Selbourne

You’re welcome. Like Sharon, we couldn’t entertain the train, as I couldn’t push my wife and the luggage at the same time, but I just thought I’d throw that into the mix not knowing what level of disability you are dealing with. Obviously a car is always going to be the easiest and most comfortable option, so if taking your own car on the day isn’t an option then, if you can afford it, a cab will take the pressure off. Good luck in finding someone to share with. As Sharon says, a roll call might be a good idea. Someone travelling from South Wales has to pass Bristol, so there could be an option there as well.

Indeed. I think they still use them in the cabins on many of the P&O ships 🤣

In your situation I would feel almost certain that your daughter will be allowed with you in all locations. Many wheelchair users (my wife included) have to have a carer to push their wheelchair and to refuse them access would be unforgivable.

My wife is a full time wheelchair user. We have done the Bristol to Southampton journey at least 100 times, not just for cruises but for our regular trips to the Isle of Wight. Just trying to save you unnecessary expense, as not once have we ever considered an overnight stay the night before, even when we are booked on a midday ferry, let alone a cruise that doesn’t leave until very late afternoon / early evening. We always use the M4 and A34 but there’s also the option of the A36 via Salisbury. Takes a bit longer but is an option for those who don’t like motorways or worry about the potential to get stuck if there’s an accident (only happened to us once, but we still got to the ship with hours to spare). Obviously if neither of you can drive that’s a different matter, but if you want to avoid the huge cost of a cab there is an hourly direct train service from Bristol to Southampton if that works for you. It also stops at Filton Abbeywood and Bath Spa, if either of those are closer to you than Temple Meads. The cruise terminals are then a 5-10 minute cab journey from Southampton Central. Not as convenient as a cab all the way, but a fraction of the cost. As I say, just some other options to consider.

Perhaps you’ve hit the nail on the head there. Maybe in an attempt to move away from the constant criticisms of “it’s not what it used to be”, made by those of us who have cruised with P&O for decades, they have a new approach? Launch new ships targeted at a new generation of cruisers and offer a standard of food in the MDR and on board service that is well below par, so that in years to come these passengers are talking about “how much P&O has improved”. Clever 🤣

I must have heard my Mum talk about the late Queens Coronation at least 100 times. They had the only TV in the street and the neighbours came in etc etc. I intend to watch it in order to bore subsequent generations myself 😂. In all seriousness, I will be glued to it and we wouldn’t want to be away from home. It is genuinely history in the making. Just hoping that the two attention seekers from California don’t make an appearance trying to steal the limelight!

Surprised you’d even consider an overnight just coming from Bristol. It’s a comfortable 2 hours by car or train. Given that you can’t board until the afternoon, it doesn’t even require an early start!

I don’t think there are interconnecting inside cabins, but never having used one I can’t say for certain. There is a key on deck plans that shows which cabins are interconnecting though. As a general rule, avoid cabins that are directly underneath or above public areas (including open decks). If the public area is a source of amplified music (front theatre or aft show lounge) have at least two decks of other cabins between you and theses areas. Don’t worry too much about the reviews. As far as I can see, most of the bad reviews have been the new mega ships (Iona and Arvia). The overall P&O experience has definitely declined over the past 5-10 years and they seem to be struggling a bit with staff numbers and food and drink supplies at present, but the prices are (in the main) reflecting this somewhat lower quality product. As they say, you get what you pay for! Unfortunately, we are booked on an expensive summer cruise on Iona, which is a different matter!

Interesting. We are on her in the Autumn. Do you know what they are doing? Given the very short time window, other than any mechanical bits and bobs, I doubt it’s anything more than upgrading some soft furnishings (carpets etc).

It’s wrong if you have to do that though. It’s embarrassing for the passenger and extra work for the hard pressed waiters.

Given how small the MDR portions are now for adults, I can imagine that anyone ordering a meal from the ‘always available kids menu’ will need to head straight to the buffet afterwards 😂

I’m pleased to hear that solo passengers are getting such a great deal at present, as they are usually stung heavily with single supplements. I’d also be filling my boots if in that position. However, the fact that solos can occupy a double balcony cabin for no supplement is proof positive that, in spite of the spin, P&O are struggling to fill Iona out of season with the repetitive itineraries, as many of us predicted. You can be 100% sure that P&O wouldn’t be doing this if they could fill the cabins with couples, with the resultant double on board spend.

Oh Lord. We are on her in August 😱

Out of interest, have you ever had soot on any of the other ships? We’ve had aft suites on Britannia, Ventura and Arcadia, but only had a soot problem on Britannia. We also love aft cabins, but the soot on Britannia was a ruddy nuisance.

Not sure that they would, as the stern is tiered, so each deck protrudes out from the one above. They may well help, but I doubt that they completely resolve it. The soot issue is very much dependent on the weather though. In hot and dry weather the soot clears the ship. If it rains, it falls short and fouls the decks. The night we left Southampton we had heavy rain and the next morning our balcony was absolutely covered in soot. On other cruises, with no rain at all, I suspect that people may well have a ‘soot free’ cruise! The stewards can never completely clear it, so although we only had ‘fresh’ soot on two other occasions over the 14 days, there was always some present.

I think those ‘sharing platters’ are a bit of a nonsense, designed more to ease workload than a genuine sharing meal. Given how small the MDR portions are now, especially at lunch, if I fancy what’s on the sharing platter I just order it for myself - and I don’t ask them to halve it 😂

Are they only on those two decks? The soot affected all levels when we were on Britannia.

That’s part of my frustration. I don’t mind a 3 star experience if we have paid 3 star prices but, like you, we booked at launch and our Iona cruise is certainly not a cheap cruise, admittedly not helped by the fact that it’s in August. We need an accessible cabin so cannot afford to hang on until the last minute. Ironically, we tried to book the cruise that Eglesbrech has just returned from, having read on this forum how cheap it was, but all accessible cabins were sold out. Our expectations would have been low, but so would the price. We have two more P&O cruises booked, but aren’t prepared to book any more until we have experienced the post Covid P&O for ourselves. My sense is that we will probably still use P&O if the price matches the experience, but if we are going to spend decent chunks of cash on a cruise it’s going to be with other operators.

A brilliant review - thank you. I tend to ignore reviews that are either 100% negative or 100% positive as both lack credibility IMHO. Nothing beats a balanced review - good and bad. I have read enough reviews from people whose opinions I value now to know that the MDR experience is now below standard. In the few years prior to Covid we felt that it had declined (celebration nights excepted) to a 3 star hotel experience, but it sounds as though it has headed further south. Frankly, I don’t give a damn whether the problems are staff shortages, supply issues or organisational problems. They are all issues that P&O can, and should, resolve urgently and none of them are excusable after this length of time. We are on Iona in August when the ship will be a lot fuller and, as a result, there is the potential for a lot more to go wrong than an out of season cruise at this time of year. I was thinking of using the speciality restaurants for all dinners other than celebration nights, but I’m now wondering if we need to give it a wide berth for everything other than breakfast. I can see it becoming a very expensive cruise!

We have booked exactly that on Cunard with Britannia Club. Separate restaurant altogether with your own dedicated table for the whole cruise (breakfast, lunch and dinner), so no reservations or queuing needed. Full MDR menu with additional a la carte choices for dinner. Best of all you can access this ‘club’ with standard sized balcony cabins, albeit with prices that compare to a suite on P&O. However, with what I am reading about how the MDRs on P&O are going, we are happy to pay extra for a (hopefully) better experience. I did suggest a few weeks back that P&O could look at a similar thing, but others rightly pointed out that they are chasing a different market now.

No need. Suite guests have exclusive use of Epicurean for breakfast (or another speciality restaurant if there isn’t one), which is far better than a section of the MDR. I agree that suite perks are very poor considering the prices of them though, which is why we don’t book them anymore.

Prior to Covid, the Glasshouse was always open for lunch when embarking, although it was a hidden secret as nobody was aware of the fact other than the staff working there. If you asked the staff when boarding they would say only the buffet was open, which wasn’t true. However, this was before Covid. Given all the cutbacks and staff shortages I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it’s no longer open for lunch on embarkation day, so maybe someone else can confirm? Menus should be on the P&O website.

Well I’m afraid that I beg to differ. I have probably dined in at least 20 different Michelin star restaurants over the years and felt that, prior to Covid, the Epicurean restaurant on Britannia was on a par with several of them. The one on Ventura wasn’t as good. It concerns me that post Covid the standard seems to have dropped, judging by the comments.

Yes, we never had any issue with our daughters dining on the balcony with us. Also, our butler told them that if they wanted room service to call from our suite and then he would obtain it free of charge. Call me cynical, but that was obviously with an end of cruise tip in mind, but we appreciated it none the less!

Hmmm. P&O land based staff are renowned for providing duff information I’m afraid. Speak to 3 different people and you will get 3 different answers. The correct answer that your friend should have been given is that guests accompanying suite passengers (even when the bookings are linked) are not entitled to any of the suite passengers perks, but staff may, in some situations, exercise discretion. We have had suites around 4 times when our adult daughters have travelled with us in the adjacent balcony cabin. Embarkation has never been a problem. I just explain the situation and that we travelled down together in one car. On 3 of the occasions we were just nodded through. One time we were refused, so I politely asked to speak to whoever was in charge and when the supervisor came we were shown through to the priority boarding lounge. I think you will probably be Ok with that. With the embarkation and high loyalty tier lunch our daughters were refused admission (I asked very nicely) and told that it was strictly by invitation. I didn’t ask to speak to anyone else as I felt that the refusal was entirely reasonable. Besides, we have always found the food and cheap plonk to be poor at these events, so we now don’t bother with them and tend to prefer to have lunch and a drink in the Glasshouse (it’s always quiet as nobody realises it’s open). As for breakfast in Epicurean we didn’t even ask. We wouldn’t have thought it appropriate, as this is exclusively for suite passengers who pay a hefty premium for the privilege (although, as I said previously, the exception was disembarkation). However, I have read elsewhere that there may now be an option for non-suite guests to have breakfast in there by paying a supplement, so worth asking.