We have been cruising for over twenty years, mainly with Princess and P&O.
Since Covid we have noticed a distinct drop in standards as the cruise companies cut back to make up for their losses.
Arvia Negatives The ship lacks WOW factor.
E.G.
Atrium is reminiscent of a modern office block.
Lack of waiting staff on deck.
Too many under-utilised niche restaurants taking up staff.
No control over guests reserving sunbeds with towels and personal items on sea days.
Difficult to find a quiet area on deck during sea days.
Our pre-cruise booked table reservation in the Zenith Restaurant disappeared resulting in a long queue on some nights.
The quality of Entertainment was poor.
In one venue the sound levels were so high that it caused discomfort.
A number of guests left complaining of hearing discomfort.
A sound level meter on my mobile phone registered 109 dB with a red warning of high sound levels.
Arvia Positives All staff we encountered were always willing to please, sometimes in difficult circumstances.
Our cabin steward was excellent, he really worked hard.
Always able to easily obtain a table in the Horizon Restaurant for breakfast.
Transfer from Barbados airport to ship and return worked well.
Charter flight both ways were excellent.
Balcony was an outstanding size for type of cabin.
We will continue to use P&O for Caribbean cruises as we especially like the ease of transfer in Barbados, which cuts out wasted days and we like the cruise itineraries.
In future, we will use a smaller ship in the fleet.
