This was our first cruise on Arcadia but our tenth cruise altogether - our fifth on P&O. Our other main cruise line is Celebrity. We did cruise this specifically to get some experience of Arcadia; on this occasion the itinerary was secondary. Quite a bit of this review compares facilities, etc, on Arcadia with the equivalent on Ventura.

Embarkation: Very quick and easy, we were only waiting in the Ocean terminal for about 5 minutes, barely long enough to complete the health declaration. We were on the ship by 12:30 or so, I think.

Cabin: We had a stern-facing balcony cabin, D187. Again, we'd specifically picked this cabin to try out a cabin facing aft. The cabin itself was fine: roomy and comfortable. I think we still prefer the Ventura cabin with the walk-in hanging area (even though that does reduce the rest of the cabin space a bit) but I'm not complaining about the Arcadia cabin. We were however a little disappointed in the balcony. It so happens that D deck stern cabin balconies are completely covered by the cabin & balcony above. The D Deck balconies are bigger than standard - longer - but this just made it seem a long, shadowy & gloomy place. Not a problem on a short English Channel in mid-September, however, because we used it very little. If I was to cruise on Arcadia again, I'd either pick a different deck and have a stern cabin or (more likely) pick a cabin on one of the sides. Read more