Why P&O? (as opposed to the US mainstream lines)

I caught a rerun of Ant and Dec's Saturday night TA on the Britannia yesterday and even those I despise them it was interesting to have a peek at the star ship of the fleet...although still unsure if I would ever book P&O.

It got me wondering about my fellow Brits who only book the line instead of the US based lines. Why do you do it?

We found a deal for the most American line (Carnival) a few years back and almost exclusively choose them apart from a Celebrity and upcoming RCL sailing. We really love these lines and are very worried about booking Thompson/P&O as we think we have been spoilt and the prices seem to be higher in some cases. We have always liked the thought of smaller tips and more pools on P+O ships but we often discount the line when we are booking holidays. There has also been lots of negativity lately and it seems there is an older clientel on board (We are late 20s).

Any thoughts? Also do you get any other nationalities on board?

We returned to P&O last year after an absence of 10 years.

Britannia was good and the cruise made better because it was a "Strictly" themed cruise but I wont be rushing to rebook P&O again. I really missed being with other nationalities and the cosmopolitan feel we get with Princess and Celebrity as a result. Just about everything is a notch above compared with P&O. Even the décor and facilities on Royal Princess are better than its younger sister Britannia.

I can fully understand though the attraction of P&O for the Diehards and Newbie's.

I caught a rerun of Ant and Dec's Saturday night TA on the Britannia yesterday and even those I despise them it was interesting to have a peek at the star ship of the fleet...although still unsure if I would ever book P&O.

 

It got me wondering about my fellow Brits who only book the line instead of the US based lines. Why do you do it?

 

We found a deal for the most American line (Carnival) a few years back and almost exclusively choose them apart from a Celebrity and upcoming RCL sailing. We really love these lines and are very worried about booking Thompson/P&O as we think we have been spoilt and the prices seem to be higher in some cases. We have always liked the thought of smaller tips and more pools on P+O ships but we often discount the line when we are booking holidays. There has also been lots of negativity lately and it seems there is an older clientel on board (We are late 20s).

 

Any thoughts? Also do you get any other nationalities on board?

Why do we book P and O. Well we started because my birthday and our Wedding Anniversary are both in April. P and O sail year round from Southampton.

When we looked to celebrate big numbers in both the American lines in those days did not appear here in April. So that's No 1.

To us its the destinations , not so much the ship, so we do not want the razamatazz, shiny lights etc. We also do not like big.

Yes grats are much lower, as are the drinks. Having said that, with the amount of OBC we have had the past few cruises, with P and O (4 figures) it has covered drinks/grats and shopping.

Yes P and O is British, and everything is aimed at the British. There may be other nationalities onboard, but very few.

Depends on the destination as to whether older cruises or not. A family friendly ship going to Med in the summer holidays will have a lot of families on board ,so the age demographic will be lower. A longer cruise (21+ days) and you will get older, as they are the ones who are likely retired.

Cut backs..well as I sometimes wander over to the other lines boards, for a look, they are having them as well.

Yesterday I was reading about the new beds in cabins on one of the lines and everyone was saying how they could not sleep on them, and they were very hard. P and O's beds are lovely...so decent nights sleeps.

Thomson are getting newer 2nd hand ships, so their product will be upping its game.

If I had to choose between the 2 (thomsom/pando) it would probably be pando because of the dress code...I like wearing my gladrags.

I like P&O especially because it is British orientated.

I travel a lot to other countries and love being immersed in different cultures, but on my cruises I prefer it largely British and really do not like the idea of the American biased ones.

I also prefer smaller, more traditional ships and living near Southampton, I love being able to sail from there and avoid airports.

Horses for courses and I might well feel different if I were in my 20s rather than my 60s lol.

PS Edited to say we also agree with Jean's reasons below - and we also like the Formal nights of P&O.

We book P&O because we don't like the bigger ships. We also prefer the currency to be in UK pounds and not dollars. Also, the drinks are a lot cheaper.

We much prefer the American lines as the service is far better and we prefer the mix of nationalities on board and American ships know their steak.

I love the friendly chatty wait staff in the anytime dining, I have never seen so many surly and miserable waiters than those on P&O.

Saying that as you can see we do cruise P&O we are on on Sunday as we wanted

To try Britannia and we get some amazing OBC, on the last cruise it was four figure, the drinks are cheaper but we find we spend more on food to compensate the quality in the dining room.

The benefits are much better on Princess, we get free laundry and dry cleaning, mini bar set up and 500 mins free WI FI virtually nothing on P&O at the same loyalty level

Why do we book P and O. Well we started because my birthday and our Wedding Anniversary are both in April. P and O sail year round from Southampton.

When we looked to celebrate big numbers in both the American lines in those days did not appear here in April. So that's No 1.

To us its the destinations , not so much the ship, so we do not want the razamatazz, shiny lights etc. We also do not like big.

Yes grats are much lower, as are the drinks. Having said that, with the amount of OBC we have had the past few cruises, with P and O (4 figures) it has covered drinks/grats and shopping.

Yes P and O is British, and everything is aimed at the British. There may be other nationalities onboard, but very few.

Depends on the destination as to whether older cruises or not. A family friendly ship going to Med in the summer holidays will have a lot of families on board ,so the age demographic will be lower. A longer cruise (21+ days) and you will get older, as they are the ones who are likely retired.

Cut backs..well as I sometimes wander over to the other lines boards, for a look, they are having them as well.

Yesterday I was reading about the new beds in cabins on one of the lines and everyone was saying how they could not sleep on them, and they were very hard. P and O's beds are lovely...so decent nights sleeps.

Thomson are getting newer 2nd hand ships, so their product will be upping its game.

If I had to choose between the 2 (thomsom/pando) it would probably be pando because of the dress code...I like wearing my gladrags.

Have to say agree totally (apart from Birthdays etc :)) for health reasons my wife is not allowed to fly so Southampton suits us fine.

We have sailed on Princess (although we found it a bit to glitzy and loud for us)yes we enjoyed it but the Princess & Celebrity seem to just do the same bus journeys out of Soton during the summer.

Yes we would be Elite on Princess with all the perks but we want a variation on our destinations which is what we can get with pando.

Have to say in 9 cruises (150 days) on pando we have yet to meet a surly staff member, maybe its the way you treat them.

I have never had a surly waiter, they have all been lovely, the bar staff as well.

We have never had surly waiters either... :)

This Wednesday will be our first cruise with P&O

We did it because of the price and places it goes to ....

We would always chose Royal Caribean if we can afford it

Last year we did Holland America because it sailed from Harwich

It was on the Ryndham .... It's last cruise before being sold to P&O Australia

It was fab .... To see the Norwegian fjords on such a wonderful ship

I have never had a surly waiter, they have all been lovely, the bar staff as well.

We have had surly waiters but they were on the Crown Princess NOT on P&O. I don't think that any line is perfect all of the time.

We much prefer the American lines as the service is far better and we prefer the mix of nationalities on board and American ships know their steak.

 

 

 

I love the friendly chatty wait staff in the anytime dining, I have never seen so many surly and miserable waiters than those on P&O.

 

 

 

Saying that as you can see we do cruise P&O we are on on Sunday as we wanted

 

To try Britannia and we get some amazing OBC, on the last cruise it was four figure, the drinks are cheaper but we find we spend more on food to compensate the quality in the dining room.

 

 

 

The benefits are much better on Princess, we get free laundry and dry cleaning, mini bar set up and 500 mins free WI FI virtually nothing on P&O at the same loyalty level

Like the others we never find the waiters to be surly and miserable. A please and thank you and a smile works wonders. Personally I have always had excellent service on P&O.

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Like the others we never find the waiters to be surly and miserable. A please and thank you and a smile works wonders. Personally I have always had excellent service on

We will continue to agree to disagree Dai.

Whats this I see in your signature, are you genuinely booked on a different cruise line in 2017?

Go for an American liner. We have always sailed American Liners in the past (RCL and DCL) and we have just came off the Britannia. Wow well what can I say - it was night and day with food and service. It is so much better on American liners. When I say better I mean much higher quality cuts of meat, and a massive variation of food - loads of beautiful fresh seafood. The standards were so much higher. Service was much better too - we found service to be very basic aboard Britannia. Maybe it's much higher on American liners because they have higher service expectations I don't know? Entertainment on a night was fantastic with P&O though, it's just a shame there wasn't much on during the day - well unless you want to attend 20 spa seminars or special events!

This video sums up how we felt about Britannia.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/me1QQ644YEg" fr

We've cruised with various lines so in order here is what I think of them:

1. P&O - Great selection of cruises from Southampton all year round. Always have great fun on them, as they're the friendliest line and the evening entertainment / selection of venues is great.

2. Princess - Like the loyalty scheme and rewards when you get to Elite. Lovely ships. Warm staff

3. =Celebrity - Nice ships, excellent buffet but atmosphere just too dull and entertainment too Americanised

3. = Fred Olsen - Great itineraries from the UK including the North but older smaller ships. Excellent food

5. Cunard - great ships esp QM2 but a bit too stuffy.

6. RCI - too brash, too much geared to children

The comment about crew being surly is a bit unfair and I think there is a cultural difference. P&O mainly recruits from India and we find the waiters, stewards etc to be fairly reserved but they are equally friendly, polite and conscientious. We often find crew on the American lines a bit insincere in their constant greetings and their "Have a nice day".

Having said all that we love cruising and we never say never about any line. Our friends have come back from Cruise and Maritime and that's another line that does interesting itineraries we'd consider now but hadn't before

A friend of mine went with Cruise Maritime and found the east European staff very rude. Her plate was snatched away with the word "finished" and the cabin girl called her by her first name on the first day. LOL

Go for an American liner. We have always sailed American Liners in the past (RCL and DCL) and we have just came off the Britannia. Wow well what can I say - it was night and day with food and service. It is so much better on American liners. When I say better I mean much higher quality cuts of meat, and a massive variation of food - loads of beautiful fresh seafood. The standards were so much higher. Service was much better too - we found service to be very basic aboard Britannia. Maybe it's much higher on American liners because they have higher service expectations I don't know? Entertainment on a night was fantastic with P&O though, it's just a shame there wasn't much on during the day - well unless you want to attend 20 spa seminars or special events!

 

This video sums up how we felt about Britannia.

 

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/me1QQ644YEg" fr

A friend of mine went with Cruise Maritime and found the east European staff very rude. Her plate was snatched away with the word "finished" and the cabin girl called her by her first name on the first day. LOL

We've cruised with various lines so in order here is what I think of them:

 

1. P&O - Great selection of cruises from Southampton all year round. Always have great fun on them, as they're the friendliest line and the evening entertainment / selection of venues is great.

2. Princess - Like the loyalty scheme and rewards when you get to Elite. Lovely ships. Warm staff

3. =Celebrity - Nice ships, excellent buffet but atmosphere just too dull and entertainment too Americanised

3. = Fred Olsen - Great itineraries from the UK including the North but older smaller ships. Excellent food

5. Cunard - great ships esp QM2 but a bit too stuffy.

6. RCI - too brash, too much geared to children

 

Great summing up my fellow Edinburgh resident 😀

 

I would add

7. NCL good basic price but high drink and other price unless you get a deal. Great Studio cabins for Solos Ok food but rather Americanised. Very quick pace at Dinner.

 

 

Want to try MSC next 😮

Go for an American liner. We have always sailed American Liners in the past (RCL and DCL) and we have just came off the Britannia. Wow well what can I say - it was night and day with food and service. It is so much better on American liners. When I say better I mean much higher quality cuts of meat, and a massive variation of food - loads of beautiful fresh seafood. The standards were so much higher. Service was much better too - we found service to be very basic aboard Britannia. Maybe it's much higher on American liners because they have higher service expectations I don't know? Entertainment on a night was fantastic with P&O though, it's just a shame there wasn't much on during the day - well unless you want to attend 20 spa seminars or special events!

 

This video sums up how we felt about Britannia.

 

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/me1QQ644YEg" fr

The poster has already cruised with American lines. He always steps back from booking P and O and wondered why people book with them.

People were replying as to why they book P and O.

To some people the very things that some people like the American lines for are the very same things that would make others step back from booking with them.

I have sailed with Cunard, P&O twice, NCL twice, Princess and one other and none have been perfect, anyone who expects this will be disappointed but all have been very enjoyable.

Why I like P&O is the formal evenings and a good cup of tea and especially tea making fascilities in the cabin. Fooled is good and I enjoy the entertainment.

However we did NCL Spirit last year very informal but I preferred the buffet the choice of pastries, the lay out and choice of hot food. The entertainment was good and a good mixture of people but I did miss the formal evenings. But if a good itinerary came up at the right price I would happily forgo the formal but by choice I like P&O

For younger people and if you like being around Americans then Princess for the Caribbean in January was good when I was in my twenties, unfortunately more than a few years ago.

I've never had poor service on any line... yes, we once had a sleepy steward

on NCL, and we were called by our first names within 30 mins on Thomson- fine by us- but on the whole, the differences have been minimal.

P&O is convenient, not nickel and diming, and generally easy to understand and manage. We've begun to dislike lines which offer a cheap rate without mentioning the additional tipping- especially on bar sales.

Yes, we'll continue to try other lines, and are looking to try both Fred and C&M for their interesting itineraries... but for last minute cruises, where the destination is less important, it will be P&O.

And possibly their 28 day cruise on Ventura again... ;)

To some people the very things that some people like the American lines for are the very same things that would make others step back from booking with them.

Exactly, the english lady.

Horses for courses again - and good that we are all different and there are a variety of cruise lines to suit us all :)

I caught a rerun of Ant and Dec's Saturday night TA on the Britannia yesterday and even those I despise them it was interesting to have a peek at the star ship of the fleet...although still unsure if I would ever book P&O.

 

It got me wondering about my fellow Brits who only book the line instead of the US based lines. Why do you do it?

 

We found a deal for the most American line (Carnival) a few years back and almost exclusively choose them apart from a Celebrity and upcoming RCL sailing. We really love these lines and are very worried about booking Thompson/P&O as we think we have been spoilt and the prices seem to be higher in some cases. We have always liked the thought of smaller tips and more pools on P+O ships but we often discount the line when we are booking holidays. There has also been lots of negativity lately and it seems there is an older clientel on board (We are late 20s).

 

Any thoughts? Also do you get any other nationalities on board?

Looking forward to this debate but first I need some breakfast.

By the way, I would never class Thomson and P&O together. Trust me, I have sailed with both. :eek:

Looking forward to this debate but first I need some breakfast.

 

By the way, I would never class Thomson and P&O together. Trust me, I have sailed with both. :eek:

Ah yes SR but once they have their 3 newest ships, Splendour OTS and Celebrities Galaxy and Mercury, they will be more like P&O than P&O are, or at least for the mid size ship P&O stalwarts.