P&O Cruises’ boss has admitted there were “a few bugs in the system” that affected the experience of a “handful” of guests on Arvia’s maiden cruise over the festive period.
Several media reports detailed issues guests faced during the two-week debut voyage, which ended in Southampton today (January 6), but president Paul Ludlow insisted the “vast majority were delighted” with the cruise.
He went on to say problems – reported to be long queues and lost dinner reservations – occurred over “a couple of hours” on Christmas Day before highlighting the success of the ship’s New Year’s Eve celebrations on board.
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The 5,200-passenger vessel, which entered service on December 23, is now repositioning to the Caribbean and will offer sailings from Barbados before returning to Southampton.
Speaking at a press conference on Arvia, Ludlow said: “We were operating a ship with 5,000 guests on board over Christmas – it’s an important time for people.
“Admittedly, we would not have planned the maiden cruise over Christmas, but the launch was delayed because of issues at the shipyard.
“As ever, there were a few bugs in the system. There were a handful of guests – and it really was a handful – that had some problems over Christmas.”
He added: “But what I can say is across the 14-day holiday, the whole experience, they had a wonderful time.
“If you look at social media post from the New Year’s party, it was the best of its kind on any ship, ever. It was absolutely incredible.”
He said there will “always people that you cannot keep happy” on maiden cruises, but stressed “the vast majority – 99.9% – were delighted” .
“I was talking to the ship’s teams today on board and I think they should feel very proud,” said Ludlow. “They knocked it out of the park, at Christmas, on a maiden cruise, and it was not easy. I think they did a very good job.
“Good or bad, unfortunately the news agenda was a little light the day that news bounced and therefore some news outlets carried the story.”
Asked how he felt about Arvia’s second revenue cruise, he stressed he was “more than confident” it would be a success.
“We have a phenomenal team on board,” he added. “They responded very quickly. We’re talking about events that happened over the course of a couple of hours. It’s testament to the team how they turned it around.”