Customer Services Feedback - Check In

As many people have said, venting, moaning, complaining or criticising about P&O processes and procedures solely on CC doesn't achieve anything.

So as suggested, in addition to providing feedback via the post cruise questionnaire, I wrote to P&O Customer Services and promised to provide feedback when they did.

So what follows is what I wrote together with the replies to the points I raised.

1. Check In

We experienced what can only be described as a disorganised check in process with the allocated late check in times. We were allocated 3pm and do not understand why so late when other lines with larger ships departing Southampton do not impose such a rigid system. The check staff at the desk are polite and professional but we found those handing out cards and giving directions (which were useless to those of us unfamiliar with the Mayflower terminal and the P&O process) quite rude and dismissive.

This late boarding is not something expected when checking out of a hotel at 11am.

Reply:

Firstly, I note that you were somewhat surprised at your embarkation time. Due to the large number of guests embarking our ships, we operate a staggered system based on the cabin number and deck. This should mean that our guests spend less time in the terminal and more time on board. On two night cruises, understandably our guests are keen to embark as quickly and as early as possible to make the most of their time on board. This can lead to congestion in the terminal when a large number of guests arrive at the same time rather than at the staggered embarkation time. Combined with an unusually large amount of hand luggage that needed to be scanned in Security, unfortunately it did take somewhat longer than normal for our guests to embark Azura. I apologise for the disappointment that this caused and for the manner in which you were addressed by any staff in the terminal.

I wrote:

2. Muster drill

Once again I can only describe this as a disorganised mess. Not one member of staff on the stairs assisted in directions unlike other lines. The drill itself was delayed due to passengers not being on board no doubt to the late check in process described above.

Why are passengers not 'checked in' by either the scanning of their cruise card or manual checking of cabin number like other lines? How do you know everyone has attended this mandatory drill?

Why are passengers still required to carry and then put on their life vest? Nobody checked that I had mine on correctly as there was no organisation.

Reply:

Due to the delay in the terminal, the muster drill was delayed. That said the stairway guides who assist guests to reach their muster station were still in position. and I regret if you were not aware of this. I can assure you that the safety of our passengers is our number one priority and as such we continually review our procedures to ensure full effectiveness and preparedness. Carnival UK vessels are frequently praised for their emergency response systems from such agencies as the MCA (Maritime Coastguard Agency) and our best practices are often adopted by competitors. Although the requirements and structure of Passenger musters and drills are dictated through legislation laid down in number of SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea), specific regulations as to "checking in" and putting on the life jacket during the drill do vary between companies.

I wrote:

3. Freedom dining

We were allocated to the Meridian dining room and dinner on both nights was an unpleasant experience due to the length of time we had to wait. The first evening the wait was 45 minutes and no doubt to being stressed, the door host was quite rude and said the problem was that we turned up late. Isn't that the idea of Freedom dining? Turn up when you want? We arrived at 8:30 pm.

Night two was even worse with a wait of nearly 1 hour even though we turned up earlier at 8pm. We were told you cannot make prior reservations for Freedom dining unlike other lines. Your door host and guest relations staff were very dismissive of this idea. Why cannot you do this? Surely this would help you understand the demand and help organise the dining room.

Reply:

I was very concerned to read of the manner in which you were spoken to at the Meridian restaurant and apologise for the poor impression that this gave you. Whilst Freedom dining does give you the option to arrive at the restaurant at the time you choose, there are some very popular dining times which can lead to longer than average waiting times particularly on the shorter cruises. I appreciate that for shorter cruises, pre booking dinner times would be beneficial and I have forwarded this suggestion to our Food and Beverage team for information.

I wrote:

4. Black tie event

Why is the dress code for this event so strict on a 2 night sailing? Why were there people allowed in the Planet Bar in jeans later in the evening if this code is so strict? Why were people allowed in the dining room not in black tie, but just given a jacket to carry, and told they didn't have to wear it, just carry it? This behaviour is totally unfair to those of us who adhered to the code.

Reply:

You also refer to the dress code not being adhered to on board and I am sorry that you found this to be disappointing on the formal night. We endeavour to persuade people to adhere to certain minimum standards of decency and formality. You will appreciate that the circumstances of a restaurant in a ship are somewhat different from those ashore. A hotel resident refused admission can always find a meal elsewhere but in the case of a passenger there is no such alternative. The balance between persuasion and coercion is a delicate one but we do ask Head Waiters to endeavour to discourage people, in a tactful manner, from entering the restaurant for dinner inappropriately dressed. I regret the disappointment that you have described.

I wrote:

 

2. Muster drill

 

Once again I can only describe this as a disorganised mess. Not one member of staff on the stairs assisted in directions unlike other lines. The drill itself was delayed due to passengers not being on board no doubt to the late check in process described above.

 

Why are passengers not 'checked in' by either the scanning of their cruise card or manual checking of cabin number like other lines? How do you know everyone has attended this mandatory drill?

 

Why are passengers still required to carry and then put on their life vest? Nobody checked that I had mine on correctly as there was no organisation.

 

 

Personally I much prefer this method than on NCL and RCI Anthem and Harmony where we didn't even have life jackets in the cabin!

Personally I much prefer this method than on NCL and RCI Anthem and Harmony where we didn't even have life jackets in the cabin!

Much prefer not having to take life jackets. Always found them waiting in the room for us on Celebrity and RCI. It makes the mass departure from muster stations a bit easier if everyone is not carrying their life jacket, especially in the lifts. Also muster on P&O seems to take twice as long as on Celebrity. Covers all the same info but with less padding in the announcements.

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Much prefer not having to take life jackets. Always found them waiting in the room for us on Celebrity and RCI. It makes the mass departure from muster stations a bit easier if everyone is not carrying their life jacket, especially in the lifts. Also muster on P&O seems to take twice as long as on Celebrity. Covers all the same info but with less padding in the announcements.

 

 

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I had the opposite experience - it was chaotic on Celebrity with people ambling along and turning up late with only a video being shown during the muster. The P&O one on Oceana seemed better organised.

Seem to remember that the muster on Celebrity was in a number of languages which may have dragged it out more.

I did think the tender familiarisation on P&O was good for people with mobility issues or perhaps not that confident with Tender embarkation.

I had the opposite experience - it was chaotic on Celebrity with people ambling along and turning up late with only a video being shown during the muster. The P&O one on Oceana seemed better organised.

 

 

 

Seem to remember that the muster on Celebrity was in a number of languages which may have dragged it out more.

 

 

 

I did think the tender familiarisation on P&O was good for people with mobility issues or perhaps not that confident with Tender embarkation.

Strange as we've done 5 musters with Celebrity. It didn't start till everyone was checked off on the list on entry to the Muster station. The video had everything that was needed. Only ever experienced it in English and it's taken no more than 15 minutes to complete.

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To the OP, Pete, how did you feel about their responses to your complaints and suggestions?

They seemed to avoid the issue of other lines managing to board their ships earlier and with ease very nicely.

I do keep thinking back to our P&O cruises from Southampton either before the staggered boarding was introduced or where we had our Mum in a wheelchair and whilst we would get there around midday it never seemed like chaos and flowed rather well. There does seem to have been a bit of a myth develop around this staggered boarding suggesting that without it 3000 passengers would all want to arrive really early. In reality, people's own travel arrangement ( day of departure drive downs, coaches, trains or overnight hotel stays) naturally provided a staggered boarding. The terminal seemed busiest when the coaches started to arrive close together and the staggered boarding has no effect on this still happening. On RCI/Celebrity we've arrived 10.30 - 11.00 and the terminal has been pretty light on passengers so no mad rush for earlier embarkation there either.

Once again I still think if they wish to maintain this 'timed check in' then let people choose a preferred slot online on a first come first served basis during online check in. That way people are participating in the timed arrival procedure instead of being given a set time which may not match their natural arrival time.

 

 

 

Firstly, I note that you were somewhat surprised at your embarkation time. Due to the large number of guests embarking our ships, we operate a staggered system based on the cabin number and deck. This should mean that our guests spend less time in the terminal and more time on board. On two night cruises, understandably our guests are keen to embark as quickly and as early as possible to make the most of their time on board. This can lead to congestion in the terminal when a large number of guests arrive at the same time rather than at the staggered embarkation time. Combined with an unusually large amount of hand luggage that needed to be scanned in Security, unfortunately it did take somewhat longer than normal for our guests to embark Azura. I apologise for the disappointment that this caused and for the manner in which you were addressed by any staff in the terminal.

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To the OP, Pete, how did you feel about their responses to your complaints and suggestions?

 

They seemed to avoid the issue of other lines managing to board their ships earlier and with ease very nicely.

 

I do keep thinking back to our P&O cruises from Southampton either before the staggered boarding was introduced or where we had our Mum in a wheelchair and whilst we would get there around midday it never seemed like chaos and flowed rather well. There does seem to have been a bit of a myth develop around this staggered boarding suggesting that without it 3000 passengers would all want to arrive really early. In reality, people's own travel arrangement ( day of departure drive downs, coaches, trains or overnight hotel stays) naturally provided a staggered boarding. The terminal seemed busiest when the coaches started to arrive close together and the staggered boarding has no effect on this still happening. On RCI/Celebrity we've arrived 10.30 - 11.00 and the terminal has been pretty light on passengers so no mad rush for earlier embarkation there either.

 

Once again I still think if they wish to maintain this 'timed check in' then let people choose a preferred slot online on a first come first served basis during online check in. That way people are participating in the timed arrival procedure instead of being given a set time which may not match their natural arrival time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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To be honest, I am not surprised they did not address the comparisons made to other lines. I doubt that any company likes to be told "other companies do it this way or that way" ! Their view will be that we do it our way.... Its a bit of a red rag to a bull really..

Not meant as a criticism of you Pete , but if I personally were writing to complain, I would deliberately NOT refer to the way other companies do things (whether I thought they were better or not) ....but maybe just suggest ways things could be improved or changed for the company I am complaining too. Its all about the physchology of how to complain and how to get the best result.

Your comment Kevinyork about the days before staggered boarding are very valid, but I think the key aspect here is that actually people used to arrive closer to their allocated time, until it became common knowledge - through the powers of the internet mainly - that actually you could ignore your allocated time , (which dont forget have always been there) and turn up when you liked , and as early as you liked. So more and more people did, and more and more people started coming down the night before just so they could get on early. We certainly did. And we often had a longish wait in the terminal because of the sheer numbers of people doing the same thing. It wasn't so much of a problem either when ships were smaller.

I believe there also has to be a recognition and acceptance that whether we like it or not, at the moment P &O does not have the IT infrastructure to use technology to make the check in process quicker , as some of the other "newer" cruise lines do. In IT terms P&O (and possibly Carnival in general) are followers, not leaders and always seem to be one step behind. All we can do is hope that they are taking note, and taking appropriate steps internally to improve their systems. This should include the facility for passengers to choose their check in time, which I do so agree would be a vast improvement.

I had reason to speak to someone in Senior management in P &O last week, (not about this topic) but as an aside, I also asked about and discussed the new staggered embarkation times. I was told very firmly that it is here to stay, but with some elements of tweeking.....make of that what you like!

To be honest, I am not surprised they did not address the comparisons made to other lines. I doubt that any company likes to be told "other companies do it this way or that way" ! Their view will be that we do it our way.... Its a bit of a red rag to a bull really..

Not meant as a criticism of you Pete , but if I personally were writing to complain, I would deliberately NOT refer to the way other companies do things (whether I thought they were better or not) ....but maybe just suggest ways things could be improved or changed for the company I am complaining too. Its all about the physchology of how to complain and how to get the best result.

 

Your comment Kevinyork about the days before staggered boarding are very valid, but I think the key aspect here is that actually people used to arrive closer to their allocated time, until it became common knowledge - through the powers of the internet mainly - that actually you could ignore your allocated time , (which dont forget have always been there) and turn up when you liked , and as early as you liked. So more and more people did, and more and more people started coming down the night before just so they could get on early. We certainly did. And we often had a longish wait in the terminal because of the sheer numbers of people doing the same thing. It wasn't so much of a problem either when ships were smaller.

 

I believe there also has to be a recognition and acceptance that whether we like it or not, at the moment P &O does not have the IT infrastructure to use technology to make the check in process quicker , as some of the other "newer" cruise lines do. In IT terms P&O (and possibly Carnival in general) are followers, not leaders and always seem to be one step behind. All we can do is hope that they are taking note, and taking appropriate steps internally to improve their systems. This should include the facility for passengers to choose their check in time, which I do so agree would be a vast improvement.

 

I had reason to speak to someone in Senior management in P &O last week, (not about this topic) but as an aside, I also asked about and discussed the new staggered embarkation times. I was told very firmly that it is here to stay, but with some elements of tweeking.....make of that what you like!

Thanks for your really well explained views. Much appreciated.

I'm sure the OP thought that a direct comparison with how others manage boarding with ease at Southampton but P&O make it a painful experience was valid and I would agree with Pete. RCI do it smoothly with larger ships than P&O and have clearly thought the problem through. To make suggestions about boarding improvements without saying that others manage it ok would be like ignoring the elephant in the room. 'It's doable so why can't you do it'

We never really experienced a rush to be onboard early on P&Os previous boarding arrangements nor on the US lines that board even earlier. Yes internet savvy cruisers may become aware of the ability to do so but only a fraction of cruisers communicate online about their cruises. On our event Celebrity cruise the cruise critic meeting was attended by about 20 people out of 2,800 so not a huge online presence.

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Why were people allowed in the dining room not in black tie, but just given a jacket to carry, and told they didn't have to wear it, just carry it? This behaviour is totally unfair to those of us who adhered to the code.

This is really interesting.

Who gave them the jackets to carry? The maître d' or another member of restaurant staff?

This is really interesting.

 

 

 

Who gave them the jackets to carry? The maître d' or another member of restaurant staff?

The maître d' gave the gentleman the jacket.

To the OP, Pete, how did you feel about their responses to your complaints and suggestions?

 

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To be honest I think they skirted around the issues, especially the dress code issue. There is an alternative venue for dinner if you don't want to adhere to the code, it's the buffet as many on here kept telling me (and it's clearly stated on the P&O website). But no doubt when it comes down to it, the dining room staff don't want confrontation, and I don't blame them.

The maître d' gave the gentleman the jacket.

That's very interesting...

To be honest I think they skirted around the issues, especially the dress code issue. There is an alternative venue for dinner if you don't want to adhere to the code, it's the buffet as many on here kept telling me (and it's clearly stated on the P&O website). But no doubt when it comes down to it, the dining room staff don't want confrontation, and I don't blame them.

They did the same on Anthem. One free restaurant, The Grande, is advertised as formal every evening. If gents didn't have a jacket they were given one to carry to their seat. In reality we didn't see that happen as those choosing to attend the Grande knew of the dress code and were probably looking forward to dressing plus those that don't like dressing up had 3 other free restaurants to choose.

We've just completed our 5th Celebrity cruise but the first since they replaced formal nights with 'Evening Chic' nights, only 2 on a 14 night cruise. We were a little apprehensive of the change but it worked really well. A lot less Tuxs and more suits or smart trousers and shirts. Didn't see anyone taking the mickey and all the ladies seemed to make an extra effort. How that would translate to a mainly British clientele on a P&O ship is hard to say. In the end we preferred it to formal evenings. Smart but relaxed. The 6 star lines have no formality so I guess it's the future for cruising.

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Thanks for posting all that Pete, was interesting to read their replies.

I was especially interested that were going to see if they could introduce booking on Freedom dining - we will see!

I agree with the others that I used to arrive 12-1 with the "old" system and always got on promptly. I'm waiting to see what check in time we get in October and how that pans out!