Sorry P&O you did not try hard enough.

[MONKEY20]

We have just been on a taster P&O Cruise (Venture) and have to report that we did not think they tried hard enough to win our custom.

Everything was ok on the cruise but nothing made me think WOW.

I was disappointed with the web site and lack of information available to me before my cruise.

The cabin, food and entertainment was good. It just lacked the WOW factor.

Maybe if we had gone on the Britannia it might have been different?

 

Ian

[groovechick]

I have to say I doubt it Ian. We've just come back from 2 weeks on Britannia and whilst we had a fantastic holiday, we definitely were not wowed by her. In fact I like her less than Azura or Aurora. P&O does not go for the "bling" of lines like RCI and (from what I've seen on the website) Princess anyway.

The product that was delivered on Britannia was no different to what you would find on the other ships, apart from slight differences in "atmosphere" due to ship's size, clientele, etc.

[minikiss]

I have to agree with monkey20.

 

The trip was ok, nothing to really complain about but there was nothing to make us think wow.

 

It was frustrating to get on just 20 mins before muster, leaving little and no time to get to know the ship before sailing.

Hated not being able to get freedom dinning, forced to take late sitting. Found the choice on the menu not very inspiring, that's both dinning room and buffet.

Drinks choice was a bit small if you liked a cocktail..... In one bar they told me he couldn't make me what I wanted as they had run out..... Struggled to read menu so just ask for a pina colada....it was easier.

So all in all I will not be booking another P&O cruise any time soon...

 

It give a cruise credit on my Princess account pushing us up to platinum level:)

[the english lady]

Thank goodness P and O does not really do WOW..I don't really like tasteless bling.

I would never go up to ventura/azura/Britannia size, so the ones that appeal to me are more traditional.

Also 2 days cruises are not really the ones to go on if you want to know what a ship is like. too busy busy busy.

I would assume the person who did not get the sitting they wanted was on a saver fare, where you do not get choices. So they went for price rather than choice. Up to them..

[LondonTowner]

English lady

 

Have to agree with you. We also like smaller ships and would never be interested in the monstrosities of the huge ships. Too many people in one place at one time.

 

Just as well we don't all like the same things.

[twopoint]

We are booked on the Bruges taster in December. Looking forward to a fun break for our wedding anniversary.

 

Good food is a must, anything else is a bonus.

 

After reading about P&O we are highly unlikely to take another other than a mini break. It was the date/itinerary/ cost that made it the right fit for us.

 

Will only be our 2nd cruise, after Disney not expecting a British centric line to compete on wow or service. I may be surprised.

 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[Mysticalmother]

We have just been on a taster P&O Cruise (Venture) and have to report that we did not think they tried hard enough to win our custom.

Everything was ok on the cruise but nothing made me think WOW.

I was disappointed with the web site and lack of information available to me before my cruise.

The cabin, food and entertainment was good. It just lacked the WOW factor.

Maybe if we had gone on the Britannia it might have been different?

 

Ian

 

Hi Ian

I think I would agree with the other posters that a 2 day taster isn't really long enough, nor is the right type of cruise to get a real feel as to what P & O is like. They tend to have more of a party atmosphere, and I suspect P&O put a fair smattering of new or inexpereinced staff on these type of cruises which doesn't help. Having said that I am not sure you will ever get a real "Wow" from any P & O ship - I'm not bashing them nor singing their praises from the rooftops - its just they dont really do "wow" somehow!

 

I am interested though about your disspointment with the web site and lack of information available to you before your cruise. I have always managed to find what I need to know on their website, although it may have been a bit of a game to find it! Whatspecifically did you feel was lacking? Its a pretty clunky website, but I always thought the info on it was Ok - but that maybe because I am a seasoned P&O cruiser....:o and know it all! (Ha ha!). If people new to P&O are finding the website lacking then they need to do something about it. Anyway, would be interested to hear your thoughts.

[cruisefan2012]

Have to disagree with the comment regarding the the volume of people sailing on Azura Ventura Britannia, having sailed on all 3 ships, I have never experience a large crowd except for in the dining room at dinner and in the theatre = BUT = 3,000 + people CANT all be in the same room at the same time, dont forget there is 2 seperate dining times, 6:30 and 8:30pm in 2 restuarants plus there is the freedom dining restaurant + the speciality restaurants. The theatre shows are on sometimes 3x in the evening, plus all the bars / show lounges around the ship

 

 

I also have to agree with the comment about a 2 day cruises, again having done 2x 2 night cruises (Ventura & Azura) you dont get the full cruise experience of what a longer cruise is like as again its very busy busy busy.

Edited January 20, 2016 by cruisefan2012

[kruzseeka]

I'm not bothered about wow either and although we have enjoyed Azura, we too really like the size and ambience of ships like Aurora and that's our preference.

 

Without getting into the mini cruise issue and how that differs from longer cruises (which in my experience it definitely does and therefore doesn't give a representative experience of cruising in general) I must say the OP's sentiments did however remind me of our thoughts after doing a one day ship visit prior to our first P&O cruise.

 

We enjoyed our visit but the lunch was really not great at all - very disappointing in fact. Given that these visits are designed to attract custom we thought they might even push the boat out and really try to impress. We were concerned that if that was the best they could do to attract us then the day to day fare would not even live up to that standard! It put us off booking with P&O for a while.

 

In the event after cruising with P&O as well as quite a few other lines we find the food on P&O very acceptable, compares favourably and we look forward to our meals. But it's a cautionary tale - failure to give us a meal which came up to expectations (based on our experiences of other cruiselines) did make a negative impression. I must say we are now very pleased to have discovered it wasn't representative. It's important though that in promoting your ship/product they do a good job of 'selling' themselves properly.

[balf]

We have just been on a taster P&O Cruise (Venture) and have to report that we did not think they tried hard enough to win our custom.

 

Everything was ok on the cruise but nothing made me think WOW.

 

I was disappointed with the web site and lack of information available to me before my cruise.

 

The cabin, food and entertainment was good. It just lacked the WOW factor.

 

Maybe if we had gone on the Britannia it might have been different?

 

 

 

Ian

 

 

Don't know how much you paid but the wow factor went awol many years ago because of the competition to cut prices among all the cruise lines.

 

I certainly found it, probably up to around 2004 time or a little after on P&O and other ships. Then service, food and "wow" went down along side the cruise rates. Sad in many ways, but that's "mass tourism"

 

David.

[groovechick]

I am interested though about your disspointment with the web site and lack of information available to you before your cruise. I have always managed to find what I need to know on their website, although it may have been a bit of a game to find it! Whatspecifically did you feel was lacking? Its a pretty clunky website, but I always thought the info on it was Ok - but that maybe because I am a seasoned P&O cruiser....:o and know it all! (Ha ha!). If people new to P&O are finding the website lacking then they need to do something about it. Anyway, would be interested to hear your thoughts.

 

I think I understand where Ian is coming from, Mysticalmother. Info that used to be really easy to find is now buried away or not there at all. Perhaps not so much relevant to a 2-day cruise, but info such as port times, which nights are formal/jacket required/informal and, more recently, availability of free shuttle buses in ports has all been removed or buried. As we don't cruise several times a year, or even every year, I need to refresh my memory about certain things and prior to our recent cruise found it much harder to find what I wanted. I find the Search box tends to give you the answers to the questions it would like you to ask, rather than the question you have actually asked.

 

Now, who else do I know who does that? Oh yes, I've got it! Politicians! :D

[jeanlyon]

I feel much the same about "wow", not sure what it means really. I don't want bling. What I would like is a return to the good of about 2-3 years ago instead of the same old meat and two veg menus. A lovely chicken in a sauce would be good, never saw anyting like that on our last cruise. Having said that, I could always find something special in the buffet at lunchtime and also very much enjoy the themed buffets like Indian or Italian.

 

We did not like the size of Azura and DID find her very crowded, both getting on and off and also just on board especially in inclement weather.

[johncandt]

I feel much the same about "wow", not sure what it means really. I don't want bling. What I would like is a return to the good of about 2-3 years ago instead of the same old meat and two veg menus. A lovely chicken in a sauce would be good, never saw anyting like that on our last cruise. Having said that, I could always find something special in the buffet at lunchtime and also very much enjoy the themed buffets like Indian or Italian.

 

We did not like the size of Azura and DID find her very crowded, both getting on and off and also just on board especially in inclement weather.

We are going on Azura again in March to Caribbean , we sailed on her two years ago and loved it did not find it crowded cept on sea days , as regards the food we only eat in the MDR on formal nights and we did enjoy them , rest of time spent in speciality restaurants at a price of course but as we are avid foodies we feel its worth the extra.We have had our last three cruises on Celebrity a couple we loved one not so good , it will be interesting to compare these with Azura again..John/Trish

[tartanexile81]

All I can say is each to their own. There's now an endless choice of cruise lines and within these lines there are ships of all different shapes and sizes so we're all sure to find some we particularly like.

 

We did a taster with friends on RCI and there was certainly plenty of bling but it was the worst cruising experience of our lives - even worse than Fred Olsen at the other end of the scale. However I do agree that a two day weekend cruise is not the best way to judge either a ship or a company. We did a four-dayer on Ventura earlier this year and there was without doubt a very, very different feel indeed but it was what it was.

[Presto2]

Hi Ian

IHaving said that I am not sure you will ever get a real "Wow" from any P & O ship - I'm not bashing them nor singing their praises from the rooftops - its just they dont really do "wow" somehow!

 

I.

 

Have to say that the only ship that always makes us smile (including Celebrity and RCI) and go 'wow' when we get on board is the Oceana - the atrium really is beautiful. Ironically, she was once a Princess ship :) She may be old but she still has that 'wow' factor for us . :)

 

Having said that - we loved Britannia - she was different.

 

:)

[louthebowler]

To be fair, the op didn't say he wanted bling, just that the ship didn't have the 'wow' factor .

We all like different things and different ships. I'm still enjoying trying various cruise lines, and I like and dislike things on each ship, the only thing I know I love about each ship is that I'm on it!!

[SteveH2508]

Have to say that the only ship that always makes us smile (including Celebrity and RCI) and go 'wow' when we get on board is the Oceana - the atrium really is beautiful. Ironically, she was once a Princess ship :) She may be old but she still has that 'wow' factor for us . :)

 

Having said that - we loved Britannia - she was different.

 

:)

 

Glad to hear that - we are P&O 'virgins' (bar a day visit on Oriana). We are sailing on Oceana at the end of March - we have watched several YouTube videos - she looks like a nice, medium sized, traditional type ship. We have sailed the US lines so we are looking forward to a different vibe as well (and a decent promenade deck!).

Edited January 20, 2016 by SteveH2508

[Sanjam cruisers]

I must be very easily pleased, having cruised with P&O since 2005, I get to the quayside look up at that enormous white hull and say to myself " Wow that's my home for the next fortnight " it never ceases to amaze me.

[Josy1953]

I must be very easily pleased, having cruised with P&O since 2005, I get to the quayside look up at that enormous white hull and say to myself " Wow that's my home for the next fortnight " it never ceases to amaze me.

I am the same, my husband says that I remind him of going on holiday as a child where he and his siblings always tried to be the first to spot the sea. As soon as we get to Southampton I am eagerly looking for my first glimpse of the ship and I am still doing this after 34 cruises so I guess I am not likely to stop soon.

 

As other posters have said a 2 or 3 nighter is in no way representative, Our first cruise was 7 days to the Caribbean tagged on the end of a trip to Florida and we were instantly hooked. Having done 4 days on Azura last May I think that if that had ben my first cruise it would have been my last 4 days of rowdy hens was more than enough.

[RubyGold]

I loved the ventura!

It was my 8th cruise total on 4 lines and my mother's first. It was so easy to navigate and everyone treated mum with exceptional grace. She had the time of her life. (And this is the woman who used to clean the tiles in our bathroom one at a time so she knew they were all done )

 

We had an ocean view cabin right by the gallery and our dining room, so if mum wasn't feeling mobile then she could still get to dinner with little trouble.

 

I know that this ship has the very best cleaners of any I've been on. I can tell by the small area of where the shower curtain touches the base of the shower lol

 

We were very impressed at what we received for the price.

 

Also, I thought the MDR food was the best of the lines I've been with.

[jeanlyon]

Yes would agree that the wow for me is simply arriving, seeing the ship and being on board. We had better food on Fred Olsen than on P&O and I'm going to be interested to compare this year as we are on Fred in May and Oriana in October.

[brillo]

I think that this is a case of the pax choosing the wrong cruise line rather than P&O needing to change,

 

If you want RCL razamatazz book wIth RCL, other lines are available.

[yorkshirephil]

We recently cruised on Britannia and we thought that it didn't have a wow factor, I think we were maybe expecting something a bit special due to all the hype. We had no complaints as we had a fantastic cruise and don't let the trivial things bother us. Glitzy or plain and retro, wood or glass, we have enjoyed them all.

 

We have been cruising for 20 years and have cruised on small ships(600 pax) to Independence of the seas (+4000 pax) and many inbetween with various cruise lines. We have loved every one, we also cruise on a budget as I feel quantity is better than quality where holidays are involved. Cruising has changed significantly over the years as cruise prices have been driven down, mainly by people like me who usually book late at a good price plus new customers who though cruising was outside their budgets.

 

The downside is that cruise lines have cut back, a bit here a bit there, trivial things like no chocolates on the pillow with many lines, reduced staff to passenger ratio's, less choice on menu's, bed linen not changed as often as it used to be, toiletries cut back, to name a few. These are not that important to me but may be to others. Extra charges have been added for things that used to be included, extra cover charges here and there. The onboard costs have gone up in relationship to the basic cruise prices. So some of the luxiories are still there, at a price for those that want them.

 

We have found that some of the smaller ships have felt more crowded than the big ships on occasions. IMHO the big ships are much easier to find your way around in the way they are designed.

 

Bottom line; we love cruising and hopefully will have many more and will have to adapt accordingly.

[jeanlyon]

Agree with everything you said, except for the b ig ships. Azura was a nightmare to find your way in. On the Prom deck, there are no windows to the outside and corridors go at an angle, so you don't know fore from aft. We were expecting a wow factor as she was a brand new ship, but didn't find it. We still enjoyed the cruise, just not keen on the ship.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

To be fair, the op didn't say he wanted bling, just that the ship didn't have the 'wow' factor .

We all like different things and different ships. I'm still enjoying trying various cruise lines, and I like and dislike things on each ship, the only thing I know I love about each ship is that I'm on it!!

Which is our favourite ship so far?