P&O Arvia Food and Dining – EVERYTHING WE ATE ON OUR CRUISE

Join us on our P&O Arvia cruise as we give you a taste of the food and dining options offered onboard! From fine dining to casual food options, this video will show you everything we ate during our cruise. Get ready to embark on a culinary journey with us!

We spent two weeks on P&O Arvia, the newest and biggest cruise ship made for British cruisers.

Arvia has eight included dining options and we ate at them all:
1. Horizon Buffet
2. The Quays
3. Meridian MDR
4. Zenith MDR
5. The Chef’s Table
6. 6th Street Diner
7. The Olive Grove
8. Taste 360

We also share information about the specialty dining on Arvia that costs a bit extra but in most cases, is well worth it. We dined at Sindhu, The Beach House and The Epicurean.

We tried out P&O room service and the ice cream available on this cruise ship.

We also offer you tips on what we enjoyed and what we did not, along with some useful tips to avoid the virtual queue and get a table at the restaurants you want to eat at.

My Holiday app/webpage: https://myholiday.pocruises.com/

Room Service Menu: https://cruiselifestyle.co.uk/po-cruises-room-service-menu/

P&O Arvia daily newsletters: https://cruiselifestyle.co.uk/po-arvia-horizon-newsletters/

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Hi We’re Laura and Craig from Cruise Lifestyle! We took a 14 night cruise on P&O Arvia  and wanted share everything we ate whilst   onboard. We tried out the casual options,  the included options and some of specialty   dining to help you decide what to book  so you can make the most of the dining  

On your Arvia cruise – this video comes with a  warning, you may feel hungry after watch this! Let’s start with the casual food options on  P&O Arvia – these are all included in your   cruise fare so there’s no need to worry  about how often you eat in these places  

Or how much you order. You also don’t need to  worry about any dress codes in these venues. First, let’s start in the Horizon buffet on Deck  16. It was probably our least favourite food venue   onboard because it was just so busy especially  during breakfast, lunch and late at night.

We couldn’t believe how many people would go to  the buffet for late night snacks! We did try some   of the hot chocolate that everyone raved about  and we didn’t think it lived up to the hype. We did eat in the buffet on the first  night because we just wanted something  

Quick but inevitably ended up with an  eclectic mix of all sorts on our plates! We also tried some scones one afternoon but  they weren’t anything to write home about. If you do choose to eat in the buffet, our tip  is to try and find a table towards the back  

Of the ship and there’s even this outside  area that is a much quieter place to eat. In contrast, next is one of our  favourite places to grab a quick meal,   without the queues – The Quays. This  definitely DOES live up to the hype!

The Quays is located on Deck 8  and offers three food stations. There’s Hook, Line and  Vinegar serving fish and chips  Asian fusion serving East  Asian noodle and rice dishes  And the Roast Carvery where  you can get a roast dinner   in a Yorkshire pudding or a Yorkshire pudding wrap

The choices at each station changed  slightly each day for example,   there’s different roast meat at the carvery We particularly enjoyed the fish  and chips from here as well as   the Katsu curry – we had both of  these on more than one occasion. We also tried the Prawn and  coconut Thai green curry

Roast beef in a giant Yorkshire pudding and  a Yorkshire pudding wrap. I’m not a huge fan   of eating a roast dinner on holiday but it was  definitely a popular choice with many cruisers. It’s worth knowing that if you walk  past all three food stations you  

Come to an extra section tucked away.  Here there’s a selection of cold sides,   (we particularly like the potato salad from  here) and desserts – we chose a cheesecake   with random mini-marshmallows and a rocky road  brownie. Perfect portions to accompany your meal.

Finally, the other casual food outlet on P&O  Arvia can be found in the SkyDome on Deck 16. Taste 360 serves burgers, hotdogs, pizza  and rotisserie chicken. This a great fast   food option you can take away in  a basket. The crew are constantly  

Making up food so you can simply grab  what you like without having to wait. We had the hotdogs and fries from here,   which was perfect for when we didn’t  want anything too fussy for lunch. On Arvia you may also come across some grab  and go fridges on Deck 16 near the Infinity  

Pool. We don’t believe they’ve been used  since Arvia stated sailing but if you see   these fridges stocked with sandwiches and  salads, do let us know in the comments. Next, let’s move on to the included dining  options on P&O Arvia. These are where you  

Can have a sit down meal for lunch and  dinner and in some cases breakfast too. The Meridian and Zenith main dining rooms  are at the very back of the ship on decks   6 and 7. These both offer the same menu  and the only difference we could see was  

That the Meridian restaurant was on  deck 6 and had huge windows at the   back and Zenith was on deck 7 and  had table cloths on the tables. Generally, the food in the main dining  rooms was a good standard. It was mostly  

British cuisine on the menu with something  like a curry or a chilli. Service was never   rushed but the Zenith seemed to be a  be calmer than the Meridian restaurant. Both of these dining rooms are open for breakfast  from 7.30 to 9.30am and we much preferred having  

Breakfast here. It was a much more relaxed way  to start the day and you could still choose   healthy options and hearty breakfasts without  having the endure the hustle and bustle of the   buffet. You can just turn up to be seated  either on a shared table or on your own.

For breakfast we had Eggs Benedict, smoothies of  the day, avocado on toast and cooked breakfasts.   We had no complaints with anything but be aware  that items are served in the order on the menu   so if you have a shared table, items like toast  and porridge are served before the cooked items.

It’s also worth knowing that it’s  a relaxed dress code for breakfast   so as long as you don’t arrive in  your swimwear, you should be fine. The Meridian Restaurant is open  for lunch between 12 and 1.30pm   but we never made it here on our  cruise. Here’s a sample lunch menu  

From our first sea day so you can  get an idea of the food available. We did dine in the Meridian and Zenith  dining rooms for dinner on a few occasions,   including on one of the Celebration Nights,  so here are some of the menus and dishes we  

Chose. As you can see the vegetarian and gluten  free menu options are indicated on the menus. For our first dinner in the Zenith dining room  we chose the gravlax of salmon with Scandinavian   dressing and buttered rye bread, the 6oz beef  sirloin with vegetables thick cut chips and  

Bearnaise sauce, the prime roast sirloin with  roast potatoes, vegetables and a red wine jus,   a vegan option, which was roasted cauliflower,  with baby gem lettuce with carrot and potato   crisp as well as vegetable and bean chilli  taco shells (also vegan and gluten free).

For dessert we had the baked treacle tart  with sauce anglaise and some ice cream. For our first meal in the Meridian Restaurant we  had Serrano ham and poached pears with gorgonzola   and grapes and Singopore-style chicken satay  with stir-fry vegetables for starters, for  

Main course we had sweet and sour chicken  with egg fried rice and prawn cracker,   the Highland salmon Wellington and wild  mushroom risotto with winter truffle and   crisp onions. For dessert we ordered a classic  lemon posset with Cabernet Sauvignon jelly,   plum compote and brandy snap and  a warm Monmouth meringue pudding.

On our second visit to the Meridian  Restaurant we ordered tomato soup to   start with the chicken, ham hock and apricot  terrine followed by the Goan vegetable curry,   which happened to be one of the vegan options  that evening. Our desserts were the coconut  

And lemongrass panda cotta, sticky toffee  cake and mixed fruit crumble with custard. Finally, we dined in the Zenith  Restaurant for the final Celebration   Night. This menu is particularly nice  so we’d definitely recommend going to   one of the main dining rooms on the  last Celebration Night of the cruise.

The meal began with an amuse-bouche. For our  starters we chose the smoked and cured fish dish,   which included salmon mackerel and  Cornish crab, a selection of Middle   Eastern dips and Parma ham with shaved  Manchego Curado and black truffle oil.

For our main course we had the grilled duo of  pork and beef fillets and the cheese soufflé,   this was very cheesy but it was to be expected! For dessert we ordered the trio of  chocolate, the passion fruit sorbet   and the blueberry soufflé. We were really  pleased that the waiter recommended the  

Blueberry soufflé because it was one of the  best desserts we had for the entire cruise. When it comes to booking a table, we would  recommend booking some of your dining in advance,   especially the Celebration Nights, using  the My Holiday online page (find the link  

In this video’s description). You can do  this up to 14 days before your cruise and   reservations can only be made for the  early evening, between 5.30 and 6.30pm. On nights when we didn’t have a reservation,  we found that going to the restaurant desk  

And collecting a buzzer was far quicker  than joining the virtual queue. We would   then go to Anderson’s Bar nearby and wait  to be buzzed, whilst enjoying a drink. The 6th Street Diner is exclusive  to Arvia and is open for breakfast,  

Brunch and dinner. We ate here for brunch and  dinner. It’s located on Deck 6 aft on the port   side. It’s almost directly opposite The Olive  Grove (another complimentary restaurant on Arvia)   and close to the Meridian main dining room.  The 6th Street Diner is a good casual option,  

If you are looking for food  that’s a little less fancy.   You can eat here and not have to  worry about a dress code either. It makes you feel like you’re  stepping into an American Diner   from the 50s, complete with rock  and roll music playing. There’s a  

Playfulness about it from the pop art decor  to choosing your own songs on the jukebox. The diner has Menu A and Menu B that rotate  every few days. For Brunch we chose from Menu   A and had buffalo wings tossed in Buffalo sauce  with a blue cheese dressing, Sticky Pork Ribs,  

Shrimp Po’ Boy, which is Cajun-fried jumbo  shrimp, lettuce, beef tomatoes and creole   mayo in a hoagie roll with fries, and  a portion of loaded fries. The buffalo   wings were a bit dry but the cajun fried  shrimp was very tasty and full of flavour. For dinner we dined when Menu A was being used.

Here’s Menu B for you to compare. For dinner at the 6th Street Diner the starters  we chose were Reuben Croquettes, which were good,   New England Clam Chowder, which was ok  and Corn Tortilla Trio with guacamole,   salsa and coriander – this was a  vegan option and a very small portion.

For our main course, the Cajun  jumbo shrimp on buttery, cheesy,   slow-cooked cornmeal with wilted greens was a  good choice, Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich,   6th Street NY Strip that was cooked exactly  to order and the Louisiana BBQ Chicken.

Finally for desserts, we tried the Key Lime  Pie but it was more like a lemon meringue pie   and the Fried Apple Hushpuppies which were  much nicer and just enough after the meal. We definitely found some hits and  misses throughout the meals but  

Overall the 6th Street Diner is a  refreshing change for P&O Cruises. On Arvia, The Olive Grove is an included  restaurant serving Mediterranean cuisine.   We definitely enjoyed our meal here and  wished that we had dined here a few more   times. It’s a popular restaurant so it might  be worth making a reservation in advance.

Like the 6th Street Diner, it has two  menus that rotate so there’s a good   amount of choice if you choose to dine here  a couple of times during your cruise. The   restaurant is quite plain and it can get very  busy but the food we had here was pretty good.

If you are finding this video useful, please hit  the like button now to help more people find it. This was Menu A. For starters we ordered the Greek Mezzo and  the pan-fried king prawns in garlic and chilli. We tried the roasted peach and prosciutto salad,  

Which was a very small portion,  we wish we’d had twice as much! For our main course we had the  mushroom ravioli, the seafood,   chicken and chorizo bomba rice, which was very  much like a paella, and the lasagne verde. Finally for dessert we ordered the Turkish  Baklava, which was just enough to round the  

Meal off. There were several other things we’d  have happily ordered so definitely don’t missed   this restaurant. There is also a special menu  that’s served in the Olive Grove on Celebration   Nights that’s an excellent alternative  to the Meridian and Zenith dining rooms.

The one last included dining option on  Arvia is the Chef’s Table but it is only   available on Celebration Nights and must  definitely be booked before your cruise.   The major downside to the Chef’s Table is  that it’s served in the Horizon buffet,  

Which doesn’t really feel special enough  for a menu designed by Marco Pierre White. We dined here on the first Celebration  Night and it just felt a bit weird. The meal began with a shot of Gazpacho  soup laced with P&O Cruises’ Marabelle Gin.

Our starters were Cream of Jerusalem  artichoke soup, Tian of Atlantic shrimp   with smoky pimento mayonnaise,  and the white tomato panna cotta   with tomatoes and pesto. Out of the these  the Atlantic shrimp was the best starter. For main course, we chose the lobster and  king prawn feuillete but were disappointed  

That the amount of lobster was so tiny.  We also ordered the porcini mushroom and   roasted garlic ravioli and no, that’s no  a Haribo fried egg on top, it’s actually   a quail egg and the filet of turbot, sadly  the veg looked liked they’d seen better days!

Desserts were better. We enjoyed the dark and milk  chocolate tonka bean tear drop with strawberries   and cherries jubilee followed by coffee  with champagne and white chocolate truffles. Overall, having done the Chef’s Table we  wouldn’t try it again and would instead  

Enjoy Celebration Night in one of the  main dining rooms or The Olive Grove. On to specialty restaurants on P&O  Arvia. These are restaurants that   you pay extra for and are great to  try, especially on a longer cruise. The most affordable option is The Beach  House, which is a pop-up restaurant  

Available in the evenings in a section of  the buffet. It serves Caribbean and Latin   America for just £9.50 per person and fits  much better in the buffet than the Chef’s   Table. There are a few items you can pay extra  for but we thought this was good value for money.

For our starters we chose Pork  Chicharrones, which was pork   belly and pork crackling with a salsa dip,   the Mexican Poke Bowl and Island spiced chicken  wings. These were all included in the price. For main course we ordered the Taco Trio,  Slow cooked curried goat pot with rice and  

Roti bread and the Caribbean Seafood  basket with crab cakes, spiced prawns,   mahi-mahi goujons and salt fish fritter. All were  good size portions and included in the price. For dessert we managed to eat the rum-glazed  roasted pineapple with Mojito sorbet,  

Which was exceptionally sweet and tasty,  the banana split in a taco shell and we   splashed out on a toasted marshmallow  fondue sharer, which was £4 extra. We think The Beach House is great  for casual dining in the evening,   without having to worry about a dress code.

On to one of the most popular specialty  restaurants on P&O Cruises – Sindhi.   Sindhi on Deck 8 is best described  as a modern Indian restaurant with   British influences. You’re less likely  to find typical dishes from your high   street Indian restaurant here  but you won’t be disappointed.

If you want something on the menu to be  made a little extra hot, you can just ask. When you book, you pay a £10 deposit,   which is deducted from your final bill.  Dishes are priced individually. If you   have booked Sindhu before the cruise you  will get an extra 20% off the final bill.

We dined here twice on our 14-night  cruise and enjoyed it on both occasions. Poppadums and dips are brought to the  table at the beginning of your meal. Between us we managed to try every starter on the  menu. Here they are: Tandoori lamb cutlets with  

A masala sauce, the cumin and chilli buttered  chicken breast with coriander mayonnaise, the   Keralan-style spiced crab meat (just be aware that  some crab shell may be left in), the Goan Masala   stew with pork belly and chorizo, the puffed  flatbread bites and the rice and lentil pancake.

For main course we chose the Tandoori-style  duck breast, red chicken curry with egg noodles,   the vegetarian Thali plate the Sindhi  Signature plate, which featured duck breast,   beef masala and lobster – this was was  so good and excellent value at just £15. Desserts at Sindhi definitely  have British influences. This is  

The Sindhi bread and butter pudding  and the elements of trifle dessert. If you’re in search of fine dining on  P&O Arvia, The Epicurean is your best   option. This restaurant offers  breakfast for suite guests only,   a special afternoon tea and dinner. We booked  to eat here one evening and it costs £24 per  

Person. This is a set price and you can  choose a starter, main course and dessert. The meal began with a watermelon amuse  bouche followed by starters. We had   the king prawn and Mediterranean octopus cocktail,   which seemed have an awful lot of cocktail sauce  and not much prawn or octopus. We thought we’d  

Made a mistake dining here but the rest  of the meal certainly made up for it. For main course we chose the Dorset Crown lamp  rump with grilled artichokes, olive tapenade and   minted greek yoghurt and the Redman  Limousine Irish Beef Filet and ox  

Cheek. Both dishes were exceptional and  nicely cooked with plenty of flavour. We chose asparagus and thick cut chips for sides. In between the main course and  dessert we enjoyed a sorbet. For dessert we decided on crepes suzette  and the elements of trifle dessert.

For £24 per person we thought this  was excellent value for money and   would certainly book The Epicurean  again. After our meal we went next   door to the Crow’s Nest for a  salted caramel espresso martini. Tucked away behind the dessert section in  The Quays on Deck 8 is Green & Co featuring  

Mizuhana. This is two restaurants in one with  a vegan menu and a sushi bar. We specifically   booked Mizuhana for a sea day sushi lunch and  couldn’t believe how quiet it was – we were the  

Only ones to have sushi for lunch and there were  only a coupe of tables in for the vegan menu. This doesn’t accurately reflect the quality  of the sushi, which was excellent. The   sushi is freshly prepared in front of you and  everything is individually priced on the menu.

We decided to order the maki  platter with yellowfin tuna and   spring onion and the truffle brushed  Highland salmon with avocado for £22. We then had two portions of the salmon and  avocado Uramaki, which were £6.00 each. We  

Could have ordered a lot more but as it was  only lunch time we tried to restrain ourselves. Everything at Mizuhana was beautifully presented  and if you enjoy sushi, we’d highly recommend it. Another specialty dining experience you can book  on P&O Arvia is the Limelight Club on Deck 6,  

We didn’t go here on Arvia but have previously  been on Britannia. This is essentially a dinner   and a show with a well-known guest performer. On  our cruise Chesney Hawkes was in the Limelight   Club but other regular Limelight Club performers  include Gareth Gates, Claire Sweeney and La Voix.

Prices are £25 to £35 per person and if you  want to go, booking before the cruise is   recommended because they fill the tables  from the front back. The later you book,   the further back in the room you will be sat.

The Glass House on Deck 7 in the Grand Atrium  is becoming as well-know for its small plates   as it is its wine. We simply ran out of time to  try the Glass House on Arvia but it’s definitely   worth stopping by for lunch or booking for  a light dinner option. The menu includes  

Small plates to accompany your wine. You can  expect dishes like spicy fried chicken wings,   scallops, meatballs, cheese,  tiger prawns and vegan options. Another notable paid restaurant is the Keel  and Cow. This place seems a little lost on  

Deck 8 of the Grand Atrium and reminded  us of a generic pub you’d find next to   a Premier Inn but apparently they do a great  breakfast. If you’ve tried the Keel and Cow,   let us know what you thought in the comments.

There are two places you can get ice cream and  gelato on Arvia but sadly these are not included   in the cruise. The first is Ripples on Deck 8  serving gelato, sundaes, a gelato afternoon tea   and bitesize gelato treats. I went for a rum and  raisin gelato in a chocolate dipped waffle cone.

You can also get gelato and ice lollies  from Sundaes in the SkyDome on Deck 16.   Here’s the full list of gelato flavours with  prices so you can see if any take your fancy. We also tried out the room service on Arvia,  which arrived very quickly after ordering,  

Using the telephone in our room. We  opted for the P&O Cruises Club sandwich,   which came with a portion of fries for  £5.95 plus a £2.50 delivery fee. Room   service is available 24 hours a day with  various menus depending on the time of  

Day. We’ll leave a link in the description  so you can see the full room service menu. One of the main things we noticed about the food  and dining on P&O Arvia was there was so much   choice on offer. There are eight included  options, which means you could definitely  

Enjoy a range of different meals throughout  your cruise without spending anything extra. We absolutely loved The Quays for its fish  and chips and katsu curry, we also liked   that steak and chips was served in the main  dining room every evening if you wanted it.

Breakfast in the main dining  rooms was definitely a much   more enjoyable experience compared to the buffet. Our biggest disappointment was the  Chef’s Table – we weren’t impressed   with the quality of the food or the  setting so if you don’t manage to  

Book a table here on Celebration Night we  don’t think you should be disappointed. If you want to spend a little extra,   we found the quality of the food served in  the specialty restaurants to be fantastic and   the prices were justified. You couldn’t  eat as well at home for the same price!

To continue finding out more about Arvia, we’d  recommend you take a look at this video next.