Changes

[Britboys]

20 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

It's the price that sets P&O apart from its rivals, because in most other respects it now offers an inferior experience, after all the cuts.  It's obviously a policy decision by Carnival to go for the bottom end of the market, leaving its other brands to target the higher spenders.

 

Good value for money, to be fair, but very much no-frills cruising.

I have to agree with Terrierjohn's response to you here Harry.  Personally, I feel P&O still fit very firmly in the mid-market range - albeit perhaps in the bottom half of mid-range.  Last year I sailed with Princess and whilst the entertainment blew P&O out of the water, everything else was of a similar standard.  The previous year I sailed with Marella and CMV, both of which I would say are at the bottom end of the market, with far fewer frills or 'extras' than P&O.

I think it will be very interesting to see where P&O go with the introduction of Iona and her sister ship, which I think will be a quite different product to the current fleet.

[Britboys]

20 hours ago, Monorail Orange said:

...It makes you wonder what will set P&O apart from its rivals if it just becomes overly basic and run-of-the-mill?

I think the key selling points are the age range on board in school holidays, the children's clubs, no daily service charge and the low cost of drinks on board.  Plus of course the sheer number of sailings ex Southampton (although I appreciate that's not a big draw if you are north of the Watford Gap!).

[Britboys]

17 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

I am currently sitting on a beautiful balcony directly overlooking the sea, listening to the waves crashing in on the shore (and my OH snoring on his lounger in the sun!) in a hotel that offers lots of extra little touches - more than P&O  do now when compared to years gone bye. Yes we are just in one place rather than a new port each day but the standards are high.

 

Rather than a hotel holiday on the water this is cruise of the old style on the shore. We have now done several “cruise style” hotel holidays on dry land and they compare really well.

 

 

I can appreciate that.  I guess what draws me back to P&O is that when I sail solo, there are always plenty of other solo pax to get to know and I am usually seated with other solos, which is a good start to getting to know others.

I do enjoy short breaks to Warner Hotels in the UK, which are a bit like a cruise on land but I do find it harder to get that feeling of camaraderie that appears to happen on the P&O ships I sail on.

[AndyMichelle]

50 minutes ago, Britboys said:

I can appreciate that.  I guess what draws me back to P&O is that when I sail solo, there are always plenty of other solo pax to get to know and I am usually seated with other solos, which is a good start to getting to know others.

I do enjoy short breaks to Warner Hotels in the UK, which are a bit like a cruise on land but I do find it harder to get that feeling of camaraderie that appears to happen on the P&O ships I sail on.

Good points. 

We always admire how the single passengers often seem to gel and look out for each other, despite age etc. 

Some of the couples who do not engage look lost at times but don't often see that with the singles. 

We have 'adopted' a few singles and couples by just making ourselves available if they want to tag along with us rather than be on their own. 

I am not sure we behave the same way on land. 

Andy 

[Britboys]

It is quite strange how the atmosphere on a ship seems to be so different to hotels on land Andy.

Solos on the ships are a cross-section of society like everyone else.  Some of us are socially confident and outgoing, others are quiet and shy - but we all seem to get along together.

I remember talking to a man in the solo group several years ago.  He was a 'mature' gentleman who had always been single and looked after elderly parents, nursing them through ill health until they died.  He told me that he was shy and could never start a conversation with anyone but loved cruising as there were always others that would start a conversation with him.  A small but important aspect of cruising!

[DamianG]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

I think the key selling points are the age range on board in school holidays, the children's clubs, no daily service charge and the low cost of drinks on board.  Plus of course the sheer number of sailings ex Southampton (although I appreciate that's not a big draw if you are north of the Watford Gap!).

 

We've moved from off-peak sailing twice a year to (once a year) August school holiday cruises since our son arrived. It's been a real eye-opener and there is no doubt in my mind that these cruises are key money-makers in P&O's/Carnival's annual p&l forecasting. It costs us a lot more these days simply due to the higher fares charged during school holidays (and given that the ships are always full I accept that this is due to supply and demand).

 

I also think that Mediterranean cruises at that time probably make plenty of money on excursions or passengers simply staying onboard in ports like Civitavechhia and Livorno. We enjoy DIY days out in both these places but I'm pretty sure a lot of families simply elect to stay onboard. The pool areas seem constantly busy with passengers sitting around drinking from mid-morning (maybe the drinks packages also sell well on these cruises).

Edited January 5, 2020 by DamianG

[P&O SUE]

23 hours ago, Hampshire Steve said:

Andy, we are the same with the distance to port, a big draw for us. We did cancel a P&O last year to go with Princess to the USA & Canada because it looked much the same itinerary, same series of ship but for much less money. The surprise was the massive daily gratuities, the extra 18% on drinks and we really were not overly impressed with the food in the club class restaurant. Their Pizza restaurant was great but we do prefer the select venues on P&O, I guess they are catering for our market.

We tried Princess last year, for the itinerary and to try a different line. Although we had a good time I did find the onboard prices , tips and shuttle prices very expensive. We also found the service quite slow in the MDR and actually had dinner in the buffet one night (which we enjoyed but have never done on P&O) so we could see the entertainment.

I would try Princess again if itinerary suited but as I don’t fly there isn’t as much choice as P&O. We also found we could hardly ever get a seat in Crooners which was disappointing. Anyway back to P&O for us this year.

[AndyMichelle]

17 minutes ago, Britboys said:

It is quite strange how the atmosphere on a ship seems to be so different to hotels on land Andy.

Solos on the ships are a cross-section of society like everyone else.  Some of us are socially confident and outgoing, others are quiet and shy - but we all seem to get along together.

I remember talking to a man in the solo group several years ago.  He was a 'mature' gentleman who had always been single and looked after elderly parents, nursing them through ill health until they died.  He told me that he was shy and could never start a conversation with anyone but loved cruising as there were always others that would start a conversation with him.  A small but important aspect of cruising!

On boarding one cruise, we chatted to a young guy, first time cruiser, who at his own admission was shy and struggled to mix and was extremely nervous about meeting others. 

We made ourselves available and told him where he could find us if he wanted to, but didn't want to smother him. 

We next saw him towards the end of the cruise, holding court with a large group of men & women of all ages and having a great time. 

He thanked us for talking to him at the beginning and assuring him that he would be fine. 

We last saw him up on stage at the sailaway doing the YMCA...😊

Everybody in his group had joined the ship in the same 'boat', but had all looked out for each other. It is always lovely to see. 

Andy 

 

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, Britboys said:

The previous year I sailed with Marella and CMV, both of which I would say are at the bottom end of the market, with far fewer frills or 'extras' than P&O.

Interesting to see that on the Marella forum, there is a thread about how Marella are becoming too expensive (even taking the AI drinks into account) and posters were switching to P&O! 

[AndyMichelle]

5 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Interesting to see that on the Marella forum, there is a thread about how Marella are becoming too expensive (even taking the AI drinks into account) and posters were switching to P&O! 

We did a cost comparison with Marella recently for similar cruises and the prices came out almost the same, taking everything into account. 

We decided the offering from P&O was better value for us. 

Andy 

[Britboys]

Marella is (imho) possibly one of the most 'marmite' lines.  I know some folks who have cruised P&O and thoroughly enjoyed Marella.  My one cruise with them in January 2018 however left me quite happy to get off after a week and with no desire to rush back to them.  Never say never but definitely not in the foreseeable future...

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, DamianG said:

 

We've moved from off-peak sailing twice a year to (once a year) August school holiday cruises since our son arrived. It's been a real eye-opener and there is no doubt in my mind that these cruises are key money-makers in P&O's/Carnival's annual p&l forecasting. It costs us a lot more these days simply due to the higher fares charged during school holidays (and given that the ships are always full I accept that this is due to supply and demand).

 

I also think that Mediterranean cruises at that time probably make plenty of money on excursions or passengers simply staying onboard in ports like Civitavechhia and Livorno. We enjoy DIY days out in both these places but I'm pretty sure a lot of families simply elect to stay onboard. The pool areas seem constantly busy with passengers sitting around drinking from mid-morning (maybe the drinks packages also sell well on these cruises).

Thanks for comparing your experiences Damian.  I usually cruise on the smaller ships and out of season too.  Think I'll keep doing that 😀

[AndyMichelle]

8 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Marella is (imho) possibly one of the most 'marmite' lines.  I know some folks who have cruised P&O and thoroughly enjoyed Marella.  My one cruise with them in January 2018 however left me quite happy to get off after a week and with no desire to rush back to them.  Never say never but definitely not in the foreseeable future...

Can I ask what you particularly didn't like about Marella please? 

Andy 

[Britboys]

Quite a lot really Andy!  The most significant issue was the food.  I only ate in the mdr and buffet but found the food in both to be the worst I have had on any cruise line.  Very small portions and poor quality.  I'm not a big eater but one night had to go and find a snack about 10pm as I was hungry!  I ate at the same table in the mdr each night with a group of solo pax (it was reserved for us) and the service was pretty poor too.  The lead table waiter asked if everything was okay with the meal but when people raised a negative comment, he just ignored it and went on to the next person - and that happened several times.

Theatre entertainment was okay but nothing great.  The rest of the entertainment was very samey every night and the volume of the bands in the lounge area was so unbearable I had to walk out on 2 nights.  The Entertainment Manager and Assistant came as a double act for every announcement and they consisted mostly of carry-on-style innuendo.  The Captain advised us every day to "slap some lotion on yer legs" because it was going to be a "bobby dazzler" of a day...

I could go on but I'll end it there 😁

[jeanlyon]

Sounds awful Andrew.  Shirley hated Cruise Maritime for some of the same reasons.

[AndyMichelle]

29 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Quite a lot really Andy!  The most significant issue was the food.  I only ate in the mdr and buffet but found the food in both to be the worst I have had on any cruise line.  Very small portions and poor quality.  I'm not a big eater but one night had to go and find a snack about 10pm as I was hungry!  I ate at the same table in the mdr each night with a group of solo pax (it was reserved for us) and the service was pretty poor too.  The lead table waiter asked if everything was okay with the meal but when people raised a negative comment, he just ignored it and went on to the next person - and that happened several times.

Theatre entertainment was okay but nothing great.  The rest of the entertainment was very samey every night and the volume of the bands in the lounge area was so unbearable I had to walk out on 2 nights.  The Entertainment Manager and Assistant came as a double act for every announcement and they consisted mostly of carry-on-style innuendo.  The Captain advised us every day to "slap some lotion on yer legs" because it was going to be a "bobby dazzler" of a day...

I could go on but I'll end it there 😁

Oh dear.. 

Thank you for replying. 

As for the service, the waiter on Ventura last week asked how our food was, I just mentioned Michelle wasn't really enjoying hers, nothing wrong with it so wasn't complaining,  she just made a bad choice. He immediately asked if she would like something else and had a replacement dish in front of her within a few minutes. 

That's why we will stick to P&O for now. 

Andy 

 

[Britboys]

If you are bored or have time on your hands, I did a review of my Marella cruise here:

 

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=607348

[Britboys]

29 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Sounds awful Andrew.  Shirley hated Cruise Maritime for some of the same reasons.

I really enjoyed my cruise to Iceland on CMV's Marco Polo Jean.  Every aspect was much better than Marella!

[Britboys]

4 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Oh dear.. 

Thank you for replying. 

As for the service, the waiter on Ventura last week asked how our food was, I just mentioned Michelle wasn't really enjoying hers, nothing wrong with it so wasn't complaining,  she just made a bad choice. He immediately asked if she would like something else and had a replacement dish in front of her within a few minutes. 

That's why we will stick to P&O for now. 

Andy 

 

That's the sort of service I would expect on a cruise Andy.  Even on Marco Polo they were happy to provide a replacement meal if you were unhappy with the one you had for any reason.

[AndyMichelle]

8 minutes ago, Britboys said:

If you are bored or have time on your hands, I did a review of my Marella cruise here:

 

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=607348

Great read, thank you. 

Not for me, thank you... 

Andy 

[AndyMichelle]

4 minutes ago, Britboys said:

That's the sort of service I would expect on a cruise Andy.  Even on Marco Polo they were happy to provide a replacement meal if you were unhappy with the one you had for any reason.

Also, to add to that, this was probably the least attentive service we have had on any P&O cruise, but it was still standard practice to ensure we enjoyed our food. 

Andy 

[wowzz]

18 minutes ago, Britboys said:

If you are bored or have time on your hands, I did a review of my Marella cruise here:

 

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=607348

Thanks from me as well. We had considered the possibility of a Marella cruise , but reviews such as yours, plus the way TUI are dealing with the problems with Discovery in the Far East, have totally removed any chance of us ever cruising with Marella.

[Britboys]

As I said earlier, they are 'marmite' and others on my cruise had a great time.  For me however there were just too many little shortcomings across the ship & cruise.  I always say to anyone that asks me about Marella that the only way to know if you would like them is to try them...

[DamianG]

3 hours ago, Britboys said:

If you are bored or have time on your hands, I did a review of my Marella cruise here:

 

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=607348

 

An excellent, balanced review. Thanks for sharing it Andrew (and no, it doesn't sound like our cup of tea).

[Jennizor]

Going back to the comments of some thinking of going back to land based holidays,  we have done the reverse. We have three holidays a year, used to be 1 cruise, 2 land based. We now do 2 cruises, 1 land based. My husband now has walking difficulties and land based holidays restricted what we could do. Now we wake up in different places and can enjoy new experiences without going too far. A friend of ours is a solo passenger. Finding cruising has been wonderful for her. She feels safer as she doesn’t have to wander about in the evening alone and has made loads of new friends, one of which she cruises with regularly.