If we like Celebrity, will we like P&O?

[MissMilliment]

Last summer, my family (husband and I, three teenage girls) had the holiday of a lifetime on a Baltic cruise on Celebrity Eclipse. We absolutely loved the ship and the girls loved dressing up for dinner, formal nights etc. They didn't use the teen club at all, preferring to hang out with us, especially as it was a very port intensive cruise. We had adjoining cabins with the partition between the balconies pulled back and all of us spent time sitting and reading out there rather than round the pools which tended to get very crowded.

We are now looking at doing a Mediterranean cruise next summer on the P&O Ventura. I wondered if people could give us some idea of their experiences of the Ventura and how it compares - we looked at Cunard but it looks a bit staid for teenagers, but yet they do like the glamour of old-fashioned cruising!

Any info on the Ventura and P&O would be much appreciated.

[tom_uk]

Hello Miss Milliment. Glad you enjoyed your Celebrity Eclipse cruise.

 

As for the comparison - well, you'll hear all sorts of comments, in all directions. We've done both and both have their pluses and minuses. Have a look at my blog for reviews of cruises on Ventura (four in total) and Celebrity Solstice, among others.

[richleeds]

Personally I don't think you will find P&O up to Celebrity standards particularly in staff and food but I'm sure you will find P&O pleasant enough.

[Niclia]

Celebrity is better but we've enjoyed our 2 Ventura cruises. The staff generally aren't as welcoming, the buffet isn't big enough and lacks the variety of a S class ship and the ship feels more crowded but we were impressed with the organisation of flights and transfers for our Med cruise. Formal night is also taken very seriously which would be a plus for you!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Thejuggler]

Have been on both. Where Eclipse does 'eclipse' Ventura is the amount of public space and the buffet.

 

Med cruise on Ventura in summer school holidays is not something we would choose, far too many passengers for the amount of open deck space.

[cruisebore]

Recent opinions of Celebrity which I fully share

felt that they were being processed, very efficiently, but processed. It hit the nail on the head, "for me Celebrity lacked soul, empathy, call it what you will.

cold and sterile, décor a triumph of style over substance".

P&O warts and all is more to my liking.

The Caribbean fly cruise packages are so well organised, no waiting in line to clear immigration, and collect your luggage. Just get on the transfer coach to the port waiting at the bottom of the aircraft steps. An hour later you will be in your cabin; your luggage will be delivered soon after. No necessity to lug baggage to an overnight hotel and then to the port on sailing day. Returning home you will stay on your ship until it is time to go to the airport, no hanging around the airport all day for an early evening flight home. your baggage will be collected from outside your cabin the previous evening and delivered straight to your homeward bound aircraft.

 

Cb

Edited October 7, 2014 by cruisebore

[richleeds]

The Caribbean fly cruise packages are so well organised, no waiting in line to clear immigration, and collect your luggage. Just get on the transfer coach to the port waiting at the bottom of the aircraft steps. An hour later you will be in your cabin; your luggage will be delivered soon after. No necessity to lug baggage to an overnight hotel and then to the port on sailing day. Returning home you will stay on your ship until it is time to go to the airport, no hanging around the airport all day for an early evening flight home. your baggage will be collected from outside your cabin the previous evening and delivered straight to your homeward bound aircraft.

 

Cb

 

 

Sounds very comforting for the old, infirm and unadventurous.

[cruisebore]

Sounds very comforting for the old, infirm and unadventurous.

 

 

Oh what makes you think that? which of the above categories would you fall into.

 

Cb

[richleeds]

None. Hence why we fly scheduled in business and not packaged charter.

[richleeds]

Oh and we can all play the lets find a review with the word processed in to try and prove a point game.

 

"Well, where do you start? The service expectation set by P&O at a 4* level was destroyed in a number of areas from the bar staff to the main restaurants. We bought a soft drinks package (20 drinks for £35.00) which in principle was relative good value, however it came at the expense of customer service; it seems that the waiters are targeted on the drinks they sell, and that the drinks package once sold was not part of their target when requesting refills. This resulted in a very clinical response, no smiles and on one occasion a very rude exchange from a bar manager! We had opted for anytime dinning and found on the two occasions when we chose the Meridian Restaurant that we were waiting for in excess of 45 mins and once we had been seated that we were hurried to order and felt like we were being processed.

Moving on to the state of the ship; having been on a number of Princess Cruises in the past we were familiar with the Azura as it is based on the same design as the Golden and Crown Princesses, however there seems to be a very different maintenance schedule. The steel work in the outside public areas was showing signs of rust and a distinct lack of paint. Some of the ceilings were water stained, fixtures and fittings in the self-service restaurants were showing signs of wear and tear, and carpets in some public areas were stained

 

Finally, the disembarkation; what an absolute shambles; it felt like everyone had been abandoned by the crew. The total lack of staff to guide and usher passengers was reminiscent of the “Marie Céleste” story, this being apart from the contractors who were trying to put up Christmas decorations in the areas demarked for passengers to disembark. They were using step ladders and carting large boxes around; they had no regard for passengers and their safety. A fantastic example of how to make something even more difficult than it already is!! P&O: Marks out of 10 = 4"

[cruisebore]

suum cuique pulchrum est,

Edited October 7, 2014 by cruisebore

[kathsmum]

suum cuique pulchrum est,

Now this is someone I would like to share a table for 8/10 on second sitting with and not the carping previous respondent (whom I am getting pretty tired of on these forums). (grammar may not be perfect, but someone is quite likely to pick me up that)!!:D

[davecttr]

Now this is someone I would like to share a table for 8/10 on second sitting with and not the carping previous respondent (whom I am getting pretty tired of on these forums). (grammar may not be perfect, but someone is quite likely to pick me up that)!!:D

You get my vote ;)

 

.... and here's me thinking how very efficient the new disembarkation arrangements are :rolleyes:

 

ps - you missed out the 'on' :eek:;)

[cruisebore]

Now this is someone I would like to share a table for 8/10 on second sitting with and not the carping previous respondent (whom I am getting pretty tired of on these forums). (grammar may not be perfect, but someone is quite likely to pick me up that)!!:D

 

 

:o :)

[richleeds]

Just do what I do kathsmum, skip the posters you don't want to read. It's quite simple really.

 

I do that with the boring, old, moaning posters.

 

Oh and I'd have dinner with the guy who wore a mankini onboard that caused disgusted uproar on here when lots got their knickers or incontinence pants in a twist over the pictures.

[Eboracum_d]

Coming back to the original question about PandO by comparison with Celebrity, I would comment that within P and O there is a marked difference between their older ships, mostly now Adult only and their newer family ships which I see as targeted primarily against the Royal Caribbean fleet.

 

To my mind Celebrity ships are to a slightly higher standard. Until recently, I would have said that P and O had a friendlier feel to their ships. I thought it a mistake for Celebrity/ RCCL not directly to employ their cabin and dining stewards ( they are sub-contracted) but, at least in my opinion, there has been a marked falling off in the standards on P and O.

 

Much depends on what your girls want to do -- if they want on board exciting activities then the newer P and O ships would be worth a try, although, as I say, I would see the RCCL ships as the real competitor in that market.

[MissMilliment]

Thanks for the information. I will have a look at RCCL and also at Princess. To be honest, it is mostly about the itinerary for us - our Baltic trip last year was amazing - but we plan to do the Med next and most of the big cruise lines seem to operate roughly the same itinerary in the school holidays so differences in fare and onboard amenties could be the deal breakers.

My girls aren't great on activities - I couldn't even persuade them to try out teen club last year - but you never know if something novel might tempt them - like Quantum of the Seas roller disco perhaps! Out of our price range I think though.

On the friendliness point, we found the staff on the Eclipse lovely last year, particularly in the dining room where they made a real fuss of the girls and always made time for a chat.

I see what people are saying about the crowded public spaces on Ventura, but this is not such a problem for us as we do like to hang out on our balcony quite a lot on sea days. On the Eclipse we had adjoining cabins and the room steward pulled back the partition between the balconies so we could share them - don't know if this is possible on Ventura?

Also a plus point for Ventura for us - the drinks look way cheaper on P&O!

[Eboracum_d]

You are right about the price of drinks -- much cheaper on P and O

[richleeds]

On the friendliness point, we found the staff on the Eclipse lovely last year, particularly in the dining room where they made a real fuss of the girls and always made time for a chat!

 

 

Exactly how we found them, very personable and interested in their passengers. Also and I think this might come from a greater mix of nationalities a more efficient service.

 

But as I said way back on this thread, I still think you will enjoy P&O but will get off thinking Celebrity has the edge.

[cruisebore]

You are right about the price of drinks -- much cheaper on P and O

 

 

...........and I think you still can take the odd bottle of booze aboard for that sundowner on your balcony

Very civilised :-D

 

Cb

[gadabout60]

I have cruised Celebrity and P&O but on P&O have only cruised adults only, or family ships in term time so can't really compare the family experience.

 

In my view the food on Celebrity - both main restaurant and buffet - is considerbaly better.

 

I have always had a balcony but the Celebrity balconies are bigger (to be fair I didn't go out of my way to source the best balconies on P&O

 

Service on both lines excellent.

 

I had a free drinks package on Celebrity but agree that otherwise alcohol on P&O much better priced. Prefer the ice cream and soft drinks on Celebrity!

I didn't feel processed on Celebrity - our waiters and stewards were lovely as were the waiters in the bars we frequented. Very friendly.

 

In future I think I will switch between both lines depending on itinerary.

[tom_uk]

......

I have always had a balcony but the Celebrity balconies are bigger (to be fair I didn't go out of my way to source the best balconies on P&O

......

 

Just in case the OP doesn't know about them, balconies on C deck on both Ventura and Azura are double the size of those on Riviera, A and B decks and bigger than standard balconies on Celebrity ships. The really good thing, of course, is that the cabins with these balconies on C deck are standard balcony cabins, and hence at the same price of the balcony cabins on other decks.

 

Yes, these balconies are 50% overlooked, but we reckon they're well worth it - space to stretch out!

[Somerset Cruiser]

None. Hence why we fly scheduled in business and not packaged charter.

 

Sounds very comforting for the smug and well off.

[cruisebore]

Sounds very comforting for the smug and well off.

 

 

True altruism, subsidising those flying economy ;)

 

Cb

[richleeds]

Always happy to help.