p&o cruise ship arvia reviews

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Arvia Deck Plans & Reviews

Activities & entertainment

• Grand Atrium
• Oasis Spa *
• Thermal Suite *
• Art Gallery *
• The Photo Gallery *
• Shore Experiences *
• Loyalty and Cruise Sales *
• The Avenue Shopping *
• Whirlpools (20)
• The Crow's Nest - Observation Lounge
• Ivory Suite
• The Reef - Kids Club
• Scene - Teens Club
• Jogging Track
• Sports Court
• Altitude Skywalk - Ropes Course
• Splash Valley - Aqua Zone
• The Retreat *
• Dance Classes
• Cooking Demonstrations
• Self-Service Laundry
• Medical Center
• Headliners Theatre
• Amber Lounge
• The Limelight Club - Supper Club *
• The 710 Club
• Mission Control - Escape Room *
• Ocean Studios - Cinema
• The Club House
• Film Screenings
• Aerial Artists
• Cabaret Acts
• Production Shows
• Meridian Restaurant - Main
• Zenith Restaurant - Main
• Amber Lounge - Popular Bar *
• The Glass House - Wine Bar *
• Vistas Cafe Bar - Coffee Bar *
• Anderson's Bar - Rum Distillery *
• 6th Street Diner - American *
• The Olive Grove - Mediterranean *
• Brodie's - Pub *
• The Keel & Cow - Steakhouse Gastropub *
• Ripples - Gelateria *
• Sindhu - Indian *
• Sindhu Bar - Indian Bar *
• The Quays - Worldwide Snacks
• Green & Co Feat. Mizuhana - Seafood and Plant-Based *
• The Beach House - Caribbean and South American *
• Sunset Bar - Scenic Bar *
• Infinity Bar - Pool Bar *
• Grab & Go - Snacks
• Horizon Restaurant - Buffet
• Crystal Bar - Pool Bar *
• Sky Bar - Scenic Bar *
• Panorama Bar - Pool Bar *
• Beachcomber Bar - Pool Bar *
• Taste 360 - Pool Grill and Pizzeria
• Laguna Bar - Pool Bar *
• Sundaes - Ice Cream *
• Epicurean - British *
• The Chef's Table - Gourmet *
• The 710 Club - Piano Bar *
• Afternoon Tea
• Room Service *

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P&O Arvia Cruise Ship Review – Should you book?

Arvia is P&O Cruises’ newest ship and we recently took a 14-night Mediterranean cruise to find out what this cruise ship has to offer. This P&O Arvia cruise ship review will talk you through the best and worst of Arvia so continue reading to find out what we really thought.

If you are considering a cruise on P&O Arvia, we hope this will help you decide if this ship is right for you.

Where is P&O Arvia today?

Arvia is known as the ‘sunshine ship’ so cruises in the Caribbean during the winter and the Mediterranean during the summer.

In the Caribbean, it’s embarkation ports are Barbados and Antigua. For Mediterranean cruise, Arvia sails from Southampton.

P&O Arvia is currently here .

Is Arvia the biggest cruise ship?

P&O Arvia is the largest ship ever commissioned for the British cruise market and although she’s a sister ship to Iona, Arvia is heavier by 611 gross tonnes. This Excel Class ship has many other sisters within the Carnival Corporation such as Carnival Celebration , Costa Smerelda and AIDANova.

P&O Arvia can accommodate 5,200 passengers and up to 6,264 if all 3rd and 4th berths are occupied. You may be concerned (like we were) that this cruise ship is just too big with too many people onboard but surprisingly, Arvia was able to cope really well with the amount of passengers .

The current cruise price for P&O Arvia is very reasonable for a brand new ship and therefore, it’s likely that cruises on Arvia are going to be fairly full for the foreseeable future.

Listen to my review of Arvia on the Magically Cruising Cruise Podcast

P&O Arvia Cabins

P&O Arvia offers a wide range of different cabins to suit all preferences and price points. You can choose from an inside cabin right up to a huge suite.

The main types of cabins on P&O Arvia are:

• Conservatory Mini-suite

The most popular type of cabin on Arvia is a balcony cabin but it’s worth knowing that not all balcony cabins are the same. Location is key when deciding on a cabin and some are best avoided if you value your privacy!

The forward-facing balconies on Deck 8 offer no privacy and no view, which kind of defeats the object of paying for a balcony.

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With that said, there are plenty of good cabins to choose from on Arvia so it’s worth doing some research on where you’d like to be situated before booking.

If you’re interested in treating yourself to a suite on P&O Arvia , there are some beautiful ones in great locations.

Take a look at one of the best suites on Arvia that Cruise With Amber enjoyed on the inaugural cruise.

P&O Arvia Inside Cabin Review

We booked an inside cabin on the Saver Rate, which didn’t allow us to choose our inside cabin location.

Overall, we found the cabin to be small but manageable for two people sharing. It had everything we needed.

We were apprehensive about how much storage space this cabin type would have but we managed to find somewhere to put everything – and we’re not light packers!

The plug sockets on P&O Arvia include UK, European and USB sockets, which is really useful. I created this handy guide to plug sockets on P&O Cruises to help with your next cruise.

Deck 4 is a really good location for getting on and off the ship in port, plus there’s very little movement, even in rough seas. Our cabin (4655) was in a unique location, which posed a bit of different a problem. Watch our cabin tour and review of an inside cabin on Deck 4 to find out what the issue was.

Dining on Arvia

P&O Cruises has stepped up its options in the dining department on Arvia, with a good selection of complimentary and specialty restaurants.

There are four restaurants that are categorised as main dining rooms:

• Zenith (Deck 7)
• Meridian (Deck 6)
• The Olive Grove (Deck 6)
• 6th Street Diner (Deck 6) – see the menu and our review

Across the ship there are 8 food venues that are included in your cruise fare and you can eat in all of these places with no extra charge. In addition to the main dining rooms mentioned above, you also have the choice of:

Horizon Buffet

• The Chef’s Table (available on celebration nights only)

We ate in all complimentary dining venues during our cruise and really enjoyed the variety that they offered.

Read my guide to complimentary dining on P&O Arvia

Zenith and meridian dining rooms.

Both of these dining rooms are almost identical in terms of decor and table arrangements. Zenith benefits from windows on either side and overlooks the Meridian restaurant, whereas Meridian has huge windows looking out over the wake.

The menu is the same in both restaurants so it doesn’t really matter which you choose to dine in. The menu changes daily but you will always find steak, a vegetarian option, a curry option, ice cream and a cheese board.

The food is good in the Meridian and Zenith for dinner, with recommendations from the chef and for wines.

The menus features gluten free, vegan and vegetarians options for each course.

Portion sizes were more than adequate for us and the service was friendly and attentive. During peak times it was a little slower but we were never in any rush to hurry through our dinner.

Here’s what we ate for dinner on one evening in the Zenith Restaurant.

It’s certainly worth dining in the Meridian or Zenith on at least one of the celebration nights to enjoy an elevated menu. The Baked Blueberry Souffle is particularly worth ordering.

Breakfast in the Meridian and Zenith is not to be missed because it’s a much calmer start to the day than the Horizon Buffet. This cruise was the most we’ve ever eaten breakfast in the main dining room.

There are healthy options as well as the traditional ‘Full English’ so everyone is catered for.

The Olive Grove

The Olive Grove is very popular on Iona and it’s worth dining here at least once during a cruise on Arvia. The menu is inspired by Mediterranean cuisine , which is particularly apt for a Mediterranean cruise.

Service is fairly quick in this restaurant so it’s a good option if you have plans to watch a show. This restaurant is only open for dinner and reservations are recommended.

We were particularly impressed with the quality of the dishes , given that this was included in the cruise fare. There were choices of Italian, Spanish, Greek, Portugese, Sardinian and Turkish dishes on the menu. There are two menus that alternate every few days so if you have the time, we’d advise returning so you can try both.

Here’s what we ate for dinner in the Olive Grove.

6th Street Diner on P&O Arvia

This American-style diner is exclusive to P&O Arvia and is open for brunch and dinner. It’s a perfect option if you’re looking for casual dining with table service.

The brunch menu serves breakfast and lunch options from 10.00am, so is worth remembering if you choose to sleep in on a sea day.

There’s certainly a fun element to this restaurant with the crew dressed accordingly and 50s rock and roll music playing on the jukebox.

Read my full review of brunch and dinner at the 6th Street Diner .

Situated on Deck 8, The Quays offers quick, hot food options with a choice of three stations:

• Hook, Line and Vinegar – Fish and chips
• Asian Fusion – Asian dishes with noodles and rice
• Roast Carvery – roast dinners and Yorkshire pudding wraps

The Quays is a really quick and easy place to get something to eat at pretty much any time of the day. There’s plenty of table seating inside but we also enjoyed taking our food to the outside dining area on port side.

We ate at all three stations during our cruise but our particular favourites were the Katsu Curry from Asian Fusion and the Fish and Chips from Hook, Line and Vinegar. We had these more than once because they were so tasty.

We’re not huge fans of eating roast dinner on holiday but this was also a popular choice with passengers. In our opinion, the Yorkshire pudding wraps sounded better than they were.

You can head to The Quays for breakfast as the stations serve breakfast items from 6.30am to 10.00am.

• Hook, Line and Vinegar serves pancakes and waffles
• Asian Fusion becomes an egg station with omlettes
• Roast Carvery serves cooked breakfast items

We had breakfast in The Quays once during our cruise. The pancakes with bacon we had were very tasty and is a much quicker option than the 6th Street Diner if that’s what you are planning to order. It’s worth noting that the hot breakfast at the Roast Carvery was very popular and so you must be prepared to queue.

In the SkyDome is a pool-side grill option serving pizza, burgers, hotdogs and salads. The menu changes slightly each day to rotate through different variations of these items.

Don’t be put off by a queue, it moves fairly steadily because the food is being made constantly so you can grab what you want without having to place an order. We thought this was a very clever system to keep the waiting time to a minimum.

Chef’s Table

To cope with the inevitable demand for formal dining on celebration nights, P&O Cruises has introduced the Chef’s Table. We dined here on the first Celebration Night of our cruise.

The four-course menu is chosen by Marco Pierre White with wine pairings from Olly Smith but we felt it definitely deserved to be served in a better setting than the Horizon Buffet.

The menu caters for most passengers with vegetarian and gluten-free options and some vegan-friendly choices.

Here are two of the dishes we enjoyed the most from the Chef’s Table.

The buffet on P&O Arvia is on Deck 16 and is fairly substantial in size. There’s food available almost all day for you to grab a snack or dine in a casual setting.

Even though the buffet is large, there are still times during the day that are particularly busy: breakfast and late at night.

The choice for breakfast is extremely good and has an assortment of hot and cold options from cereals and pastries to a cooked breakfast items. Breakfast is also when you can get complimentary fruit juices from the drinks machines, which is a nice little extra.

It did surprise us how busy the ‘midnight buffet’ was on our cruise . We did go a couple of nights for a little snack when we’d had a lighter dinner and it was queued with people filling their plates with noodles and all sorts! We’d heard the hot chocolate was worth trying, but for us, it didn’t live up to the hype.

Overall, we were very impressed with the range of complimentary dining options on Arvia . There are formal and casual venues with table service as well as places you can grab a meal or snack without any fuss.

P&O Arvia Dining and the Virtual Queue

You can make reservations for all of the main dining rooms two weeks before your cruise on your P&O Cruises online account if you’re happy to eat early (5.00pm – 6.30pm). We would recommend doing this on days you really want to eat in a particular venue e.g. Meridian on Celebration Night.

After 6.30pm, the four main dining rooms require you to join a virtual queue on the My Holiday webpage but we found that going to the restaurant and collecting a buzzer was much quicker .

Don’t worry if you don’t book your dining in advance, there is always somewhere to eat on Arvia!

Entertainment on P&O Arvia

There’s a vast choice of entertainment on Arvia, which I’ve summarised in the table below. Each entertainment venue offers something slightly different so there’s lots to choose from.

The only entertainment you need to pay extra for is the dinner and show in the Limelight Club but after that has finished, it’s open for anyone to enjoy the live music that starts at 10.30pm.

To find out more about the Limelight Club, read our useful guide .

Booking some of the entertainment takes the spontaneity out of your evenings but we can understand the need to do this, given the amount of passengers onboard.

The first week of entertainment can be booked 15 days before your cruise and the second week’s entertainment from a couple of days before the cruise and during the cruise.

Entertainment in the Grand Atrium and Amber Lounge

In the Grand Atrium there are nightly performances from aerial performers, which are very impressive. Each night is slightly different and it’s certainly worth catching some of these performances during a cruise.

The fact that the performers are doing it all without safety lines is even more impressive.

The nearby Amber Lounge has a mix of entertainment and activities during the day and night. On our cruise, there were lessons in playing the castanets and talks about Spain as well as Spanish music.

Brodie’s Entertainment

Brodie’s is the British pub onboard Arvia and it did remind me a little of a Weatherspoons! This where the avid quizzers will be found because there are so many quizzes held in this venue.

Brodie’s has a dart board and pool table in one corners and small stage in another, where live music is performed.

This is also the place onboard to watch football and sports on the various TV screens dotted around the venue.

We did stop by here on a couple of sea days to take part in a quiz but the evening quizzes were extremely popular and so it was probably the only venue on the entire ship we failed to find a spare seat.

The 710 Club is located near the Grand Atrium and is a small venue that opens nightly. There are three sessions each evening, with live musicians taking on a different theme each night, e.g. 90s, songwriters, American vinyl.

Gary Barlow has has direct input into creating this venue by choosing music for the club, guiding future performers and playlists and even shaping the interiors and signature cocktails.

If you enjoy listening to live music, this is a perfect venue but does require a booking in advance on My Holiday. We didn’t manage to secure a booking but we did hover outside the 710 Club about five minutes before the start of a session and were able to get a seat. This has worked for others too, so don’t give up if you don’t book in advance.

Another tip I have is to make sure you order a drink before the music starts because waiter service completely stops during the performances.

Headliners Theatre

The Headliners Theatre on Arvia has numerous shows to keep you entertained throughout your cruise. There’s a mix of performances from music to comedy and there was a good amount of guest performers who joined throughout the cruise to add to the variety.

In our opinion, The Greatest Days: Official Take That Musical in the Headliners Theatre was excellent. You don’t have to be a Take That fan to enjoy it and we thought it was the closest thing we’d seen to a proper musical on a cruise ship.

Entertainment in the Sky Dome

The Sky Dome is where you’ll find a lot of the family-friendly entertainment on Arvia. Once you get you’re head around the fact that it all takes place around a swimming pool, it does offer some completely different entertainment.

The space is bright and airy due to the glass roof.

You will find tribute acts here as well as some of the cruise ship performers’ shows that are weird and wacky.

Club House Entertainment on Arvia

We really enjoyed the Club House on Arvia for evening entertainment. Most nights, the house band would play three sets and it was the place where passengers would go for a dance. In effect, I’d say this is the onboard disco.

Throughout the cruise, there are themed nights such as Pure Pop, 70s, Motown and Floor Fillers. If you like to listen to upbeat music and have a dance, this is the best place to head.

Sunset Bar Entertainment

If you like the idea of looking out at the wake view with a cocktail and some background music, we’d recommend the Sunset Bar.

The entertainment is low key but definitely creates some Ibiza beach bar vibes , whilst you enjoy the warm evenings. There’s a DJ who plays music at the Sunset Bar from the late afternoon onwards so it’s a perfect spot to sit back and enjoy a chilled sail away.

Just remember, on Mediterranean cruises, the sunset can only be enjoyed at the Sunset Bar for the first half of the cruise (before the ship starts heading west again).

Entertainment in the Crow’s Nest

The Crow’s Nest offers some incredible views over the ship’s Bridge during the day and at night becomes a elegant spot to enjoy a drink.

Each evening there’s a pianist who plays and sings. The good thing about this venue is that you can still hold a conversation with people and enjoy the background music.

Things to do on P&O Arvia

There are many activities to choose from Arvia and if you want to make the most of your time onboard, the daily Horizon Newsletter will become your bible.

From 7.00am until past midnight, there are daily activities and entertainment to get involved in. From fitness classes and silent discos to talks about art and culture.

You can browse all of the Horizon Newsletters from a 14-night Mediterranean cruise on Arvia to give you an idea of what to expect. There’s even things to do on port days if you decide to have a fake sea day!

Being Active of Arvia

There are facilities and activities onboard to help to stay active during your cruise.

We enjoyed taking part in the daily Fitsteps classes in the Limelight Club. Fitsteps is a fitness class inspired by Strictly Come Dancing so you can enjoy a dance fitness class without needing to learn the technical steps.

The walking track is a fantastic way to exercise in the fresh air with sea views and there’s an area for table tennis and deck games like shuffleboard. We actually preferred the full wrap-around promenade on Deck 8, which allows you to walk right around the ship.

Unfortunately, if you like to swim, the pools on Arvia aren’t very big . The pool in the SkyDome is the longest pool and is quietest at the beginning or the end of the day.

The gym is located on Deck 5 forward and is very small, given the number of passengers onboard. It’s probably the first cruise ship gym without floor to ceiling windows but it was well used throughout the cruise.

Swimming Pools, Hot Tubs and a Swim-up Bar

There are four swimming pools on P&O Arvia that all offer something a little different:

• SkyDome Pool (Deck 16) is the largest pool, it has a retractable roof that opens on hot days and is where a lot of families base themselves
• The Panorama Pool on Deck 18 is an infitinity pool with views over the aft of the ship
• The Beachcomber Pool is adult-only and has it’s own area with bar
• The Infinity Pool offers gorgeous wake views and is next to the swim-up bar on Deck 16

A great feature of Arvia is the number of hot tubs that are available onboard – there are 18! Not only are they located next to each of the four pools, you’ll also find them dotted around the open decks on 8, 16 and 17.

There are so many hot tubs on Arvia, you can always find one to sit back and relax in, especially the ones located on Deck 16 and 17.

The infinity hot tubs allow you to look out to sea and we particularly enjoyed finding one of these as we left port.

The swim-up bar is a first for P&O Cruises and is a fun addition. There are stools in the water so you can sit and enjoy a cocktail whilst cooling off.

Altitude SkyWalk

Do you enjoy a challenge? The Altitude SkyWalk is a high ropes course at sea that can be booked for a small fee. Adults are £10.00 and Children are £7.50 (height restrictions apply).

We’re not afraid to say, it scared us!

Everyone is given a safety briefing before being let loose on the course and the staff are on hand if you need extra help and encouragement. The safety locking system is very clever and actually put our minds at ease (slightly) that there was no way of falling.

The course takes you around a series of different challenging routes with obstacles and things to climb. You can even choose to ‘walk the plank’!

If you really want to do this while on Arvia, we’d recommend booking early in the cruise because it cannot operate during certain wind conditions. Therefore book with enough time to re-schedule if you need to.

Altitude Minigolf

If you prefer to enjoy yourself with both feet firmly on the ground, the mini golf course is located under the Altitude SkyWalk and requires no booking or fee. It’s a fun activity to do together any time between 9.00am and 10.00pm.

Shopping on Arvia

The main shopping area on Arvia is found on Deck 7 and it feels like you’ve stepped into a boutique shopping centre. Despite shopping not really being a priority, we could appreciate how nice this area was for a spot of window shopping.

There’s men’s and women’s clothing, beauty, fragrances, handbags, jewellery and watches as well as a P&O Cruises merchandise shop to buy your souvenirs.

The most popular shop onboard had to be the duty-free. We noticed a slight glimmer of fear on the staff’s faces here, with boxes and boxes of duty-free being wheeled in on sack trolleys to meet demand!

Kids Clubs on P&O Arvia

The Reef children’s clubs on P&O Cruises cater for children from 6 months to 17 years old. There are five different age groups:

• Nursery (6 months to 2 years)
• Splashers (2 to 4 years)
• Surfers (5 to 8 years)
• Scubas (9 to 12 years)
• H2O/Scene (13 to 17 years)

P&O Cruises also offers a Night Nursery (6pm to midnight) for children aged 6 months to 4 years so that parents can enjoy an evening together, knowing their children are safe and being looked after. It’s important to be aware that it’s the parent’s responsibility to settle the child in the Night Nursery before leaving and this is not a drop-off service .

We were able to take a look around the kids club area on embarkation day and chat to staff about the activities. Everything is designed to be age-appropriate and there was plenty of things to keep the children busy.

For obvious reasons, there’s a limit on the number of children who can access the clubs each day and so it’s important to arrive early to avoid disappointment from the children and the adults. You can register children up to 14 days before your cruise and sessions can be booked once you get onboard.

It’s also important to know that P&O Arvia has a limit on the number of children who can cruise on each sailing (this is the case for other cruise lines too). Each sailing will have a maximum number so last-minute cruises may not be as easy to find for families.

Our Overall Thoughts on P&O Arvia

Arvia is a new cruise ship for the British market and marks a change in direction for P&O Cruises. This ship, along with her sister Iona, is designed much more with the ‘new to cruise’ and younger cruisers in mind.

Using technology to book dining and entertainment plays a much bigger role in the cruise experience. Although we are not averse to using technology, we felt that this did take away some of the spontaneity that we’ve enjoyed on cruises in the past.

We were impressed with the more casual approach that P&O Cruises has introduced on this ship. There are more casual dining options such as the 6th Street Diner and The Olive Grove. We also noticed that on celebration nights the full black attire we’d previously experienced on Britannia was not as strict.

Things we loved about P&O Arvia

• The full wrap-around promenade deck
• The Quays quick and easy food options
• The Headliners Theatre shows
• The ability to always find a sun bed
• The huge number of hot tubs
• The infinity pools and swim-up bar
• The Beachcombers adult-only pool area
• Water stations around the ship
• All doors opening contactless
• The variety of complimentary dining choices
• The cocktail menu in the Amber Lounge
• The Sunset Bar
• Dinner in the Meridian and Zenith MDR on Celebration Night
• The views from the Crow’s Nest

Things we disliked about P&O Arvia

• The queues for lifts, buffet and shuttle buses
• Our inside cabin
• The size of the gym
• The size of the swimming pools
• Having to plan all dining and entertainment in advance
• The Chef’s Table on Celebration Night
• Limited entertainment in the Grand Atrium
• Low crew to passenger ratio

As you can see, we enjoyed far more than we disliked about Arvia. This ship is an affordable choice to cruise the Mediterranean or Caribbean.

This cruise is excellent value and we’d recommend you take a look at what is included on a P&O cruise next.

If you’ve cruised on P&O Arvia, we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Laura is a UK cruise blogger based in Cornwall, UK. She founded Cruise Lifestyle in 2016 to share useful advice about cruising, destinations and food. Last port visited: Bridgetown, Barbados Next port of call: unknown, but she can’t wait for cruising to resume safely!

Find me on: Twitter

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Sister for Iona and P&O Cruises’ new flagship

Alan Moorhouse looks at the main features of the new cruise ship Arvia, the latest ship from Meyer Werft to join the fleet of P&O Cruises.

P&O Cruises’ lates cruise ship Arvia, the company’s new flagship, was named in March 2023 at a beachside ceremony in Barbados, which also featured British musician Ed Sheeran.

Arvia (Yard no S716), which means ‘from the seashore’, was laid down on 15 February 2022. She is the second Excellence class ship and follows near sister Iona, being completed at the Meyer Werft shipyard, Papenburg, Germany.

The ship was floated out of Meyer’s Building Dock No.2 on 27 August 2022, and completed at the outfitting quay before a stern-first Ems passage, followed by finishing works at Eemshaven, trials in the North Sea, and a formal handover at Bremerhaven on 15 December 2022.

The original maiden voyage scheduled for December 2022 was cancelled and the ship sailed for the Caribbean via Southampton after a Canary Islands cruise departing on 23 December. The ship returned to Southampton on 2 April for her European season.

Arvia is in the same general class as Costa Cruises’ pair Costa Smeralda and Costa Toscana; AIDA Cruises’ sisters AIDACosma and AIDANova; and Carnival’s Mardi Gras and Carnival Celebration. The soon to be delivered Carnival Jubilee completes the set. All were constructed either at Meyer Turku or Papenburg.

The latest new ship provides an opportunity to look back at other significant P&O ships and events that have shaped the famous company’s past.

Founded in 1837 by Brodie McGhie Willcox and Arthur Anderson with the charter of the 206-ton William Fawcett operated by Captain Richard Bourne, P&O has been a major force in British shipping for over 185 years.

Much of this history is displayed on board Arvia, and illustrations and information panels are displayed aboard other ships in the current P&O fleet. Key ships in the past, notably in the immediate post-war era, include the liners Oriana (1959/41,910gt); Canberra (1961/45,270gt), often referred to as the ‘Great White Whale’ after her involvement in the 1982 Falklands Campaign; Orsova (1953/29,790gt); and Arcadia (1954 29,734gt).

P&O Cruises, as a distinct entity, emerged in 1977 as cruising became a popular travel experience. In 2003 P&O Cruises became part of the Carnival group and subsequently underwent an image change, with the famous yellow hull colouring being replaced by blue funnels and Union flag hull art.

Management of the P&O Carnival brand is currently the responsibility of President Paul Ludlow. A P&O Australia brand was also established.

Arvia, like her sister Iona, is 184,700gt and measures 345m in length. She is LNG-powered and has MAK Caterpillar engines with an output of 74MW (99,236hp), giving a top speed of 22 knots.

The $950 million ship can accommodate 5,206 passengers in 2,610 cabins and the crew complement is 1,762. Passenger accommodation is located in the forward sections of Decks 8, 16 and 17 and on Decks 9 to 15. The public areas are on Decks 4 and 5, and deck 16 upwards.

Impressive features

Arvia shares many features, internally and externally, with Iona. The Crow’s Nest, the Horizon Buffet, Limelight Lounge and Headliners theatre are key interior public spaces which share many similarities.

One of the main differences is the Magrodome retractable roof on Arvia, enclosing decks 16, 17 and 18. This structure, which is an evolution of Iona’s fixed Skydome, is a creation of designer Martin Francis. It is intended to provide a light open air top deck to facilitate shows and musical performances in both cold and warm climates.

The 970m2 retractable Magrodome over the pool lido area and sea screen weighs 156 tons. Other differences between the two ships include the Mission Control Escape Room, the Swim Up Bar, the Altitude Experience, and the new Mizuhana and 6th Street restaurants, as well as extended freestyle dining opportunities.

The focal point of Arvia is the Grand Atrium, which rises upwards from deck 6. The main entertainment venues are the Headliners Theatre (decks 6 and 7), the main show lounge featuring shows and musicals, the Sunset Bar and Clubhouse, Limelight Club, Andersons and the 710 Club (deck 6). The Crow’s Nest with forward observation views is on deck 17. The Oasis Spa is on deck 6, the Medical Centre is on deck 3, and the Casino and the Avenue shopping arcade are on deck 7.

Dining opportunities

Dining opportunities are specifically aimed at the British market and feature the cuisine of international chefs Shivi Ramoutar and Jose Pizzaro, with a focus on Caribbean and Mediterranean cuisine. The main dining venues are the Zenith Restaurant (deck 7), Meridian Restaurant (deck 6), Olive Grove, 6th Street Diner, and casual dining in the Horizon all-day buffet (deck 16).

Speciality restaurants include Sindhu, Taste 360 and Epicurean. Other drinking and dining venues include the Keel and Cow gastro pub and the Hook and Vinegar seafood takeaway. The upper open decks include the main pool and lido areas, sports area, Beachcombers pool, and infinity pool with adjacent bars.

P&O Cruises fleet

With the addition of the new Arvia, the current P&O Cruises fleet comprises seven ships:

• Arvia (2022)
• Aurora (2000/76,152gt)
• Arcadia (2005/84,342gt)
• Ventura (2008/116,017gt)
• Azura (2010/115,055gt)
• Britannia (2015/143,730gt)
• Iona (2021/184,089gt)

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• P&O Cruises ( UK )

My Arvia Review

By jrphotog , August 29, 2023 in P&O Cruises ( UK )

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We’re now 10 days into our Arvia Mediterranean cruise, and I thought I’d post my review of the experience so far, whilst everything is still fresh in my mind. 

A brief background…

We’re a family of four from London, on our first ever cruise. Loads of people told us how great cruises were, and we loved the idea of an all inclusive holiday, lots of entertainment, kids clubs, and various stops.

I’ve been in/around the hospitality industry all my life, so have a keen eye for what’s working, and what’s not.

Onto the nitty gritty…

First and foremost, we are seriously impressed with the ship itself, and the running of the ship. Arvia is a lovely ship, very modern, and on a par with a good four star hotel. Everything is well organised, staffing levels seem high and the staff are polite and helpful, the food is a high standard everywhere, shows are very professional, and everything is spotlessly clean.  Overall a very slick operation.

The only downside to our cruise, and it is a big downside, is the sheer volume of passengers. I don’t know exact numbers, but being August I’m presuming the ship is at, or near to capacity. It certainly feels that way. Unfortunately Arvia’s main facilities simply can’t cope with this number of people. Horizon buffet often feels like a rugby scrum, the pools are ridiculously small (good luck trying to physically get in, let alone swim on a sea day, or get a deck chair within 100ft of a pool), and the lifts are often full and stop at most floors. We simply didn’t intend to spend many thousands of pounds of our very hard earned money to fight through crowds every single day. It’s also ironic how thoughtful they are about hygiene with auto toilets, hand gel everywhere etc, yet they’ve crammed so many people into such tight spaces, as though they forgot that viruses spread easily in highly crowded environments.

Other observations:

Kids clubs ; our 9 year old loves Scubas, and spends most of his time there. Our 4 year old couldn’t settle into Splashers despite being a friendly outgoing boy. Splashers staff did try to settle him on a few occasions, but we felt (as did others we’ve spoken to) that there’s something missing from that club, and that they’re also a bit quick to page parents and get rid of the kids. There’s definitely not enough there (IMO) to entertain an active 4 year old.

Headliners theatre is a superb venue, large, comfortable and great staging. Some shows we pre-booked, others we just turned up and always got a seat. Always very high quality entertainment.  

Skydome: hmm, didn’t really take to it. I hear it’s better than Iona but still the acoustics are not great for singers and shows.

Smaller bars and clubs: all lovely, comfy, smart venues with good music and entertainment.  

Cabin : four of us coped pretty well in our regular balcony cabin. But if you’re larger people and/or have older kids it would be pretty tight. Nice smart cabin on the 11th deck, very quiet. Doors occasionally slamming and toilet flushes are the only thing you can hear.

By the way they should put signs in the corridors asking people to close cabin doors quietly. They slam very loudly, enough to wake you up. I also think the Captain should make the occasional announcement about ‘consideration for your fellow guests’.

Pools : I know I mentioned this above, but it’s worth reiterating - the pools are comically small. One of the draws was the fact that Arvia is marketed as having multiple pools. As it turns out there are only three available for kids to use, all of them smaller than the average private pool in a Spanish villa, and this is supposed to be okay for 6000 people (a significant proportion of whom are also, how shall I put this delicately, rather large)?! Personally, I’m extremely angry about this. Our kids love to swim, and apart from one shore day when we stayed on board (and the water was freezing btw) we’ve never been able to swim because the pools are too crowded. I was thinking of posting a couple of photos of the pools and whirlpools but I couldn’t be bothered with the blurring of people’s faces. Suffice to say they are rather amusing to look at. 

Toilets : There are loads of public toilets all over the ship, and all of them are well maintained and regularly cleaned. The automatic doors (along with hands free taps and soap) are very smart, although I did wonder why you’d go to the expense of all of the above and then have manual toilet flushes - and put them behind the toilet seats? Bizarre.  

Atrium : lovely place to sit and relax on any of the three floors, and never busy during the daytime.

Kids facilities : despite the size of the ship - and some might disagree with us here - we felt there wasn’t that much for our 4 year old to do. At first glance of Horizon there are lots of activities, but when you drill down they don’t last long, or don’t actually offer much. One case in point, the “circus workshop” was just a load of hoops and toys dumped on the stage for kids to play with. Most kids were pretty bored of it after 10 mins. There are also very few shows aimed at kids. Even the “Kids Party” show was basically just dancers. Yes, there is a splash area, mini golf, and deck games, but for a two week cruise it’s simply not enough to occupy younger kids who won’t stay in the kids club and who can’t get near a pool. Our 4 year old, despite being a VERY active kid and not being addicted to screens, ended up spending way too much time on big bro’s Switch. He actually got excited for the more adult orientated evening shows, just because it was something different to do. P&O, some advice for you, take a visit to Disney, or even Butlins, and find out how to really entertain kids.

Packing list : We’d read up on essential cruise packing lists, and despite wondering if they were overkill we bought most of it. Magnetic hooks were very useful, as were towel clips.  

One thing I found myself was 5 litre Hydramate foldable water containers. These were brilliant for filling up at the filtered water stations and keeping in the cabin.

Water : That leads me to the filtered water stations. A great idea, but a bit of a half hearted effort. We only found four on the entire ship - Atrium 6\7 floor, and two in Skydome.

On a ship this size they should have one on every floor, at the very least.  

Shore days : we never did official excursions, but the buses were usually well organised. Marseilles was the only poorly organised stop, where passengers had to queue in the rain for over 20 mins to board a bus back to the ship.

Captain’s daily : we rather liked his daily spiel, and even found the corny jokes quite amusing!

SO…that’s my summary of Arvia.  

It’s certainly been a baptism of fire for our first ever cruise, and overall there have been plenty more positives than negatives. Unfortunately the biggest negative - the sheer volume of passengers in some of the spaces - is a major sticking point for us when it comes to future cruises. I don’t know if it’s just this ship (and by extension Iona), or if every ship is this over-crowded in school holidays. If the latter is true then this will probably be our first and last peak time cruise. And considering we have 14 years left of having to go away in school holiday time, that would be a great shame.

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Thank you for sharing your experiences. I’m pleased to hear that the positives are outweighing the negatives, but not at all surprised to hear that you feel that the ship is very crowded and that you are struggling with the lifts.  

We had exactly the same issues on Iona last week and had the added problem of trying to get into those busy and tiny lifts with a wheelchair! From what you have seen, I’m sure that you can imagine what that was like!

We certainly wouldn’t entertain Iona or Arvia in summer school holidays again and, unfortunately, the experience has put my wife (the wheelchair user) off those ships altogether, even though I know that the problems wouldn’t be any where near as bad at other times. However, once bitten….

If you haven’t tried the Olive Grove yet I thoroughly recommend it. We really enjoyed it on Iona. 

2 hours ago, Selbourne said: Thank you for sharing your experiences. I’m pleased to hear that the positives are outweighing the negatives, but not at all surprised to hear that you feel that the ship is very crowded and that you are struggling with the lifts.   We had exactly the same issues on Iona last week and had the added problem of trying to get into those busy and tiny lifts with a wheelchair! From what you have seen, I’m sure that you can imagine what that was like!   We certainly wouldn’t entertain Iona or Arvia in summer school holidays again and, unfortunately, the experience has put my wife (the wheelchair user) off those ships altogether, even though I know that the problems wouldn’t be any where near as bad at other times. However, once bitten….   If you haven’t tried the Olive Grove yet I thoroughly recommend it. We really enjoyed it on Iona. 

You have my sympathies. There are a number of wheelchair users here too, and I can see how challenging it must be. On the one hand they built ships that seem wheelchair friendly with lots of lifts and ramps, but they failed to consider the impact of actually navigating through a mass of people in small spaces.

Addendum to my original post as I don’t seem to be able edit it…

Wifi : we paid for one top package, with “faster speeds”. It just about does the job, although frustratingly slow at times. They state that it’s good for steaming, but I tried watching a couple of Netflix shows on my iPad, and it played at the lowest resolution.   

My Holiday ‘app’ : despite the fact that I build websites, and am quite a tech-head, I’ve been unable to connect to My Holiday on multiple occasions on my iPhone 12. When it works, it works well, but considering the essential nature of the ‘app’ it should be a much smoother process. I also found that, bizarrely, I can never connect to My Holiday whilst also connected to the internet package on the same device. In the end I was able to figure it all out, but how on earth are older and/or less tech savvy people supposed to deal with it?  They could also do with an on-board messaging system. When members of your party are spread around the ship there’s no way to get hold of each other on sea days. I believe other cruise lines have that.

Restaurant bookings; between booking half a dozen early dinners pre-departure, using Horizon buffet and the Quays, and a few virtual queues, we’ve never had any issues getting a table.   

Food : as mentioned above, we are impressed with the variety and standard of the food. Table service is generally quite efficient, although the MDRs and Olive Grove take quite a while, and the kids got very antsy.

Staff : a large proportion of the staff seem to be Indian or Asian, and they are unfailingly polite and efficient. Our cabin steward, a lovely man from Mumbai who’s been with P&O for 18 years, is incredibly friendly and helpful. We have found that in the MDRs the waiting staff are not particularly warm or chatty, but that could be down to the fact they always looked rushed off their feet.

If you don't want overcrowding you need the 'space per passenger figure'. Arvia has a figure of just 29. Mid 30s is the figure to look for.

terrierjohn

11 hours ago, jrphotog said: Addendum to my original post as I don’t seem to be able edit it…   Wifi : we paid for one top package, with “faster speeds”. It just about does the job, although frustratingly slow at times. They state that it’s good for steaming, but I tried watching a couple of Netflix shows on my iPad, and it played at the lowest resolution.    My Holiday ‘app’ : despite the fact that I build websites, and am quite a tech-head, I’ve been unable to connect to My Holiday on multiple occasions on my iPhone 12. When it works, it works well, but considering the essential nature of the ‘app’ it should be a much smoother process. I also found that, bizarrely, I can never connect to My Holiday whilst also connected to the internet package on the same device. In the end I was able to figure it all out, but how on earth are older and/or less tech savvy people supposed to deal with it?  They could also do with an on-board messaging system. When members of your party are spread around the ship there’s no way to get hold of each other on sea days. I believe other cruise lines have that.   Restaurant bookings; between booking half a dozen early dinners pre-departure, using Horizon buffet and the Quays, and a few virtual queues, we’ve never had any issues getting a table.    Food : as mentioned above, we are impressed with the variety and standard of the food. Table service is generally quite efficient, although the MDRs and Olive Grove take quite a while, and the kids got very antsy.   Staff : a large proportion of the staff seem to be Indian or Asian, and they are unfailingly polite and efficient. Our cabin steward, a lovely man from Mumbai who’s been with P&O for 18 years, is incredibly friendly and helpful. We have found that in the MDRs the waiting staff are not particularly warm or chatty, but that could be down to the fact they always looked rushed off their feet.  

If you feel that Arvia does not have enough activities for your children, then, I would recommend you consider Royal Caribbean, however their pricing is generally much higher than P&O. Then there is MSC, their pricing is more in line with P&O and  although they ar multi lingual, their ships sailing from Southampton do apparently mainly use Endlish.

As regards the toilets, I have always assumed that the design is intended to make you close the lid because the vacuum flush works more efficiently that way.

Gettingwarmer

51 minutes ago, terrierjohn said: As regards the toilets, I have always assumed that the design is intended to make you close the lid because the vacuum flush works more efficiently that way.

Exactly. All ships toilets are designed in this way.

5 hours ago, Thejuggler said: If you don't want overcrowding you need the 'space per passenger figure'. Arvia has a figure of just 29. Mid 30s is the figure to look for.    

Interesting. Where does one find those figures?

Just google 'cruise ship passenger space ratio'.  Add the name of the ship in the search if you want a specific figure.

4 hours ago, Thejuggler said: Just google 'cruise ship passenger space ratio'.  Add the name of the ship in the search if you want a specific figure.

Thanks. So, according to reception we currently have 5804 pax, into 185k tonnage…giving a 32 ratio.  Even at the ‘official’ max capacity of 5200 that’s still only 35.  That certainly does seem considerably lower than most other ships.  I wonder if those ratio lists that people publish are based on the ‘official’ capacity of ships or the true (plus kids) capacity. Because if it’s the latter then in reality the ratios will all be a bit lower.  Either way, that will definitely inform any future decisions about who to cruise with. 

We sailed on Arvia in mid June and ran into the exact same issues. Very nice ship but buffet rugby scrum in the mornings. People reserving sunbeds so all gone by 7am. Stories of people running down to the pool areas at half 5 or 6am. Most of the sunbeds left unattended for hours at a time with no-one monitoring or putting stickers on or anything. Not enough pools and far too small. Personally I'd get rid of the sky dome and open it all out if possible to create more space. Either that open the area forward of the dome up bit - I would imagine that would involve less cabins so no chance of that happening 🤣 . Somehow P&O need to find a way of creating more deck space imo.

Thank you for the review - following as I have a cruise booked on Arvia for April next year.

Referring to the post above, the crowding is something I am a little concerned about. But, surely, if ships keep adding more and more passenger decks beneath the pool deck this will always be a problem as the pool / lido deck is still the same size. The earlier ships I sailed probably had up to 5 passenger decks compared to 8 or 9 on current new ships. Sun beds were set out in two's with a small table between. It was lovely. I accept the cruise lines want to increase passenger capacity, so my choice is to always book a balcony cabin to ensure my own outside space. But the 'old days' were certainly less crowded. 

We're going on Sunday. I am a bit worried about my 3 year old. We went on Ventura last year and he did like the kids club but it was still operating under covid restrictions so one parent had to stay. Made no sense seeing as the rest of the ship had people rubbing up against each other everywhere. I guess it was due to staff shortages. We did Virtuosa in June and he didn't want to go at all. Not sure how we will entertain him if he doesn't go or like it and its hard to swim

Windsurfboy

1 hour ago, laslomas said: Thank you for the review - following as I have a cruise booked on Arvia for April next year.   Referring to the post above, the crowding is something I am a little concerned about. But, surely, if ships keep adding more and more passenger decks beneath the pool deck this will always be a problem as the pool / lido deck is still the same size. The earlier ships I sailed probably had up to 5 passenger decks compared to 8 or 9 on current new ships. Sun beds were set out in two's with a small table between. It was lovely. I accept the cruise lines want to increase passenger capacity, so my choice is to always book a balcony cabin to ensure my own outside space. But the 'old days' were certainly less crowded. 

Not only more decks underneath the pool deck,  but much of the top open space is not for sunbathing.  As well as skydome reducing available space , you have the theme park out door adventure where people could otherwise sit. Plus then the pay for retreat.

At moment sunbeds dont earn money. Perhaps the only way to get more sunbeds is to make it like continental beaches and charge by the hour. Hope no one from P&O reads this. Perhaps though one should put a deposit on sun bed which is forfeited if left empty for more than half hour. Could be a revenue earner.

4 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:   Not only more decks underneath the pool deck,  but much of the top open space is not for sunbathing.  As well as skydome reducing available space , you have the theme park out door adventure where people could otherwise sit. Plus then the pay for retreat.   At moment sunbeds dont earn money. Perhaps the only way to get more sunbeds is to make it like continental beaches and charge by the hour. Hope no one from P&O reads this. Perhaps though one should put a deposit on sun bed which is forfeited if left empty for more than half hour. Could be a revenue earner.

To be fair, between decks 8, 17 and 18 there are a lot of sun beds, and you’ll always find a pair somewhere. Just not always on the sunny side, and rarely by a pool on a sea day.  P&O definitely need some system of (say) two hour maximum within x radius of a pool.  Personally I’d also rip out the swim up bar and extend the pool there. And double the rear pool on deck 17 too. 

1 hour ago, jrphotog said: To be fair, between decks 8, 17 and 18 there are a lot of sun beds, and you’ll always find a pair somewhere. Just not always on the sunny side, and rarely by a pool on a sea day.  P&O definitely need some system of (say) two hour maximum within x radius of a pool.  Personally I’d also rip out the swim up bar and extend the pool there. And double the rear pool on deck 17 too. 

I think the major problem is towels left for hours on unused beds

Son of Anarchy

One of the things we noticed on Azura earlier this year was by late afternoon people left towels on loungers because they couldn't be bothered to put them in the used towels bins.  Possibly a result of not providing lounger towels in the cabins anymore?  Don't need to take it back to the cabin to get a fresh one, and too lazy to place in the appropriate bins.  We just removed the towels and used the loungers.

22 hours ago, jrphotog said: To be fair, between decks 8, 17 and 18 there are a lot of sun beds, and you’ll always find a pair somewhere. Just not always on the sunny side, and rarely by a pool on a sea day.  P&O definitely need some system of (say) two hour maximum within x radius of a pool.  Personally I’d also rip out the swim up bar and extend the pool there. And double the rear pool on deck 17 too. 

Personally I disliked that a very large number of the "sunbeds" were in fact reclining chairs rather than sunbeds.  The number of actual "real" sunbeds around the two small family pools were very limited in number.  

I got the impression the relaxer chairs as I called them were to encourage people to not use them all day.

10 minutes ago, Megabear2 said: Personally I disliked that a very large number of the "sunbeds" were in fact reclining chairs rather than sunbeds.  The number of actual "real" sunbeds around the two small family pools were very limited in number.     I got the impression the relaxer chairs as I called them were to encourage people to not use them all day.

I quite liked having upright chairs to sit on, something lacking on P&O's other ships. Maybe too many on Iona/Arvia but not enough on the others.

1 minute ago, Gettingwarmer said: I quite liked having upright chairs to sit on, something lacking on P&O's other ships. Maybe too many on Iona/Arvia but not enough on the others.

I like upright chairs too but found Arvia's to be a sort of half way house which reclined leaving your feet dangling. Just seemed a strange chair to me but I realise they are space saving as well.  

26 minutes ago, Megabear2 said: Personally I disliked that a very large number of the "sunbeds" were in fact reclining chairs rather than sunbeds.  The number of actual "real" sunbeds around the two small family pools were very limited in number.     I got the impression the relaxer chairs as I called them were to encourage people to not use them all day.

I found the "relaxer chairs" on Iona very comfortable, and for the crinklies, like me, they were far easier to get on and off than a sunbed.

Just now, terrierjohn said: I found the "relaxer chairs" on Iona very comfortable, and for the crinklies, like me, they were far easier to get on and off than a sunbed.

I'm sure they are great for some. On Arvia on a supposed sun cruise- we didn't get much - they were a bone of contention with the family groups particularly where people wanted to bundle the kids up and sit them around the pool.  

Comfort wasn't the issue from what I saw (although personally I wasn't keen), more suitably for sun bathing for families and younger people.

• 2 weeks later...

Interestedcruisefan

Great review 

As someone who is in the hospitality industry how do you find the value of an Arvia cruise compared to taking a family to a land based Mediterranean holiday in the summer holidays with similar dining and entertainment options, activities and facilities available as on Arvia?

It's been a while since I priced up a family holiday abroad?

But would imagine finding something land based with all the facilities and dining options to compare would be very expensive nowadays?

(I  know my friend just paid 10k for a family of 4 to go all inclusive in Egypt for 2 weeks)

What did 2 weeks school holidays for all family of 4 cost on Arvia (I realise it's not all inclusive)?

Just priced up Arvia next August for family of 4 no fly Mediterranean for 2 weeks in a balcony cabin

Interestingly all the inside cabins are sold out already so it appears people are putting low price before balconys in August next year on Arvia

It's rare to see inside cabins sold out so far in advance for a cruise ship that big?

Would imagine inside cabins would have been 1k to 1.5k cheaper?

So maybe 4.5k ish?

In comparison Lanzarote for 2 weeks with travel republic in August decent self catering apartments but limited facilities and entertainment are  starting at 4k for same dates for a family of 4

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P&O Arvia Caribbean Cruise Review: What to Expect on a Caribbean Cruise on P&O Arvia

We booked a two-week Caribbean cruise with P&O on its newest ship Arvia, having been amazed the previous year by its almost identical sister ship Iona in the Norwegian Fjords.

What we hoped for was to get away from the dreadful British winter weather and to see a part of the world we’d not visited before, in a way that would be a relaxed and convenient mode of seeing as much of the Caribbean as possible.

The holiday turned out to exceed all our expectations and was a brilliant experience from start to finish.

We could not recommend P&O Arvia highly enough and are hard pushed to find one single fault with the entire Caribbean cruise.

If you’re considering a P&O Caribbean cruise on Arvia, here’s some of what you can expect….

We arrived in Barbados on a P&O charter Tui flight from Gatwick, leaving the cold December weather behind us and landing, after an approximately 9-hour flight, to temperatures of 29-degrees.

You step off the plane and straight onto a bus which whisks you from the runway, on a journey about half-an-hour through Bridgetown to the cruise port where the stunning sight of Arvia awaits you.

• Read our full post with details of flying to a P&O Caribbean cruise here

Even though we knew what to expect, having already experienced Iona, you cannot fail to be blown away by the incredible sight of the gigantic ship – one of the world’s largest cruise ships – as it sits in port awaiting its guests.

While some cruise ships look like floating tower blocks Arvia, despite being so large, has an astounding visual beauty to it which is a real credit to its designers.

A sleek, curved bow and pristine white hull; an enormous glass atrium at the centre of the ship, its signature ‘Skydome’ on top – a massive retractable glass roof under which passengers bask in the Caribbean sun.

Arvia dominates every port it’s in, with other cruise ships alongside it paling in comparison to its size and its aesthetic beauty.

Arriving on board, your first sight is the Grand Atrium – a huge central area with glass windows stretching way up above you and all around, giving incredible views out to sea.

A pianist plays on a grand piano, filling the atrium with music; people relax in chairs with drinks and there’s a perfect atmosphere to welcome you on board.

For the whole two weeks of our stay on Arvia I couldn’t stop being wowed by the interior design of the ship.

At the time of our cruise in 2023, the ship was only a year old so it’s modern, in perfect condition throughout and every inch of the ship is meticulously designed inside to look visually stunning.

It amazes me that on a vessel so huge, with so many areas, that so much attention to detail is paid to the design and layout of every last square inch.

It is such a beautiful piece of architecture from top to bottom, inside and out – and the fact it floats around at sea transporting you to destinations of your dreams makes it all the more remarkable that something so incredible even exists and has been built by human hands.

Anyway, you get the idea that the ship itself is stunning, but this impression extends beyond just the layout and design, but to the way the ship is run and maintained by the crew.

There are around 5,000+ guests on board – plus another 1,800 crew – which is a huge number of people all living, eating, drinking and holidaying together in one space.

But despite such vast numbers of passengers, the ship remains immaculately clean and perfectly-maintained throughout.

This is not an exaggeration – in two full weeks on board I literally did not see one single piece of rubbish or one single dirty area of the ship.

Arvia is buzzing all day and night with crew members constantly cleaning and maintaining the ship.

Any piece of rubbish left on the floor or on a table, any empty glass left by a lounger and it seemed within seconds one of the crew was there to clear it away.

Every surface is constantly wiped, disinfected, hoovered… Every one of the public area toilets I went in over the whole two weeks was as pristine clean as you’d want your own home toilet to be.

The Caribbean in December is hot – the temperature of the air remains warm all night long and in the sun during the day out on the decks it’s scorching.

But the temperature inside the ship is maintained at a constant cool level in every space, all day and night, making it incredibly comfortable to be even on the hottest days.

It’s an example of the attention to detail paid to every element of the guest experience on board Arvia.

In every part of the ship, whatever you’re doing, you feel relaxed, comfortable and well taken-care of by the incredibly hard-working and ultra-attentive crew.

Food & Drink

With 5,000+ passengers staying on board for two weeks, the ship needs to cater for a huge range of tastes and requirements in food and it’s amazing how they do this, with an enormous variety of food and drink options.

Whether you want to grab a quick slice of pizza to eat by a pool, or you want a fine dining experience, or anything in-between, you’ll find it on Arvia.

The food served every night in the main dining rooms was superb with a great variety – every meal delicious – and with a constant rotation of the menu to ensure you have different choices available every day of a two-week cruise.

But if you want something different and even higher quality than the main dining rooms, you have options like the specialist restaurants of the Epicurean or the Keel & Cow.

Or maybe you don’t want the formality of a main dining room or speciality restaurant and just want to grab a quick bite to eat – the American-style 6th Street Diner, the Quays or the Taste 360 give you more relaxed or quick and easy options.

The Horizon Buffet is open all day every day – perfect for big breakfasts, lunches after an excursion or a mid-afternoon snack.

There is so much food on offer, such a variety and of such a high quality it’s impossible to comprehend how it can all be provided to so many people on board a ship floating around at sea.

The same goes for drink – with more bars than I can remember – each with its own unique style and atmosphere.

That’s another amazing thing about Arvia – the wide range of different styles and atmospheres in the public spaces, catering for people of all tastes and for whatever mood you might be in from one moment to the next.

I used to love going up to the top decks at sunset, where the swim-up bar was full of people drinking in the sun as live music – either from a singer or the resident DJ – pumped out over the sound system, disco lights creating a real vibrant ‘sail away’ party atmosphere.

But head up one deck to the Crows Nest bar and the atmosphere changes completely.

Lush furnishings and decor create a smooth and sophisticated atmosphere as a pianist plays mellow background music to people sitting, sipping cocktails or champagne as they wait for dinner.

It’s a world away from the party going on just a deck below.

Head along to the Skydome and it’s got the vibe of a holiday camp. Kids leap into pools as parents sit on loungers in the sun eating pizza and chips on their loungers, beers in hand, movies playing on the big screen or music and entertainment keeping everyone occupied.

But head down to Anderson’s Bar and you’ll find it serene and quiet, people sat reading or typing away on laptops with a coffee or a glass of wine.

Or down to Brodie’s for a typical English pub experience with football being screened on the TVs, dart boards, fruit machines and the laid back atmosphere of your local British pub.

The more you explore the decks, the more of these spaces you find – each with their own unique atmosphere – something for everyone, at every time of day, whatever mood you’re in.

The sheer size of the ship and the enormous variety of spaces and experiences meant we never once felt the ship was crowded or that there were too many people on board.

On-Board Entertainment

The same goes for the quality and variety of entertainment – from big theatre production shows in the Headliners Theatre to intimate acoustic music performances in the 7/10 Club, we found enough to keep us entertained every single day and were constantly impressed with the high quality of the performers throughout the ship.

The diversity of the entertainment going on all day, every day is quite amazing and gives 5,000+ passengers, all with their different interests, age ranges, tastes and moods something to do every single day of the cruise.

The musical performers are superb and there are performances going on all the time across the ship, whether it’s from star performers in the headline venues like the Limelight Club or Headliners Theatre, DJs, buskers, solo singers, bands, tribute acts – all of which were of a really high standard.

But you’ve also got other non-music entertainment happening constantly… We watched a funny and entertaining mock gameshow in the Headliners Theatre, there were talks from an ex-SAS soldier, comedians, singing lessons, presentations from experts on subjects like art or jewellery, a full-size multi-screen on-board cinema, an escape room, a mini crazy golf course, a ‘high ropes’ climbing course…

And it all seems to be co-ordinated on a schedule that lets you experience the greatest amount of it with minimal overlaps and perfect timings for fitting in dinners, lunches, excursions etc in-between.

Some people are concerned that you need to book up for a lot of the more popular entertainment via the on-board P&O app, and the most popular ones are quickly fully booked.

However we found that often you could still turn up at the venue and there would be availability from no-shows or late cancellations, so don’t worry too much about the app booking being the be-all and end-all of the entertainment experience.

The P&O App

On that subject, Arvia (likewise Iona ) offer a method of booking restaurants and entertainment via a mobile app, which seems to split opinion amongst guests as to whether it’s a big step forward or a complete pain.

Being young(ish) and familiar with technology, we found it ideal.

It’s easy to use and so convenient to be able to book your table in a restaurant via a ‘virtual queue’, which then means you can go off and do something else, or just be in the cabin continuing to get ready, whilst you watch your place in the queue progress in the app.

We rarely waited longer than 15-minutes or so in a virtual queue for a restaurant and found the process far more flexible and convenient than having to queue physically to be seated somewhere.

I can see how some older passengers, who aren’t as familiar with the internet and technology, might not like it – but there are crew around the ship that will help you and show you what to do with the app if you’re struggling with it at all.

Incidentally, the app doesn’t require internet access – it works from the ship’s internal network only so you don’t need mobile data / signal / wifi at all. And you don’t need to download an app from anywhere, it’s actually just a page you can visit on your normal web browser on your phone.

The P&O Arvia Caribbean Itinerary

On our cruise in December 2023, we had two weeks visiting the following Caribbean islands… Tortola (BVI), Dominican Republic, St Martin, Antigua, St Kitts & Nevis, Martinique, St Lucia, Barbados.

• Read details and reviews of all our Caribbean shore excursions here

Between these stops are a number of ‘sea days’.

I assumed initially that the sea days were required for travelling time between the islands, but it seems for the most part, the voyage times between islands don’t require the full days at sea as several sea days we travelled extremely slowly and even by-passed our next destination island on a circular route, waiting for the next port day.

We found the number and frequency of the sea days was perfect for maximum enjoyment of the islands and for the ship itself.

There was never more than one sea day in a row and we found that, as we were doing excursions on every port stop, it was great to punctuate those busy, activity-filled days with relaxing days at sea.

For our excursions, we were up early in the mornings so the sea days gave us a welcome lay-in to recover from all that activity and enjoy being on the ship (which for us mainly meant laying out in the sun drinking cocktails, beer, reading, relaxing and just watching the sea go by from the decks.

The amount of time you get at each port seemed just right, with a typical ‘all aboard’ time of 5.30pm, by which time whatever we were out doing that day had come to an end and we felt ready to get back to the ship for the evening.

The stops in Antigua and Barbados have later departure times, meaning you can experience those ports in the evening / overnight (in the case of Barbados) and we did feel it might have been good to get to experience more nightlife at some of the other ports too, but in general, for us, the timings and spacing of port visits and sea days was pretty much perfect for maximum enjoyment and a good balance between activity and relaxation.

On two of the sea days, they have a ‘formal night’ where the dress code for the evening is ‘black tie’ – although actual tuxedos and bow-ties aren’t compulsory, suits, ties and glamorous dresses are expected

We really liked those formal nights – there’s a real different atmosphere about the whole ship and it’s buzzing the whole night in all the restaurants and entertainment venues, with a particularly special feel to the ship.

But getting dressed up isn’t to everyone’s taste and if you don’t want to do so, you can still head to one of the more casual areas of the ship in your shorts and t-shirts if you want to exclude yourself from the more extravagant dress code and goings-on of the formal nights.

Staff and Crew

One final thought about P&O Arvia, and the feature that really makes the ship work so well and the holiday so enjoyable, is the on-board staff and crew.

The sense you get is that the 1,800 members of the crew have an extremely demanding job with an intense schedule in difficult, extremely busy working conditions.

Wherever you look on board the ship, there are staff busily working away, whether it’s cabin stewards cleaning and tidying your cabin for you every single day, cleaners, bar staff, waiters – they are working hard and intensely yet every one we encountered was friendly and helpful.

The processes that the staff must have to operate in order to be able to meet so many of the needs of over 5,000 people day and night are mind-boggling to me.

Yet in our experience, everything ran like absolute clockwork and the guest experience provided by the entire team working on Arvia was absolutely first rate.

We don’t have a huge amount of cruise experience to compare with. We did one cruise on P&O Iona the previous year (which was similarly brilliant) and a small mini-break to Amsterdam, which was a different type of holiday.

So maybe we aren’t best placed to say how well the P&O Arvia Caribbean cruise compares to other cruises on other ships.

But we have done a lot of travelling and had a lot of holidays – and this cruise was right up there with the best holidays – maybe even possibly the best holiday – that we’ve ever had.

What makes it so good from my personal point of view, is that I’m not someone who ever thought they’d go on a cruise – in fact I hated the idea of cruise ships and would previously want to avoid going on one at all costs.

But the experience we had on Iona last year, and now Arvia this year, totally changed my mind and I was looking at booking our next Arvia cruise before we’d even finished on this one.

As a mode of transport and method of seeing new, varied places, it cannot be beaten.

Getting to eat in superb restaurants, enjoy amazing entertainment, relax, then go to sleep in a comfortable bed, all whilst you’re being gracefully transported from one amazing location to another is absolutely brilliant.

Waking up in the morning, opening the curtain to find yourself in a different country, which you can then go and explore, returning at the end of the day to have all your needs met – all your food cooked, your room cleaned and to be waited on hand and foot so you can just relax, worry about nothing, and then open your curtains the next morning to somewhere else new….

What an amazing way it is to travel – and I think it’s so good because Arvia is such a beautiful and gigantic ship with such a huge amount to see and do on board.

The combination of this, the beauty of the Caribbean islands and the chance to escape the hideous UK winter for the hot sunny weather, all add up to make the experience on a P&O Arvia Caribbean cruise a real holiday of a lifetime which we thoroughly, highly recommend.

• Read details of everything we got up to on our P&O Arvia Caribbean cruise, plus more of our thoughts and experiences and reviews of Arvia here .

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Cruise ship review: Arvia

Author: Kaye Holland

Published on: 11 January 2023

Updated on: 11 January 2023

Iona's eagerly-anticipated sister ship, Arvia, has arrived and World of Cruising was one of the first onboard.

Arvia, the new 5,200-passenger ship from P&O Cruises, has departed Southampton on a 15-day voyage to Bridgetown, Barbados – via Tenerife, the Antilles, St Lucia and Grenada. Passengers can enjoy the luxurious swim-up bar, infinity pool, immersive simulation escape room, and Altitude Skywalk ropewalk experience onboard the sister ship to Iona. The 185,000-tonne, 345m-long Excel-class ship is P&O Cruises' second ship to be powered by liquefied natural gas, the marine industry’s most advanced fuel technology to date, and the second largest ship ever built for UK cruisers. P&O Cruises president Paul Ludlow said: "Arvia embodies the newest trends in travel, dining and entertainment, and is the epitome of a sunshine resort sailing year-round to the warmest climates. "It takes its sister ship Iona’s design aesthetic and general arrangement but provides new and exciting outside and inside spaces which make the most of Arvia’s deployment to the Caribbean and the Mediterranean ." World of Cruising’s Kaye Holland spent a day onboard P&O Cruises' sunshine ship before she set sail for her first season in the Caribbean. Here's her verdict.

Style & character P&O Cruises bills itself as being proudly British and this is evident onboard Arvia – from the giant Union Flag on its bow to Brodies, the traditional pub found on the Parade deck, the kettles and PG Tips tea bags in the cabins, and £2 million pound collection of contemporary British art. But while the Britishness is important, and P&O has unashamedly focused on the fact that it is a British cruise line, the heart of the ship is the Grand Atrium. Expect a dramatic white marble central staircase, framed by metal champagne-coloured ribbons.

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Cabins Cabins are bright and breezy – think sand and stone-hued walls punctuated with ocean blue furnishings – and over half of the 2,659 cabins have a private balcony. To truly treat yourself, book one of the super-sized Aft and Forward suites which come with a personal butler. The conservatory mini-suites, best described as halfway between a balcony cabin and a suite, which debuted on Iona are also onboard. Pleasingly, there is also a good mix of single-occupancy cabins for solo travellers and accessible cabins for passengers with disabilities.

Food & drink Board with an appetite: there are 30 venues in which to eat and drink. Two main dining rooms – Meridian and Zenith – are included in the price, as are a selection of informal outlets. New speciality offerings, for which you must pay extra, are Green & Co featuring Mizuhana – where the emphasis is on a plant-led menu. Other highlights? The established P&O outlet Glass House which reappears serving a tapas menu by José Pizarro and a wine list curated by Olly Smith, the buzzy Keel and Cow gastro-pub, the Mediterranean-themed Olive Grove, and 6th Street Diner. The latter, which is included in the price, is all about American indulgence: think buffalo wings, club sandwiches, and Mississippi mud pies. .

On the drink’s front, don’t miss Anderson’s Bar where, on Caribbean sailings, you’ll find the first rum distillery at sea.

Service and facilities Boredom is not an option on board Arvia – you could spend your entire voyage at sea and still not manage to do or sample everything on offer. Case in point? There’s a large spa featuring a cold room and a salt sauna, impressive gym with sea views, four swimming pools including an infinity pool, Mission Control – an immersive experience that combines an escape game with multimedia simulation and a live-action story 'to create a thrilling underwater challenge' – the first-ever high-ropes experience at sea, Altitude Skywalk, and an array of kids clubs that have been split into age groups for starters… Service was friendly and well meaning, although the WiFi proved patchy when I was on board.

Entertainment and excursions When it comes to entertainment, Arvia – meaning "from the seashore" in Latin – really comes into its own. The vessel features P&O Cruises' first-ever zone with a retractable roof, 'SkyDome' – a daytime pool environment that transforms into a dining and entertainment space where passengers can enjoy jaw-dropping aerial performances, theatre productions and blockbuster movies al fresco. On Arvia, there’s also entertainment (think DJs and live music sets) in the Grand Atrium, Amber Lounge and Sunset Bar although the standout remains the 710 Club which was introduced on Iona and is overseen by pop superstar Gary Barlow. This intimate club – it can accommodate 90 passengers – is the place to catch not only the Take That singer, who will perform on several cruises, but up-and-coming musical talent.

Get on board Arvia is operating a programme of 7, 14, 15 and 16-night cruises around the Caribbean from either Barbados (Bridgetown) or Antigua (St John) until summer 2023 when she will offer a programme of 14-night sailings in the Mediterranean.

Passenger capacity: 5,200

Number of cabins: 2,659

Resort ship

Baby-friendly

Child-friendly

Contemporary

Family-friendly

Restaurants

Room service

Fitness centre

Fitness classes

Babysitting

Steam room/hammam

The big interview: Holland America Line’s Karen Farndell and Nico Bleichrodt

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Competition: win a seven-night mediterranean cruise with princess cruises, riviera travel unveils new 2024 themed river cruises, carnival firenze christened in long beach, first celebrity cruises passengers visit perfect day at cococay, ncl marks milestone with float out of norwegian aqua, hannah waddingham christens sun princess, heaven on the high seas: tom parker bowles on his p&o cruises' voyage, atlas ocean voyages announces 2025-26 antarctica season, about kaye holland.

Kaye is a London-based wordsmith who has written for a range of publications including The Times , The Independent , The I , Culture Trip , The Sun , and ABTA among others. In June 2022, Kaye joined the Real Response Media where she looks – together with Lucy Abbott – after the World of Cruising website. Want to get in touch? Kaye can be reached at: [email protected]

Spain, Portugal and Canary Islands

• 14 nights, departs on the 09 Aug 2025
• P&O Cruises, Ventura
• Southampton, Funchal, Madeira, Santa Cruz de La Palma, + 6 more
• 7 nights, departs on the 11 Jan 2025
• P&O Cruises, Arvia
• Saint John's, Saint John's, Saint George's, + 3 more

Scandinavia And Baltic Sea

• 10 nights, departs on the 19 Dec 2024
• P&O Cruises, Arcadia
• Southampton, Copenhagen, Copenhagen, + 6 more

Spain And Portugal

• 7 nights, departs on the 03 May 2025
• Southampton, Vigo, Lisbon, + 3 more
• 12 nights, departs on the 05 Dec 2024
• Southampton, Lisbon, Fuerteventura, + 4 more

• CruiseMapper
• P&O Cruises

Cruise line P&O UK (P&O Cruises)

• Bridgetown (Barbados)
• Southampton (England)
• St Johns Antigua (RCI Royal Beach Club)

Arvia current position

Arvia current location is at West Mediterranean (coordinates 42.13197 N / 6.62654 E) cruising at speed of 12.9 kn (24 km/h | 15 mph) en route to ESPMI>ITSPE. The AIS position was reported 4 minutes ago.

Current itinerary of Arvia

Arvia current cruise is 14 days, round-trip Mediterranean . The itinerary starts on 28 Apr, 2024 and ends on 12 May, 2024 .

Specifications of Arvia

•   Itineraries
•   Review
•   Wiki

Arvia Itineraries

Arvia review, review of arvia.

The 2022-built MS Arvia cruise ship is P&O UK fleet's second Excellence-class boat, with sistership Iona . Both vessels are Germany-built (at Meyer Werft's yard in Papenburg ). P&O's Arvia and Iona are currently the newest and largest passenger liners designed and built for the UK source market.

Other Helios-Excellence-Class vessels (Arvia sisterships) include Carnival Mardi Gras (2021), Carnival Celebration (2022), Carnival Jubilee (2023), Costa Smeralda (2019), Costa Toscana (2021), AIDAnova (2018), AIDAcosma (2021).

The vessel (IMO number 9849693) is currently UK- flagged (MMSI 232040520) and registered in Southampton .

History - construction and ownership

P&O Cruises is a subsidiary company and two brands owned by Carnival Corporation - P&O UK and P&O Australia. In 2000, P&O Cruises became subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises, which in 2003 merged with Carnival Corporation. P and O is the world's oldest cruise company, starting passenger shipping operations in 1822 on the routes connecting England with Iberia (Portugal and Spain).

P&O Arvia and Iona ships are from the Carnival Corporation's Excellence Class (aka "Helios" and "Carnival XL"). The vessel design was developed in collaboration with renowned maritime companies and interior design firms, including Meyer Werft (German shipbuilder), Jestico+Whiles ( London -based hospitality design studio), Richmond International (London-based hotel architecture), Partner Ship Design ( Hamburg -based maritime architecture specialist with several Carnival Corporation projects - including AIDA, Costa, P&O, CCL-Carnival).

For cruise liner's hotel facilities and amenities were contracted the companies Richmond International (London UK), The Four Seasons Moscow, Langham Hotel, and Sandy Lane Hotel (Barbados). Passenger cabins were designed by Partner Ship Design (Hamburg Germany). The ship also introduces the fleet's first "Conservation Mini-Suite" cabin category. The stateroom features a separate, conservatory-style area as a cabin extension. Offering more flexibility, this lounge room is furnished with an L-shaped sofa and can be left open or closed off. The conservatory opens out fully and leads directly onto the suite's balcony. It also can be used for private parties and celebrations with an in-cabin beverage service by a dedicated butler.

Decks and Cabins

MS Arvia has 18 decks (16 passenger-accessible, 11 with cabins), a total of 2610 staterooms for 5204 passengers (lower berths/max capacity is 6264) served by 1762 staff-crew, 20 dining venues (12 restaurants plus 8 food bars, including 10 breakfast-serving, 8 coffee-serving, 5 Afternoon Tea-serving, 9 specialty restaurants, 4 MDRs/dining rooms), 12 bars and lounges, 13 entertainment venues (including adults-only), 4 swimming pools (1 indoor plus 3 outdoor/2 infinity), 18 outdoor Jacuzzis (large whirlpool hot tubs), kids-dedicated zones (indoor-outdoor facilities and sundecks/playgrounds), 22 elevators (passenger lifts located forward-midship-aft).

The boat has 8 laundrettes (self-service laundry rooms for passengers). The largest passenger accommodations are the 2-Room Sky Suites (400 ft2 / 37 m2 plus 110 ft2 / 11 m2 terrace/step-out balcony). Staterooms include 121 Suites, 1496 Balcony, 174 Oceanviews/Seaviews, 819 Interior. P&O Arvia has a total of 32 studios (single-occupancy cabins) and 55 wheelchair-accessible/handicap cabins (for disabled passengers). Most cabins are sized between 135-170 ft2 (13-16 m2). Excepting the Suites, all cabin balconies are very small - sized just 20 ft2 (2 m2).

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

With a choice of 30 venues, Arvia has many food and beverage bars open from early-morning until late-night. The destination-inspired (Caribbean and Mediterranean) dishes in the menus were created via a partnership with Shivi Ramoutar (Trinidad-born chef and TV personality) and Jose Pizzaro (owner of London's prestigious restaurants "Jose", "Pizarro" and "Jose Pizarro").

The new venues join P&O UK's favorites, such as The Glass House, Epicurean, Sindhu, and Brodie's, from the long list of restaurants, cafes, bars and lounges, self-service choices. Not traditionally for P&O UK, Arvia offers exclusively "Freedom Dining" (aka "Flexible Dining") in all main dining rooms. The policy allows passengers to choose where, when and with whom they prefer to eat.

Arvia ship offers P&O UK's newest "food market" dining concept. "The Quays" piazza (Deck 8) has a great number of takeaway and self-service food bars. The Quays restaurants and eateries offer international food, including American diner classics, Asian street food, Mediterranean sharing platters, fish & chips, Italian gelato, the new "Olive Grove", "Hook Line and Vinegar", "Boardwalk Diner", "Fusion".

• "The Olive Grove" is an intimate restaurant serving lunch and dinner, with a menu focusing on traditional Mediterranean dishes and sharing platters.
• "Hook Line and Vinegar" is a self-service, all-day restaurant for traditional British seafood specialties - battered fish, fish burgers, scampi, calamari, crab cakes.
• "The Boardwalk Diner" is a self-service, all-day food bar for classic American cuisine, which menu includes burgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, eggs over easy,
• "Fusion" is a takeaway, all-day Asian food bar.
• The cruise liner has four Main Dining Rooms (MDRs) named Meridian, 6th Street Diner, The Olive Grove, and Zenith. Located on decks 6-7, all main restaurants offer "Freedom Dining" (open-seating) breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea service, and dinner. Gala Nights (formal dinner events) are also hosted there, with a special dinner menu by celebrity chef Marco Pierre White. The largest MDRs (Meridian and Zenith) are located aft on decks 6-7 and interconnected, to make one large 2-level restaurant.
• "Horizon Restaurant" (Pool Deck 16) is the ship's Lido Buffet with all-day self-service. The Lido restaurant is casual (as dress code), with flexible dining and a wide range of dishes - from traditional British to world foods. It also caters to various dietary needs, including gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian and healthy food options.
• "The Beach House" is an informal Select Dining venue that in the evenings comprises Horizon buffet's forward section. The menu is inspired by British, American, and Caribbean cuisines, offering steaks, grills, ribs, hanging kebabs, burgers, sharable sides, and gourmet desserts.
• "The Limelight Club" (Deck 6) combines gourmet food with top-quality entertainment, exclusively for adults. The lounge offers live performances by popular guest entertainers, as well as by the ship's resident performers, accompanied by Arvia cruise ship's own music band. Here are also hosted daily dancing classes and music events. The club lounge is served by its own full-service Bar. After the evening show, Limelight Club transforms into Disco Nightclub.
• Deck 6 (Grand Atrium area) houses "The Vistas Cafe Bar" (patisserie with a menu by Eric Lanlard), "Amber Lounge" (living-room-like premium cocktail bar), live pop-up entertainment in mid-morning (musical performances, buskers) and early evening starting aerial acrobatics (circus performances).
• "The Glass House" (Deck 7, Atrium area) is via a partnership with Olly Smith. Premium wines are served here by the glass. The Cellar Door at the Glass House offers tastings, wine talks, and wine-pairing dinners. Passengers can relax and watch aerial and circus performances in the unique 3-story high space. Here guests can also enjoy Jose Pizarro's tapas.
• The all-day open "The Keel and Cow" (P&O's first-ever "gastropub") is on Deck 8, overlooking the Atrium and also with ocean views. The menu has traditional favorites, sharing platters, aged steaks.
• "Andersons" (gin bar lounge on Deck 6 ) doubles as Library/relaxation lounge. In the evening, Andersons serves with alcoholic drinks the nearby MDR restaurants. Lounge's focal point is the Marabelle Gin distillery (via partnership with Salcombe Distilling Co Ltd), gin tastings, and workshops (master classes).
• "Brodie's and Casino" (Deck 7) is a classic British pub bar with ship's largest selections of UK and international bottled beers, ales and ciders, drafts (draught beers), extensive wine menu, traditional British pub snacks (pork scratchings, crisps, peanuts). During the day, the pub offers live sports, bingo, quizzes. By night, here are offered live entertainment, quiz games, game shows, karaoke. The adjacent Casino features the latest gaming technologies and various gambling games, for novices and experts alike.
• "The Sunset Bar" (Deck 8, Promenade's aft) provides easy access to The Club House. By day, it provides canopies (shaded seating) to relax with a drink and enjoy the sea views.
• "The Gelateria" (Atrium's top-level on Deck 8, at the entrance to The Quays) provides access to Promenade Deck. here are offered scoops of Italian gelato ice cream, premium teas, and coffees.
• "Sundaes" (Deck 16, in the SkyDome) offers complimentary ice creams.
• "Eric Lanlard's Afternoon Tea" (Deck 17) is the ship's classic British tea bar.
• "Beachcomber Bar" (Deck 18) serves with beverages the Beachcomber pool deck and offers plenty of sunbathing space and shaded seating.
• "Crystal Bar" and "Laguna Bar" (Deck 16, in the SkyDome) are outdoor poolside bars offering non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks. Fun activities here include the sail-away deck parties.
• "Sindhu" restaurant (Deck 8) offers authentic Indian food.
• "Taste 360" Pizzeria and Grill (Deck 16) offers complimentary fresh oven-baked pizzas by the slice, as well as grilled food (top-quality burgers, classic fish and chips), worldwide street foods.
• "The Crow's Nest" (Deck 17) is an observation lounge with floor-ceiling windows and comfortable seating, In the evenings it transforms into a cocktail lounge with live grand piano performances.
• "The Epicurean" restaurant (Deck 17, adjacent to Crow's Nest) is a specialty / fine dining venue with Select Dining, impeccable service, top-quality dining amenities, gourmet food, and premium wine list. Dishes are prepared with freshest and finest local produce. A private dining area and "Chef's Table" (capacity 8 guests) provide options for private parties and special celebrations.
• Part of the "Green & Co" restaurant (new for P&O / introduced on Arvia) is the Mizuhana Sushi Bar with an open kitchen (live cooking stations) and a menu of plant- and fish-based dishes.
• Another new (Arvia exclusive) dining venue is "6th Street Diner". The casual restaurant features mood lighting, retro seating, an authentic jukebox (automated music-playing device), American food favorites.

Through the partnership with Salcombe Distilling, on Iona and Arvia ships guests can purchase and even create their own Marabelle Gin (42% ABV/alcohol by volume). The exclusively created for P&O Cruises alcohol is produced only Iona and Arvia. For the unique gin recipe are used 18 herbs - including Iona Island's heather (calluna vulgaris), mint, citrus, blackberry, green apple, rose petals, kelp (seaweed). Since Iona ship's inauguration (2021), Marabelle Gin (trademarked brand) is also available fleetwide - served across P&O UK's fleet. The produced on the cruise ship gin is bottled and labeled, with bottles available for purchase.

Via partnership with three celebrity chefs (Marte Marie Forsberg, Jose Pizarro, Kjartan Skjelde), P&O UK upgraded Iona and Arvia ships' dining to offer the fleet's most diverse culinary experiences. Chef Forsberg designed the menu of "Taste 360" (street-food-style dining) and MDR's (dining room's) Norwegian-inspired dishes. On itineraries to Iberia (Portugal, Spain) and the Canaries, tapas dishes-based menus are specially created by Chef Pizarro for the restaurants "The Glass House" and "Taste 360". On Norwegian Fjords itineraries, the menus are upgraded by chefs Skjelde and Forsberg. Skjelde developed a special 6-course Norwegian food tasting menu for "The Epicurean" restaurant.

In November 2021 P&O UK announced that during MS Arvia's inaugural Caribbean season (Barbados fly-cruise January-March 2023) will debut dishes by Shivi Ramoutar (Trinidad-born chef and author, assigned as a "Local Food Hero") famous for her Caribbean fusion food recipes. Ramoutar's dishes were included in the menus of The Beach House (Horizon buffet) and "Taste 360".

In April 2022, P&O signed a partnership with The Tidal Rum (produced by the Shorts Boy Distillery founded by Ben Clyde-Smith and Harry Coulthard) to create an exclusive rum blend for MS Arvia's Caribbean cruises. The Tidal Rum is a blend of cask-aged Caribbean rums (produced in Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad, Dominicana). Via the partnership, The Tidal Rum is produced on the ship (in Arvia's Anderson's Bar, the first at sea rum distillery) and also available for purchasing (in bottles) fleetwide.

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

SkyDome is one of the boat's signature attractions and the largest onboard entertainment hub. SkyDome is named the pool deck which is covered with a retractable glass roof (sized 41x34 m / 134x111 ft, designed by Martin Francis from Eckersley O'Callaghan / structural and facade engineering firm) and consists of a large swimming pool (with retractable stage) and Jacuzzis (whirlpool hot tubs), SkyDome also serves a unique live entertainment program with performances and DJ-led deck parties, regardless the weather.

During the day, SkyDome serves resort-style leisure activities and offers entertainment and casual dining. The night entertainment includes on-roof media projections, laser shows, aerial acrobatics performances, DJ disco parties, theatrical productions, movies (on a large LED screen).

Note: SkyDome actually sits on two decks - Deck 16 (midship resort-style swimming pool with food and drink options, aft-located Infinity Pool/resistance swimming pool with stern views and Infinity Bar/swim-up bar) and Deck 17 (mezzanine level with a bar and outdoor seating). A second Infinity Pool is located aft on Deck 18.

On March 6, 2020, were announced three aerial acrobatic shows designed for MS Iona (available on MS Arvia too) - Rise (birds-themed), Dream (magic-themed) and Triboo (battle between the Moon and Sun tribes). Rise and Triboo are performed at the SkyDome, while Dream is at the Atrium. Two new for P&O UK aerial shows (Virtuosi, Spark) were developed for MS Iona and available on Arvia too.

The 3-deck high Grand Atrium is located midship and has an open-floor design. All Atrium levels have natural light and offer floor-ceiling sea views. Arvia's Grand Atrium is a new concept for P&O (created by architecture and interior designer Jennifer deVere-Hopkins) and the ship's key entertainment space that hosts from morning coffee to evening drinks, daily live events (like pop-up talks) and entertainment (performers, magicians).

"The Headliner's Theatre" (decks 6-7) is the ship's main show lounge for grand-style music and dance productions in the evenings. The theater has comfortable plush seating and the latest LED and sound technologies. The 2-deck-high auditorium during the day serves as a complimentary Cinema and also offers matinee performances and fun activities (Q&As, port talks, lectures). In the evenings, full-scale productions offer West End-style shows (including "Festival"), stand-up comedy, and cabaret performances.

• Exclusive to P&O Arvia is the WaveLength gameshow (interactive theatrical experience created by Ben Shephard/1974-born English TV presenter) that gives families/couples the opportunity to find out how well they know each other by trying to match the partner's answers.
• Arvia's Headliner's Theatre also hosts "Greatest Days - The Official Take That Musical". The exclusive to the ship stage show is an adaptation of West End's "The Band Musical" that features a story by Tim Firth (Olivier Award-winning writer) and Take That's best songs (Relight My Fire, Back for Good, Greatest Day, Never Forget, Shine and Rule the World, The Flood, A Million Love Songs).
• All shipboard show productions are by the UK-based Headliners Theatre Company (casting agent for P&O UK's production shows' artists/singers and dancers).

(Deck 19) Arvia's "Altitude" is a top-deck located outdoor adventure zone designed for families. The activity deck comprises the aquapark "Splash Valley", the ropes course "Altitude Skywalk" (P&O fleet's first), and the tropical island-themed "Altitude Minigolf" course (open through the day and nightly illuminated).

(Deck 6) "The 710 Club" has a stylish cocktail bar lounge served by professional mixologists. This sophisticated music bar offers live acoustic performances by top-quality artists. The venue was crafted to the vision of Gary Barlow (1971-born English singer, songwriter, actor, TV personality, also P&O Cruises' Music Director). Live musical performances are by "The 710s" (the lounge's resident band).

(Deck 6) "Ocean Studios" is a boutique cinema with comfortable plush seating and 4x screens running throughout the day classic movies and recently released blockbusters. The Cinema is fitted with the latest surround sound technology.

"The Club House" (Deck 8) is a multi-purpose indoor/outdoor space for families to enjoy afternoon entertainment and play fun games. In the evening, it becomes a late-night "music hall" for dancing and live performances by Arvia ship's band (named "Pulse").

"The Ivory Suite" (Deck 17, adjacent to Crow's Nest and Epicurean) is the ship's chapel - a dedicated venue for weddings and vow renewals at sea.

MV Arvia's Kids Clubs are on Deck 17. "The Reef" is P&O UK's complimentary onboard program for children, served by a crew of qualified Reef rangers and offering age-specific activity entertainment. The program is divided into Nursery (toddlers 6-months to 2-years-old), Splashers (ages 2-4 years), Surfers (ages 5-8 years) and Scubas (ages 9-12). A secure outdoor playground area and splash pool park are available for all age groups.

• There is also a spacious indoor playground.
• Parents benefit from the company's "Night Nursery" (complimentary for kids ages 6 months to 4 years, opening hours between 6 pm - 2 am each night).
• P&O partnered with Aardman Animations Ltd (Bristol-based animation studio) to offer kids activities themed on Aardman's popular plasticine characters Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, including craft workshop, dance class, All-Hands-On-Deck (as a signal, OHOD is used on ships for calling everyone to come help in a particular emergency).

"Scene" (Deck 6) is the liner's teen club (hang-out lounge for teenagers 13-17 yo) which is separated from the kids' club. It operates only during the high-peak season. During low season, the Scene teen club functions as an adults-only entertainment venue.

Oasis Spa & Health Club (2-level wellness complex located forward on decks 5-6) has a Thalassotherapy Pool, Cool Therapy Room, Salt Sauna Room, Steam Rooms, 18x Treatment Rooms (for massages), The Salon (beauty and grooming services for women and men), Spa Shop, Oasis Villa (spa lounge), 2x Wellness Suites (one with Steam Room and the other with Hammam Room/Turkish bath), 2x Thermal Suites for couples (each with Steam Room and Hammam Room), Wellness Relaxation Lounge (with heated loungers). New (Arvia ship exclusive) treatments include Kneipp Walk (pebble foot massage combined with hot-and-cold water treatments). Part of the wellness complex is also the fleet-first Barber Station (haircuts/male grooming collections from the premium brands American Crew, Barbour Pro, Clarins for Men, Clinique for Men).

The ship's fitness center (Gym & Health Club) is fitted with the latest Technogym equipment and served by personal trainers. Fitness classes include Body Sculpt Bootcamp, Tour de Cycle, Functional Stretch, Yoga and Pilates, spinning. The Gym also features the latest Evolt 360 (advanced body composition scanners) generating unique 360-degree pictures of the body's physical conditioning in order to set individual goals. Professional well-being consultants provide advice on sleep, stress, and nutrition management.

Sports Arena is named the outdoor full-size, multi-sports court suitable for playing football, basketball, tennis, cricket, and other group games.

The Beachcomber complex (forward on Deck 18) features an indoor swimming pool (covered by a SkyDome/round-shaped glass roof) and a spacious outdoor Sundeck (sunbathing space with shaded seating, 2x outdoor Jacuzzies/whirlpool hot tubs, padded chaise lounges, deckchairs, showers). During the day, the Beachcomber hosts pool deck activities, while in the evenings, the sundeck transforms into an entertainment venue with aerial acrobatic performances and live music, also hosting deck parties under the stars.

Adjacent to the Beachcomber (at the bow on Deck 18) is The Retreat - an adults-only VIP Sundeck with 2x outdoor Jacuzzies/whirlpools. This is the ship's "spa terrace" with several shaded private cabanas (available for rent). The VIP sundeck (accessed via prepaid day- or voyage-long passes) is inclusive of alfresco dining, Spa massages, dedicated staff service (chilled drinks, cold flannels, light snacks).

New for P&O UK entertainment options (currently planned only for MS Arvia) include Altitude Skywalk (two different Ropes Courses positioned 54 m/177 ft above sea level), Altitude Minigolf (9-hole Mini-Golf Course under the ropes course/featuring water hazards, tiki huts, night-time illuminations), Altitude Splash Valley (outdoor aqua-zone with cooling water jets, Canopy-shaded seating/benches, enclosed by a high-glass wall), as well as the aft-located/stern-facing infinity swimming pool (sundeck with a raised swim-up bar /fleet's first).

(Deck 8) Arvia's "Mission Control" is another P&O UK's fleet first. The "Escape Room" is suitable for all ages. This is a group gaming experience based on motion simulation technology and interactive consoles. The underwater adventure is set onboard the fictional submarine "Arvia II" and led by Dr Melissa Ryan. Gamers (max capacity 10 people per session) have to solve "puzzles" with two live-action-packed storylines. The 3D gaming experiences feature surround sound, stunning underwater scenery, sunken cities, real and fictional sea creatures. The simulators were developed by tennagels Medientechnik GmbH (1999-founded, Dusseldorf -based company specializing in creative media systems).

PO Arvia ship also features The Avenue (shopping zones sized 1300 m2/14000 ft2) and an 800 m ( 0,5 mi) long outdoor Promenade Deck (named "Lanai Deck") wrapping around the entire Deck 8. The Lanai is much wider than the industry's standard and lined up with open-air bars and alfresco dining venues. In the Promenade's forward section are positioned a total of 6x Infinity Whirpools with glass walls facing the ocean (3x portside and 3x starboard).

Shipboard shopping

MS Arvia's "The Avenue" combines several experiential shopping zones (including 900 m2/9700 ft2 open-plan retail space).

Pandora Brilliance (P&O brand's first fine jewelry bar) offers design-your-own jewelry items and showcases a new range of lab-grown diamonds.

Also new (first at sea) is the Concept Store (selling Swarovski's Wonder Lab jewelry and the brand's latest crystal collections by Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert (Swarovski Group's Global Creative Director).

The ship's shopping complex also includes dedicated retail stores selling products by Apple Inc (consumer electronics, software), Mulberry (fashion, luxury leather goods, particularly women's handbags), and The White Company (retailer selling homeware, clothing, fragrances).

Arvia's shopping options include 30x total brands including 25x sustainable (like Skin Regimen and Comfort Zone) as well as the new to P&O UK Cotswolds Distillery (crafted spirits), Floral Street (fragrances, bath and body products, homeware, gift sets) and RADO (Swiss watches).

The Photo Gallery & Shop sells exclusive photoshoots (made by the ship's professional photographers) and also includes the new "360" photo booth (for making photos with attractive surrounding scenery).

Itineraries

MS Arvia ship's itinerary program started in December 2022 with the maiden voyage (Dec 23rd) out of the UK homeport Southampton England to the Canaries, followed by a Transatlantic crossing to the Caribbean..

Arvia's inaugural cruise season (in the Caribbean) was based on P&O fly-cruise deals from the UK (roundtrip UK-Barbados-UK flights included in the fares) and roundtrip voyages from the Caribbean homeports Bridgetown Barbados and St Johns Antigua . The 7-day Caribbean itineraries can be combined into 14-day B2Bs (back-to-back cruises) .

The Eastern-Southern Caribbean itineraries visit as call ports La Romana Dominicana (maiden for P&O UK port), Willemstad Curacao , Fort-de-France Martinique , Basseterre St Kitts , Castries St Lucia , Philipsburg St Maarten . The 14-day B2Bs include an overnight in Bridgetown. Fly-cruises from the UK are with departures from either Barbados (Bridgetown), Antigua (Saint John's) or Martinique (Fort-de-France).

Due to the Coronavirus crisis, the vessel's construction was delayed and its delivery was postponed from 2022-H1 to 2022-Q4 (December).

P&O Arvia cruises were open for booking on April 7, 2021, featuring:

• CANCELED ( Maiden Voyage /December 9, 2022) 14-night Canary Islands roundtrip from Southampton
• (inaugural Transatlantic crossing/January 6, 2023) 15-day from Southampton to Bridgetown Barbados
• (flight-cruises from the UK) 14-day Caribbean B2Bs leaving from Barbados (Bridgetown), Antigua (St John's), and Martinique (Fort-de-France).
• 7-day Caribbean itineraries between Barbados and Antigua.

In October, Arvia’s first cruise was rescheduled from December 9th to December 23rd (due to delayed delivery). The Transatlantic crossing (RepositionCruises.com) from Europe to the Caribbean (departure January 6, 2023) was from Southampton to Bridgetown Barbados (15-day), and to St John's Antigua (22-day).

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Other P&O UK cruise ships

Currently under construction at Meyer Werft's shipyard in Papenburg Germany , MS Arvia is the shipbuilder's 51th cruise liner. The vessel's construction officially started on February 22, 2021, with the steel-cutting ceremony (hull S-716). The event was online (via live satellite link) and attended by Paul Ludlow (P&O UK's President).

The ship's keel-laying ceremony (aka coin ceremony) was held on February 16, 2022. During the ceremony (attended by Paul Ludlow), under the first hull block were placed specially minted Barbados coins. The keel block had weight 570 tonnes, length 11,3 m (37 ft), width 42 m (138 ft) height 11,8 m (39 ft), and was lifted by an 800-ton gantry crane.

Iona and Arvia are P&O UK's largest vessels ever constructed - with GT tonnage 180,000+ tons and max passenger capacity of nearly 6300 (plus ~1800 crew). It is also the biggest UK-based passenger ship (permanently homeported in Southampton England ) and the UK market's second (after Iona ) newbuild powered by LNG (liquefied natural gas). The liner has LNG engines that provide electricity for the propulsion system both in ports and the open sea.

Like most large -sized newbuilds , the P&O ship Arvia is LNG-powered , with 4x engines generating combined output 61.7 MW. The propulsion system is based on two Azimuting thrusters with combined power output 74 MW. The vessel has 3x LNG tanks (cryogenic steel) with total capacity ~3200 m3. Two of the tanks are larger (length 35 m / 115 ft, diameter 8 m / 26 ft, gas capacity 1525 m3), while the 3rd tank has length 28 m (92 ft), diameter 5 m (16 ft), gas capacity 520 m3.

Arvia's SkyDome (970-m2 / 10440-ft2 glass roof cover) consists of 340 pieces and weighs 105 tons. For the mounting operation, Meyer Werft uses a Liebherr LTM1750-9.1 (750-ton mobile crane).

P&O revealed the "Arvia" name for the new ship on February 18, 2021, in a 1-min YouTube video. According to the company's press release, Arvia means "from the seashore". The name also keeps the tradition all boats in the P&O UK fleet to have names ending with "A".

Next is the P&O UK's timelapse video of the Iona-Arvia ships' construction.

The vessel was launched/floated out from drydock (building dock II's Hall 6) on August 27, 2022. The float-out started at 9 am Germany time (7:00 UTC) and after the maneuver's completion, the vessel was moored at the yard's outfitting dock for loading the funnels and masts (by a crane) and continuing interior works.

After Arvia's undocking, the FERU (floating engine room module) for Carnival Jubilee ( CCL ) was maneuvered into the free-now building dock II as the CCL ship's front part was already been built there. Carnival Jubilee's FERU was constructed at Neptun Werft in Warnemunde and was transferred to Papenburg in the previous week.

The vessel's conveyance along Ems River (from Meyer Werft Papenburg to the North Sea) started on Nov 5th (at 7 am UTC). The ship was tugged backward, passing Friesenbrucke/Weener (11:45 am), crossing Jann-Berghaus-Brucke/Leer (3 pm), passing Ems Barrier/Gandersum (6:30 pm), passing the Ems River barrier (10:30 pm), arriving in Emden Germany (at 12:45 am) and in Eemshaven Netherlands on the next day (Nov 6th, at 1:30 UTC). North Sea trials (roundtrips from Eemshaven) were successfully conducted in the period Nov 17-24th. Arvia left Holland/Eemshaven on Dec 14th, arrived in Bremerhaven on Dec 15th, and docked for the first time in the UK (Southampton) on Dec 18th (at 11:35 UTC).

Arvia's delivery was initially planned for December 9, 2022, (later postponed to December 23rd) but she was officially delivered to P&O on December 15th. The ceremony was held at Meyer Werft's Papenburg shipyard, while the Protocol for Delivery and Acceptance was signed by Paul Ludlow in Bremerhaven Germany .

The name of Arvia's Godmother was revealed on March 2, 2023 - Nicole Scherzinger (1978-born as Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente in Honolulu, Hawaii USA). Nicole Scherzinger is a singer, dancer, actress and TV personality, best known as a judge on TV talent shows The Sing-Off (2009–2010), The X Factor USA (2011), The X Factor UK (2012–2013, 2016–2017, 2019), and Australia's Got Talent (2019).

MS Arvia's christening ceremony was held on March 16, 2023, in Bridgetown Barbados . The naming ceremony was held at two locations - onboard and at Heywoods Beach. The event was hosted by the popular English DJs and broadcasters Sara Cox (Sara Joanne Cyzer/1974-born) and Trevor Nelson (Trevor Ricardo Nelson/1964-born). Trevor Nelson was the host at Skydome (where was held the traditional bottle-smashing event) while Sara Cox hosted the beachside event (at Heywoods Beach/broadcasted live on YouTube, also featuring live performances by Olly Murs). Both DJs also attended the March 11th voyage and hosted late-night deck parties. Arvia's naming ceremony was remembered for the breaking (in the hull) of the world’s largest bottle of rum - Mount Gay Rum's Black Barrel - in a specially made 15-liter glass bottle. A replica of the 15L Black Barrel (demijohn bottle) remained on the liner.

In October 2021 was announced the ship's Master - Captain Robert Camby. Born in London, he started his career by signing into P&O Princess Cruises' Cadet program (at South Shields Marine School/South Tyneside College) in 1995. As Navigator on RMS Queen Mary 2 , he was employed by Cunard Line in the period 2005-2008. He became Captain in 2011 and joined P&O UK in 2012 as Captain of Oriana/now Piano Land . In the following years, he captained P&O boats (Azura, Arcadia, Aurora, Oceana, Ventura, Britannia, Iona), as well as Cunard's Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2. The liner's alternating Master is Captain Paul Brown.

In July 2018 was announced that KfW IPEX Bank GmbH (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the German banking group KfW) provides ~EUR 786 million (~USD 951 M) in financing for Carnival Corporation's newbuild for P&O UK (Arvia), scheduled for delivery in 2022. KfW IPEX Bank handled the newbuild's entire financing acting as book runner (lead underwriter), MLA (mandated lead arranger/investor), facility agent (primary point of contact) and ECA (export credit agency/providing trade financing and insurance). KfW's financing had a 12-year term (from the vessel's delivery date/2022) and was backed by export credit insurance with Hermesdeckung (Hermes cover) - an ECG (export credit guarantee) by the German Federal Government.

on July 29, 2021, P&O UK announced that Arvia ship's FERU (floating engine room unit) has been installed at Meyer Werft Papenburg. This hull section (manufactured by Neptun Werft in Warnemunde-Rostock ) houses all main engines and the LNG tanks, has length 140 m (460 ft), width 42 m (138 ft), weight ~12,000 tons. Once floated in the Papenburg shipyard's construction hall, the FERU served as a base platform for installing all the other prefabricated blocks (hull and superstructure) which are mounted onto the FERU.

Inaugural cruise itineraries 2022-2023 (Canaries, Caribbean)

P&O opened Arvia's cruises for booking on April 7, 2021.

Next tables show the inaugural itineraries as call ports and times, with prices per person with double occupancy.

(MAIDEN VOYAGE/first cruise 2022) 14-day "Canary Islands" (GBP 1445 / EUR 1680 / USD 2055)

Note: Due to delayed delivery, the inaugural cruise was rescheduled (from Dec 9th to Dec 23rd) and one 14-day voyage to the Canaries was canceled.

(inaugural westbound Transatlantic crossing/2023) 15-day UK to Caribbean (GBP 1330 / EUR 1545 / USD 1890)

(inaugural Caribbean voyage 2023/ B2B ) 14-day Eastern Caribbean from Barbados (GBP 2195 / EUR 2555 / USD 3120)

(inaugural eastbound Transatlantic crossing/2023) 15-day Caribbean to the UK (GBP 1300 / EUR 1510 / USD 1845)