We had thoroughly enjoyed our first cruise to the Norwegian fjords. And we had particularly enjoyed our experience sailing with Celebrity Cruises on the Celebrity Silhouette. The cruise line seemed to do everything right, even on an older ship like Silhouette. So what would our experience be with P&O, on the much larger Arvia?

In this post I’ll share my thoughts and opinions on cruising with P&O – before and after the cruise. So let’s dive in!

We sailed on a two week Mediterranean cruise departing from Southampton in May/June 2024. Our itinerary included cruise stops in La Coruña, Palma de Mallorca, La Spezia, Marseille, Barcelona and Cádiz.

We booked this cruise to celebrate a very special occasion. 2024 is the year we celebrate Ma and Pa Lee’s 70th birthdays. After we dragged them to Norway last year, they were keen to experience something a tad warmer – the Mediterranean. We wanted to travel between their birthdays, meaning a May or early June travel date. Ma and Pa Lee’s preference was to embark from Southampton rather than a fly-cruise. When we started to compare itineraries and prices, P&O were coming out on top.

I was a little apprehensive to be honest. The natural snob in me felt like we were opting for the Butlins of cruises. More McDonalds than Michelin Star. And would we be over-run by kids? After all, we were travelling over Spring Bank Holiday week. And yes, there were a lot more families with kids this time round. But P&O is largely a family-orientated cruise line, and Arvia – and her sister ship Iona – are both child-friendly.

For an adult-only P&O cruise you’ll need to sail on Arcadia or Aurora. Ma and Pa Lee will be sailing on Aurora in 2025!

But on the whole, our P&O Cruises experience was excellent. Despite being a significantly bigger ship than Silhouette, it never felt particularly crowded. Families and fun-seekers tended to gravitate towards the central Skydome pool area, leaving the forward areas for those that like a bit of relative peace and quiet.

About Arvia

Arvia is P&Os newest – and largest – ship in their fleet of seven, first launched in 2022. Her name means from the seashore, and there’s definitely a sunshine vibe about Arvia, from the swim up bar and infinity pools to the retractable glass roof which floods the indoor pool area (the Skydome) with natural light.

She can hold 5,200 passengers, and 1,800 crew members, and there are 2,610 cabins and 15 guest decks. The Grand Atrium is the central point of the ship, spanning decks 6-8. Large windows allow light to flood in, although it does look a little like an airport lounge. There’s space for socialising and for lounging, and entertainment too at the Amber Lounge. The Grand Atrium became our designated meeting point, be it for shore day excursions, or pre-dinner drinks.

Want to know more about eating and drinking? I have a separate blog post ALL about the food and drink options aboard Arvia!!

It’s easy to navigate around the ship thanks to deck plans at the lift lobbies on each deck. And once you’ve worked out your port from your starboard, and your bow from your stern, you’re good to go. You can walk all the way around Deck 8 (the promenade deck), although the forward areas may be closed off in high winds. We had to do an occasional “boomerang” and regtreat our steps. Decks 16, 17, 18 and 19 have plenty of great outside areas, for sunbathing or strolling.

Arvia Navigation Tip: If you’re a bit lost, check out the colour of the artwork on the stairwells. Green/Blue – representing the horizon – means you’re at the front of the ship. Red represents the sunset – just remember that the Sunset Bar is at the back of the ship. And the silvery moon colour is at the middle.

The Cruise Countdown

On this occasion we used a travel agent to book, as we were unable to link two separate bookings when booking through P&O online. This made the booking process very straightforward, although I did feel I lost a little bit of control in terms of communication.

Through our My Cruise site on the P&O website we were able to browse through the shore excursions, spa treatments and add-on packages such as drinks and wi-fi. The dining options weren’t available to book until 2 weeks before embarkation. Naturally, as soon as booking was open EVERYONE was clamouring to book. Popular times got booked up very quickly. We managed to pre-book dining at The Beach House (eventually), Limelight Club and afternoon tea at Epicurean. Everything else we decided we’d wing on the cruise.

TIP: Be wary about joining any cruise-specific Facebook groups. You might pick up some nuggets but before the cruise it’s mainly people asking the same question that someone else asked five minutes ago. Jaded cruise old-timers give biting sarcastic responses to naïve excited newbies. And once the cruise starts, all the politeness goes out the window and the whinging starts. About kids. About sunbeds. Or lack of them. About the food. About the entertainment. And don’t get me started on the post-cruise grumbles…

Just a few days prior to embarkation we receive an email notifying us that our check-in time has been delayed by two hours. Apparently a “deep clean” is required. Rumours of bugs and viruses have reached us via the Facebook grapevine. Looks like we’re adding another couple of hours onto our cruise countdown.

Embarkation & Check-in at Southampton

Despite our “linked” bookings, our check-times were an hour and 15 minutes apart. With the two hour delay, this meant our check-in was at 14:30, with Ma and Pa Lee 75 minutes after us. The P&O website confirmed that we should all arrive at the later time. We chanced our arm and arrived somewhere between the two. We locate our luggage pods – handily in the same location even though we’re on different decks. I flutter my eyelashes at the staff and they agree to put our suit carriers through “at our own risk” as long as the hangers are tucked in. We walk away, noting all the signs saying that suit carriers MUST be carried on as hand luggage. I cross my fingers that my posh frocks make it through safely.

Our boarding cards are checked. Mr Fletche and I are hustled through one door, whilst Ma and Pa Lee are kept in some sort of holding pen. Do we wait for them, despite staff trying to bundle us up an escalator? There’s commotion outside, movement in the holding pen. Then Ma and Pa Lee are strolling through the doors, ahead of schedule.

Despite the staggered check in times, when we enter the “departure lounge” we see the wave of people. The number of guests this ship holds (over 5000) definitely hits us at that moment. Luckily, there are very few times when so many people will be congregating in one area in such a short space of time.

As is mandatory on a cruise, our first visit is to our muster station to check in and confirm that we will watch the mandatory video once in our cabin. Being in completely different parts of the ship, this is where we wave goodbye to Ma & Pa Lee, keeping our fingers crossed they would successfully locate their own muster point. If you’re travelling in different parties – and particularly on different decks when you’re not sure of the cabin number – make sure you arrange a meeting spot and time. We had a very tense half an hour when we had absolutely no mobile connection and no way of checking that Ma and Pa Lee had actually located their cabin. Long story short: they did.

Our inside cabin

As on our first cruise, we opted for an inside cabin – preferring to spend our cash on food, drink and experiences. We are in Cabin 4:207 – a forward starboard cabin deep in the bowels of Arvia. This meant we didn’t suffer with any noise from the entertainment areas. We did however suffer with noise from below. We never did get to the source, but there were scraping sliding doors and banging noises throughout the night. I can pretty much sleep through anything, but Mr Fletche had a hard time blocking out the noise. At least it wasn’t a dripping shower…

We report the disruption to Reception but we’re met with polite disinterest. “You’ll have to call us when the noise happens” At 3am? When it lasts for approximately 10 seconds, just long enough to wake us up? Or at 11:30pm, 11:36pm and 12:05am, as happened one particularly busy evening? No-one took the time to explain what areas of the ship might be directly below us, or what activities may be taking place. And they didn’t check up on us later in the cruise to see if we were still experiencing issues. Definitely a black mark against P&O in terms of customer service.

Other than the noise, we aren’t too bothered by our location. 4:207 is pretty far from everything so we certainly got our steps in (Arvia is 345 metres long). And sometimes the journeys in the lift from Deck 4 to Deck 18 could be arduous. (“You’re going one floor. Down. Really? Do you KNOW how long I’ve been in this lift?!?”). Forgetting a book or suncream could mean a 20 minute round trip. No word of a lie.

Our cabin was ready for us when we embarked, and our suitcases arrived a short while after. Whilst I was running around the ship trying to locate Ma and Pa Lee in fact. The cabin is surprisingly spacious, and is suspiciously similar to our stateroom on Silhouette apart from the bed configuration and position. Is there some kind of cabin production line? The ensuite bathroom had plenty of storage, lovely White Company toiletries and a powerful shower. That DID NOT drip.

One of the nice touches is that the TV shows the same up-to-date films that are in the cinema so if you fancy more of an intimate movie-watching experience you can do it in your pyjamas! Of course, there’s no natural light but when there’s a seemingly infinite expanse of blue just a short (or long) elevator ride away its no biggie. We really don’t spend a lot of daytime hours in our cabin at all, and when we do its either to have a quick snooze or to freshen up.

Entertainment

There’s plenty to do on Arvia by day and by night. The Headliner theatre shows are bookable prior to your cruise; others, such as the 710 Club are bookable via the MyP&O app once you board. I highly recommend booking these, you can always cancel on the day if your plans change,

Everyday we would receive a copy of the ships newsletter Horizon, giving us information about the ship’s activity schedule, port information and a reminder of the dress code. Arvia has 8 entertainment venues, providing music, shows, lectures, quizzes and activities throughout the day and the evening. There’s even a multi-sensory immersive submarine simulation called Mission Control if you fancy challenging your brain! For those a little less cerebral and a little more physical, on Deck 19 there’s Mini Golf, and the Altitude Skywalk, a high ropes course 54 metres above the ocean. I preferred to keep my feet firmly on the ground deck.

The onboard cinema Ocean Studios is located on Deck 6, showing a rotating schedule of films over three screens. We watched the quirky and touching “The Holdovers” – its easy to forget you’re on a cruise ship! There are even vending machines in the foyer which sell sweets and popcorn for that authentic cinema experience.

Headliners Theatre is a 900 seat venue, capable of hosting top-notch artists and shows. We watched a three piece vocal harmony band, and a specially adapted version of the Take That musical “The Greatest Day” – a nostalgic look at friendship, growing up and the (“Could It Be”) Magic of boy bands. With excellent musical direction, stage design and lighting it felt like I was actually watching a West End show – which is a high accolade from a theatre nerd like me. Talking of which, the amazing Rachel Tucker was onboard and performing at the Limelight dinner and cabaret club. I got to absolutely fangirl to a real-life Beverley Bass/Elphaba and even had a Wicked-related question answered*.

*Her favourite Glindas were Louise Dearman (West End) and Kara Lindsay (Broadway) if anyone’s interested. No? Just me then?

The Clubhouse is home to Arvia’s resident band Pulse, and they performed themed sets each night. On other nights there were guest vocalists, including a Pink tribute act (who disappointingly did not fly across the venue or perform upside down). The Clubhouse was the venue that gave me the biggest “Butlins” vibe, reminding me of various holiday camp venues. It’s very kid-friendly until the late night disco kicks in and the teens advance. The Skydome was used to great effect at night, with some technically complex family-friendly shows under the glass roof. Mr Fletche and I stumbled across a show one night and wondered if we’d had some sort of shared hallucinogenic experience.

The 710 club provided more intimate musical experiences, and was incredibly popular. The band line-up regularly changes, but you’ll be guaranteed a carefully curated setlist performed by talented musicians. We were chuffed to find that vocalist and ivory-tinker Jake Henry is a Brummie, and regularly plays pubs in Moseley, Kings Heath and the Jewellery Quarter. Keep an eye out if you see him on a bill near you! Pre-booking is recommended, but there are sometimes cancellations and no-shows which you can take advantage of if you’re prepared to be flexible.

Formal nights on Arvia

A P&O Cruise tends to have one formal or “celebration” night per 7 days. Therefore we had two on our 14 day cruise, called different things (one Gala Night and one Black Tie Night) but essentially the same. Those that dressed up definitely went for it. I haven’t seen so many sparkles and sequins since the Strictly Come Dancing tour.

You most definitely DON’T have to participate in formal nights. There are still plenty of spots on the ship where you can enjoy food, drink and entertainment but each venue will have a sign outside confirming their dress code. The venues around the Grand Atrium do not enforce a formal dress code on these nights, although this is a very popular photography spot for celebration photos. The Crows Nest did enforce the dress code quite strictly; you’ll be asked to leave if you’re still lingering around in your daytime clothes.

On Celebration Nights the Olive Grove’s menu reflects that of the Main Dining Rooms Meridian and Zenith but does not enforce the formal dress code. This means you can enjoy the gala menu without the sparkles and sequins! A smart casual dress code does still apply at Olive Grove.

So what happens on formal nights? Er, nothing special actually. There’s an extra course on the MDR menu. The “Chef’s Table” gets booked well in advance. But that seems to be about it. On the second of our two formal nights, although we dressed up in our gladrags we chose not to eat anywhere as we’d had a very decadent afternoon tea at Epicurean and were still coming down from a sugar rush.

Staying connected

There’s a QR code in your Welcome Pack which gives you access to the ship’s wifi. You can choose to purchase a wifi package (per day if preferred) or link your device to the onboard “My Holiday” app (no wifi package required). The app enabled us to join virtual dining queues and book speciality dining/entertainment as well as browse digital versions of Horizon and check out drinks menus online. (Where DID all the drink menus go in the second week? Did they assume we had memorised them? Or that we only ordered the exact same drink every time?).

One thing that the app was missing was the ability to message fellow passengers. The only way we were able to contact Ma and Pa Lee was to call or leave a message on their cabin telephone. Just like the old days. It made changing plans or being spontaneous a little more difficult. Celebrity did have this function, although admittedly it didn’t work perfectly and we reverted to using Whatsapp as we had a wifi package included.

If you don’t want to accidentally connect to a costly Maritime network, make sure you turn off your Data Roaming; you can even pop your phone onto airplane mode. We purchased internet on one sea day (thanks to a notification that our house alarm had been triggered); it was £18 for 24 hours. On most port days, we could access a local network from the atrium and from the higher decks. Unsurprisingly, it rarely reached our Deck 4 cabin.

So what does it cost to cruise the Med on P&O Arvia?

Our 2 week cruise cost £2,518 for two adults in an inside cabin. This was the Select Fare, which included:

• £140 onboard credit per person
• Guaranteed cabin (although be wary if booking through an agent as they may select your cabin for you and it may not be to your liking!)
• Complimentary shuttle buses in port
• Flexible dining

14 days car parking with CPS was £243 (although we shared costs with Ma & Pa Lee). Before we boarded we prepaid three meals at speciality restaurants, totalling £100. Our total onboard costs (drinks, speciality restaurants paid for onboard, cabin steward tip + 24 hrs internet) were £650 (£280 of which was onboard credit so £370 to pay). Our shore day expenditure (6 days ashore) was around £400; including pre-booked tickets in Barcelona to Sagrada Familia and Park Guell.

In total, the cost of our 14-day Med Cruise on P&O Arvia was £3,630.

So, am I a P&O convert?

I was impressed by the choice available on Arvia. There was so much variety in terms of dining, entertainment and activities, and despite the large numbers of guests and crew onboard, it rarely felt packed. The casual dining options and different night-time venues were excellent, with plenty of choice available. We mixed up our food and drink options nightly, meaning that we never got bored of one venue (or menu). Service was occasionally a little slow in the bars; I often ended up heading up to the bar myself to place an order.

Some of the venues need to be booked before you board, which takes a little bit of spontaneity from the cruise. We didn’t want to plan our onboard itinerary too strictly ahead of time, preferring to go with the flow (yes, this is me, Mrs Itinerary herself, preferring to go with the flow).

The information given on shore days was clear, and it was very easy to get on and off the ship. Only on one occasion was there a delay returning onboard, an issue with the scanners at Palma cruise terminal causing long queues with no communication from staff. Our Select fare gave us complimentary shuttle bus access (where required).

I did miss the little special touches offered by Celebrity, from the free tote bag (was it free or did I “permanently borrow” it?) to the fluffy robes and chocolate on our pillow. Two weeks onboard Arvia didn’t really do much to dispel the Butlins on a boat myth. It is VERY Brits Abroad. But P&O know what their clientele want, and they do it well. Their offering is designed to appeal to the widest group of people. This actually makes P&O an excellent choice for a multigenerational family holiday.

Plus I’m not going to complain if I can have unlimited access to “proper” fish and chips or a roast dinner in a Yorkshire Pudding.

Have you sailed with P&O, on Arvia or another ship within their fleet? And if you’ve sailed with another cruise line too, how do you think they compare? And am I just a snob that needs to get over herself?