fjords are just beautiful and despite everywhere being so expensive (?œ10 a pint!) , we would have loved to explore them more. Arcadia is a lovely ship and has everything you need. Our main dissappointment was the weather which meant two miserable sea days across the North Sea, very choppy which meant the outside areas were closed and some of the passengers were il!! Just unlucky I guess. But would recommend Arcadia and the Fjords if you like beautiful scenary.