New to P&O - should we try?

[wen_c82]

Hi

 

We have cruises both Princess and Celebrity many times and after seeing the new Britannia we are considering a Norway cruise in late August out of Southampton. There are also X Eclipse (8/22) and Caribbean Princess (8/29) that would fit our schedule. CP and Britannia are similar in prices but X is a little more for an inside cabin.

 

I would appreciate any insight into on board experiences, either similarities /differences with Princess/Celebrity to help make the decision.

 

thanks

[Floflegs]

We have also cruised many times with Princess, Celebrity and RCCL. We have booked our first P and O cruise on Azura leaving next month. Having read many of the posts I had mixed feelings about going but have decided to go with an open mind. After all a cruise is a cruise and it beats staying at home.

[Host Sharon]

Personally I much prefer P&O to Princess, but that is the problem - it is a personal opinion and that can only be gained if you try it.

 

The food may be the biggest difference in that it is geared to UK tastes while Princess is more American in style - more meat fewer vegs - and P&O have proper desserts. No free ice cream on P&O either. But I find the crew friendlier and drinks are cheaper with no 15% gratuity added.

Edited March 11, 2015 by Host Sharon

[balf]

Of course we don't know how Brittania will turn out: we have wait for the reports to come when she starts cruising.

 

Not all P&O ships are the same. We would certInly never sail again aboard either Ventura or Azura but many people love both ships.

 

Our favourite is Adonia which has all the normal drawbacks of a small ship but for service and food beats Cunard hands down, though that really isn't too difficult at times.

 

The only way to know is to go.

 

David.

[Denarius]

I have never sailed with Princess, but have sailed many times with P&O and several times with Celebrity. Will therefore restrict my comments to those line,.

The main difference is that P&O is almost exclusively geared to British passengers, and virtually all passengers are British. Celebrity is more cosmopolitan. This is reflected in the restaurant and bar menus, the onboard entertainment, and general onboard activities, which are geared for British tastes. P&O is more formal than Celebrity, with more formal nights per cruise which are more strictly enforced. You pay in £ not $.

[SueFrankuk]

I agree with the last post the "loyal P and O" can be very hard work, if I hear standards are dropping again I will shoot someone

 

We are loyal Princess cruisers but are looking forward to our trip in April on Azura, such a good deal with massive OBC, which we will use as we find the food poor compared with princess, and the waiters in freedom dining so miserable and unhelpful so we spend a lot more in wonderful Glass House, Sindhu and Verona.

 

Have a great cruise

 

Sue

[wen_c82]

Hi All

 

Thanks for all your comments. It makes sense that P&O is catered mainly to British clientele. We'll read some more reviews to better understand what that means. We'll also be on the look out for new Britannia's cruise reviews.

 

I also looked around on P&O web site and noticed the 8/29 cruise is marked 'school holidays cruise' - is that something we need to be concerned about? Or it just means that we have to decide quickly if interested in this sailing? Usually at the end of August in U.S. kids are already back to school.

 

thanks

[kruzseeka]

Hi All

 

Thanks for all your comments. It makes sense that P&O is catered mainly to British clientele. We'll read some more reviews to better understand what that means. We'll also be on the look out for new Britannia's cruise reviews.

 

I also looked around on P&O web site and noticed the 8/29 cruise is marked 'school holidays cruise' - is that something we need to be concerned about? Or it just means that we have to decide quickly if interested in this sailing? Usually at the end of August in U.S. kids are already back to school.

 

thanks

 

How long is the 28th August cruise? If it is more than 7 days then it's highly unlikely to have many children on board as most schools go back early September and the first week of the new school year is not a popular time to keep children off school. (A week either side of other school holidays however isn't uncommon). Even if a 7day trip I would be very surprised if there were more than a handful of school age children on board.

 

I've just looked up the term dates of about 10 different school Counties and all go back during that week - some on the 1st September and others on 3rd. I haven't found any yet which don't return until the following week. P&O's claim that it's a school holiday week is very misleading if not totally wrong. Perhaps they have found odd authorities where term starts w/e 8th but I suspect not many! 8th September would be a very late start date for the Autumn term. Scottish schools will definitely be back - their summer holiday period is earlier. I would discount that as an issue in your planning.

Edited March 12, 2015 by kruzseeka

[Josy1953]

Children in Stoke on Trent go back to school 8th September and I think that there are probably other areas that also go back at this time. The 28th August cruise on Britannia is to the fjords and in my experience this is an area that is not very popular with UK families, they seem to prefer to go the Med or Canaries for the sun so it is unlikely that there will be many children on board.

 

I have cruised during school holidays a number of times and have never found the children on-board to be a problem so if there was an itinerary on a ship that I liked during school holidays I would book it.

[Floflegs]

I agree with the last post the "loyal P and O" can be very hard work, if I hear standards are dropping again I will shoot someone

 

We are loyal Princess cruisers but are looking forward to our trip in April on Azura, such a good deal with massive OBC, which we will use as we find the food poor compared with princess, and the waiters in freedom dining so miserable and unhelpful so we spend a lot more in wonderful Glass House, Sindhu and Verona.

 

Have a great cruise

 

Sue

 

Are you on the 19th April cruise, ?Sue? If so join the roll call if you haven't already. It is painfully slow and not many on it.

[wen_c82]

Thank you Kruzseeka and Josy1953 on schools return dates. Very similar to US schools dates. It sounds like we may have a little more time to decide whether to book this cruise giving the school term dates.

 

8/29 Britannia sailing is a 7 days Fjords cruise.

[Presto2]

Children in Stoke on Trent go back to school 8th September and I think that there are probably other areas that also go back at this time. The 28th August cruise on Britannia is to the fjords and in my experience this is an area that is not very popular with UK families, they seem to prefer to go the Med or Canaries for the sun so it is unlikely that there will be many children on board.

 

I have cruised during school holidays a number of times and have never found the children on-board to be a problem so if there was an itinerary on a ship that I liked during school holidays I would book it.

 

Hi Josy ---- sorry this is off topic but had to ask ---- where about in the Potteries are you? We're the Northern end --- begins with a T :):D

 

To be on topic ----- I can't see many people going for a cruise to the fjords at the end of August either. Most families would want the sun to ensure that they get the most out of those pools on the sea days.

 

We always have to cruise in the school holidays and the children aren't really much of an issue. (They look really sweet on the formal night!) The teens can gate crashing the adults only pools at times which I find annoying but this has been on Celebrity ships )

 

If you want some quality time in the pool area stay on the ship when you know that everyone else will want to get off for a tour ....;)

[Josy1953]

Hi Josy ---- sorry this is off topic but had to ask ---- where about in the Potteries are you? We're the Northern end --- begins with a T :):D

 

To be on topic ----- I can't see many people going for a cruise to the fjords at the end of August either. Most families would want the sun to ensure that they get the most out of those pools on the sea days.

 

We always have to cruise in the school holidays and the children aren't really much of an issue. (They look really sweet on the formal night!) The teens can gate crashing the adults only pools at times which I find annoying but this has been on Celebrity ships )

 

If you want some quality time in the pool area stay on the ship when you know that everyone else will want to get off for a tour ....;)

 

Hi Presto,

 

We are about as far south as you can get without creeping over the border. we are in Lightwood, just before the sign that says Welcome to Stoke on Trent.

[Presto2]

Hi Presto,

 

We are about as far south as you can get without creeping over the border. we are in Lightwood, just before the sign that says Welcome to Stoke on Trent.

 

Live in Tunstall so well North, but we work in Longton so are not too far from you:D

[kevinyork]

Weve sailed P&O 5 times and Celebrity 3 times. If prices and itiniaries were equal we would choose Celebrity every time. Obviously its subjective but we think the food is better, the service is way better and we like the mix of nationalities and age groups.

 

Our experience on P&O is that the age group is higher and as has been said its pretty much wholly British in terms of clientelle, food and entertainment.

 

However we like big ships and are on Britannia in a couple of weeks as we are taking our 80 year old Mums and know the 'Britishness' will suit them. Beware the reviews from the maiden season. We went on P&O Azura on its maiden season and we couldnt believe some reviewers had been on the same ship with their moans. The main criticism at that time was ' its too big' and yet it had been advertised as one on P&Os biggest ships! It takes a while for a ship to find its market and many will be trying her out in her first year that ultimately wouldnt normally choose such a big ship.

 

The only other nationality Ive met on P&O is Aussie. As an American you will be in a very very small minority if not the only ones onboard.

 

Im not sure if you know but Britannia is structurally identical to Royal Princess and differs in terms of decor and interior design.

 

 

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[laurakdy]

Weve sailed P&O 5 times and Celebrity 3 times. If prices and itiniaries were equal we would choose Celebrity every time. Obviously its subjective but we think the food is better, the service is way better and we like the mix of nationalities and age groups.

 

Our experience on P&O is that the age group is higher and as has been said its pretty much wholly British in terms of clientelle, food and entertainment.

 

However we like big ships and are on Britannia in a couple of weeks as we are taking our 80 year old Mums and know the 'Britishness' will suit them. Beware the reviews from the maiden season. We went on P&O Azura on its maiden season and we couldnt believe some reviewers had been on the same ship with their moans. The main criticism at that time was ' its too big' and yet it had been advertised as one on P&Os biggest ships! It takes a while for a ship to find its market and many will be trying her out in her first year that ultimately wouldnt normally choose such a big ship.

 

The only other nationality Ive met on P&O is Aussie. As an American you will be in a very very small minority if not the only ones onboard.

 

Im not sure if you know but Britannia is structurally identical to Royal Princess and differs in terms of decor and interior design.

 

 

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Totally confused by the comment that p and o has a higher age group. Depends on what you mean by higher though. I've been on 3 and never thought that for a single second. Just goes to show, I think people have to try for themselves as these kinda posts, well I beg to differ.

I tried my first cruise at 47 and my next one I'll be 53. Am I in that 'higher ' category? :eek:

[kevinyork]

Totally confused by the comment that p and o has a higher age group. Depends on what you mean by higher though. I've been on 3 and never thought that for a single second. Just goes to show, I think people have to try for themselves as these kinda posts, well I beg to differ.

 

I tried my first cruise at 47 and my next one I'll be 53. Am I in that 'higher ' category? :eek:

 

 

I did say IMO. Based on our cruise experience with P&O and Celebrity (and RCI) then we have experienced a higher average age group on the P&O cruises.

 

Btw, if you are in the 'higher' group then so are we.

 

 

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[kruzseeka]

I think the age demographic can vary considerably between ships in the same fleet and even on the same ship depending on itineraries. Ex UK sailings to such as Norway or round the UK would typically have an older demographic than say fly cruises or the Caribbean. So I think what's true of one cruise may not be the case on your next.

[balf]

Report here from todays Times.

 

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/share/uuid/53822ae8-c8a4-11e4-8b61-243cc9856872

 

David.

[newbieafloat]

I think the age demographic can vary considerably between ships in the same fleet and even on the same ship depending on itineraries. Ex UK sailings to such as Norway or round the UK would typically have an older demographic than say fly cruises or the Caribbean. So I think what's true of one cruise may not be the case on your next.

 

That's interesting. One of the reasons for booking Ventura for my first cruise was hoping for a mix of ages. I'm hoping to not be just sailing with a great hoarde of people in an age group I'm not part of. I don't mind socialising with people outside my age range at all, but am hoping for some diversity.

 

A good friend of mine has sailed with CMV three or four times, and has found himself with very little diversity of age range amongst his fellow passengers. At 20 years my senior, I think he has found himself to be one of the youngest passengers on board more than once.

[Treastacey]

Love that fact that I might feel young again [emoji1][emoji1][emoji1] I'm 47 but hope to look younger after all the relaxation LOL going with mother who is clearly older so maybe not too much relaxation hmmm!

Trea x

 

 

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[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Been looking at Britannia and like what I see, my issue is that its a P&0 ship targeted at the British market,

 

you see I enjoy meals that I have not tried before,

 

I like to chat to fellow passengers from around around world, last cruise

 

we had Swedish and Canadian at our table, in fact before boarding the ship we stayed in Canada with folks we met on a cruise a few years ago,

 

I also like acts and entertainment that I had not come across before,

 

I would avoid any cruise that had any connection to Strictly, do not want

 

football on my TV or soaps,

 

so question is P&O just to British.

 

yours Shogun

[KaththeTaff]

DH has cruised with P&O, but that was some years ago. We've cruised on Celebrity and Princess, and enjoyed the Celebrity experience much more than Princess. On the latter we found that the cocktails were poor, the beer selection very poor, and the Cruise Director terrible. It wasn't all bad though, there were some good aspects of Princess like the food.

 

We don't like the way Celebrity has been heading recently, though and so we've decided to give P&O a try. DH is interested to see what's changed since his previous Arcadia cruise a decade ago, and I'm keen on sampling a much more British experience after five American style trips.

 

I don't mind being with mostly British passengers. At least we'll meet people form all over the country, and hopefully there won't be too much of a language barrier with our Welsh accents!

[themanwithahat]

Hi All

 

so question is P&O just to British.

 

yours Shogun

 

How British is too British ? I think the main difference is most people you meet will be from the UK. Virtually everyone we spoke to was UK based.

 

Food varies a fair bit, but is still British influenced, as is the Entertainment. The most comically British bit is the Sailaway which is great fun and a bit, well a lot bonkers. But very British :)

 

Here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2025644 I uploaded a week's "Onboard magazines" and menus (speciality and daily restaurants) - two files. It will give you some idea of what goes on and obviously what the food is like.

[AchileLauro]

Hi All

 

Been looking at Britannia and like what I see, my issue is that its a P&0 ship targeted at the British market,

 

you see I enjoy meals that I have not tried before,

 

I like to chat to fellow passengers from around around world, last cruise

 

we had Swedish and Canadian at our table, in fact before boarding the ship we stayed in Canada with folks we met on a cruise a few years ago,

 

I also like acts and entertainment that I had not come across before,

 

I would avoid any cruise that had any connection to Strictly, do not want

 

football on my TV or soaps,

 

so question is P&O just to British.

 

yours Shogun

 

+1. You thoughts seem to be very similar to mine Shogun.

 

Why oh why do P&O think that the whole British public is obsessed with Come Dancing, soccer, soaps and now baking?

I absolutely hate all three. Talk about stereo typing. :mad:

 

Quite frankly they are starting to make me thik that perhaps my next cruise will be with another company. Incidentally in the past we have met a very nice family from the U.S. and another from Canada on P&O ships but other than the odd individual from other countries the vast majority of passengers were from the U.K.

Edited March 15, 2015 by AchileLauro