P&O vs Princess

We have only cruised Princess, but are looking at taking a Southampton - Caribbean round trip cruise next Autumn, on Arcadia.

Having read a large number of reviews regarding Arcadia, I am worried that we might be disappointed with the experience, compared to Princess, especially as the cruise is 23 days long.

Many reviews comment on the poor food [both quality and quantity] worn furnishings, and quite often smells of sewage. Of especial concern, is that less than 60% of cruisers loved Arcadia [according to Cruise Critic UK], whereas the score for the last cruise ship we experienced [island Princess] was 80%.

I appreciate that many on this particular forum are P&O loyalists, but I would appreciate any objective feedback.

We have only cruised Princess, but are looking at taking a Southampton - Caribbean round trip cruise next Autumn, on Arcadia.

Having read a large number of reviews regarding Arcadia, I am worried that we might be disappointed with the experience, compared to Princess, especially as the cruise is 23 days long.

Many reviews comment on the poor food [both quality and quantity] worn furnishings, and quite often smells of sewage. Of especial concern, is that less than 60% of cruisers loved Arcadia [according to Cruise Critic UK], whereas the score for the last cruise ship we experienced [island Princess] was 80%.

I appreciate that many on this particular forum are P&O loyalists, but I would appreciate any objective feedback.

Not travelled on princess so cannot compare.

However

I have never smelt sewage going round Arcadia

Had a refit a couple of years ago..I think she looked ok.

Food is very subjective. The helpings are enough for me. Maybe some people like a plate piled high. You can always ask for extra.

Standard. Well except for the world sup ply of green beans my food has always been cooked well.again I would say subjective.

Finally there is a saying somebody who is not happy will tell 10 people. Somebody who is happy will tell 1.

Can I say we went on the Oriana last month. We are also princess people and were worried it may not 'hold' up. There were quite a lot of poor reviews which worried us.

Well all I can say is the food was brilliant on par or even better than princess on occasion. The staff were extremely helpful and we loved the adult feel of the ship. I know you are going on Arcadia but hopefully this will give you some comfort on the P&O product.

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I can only compare Britannia with Royal Princess and we found everything superior on Royal Princess.

Obviously if you are on a budget and concerned about the weaker Pound then Arcadia may seem more attractive. Be aware though that with cruises from Southampton you are likely to have more coffin dodgers on board compared to a fly cruise!

I can only compare Britannia with Royal Princess and we found everything superior on Royal Princess.

 

Obviously if you are on a budget and concerned about the weaker Pound then Arcadia may seem more attractive. Be aware though that with cruises from Southampton you are likely to have more coffin dodgers on board compared to a fly cruise!

Yes, I understand that the age profile may be a little older than us!

I also enjoy the mix of nationalities that you find on Princess. Whenever you sit down at dinner, you never know where in the world your dining companions will have come from. On P&O it is more likely to be where in the UK they have come from.

Oh dear - sounds as if I'm talking myself out of cruising with P&O!

Wowzz, we have sailed on both ships although quite a few years ago but would comment as follows.

Balcony cabins, Arcadia comes out on top with all cabins being larger with a full size sofa, and most have a bath with shower overhead.

Both ships have wrap round promenade decks, and good open deck sunbathing space, Arcadia has one midships pool with a retractable roof and an open pool at the aft.

Arcadia has a 2 tier MDR which offers both club and freedom dining.

There is only one theatre on Arcadia, but it does have a couple of other entertainment venues.

Arcadia's atrium is totally eclipsed by that on Island Princess, in fact it is a non event, all the public deck areas are inferior in layout to Coral/Island, if you have sailed on any HAL vista ship then it will be familiar.

Entertainment should be on a par or better than Princess, and with a more British feel.

Food is generally OK, our last Princess cruise was in 2014 and we felt the quality then was lower than we remembered, but not massively different to what we were getting on P&O. And in the last 2 years P&O quality has stabilised and maybe got a bit better, especially since they dropped the pointless silver service and went with fully plated meals.

We did a roundtrip Caribbean on Ventura in Jan and thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip.

We have never travelled on Princess either, but would totally agree with The English Lady when she refers to the number of people who will complain about something, compared to the number who enjoy something - there are always more reports from unhappy people!

We have, however, travelled on Cunard, Hebridean Cruises and Seabourn,

Cunard is well known as a slightly superior product to P&O, which it is in some ways, but both Hebridean and Seabourn are far superior to P&O, being 5/6 star cruise lines, and, having travelled on them, we can see absolutely nothing wrong with P&O. It is just a completely different product, catering to a completely different clientele.

We have been travelling on P&O for 15 years and, yes, in some ways, the product has deteriorated over the years, but in other ways it has improved - no more of those awful white envelopes for tipping for a start!

There are so many cruise lines out there now offering completely different products to a diverse range of people, you really need to just try them to find out if you like them or not.

I can't imagine that this will be your last ever cruise so I would try P&O - if you don't like them try another one, and another one, etc etc. There is bound to be one you like eventually! :)

Happy Cruising!

Having sailed on just about all of the major lines over a 15 years period I have not had one bad cruise. There is little to choose between them and as a previous poster has said most of the opinions regarding food, entertainment,service etc are subjective.

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Having sailed both Princess and P&O I would say they are pretty much equivalent. P&O is a bit cheaper for drinks (but smaller measures); P&O gratuities are less (and none of this 15% added to everything). Food and service is just about the same in quality IMHO.

We have not been to any Princess shows so cannot compare them with P&O (some good - some not so good).

Our decider between the two would be price and itinerary (and the crappy GBP-USD exchange rate! (you might be able to make out well on that in certain respects however))

My parents have just got off their 4th cruise on Arcadia, and have booked the Caribbean cruise on October 7, 2017 if that's the one you mean. They never comment negatively on Arcadia (and they're quite harsh) so I think if you book it you'll be A-Okay.

As for the comparison with Princess, we found Emerald very similar am experience to Ventura. Obviously they're different ships but the experience seems consistent.

Dan

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The only criticsm I can make about Arcadia..as a ship....is that imho the cabin decor is a bit " beige" ...or bland. More so than the other ships I think. The public areas are more understated elegance than glitzy. Except the atrium.....which as someone else has said is a non event. Lovely covered pool...very useful in bad weather as provides another place to sit and chill out. But the cabins are generally bigger, the food was great, the entertainment for us was good, staff very friendly. The age demographic is what you make of it...there were people from early 20s upwards but most people we met of whatever age were good company. We would certainly have no hesitation on going on her again if the itinerary was what we wanted. But I cant compare her with Princess as I havent been on that line! Sorry.

We've cruised on Princess and P&O, though not on Arcadia.

Each cruise line does some things better and somethings not so well. Swings and roundabouts. Cruises on both have been great. Most of our points would be subjective.

On Princess, we thought the entertainment was much better and the food, maybe a step up though P&O's is very nice.

On P&O, we love having Tea and Coffee making facilities in the cabin. Glasshouse, Sindu and Beach House are a great plus. Another huge plus for us is P&O allowing you to bring alcohol on board for cabin consumption. It's very pleasant enjoying a tipple on the balcony or while getting ready for dinner.

Between the two, putting the exchange rate aside (Princess is $, P&O £) we would go by itinerary. Princess has nothing like the cruise you are looking at unless you are prepared to fly.

Just my twopence worth:D

I like both lines. I sailed mostly with princess, then p&o, then cundard. Now back to p&o next week. The deciding factor was the value for money and the exchange rate.

I find that each one does most things well and some much better. I think princess is the best for international friendly passengers and general stuff to see and do.

But for the important things like food there really isn't much to choose between them. Service is probably best on Cunard.

I'd go with what's important to you, but I wouldn't be put off trying p&o.

When onboard there were people (brits) who appeared to complain about everything. And other than some questionable customer service from drinks waiters I honestly couldn't find anything wrong. It was like we were sailing on different ships and having a different holiday.

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Thanks for all your replies. Given the positive nature of the comments we are looking at the cruise to the Caribbean leaving late November next year.

Any advice as to the best time to book?

.

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If you want complete choice of cabin I would book now.

However, if you are prepared to go anywhere, and in any type of cabin, either book a 'saver' fare - if it's available - or wait and book later.

Fares will probably drop, they normally do, but the choice of cabin wouldn't be available.

We always book way in advance as we like to have particular cabins, and we are also careful about whether we tell them to leave us on the 'possible upgrade' list, or to take us off it as sometimes we book particular cabins for specific reasons and don't want to be moved, even if it's an upgrade.

Not an easy decision to make....... :rolleyes: Have fun making it! :)

Yes for choice of cabin and dine time you will need to book a select fare - my understand is that saver fares are cheaper but you don't have choice of cabin number or dining preference

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Have had 3 long cruises on Arcadia and also Princess. Arcadia is lovely - do not be put off. Very elegant and food excellent. The theatre on board is one of the best at sea. Balcony cabins are big with a bath and shower. Tip - if you book an outside obstructed cabin, go for one 'between' the lifeboats and they are enormous with huge floor to ceiling windows and because they are between lifeboats you will still have a good view.

You will have a lovely time.

We have only cruised Princess, but are looking at taking a Southampton - Caribbean round trip cruise next Autumn, on Arcadia.

Having read a large number of reviews regarding Arcadia, I am worried that we might be disappointed with the experience, compared to Princess, especially as the cruise is 23 days long.

Many reviews comment on the poor food [both quality and quantity] worn furnishings, and quite often smells of sewage. Of especial concern, is that less than 60% of cruisers loved Arcadia [according to Cruise Critic UK], whereas the score for the last cruise ship we experienced [island Princess] was 80%.

I appreciate that many on this particular forum are P&O loyalists, but I would appreciate any objective feedback.

Hello wowzz. We have sailed with both P&O and Princess. Have to say that Arcadia was our favourite ship in the P&O fleet, sailed almost 200 days on her and loved everyone of them, however since we moved to Spain we have not been on her for about 5 years now so can't comment on her currently.

Sailed with Princess for about 60 days, last voyage was last year on the caribbean princess. Southampton to New York. Loved all our Princess cruises too. Our thoughts were´ Food, princess was slightly better, Entertainment, P&O much better. Each line have fors and againsts, my advice would be to just enjoy the ship your'e on. If it's not for you then at least you can say you tried it. Hope this helps and happy cruising. :)

Hello wowzz. We have sailed with both P&O and Princess. Have to say that Arcadia was our favourite ship in the P&O fleet, sailed almost 200 days on her and loved everyone of them, however since we moved to Spain we have not been on her for about 5 years now so can't comment on her currently.

 

Sailed with Princess for about 60 days, last voyage was last year on the caribbean princess. Southampton to New York. Loved all our Princess cruises too. Our thoughts were´ Food, princess was slightly better, Entertainment, P&O much better. Each line have fors and againsts, my advice would be to just enjoy the ship your'e on. If it's not for you then at least you can say you tried it. Hope this helps and happy cruising. :)

Wise words Baz. At times posters on this and other similar forums over-research things, [myself included] sometimes to the point of paranoia[what sort of pillow is provided etc.]

Perhaps we should all agree that it is better to travel in ignorance than not to travel at all. Our first cruise, some 25 years ago, on Celebrity, was based on a quarter page description in a travel brochure, and the holiday was one of the best we have ever had. Happy, simpler times!

We have only cruised Princess, but are looking at taking a Southampton - Caribbean round trip cruise next Autumn, on Arcadia.

Having read a large number of reviews regarding Arcadia, I am worried that we might be disappointed with the experience, compared to Princess, especially as the cruise is 23 days long.

Many reviews comment on the poor food [both quality and quantity] worn furnishings, and quite often smells of sewage. Of especial concern, is that less than 60% of cruisers loved Arcadia [according to Cruise Critic UK], whereas the score for the last cruise ship we experienced [island Princess] was 80%.

I appreciate that many on this particular forum are P&O loyalists, but I would appreciate any objective feedback.

Remember - No loyalty benefits carry over from Princess to P&O :eek:

Remember - No loyalty benefits carry over from Princess to P&O :eek:

Which is a pity, as, based on the comments from this thread, my wife and I have just booked a 24 night cruise for November 2017!

However, I seem to remember that benefits can be switched from P&O back to Princess, or did I just imagine that?

Nights on P&O still count towards Princess benefits but not vice versa.

Brian

Which is a pity, as, based on the comments from this thread, my wife and I have just booked a 24 night cruise for November 2017!

However, I seem to remember that benefits can be switched from P&O back to Princess, or did I just imagine that?

Just look up Captains Circle benefits on Princess to see where you are on their tiers. This will also be confirmed on you cruise personaliser thingy on the Princess site once you have booked. The cruises appear before you sail.

Regards John

We mostly cruise Princess but had one cruise on the Azura. She was just out of dry dock and lots of snags including leaks. We were happy with food and entertainment. Cabin could have been cleaner. Stained carpet. However we are giving P and O and Azura another chance and going to the Canaries in April as the itinerary was what we wanted.