- Launched
- December 2022
- Gross tonnage
- 184,700 GT
- Passengers
- 5,206 (max), 4,300 (double occupancy)
- Crew
- 1,800
- Length
- 344 m
- Home port
- Barbados (winter) / Southampton (summer)
Arvia entered service in December 2022 as the second Excel-class ship and the sister to Iona. She is P&O's dedicated Caribbean fly-cruise flagship, based in Bridgetown, Barbados each winter for seven- and fourteen-night island itineraries, and moves to Southampton for a summer Mediterranean programme.
Arvia carries the same SkyDome and LNG platform as Iona but retunes the ship for the Caribbean market. The pool decks are larger, the outdoor bars extended, and the Altitude Skywalk high-ropes course and Mini Golf zone occupy the top deck — Arvia is the most outdoor-oriented ship in the P&O fleet.
Dining and entertainment carry across from Iona — Epicurean, Sindhu, Olive Grove, The Glass House, Keel & Cow, Beach House, and the 700 Club headline productions in SkyDome — with the addition of the 6th Street Diner, a US-style late-night grab-and-go venue tuned to the Caribbean deployment.
The Barbados fly-cruise programme includes charter flight packages from UK regional airports — a genuine differentiator versus booking flights independently for a Miami-based Caribbean cruise, and one of the reasons Arvia consistently sells out its winter season.
Highlights
Barbados fly-cruise base
Dedicated winter Caribbean deployment from Bridgetown with charter-flight packages from UK regional airports.
SkyDome
Two-deck glass-domed atrium with retractable roof and full staging — the signature Excel-class venue.
Altitude Skywalk
Top-deck high-ropes course, one of the largest at sea and unique in the British-market fleet.
Outdoor deck programme
Expanded pool decks, more outdoor bars, and Caribbean-tuned casual dining vs. sister Iona.
Same class
Sister ships
Also in P&O Cruises
Other ships in the fleet
Launched 2015
Britannia
P&O's modern national flagship — the ship named by the Queen and the platform that repositioned the brand as a genuine large-ship operator.
Launched 2008
Ventura
P&O's original modern family flagship — refurbished mid-life and still one of the fleet's core round-Britain family ships.
Launched 2010
Azura
Ventura's sister — refurbished, family-oriented, and P&O's second Caribbean fly-cruise ship alongside Arvia.
Launched 2005
Arcadia
P&O's adults-only mid-size flagship — the fleet's dedicated long-haul and world-voyage ship.
Launched 2000
Aurora
The smallest and most classic ship in the P&O fleet — adults-only, port-intensive, and the closest thing to a traditional ocean liner in modern British cruising.
Available on this ship
Onboard experiences
Cruise line
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P&O Cruises
The UK-sourced British-market leader — Southampton-departing, sterling-priced, and split between family flagships and adults-only classics.
Carnival Corporation & plc (parent group)
Carnival Corporation is the world's largest cruise operator by fleet and passenger volume, parent of nine cruise brands spanning contemporary to ultra-luxury — including Carnival, Princess, Holland America, Cunard, Costa, AIDA, Seabourn, and Britain's P&O Cruises.
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