Arvia, Carribbean and home.

Having previously holidayed on sister ship Iona which was only allowed to be half full, it was a bit of a shock after a 9 hour flight to be on a almost full Arvia. Capacity 5100 plus, the ship seemed enormous. We used the precruise trip booking and also entertainment was pre booked. A good job for us as at the time of sailing most shows were fully booked. We did a 3 week cruise, we added the first week to the 2 week cruise back to Southampton which was good as we visited the islands twice and did a trip one stop and a wander the other.
The trips were very good, if over priced as ever, we did an evening cruise in Barbados and a submarine trip too. The P&O staff were as good as ever, any issues were quickly sorted and even with freedom dining we had the same table throughout as my wife has dietary issues and it helped everyone to have the same staff for each dinner. I would recommend this for anyone with dietary needs.
Our balcony was adequate, I recommend higher floors for use as the bottom balconies are overlooked.
The shows/evening entertainment was different, due to numbers of passengers the shows do 2 nights and 3 performances each night so if you are used to dinner then a show you had to look at alternatives which were a little limited. The shows in the sky dome had aweful sound due to the shape (same on Iona) but careful positioning compensated for this. The best show for me was in the 710 club, a small informal venue (100 people) but the musianship superb. We also were on for the naming ceremony, 500 people randomly invited to the SkyDome and a live feed to every rooms TV.
We left the Carribbean for a 6 day sail to Gran Canaria and even the captain remarked that in 30 sailing he had never had a smoother crossing. 6 days on a mill pond, most of the time you didn’t know you were at sea.
Overall our opinion was the ship is far too big for us, a long way from front to back. Advantages more overpriced shops to visit, cheapest teeshirt £25 and average quality. Also made my fitbit work overtime between venues.
Disadvantages, not as much variety of entertainment as repeated nights shows.
The next cruise (Easter holidays) we were told sold out, 5100 adults and 900 children on board. If at all possible don’t book school holidays! We love kids but no large pools and when we were on the decks were full I would imagine it would be bedlum!!
Great holiday and lots of memories, sailing back saved the long flight and restful days at sea in hot weather in March fantastic.
Talking with a few people who booked on line or through a none cruise specialist travel agent I appreciated the help and advice from the team at Bolsover CC. It avoids a few disappointments. Even the coach back to Manchester Airport was good, slept well and back by 3pm with a stop.
Aurora for us next time but wanted to take one of the grandchildren with us to the northern lights.