Arcadia Cruise Ship

May 2013, disembarked Southampton 14th April with cough which I got first week of our 38 day cruise, still have it despite antibiotics, steroids, multiple cough medication and lozenges, x-rays and now CT scan to find out what the heck I have.

Asked purser to arrange maintenance to change filter in cabin as husband reasoned some kind of spore in the air conditioning was causing it - couldn't be done as it would be too difficult - how?? we regularly clean our filters at home and they are truly dirty.

Checked out their amenity shop - half the shelves are taken up with cough medication! Yet the people on this ship refuse to acknowledge there is a problem.

Ever heard of Sick Ship Syndrome (similar to offices that are unhealthy)

the Arcadia has it in spades. If anyone has helpful advice would welcome it.

This terrible cough is not restricted to the Arcadia as in the past four years I have contracted it on every cruise and I have vowed never to go on another. I am suffering from it at the moment after taking MSC Opera from Capetown to Genoa. At first I put it down to being in an inside cabin thus getting no fresh air in the cabin but I soon learned that passengers with balcony cabins had it too. I think the germs must be in the cabins as maybe the previous occupant has also been coughing and sneezing and it wouldn't be possible to get the germs out by just the token cleaning they do. The TV remote control for instance is never cleaned. The bed covers are not changed frequently. The captains don't seem to get it so perhaps its because they are the only occupant of their cabin for months on end and they are somewhat isolated from the rest of us. Also thousands of people cooped up for many days in a small space doesn't help. I loved cruising but I have just been on my last one as it results in weeks of coughing and feeling awful when I get home. Maybe cruise ships are just getting too big.

We have been on Arcadia a few times but what a disappointment this year. The dining staff need to be trained correctly When you eat you do not expect your plate to be taken away before you finish your meal and ladies are always served first I believe. The cabins have gone down in decoration, the balcony furniture is all rusty and some of the bedding is stained

The food was of bad quality this year. It must be the provisions not the staff. Why is this happening? P & O have a lot more completion of cruise ships leaving Southampton so they must buck their ideas up or they will lose their customers. Because my husband is disabled we have already booked for next Christmas to get the correct cabin but we are thinking of cancelling as it is a lot of money to not enjoy the cruise.

we did a 20 night cruise on arcadia sailing from south hamptonon the 5th of nov 2012 to egypt and greece and spain wat a big bore this ship... first of all we felt like we were on age concern ship ...entertainment bore card s oilpainting bridge dominios foxtrot dance come on ... you should say this is a elderly cruise we paid full price 5000 and more than half the ship paid half ripped off big time .. the evening entertainment all for the elderly bore .. the tea and coffee free in the main restarent so you can never get a table as they sit there all day selfish .. we ate in our room . the cinema seats 30 again you cant get a seat joke ..the tv is reapeats all day long or there shopping channel selling junk . the laundry to small . didt stop at 2 ports we wanted to see 6 days at sea with no stops joke the staff hasssel u by ringing your room so rude ..P AND O JOKE SHIP .. WE WOULD NEVER SAIL AGAIN ON P AND O ... aviod this u will be ripped of bored stiff and probably ill like we were the deck chairs on the balcony broke and rusted the ship smelt of wee wheelchairs got stuck on the ramp and every port we had a ambulance waiting worst holiday ever cried on way back ........ so ill x

I was shocked and appalled when I saw these reviews! Why in the world did I not come across these before I booked our cruise in August? We took a 14-day Baltic cruise and guess what? I started to get the “Arcadia cough” about two days before we disembarked in Southampton on the 30th of August. I’ve been through hell and back. It’s been about 43 days of being ill and still going. My husband missed multiple days of work to become my care-giver. I ended up with Pneumonia and Sinusitis. The Pneumonia did go away after the second course of antibiotics, but unfortunately my Doctor is still battling the Sinusitis and I am suffering along the way – I’ve completely lost hearing on my right-side, hopefully a temporary thing. I’ve never been this sick and for so long in my entire life. I’ve missed countless days of work and all for what was supposed to be a beautiful, memorable 10-year anniversary cruise. It was certainly memorable – I shall never forget it. We were completely hooked on the whole idea of cruising until my illness.

I am considering a campaign to draw awareness to the dangers that lurk on P&O Arcadia. I don’t want anyone to go what I’ve been going through and it is high time P&O take this seriously. If anyone cares to join me, please let me know @ tonia_wall@hotmail.com.

Well it does sound the same as all the other reviews but after getting on the ship from Singapore, to hear so many people coughing and being rather selfish with doing so in the Belvadere, sneezing over the food, then picking up sandwiches and putting them back again, no wonder we came down with the dreaded Arcadia cough. That wasnt the only time I saw people being bad mannered with there coughing and sneezing. I have ashma and ended up in the docs medical room, with such a bad attack that they where going to take me off the ship. This was only 10 days or so into our holiday, anyway I cant thank the doctor enough, he did so much for me and I was lucky in being able to stay on board but had to see him every day for another 3/4 days, and thank god I had insurance as it cost us well over £1000 for me to get slightly better. But its as though no one is bothered by what is happening. And that goes for just about everything. The food is appalling, compared to our last trip on Arcadia 5 years ago. We even found out that our Aussie friends didnt pay anything near what we did, and thats being in the same grade of cabin and they where on a longer trip than us, we got of at Cape Town they stayed on till Southampton and paid half of what we did. Was absolutly furious over this. We dont think we will be going with P&O again unless we hear that something is being done to rectify a lot of issue's that have been said in some of these reviews. P&O you really need to sort yourselves out, otherwise I can see you will be loosing a lot of customers. But then I suppose you wont really care as you are looking at further afield for them.

Just back from a great cruise to the Black Sea. Cabin A122 £3000 each inc. balcony. 20 days. Table of eight, great company during the cruise as was the twenty five or so who played whist on sea days. Main restaurant, opinion of our table was excellent. Remember each sitting is 1000+. Menu choice good, food and presentation good. For those reviewers who moan about this restaurant they must live to an amazing standard when at home. Condition of ship in all public areas we thougt excellent.

Shows good to excellent. However, on some nights there was insufficient seating for the numbers wishing to find a place. As a table we allowed twenty five minutes after the meal to be sure of a nice position. Entertainment team worked hard and succeeded. Two amazing sail aways!

Belvedere restaurant. This could become busy and not helped by the large amount of people reserving tables as soon as they entered. Food good, but nothing special. Seafood selection lunchtimes lacking in selection and cakes at afternoon tea compared to previous cruises poor. Several cruisers gave up on the Belvedere and used the main dining room.

Cabin we thought small compared with two previous P & O cruises. Limited room for two people to pass each other. Cabin steward and dining room waiters excellent. Dress code on ship at all time was excellent, even when on deck in casual clothes.

We chose not to join the P & O game of allowing automatic charges for tips being added to our account. This was not well received at reception.

The two rear sundecks were comfortably filled on this cruise with seats to spare. This may have been far more crowded if the average had been less then 70 as was the case. The ships fans on these decks are noisy, I do mean noisy. To presumably cover the fan noise music was left on. So not the place for a quiet sunbathe. 50% of the rear deck tables adjacent to the Belvedere restaurant were given over to smokers. So limited places to eat without the smell of smoke.

The most comfortable loungers were on the excellent promanade deck. However, there were so few of them and usually reserved prior to breakfast so they were not available.

General view on ship was 'what are they going to cut back on next'? The Entertainment Director appeared to be extremely uncomfortable when he offered a new scheme of a trip around various parts of the ship that would normally be off limits at a staggering £75.00 per person.

We found as most cruisers do, what suited us best and enjoyed our holday apart from the one major thing the bragging of last minute discount cruisers. You just could not get away from them, even when on shore at Vigo having a quiet coffee. Be warned P & O will do anything to fill the ship with no worry about the Full fair paying, numerous cruise loyal customer. If you book early as we have done three times you will be subsidising the late bookers by a large amount. Or to put it another way, P & O are happy to discriminate in favour of the last minute bookers by hundreds and in some cases thousands of pounds. Do beware of booking early unless you have very specific requirements. Look upnthe last minute deals on line.

Would we cruise with P & O again? Yes but as only as a last minute booker. We have done our duty to P & O helping to supsidise the late bookers. We will now be joining the increasing numbers doing the same. It is not that the basic price is poor value, it is an excellent deal. But why should we be the mugs paying for others.

Having read previous reviews wondered whether to wear a mask to avoid airborne infections!

Pleased to say we had a great trip.

Weather was pretty poor for the time of year.

Arcadia was a large ship and you hardly knew you where at sea regardless of the sea conditions.

Best food we have had to date on any cruise we have been on both choice and quality. (10,500 meals staff prepared every day.

Staff friendly and helpful.

Entertainment very good and varied but in the main geared for 75+ year old which I would say are the predominant age group. (We are aged early 60s).

Cruise Entertainment Director - excellent.

Trips were very good value and shuttle buses were great for independent people.

Unless you are very lucky no matter which cruise you go on there are always small issues if you look for them and it is really about how quickly they are resolved. P & O are in my opinion excellent at this.

NO COUGHS - noticed.

We boarded in Brisbane and had a lovely comfortable balcony cabin to Singapore - The cabin service was a treat - we were high up on the ship and loved the access to view, fresh air and interaction with staff. However, I heard about the virus as soon as we boarded and began some protective hand-washing etc. and I asked the desk staff who informed me it was sa rumour - by Adelaide (7 days) I was quite sick with one of the worst Upper respiratory infectionsI have had in years. I went to a doctor in Perth (on shore) who told me people had been coming in all morning off the ship; he gave me antibiotics, but I stopped eating in the dining room so as not to spread it. I was almost cured by Singapore and the night before we disembarked, my husband cma edown with it - he was sick for our 7 days in Singapore and our trip to Malacca and I got a return bout. On coming home, it has taken weeks to recover - I have read many reviews that mention this, but I am curious - Did this originate in Britain's winter or has it been on the ship for years? and still there. We actually loved the ship - and the food and the speed with whcih it was powering around the world - and we would like to try it again next year through the Panama - but very wary about this ongoing sickness. It seems. I was tested for a lot of things on my return by my own doctor - so am sure it is not legionella or anything more that a bad viral infection - but where is it lingering and how can P&O address it? Are they going to?

Returned from Norwegian Cruise on 3rd June and feel I need another holiday

in order to recover from my experience. Halfway through the cruise I developed a cough which brought on Asthma. Visited the Doctor twice and on

both occasions an nebulizer was administered and other medication given. On 4th June was hospitalised for the day, I am still feeling under par. Quite a few people experienced coughs and loss of voice. Why has this problem which seems to plague the Arcadia not been remedied ?