From enormous traces for Christmas dinner to WiFi connection points and IT issues, Arvia‘s maiden voyage is one which P&O Cruises will wish to overlook in a rush.
The latest Excel-class cruise ship, which was solely handed over by the shipyard in mid-December, is perhaps state-of-the-art, however P&O Cruises ought to have taken a bit extra time to get techniques operational.
Arvia‘s Maiden Voyage Ruined for Some Guests
Sailing on a maiden voyage onboard a brand new cruise ship is at all times a hit-or-miss state of affairs. Sometimes cruise traces hit the nail on the pinnacle and get all the pieces proper, however typically issues don’t precisely go as deliberate.
Arvia‘s maiden voyage falls squarely into the second state of affairs. On December 16, Arvia was formally handed over by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, to UK-based P&O Cruises. The 180,000 gross tons cruise ship is the sister ship to Iona, additionally crusing for P&O, and ships equivalent to Carnival Celebration, Mardi Gras, and Costa Toscana.
As one of many final Excel-class cruise ships to be constructed for mother or father firm Carnival Corporation, hundreds of friends thought the vessel’s maiden voyage can be the perfect place to have a good time Christmas 2022. Arvia set sail from Southampton within the UK on December 23 with hundreds of friends onboard.
However, in line with reviews from the BBC and The Times, the ship has been affected by horrible web connections, IT issues with digital queuing and making reservations, and, to prime all of it off, hours of ready to have dinner on Christmas Day. One passenger advised the BBC the queue for eating stretched for three-quarters of the ship’s size on December 25.
A spokesperson for P&O Cruises advised The Times: “We are so sorry for those guests affected by the IT and connectivity issues on Arvia’s current cruise, which caused dining issues and restaurant delays for a proportion of guests on Christmas Day. This service was certainly not up to our usual high standards, and we wholeheartedly apologize.”
Images shared on social media present a whole lot of friends queuing in hallways to have the ability to have dinner. Although the vessel has 19 choices for eating, the Christmas Day dinner in one of many 4 eating rooms was at all times going to be busy. World-famous chef Marco Pierre White has designed the menu, and British friends do get pleasure from a sit-down Christmas meal.
Is the Cruise Line at Fault?
As we talked about, crusing on a maiden voyage can at all times deliver some issues. However, the difficulty is just not with paying friends. P&O Cruises has determined to launch the vessel throughout a Christmas cruise. Any maiden voyage is one the place the restaurant workers, cooks, and new techniques are at all times going to be put to the check.
Being a Christmas cruise the place most friends could be anticipated to return to the principle eating rooms, P&O Cruises ought to have been effectively ready. WiFi ought to have been totally arrange and examined effectively prematurely of the maiden voyage however was not, in line with some friends.
Luckily, Arvia‘s maiden voyage is just not but completed, so the cruise line has the possibility to make it as much as friends affected by the problems. The vessel will likely be in Arrecife within the Canary Islands on December 30. From there, the ship will sail to Cadiz in Spain and Lisbon, Portugal. The cruise will finish on January 6 in Southampton, England.