Don't ever underestimate your videos because they are great and we're looking forward to watching this series. Ben and David are great to watch but so are YOU both. No one can beat your great British sense of humour.
Very enjoyable video Marcus and Mel ! We were on the same voyage and on the same deck but starboard forward, 9.123. I wondered if port would have been better but as the cruise went on we found we liked being on the shady side so to speak. Cabin identical except the bed and couch were swapped over with the bed next to the balcony door. You were right about the numbers from Manchester - we were on coach 11 of I think 17 or more - the coach station at the airport was rammed ! We did not arrive at the ship until around 2:30 pm. Yes the Bay of Biscay was interesting but not rough enough to cause us any sickness (we did take tablets so perhaps they helped). Looking forward to further instalments - thank you for posting !!
Hi, we picked the port side on purpose to get the south of the ship as we heading across the Atlantic. Luckily, it was a short trip from Bournemouth and only two coaches so wasn't too busy. We both get travel sick very easily so were a bit concerned with the forecast but the tablets did work and we didn't miss out on anything. Wish we were there now!
Hi Marcus and Mel. I’ve had a terrible week. I had to get a total hip replacement and pre op they did a chest X-ray and found a cancerous growth on my left lung. I am going to do my best to continue viewing your videos. Enjoy your cruise.
We nearly were on this crossing but I had trouble getting insurance through and by the time we had it sorted all the balconies had gone and they only had a small internal cabin which was over two grand so we turned it down.
I was on this cruise. Southampton was very well organised. However I would not travel on Arvia again. The ship is huge with 5000 plus passengers. You needed to book for everything and even then you couldn’t always get in. The crew were fantastic. When we finally reached the Caribbean I didn’t always go ashore as it was lovely to get the ship to myself! The journey home was awful as Barbados Airport is not really geared up to deal with so many passengers and aircraft. If I were to cruise again I would choose Azura which is perfect for me.
@@Mel_FlyDriveExplore Mellissa they built this huge ship apparently without thinking about infrastructure. Two questions really (1) is it really fair to unleash 5000 people onto tiny islands. I know islanders need the money but do they need it done this way (2) Barbados Airport was hell; no air conditioning except for a fan by enquiry desk and not enough seats. There was even queuing for the toilets.
I came off the Britannia transatlantic 2 weeks ago. I thought that was bad enough with crowds and sun bed wars and 3,500 passengers but 5,000 I’m not sure I can cope with. I have booked Arvia for a med cruise next year but may cancel
Very good Marcus, you are getting into P & O, (seems to be the best value cruise line at the moment?) we have just got back from a 14 cruise with P & O Azura, good cruise, one thing, you do seem to do buffet a lot, We found it "not so good" on Azura much much preferred the sit down waiter service, anyway buffet was always crowded, just not the same eating experience. Have a good one.
Yes, P&O are very good value for money at the moment. We're glad we had a big ship with lots of dining options on this cruise with quite a few sea days,
Just watched all your Arvia videos again last night, with the wife this time. How did you find your cabin for noise etc from the promenade deck? I was thinking to go deck 10 but the wife says stick on deck 9. Will most likely be booking the same cabin as you were in! Away to start watching another of your vlogs tonight as far better than TV!!
You have great content. You are genuinely excited and I like that. Did you drive to Bournemouth din South Wales? I enjoyed Arvia during the transatlantic last January when it was very rough going down to Tenereife. I enjoyed it, but a lot of people don't. I'd be excited to see Ben and David. Look forward so seeing part 2.
Thanks for watching. Yes, we drove down to Bournemouth the day before (you couldn't do the 15 nights from Cardiff). The next video is the trip across the Bay of Biscay and down to Gran Canaria (the 3 sea days).
@@flydriveexplore I'm interested to know how it went. I flew back to Gatwick, it's terrible to get back to South Wales, it took an age. Especially after a long flight.
@@ashleyphillips5922 It may not be bookable with TUI direct. The TUI plane was chartered by P&O and only carried P&O ship passengers. The flights may no longer be available.
That was not a Yorkshire pudding it was a life raft. Time of year going across the Atlantic is always a gamble. I wish the Jet stream would settle a bit, We know it rains in Wales but this is insane.
On embarkation, they are dropped off as we arrived at Southampton. Flying back, they are left outside the door of your cabin on your last night. The next time you see them, is baggage reclaim back in the UK.
We did thanks. I use Sturgeon travel sickness pills and as you will see in the next vlog, they do work (and I'm a very bad traveller). Mel talks Kwells.
We are travelling across the Atlantic to canada on the Aurora next Sept. Was on the Ventura last month & didn't need the sickness pills, so they'll come in handy next year. I'm not sure what to expect on a trans atlantic cruise.
Looks spacious.Ive remembered my lovely mummy+granny sailing twice on Queen Mary,saving up+looking 4ward 2 it only to endure thugscum astons+their thug foes who arranged for travel on a much cheaper room then forcing my family 2 swop room by telling them they would throw them overboard whilst threatening to hurt us back home if they told.Oh gosh it is too awful.Glad it isnt that way for you both.I think with all your cruises youve also joined the jet-sail set. Morticia Lavina.
Don't ever underestimate your videos because they are great and we're looking forward to watching this series. Ben and David are great to watch but so are YOU both. No one can beat your great British sense of humour.
Thanks you 👍
Thanks so much Kathy!
Very enjoyable video Marcus and Mel ! We were on the same voyage and on the same deck but starboard forward, 9.123. I wondered if port would have been better but as the cruise went on we found we liked being on the shady side so to speak. Cabin identical except the bed and couch were swapped over with the bed next to the balcony door. You were right about the numbers from Manchester - we were on coach 11 of I think 17 or more - the coach station at the airport was rammed ! We did not arrive at the ship until around 2:30 pm. Yes the Bay of Biscay was interesting but not rough enough to cause us any sickness (we did take tablets so perhaps they helped). Looking forward to further instalments - thank you for posting !!
Hi, we picked the port side on purpose to get the south of the ship as we heading across the Atlantic.
Luckily, it was a short trip from Bournemouth and only two coaches so wasn't too busy.
We both get travel sick very easily so were a bit concerned with the forecast but the tablets did work and we didn't miss out on anything.
Wish we were there now!
Love that Ben and David were on your cruise!
👍
Hi Marcus and Mel. I’ve had a terrible week. I had to get a total hip replacement and pre op they did a chest X-ray and found a cancerous growth on my left lung. I am going to do my best to continue viewing your videos. Enjoy your cruise.
Sorry to hear that. Don't worry about watching us, look after yourself. Hope things improve soon Marcus and Mel
Diolch un fawr, for sharing. Hope the seas calm down and your tablets continue to work. That’s a lot of people onboard. Enjoy your voyage.
We loved it in the end best cruise we’ve been on
The tablets worked and after a few days, the sea did calm.
What a great vlog did this crossing a few years back, Gets warmer every day and the sea gets more blue, look forward to the next one.
Absolutely, the colour of the water later in the trip was incredible in the sun.
We're looking forward to this series as we're doing exactly the same trip next year! ❤
A little spoiler - We had a great time 👍
You will have a blast Andrew it’s a fab cruise ship
4:15 is that Ben and David on the upper deck on the left 🤣they're creeping everywhere
Could be, we saw them quite a few times over the cruise
We saw them a fair few too but I was too nervous to go say hi @@flydriveexplore
looking forward to seeing this series, we fly to Barbados next Saturday 25th to join arvia for 2 weeks, cannot wait
Have a good time, we're missing the warm weather.
Enjoyed that...was on this cruise so look forward to the rest!
Thanks and more to come over the cruise.
Fingers Crossed hope you both have lots of Fun thanks for all the Info I wish you Great Smooth Sailing
Thanks, wait and see the Bay of Biscay is coming.
We stayed in this cabin in September, loved it 😍
We loved it too, very nice and good position.
Excellent really looking forward to the next one ❤
Yes, thank you!
Hi Marcus awesome live video I enjoyed it. How are you doing? I'm doing well and so is my cat Benjamin. Have a great vacation. See you next video 😊
Hello to you two. We did have a good time, thanks.
I was so happy to meet Mel today in Porthcawl ❤❤❤
Mel says Hi and says it was lovely to meet you as well.
Hi! I told Marcus you made me feel like a film star 😂
@@Mel_FlyDriveExplore made my day meeting you. X
@@flydriveexplore made our day. ♥ We love your Chanel. Thanks for great content xx
Just found you two. Really enjoyed watching your vlog
Thanks for watching! 👍
We nearly were on this crossing but I had trouble getting insurance through and by the time we had it sorted all the balconies had gone and they only had a small internal cabin which was over two grand so we turned it down.
Sorry to hear that, we couldn't do it in a small internal cabin either.
I was on this cruise. Southampton was very well organised. However I would not travel on Arvia again. The ship is huge with 5000 plus passengers. You needed to book for everything and even then you couldn’t always get in. The crew were fantastic. When we finally reached the Caribbean I didn’t always go ashore as it was lovely to get the ship to myself! The journey home was awful as Barbados Airport is not really geared up to deal with so many passengers and aircraft. If I were to cruise again I would choose Azura which is perfect for me.
The journey back on the plane wasn’t brilliant was it? Barbados airport is so chaotic too
@@Mel_FlyDriveExplore Mellissa they built this huge ship apparently without thinking about infrastructure. Two questions really (1) is it really fair to unleash 5000 people onto tiny islands. I know islanders need the money but do they need it done this way (2) Barbados Airport was hell; no air conditioning except for a fan by enquiry desk and not enough seats. There was even queuing for the toilets.
I came off the Britannia transatlantic 2 weeks ago. I thought that was bad enough with crowds and sun bed wars and 3,500 passengers but 5,000 I’m not sure I can cope with. I have booked Arvia for a med cruise next year but may cancel
Very good Marcus, you are getting into P & O, (seems to be the best value cruise line at the moment?) we have just got back from a 14 cruise with P & O Azura, good cruise, one thing, you do seem to do buffet a lot, We found it "not so good" on Azura much much preferred the sit down waiter service, anyway buffet was always crowded, just not the same eating experience.
Have a good one.
Yes, P&O are very good value for money at the moment. We're glad we had a big ship with lots of dining options on this cruise with quite a few sea days,
I watch B&D vlogs and I think you are doing as good as them, or better. Sometimes Ben goes too much on exaggerations 😂
Cheers and thanks for watching us 👍
Looking forward to your adventure on the high seas 🌊 tempted to book this trip ourselves
Thanks, more vids about the trip to come.
Do it! Amazing trip and out best cruise yet
That sounds like a great recommendation 😀🚢
Just watched all your Arvia videos again last night, with the wife this time. How did you find your cabin for noise etc from the promenade deck? I was thinking to go deck 10 but the wife says stick on deck 9. Will most likely be booking the same cabin as you were in! Away to start watching another of your vlogs tonight as far better than TV!!
It was fine for noise and that deck isn't busy at night. The only thing, people can see you on the balcony so don't go out in your pants 🤣
Looks fab 👌
Not too bad , better than Porthcawl seafront in the rain.
Great video. Where is Sean? lol. Looking forward to the next video. 👍🏾
Thanks - Sean only goes on Cunard!
You have great content. You are genuinely excited and I like that. Did you drive to Bournemouth din South Wales? I enjoyed Arvia during the transatlantic last January when it was very rough going down to Tenereife. I enjoyed it, but a lot of people don't. I'd be excited to see Ben and David. Look forward so seeing part 2.
Thanks for watching. Yes, we drove down to Bournemouth the day before (you couldn't do the 15 nights from Cardiff). The next video is the trip across the Bay of Biscay and down to Gran Canaria (the 3 sea days).
@@flydriveexplore I'm interested to know how it went. I flew back to Gatwick, it's terrible to get back to South Wales, it took an age. Especially after a long flight.
@@carolr9301Bournemouth flight was delayed
I would have rather gone to Cardiff but couldn’t really fault Tui and premium economy coming back
How have I just found your channel? Hello from your newest sub!
Hi and welcome.
Nice video. Nice to fly back to Bournemouth? I didn’t know you could fly back to Bournemouth from Barbados. Was it a package deal you did?
Yes it was, the return flight was arranged by P&O and part of the overall price.
I live in Bournemouth and had look on TUI website and there is no flight. I gathered thats who you flew with
@@ashleyphillips5922 It may not be bookable with TUI direct. The TUI plane was chartered by P&O and only carried P&O ship passengers. The flights may no longer be available.
Alright I saw something in the daily echo that there are flight for 2025 and 2026, would I need to contact p&o for this?
I just seen this was advertised by hays travel. Would expect that be more expensive than booking with p&o direct
I enjoyed watching your video, did the sea sickness tablets work? Which did you take ?
We are both bad travellers and the sea sickness pills did work. We took them before we had any symptoms, they were Stugeron.
Thanks so much, looking forward to watching your next video…. It’s good to watch as it gives a real experience, well done
That was not a Yorkshire pudding it was a life raft.
Time of year going across the Atlantic is always a gamble. I wish the Jet stream would settle a bit, We know it rains in Wales but this is insane.
We were apprehensive but wait to see what happens in the next vid. I had half my case full of sea sickness tablets but did we need them?
Where did you put the large suitcases? Did they take them off you before the terminal?
On embarkation, they are dropped off as we arrived at Southampton. Flying back, they are left outside the door of your cabin on your last night. The next time you see them, is baggage reclaim back in the UK.
@@flydriveexplore Did you have put them on the correct conveyer belt or did the coach driver do it?
@@PrettyPink4044 The check-in for bags was a short distance from the coach. Wet took the bags to the drop-off and the porters take them from there.
Great presenting style. Good voice 4 radio😅
And definitely a face for radio 🤣
New sub from your Aurora vlogs. What anti sickness do you use? Hope you had a wicked time :)
We did thanks. I use Sturgeon travel sickness pills and as you will see in the next vlog, they do work (and I'm a very bad traveller). Mel talks Kwells.
@@flydriveexplore Thanks for that we are away on Aurora in a couple of weeks, better safe than sorry lol.
We are travelling across the Atlantic to canada on the Aurora next Sept. Was on the Ventura last month & didn't need the sickness pills, so they'll come in handy next year. I'm not sure what to expect on a trans atlantic cruise.
@@chocoholic832it was great but I would definitely go on a big ship like Arvia as you won’t get bored then
Do they sell P&O or the ship name t-shirts?
They they do have shop selling P&O merch, not sure what specific items they sell.
Fun Fact MSC EURIBIA is replacing MSC VIRTUOSA nxt season
We're on it in 2 weeks
@@flydriveexplore Our Cap'n of Solent Ships is on MSC EURIBIA at mo
Looks spacious.Ive remembered my lovely mummy+granny sailing twice on Queen Mary,saving up+looking 4ward 2 it only to endure thugscum astons+their thug foes who arranged for travel on a much cheaper room then forcing my family 2 swop room by telling them they would throw them overboard whilst threatening to hurt us back home if they told.Oh gosh it is too awful.Glad it isnt that way for you both.I think with all your cruises youve also joined the jet-sail set. Morticia Lavina.
Motion of the ocean. 🤢🤢
Good Vlog though. Enjoying your journey. 👍
Thanks 👍