booksurfer

According to their website (https://www.pocruises.com/peninsular-club) Caribbean Tier doesn't get a half-bottle of Champagne, the next Tier up does—Baltic. Maybe that's why you didn't get one, or is that wrong?

17 hours ago, Presto2 said:

 

Never knew that. So all of the time we talk about an aft cabin it isn't really the aft it is an stern cabin ????? :-)

No! I have to admit it is a bit confusing. 

Bow and Stern simply describe parts of the ship. Fore (front), aft (rear) midships (middle) describe areas of the ship.

So an aft cabin, is one at the rear of the ship.

13 hours ago, Presto2 said:

Does 'the pointy bit' have a proper name 😉

Have my port and starboard sorted out

Know where the aft is

For the life of me can't remember what the pointy end is called

Thank you for your review it was fascinating and informative to read.

As for the 'pointy bit' it's called the bow, the 'square bit at the back' is called the stern and aft is 'towards the stern' and fore 'towards the bow'.

2 hours ago, Bazrat said:

You right I always speak slowly and very loudly to the waiters they get the message 😂🤣

With respect, I think I will ignore your input until you've actually been on a P&O cruise and experienced the type of situations that are being discussed.

2 hours ago, majortom10 said:

Sorry but what a terrible attitude to have and is not the way to treat any hard working staff on a P&O cruise. Yes you can make a verbal complaint to the Restaurant Manager or his assistant but to admit to getting up and getting hold of a waiter and being assertive is awful and very rude.

You don't know me, you don't know the situation, the circumstance or what was said, so how can you possibly judge that as being a 'terrible attitude' and 'very rude'?  I treat everyone with politeness, courtesy and respect, whoever they may be. I'm afraid you're confusing assertiveness with aggression.

There's nothing at all wrong with going over and speaking quietly with a waiter that I've been waiting however long to be served. But what I'm not prepared to do is sit and wait, groaning, mumbling and moaning like so many British people seem to want to do and do nothing to remedy the situation.

Which do you think is better, be assertive, get up and remedy whatever the problem is and get on with my holiday or sit there moaning and groaning, complain to the manager on the way out, fill in a complaint form, seethe and fume until I arrive home and then complain bitterly on here about how the service on P&O is so bad I'd never use them again?

I've given a balanced view on P&O, for what you pay they offer reasonable value but that's not to say they're perfect because they're not. People will experience exactly the type of situations I have and I've given guidance on how I dealt with those situations, other people will have to deal with them as they see fit.

But please don't accuse me of being 'very rude' and having a 'terrible attitude' when you don't know me from Adam.

5 hours ago, arendale1 said:

I know we are in the minority, but this is just our experience. I know lots of people love P&O cruises and that’s great. They have lovely ships and are great value for money and as most have said, they sail from Southampton. 

It's always important I think to express your experiences. I pay far more attention to negative criticism than out right praise, because I learn more. Having Cruised with P&O I can certainly equate with your experiences as there were a couple of times I've become quite annoyed at their poor service. Once instance that springs to mind was when a waiter took away I think it was either a glass or a side plate I hadn't finished with, without asking! I immediately got up walked over and told him him to put it back, I hadn't finished with it and in future—ask! Another instance was when I was poured the mostly horrible weak looking cup of tea I'd ever seen! I said 'I'm sorry I can't drink that, you'll have to replace it' and he started to reply '...but you didn't...' and I cut him off and said '...I shouldn't have to tell you, you should ask!'

Maybe I'm just difficult, or expect higher levels of service that seem beyond P&O, but those were two incidences that sprang to mind in amongst the same types of difficulty of getting waiters attention as you experienced. I learnt fairly early on that you need to be assertive with P&O staff and tell them what you want. If you can't catch a waiter, get up and go get hold of him or bend the ear of the Restaurant Manager or one of his assistants floating around and tell him the service is dropping below what you expect.

I don't want to put people off P&O, it represents very good value for money and on the whole the service is pretty good, but neither do I want to paint a picture that it's perfect because it isn't, an awful lot depends on luck and where you sit and what waiters/servers you get, because it does vary.

24 minutes ago, jody75 said:

Thankfully their views are balanced by other that know and report the failings of this pitiful cruise line.

I think that's a bit harsh, I don't think I'd describe P&O as being 'pitiful'. But then my experience may be quite different to yours. I'm certainly not blind to P&O's shortfalls, there are many things and areas they could improve, but P&O is what it is, a budget Cruise line that offers value for money and a decent number of return sailings from Southampton, for people who don't want to fly. It's aimed predominantly at the British family and 55+ market.

I noticed earlier in the thread you voiced approval of MSC Yacht Club. If you've experienced that level of cruising luxury then I would imagine P&O would seem somewhat 'pitiful' to you, but let's be realistic? MSC Yacht Club Cabins would likely cost three to four times the price of P&O ones, so it's hardly a fair comparison?

36 minutes ago, jody75 said:

The ‘cat is out of the bag’ unfortunately, it is getting difficult to book a YC cabin for 2019/2020 or even 2021.

Indeed. I had a look earlier and was quite shocked at just how many YC cabins were already fully booked, even ones in, as you said, 2021!

22 minutes ago, BrianI said:

All passengers must be 18 or over.

Thank you, that's fairly clear!

On 4/17/2019 at 8:31 AM, Britboys said:

The 1,910-passenger Aurora joins Arcadia and Oriana as the line's third child-free ship

Could someone actually define precisely what '...child-free ship' means? I know it sounds obvious as to what it should mean, but I've learnt not to assume anything.

I noticed a cruise later in the year on Aurora that I was interested in but also I noticed that a large part of it covered half term. Am I right in thinking that even though it's half term school children would not be allowed on that cruise? How does P&O define 'child-free'?

Thanks.

Whilst not strictly related to dress code, it's worth mentioning an early lesson I learnt at my first morning breakfast. I ordered eggs benedict and when it came it was one poached egg on a muffin. I looked over at the chap opposite me who had two poached eggs on two muffins! I said, how come I only get one and you got two? He said '...because I asked for two'! Lesson learnt! Ask for what you want. Want two main courses at dinner - ask for them. Want two starters at dinner - ask for them. Want three rashers of bacon at breakfast - ask for them! The waiters are more than happy to oblige.

Just now, Vampiress88 said:

 

Dont they have pool side eats for this?

Yes, most (if not all) P&O ships will have a variety of pool side bars that provide fast food type meals such as burger, fries, salad, pizza etc, mostly free, some more upmarket ones may charge. Check which ship you're on and what facilities they have. Very handy if you don't want to go back to the cabin to change for a sit down lunch in the restaurant.

I have to confess I've never tried the buffet, the horror stories I heard from other passengers put me off wanting to eat in the buffet.

I always took my evening meals and lunch in the Main Dining Room as I like more formal dining.

Just now, Vampiress88 said:

 

He has for example a shirt like this has it half open and wears a t-***** underneath with smart jeans and boots. Has lots of checked shirts in red and blue too. Some long some short sleeves but he thinks these won’t be appropriate.

I think for casual dining that would fine.

7 minutes ago, docco said:

Anyone remember those halcyon days when nobody ever needed to ask questions like this.

 

Everyone knew exactly how to dress and they didn't need diktats from American owned cruise companies or anyone else.

Yes indeed, but times change, don't they? With the cost of a cruise now opened up to most of the population it seems some Cruise companies need to specify exactly what the correct form of dress is to those who don't appear to know how to present themselves at dinner! You can argue the rights or wrongs of that until the cows come home, that's just the way it is.

32 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

What should hubby wear????

Dark suit, white shirt, dark tie, black/dark shoes for formal, smart dark jeans (not dirty, scruffy, faded, holed!) casual open necked shirt, loafers, or smartish shoes and maybe a jacket would be fine for informal dining.

What I don't think people should wear for informal dining evenings is scruffy jeans, dirty trainers and a t-shirt. That's just my personal opinion because I think it looks awful.

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

....It made me think and after many cruises and experts on here that think they know what happens to tips and where they go whether handed in cash directly to staff or auto gratuity nobody knows for definite where tips really go and how much is actually given to the staff it is intended for.

Yes, that's very true, you really don't know where they go. But as per my own experience as a student baggage porter, those of us on the shift used pool the tips and split them evenly at the end—perhaps they do something similar? 

I asked my cabin steward if he preferred euros or sterling as I had both, he replied he didn't mind, but when I pressed him he said he'd prefer sterling. So I have him sterling cash in hand, what he did with it was up to him.

2 hours ago, jh1809 said:

I suspect you were unlucky on Azura with the chef and manager. Hopefully by now they will either have got the chop or moved on.

Possibly. But that doesn't excuse the poor service. When I ask someone if something is hot (when from my own knowledge it isn't) and they respond with an assumption that it is hot, it annoys me—that's poor service! The response should have been to have replaced whatever wasn't satisfactory with something that was, with a smile.

I shan't be bothering with Sindhu in future my experience with them wasn't very good.

Like many others in this thread, I removed the auto-gratuities and tipped individuals directly. It's much the same philosophy I used when tipping in restaurants, I leave the cash on the table or with the bill so it goes directly to the individual/s and not the company.

I guess that's a throw back to my time as a student working during the holidays as a front hall baggage porter in a London Hotel. Each shift we used to put all our tips into a pot, which were split equally at the end of the shift amongst everyone working the shift. I used to earn half my daily salary on tips—hard work, but one of the most enjoyable, fun jobs I've ever done!

Duplicate post.

You don't have to dine in the Main Dining Room (MDR) on formal nights if you don't want to, you can choose any of the other restaurants/buffet available on your ship in casual clothes. I think there's a restriction on where you can go if not in formal clothing, you'd need to check on your ship's policy, but you don't have to dress up on formal nights if you don't want to. I chose to (dress up) but I found it tedious as I was like OMG it's formal night, do I have a clean white shirt, where did I put those cufflinks!

It's your holiday, you choose what you want to do, no-one's forcing you to dress up on formal nights if you don't want to, but you will have to if you want to dine in the MDR as it's enforced.

I didn't rate Sindhu at all when I ate there on Azura in 2017 and I was really looking forward to tasting some Atul Kochar inspired food, I was very disappointed at both the food quality and service. I sent the naan breads back twice after asking if they were warm, I was told yes, I put my hand over them and they were stone cold and got glared at by the server because I was being difficult. Sorry, but for the cover charge price, I expect both better quality and service.

Food was average at best, nothing special at all and I've been eating Indian food at various restaurants in London for about 50 years, I know good Indian food. Surprisingly the people I dined with were even more scathing about the food quality than I was!

Give it a miss.