Cruising on Arvia? Here’s 6 Things That I LOVED, and 2 I DIDN’T!
P&O Arvia is a huge cruise ship. In fact, she’s one of the largest cruise ships to serve primarily the British cruise market. She operates within the P&O Cruises fleet, a cruise line which brings a real mix of ships to the market. You’ll find huge modern mega-ships (like Arvia and her sister Iona) cruising alongside their much more traditional counterparts like Aurora and Arcadia - they each bring something slightly different to the table.
Arvia is an Excel-class cruise ship, and she shares this class with Iona, which is actually the only remaining ship in the P&O Cruises fleet for me to try before I can say that I’ve cruised on them all! You might recognise Arvia even although you perhaps haven’t cruised on her before - this class of ship has quite a lot of vessels within it. Some examples include: AIDAnova, Costa Smeralda, Carnival Mardi Gras, AIDAcosma, Costa Toscana, Carnival Celebration and Carnival Jubilee.
Carnival Celebration is one of the ships that shares the same class as Arvia. Huge, isn’t she?!
In this article, I’m going to tell you about six things that I LOVED while cruising onboard Arvia, and also two of the things that I didn’t.
If you’ve just found my site today for the first time, then welcome! I’m Fraser, and I use this website and my social media channels to share all of my cruise experiences. You’ll find me on most social media channels (including Instagram, Facebook and TikTok), but I share most of my content over on YouTube. If you’re over on YouTube, I’d really appreciate your support by coming over and subscribing to my channel - you can go there now by searching ‘Fraser at Sea’, or by clicking here.
I’ve cruised on ships very similar to Arvia in the past, most notably Costa Smeralda and Costa Toscana, which are both operated by Costa Cruises, another of the brands under the Carnival Corporation umbrella. Therefore, I knew before taking my first cruise on Arvia that the ship was going to be BIG, but I don’t think I quite appreciated how big. Isn’t it amazing how quickly you forget about the size of a ship once you disembark at the end of the cruise?!
Arvia has a guest capacity of 5,200 passengers and a crew capacity of 1,800 crew members, which means she can easily carry over 7,000 people at any one time. Let that sink in for a second - 7,000 people! She’s 345m (or 1,132 feet) long, which means that, if I’m just over 6 feet tall, Arvia is around the length of 180 of me lying head to toe - a scary thought, I know.
Arvia is a cruise ship that often gets mixed reviews, and so I was really excited to step onboard to experience this ship for myself.
1 - I LOVED - All of the Open Deck Space!
On some cruise ships, I find myself walking around the top deck wondering where on Earth all of the passengers would go in the sunshine. On Arvia, this wasn’t something that I was confused about. There seemed to be loads of deck space, taking in to account both the top deck of the ship and also the fully wrap-around Promenade Deck on Deck 8.
I was cruising in Northern Europe in October, and so I didn’t get the opportunity to experience a hot ‘sea day’ while onboard. However, I’d imagine that the ship would cope well with the volume of passengers. That said, it’s important that if you are planning to cruise on here, that you remember you’re sharing this ship with thousands of other passengers. This means that the loungers will be very close together, and it might be difficult to secure loungers next to each other if you’re cruising as part of a larger party.
One thing that quickly became apparent on Arvia is that it’s important that you explore this ship to discover all of the little ‘hidden’ deck spaces. You’ll find the open decks around the SkyDome pool no problem, but if you walk along the decks and head up some of the staircases, you’ll find additional lounger spaces - these could be your saviour if you’re struggling to find somewhere to relax during your cruise!
I loved the amount of open deck space offered onboard Arvia!
Remember - you’re sharing this ship with thousands of other passengers…
2 - I LOVED - The Views!
One of my biggest criticisms of many of the new, huge cruise ships is that it can often be difficult to see the ocean while you’re onboard - it’s as if they design these new cruise ships for people that don’t want to think about the fact they’re on a ship!
I was delighted to find the opposite to be the case on Arvia, with many of the venues I’d spend time in having HUGE windows that would look out to sea - I absolutely LOVED it.
At home, I don’t live close to the ocean, and so being able to see it when I’m cruising is a really important part of the cruise experience for me. If I don’t want to see the ocean, I’ll opt for a land-based holiday somewhere away from the coast…
I found this to be a ship that was really easy to get a ‘sea view’ in the bars, restaurants and public areas. Okay, it’s not easy to get a table directly infront of the window (it never is on a cruise ship, is it?), but even from a couple of rows away, you were able to really connect with the ocean outside the window.
On the subject of windows, many of the venues onboard Arvia are absolutely flooded with natural daylight as a result of having so much glass involved in their design. Venues like the Meridian and Zenith restaurants at the back of Decks six and seven, or the Main Atrium that spans across decks six, seven and eight are great examples of this. The main atrium was my absolute favourite - this space is home to a coffee shop, a bar, and some P&O Cruises favourites including the Glass House and Keel & Cow. The whole space is wrapped in glass, with views of the ocean possible from wherever you were sitting!
The Atrium onboard Arvia is a fantastic space - look at all of that daylight flooding through into the space!
The volume of glass used in the Meridian and Zenith restaurants is absolutely fantastic, too!
3 - I LOVED - The Swimming Pools!
I’ve been on some cruise ships that only offer one or two swimming pools for guests, but that’s not the case onboard Arvia. This ship is really well provisioned from a swimming pool point of view, so hopefully you’ll be content if this is something that’s important to you when you cruise. Here’s a breakdown of the pools available onboard this ship…
First, you’ve got the SkyDome Pool. This is Arvia’s main swimming pool, and you’ll find it up on Deck 16. There’s then a wrap-around mezzanine/balcony level above on Deck 17, where you’ll find a bar offering drinks throughout the day and into the evening. On Deck 16, you’ve got an ice cream shop, and a poolside pizza and burger bar, in addition to a bar for drinks.
One of the most interesting aspects of the SkyDome pool on this ship is the retractable roof, making Arvia a great ship choice for both cold and warm weather itineraries. If it’s cooler outside, the roof will close to cover over the pool, making this a pleasant space to spend time even in inclement weather. If it’s warm outside, you’ll find the roof open in here, bringing the ‘outside in’.
In the evening, the SkyDome pool is a really great space to relax and spend time away from the crowds onboard a ship of this size. Of course, you’re going to find some entertainment up here (think things like the silent disco or the ‘top deck productions’ that you’ll find offered onboard this ship class but, outside of these times, it’s often a quiet haven up here!
The SkyDome pool onboard Arvia has a fully retractable roof, allowing the ‘inside’ to become the ‘outside’!
You’ll find some evening entertainment in this space, but not always!
There are two bars within the SkyDome complex, making it an ideal spot to spend time during your cruise.
Next, you’ll find the Infinity Pool at the back of the ship on Deck 16. This pool, as the name suggests, is an Infinity Pool, and it overlooks the back of the ship.
After Arvia’s launch, this pool did get some mixed feedback, particularly from the cabins directly below it, who complained about getting wet from the splashes within the pool. I believe this has been largely resolved now though, as it looks as though there is a glass water guard when you look up towards this pool from the lower decks.
If you’re trying to get those brochure-worthy pictures looking out to sea from an infinity pool during your cruise, then this might be the pool you’ll want to head to. You’ll also find a swim-up bar here, making for a really unique cruise ship experience.
Here’s the Infinity Pool onboard Arvia. The Swim-up bar is underneath the glass canopy.
Next, the Panorama Pool. This one’s up on Deck 18, making it one of the highest pools onboard the ship.
To be honest, the construct of this pool isn’t massively different to the Infinity Pool that we’ve just covered down on Deck 16 - it’s also at the back of the ship, and it’s also an infinity-style pool. The main difference is that the pool on Deck 16 has the swim-up bar, but the Panorama Pool has a regular bar area. In other words, you’re not able to be in a pool sitting at the bar up at this option.
The view from the pool up on Deck 18 looks down over Decks 17 and 16, so you’ll see the other pool from up here. There are also two hot tubs down on Deck 17, if that’s of interest to you…
There’s a lot of deck space up here, too. Therefore, if you’ve got a busy sea day ahead, this area might give you the loungers that you’re hoping for…
Want a beautiful sunset shot? You’ll probably want to add the ‘Panorama Pool’ to your list!
There’s plenty of deck space around this pool at the back of the ship up on Deck 18!
Staying on Deck 18, the next pool to tell you about is the Beachcomber Pool. This was probably my favourite pool space, for a couple of reasons.
First, it’s away from the SkyDome, making it quite a quiet place to relax.
Second, there weren’t many youngsters here (I’m not against kids on cruise ships - I just like having somewhere to relax that’s a little quieter!).
Third, and perhaps my favourite aspect, this pool had great sunken seating options. Imagine relaxing in these sunken areas on a warm sea day in the Caribbean, watching the water from the pool lapping on the side - yes, please!
The Beachcomber Pool was among my favourite spaces onboard Arvia!
Finally, one for the kids. This one isn’t a swimming pool, nor is it a ‘water park’, but it’s worth including in this section: Splash Valley.
Splash Valley can be found up on Deck 18, and it’s a great (but small) space to spend time with your little ones. In here, there’s a wide array of water fountains and jets to play with. There’s also plenty of shade at this section thats to the design of the equipment, and a large sun shade - something that I suspect would be warmly welcomed when you’re cruising under the sun!
Splash Valley is a spot for your youngest kids, and you’ll find it up on Deck 18 of Arvia.
I remember this ship launching in the Caribbean, and it was branded as P&O Cruises’ ‘Sunshine Ship’ at the time. Reflecting back on this, I’m not surprised by the number of swimming pools onboard, at all!
4 - I LOVED - The Value that this Ship Offers!
If you’re flexible, Arvia can offer some incredibly good value holidays. That said, even during the peak Summer months, you’re able to secure some really decent prices on this ship if you’re clever with when you book, and your cabin grades etc.
If you’re happy to cruise without a balcony cabin, you’ll be likely to get a great price on one of the many inside cabins that a ship of this size offers customers.
When I look at what you get included in your cruise fare on a ship like this, it just doesn’t make sense to me why families would opt for a land-based holiday instead. For example, throughout your cruise, you’ve got every meal included, entertainment both during the day and in the evening, kids club access, and of course your travel between the ports (of course you get this - it’s a cruise ship!).
Some deals will even include flights to meet the ship if you’re booking as part of a Fly-Cruise, and some of these prices can be absolutely fantastic.
While the value onboard Arvia is great, it’s key to remember that this is a huge ship serving a large number of people. In general, if you pay a little to upgrade your experience, you’ll feel a real difference in the overall product. For example, booking some meals in Speciality Dining restaurants won’t break the bank, but it will offer you a far higher quality meal (in my opinion) than what you would get in the Main Dining Rooms. That said, if you’re not in a position to do this - don’t worry - you’re certainly not going to leave this ship hungry…!
If you’d like my recommendation, I’d urge you to book a meal at Sindhu. This is P&O Cruises’ onboard Indian restaurant, and I’ve been such a huge fan of this place for years. On every single cruise I take with this cruise line, I always book myself in for a meal (or two) here, and I’ve never left disappointed.
Sindhu is the onboard Indian restaurant. If you like Indian food, you must give this place a try!
You’ll need to pay a little extra to dine in here, but it’s well worth it (in my opinion, anyway!).
5 - I LOVED - The Overall Quality of the Ship!
As I mentioned at the start of this article, I’ve now cruised on most of the ships in the P&O Cruises fleet. I would describe the other ships that I’ve been on as really ‘homely’, particularly the older ships in the fleet like Aurora or Arcadia.
This isn’t a word I would apply to Arvia, in a good way. I was SO impressed with the overall quality of this ship, from the cabins to the public venues and spaces, the overall quality felt much higher than what I’ve seen elsewhere in the fleet.
Throughout the cruise, it was really difficult to spot things that weren’t working, or things that were out of order, which can often be a bit of a problem on ageing ships within a fleet - I really hope Arvia keeps this up as she ages - I was really impressed!
One thing that I really appreciated when it came to quality was how well the P&O Cruises brand has transitioned into this huge mega-ship concept. There are some examples out there where cruise lines that have been offering mid to large-sized cruise ships have launched much bigger ships, and it hasn’t quite worked. However, I’d say it was really clear at all times that I was on a ship being operated under the P&O Cruises umbrella - I was really impressed at how they’d achieved this on a ship of this size!
I was really impressed with the overall feeling of ‘quality’ onboard Arvia!
6 - I LOVED - The Food!
Over the last few years, I’ve seen really varied reviews come in for P&O Cruises on the subject of their food offering. I’ve always been relatively public with my praise for the food in the Speciality Dining venues (in particular, Sindhu), but the food in the ‘included’ dining rooms can often be considered as ‘okay’, but nothing really to write home about.
It seems as though P&O Cruises have invested in this area recently - I saw a real improvement in the ‘included’ food throughout this cruise. I never had a single bad meal at any of the included venues, and I’d have been happy eating only the included food for the whole of my cruise.
The only real criticism that I have on the subject of dining on this ship was how busy the ‘included’ restaurants were: the buffet was packed out at times, and there were waits of over an hour for a dinner table at other times, which really isn’t ideal at all. That said, that’s not really a criticism of ‘food’, and more the operational side of things.
Here’s a few examples of the food that I ate while onboard. Hopefully you’ll agree that these are pretty good options for food that I wasn’t paying a penny extra for!
Here’s my Eggs Benedict and yes, before you ask, they did pass my usual ‘runny test’!
Here’s a fruit bowl in the Main Dining Room at breakfast - good variety!
Surf and Turf, anyone? This was included in the Dining Room on the formal evening.
Okay, so I’ve been really positive so far while covering the six things that I loved about cruising onboard Arvia. However, I also want to cover two things that I didn’t love while onboard.
1 - I DIDN’T LOVE - How Difficult it Was to Replicate the Brochures!
This is a strange one, as it might not affect too many people. Before taking my first cruise on this ship, I’d seen so many posts on social media, pictures in brochures and videos on YouTube ship tours, that showed a beautifully quiet ship. There were window seats everywhere looking out to the horizon, and gorgeous infinity pools that provided a picture-perfect shot looking out to sea.
Even before I got onboard, I knew this wasn’t going to be the reality.
As we’ve covered a few times in this post, Arvia carries thousands of passengers. At the end of the day, most of those people will want to do all of the ‘big ticket items’ on the ship, and that’s going to make them really busy. Even simple things like lying on a sun lounger will probably be tricky if the weather’s good - there are just so many people sharing this space with you.
Now, its not a bad thing that the ship felt busy. Quite the opposite, actually - can you imagine how weird and eerie a ship of this size would feel if it was really quiet all of the time?! It’s just really important to keep in mind that there are lots of other people on here, so you might want to build this into your planning. Perhaps that means going for dinner slightly before you normally would, or maybe that means getting into a routine of waiting for your dinner table in a nearby bar with a pre-dinner drink, rather than up in your cabin.
Don’t worry - you’ll figure it out once you’re onboard!
Remember: Arvia’s a big ship, and she holds a lot of passengers!
2 - I DIDN’T LOVE - How many Upselling and Upcharging Opportunities there were Onboard…
Before I explain this one, I’m aware that this could be considered a slight contradiction to my earlier point about the great value that this ship offers to prospective cruisers. However, let me explain.
While Arvia offers some great value cruise options, there is the ability to be upsold to, and be upcharged for various ‘upgrades’ throughout the cruise, and I’d say there were more of these opportunities on here than on lots of other cruise ships.
On this ship, you’ve got the usual Speciality Dining venues that come with optional charges, but then you also have facilities like an Escape Room, a Sky Walk, and Ice Cream bar, a Spa, and quite a few activities in the daily schedule of events that carry additional charges.
This one got me thinking - if you’re cruising on here for an extended period of time, or if you’re cruising as a family, you’ll probably want to agree a budget for ‘on board spend’ before the cruise and keep an eye on your bill throughout, so that you don’t get a fright towards the end of the cruise. It’s really easy to do this - you can use your mobile device to check your bill online during the cruise, or you can pop to the 24-hour Reception desk any time and they’ll give you a real-time update!
Some of the activities onboard Arvia carry additional charges - be sure to check before you sign up!
Here’s a close-up to show some of the events offered as part of the ‘Creative Waves’ initiative.
If you enjoyed this post (I really hope that you did), then please join me in another. You can find all of my P&O Cruises content on this website here, or you can navigate there using the drop-down menu at the top of the page.
If you’d like to come over to YouTube to hear more about my experiences cruising with P&O Cruises, then why not watch the below video? In this one, I share with you my Top 25 Tips for cruising on either P&O Arvia or P&O Iona - enjoy, and happy cruising!