AchileLauro

P&O seem to be moving goal posts after people have booked which doesn't show great regard for their customers.

Totally agree in fact in some cases what they are doing is mis-selling or even taking money under false pretences.

We tried booking a 2018 Aurora family cruise only to be told that cabins that we required as a family were not available and advised by an on-board future cruise sales person to book instead for 2019. Our daughter particularly wanted to take our granddaughter on Aurora as she is named after the ship. Aurora (the ship) has been a family favourite which we have sailed on several times. We were not at all interested in booking on Azura or Ventura as we have sailed on both and simply do not like these ships. It was to be Aurora or nothing.

So we booked a cruise for July 2019 while on-board in early December. I said at the time that knowing our luck about the possibility of Aurora going adult only. The sales person said that simply wasn't going to happen as P&O had just spent such a large amount of money on making improvements to the children's facilities' on the ship. Well Wednesday we received the fateful letter informing us of the changes and the cancellation of our cruise.

Surely P&O could have done the honourable thing and given advance warning of their intentions and not disappoint customers. The company has become quite disreputable as far as I am concerned this is the second time that they have let us down. Fool on me for allowing myself to be talked into returning to the company after being treated so shabbily last time. We shall definitely not be sailing with P&O again.

I'm in my early 30s, but think playing/ texting/ using social media on your phone at the table is very bad manners! I was bought up to have good table manners (although I do have the odd slip up) and we always ate our meals at a table with our parents when we were younger. (Even now when I live on my own I still eat at a dining table).

 

However, I will admit to using my phone at the table to take a photo of the meal I'm about to eat. To me The Cruise is a special holiday and I like to record all the elements of it, including my food, so that I can capture my memories. Surely discreetly using my phone to take a picture is better than getting my larger digital camera out?!

Maz I fully appreciate what you say about using the camera facility on your phone on occasion and can even understand if guests sitting around the dinner table share photographs that they have taken with fellow diners.

For myself when I embark on a cruise my phone is switched off and is one of the first things to go in the safe only to come out at ports of call and carried for emergency use only.

I suppose it indicates manners of a sort and that we should be grateful that the young lady picking her nails at the dinning table was using a toothpick and not one of the forks off the table. LOL.

On a recent cruise we joined a table for dinner one evening and when we arrived at the table there was already another family seated. The "father" of this family a man of around 35-40 was playing a game on his mobile phone when we arrived at the table, and he continued to play with his phone almost non stop through dinner even eating one handed "American style" to do so.

On another day and at lunch there was a young couple on an adjoining table. The lady appeared quite smartly dressed however her partner sitting opposite her was wearing a baseball cap and tee shirt with some sort of rude message across the back. He never removed his cap and he too played constantly on his phone all the time that we were in the restaurant. I then noticed that the lady had become bored with him, probably because of the lack of conversation as he was totally engrossed in his phone, and decided to pick her nails with a toothpick while sat at the table and awaiting her desert course.

I'm constantly being told by my children that I need to get with the times, that I'm not very tolerant of other people and that I should adopt an attitude of "different strokes for different folk".

I've suddenly realised that I've become a snob and need to adjust my attitude if little things like this annoy me. Perhaps it should be my new year resolution.

How you handle it will depend on your personal circumstances and your ability to make alternative holiday arrangements. We had P&O cancel a cruise on us at almost no notice whatsoever, in fact we only found out about the cancellation by chance two days before.

In our case we certainly weren't compensated for in any way. In fact both my wife and my daughter lost leave as a result of the cancellation and certainly weren't happy bunnies. We informed friends who were going on the same cruise of the cancellation and they were actually packing their cases when we phoned them. At first they were relatively relaxed about it thinking that the discount on a future cruise later that year was generous, only to discover that the offer was from generous when they came to book.

Never heard of it on P&O but it seems to be a regular occurrence on the Princess boards.

We shared a table at lunch with two couples some years ago who had been bumped off a P&O cruise because of overbooking. They told us that they were obviously upset at first but that P&O had compensated them handsomely and that they were very happy with the arrangement. Both couples were retired so were able to take the offered alternative cruise offered by the company.

She was our favourite ship also until P&O decided to change her to adult only. A lovely ship that we sailed on several times and never were really aware of any vibration problems other than when in the one dinning room.

Just the usual P&O inconsistency perhaps ?

No there's definate logic in it. You must remember that the muster drill isn't only to educate the passengers about their muster stations and routes to them but also to drill the crew many of whom may be new to the ship due to crew rotations.

There's actually a whole science devoted to crowd dynamics and evacuation of premises/vessels in an emergency. Many of the principles employed when working out escape routes including staircase and exit widths, and disregarding exits are exactly the same as employed on land.

It's one area where I have absolute confidence in P&O.

One thing I don't understand is why they don't let you use your main escape route in a muster drill for some cabins?

On our first cruise on Oceana we had to use the stairs opposite the cabin that was the main route (identified by signs and on the cabin door), though this was usually a staff staircase. We have had the same cabin a number of times since and even though this stair case is identified as the main route we are not allowed to use it in the drill.

To me a drill is there to show you your routes - the best routes - in an emergency.

 

On Ventura in August our cabin was close to a crew stairway again. Same issue, identified as the main route etc and as an emergency exit, but we weren't allowed to use it.

 

It isn't a major criticism, but I'm sure that if they used these escape routes it would better prepare guests and take some of the pressure off the main stair ways.

 

Does anyone know why they have stopped using these stair ways as it baffles us.

The reason that they don't always direct you down the main staircases that you would normally use it to educate passengers to the alternative routes available in an emergency. This is just the same as preventing the use of normal escape routes in an emergency evacuation drill in the workplace at home. People become so accustomed to only ever entering or exiting a building by a single route that in an emergency situation they forget about any alternative routes that may be available.

Bit naughty advertising it is going through then isn't it!!!

 

http://www.pocruises.com/r722/?search=true

Perhaps they got a little confused as Adonia is apparently canal regulations compliant?

If you accept the information on Wikapedia as being correct then Aurora is too long and has too deep a draught to navigate the canal. She may also be too high to go under the bridges (42m limit).

We navigated the canal on Balmoral some years ago and a most pleasant experience it was too but even Balmoral which is a much smaller ship than Aurora had too lower part of the mast to cruise the Kiel canal.

:') Of course you can, and so can all the other passengers. :D

If memory serves me right the side bars are normally folded under the mattress and only deployed when mid aged children use the upper berths as they are normally a nuisance to adults and older children. If parents have any concerns about the safety of their children using the upper berths then why not use them themselves and allow the child to sleep in the lower berth.

I slept in the upper berth when our children were small it was no real hardship.

Poor science and scaremongering, journalism at it's worst. Unbalanced and inflammatory would be the way that I would describe the programme. Using outdated information in a most provocative way. Yes the shipping industry is not without fault but focussing on the smoke stack of an older ship with a thermal image camera and then jumping to conclusions about the emissions is far from evidence. Use the same camera on the boiler outlet from your gas boiler and compare the pictures.

I'm starting to get very worried and annoyed at the standard of journalism in this country. Just look at some of the reporting of the Grenfell tower fire for example. Many journalists seem more interested in creating a story rather than reporting the facts.

On a recent cruise on Aurora we selected 2nd sitting and were surprised to see the dining room only half full each evening. Speaking to the restaurant manager one evening it would seem that 2nd sitting is no longer popular and that most are either opting for freedom dining or 1st sitting.

Plus of course the other options of buffet, Sindhu, glasshouse and beach house also take a number out of the equation. Sindhu being only a small restaurant on Aurora but was generally fully booked each evening.

While not knocking freedom dining or 1st sitting because we have enjoyed both in the past when circumstances were different and it suited us but long may it continue this way, as being only half full the service on our sitting was very efficient and the waiting staff most attentive.

Can anyone tell me if there are any children's pools on any of the P & O ships and if so how deep are they?

Children's pools or paddling pools?

Dress sense has certainly changed over the years. One evening on a recent cruise when the required dress was casual I noticed one gentleman guest in the main dining room wearing camouflage trousers, thongs (flip flops) and a blue vest. Personally I wouldn't call that casual I would call that beach wear. He wasn't turned away.

Perhaps it's time that casual should be more clearly defined as "Smart Casual"?

On the other hand the chap was pleasant and most polite and certainly wasn't as rude as the immaculately dressed couple who strode into the main dining room 30 minutes after the doors were closed on a formal night and sat down to eat, obvious to the annoyance of many of the waiting staff who were far too polite to make comment and merely grinned and bore it.

I totally agree that we shouldn't be judgemental but you have to wonder sometimes. For instance on one cruise some years ago we often saw a family of four moving around the ship, three of them in mobility scooters. We felt quite sympathetic for them. (Incidentally through work I've had quite a bit to do with people with disabilities and mobility issues and fully appreciate that not all disabilities are obvious.)

However at one sailaway party we were surprised to see the mother and son both jump off their mobility scooters and dance around the deck for at least half an hour including the time the son climbed up on a table and was dancing on top of the table until politely asked to get down by a member of the crew. All I can say is that there were more than one or two eyebrows raised and some very unsympathetic comments passed by quite a few of the surrounding passengers.

On another occasion we were travelling in a group with relatives and friends of the relatives one of which was a older lady with mobility issues due to her weight. Several times we witnessed her accept a seat offered by some kindly person when waiting to enter the restaurant of an evening. Only to immediately jump up and push all aside including young children as soon as the restaurant doors opened. It was most embarrassing as we were sharing a table with the lady.

I haven't personally seen 'fake needs' and if people do this I would rather just except it than risk rejecting anyone who needed the service. Not all disabilities are immediately apparent to others. If there are people who do fake the degree of their need, I would think this a terrible and selfish thing to do, but it's on their conscience.

 

 

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Sorry to disagree slightly and say this Florry but we have witnessed many "fake needs" on cruises over the years. Or perhaps we have witnessed true miracles of recovery and that P&O should name their next new ship the M.S. Lourdes. ;p

These people clearly have no consciences and make it that much more difficult for the genuine disadvantaged.

Why not? Wearing a DJ isn't compulsory on formal night - a dark suit and tie is acceptable so why not spice up your DJ with your attractive bolo tie? You are adhering to the concept of dressing up for formal night so shouldn't offend anyone on that score. Ladies have a lot of latitude on formal nights so I don't see why a gentleman shouldn't exhibit a little individuality. Go for it!

(I had to look up bolo tie too!)

So did I. I've always known them as shoelace ties.

I would stick to a bow tie and forget about the spurs also. After all they do tend to tear the carpets up a bit. :D

We have stayed in a local hotel in the past which provided free parking for the duration of the cruise and taken a taxi back and fore to the port. We have also used the free coach service when it was Eavesway. But for shear convenience and service personally we have never experienced better than CPS. Yes they may be slightly more expensive than some other companies but we have been more than happy with the way they operate, even taking our car to the new terminal when a different cruise terminal is returned to from that of which we departed.

Fact

We sailed on Aurora on Saturday 22nd April. We arrived 10 minutes before our allotted boarding time handed over the car to CPS and entered Mayflower terminal where we were given a card and directed straight to the line for checking in. Twenty minutes later we were on-board and sat down at the terrace bar with a cup of coffee. It simply couldn't have been easier or quicker, no fuss, no hassle and no preferential treatment. So the P&O system does work.

Incidentally the arrivals hall was full of passengers waiting to board who presumably had turned up early. We were in the lowest grade of cabin possible. We actually arrived in Southampton 3/4 of an hour earlier but decided to have a look around Decathlon first rather than go straight to the port to wait around.

I think your memory of the band is slightly confused as The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire & Wiltshire Regiment wasn't formed until 1994.

No I misread it and thought that I had deleted the post when I realised shortly after, clearly I hadn't.:o

By coincidence this was the same band that played on one of our sailaways. No a bad band but certainly not up to the standards of the Marines who played on our first cruise on Canberra.

Though I must say that they were certainly better than the rather poor town band that played the last time that a band played us away just before P&O decided to abandon the custom. A paper and comb band might have done better.:D

I think your memory of the band is slightly confused as The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire & Wiltshire Regiment wasn't formed until 1994.

What do I love about P & O?

Oriana and Aurora are beautiful classic ships.

Sailing from Southampton.

Sindhu.

Some interesting itineraries.

Syndicate quiz.

Sensible pricing.

There may be some people on board that I run a mile to avoid but there are an awful lot more that I look forward to meeting.

Oh yes I forgot to mention Aurora and Oriana, we're not really keen on most of the other ships especially the larger ones.

As for the Britishness of P&O that some have mentioned actually we often find that just a bit too much and would love to see and meet passengers from other countries on P&O cruises.