Arcadia J419 24 nights Caribbean.

Reports about cruises on Arcadia
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wolfie
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1029
Joined: January 2013

Arcadia J419 24 nights Caribbean.

#1

Post by wolfie »

For all those embarking this winter on a, to and from Southampton, Caribbean cruise. We have done quite a few over the years. Not this year as we did other long cruises , booked for both itinerary and duration, of 20 and 30 nights.


We almost didn’t make this cruise as OH suffered a very bad fall just 2 days before departure which resulted in 2 visits to A&E. He fell backwards and his head was a mess and he also damaged his sciatic nerve so a wheelchair was needed to embark. Thankfully, once again, we had booked with a company that provides door to door service and soon after arriving at the Ocean Terminal we were in the Meridian Restaurant enjoying our snacks and drinks.

We waited for the rush for cabins to be over and were soon comfortably installed in cabin A26 which was very convenient for the lifts and The Palladium though a bit of a walk to the MDR!

In the first few days we met up with many people that had been on the same cruise last year on Aurora and other cruises. Many good times were had in their company, especially in the quizzes and shuffleboard competitions.

Despite the refit which has seen, IMO, far better people flow through the shops area and the upgrading of the Crows Nest, Arcadia still needs some attention in other areas, particularly the cabins- a huge flat screen TV does not make up for other deficiencies. One of the grab rails in the bathroom was loose and it took numerous phone calls to get it fixed, not good in the rough seas that we had on the way to the Caribbean. The décor was tired but kept very clean by our cabins stewards, we had 2 over the 24 nights!! The bath mat would have seen the bin in our house but was renewed, eventually, and the tissue box holder came loose and took ages to be fixed, (was fixed after sharing a table with the deck superintendent at the Caribbean lunch when he asked if all was satisfactory): little things but nevertheless annoying and maybe a sign that passenger comfort is no longer top of the agenda.

The bathroom lacked the usual little extras, cotton buds, shower cap, sewing kit.

The Headliners shows and guest artists were also much the same as previously encountered. The Headliners show might have a different name but consisted of a bit of this show and a bit of another show. Once again we had, The Beatles Experience, Diane Cousins, a Neil Diamond tribute act, comedian (not) John Evans, a mind reader whose name was forgettable and Craig Owen- a violinist who, without the backing orchestra, would have been just OK. TG for the occasional 4.30pm concerts in the Crows Nest by resident piano player Luke Faulkener and classical guitarist Michael Durrant, both were fantastic.

Being on Freedom Dining gave us the opportunity to organise our evenings as we wished; the show, a quiz, a film, or just sitting in the Piano Bar listening to the pianist. We dined at various times and never had to have a pager; tables for 2 were always available if we wanted a quick meal, as were larger tables when we requested them. We also enjoyed the themed evening in The Belvedere more than we ever have done before, especially when we had booked to see a film….. yes, booking is necessary as the screening room only seats 30 people but we saw some great films; Philomena, Jersey Boys, Edge of Tomorrow.

Ports of call we had done before many times so not much to add except for a tour in Dominica. This IS the island to do a tour and this time it was to the Hibiscus Falls, lunch at an eco village, the Carib Indian reserve and the Botanical Gardens in Rouseau. A long day over treacherous roads with a great guide and a brilliant driver who avoided all the potholes!

We had called at Ponta Delgada on the way out and were due to call at Horta in the Azores on the way back BUT the captain, Trevor Lane, deemed the weather too bad to tender so we were back in PD again…. on a Sunday!!! Many passengers thought that this decision could have been made sooner, as bad weather had been mentioned for a couple of days, and that we might have called at Madeira instead. It was not as if Arcadia didn’t have the speed to get there, cruising along most days below 14 knots.

There were not the usual events laid on that we have previously enjoyed on such long cruises, the Village Fete, the various departments allowing you a try at things.

It’s still the same old sell on board in the shops; it doesn’t change throughout the cruise except to appear in the Horizon under a different name! A one day event, A Christmas theme….. same merchandise.

What Arcadia lacks, IMO, is somewhere like Café B on Aurora for a civilised breakfast/lunch with waiter service as an alternative to the MDR. It also lacked entertainment staff who actually engaged with passengers rather than themselves; maybe that was due to the cruise director, who I will not name but who we have had on other cruises, and is really past her sell by date.

Food this time in the MDR was disappointing compared with out last cruise on Arcadia and our most recent P&O cruise on Aurora.

We booked the thermal suite for 10 days but OH could not manage without more than my help, (not fair on others using the facility to expect them to help but they did so many times), and, as there was a waiting list for the spa, I explained the situation to the spa manager, (that we would not be using the spa any more), and she offered to credit our account with the unused days which I thought was more than they needed to have done; I did not expect or ask for that.

We enjoyed the cruise overall but there were many more little cutbacks that many of us noticed and really, in the scale of things, how much do they actually save?

All my posts and photos are COPYRIGHTED!!

"I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me!"
KEEP CALM AND CRUISE ON









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Ranchi
Senior Second Officer
Senior Second Officer
Posts: 808
Joined: September 2014

Re: Arcadia J419 24 nights Caribbean.

#2

Post by Ranchi »

We noticed that the Ents team seemed to be lower profile than usual on our last cruise (Azura to the western Med). Admittedly there were quite a lot of ports & consequently relatively few sea days but apart from quizzes there were very few hosted activities (social tennis, social shuffle board, social quoits etc.). There was cricket in the afternoon but often 'social' events never really git off the ground. Hosted events are a good way to break the ice & get at least on nodding acquaintance with a good number of fellow passengers. We couldn't decide if the change in profile of Ents staff was due to Azura being a larger ship ( than we usually travel on) or if there was a smaller Ents team on board.
On a different tack(!), I have been following the demise of the (now rare) sewing kit. A few years ago they were abundant and to be found in every cabin fron PF up to the grandest suite. A couple of seasons ago environmental changes saw them only prevalent behind the desk at the bureau where they could be tempted out with a quick request 'a button's come off my shirt & I need to mend it before dinner'
Sadly, the current situation is getting critical. To get any chance of a sight of a sewing kit you have to approach Reception at a quiet time, explain your predicament and then...'a sewing kit will be delivered to your cabin, Sir' (In time for dinner? I should have asked)

Save the Sewing Kit!

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Kenmo1
First Officer
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Posts: 1963
Joined: January 2013

Re: Arcadia J419 24 nights Caribbean.

#3

Post by Kenmo1 »

wolfie wrote:
The bathroom lacked the usual little extras, cotton buds, shower cap, sewing kit.
Ranchi wrote:
Save the Sewing Kit!
I will have to remember to pack a shower cap as well as a sewing kit in future by the look of your report, wolfie.

I see Trevor Lane is still doing his 'go slow speed' although he did do some top speeds on our last sailing with him in the piracy areas around Dubai to the Suez Canal.

Thanks for the review.

Maureen

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