Hythe

We headed to Southampton once again, this time to pick up the Arvia. The Arvia is the sister ship to the Iona, so another big ship and an almost identical layout. However, the dates and ports fit Easter holidays...so here we are. We stopped for a now obligatory pint at the Dancing Man Brewery, where I alone enjoyed the dour beer! We thought our arrival window at port was 12.30-16.30...turns out our arrival time was supposed to be 12.30, so when we turned up closer to 15.30, we were ushered through rather quickly...which was fantastic!

Unlike the Iona, we have a window rather than a balcony cabin. That aside, our cabin is identical, which is lovely. The window is great too - on Deck 4 so we are very close to the water and not overlooked like all the balconies are.

There are some differences to the Iona but not lots. So we unpacked, mustered, and then began the holiday in style...with a free glass of champagne and a game of crib in Andersons! The virtual queuing for dinner is very welcome as the corridor that leads to the restaurant also has two other restaurants, a bar and the cinema off of it, so it is absolutely frenetic at around 6pm!Read more