Celebrity cruiser does P&O

Just thought I would share a few personal (I emphasise the personal) thoughts and observations we noted on our recent Britannia cruise.

We are 2 couples around the 60 mark who love to cruise as often as we can.

Over the years we have found that Celebrity is our preferred line and we love just about everything they offer, from that welcome glass of fizz to the wonderful staff.

 

My husband and I have done P&O many times before but not for the last 8 years or so, our friends had never experienced P&O so a week in Norway sounded like a good trial.

 

So, what did we think? Having heard various stories about embarkation we were prepared for the worst. We were given 3pm boarding and arrived at about 2:20pm. Within 20 minutes we were on board. Fantastic, no waiting no queues, great. So far so good.

First impressions, ok, no wow but we werent really expecting that, having done the Royal Princess which is very similar. Off to find our cabin a pleasant balcony on deck 8. Another wow......our cases were already there. Amaing, never in 20 odd years of cruising have we had that happen.

Cabin definately much smaller than equivalent on other cruise lines and the balcony was tiny. We always open up the partition between us so that did give us a little more room. The bathroom too was much smaller than we're used to and not much storage.

Plenty of hanging space and shelves but not many drawers, however adequate for our needs.

Muster drill and we had to lug our lifejackets with us, something we havent done for some time, and it did go on a bit. Not quite sure how they knew we had attended as there was no logging of cruise cards on entry or roll calls.

We chose second sitting and had a lovely table for 4 right by the window and our 2 waiters seemed very nice, although they did not actually introduce themselves until the end of the meal on the second night. Strange. It was also quite usual for the men to be served before the ladies? Call me old fashioned!

Food we enjoyed but didnt really feel that there was much choice, with a lot of repetition each night rather than different offerings each night, eg. prawn cocktail every night, tomato soup, steak, bread and butter pudd, to name a few.

There was no beef wellington, no souffles, no creme brulee. OK not the end of the world and ok for a week, but we sensed that it would become more boring if we had been aboard for any longer.

Food was always hot and portion size ok. We did not feel that the staff were as attentive eg every night having to ask for water glasses to be refilled, normally waiters clock that we like lots of water with our meal and would automatically refil. Although the wine waiter had no such problem, always on hand to fill the glasses.

 

Entertainment was outstanding. The energy that the dancers and singers had was amazing and every show we went to we were impressed. We also liked being able to go to late shows as the American ships do tend to favour early shows. Guests were also good.

 

we didnt do any speciality resturants so no comments.

 

Lots of venues to spend time and enjoy a drink or two and never had a problem getting a table whatever the time. Never saw any officers wondering around, not at all visible and only saw the captain once and that was at the welcome party. The staff generally were not as chatty as we are used to and there was not a lot of banter or interaction with just the odd exception.

 

One of the biggest differences we noticed though was the cleanliness or lack of it. Late at night we are used to seeing staff cleaning away in public areas but not once did we see any evidence of anyone cleaning. Not in the lifts or indeed in the toilets at any time. We were never encouraged to use the gel although we did. Upon returning to the ship after being ashore there was nobody ensuring that hands were sanitised. OK theres sinks on the entrance to the buffet, but we observed so many people not bothering.

 

So, all in all we really enjoyed our trip and it was definatly good value for money. We would certainly consider booking with P&O again. There wasnt really anything that you could find fault with, I guess these were just our observations of some of the differences with American lines that we encountered and maybe will be useful to others.

One of the faults of the new menu, the items you mention are called the always available. They used to be on a separate list on the menu but have now been incorporated into the full menu. I think the ones you mentioned are the regulars. So no wonder you noticed them every night. :)

 

Otherwise a fair assessment of the ship.

 

 

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I have to comment here,,when I was on Britannia a few weeks ago there were cleaners everywhere on my way back to the cabin,,it was well after midnight though as I had enjoyed myself immensely in Brodies! I think as far as the hand gel/ washing is concerned that p&o staff have kind of given up trying to enforce it as some folks take offence when asked to do it don't they! Can't speak for the American boats but Thomson staff are usually pretty hot on making you do your hands.

Thanks Nutty Nurse Gladys! We also haven't cruised with P&O (Ventura) for 8 years, and in the meantime we've cruised with Princess, which we've loved and do plan to go with again next year, as we have paid a future cruise deposit. But the 14 day Caribbean cruises on Britannia, going directly from Barbados are what we've missed. We did it once with Princess, and then they stopped them. So, we're giving it a go in November. I think we are easy to please, and feel we'd probably make the same comments that you did. One point that keeps cropping up is that the staff aren't as friendly - I hope that by being friendly to them, they'll reciprocate [emoji3] I think I'll miss the different nationalities, am guessing it'll be mostly British people onboard. But, looking forward to it very much. We were on Royal Princess last November, so know what to expect layout wise. Enjoyed reading your review, it seemed very fair.

In all our cruises I have never had a problem with unfriendly staff. I think they are trained not to be overly familiar with guests. Once you get to know them they are great.

 

 

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Thanks DaiB, I'm sure you're right [emoji5]

We are usually with celebrity as well and have to say so far we haven't even sailed yet but we are not impressed at all with P&O which is a shame. I'm just hoping things will change once we do get on board. I wish they would enforce hand washing as we have watched passengers on other cruises just dropping the tongs into the food on any buffet.

Thanks for taking the time to read my comments.

To add a little more -yes we too missed the mix of nationalities, we do enjoy chatting. We also tried that chatting to many of the crew, but agree that they are probably trained to be more distant. You would never pass a member of staff on celebrity without them acknowledging you and smiling. As always there were a couple of exceptions as I mentioned.

I should also say that it was always well past midnight when we retired but no evidence of cleaners-we too enjoyed Brodies, lovely atmosphere and (so Im told) a great selection of beers, something not available on other lines . Also worth a mention is the reasonable pricing in the bars, another positive.

overall as I said previously there was nothing to fault just slight differences that may or may not impact on the experience.

I did a similar review after our first P&O cruise last Christmas and would agree with your comments (and also add a few more). I think the lack of cleaning staff is most evident in the evenings, particularly in the cloakrooms. On Celebrity there are cloakroom attendants almost permanently during the evenings, especially in the busy toilets such as by the theatre, and this really helps to maintain standards. We never saw this on P&O and it was needed.

I did a similar review after our first P&O cruise last Christmas and would agree with your comments (and also add a few more). I think the lack of cleaning staff is most evident in the evenings, particularly in the cloakrooms. On Celebrity there are cloakroom attendants almost permanently during the evenings, especially in the busy toilets such as by the theatre, and this really helps to maintain standards. We never saw this on P&O and it was needed.

 

Never saw any late night cleaning staff on any of our 3 Celebrity cruises..

 

We did find the staff on Celebrity more 'in your face' all of the time. We called it the 'Have a nice day' thing from America. It is a different culture. We just laughed about it ---- different cruise line, different experience. Just go and enjoy :)

I am currently on Celebrity Constellation and can't help but compare to our last

cruise which was on Oceana. That was our worst cruise ever so maybe not fair to compare but they have a similar number of passengers

 

Our balcony cabin is great - very roomy and the best we have ever had. On Oceana the cabin was small with the tiniest bathroom and no room to dry and dress after your shower - which us needed if you are travelling with someone who is not your partner.

 

This ship is clean - there are attendants in the bathrooms, and 5 days in we have seen several staff cleaning lifts and public areas. Our cabin attendants are lovely and nothing is too much trouble. Normally I would say that P&O was the same in this regard but we had a very poor attendant on Oceana and had to ask her to clean the bathroom. We were unlucky with her. I do like the Celebrity system where you have 2 cabin staff.

 

Food is 10 times better at least. Food on our Oceana cruise was exceptionally bad - a fact acknowledged by P&O. Food is excellent here - both in MDR and buffet - choice in buffet is amazing - you can even have them make a Caesar Salad for you at lunchtime. There are bespoke pizza and pasta stations, sushi, roast if the day and a great salad section - also free ice cream and twice we have seen amazing gateau selections at lunch ( and we have only been on the ship for lunch three times). Excellent cheeses station as well

 

MDR food is good - I have no complaints and they do their best to get you what you want.

 

One thing I like about Celebrity are the little gestures - the glass of champagne on arrival. It has been hot (we are in the Adriatic) and there are always free flavoured waters and cold towels to greet you as you come back on

 

Staff are friendly - but not in your face

 

If only Celebrity had UK based ships all year round I would be happy!

 

Nothing is perfect - there are a few niggles - but this is so much better than Oceana was. I was almost tempted to stop cruising after Oceana but this has restored my faith!

Re hand gels P & O at every turn, Thompson what,s hand gel, Fred and Cunard in the Buffet and MDR. So each line/ship is very different to the next.

Re hand gels P & O at every turn, Thompson what,s hand gel, Fred and Cunard in the Buffet and MDR. So each line/ship is very different to the next.

 

P&O don't have anyone enforcing it in the buffet and IMHO that is where their hygiene issue arises. I saw some appalling breaches of hygiene in the buffet on Oceana - so much so that I stopped using it. P&O told me that they have an attendant with the gel for the first 3 days then they remind pax in the daily newspaper - not ideal as far as I am concerned

P&O don't have anyone enforcing it in the buffet and IMHO that is where their hygiene issue arises. I saw some appalling breaches of hygiene in the buffet on Oceana - so much so that I stopped using it. P&O told me that they have an attendant with the gel for the first 3 days then they remind pax in the daily newspaper - not ideal as far as I am concerned

 

 

According to Cruise Junkie a website which monitors outbreaks of illness on cruise ships in the past 4 years P&O have had 5 reported outbreaks. Celebrity have had 11

 

Perhaps Celebrity hand gel does work as well.

 

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Edited May 24, 2016 by daiB

According to Cruise Junkie a website which monitors outbreaks of illness on cruise ships in the past 4 years P&O have had 5 reported outbreaks. Celebrity have had 11

 

Perhaps Celebrity hand gel does work as well.

 

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I can only say what I see. Not sure how many passengers Celebrity carry each year compared to P&O.

Constellation is certainly clean and I would recommend her

Just to add, I found I couldn't get to the buffet on Oriana without using the gel, there was someone at each end enforcing it. Tend to agree about the food. We were not impressed last October, but on her again this October, so hope it might have improved.

I am currently on Celebrity Constellation and can't help but compare to our last

cruise which was on Oceana. That was our worst cruise ever so maybe not fair to compare but they have a similar number of passengers

 

Our balcony cabin is great - very roomy and the best we have ever had. On Oceana the cabin was small with the tiniest bathroom and no room to dry and dress after your shower - which us needed if you are travelling with someone who is not your partner.

 

This ship is clean - there are attendants in the bathrooms, and 5 days in we have seen several staff cleaning lifts and public areas. Our cabin attendants are lovely and nothing is too much trouble. Normally I would say that P&O was the same in this regard but we had a very poor attendant on Oceana and had to ask her to clean the bathroom. We were unlucky with her. I do like the Celebrity system where you have 2 cabin staff.

 

Food is 10 times better at least. Food on our Oceana cruise was exceptionally bad - a fact acknowledged by P&O. Food is excellent here - both in MDR and buffet - choice in buffet is amazing - you can even have them make a Caesar Salad for you at lunchtime. There are bespoke pizza and pasta stations, sushi, roast if the day and a great salad section - also free ice cream and twice we have seen amazing gateau selections at lunch ( and we have only been on the ship for lunch three times). Excellent cheeses station as well

 

MDR food is good - I have no complaints and they do their best to get you what you want.

 

One thing I like about Celebrity are the little gestures - the glass of champagne on arrival. It has been hot (we are in the Adriatic) and there are always free flavoured waters and cold towels to greet you as you come back on

 

Staff are friendly - but not in your face

 

If only Celebrity had UK based ships all year round I would be happy!

 

Nothing is perfect - there are a few niggles - but this is so much better than Oceana was. I was almost tempted to stop cruising after Oceana but this has restored my faith!

Glad Constellation is still proving to be great. We found Celebrity to be so good last year on Constellation.

According to Cruise Junkie a website which monitors outbreaks of illness on cruise ships in the past 4 years P&O have had 5 reported outbreaks. Celebrity have had 11

 

Perhaps Celebrity hand gel does work as well.

 

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Across how many ships compared to the number of ships P&O have and the total number of passengers does Celebrity carry compared to P&O? Let's do apples to apples comparison. Oh and btw the website you refer to only appears to report issues mainly monitored by the CDC which is in the US. So is that only reporting issues for ships sailing out of the US? If so, doesn't those figures you quote of P&O versus Celebrity a little one sided as Celebrity sail more out of the US than P&O? Edited May 24, 2016 by peteukmcr

I can only say what I see. Not sure how many passengers Celebrity carry each year compared to P&O.

Constellation is certainly clean and I would recommend her

Me too. So much so I have 2 more Celebrity cruises booked.

Across how many ships compared to the number of ships P&O have and the total number of passengers does Celebrity carry compared to P&O? Let's do apples to apples comparison.

 

 

Ok 7/8 with P&O and 11 with Celebrity. So on the figures above very little difference between the two.

 

But we could do this with every line, all ships and all lines get NV or the like at some time. The problem is that we do not know exactly why it happens or exactly how it is transmitted. Trying to say that one line is more likely to have it than any other does not work or that one method of prevention works best also does not work. But still people try to score points.

 

 

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We've just come back from a cruise to the fjords on Aurora, we saw Britannia in Southampton as we left. I must say, our embarkation went very smoothly too, on board by 1pm, sent up to have lunch then a call on the tannoys to say cabins were ready at around 2, our cases waiting for us. They were very firm about hand gel on Aurora, plenty of the automatic machines but also waiters standing at the doors of the restaurants with a bottle, making sure everyone used it. Also in the public toilets they had notices up saying wash your hands then use a tissue to open the door, a bin is outside for the tissue. We've never cruised before so had nothing to judge P&O against, and although we loved the fjords and thought the ship was ok, of the people we spoke to who have cruised before, all without exception said they wouldn't cruise with P&O again, they felt their standards had gone downhill badly.

Just back from the ovation and the washing facilities were superb.The ship is designed with open wash hand basins at the front of the windjammer(open buffet)and you are forced to wash your hands(with hot water )before entering.A crew member checks hands are washed and its the best I have ever seen on any ship and I hope this is a sign of the future.

We recently returned from a long cruise on Oriana and have to say that there were so many cleaners around before 7 am in the toilets, lifts, stairwells being polished carpets vacuumed and refreshed. Officers were also around inspecting at about 8 a.m.

It is probably easier for the crew to clean at this time as there are only insomniacs like me around to disturb them.

 

Sue

Not wishing to get into a big debate about hygiene and which line is best.

 

But, as a smoker there are times during the night when I leave my cabin to have a smoke, this could be around 3am and even at that time there were people about cleaning. This was last year on a Princess ship and a PandO ship.

 

As for the gel. Both Princess and PandO had staff ready to give a squirt to pax as they entered the MDR or buffet. However, I was surprised at the number of people who try to avoid the gel. If there are no staff available to give a squirt there was always an auto machine to do it.

 

I have done over 20 cruises and never had problem with finding or using the gel. I think all to often it's the pax that are the problem not the cruise lines. Also, has anyone ever seen someone admit at the check in desk that they have been unwell prior to the cruise.

Last, but not least. People failing to wash hands after using the toilet is something I have noticed.

Right returning from the Azura trip to the Fjords last Saturday.

 

All the staff I met were very polite and would always talk and be friendly if you instigated it, for example we were in the "pointy end :) ) with both the buffet & restaurant at the aft therefore we used to walk from front to back 4/5 times a day and all the cabin stewards smiled and said good morning/evening every time.

The restaurant you had to pass a waiter and could not pass him before your hands were "squirted" with gel, and the buffet had narrow entrances to the food area with a machine at each again being seen by the staff member preparing your tray.

I also have seen the cleaners about late at night and early morning, and also being a smoker they even emptied the ash cans in the smoking areas daily.

Regarding the ops point re the menu as Dai has already explained they used to be on one side as always available but that is now reduced to "P & O Favourite" the choice has been reduced

 

Sorry as an aside we were pleased to see someone denied access to the dining room on a formal night for wearing an open necked blue checked shirt and no jacket

Edited May 30, 2016 by TOMOGP