And now for the ship itself

Stateroom G40

We had a outside cabin on Deck 1 (Grenada Deck). The room was slightly bigger than what I have previously had. The bed was queen-size. We had the TV which had the ships information channels and adverts, plus BBC World, BBC Prime, CNN and Movie Channels. A full programme guide was available. We also had tea/coffee facilities with hand made biscuits. These were replenished twice a day.

A nice little sofa with an adjustable coffee table.

The bathroom had a bath and shower with Elemis toiletries and Molten Brown shower gel. Towels were changed day and night.

Our room also had beach towels also changed daily.

There was plenty of wardrobe space.

The room was long but not so wide. However it was a big room.

The Steward was excellent and looked after us well.


Stateroom G38

This was an inside room. The room was smaller in length than the outside but wider. In fact it was the perfect shape.

The only difference, apart from shape, to the outside was that it did not have a bath.

Belvedere Food Court

The food court was based on Deck 9. Before you can enter you need to clean your hands with alcohol gel. A member of staff was on hand to give you the gel. The food court was massive and had plenty of seating. The food stations were in the middle of the deck and tables by the windows.

Breakfast

Belvedere had three stations set up to produce a full English breakfast plus also kippers and black pudding. There was also an omelette station, waffle and pancakes, pastries, Cereals, breads and meats, Cheese and yogurt and fresh fruit. Tea & Coffee was also available as was fresh fruit juice. The fruit juice machines were open each day until mid day.

Lunch

The set up included 2 bistro stations, which served up traditional British food, fish and chips, pie and chips, steak and chips etc. There was also an Italian Station serving pizza and pasta, an Oriental station with curries and stir frys, We also had a salad bar and sandwich bar. There was a dessert station which was very popular serving up hot and cold puddings. Tea and coffee was also available.

Afternoon Tea

A chance for some cream scones with jam, cakes and some snacks. Sandwiches were also available.

Dinner

In the evening the menu was more or less the same as the Meridian Restaurant. The tables were set out different with tablemats and cutlery laid out. I never ate here in the evening so can not comment on the food.


In all the food in the Belvedere was excellent and it was well laid out.

Meridian Restaurant

We were on early sitting on the lower level. We sat at table 6. Our waiters were Ruserio and Yogesh. The head waiter was Lance. I will first of all comment on the staff. The two waiters were the best ever. There manners and respect for passengers was impeccable. They also knew how to have a good laugh. If you ever get them you will be well looked after. They knew our likes and dislikes and ensured we got food that we would eat. The main meal came with the meat or fish on the plate and the silver service started with the vegetables. The food was so yummy. Half the time it was difficult to choose what to have.

Our head waiter was aware that my wife was vegetarian so each night he came around with the next day’s menu and the vegetarian menu to see what she would like. Not once did she choose from the vegetarian menu. The main menu was sufficient.

The restaurant was home to the chocolate buffet, which was sickly delicious.


Neptune Grill

This was open from 11am and all afternoon. It was situated next to the Neptune Pool on Deck 9. It served up fish and chips, burgers, jacket potatoes, salads, sandwiches, wraps and chicken. Was very good and all cooked to order.

The Rising Sun

This is the British Pub on Deck 2. It does look very much look like a pub and is very smoky like a pub. To be fair it had a non smoking area. Live music was played nightly. There was also a nightly quiz. If you want to watch premiership football this is the place to be.

All prices are in sterling.

Monte Carlo Casino

This is situated next to the Rising Sun and is another smoky area. There are the usual fruit machines, Roulette and various other tables.

The Crow’s Nest

Based on Deck 10 this was another drinking area. It was a non smoking place (although there was a tiny smoking area in a corner). Live music was played nightly with a dance floor for all to have a jig or two. The Crow’s Nest was also used for bingo and Catholic Masses.

Arcadian Rhodes

We never ate here. Everyone we spoke to who did eat here said that the food was superb and was more than worth the service charge of £15.00. For lunch the service charge was £7.50.

Intermezzo Bar

This was our favourite place to drink. Nice comfortable chairs and very peaceful. Each table had a bowl of vegetable chips such as carrots and parsnips. Delicious. The waiters were excellent. They knew us so well. Before we sat down our drinks were ready for us.

The Piano Bar

The pianist played everything from Bach to the Beatles. He was very good.

The Globe

Everything seemed to take place here. During the day it was used for excursion presentations, jewellery talks, art auctions and the cinema. In the evening it was the home of the ballroom dancing.

Electra

The home of DJ Steve and the nightclub.

Piccadilly

This was the main shopping area, I have to say it was not as impressive as previous ships I have been on. However you could buy all your essentials plus Cadbury’s chocolate. There was also jewellery, Clothes, souvenirs and perfumes. Each day there was a special product on sale at a special price.

If you wanted to purchase cigarettes and alcohol you had to wait until the special sales came on during the cruise. They were sold in venues through out the ship. The good thing about these sales you could buy the stuff for your own consumption on board and paid the duty free price. However they do put a notice up saying On Board Allowance.

Photo Shop
This was the place to buy all your photo accessories, prints and all this e photos they take on board. What made this so special about this cruise was the fact you were never pestered by the photographers. If you said no they thanked you and went away. There was none of these stupid photos with the pirates and everyone else dressing up.

The Palladium

This theatre is the best that I have ever seen at sea. The shows were just as good. Our entertainers were comedians Stu Francis (ooh I could crush a grape, you know from Crackerjack) he had me in tears of laugher at each show, Les Bryan ( from The Comedians and Wheeltappers and Shunters Club). H e made me laugh but was even better on the guitar (The Shadows type music). Also appearing was Paul Da Vinci, he was the voice behind The Rubettes (sugar Baby Love) and Tight Fit (The Lion Sleeps tonight). He sang well, but seemed very nervous when he talked. Another singer was Victor Michael. He liked to sing songs of Mario Lanza, Joseph Locke, Frank Sinatra etc. He was good.

The best shows on board were by the Arcadia entertainers. They put on 6 shows, the best being Cirque d’Arcadia. They were better than some West End shows I have seen. Truly professional. They all looked as though they were enjoying themselves and did not attempt to pose or show off.


Other entertainers performing on board were the Bibby Sisters, classical pianists. There was also Martin Beaumont & Jo Enright, two comedians with adult material. They were not that funny.

Gym

This had all the facilities you required and all complementary. The gym staff did provide some treatments at a price.

Oasis Spa

This includes a salon and treatment rooms. There was also a hydrotherapy pool which was excellent which also gave you use of steam rooms and the hot chairs. The cost for this was £10 for the first visit and £5 thereafter. Each session lasted 2 hours. In my opinion well worth the money.

Aquarius Pool
This was the outside pool (Aft) and home of the Aquarius bar, the sailaways and night time activity and parties.

Neptune Pool

This was the pool in midship which had a moving roof. It also had 3 Jacuzzis. It was home to the Neptune Grill and Neptune Bar.

Cyb@Centre

This was the internet room, which was quite large with a member of staff available at all times. The rates are as follows:

£1.95 activation fee (one off charge)

£10.50 time plan = 50 mins use (= 21p per minute)
£16.50 time plan - 100 mins us (= 16.5p per minute)
Pay as you go = 30p per minute.

The cyb@centre also had a coffee bar to get you lattes and cappuccinos.

New Horizons

A number of seminars were held in flower arranging, digital photography and understanding the computer. As far as I can remember only the flower arranging incurred an additional charge.

Reception

Deck 1 was were the reception, Excursions desk, future cruises and Portunis Club was based.

I think that this is the one area that people feel let down by. It has nothing to do with the staff, they are really friendly and helpful. On most cruise ships this part of the Atrium and all the glitz and glamour. This area was subdued and a very practical area. The ceiling did feature a nice stain glass top.

In fact I would say that The Arcadia is a very understand ship. The décor is mainly autumnal colours with modern artwork. I liked it, I can understand why others may not.

Disembarkation

We were asked to leave one suitcase out for collection before 6:30pm and the other before midnight. We arranged with our steward to leave them both out as late as possible. We never saw the suitcases again until we arrived in Birmingham.

P&O had already checked us in on our flight at the beginning of the cruise. On the day of departure we were suppose to leave ship at 1:30pm. However early on we received a message saying the flight would be delayed by three hours due to a technical hitch.

Anyway when we left we had a mini bus take us to the airport. Once at the airport we had to go straight to security check. Whilst at the back of the queue security asked to see my wife and her bag. I wasn’t allowed to go with her. I was a bit angry about that. However when she returned she was not allowed to say anything. The next thing we queue jumped with assistance of security. A we went through the scanning Machine, my wife was stopped, they checked her bag and found a hand grenade in it. My wife was asked by security if she would carry the fake grenade to test the machine and new staff on board. You have to laugh don’t you.

Barbados departure lounge is probably the worst I have ever been in. There are no screens indicating what gate to go. Staff do not know where you are suppose to be. Anyway after a little while of asking I found our gate which was situated outside in an area next to the plane.

And now for the destinations

Ponta Delgada, San Miquel, The Azores

We tool an island tour which took us to a pineapple plantation and a free pineapple liqueur tasting. That was strong stuff. We ended up in the Crater Lakes. This has to be one of the most beautiful sites in the world. We were in the heart of the volcano land which has been dormant for years. If you ever get to Ponta Delgada go and visit.

There is a nice little shopping centre in Ponta deluged. One thing you will notice is that most buildings are black and white.

At present the cruise ships are docking in a working trade docks so complementary coaches are provided to take you to the dock entrance which is next to the town centre.


Antigua

We arrived during their celebrations of 25 years of independence. WE took a tour around the island visiting Shirley’s Heights, The Blockhouse and Nelson’s Dockyard. At Shirley’s Heights you can see Eric Clapton’s Home and Clarence House, were Princess Margaret used to reside. Nelsons Dockyards is in Falmouth and has been transformed into a museum. Falmouth harbour is beautiful, The Dockyards have Nelsons home and allegedly have the cannon ball that blew off nelson’s hand, which is also on display.

The island has 366 beaches one for each day in a leap year.

If you want to go independently taxi drivers were offering to take you on tours around the island, The cost was about $25 - $30 per person.

The duty free shops are at the end of the pier.

Tortola

To me this was the best island of the lot and one that I am more than happy to return to. We took a tour on an open safari bus into the mountains and saw some magnificent views of the island and her neighbours. The ride was a bit hair raising. We arrived at Pussers’s Landing, North Cove and then went on a boat ride around the neighbouring Virgin Islands. We saw Norman Island the inspiration for Treasure Island, Peter Island, Salt Island and Virgin Gorda.

The shopping are was no your typical duty free shopping. It was a mix of local shops and duty free.

Taxi tours are available. The cost was $15 each or $25 per couple.

St Maarten

We took a water taxi to Phillipsburg, the cost is $3 per ride or $5 for unlimited travel. We went on a shopping frenzy in Phillipsburg. It was the best place for shopping on our trip. We ventured onto the beach and a drink in one or two of the bars.

When I was in St Maarten last year I wasn’t impressed, my mind had changed this year.

Dominica

We went whale watching for three hours. This was fun. We had whales swim right along the boat. The guides were good. The boat was hired exclusively for P&O. If you wanted to do it privately you can’t.

After the whale watching we went into town, or at least attempted to do so. There were groups of people hanging around everywhere. It just did not feel safe. That could be more a problem with me than the locals. However a number of passengers shared the same opinion as us. Te island is very poor and it looks it at the pier and in town. There are beggars everywhere. It is sad to see.

A number of people went on trips into the Rain Forest and enjoyed it.

I spoke to a Tour guide in St Lucia who said that Dominica is the next island to be explored by cruise ships . It is regarded as Paradise. Without tourists it can not invest. So in a few years time things may have changed.

St Lucia

We did our thing. A 15 minute walk into town. First of all we had to pass at least 20 people trying to sell tours. As we passed them they shouted at us. I can’t understand the local language but I understood them. The language is same I do not use in front of a lady.

We did wonder around the town which was nice and looked in a couple of churches. We checked out the markets and then took a water taxi back to the ship. The cost was $1 per person. Unfortunately for us the taxi lost its steering and we needed to be helped back.

Right next to the ship’s pier is a nice duty free shopping centre. There is a karaoke bar also which was very popular.

From what we saw St Lucia was beautiful.

We were the first cruise ship in for the season so the tourist sites were only just opening up.

Barbados

This was our last day so did not venture anywhere. We took a walk around the duty free shops and then a little walk around town. The town had a good mix of local and international shops. There are several museums and craft places to visit. Next time I would like to spend some time in Barbados.