I Stayed in the Cheapest Cabin Type on P&O Arvia: Here’s my Review…

I took a cruise on P&O Arvia, which is currently the largest cruise ship in the P&O Cruises fleet. I’ve got so much to show you from my time onboard, and in this post I’m going to tell you all about my cabin. If you’d like to see more from my time onboard, please remember to sign up to my newsletters (click here to do that now!), and also come and subscribe to my YouTube channel (click here to go there!).

Anyway, let’s get down to business - let’s talk about the cabin that I was assigned for this cruise…

I opted to book an Inside cabin for this cruise, and I also chose to save some money by allowing P&O to automatically assign a cabin to me a few days before departure. If you’ve just joined me today for the first time, this is one of the easiest ways to save money on a cruise - allow them to assign your cabin. Yes, if you have a specific cabin in mind, or you want to be in a specific part of the ship, this probably won’t work. For me, I usually don’t really mind where I end up, so this option works for me!

As my luck (or lack of, it would seem) would have it, I was automatically assigned a room that lots of people would probably view as one of the worst on the whole ship - let me tell you more…

I was assigned cabin 16.204, which is shown above using the red arrow. This is classed by P&O Cruises as a ‘PF-grade’ cabin (there are a total of 7 grades of Inside cabin, and ‘PF’ is the lowest priced on the ship!). So, what makes this room one of the ‘worst’ onboard?

• It’s right at the front of the ship - the section that looks blank above is the very front of the ship. For anyone unsure, it’s widely known that you’ll feel more movement towards the front.

• It’s high - deck 16! Combining the height with the fact it’s so far forward could be a recipe for disaster, I thought… Stay tuned!

• It’s small - some Inside cabins could hold 4 passengers, but not this one - this one’s designed for a maximum of 2!

So, on paper I initially wasn’t thrilled to have this room, and if I’m being totally honest I did buy some motion sickness medication as I didn’t know what to expect, but 'I’m delighted to report that there were no issues from a motion point of view! It’s worth explaining that I was on a short cruise out of the U.K., so we weren’t in the vast open oceans that this ship will sometimes travel to - I really liked the position of this room!

What were the positives? Well, being up on deck 16, you’re really close to the main pool areas, the buffet, the Crow’s Nest, and so many of the main communal areas on the ship. It’s sometimes a huge frustration of mine on these modern megaships when your room is SO FAR AWAY from the action, but not the case here, at all!

So, let’s have a look at the room itself. Welcome to cabin 16.204, my ‘home from home’ onboard P&O Arvia!

So, what did I think of this room?

Well, as you can see, this room is fairly similar to lots of others that I’ve shown you. If I’m being honest, it felt a little smaller than most other cabins (especially when you were trying to use the wardrobe area), but it really wasn’t an issue in here during this cruise. I love the colour palette that P&O have chosen to use for their cabins onboard both Iona and Arvia - I feel that the light blues make the rooms feel so much brighter! The use of the light wood really adds to this too - big thumbs up, P&O!

This room really does feel more ‘premium’ than the pricing attached to it would suggest, and I would say that it features every amenity available in its’ higher priced neighbouring balcony cabins (minus a balcony, obviously!).

A few points to note:

1) The TV in here is great - look at the size of it!

2) There’s an actual chair at the desk! So many cruise ships now have little stools under the working area, but this is a chair with a back to it, which I really appreciate! After all, if I need to sit in my cabin when I cruise, I at least want to be comfortable!

3) Mirrors - the placement of mirrors in this cabin is so clever - they make the room feel bigger. Have a look through the above photos and look for the mirrors!

4) Storage - the storage options in this cabin are great! You’ve got a range of drawers, cupboards and full length wardrobe storage to choose from, so it’s relatively easy to keep this room looking tidy and ‘in order’!

Now, let’s take a look at the bathroom…

Similarly to the bedroom area of this cabin, P&O have designed this space using lovely bright colours - exactly what’s needed to make an Inside cabin environment not feel claustrophobic!

In terms of facilities in here, you’ve got quite a large sink directly infront of you when you open the door, and that’s got a large LED-lit mirror behind it. On your left, you’ve got the toilet, and the shower’s on your right.

Inside the shower cubicle (with a screen, not a curtain!), you’ll find a shower with a detachable head, and you’ll also find lovely toiletries from the White Company. These toiletries are standard on a P&O ship, and I love them!

In the cabin when you arrive, you’ll have the Bath & Shower Gel and the Shampoo shown above. If you’d like conditioner too, just ask your cabin attendant - they can usually provide this for you at no extra charge!

Loads of people ask me about water pressure in cruise ship cabins, and I can confirm the pressure in here is amongst the best I’ve had on a cruise ship so far - it was great!

So, would I recommend a cruise in this cabin? Yes!

I reckon you’d probably feel the motion more in here if you were cruising in a much more weather-beaten region, but this ship is designed primarily for Caribbean cruising. Therefore, I wouldn’t think you’d have much to worry about at all!

I’d give this cabin a massive ‘thumbs up’ - it felt bright, airy, and much more premium than I expected, based on my previous experiences with P&O Cruises. The location of this room, putting you close to so much of the daytime action, but far enough away from the nightlife that it’s nice and quiet, was great in my opinion!

If you’d like to check out more of my content covering my time cruising with P&O Cruises, you can either click here, or use the menu tab at the top of the page.

Happy Cruising!