Comparable alternatives to P&O

[janieb1962]

Hello fellow P&O cruises

We've cruised several times now with p&o, to the med & Caribbean, and happy to do similar destinations but we are looking for a change of cruise line and wondered if you had any recommendations . I guess it's worth saying , overall we enjoy the P&O experience , we like the dressing up aspects , have usually found them value for money (although prices for this year seem to have risen by a few hundred pounds per person in my opinion) we like freedom dining, have found azura, Ventura & oceana to be nice ships in terms of accommodation and venues etc.

I was talking today to my hairdresser (she's around 28 years old) and she had been on Thompson cruises and really enjoyed it. She said they had formal nights too but reading one or two threads on their forum it's not clear if their dress to impress is as formal or adhered to quite so much as P&O.

Would welcome your thoughts and experiences of other lines.

[davecttr]

If you like dressing up Thomson, soon to be TUI, are replacing their 'formal' nights with 'dress to impress'. The formal nights were only enforced in the main dining room anyway. With dress to impress you can dress up if you want but it is not enforced, even in the main dining room where the minimum standard is the typical evening casual. I might take a tie and long sleeved shirt just to impress;)

[wowzz]

Try Princess - still have formal nights, plus you are not on a ship full of Brits!

 

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[john watson]

Try Princess - still have formal nights, plus you are not on a ship full of Brits!

 

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I should agree with Princess, you can pick a cruise on a Grand Class ship, similar to Azura/Ventura. The itineraries they offer around the world would be very interesting in my opinion.

 

Regards John

[the english lady]

I should agree with Princess, you can pick a cruise on a Grand Class ship, similar to Azura/Ventura. The itineraries they offer around the world would be very interesting in my opinion.

 

Regards John

 

Jon I notice you have been on star clipper. I know somebody else who has done one of their cruises. How did you find it?

Only thing putting me off is I don't really want to fly any more...way too much trouble...

[bee-ess]

It would be Celebrity as first choice for us in their Solstice class ships but with the exchange rates as they are it has to be P&O for us with sterling on board spend, certainly for this year. Celebrity replaced their formal nights with 'elegant chic' nights last year, you still get to dress up but in more modern sylish outfits.

[john watson]

Jon I notice you have been on star clipper. I know somebody else who has done one of their cruises. How did you find it?

Only thing putting me off is I don't really want to fly any more...way too much trouble...

 

I have done two Star Clipper voyages; Star Clipper, St. Maarten to Lisbon 18 days no ports and Star Flyer Dover to Warnemunde (Hamburg) four days. On the latter there was little flying to do. They have a Mediterranean season which requires very short flights or you could go by train which will be tricky as it's East Med embarkation. A fourth vessel is due to come in to the fleet soon a massive big one 3,500 tons I believe. It is a bit different to other cruises, Star Clippers is about sailing but it's not ultra luxury high brow. You can pull ropes if you want climb up the main mast etc. Entertainment is more like the 1960's cruises and multi lingual as loads of people seem to speak German. I have done some posts on the Star Clipper section on here. Cheapest cruises on their current list Venice round trip 3 nights around £600 cruise only and Piraeus to Valetta 5 nights just over £1000 cruise only - per person if you want a cruise line taster.

 

Regards Joh

[seapals2]

Would always recommend you try other lines. Bit like always shopping in Tesco and never trying Morrisons. There will be some things you like more and some things you think P&O do better.

We haven't found anything to compare to the specialty restaurants on P&O for variety and value for money but then again Cunard meals in MDR is much better in our opinion but they don't offer anytime dining other than paying more for club and suites.

It's all about personal preference as to which cruise line most suits your needs.

Search on YouTube and get a feel for the ship. There are many short clips on cabins etc.

[majortom10]

We love Princess but if you sail with them from Southampton you will find the majority of the ship will be Brits, unless British Isles cruise because Americans love that cruise. With regarding formal nights on Princess yes there are designated formal nights but not as strictly adhered too, how can I put it without causing offence, but our friends across the water have a different view of formal than us Brits.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

We love Princess but if you sail with them from Southampton you will find the majority of the ship will be Brits, unless British Isles cruise because Americans love that cruise. With regarding formal nights on Princess yes there are designated formal nights but not as strictly adhered too, how can I put it without causing offence, but our friends across the water have a different view of formal than us Brits.

 

No offense taken. ;) I enjoyed my first P&O cruise last December, and I was impressed by how closely most passengers adhered to the dress code. Dress in the U.S. has become increasingly casual*, and I wouldn't mind a return to a little more formality.

 

I'll be back on P&O Arcadia in June, and I will likely have to stand out again in my dark navy business suit, as I'm just a bit too far above my fighting weight to invest in a tuxedo presently. But I'll have one for my September 2018 cruise on Ventura.

 

*As an aside, I was on Norwegian Getaway last September, dressed appropriately and enjoying my lovely dinner in the ship's French restaurant, when I observed a dad and his two sons walking through the heart of the ship in nothing but wet bathing suits. After one cruise, I'm confident that would never happen on P&O.

[sammybonny]

We love Princess but if you sail with them from Southampton you will find the majority of the ship will be Brits, unless British Isles cruise because Americans love that cruise. With regarding formal nights on Princess yes there are designated formal nights but not as strictly adhered too, how can I put it without causing offence, but our friends across the water have a different view of formal than us Brits.

 

I would agree with you. We did 2 Princess cruises from Southampton in 2015 one being the British Isles cruise ( mostly American passengers) and the 2nd a Norwegian fjords cruise ( mostly Brits) the dress was noticably different throughout the cruise but especially on formal nights.

[Elviex]

We have just come off an RCI ship four night cruise to and from Singapore. Until then we had only cruised with P&O, two a year for the past five years. After reading various forums over the past few years I was very interested in trying out a different cruise line. Suffice to say that particular ship is not for us. We had gone with an open mind....but so far so P&O!

 

 

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[janieb1962]

Thanks everyone for your sharing views and experiences .

[tjwa]

MSC for us.

[Heartlands1]

Having enjoyed two cruises on Britannia we still say our best cruise was our Holland America one. Mainly American clientele but a large Dutch contingency. It did cost more both base price, service charge and drinks on board but service and food quality were superior. Entertainment was different with a choice of music venues, dancing and shows. No pub but a larger casino. Two formal nights on a 10 day cruise with many men in tuxes but not as uniformly so as on P&O, but no need to go to speciality restaurants. No fighting for loungers and Caribbean music by the pool every afternoon.

[mickey89]

....................we still say our best cruise was our Holland America one.

 

HAL is a good choice if you are a smoker. You can even smoke on the balcony and suffocate all around you.

[moqui_girl]

We are trying princess for the first time this year. Their prices for a Norwegian cruise this summer were much cheaper than a similar itinerary on P&O.

 

Generally we choose RCCL or celebrity if the budget allows. They offer more of the things we enjoy than P&O.

 

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[Host Hattie]

Not any more, HAL have changed their smoking rules.

[mickey89]

Not any more, HAL have changed their smoking rules.

Thanks for the update, HAL is definitely back on our prefered list along side Celebrity.

[vwgolf]

We've cruised Thomson several times and have to say they have gone down hill a little. The food on board used to be top notch but the last couple of cruises, most recently the Spirit last year, have been disappointing food-wise. Their entertainment is very full-on as well and is a bit like Marmite; you'll either lap it up or cringe with embarrassment! Where they win hands down is with the friendliness of their crew. They mostly hail from Indonesia or The Philippines and will know all of your names by the second day of the cruise! The formal night, or whatever it's to become, is no more than an excuse to have your photo taken with the Captain but is generally well observed.

 

If you go further afield, you could try American cruise lines like Carnival or NCL. As someone said above, the American cruise experience is very different to ours. It's less formal, there is LOADS to eat and the entertainment is excellent.

[shot2bits]

We were on the Tui Discovery last year, July school holidays period. We had a JS as it was a very significant wedding anniversary. Crew great, service equally great. Parents were the problem. Kids all over, totally out of control. Music blasting everywhere you went, no conversation opportunity as you could never hear yourself speak. Even on our balcony we had noise from the pool area. Thomson are now aiming for a younger demographic, all AI stack 'em high, charge as much as you can get away with! We are trying Ventura this year, we' never sail Thomson again.

 

 

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