P&O Improvements

[cruisebore]

What major improvements have you noticed in the last 5 years on P&O cruises?

[Cruising Nomads]

You must be joking. Have you not been reading the comments on this forum. It would seem that the company is on a downward spiral and if it were not for a loyal few the ships would be sailing empty.

[brillo]

Better ships, all ships sailing close to capacity,

Cruising nomads you have quite obviously never been on a P&O ship in your life !!!

[mika6617]

What major improvements have you noticed in the last 5 years on P&O cruises?

 

Unfortunately none would be the honest answer. Having just came of Britannia on Sunday morning and with a few P&O cruises under my belt all I can say is that they seem to be getting poorer and poorer. The standard of service, quality of food and entertainment have all gone downhill. I remember when I first used them (not that long ago) and feeling very impressed with them. They no longer have the wow factor in fact regarding dining, the only wow you feel now is when you dine in one of the signature restaurants such as Epicurean or Sindu for dinner or the like of the Glass House for lunch which is what we were forced to if we wanted to be impressed as the food being served in the main dining rooms was rather quite bland and basic. Also I think P&O have missed a trick or two when they built Britannia, one of the bigger ships aimed at British travellers and yet failed to utilise its size and space by not adding anything of use. The design isn't that great either, in fact it inconveniences the passenger. Overall I think P&O are being left way behind the other cruise lines which seem to inspire more imagination then these do. Just my honest opinion and experience of course.

[majortom10]

Unfortunately none would be the honest answer. Having just came of Britannia on Sunday morning and with a few P&O cruises under my belt all I can say is that they seem to be getting poorer and poorer. The standard of service, quality of food and entertainment have all gone downhill. I remember when I first used them (not that long ago) and feeling very impressed with them. They no longer have the wow factor in fact regarding dining, the only wow you feel now is when you dine in one of the signature restaurants such as Epicurean or Sindu for dinner or the like of the Glass House for lunch which is what we were forced to if we wanted to be impressed as the food being served in the main dining rooms was rather quite bland and basic. Also I think P&O have missed a trick or two when they built Britannia, one of the bigger ships aimed at British travellers and yet failed to utilise its size and space by not adding anything of use. The design isn't that great either, in fact it inconveniences the passenger. Overall I think P&O are being left way behind the other cruise lines which seem to inspire more imagination then these do. Just my honest opinion and experience of course.

 

Would be interested in your opinion of what "tricks" have been missed when they built Britannia and what would you have expected differently. Whatever you do nothing will be perfect because we all have differing opinions and no cruise line can please 3500+ cruisers happy at any given time.

Edited April 12, 2016 by majortom10

[cruisebore]

 

Would be interested in your opinion of what "tricks" have been missed when they built Britannia and what would you have expected differently. Whatever you do nothing will be perfect because we all have differing opinions and no cruise line can please 3500+ cruisers happy at any given time.

 

 

Differing expectations and differing opinions.

[mygo1999]

Unfortunately having just come off Azura I have to say things are going the wrong way. The cabin stewards are now looking after eighteen cabins and they are working their socks off. However we had A618 (balcony) it had a broken mirror in the unit, the carpet was well past it's best and stained and the chair was ripped and fraying. This is more two star than four star.

The choice food in the MDR was such, we frequently resorted to the everyday sirloin steak I'm not saying the food was bad it was okay but the choices sometimes were strange and you couldn't tell what you would get and we like exotic food. The best meal was in Sindhu's. The buffet was generally better than the MDR.

The entertainment was very good, overall we try to look past the minuses and just enjoy the cruise so yes we really enjoyed it overall but we came away with the feeling it was okay, which today isn't good enough. I like P&O and I wish them well. I want them to be great not just okay but our next cruise will be with another cruise line.

Anyone who only cruises with P&O cannot make any valid comparison because you cannot know what other cruise lines standards are. Our last cruises with Princess and Royal Caribbean we came away from those feeling they were a fantastic ship and cruise.

 

 

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[mika6617]

 

Would be interested in your opinion of what "tricks" have been missed when they built Britannia and what would you have expected differently. Whatever you do nothing will be perfect because we all have differing opinions and no cruise line can please 3500+ cruisers happy at any given time.

 

Hi You are right of course, you cannot please everyone on board as we are all after something different, There are some who would like to be doing something different every day and some who just like sitting reading books all day. The trick missed in my opinion is that considering they appear to be trying to tap into the ever growing younger and family market, whilst not actually offering anything for them. Now I don't necessarily mean what RCI and Disney have done in recent years with climbing walls, ice rinks and wave riders etc... but being a bigger ship I would have thought they would have come up with something to make use of it's size. As we say not everyone would want these things but wouldn't it be nice to have the option and again you are correct in that's it's difficult to please 3500 passengers but why can't they at least try and give us the options.

[mika6617]

Unfortunately having just come off Azura I have to say things are going the wrong way. The cabin stewards are now looking after eighteen cabins and they are working their socks off. However we had A618 (balcony) it had a broken mirror in the unit, the carpet was well past it's best and stained and the chair was ripped and fraying. This is more two star than four star.

The choice food in the MDR was such, we frequently resorted to the everyday sirloin steak I'm not saying the food was bad it was okay but the choices sometimes were strange and you couldn't tell what you would get and we like exotic food. The best meal was in Sindhu's. The buffet was generally better than the MDR.

The entertainment was very good, overall we try to look past the minuses and just enjoy the cruise so yes we really enjoyed it overall but we came away with the feeling it was okay, which today isn't good enough. I like P&O and I wish them well. I want them to be great not just okay but our next cruise will be with another cruise line.

Anyone who only cruises with P&O cannot make any valid comparison because you cannot know what other cruise lines standards are. Our last cruises with Princess and Royal Caribbean we came away from those feeling they were a fantastic ship and cruise.

 

 

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Hi, you are bang on the money with that quote ''we came away from those feeling they were a fantastic ship and cruise' that is what you are paying for and unfortunately you didn't get it. It does seem though that more and more are staring to say the same thing which is such a shame as P&O fly the flag for Britain and you want them to be on top.

[Cruising Nomads]

Sorry to upset you but I am a Ligurian tier cruiser.

 

What you seem to misunderstand that if you read the comments on this forum is that P&O have nothing good going for them.

 

Tired Ships

Problems with Online Booking

Fare Prices and conditions

Poor Food

Same Itineraries

Embarkation Problems

 

All of which we do not agree with.

[mygo1999]

Sorry to upset you but I am a Ligurian tier cruiser.

 

What you seem to misunderstand that if you read the comments on this forum is that P&O have nothing good going for them.

 

Tired Ships

Problems with Online Booking

Fare Prices and conditions

Poor Food

Same Itineraries

Embarkation Problems

 

All of which we do not agree with.

You don't upset me at all, you are quite entitled defend P&O and to go on whatever cruise you want just as other people are entitled to say how they feel. Your loyalty level means NOTHING! It just means you have done a lot of cruises with P&O

However I actually do care about P&O and I care that they are letting standards slip, are you and P&O saying that having a cabin with a broken mirror, ripped chair and worn stained carpet is acceptable, does that show that P&O respect their customers or are they treating them as cash cows.

When people complain about things companies can either ignore it.....as P&O seem to do, or look at the complaints to see if they are valid then address the problems and improve, or just say 'tough' let them complain. Which do you think is the best business model?

 

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[Mysticalmother]

Sorry to upset you but I am a Ligurian tier cruiser.

 

What you seem to misunderstand that if you read the comments on this forum is that P&O have nothing good going for them.

 

Tired Ships

Problems with Online Booking

Fare Prices and conditions

Poor Food

Same Itineraries

Embarkation Problems

 

All of which we do not agree with.

 

Well, I am off on Oriana soon, so might be better placed to comment then.

 

Tired ships....haven't been on one yet...but am expecting Oriana to be so when I board next month (according to this forum). Trouble is all the "newer" cruisers want everything to be brand new all the time...ships re not like that and if they were going to refurbished every year, the costs would go sky high! Its a bit like people wont stay at an old hotel now - everything has to be ultra modern. I like a bit of "old" character...reminds me of me...:D

Online booking....clunky yes, but get better discount through TA so don't use P & O's system. P & Os IT has never been the best, and probably never will be.

Fare Prices etc...well, they are what they are. If you don't like the prices and Ts & Cs....look elsewhere..

Poor food....It was fine for us last May and July...will be interesting to see how its changed from then (I know the menu has changed...)

Same itineraries...well the bigger the ship the less accessible ports will become, so will be limited to some extent..

Embarkation problems...not experienced any ..yet. Tend to turn up at the requested time, and have hardly ever waited longer than 10 mins. And before you ask...no, I don't usually book a suite (although have booked mini suite for next cruise...excellent Black Friday deal).

 

Watch this space...

[daiB]

You don't upset me at all, you are quite entitled defend P&O and to go on whatever cruise you want just as other people are entitled to say how they feel. Your loyalty level means NOTHING! It just means you have done a lot of cruises with P&O

However I actually do care about P&O and I care that they are letting standards slip, are you and P&O saying that having a cabin with a broken mirror, ripped chair and worn stained carpet is acceptable, does that show that P&O respect their customers or are they treating them as cash cows.

When people complain about things companies can either ignore it.....as P&O seem to do, or look at the complaints to see if they are valid then address the problems and improve, or just say 'tough' let them complain. Which do you think is the best business model?

 

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Love all the negativity. If you have a complaint have it sorted when you are on the ship. I do and have never had anything held over. Are you telling us that the other lines do not have the same problems?

 

 

 

 

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[PedroLeBlanc]

P&O fly the flag for Britain and you want them to be on top.

 

I have to point out, that P&O are an American company, bought only, because there was a contest between Royal Caribbean and Carnival for the takeover of Princess Cruises. P&O came as additional baggage.

 

The flag may be British (and proud), but the working conditions for all the crew are just as bad as the other cruise lines flying a Bahamas or Panama flag of convenience.

[mygo1999]

Love all the negativity. If you have a complaint have it sorted when you are on the ship. I do and have never had anything held over. Are you telling us that the other lines do not have the same problems?

 

 

 

 

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The difference is on other cruise lines if I have complained about something they have dealt with it. P&O don't they just say nice words. Like. We are really sorry but We know about the mirror but we haven't got one, we can't do anything about it and same with the chair. I bet it's still the same now. There is an 'it'll do attitude' to be quite frank I am coming to the conclusion that I will never go with P&O again partly because of people defending the indefensible. Weird people.

 

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[BrianI]

I have to point out, that P&O are an American company

Not quite true. Carnival is a joint USA/UK company trading on the American stock exchange as Carnival Corporation and on the UK stock exchange as Carnival PLC.

Brian

[cruisebore]

Still awaiting a response (positive) to my original post.

[Mysticalmother]

The difference is on other cruise lines if I have complained about something they have dealt with it. P&O don't they just say nice words. Like. We are really sorry but We know about the mirror but we haven't got one, we can't do anything about it and same with the chair. I bet it's still the same now. There is an 'it'll do attitude' to be quite frank I am coming to the conclusion that I will never go with P&O again partly because of people defending the indefensible. Weird people.

 

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Obviously I don't know why it couldn't be rectified for you at the time. It does sound a bit unusual.

 

I can honestly say that (with one exception) I have never had any reasonable problem not sorted out whilst on board. The exception was not dealt with well on board but has been dealt with satisfactorily since my return. And that was for a "little luxuries " package which went disastrously wrong.

 

It is possible that actually they hadn't got another mirror....its not like being in a land based hotel....

[balf]

Queen Mary 2 148,828 gt 2620 passengers. Britannia 143,730 gt 3500 plus passengers. That sums it up for me, build em big, it cram em in, but to be fair the same applies to many cruise lines. All are racing each other to the bottom of the market.

 

So if I looked for improvements on the first cruise I took on Oriana when she was younger than she is now I am afraid I really wouldn't expect any because In real money I would pay much less now. Even Pando can't make silk purses out of sows ears.

 

David.

[balf]

Love all the negativity. If you have a complaint have it sorted when you are on the ship. I do and have never had anything held over. Are you telling us that the other lines do not have the same problems?

 

 

 

 

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DaiB you had a complaint?. On a P&O ship?.

 

David.

[Scriv]

Still awaiting a response (positive) to my original post.

 

I think the restructuring of the fare structure is a big improvement for one thing. It is a lot fairer than it used to be in 2013 when I first cruised and when people paying next to nothing on late deals were then upgraded through a few categories over and above people who had paid the full price early on.

 

I also think that since Christopher Edgington is in charge, P&O has been much more approachable and Customer Service much more consumer friendly and consistent and things get sorted.

 

And in my opinion the new embarkation system works well if you follow the rules that is. I remember well being all crammed in to the buffet waiting ages for our cabin, not being able to find a seat, bedlam in the queue and people pushing and shoving saving seats and falling over lots of luggage etc. Much better this way when arriving about 10 mins before our allocated time we were ushered down the fast track lane and were checked in and on board in no time at all.

 

Plus I think the itineraries are much more exciting nowadays :)

Edited April 12, 2016 by Scriv

[daiB]

The difference is on other cruise lines if I have complained about something they have dealt with it. P&O don't they just say nice words. Like. We are really sorry but We know about the mirror but we haven't got one, we can't do anything about it and same with the chair. I bet it's still the same now. There is an 'it'll do attitude' to be quite frank I am coming to the conclusion that I will never go with P&O again partly because of people defending the indefensible. Weird people.

 

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I say again, every time I have had a problem it has been rectified. I must be lucky.

 

 

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[daiB]

DaiB you had a complaint?. On a P&O ship?.

 

David.

 

 

Of course I have and as I have said had it remedied. You may have noticed I tend not to let things lie.

 

Instead of taking a photo and posting it on FB or here I get it fixed. They have fellows what do that sort of thing you know.

 

 

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[Solent Richard]

Love all the negativity. If you have a complaint have it sorted when you are on the ship. I do and have never had anything held over. Are you telling us that the other lines do not have the same problems?

 

 

 

 

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Hi Dai.

 

You make a very valid point.

 

I will not mention my last P&O Cruise, the Britannia Maiden as that was exceptional - my humble opinion of course...

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2015/03/30/britannia-the-maiden-cruise/

 

No, I will just track back 2 P&O Cruises when, on the morning of disembarkation, I was almost chased down the passageway by the floor supervisor,

 

The previous evening I had placed my cruise questionnaire' in the box, as one does, and hadn't given the cabin steward full marks.

 

The Floor Supervisor wanted to know 'was there a problem?'

 

None at all I replied. He did exactly what he was expected to do. It's just that I didn't think he went what might be construed as the 'extra mile'.

 

Now you can forget the script above because the moral of this comment is that between late evening posting my questionnaire and early morning departure, somebody had read my comments and action was taken.

 

Clear message?

[Solent Richard]

I say again, every time I have had a problem it has been rectified. I must be lucky.

 

 

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Nope. See my comment above.