Cabin Review

We had 2 partially obstructed ocean view cabins which we booked 2 days before – E133 & E134. They had big windows although half is completely obstructed by a lifeboat. The other half has the crane part so you can see above and below this and to the side. The cabin next door has a very long balcony so if nobody was out we could see more of the ocean as we got their view also! It was worth the £50 extra from the inside cabin price but to be honest the lifeboat did annoy me after a day or two so you can imagine what it was like after 14 days! We were tendered at 2 ports so some of the lifeboats were used for this so if you were lucky enough to be a few cabins further down towards the front, then you would get a good view when they were removed. On the downside it is noisy when they get them down. As it’s not very warm in Iceland, even in summer, I’m not sure it would have been worth the extra for a balcony. The windows are full size but do not fit very well. In fact one of our cabins has a wooden wedge to stop it rattling.Cabin was as clean as could be considering how long since it was re-fitted. Arcadia is having a refit soon so let’s hope this includes the bathrooms. Bathmat was covered in mold so I didn’t use it. However, I’m sure if I had complained, it would have been replaced. Curtains always seem to let the light in at either side and in the top middle. I found this can be cured by placing the pillows and cushions against them! Pillows are far too hard for me but beds comfortable. They do seem very tight on giving out soap still but at least this time the steward didn’t resort to squashing it all back together like on a previous P&O cruise! My cabin steward was very good. The cabin was always cleaned when I went for breakfast early and dinner. I didn’t have to ask for anything. The cabin lacked drawer space but the cheap wire coat hangers were also a let-down. Could do with 2 cabinets in the bathroom but the bath with a shower inside was good. Soap, shampoo and conditioner are OK. Flat screen TV, although it couldn’t’ be smaller! You cannot see it from the bed. In fact I couldn’t see it from the sofa either as I’m short sighted, not that I watched it much anyway. Channels included BBC World News, Sky news and now Sky sports news. In-room air con is noisy day and night and was a little draughty as was directly above the bed. There is a kettle with tea and coffee in the cabins and biscuits and they still have a turn down service with a chocolate at night.Ship to Shore calls from the cabin didn’t look too expensive in comparison to the mobile phone charges. 0-5 minutes was £5, 5-10 minutes £8 and 10-15 minutes £12.