Little or no notice of a formal evening

[STEPHEN LARKIN]

I have just received an email today (18th April) informing me that P+O have decided to change the dress code on a 3 night cruise, 'Yes I did say 3 night Cruise' and have made one of those nights formal. For a cruise sailing on the 22nd April, it's now Friday night and the ship is sailing on Monday !

I booked this cruise months ago and was well aware of the dress code, two smart casual and one casual, this I was very happy with.

Now they have changed it, giving me only a Saturday morning for a fitting and collection on the same day !

This is really very bad organisation !

Your thoughts please...

[daiB]

I have just received an email today (18th April) informing me that P+O have decided to change the dress code on a 3 night cruise, 'Yes I did say 3 night Cruise' and have made one of those nights formal. For a cruise sailing on the 22nd April, it's now Friday night and the ship is sailing on Monday !

I booked this cruise months ago and was well aware of the dress code, two smart casual and one casual, this I was very happy with.

Now they have changed it, giving me only a Saturday morning for a fitting and collection on the same day !

This is really very bad organisation !

Your thoughts please...

 

Stephen I am at a loss as to what to say. I have never known P&O not to have a formal night, even for a 2 night cruise.

 

Wear a suit with tie if you do not have a DJ. Do not buy one at this stage. But with your cruising record you must have something suitable, did the other lines not have formal nights?

 

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

 

Dai

[STEPHEN LARKIN]

Hi Dai,

 

Thanks for taking the time to reply to me. As you have quite rightly said with my past history I am well aware of the cruising tradition of formal evenings and have taken part on many a wonderful occasion.

 

I have booked this cruise as a relaxing time with my 72 year old father as a treat for him, I did not want any pomp and ceremony and the two casual with one casual evening was perfect for us.

 

I now point blank refuse to conform to this stupid request on such short notice and will be 'relaxing in style' on-board on that evening.

 

I am not one of those people who come on here to complain - far from it if you read my last post I have given this site and P+O high praise, but this is just very poor customer service.

 

Thanks again Dai. :cool:

[Presto2]

I have just received an email today (18th April) informing me that P+O have decided to change the dress code on a 3 night cruise, 'Yes I did say 3 night Cruise' and have made one of those nights formal. For a cruise sailing on the 22nd April, it's now Friday night and the ship is sailing on Monday !

 

I booked this cruise months ago and was well aware of the dress code, two smart casual and one casual, this I was very happy with.

 

Now they have changed it, giving me only a Saturday morning for a fitting and collection on the same day !

 

This is really very bad organisation !

 

Your thoughts please...

 

Seems ridiculously short notice to us -------- I'd stick to wearing a smart suit if need be. I agree, this is not good customer service - before we went on P&O we had NO formal wear and would have been really stressed to discover that we needed formal wear at such short notice.

 

On a different note, I notice you are on the IOS on the 29th October -- us too --- my big birthday and have NO idea what to wear for that as a first time RCI cruiser ! After this one with P&O we will go prepared for anything.

 

Have a great cruise whatever :)

[jeanlyon]

So just wear an ordinary suit with a tie - it's not that difficult?

[Presto2]

So just wear an ordinary suit with a tie - it's not that difficult?

 

It is if you aren't a woman ----------- :confused:

 

Personally I would have freaked out to be told it was a formal night with just a half a day to find something to wear (particularly if I hadn't been on a cruise before and wasn't sure what to expect!) :eek:

[Eglesbrech]

This is far to short notice. We split the journey to Southampton as it is a very long drive and so had we been on the same cruise would not even have got the notice about the change. Others may be in exactly that position.

 

It will put some people in the uncomfortable / embarrassing position of not feeling properly dressed.

 

I wonder why the late change.

[daiB]

This is far to short notice. We split the journey to Southampton as it is a very long drive and so had we been on the same cruise would not even have got the notice about the change. Others may be in exactly that position.

 

It will put some people in the uncomfortable / embarrassing position of not feeling properly dressed.

 

I wonder why the late change.

 

I wonder why there was ever a cruise advertised with no formal nights included. Was this a typo and a very late realisation of what had happened.

 

Has anyone any experience of a cruise without a formal night?

 

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

 

Dai

 

 

:cool:

[Josy1953]

I wonder why there was ever a cruise advertised with no formal nights included. Was this a typo and a very late realisation of what had happened.

 

Has anyone any experience of a cruise without a formal night?

 

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

 

Dai

 

:cool:

 

We did a 3 night cruise on Ventura last year and we also received an email a few days before sailing telling us what the dress code was for each evening. We had never done a short break before so I had checked on the P&O site before and found that 3 night cruise usually has a formal night so were not taken by surprise but do I think that it is very poor of P&O not to send out the emails earlier than 2 or 3 days before sailing because not everyone thinks to check on the website for the number of formal, semi-formal, casual nights for each cruise.

[davecttr]

What about those cruisers who are not on line. I can imagine an almighty row if hundreds of passengers turn up at the terminal without formal gear.

 

P&O should have left it like it was as all passengers were probably aware of the smart-jacket required night. Expect to see lots of blazers and sports coats etc on formal night.

 

I read somewhere that on one cruise there was a similar debacle on dress code and men were arriving in the mdr with all sorts of jackets on including anoraks etc etc :D

[Denarius]

IMO the dress code for a cruise should never be changed once the paper documentation for the cruise, which of course includes the dress code, has been posted to passengers. Some passengers may not use the internet.

[tartanexile81]

Stephen

Any chance your TA could have passed on wrong information? I checked on the P&O website and it says there's one Black tie, one jacket required and a smart casual for your cruise. There's also a tropical night. I must admit I've never heard of a P&O cruise with no formals, but hope you enjoy yourselves anyway.

[daiB]

IMO the dress code for a cruise should never be changed once the paper documentation for the cruise, which of course includes the dress code, has been posted to passengers. Some passengers may not use the internet.

 

As I first said I have never known a P&O cruise without a formal. There has clearly been a breakdown in communications rather than a change in dress code.

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

[davecttr]

This is quite likely to happen as it has before. When last year i booked Oceana for this July it was the normal summer season 2 code regime. Then they changed it to include smart-jacket require then i had a letter from P&O a couple of weeks ago to inform me that the code was as original, no jacket required. At least everyone had 3 months notice :rolleyes:

 

P&O updated the online dress code list recently and maybe that was when they realised they had listed the wrong codes for the cruise. Very naughty to try and tell everyone with 4 days to go though, what about passengers who might have checked the web site before booking and booked that cruise specifically because there was no formal night.

If it happened to me I would not be amused.

[Cosmic Rays]

Stephen

Any chance your TA could have passed on wrong information? I checked on the P&O website and it says there's one Black tie, one jacket required and a smart casual for your cruise. There's also a tropical night. I must admit I've never heard of a P&O cruise with no formals, but hope you enjoy yourselves anyway.

 

Black tie IS formal!!!

[daiB]

Black tie IS formal!!!

 

I think that's what the wayward Scott is saying. The website is showing a formal nigh ie black tie.

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

[Denarius]

I think that's what the wayward Scott is saying. The website is showing a formal nigh ie black tie.

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

It is now. But what was it showing 2 weeks ago, before P&O changed it/realised their mistake? That is the question.

 

I suspect that the reality of the situation is that someone messed up big style when the dress codes for each cruise were posted on the web some months ago. Once the incorrect codes were on the computer of course, they became a point of reference for P&O employees and were accepted as fact. Everyone in business knows that the computer is always right. Then fairly recently someone noticed the error - hence the backtracking re Oceana and the cruise refered to in this post.

[NSWP]

To me it sounds a little over the top anyway, having a formal night on a 3 night cruise. Most pax surely would not really want to take all that clobber just for a weekend sail.

[daiB]

To me it sounds a little over the top anyway, having a formal night on a 3 night cruise. Most pax surely would not really want to take all that clobber just for a weekend sail.

 

They may not in Oz but P&O cruisers in the UK would expect just that. As I said above I have not heard of any P&O cruise of any length without a formal night. That is why I asked this question regarding the matter and no one has come back with any other information.

 

The people caught out have been new to P&O as most regulars would assume that there would be the black tie night and not even look at the website for conformation.

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

 

Dai

[daiB]

It is now. But what was it showing 2 weeks ago, before P&O changed it/realised their mistake? That is the question.

 

I suspect that the reality of the situation is that someone messed up big style when the dress codes for each cruise were posted on the web some months ago. Once the incorrect codes were on the computer of course, they became a point of reference for P&O employees and were accepted as fact. Everyone in business knows that the computer is always right. Then fairly recently someone noticed the error - hence the backtracking re Oceana and the cruise refered to in this post.

 

I do not disagree with you, I feel it has been a mistake in the first place and not simply a change of mind.

 

I suspect there would have been even more complaints had they left it as it was as many people would just assume a formal night and come prepared.

 

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

 

:cool:

[kersh]

Our friends are on this cruise and they have known for a month what the dress code is. I think some travel agents take too long to pass on information.

 

Sue

[NSWP]

Princess put the number of formal nights etc on your cruise personaliser. I cannot recollect if P&O did that last year when we were on Arcadia, Sydney to Southampton. But we did have plenty of formals on that one.

 

I have just booked Arcadia again for next year, Central Med, have to check for the formals !