Having cruised with P&O before we knew the drill.
Boarding and cabin all good.
Recommend taking magnetic hooks for extras like bags, long dresses etc.
I don’t like The Horzion restaurant, but the addition of The Keys was great.
Loved the 710 club and seeing Gary Barlow were highlights of our cruise.
Green & Co was nice for a change but would not visit again.
The Olive Grove was good but did not enjoy the atmosphere within the restaurant.
6th Street Diner we again found a welcoming addition.
Epicurean was fantastic for my special birthday meal and was very relaxed.
Meridian the main dining room, we had table 307 a majority of the time and our 2 waiters were excellent.
The Beach house was a disappointment, having enjoyed in the past, this has deteriorated and we wouldn’t go back .
The Keel & Cow excellent for a steak or burger.
Bear in mind the supplements of some of the restaurants as it soon adds up.
The APP worked efficiently and we think it is an added benefit.
The shops on board were ok not as good as Britannia.
There are some fantastic lounges and bars and we liked them all, they served different drinks in all of them so you wouldn’t get your favourite drink in all of them.
The pool areas were good, the additional dome area was good for music and parents used this area as it was sometimes undercover and the pool great for small children.
The pizza/burger bar was excellent in this area.
The hot tubs around the deck were a welcome addition as were the infinity pools.
It was busy around the pools but sun beds were available on deck 8 upwards so plenty to go round but not necessarily near a pool, saying that we had no issues as we are early risers.
The staff were a credit to P&O they work incredibly hard in challenging times.
Captain Camby was informative on a daily basis and we loved his ‘thought of the day’.
Our ports of call were good, and we enjoyed all the experiences we had arranged.
The entertainment was good, what we saw, this is not a main aspect of our holiday.
My two gripes are the smoking area on deck 16, the smoke did permitrate along the deck, also people vaping in areas not designated.
Secondly the lack of passengers sanitising their hands before eating, on Britannia, pre Covid a member of staff was there to insist you gelled or washed your hands, both my husband and I caught Covid thankfully the day after we got home.
We are both still poorly.
Ariva is a large ship with a capacity of over 5000.
It never felt that you were aboard with this amount of people.
The lifts are always a bone of contention, we didn’t have any issues as we could walk if necessary.
I would cruise on her again in the future and would recommend to family and friends.
We had a fabulous relaxing 2 weeks, with good friends and the time shared was priceless.