Not P & O’s usual standard

Before we went on the ship, we found out Arcadia had been out of service since March. The staff all appeared to be new. We were the “Guinea Pigs.” Some complaints were the showers and toilets didn’t work and the air con didn’t – it was freezing in our cabin. The new app for ordering meals in Freedom dining, did not work and long queues ensued on several nights at the start of the cruise. The only time you were able to book was 6.15. We lost all the ports we were supposed to visit in Norway. We were sent an email telling us that we were going to Stavanger instead of Skjolden & Lustrafjorden and Sognefjord due to berthing issues. The first sea day the Captain announced we weren’t going to Norway at all which was blamed on the weather. We think it was more to do with the ports being unavailable as P&O left it too late to book them. To take us to Kirkwall was a real let down, seeing we were there on our last cruise. Every service was cut and the food in the Belvedere Restaurant was never hot and very limited choice (half of the counters were not open). Lots of Covid on board but were notified soon enough. We are booked on two more cruises with P&O next year but are seriously thinking of cancelling if the standard does not improve. We shall watch reviews closely.