New P&O Website.

[Josy1953]

23 minutes ago, daiB said:

I do love all this chatter about how bad the online system is and it sounds like people are spending hours on looking on it to book a cruise. 

 

It it took me all of two minutes to book our latest cruise, well Mar. 2021. And a further 10 minutes chatting about cruising.

 

As I have said before stop wasting time and use a good cruise TA. There are plenty about and they are generally cheaper.

 

You know it makes sense

Dai yes there are good TAs and I use one that I am happy with but I like to do my initial investigation on the P&O site so that when I call the TA I know exactly what is available and what I want, I then call the TA to get a better price.  The current iteration of the P&O site won't let me and many other potential cruisers do this, I have had no success this morning using laptop, iPad or Kindle.  After 40 years in the IT industry and having an Msc in computer science I like to think that I am an IT literate but this site is appalling now.

[Josy1953]

23 minutes ago, daiB said:

I do love all this chatter about how bad the online system is and it sounds like people are spending hours on looking on it to book a cruise. 

 

It it took me all of two minutes to book our latest cruise, well Mar. 2021. And a further 10 minutes chatting about cruising.

 

As I have said before stop wasting time and use a good cruise TA. There are plenty about and they are generally cheaper.

 

You know it makes sense

Dai yes there are good TAs and I use one that I am happy with but I like to do my initial investigation on the P&O site so that when I call the TA I know exactly what is available and what I want, I then call the TA to get a better price.  The current iteration of the P&O site won't let me and many other potential cruisers do this, I have had no success this morning using laptop, iPad or Kindle.  After 40 years in the IT industry and having an Msc in computer science I like to think that I am an IT literate but this site is appalling now.

[BarmyJackArmy]

I agree the new web site is now just a  time waster , useful to find out what cruise destinations  P and O are  offering , but useless for trying to book something you want. Better to go through a cruise specialist or talk to P and O directly with a deck plan in front of you. Though word of caution I've had some very unhelpful staff at P&O in the past ,I've also had some really positive experiences,it really is the luck of the draw on the day. I did politely  terminate one call as clearly the advisor just couldn't be bothered .Rang back an hour later got through to someone else and a completely different experience. It shouldn't be like that but the reality is it does happen. Though why companies over complicate systems that should and could be plain sailing (pardon the pun) is beyond me !

[Tommart]

I always use a specialist TA, for the better service and the additional discount, but until now it's always been possible to research my specific needs in advance of the telephone booking with the agent.  When I make the call, I know the ship, the date, the price and the cabin numbers. It works well.

 

Now I find there's no apparent way to get a price and availability for any given cabin, even with Select - what utter madness on their part. The whole point of the extra cost of Select is being able to get the cabin you want, but now they've put hurdles in the way.

 

Can anybody understand why they'd be so plain stupid as to produce a website as bad as this? Do they have a death wish?

[Josy1953]

On 5/12/2019 at 5:13 PM, Tom Marton said:

I always use a specialist TA, for the better service and the additional discount, but until now it's always been possible to research my specific needs in advance of the telephone booking with the agent.  When I make the call, I know the ship, the date, the price and the cabin numbers. It works well.

 

Now I find there's no apparent way to get a price and availability for any given cabin, even with Select - what utter madness on their part. The whole point of the extra cost of Select is being able to get the cabin you want, but now they've put hurdles in the way.

 

Can anybody understand why they'd be so plain stupid as to produce a website as bad as this? Do they have a death wish?

P&O seem to have an appalling IT department, it amazes me that they obviously don't do thorough system tests using all of the most commonly used hardware and software platforms.  This last "upgrade" to their website most  be costing them untold amounts of business. 

 

We had decided to change from P&O because we feel that their cutbacks had gone a step too far for us but some friends had seen a P&O cruise that they thought would be a good 1st cruise and asked if we would go with them so we agreed that we would go because it was their first cruise and it is to the fjords.  I agreed to look at the available cabins and then do the booking for the 4 of us, we have now given up and have booked with Princess instead.  This is not just a loss of 4 passengers on 1 cruise, our friends are less likely to with P&O in the future because they are more likely to get hooked into Princess and we know for sure that our decision to leave P&O was definitely the right one.  The difference in service, entertainment and foods that we experienced on Princess in April compared to our last P&O was amazing and we are happy to go back to Princess.

Edited May 14, 2019 by Josy1953

[Harry Peterson]

1 hour ago, Josy1953 said:

P&O seem to have an appalling IT department, it amazes me that they obviously don't do thorough system tests using all of the most commonly used hardware and software platforms.  This last "upgrade" to their website most  be costing them untold amounts of business. 

 

We had decided to change from P&O because we feel that their cutbacks had gone a step too far for us but some friends had seen a P&O cruise that they thought would be a good 1st cruise and asked if we would go with them so we agreed that we would go because it was their first cruise and it is to the fjords.  I agreed to look at the available cabins and then do the booking for the 4 of us, we have now given up and have booked with Princess instead.  This is not just a loss of 4 passengers on 1 cruise, our friends are less likely to with P&O in the future because they are more likely to get hooked into Princess and we know for sure that our decision to leave P&O was definitely the right one.  The difference in service, entertainment and foods that we experienced on Princess in April compared to our last P&O was amazing and we are happy to go back to Princess.

Fair points you make there, and I entirely agree with you. I doubt the P&O fanboys will though!

[Bazrat]

2 hours ago, docco said:

Fair points you make there, and I entirely agree with you. I doubt the P&O fanboys will though!

So if those who decide to go with P&O are fanboys in your opinion,we know of your views on P&O because of your continual need to post about your dislike of the company.

[Harry Peterson]

20 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

So if those who decide to go with P&O are fanboys in your opinion,we know of your views on P&O because of your continual need to post about your dislike of the company.

Somebody has to provide a counterbalance for the fanboys - some of whom will be connected with P&O. Quite normal for forums like this - companies have to try to maintain their online reputation when it’s under attack!

 

When’s your first cruise with P&O?

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, docco said:

Fair points you make there, and I entirely agree with you. I doubt the P&O fanboys will though!

I think the majority of us are fans of cruising.

We like RCCL,we like P&O, we like Princess the deciding factor is itinerary and times suiting work commitments.

Every cruiseline has its USP as well as it's negatives let's just appreciate how lucky we are to be able to cruise.

[Bazrat]

25 minutes ago, docco said:

Somebody has to provide a counterbalance for the fanboys - some of whom will be connected with P&O. Quite normal for forums like this - companies have to try to maintain their online reputation when it’s under attack!

 

When’s your first cruise with P&O?

Next month and my tuxedo now fits not eaten in days and we are looking forward to it,and I have no connection to P&O apart from the company I work for who probably made some of the parts for the engines.

[grapau27]

1 minute ago, Bazrat said:

Next month and my tuxedo now fits not eaten in days and we are looking forward to it,and I have no connection to P&O apart from the company I work for who probably made some of the parts for the engines.

Wishing you a fantastic cruise.

[P-L-B]

21 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

Next month and my tuxedo now fits not eaten in days and we are looking forward to it,and I have no connection to P&O apart from the company I work for who probably made some of the parts for the engines.

Have a great and enjoyable cruise.

We are also very much looking farward to our cruise next month on-board Oceana.

[miniyorkie]

On ‎5‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 5:13 PM, Tom Marton said:

I always use a specialist TA, for the better service and the additional discount, but until now it's always been possible to research my specific needs in advance of the telephone booking with the agent.  When I make the call, I know the ship, the date, the price and the cabin numbers. It works well.Now I find there's no apparent way to get a price and availability for any given cabin, even with Select - what utter madness on their part. The whole point of the extra cost of Select is being able to get the cabin you want, but now they've put hurdles in the way.

Can anybody understand why they'd be so plain stupid as to produce a website as bad as this? Do they have a death wish?

Have to agree entirely Tom and NO I cannot understand the backward "advancement". I have friends who are planning their first cruise and because  I enjoy all the research before our cruises, including checking cabin availability, location  and the changing prices, they have asked me to assist with the cruise choice and cabin location. I can't help them as I cannot peruse options. It is very frustrating. Like others have said - yes I can ring a T.A but I like to do my own research and have very often just booked a cruise online in my lunch hour as I work on a pc all day and it is more difficult to telephone a T.A. when I get home late from work. The old version worked well for me.

[BarmyJackArmy]

Hope you have a great cruise !. If you enjoy your first cruise, and continue to cruise you will find better companies out there  to cruise with. I've done well over 20 cruises with P&O  so feel relatively qualified to comment and there has been a slow deterioration in the quality of the service provision and anyone who argues otherwise, is either deluded or has low expectations.( and before we have the so called fanboys jumping on this) basically you pay your money you take your choice. P&O are now regularly in the bottom half of most of the cruise polls , that was never the case when I first started cruising with them  .However to balance that out they have certainly become more affordable, and more appealing to a broader cruise base. That said I will be looking further afield in future when booking a cruise. I have been extremely loyal to P&O but feel that has not been rewarded at all, the final straw was the 4 night  Amsterdam fiasco at the end of March you really had to be there !    

[Bazrat]

37 minutes ago, BarmyJackArmy said:

Hope you have a great cruise !. If you enjoy your first cruise, and continue to cruise you will find better companies out there  to cruise with. I've done well over 20 cruises with P&O  so feel relatively qualified to comment and there has been a slow deterioration in the quality of the service provision and anyone who argues otherwise, is either deluded or has low expectations.( and before we have the so called fanboys jumping on this) basically you pay your money you take your choice. P&O are now regularly in the bottom half of most of the cruise polls , that was never the case when I first started cruising with them  .However to balance that out they have certainly become more affordable, and more appealing to a broader cruise base. That said I will be looking further afield in future when booking a cruise. I have been extremely loyal to P&O but feel that has not been rewarded at all, the final straw was the 4 night  Amsterdam fiasco at the end of March you really had to be there !    

Bit uncalled for “low expectations” as I have never cruised before my expectations are particularly high.

[Bazrat]

2 hours ago, miniyorkie said:

Have to agree entirely Tom and NO I cannot understand the backward "advancement". I have friends who are planning their first cruise and because  I enjoy all the research before our cruises, including checking cabin availability, location  and the changing prices, they have asked me to assist with the cruise choice and cabin location. I can't help them as I cannot peruse options. It is very frustrating. Like others have said - yes I can ring a T.A but I like to do my own research and have very often just booked a cruise online in my lunch hour as I work on a pc all day and it is more difficult to telephone a T.A. when I get home late from work. The old version worked well for me.

I agree with you I do a bit too much research before we book,I cannot comment on the new or old website because the one I used worked for us whichever that one was.

[emam]

On 5/5/2019 at 8:49 AM, grapau27 said:

That is my experience too.

Regular TAs are not cruise experts as they sell all holidays not just cruises.

I have recently used a specialist cruise TA and noticed a big difference in knowledge and the ability to get me the best deal quite quickly. 

 

 

Did you use that TA that started off locally and has a Head Office in Sunderland.

[emam]

On 5/11/2019 at 11:33 AM, daiB said:

I do love all this chatter about how bad the online system is and it sounds like people are spending hours on looking on it to book a cruise. 

 

It it took me all of two minutes to book our latest cruise, well Mar. 2021. And a further 10 minutes chatting about cruising.

 

As I have said before stop wasting time and use a good cruise TA. There are plenty about and they are generally cheaper.

 

You know it makes sense

 

How do you know which are the good ones. That Plane t, seems to be a good one, but I wouldn't know who to trust after that. A misspelling on an Eskimo's house also comes up.

[terrierjohn]

1 minute ago, emam said:

 

How do you know which are the good ones. That Plane t, seems to be a good one, but I wouldn't know who to trust after that. A misspelling on an Eskimo's house also comes up.

Try the one near a castle just off the M1 near Chesterfield.

[daiB]

1 minute ago, emam said:

 

How do you know which are the good ones. That Plane t, seems to be a good one, but I wouldn't know who to trust after that. A misspelling on an Eskimo's house also comes up.

I have heard good reports about a number of them, mostly internet/telephone based. They generally have good knowledge on the subject.

 

i would avoid general high street TA’s as their understanding is poor. Of course there are a few who who are well versed in booking cruises but finding them is not easy.

[grapau27]

10 minutes ago, emam said:

 

Did you use that TA that started off locally and has a Head Office in Sunderland.

No.

We used that one years ago but haven't used them for years our regular is in the photo but the one on TV Tues night proved excellent when we booked with them.

[emam]

8 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Try the one near a castle just off the M1 near Chesterfield.

 

Found it, I will save it to my favourites to check out later. We want to see what we think of Britannia next month before deciding on our next one.

[emam]

8 minutes ago, daiB said:

I have heard good reports about a number of them, mostly internet/telephone based. They generally have good knowledge on the subject.

 

i would avoid general high street TA’s as their understanding is poor. Of course there are a few who who are well versed in booking cruises but finding them is not easy.

 

My trouble is I can't make an instant decision, I have to think about it. Practice will make perfect.

[emam]

6 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

No.

We used that one years ago but haven't used them for years our regular is in the photo but the one on TV Tues night proved excellent when we booked with them.

 

Nice photo, must have been a special visit to get plied with bubbly.

[grapau27]

8 minutes ago, daiB said:

I have heard good reports about a number of them, mostly internet/telephone based. They generally have good knowledge on the subject.

 

i would avoid general high street TA’s as their understanding is poor. Of course there are a few who who are well versed in booking cruises but finding them is not easy.

I agree with you dai.

I get all the details myself regarding cabin number,price and sail date then I could easily book it myself online but I  go in and get my TA to get me a better deal.

They get their commission and a sale and I get extra discount.