Why Do the Brits Like P&O

[swjumbo]

I’ve just today returned from a P&O cruise and I just don’t get it. 
It’s an American owned company which is giving sub standard service to people who obviously haven’t tried other cruise lines.

None of the staff appear friendly, the Oceana was tatty. Scrapes and scratches on old elevator doors for example. No one seemed to be cleaning (as they do on other ships) and no officers to be seen. It is compulsory with other lines to use hand sanitizer on boarding. Not on the Oceana! 
The entertainment was average and the buffet average too. Drinks packages are dire and the staff miserable. 
Dare I mention the kid’s club? It appears to be run for the benefit of the staff’s time off with an archaic signing in procedure.

I so wanted my cruise to be good as I have happy childhood memories but unfortunately it was not.

Just look at the photos attached. The Americans are having a laugh at you as they line their pockets whilst waving the Union Jack!

I could go on but to avid P&O cruisers who have never been with another cruise line remember this. A little bit more money gives you a lot more in the end.

 

 

Edited February 23, 2020 by swjumbo
Add photos

[Adawn47]

Wow!!! Are you trying to be insulting, because if not you're doing a fair job of it. I've been on other cruise lines and have had similar issues, some even worse, on them as your stating on here. I have my own take on things and others have enjoyed ships that I haven't. Having said that no way would I belittle and criticise them. We are all entitled to our opinions,even you but could you please express them a little more politely. 

Edited February 23, 2020 by Adawn47

[Elaine0138]

We haven't cruised with P&O for  a few years and I was hoping things were better now.

 We are off on Aurora in a few weeks so it will be interesting to see if that is in better shape than Oceana.

One of the reasons it is poular so many cruises go from Southampton which is easy to do and the fly cruises are good straight to the ship no hassle.

 

Edited February 23, 2020 by Elaine0138

[AndyMichelle]

We were on Oceana in November and although it is a bit shabby, we didn't find it dirty and cleaning was taking place constantly. 

She is due for a refurb this year. 

We paid very little for the cruise and it certainly wouldn't be a 'little bit more money' to cruise with Celebrity for example. 

Other lines are better, we get that, but value for money is why we choose P&O, although Oceana is my least favourite ship in the fleet and we won't be rushing back, but that had nothing to do with cleanliness. 

Things will change for us, but at the moment, we are still managing to have great holidays at reasonable prices. 

Andy 

 

[jeanlyon]

I have never seen things dirty like that on Aurora and I have definitely never had staff that were not friendly.  They have always been super.  I agree, it's value for money and I am not prepared to pay the sort of prices of the upmarket lines.

 

And quite honestly, one piece of paper probably dropped by another passenger near a bin is nothing to get excited about.

Edited February 23, 2020 by jeanlyon

[Adawn47]

5 minutes ago, Elaine0138 said:

We haven't cruised with P&O for  a few years and I was hoping things were better now.

 We are off on Aurora in a few weeks so it will be interesting to see if that is in better shape than Oceana.

One of the reasons it is poular so many cruises go from Southampton which is easy to do and the fly cruises are good straight to the ship no hassle.

 

Aurora is beautiful. We were on her in November. You'll have great time .I'm envious.

[jeanlyon]

Agree, she's our favourite now Oriana has gone.

[Harry Peterson]

29 minutes ago, swjumbo said:

I’ve just today returned from a P&O cruise and I just don’t get it. 
It’s an American owned company which is giving sub standard service to people who obviously haven’t tried other cruise lines.

None of the staff appear friendly, the Oceana was tatty. Scrapes and scratches on old elevator doors for example. No one seemed to be cleaning (as they do on other ships) and no officers to be seen. It is compulsory with other lines to use hand sanitizer on boarding. Not on the Oceana! 
The entertainment was average and the buffet average too. Drinks packages are dire and the staff miserable. 
Dare I mention the kid’s club? It appears to be run for the benefit of the staff’s time off with an archaic signing in procedure.

I so wanted my cruise to be good as I have happy childhood memories but unfortunately it was not.

Just look at the photos attached. The Americans are having a laugh at you as they line their pockets whilst waving the Union Jack!

I could go on but to avid P&O cruisers who have never been with another cruise line remember this. A little bit more money gives you a lot more in the end.

Three simple answers (and I'll warn you that criticism of P&O doesn't go down too well with quite a few regulars in this forum):

 

1  It's cheap

2  It's still living on its past reputation

3  It's now aiming at what the CEO recently referred to as the Saturday night ITV  market, which says it all - think Wetherspoons.

 

I've seen it change dramatically in just a few years, but others who've been cruising longer will see even more of a difference.  But, to be fair, it is cheap, and basically it's a question of getting what you pay for.  It got me into cruising when it was good, and it's rapidly persuading me that there are better options.  But I very rarely watch ITV, and certainly not on a Saturday night!  

 

 

[crompton21]

There are now three threads running on Oceana with either a start point or most recent input from people travelling on the cruise that returned today/yesterday.  All of them are negative.

I am sure that all of the incidents/images are real and that consequently people are rightly upset.

The cruise was (I believe) late departing, missed a number of ports, returned early and had terrible weather.  These things tend to snowball and once people become angry or upset all issues become magnified and the misery and anger becomes that much greater.  The more things that disappoint the quicker that half full cup becomes empty.

[glittergal1]

Please please please tell me P&O is better than Carnival and RCI because the last cruises I had with them were pretty Crap 

[Elaine0138]

5 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

I have never seen things dirty like that on Aurora and I have definitely never had staff that were not friendly.  They have always been super.  I agree, it's value for money and I am not prepared to pay the sort of prices of the upmarket lines.

 

And quite honestly, one piece of paper probably dropped by another passenger near a bin is nothing to get excited about.

 

3 minutes ago, glittergal1 said:

Please please please tell me P&O is better than Carnival and RCI because the last cruises I had with them were pretty Crap 

P&O is different to Carnival but some of the comments recently makes me think Iona night be more Carnival. RCI in my opinion is a notch above P&O 

[daiB]

SWJumbo,

If you found non of the staff to be friendly. Then you need to look at yourself. Staff tend to react to the customer and their behaviour.

 

I take it you have just had a bad cruise with missed ports and bad weather. So let’s have a moan

[jeanlyon]

Only other one we have cruised with is Fred.  Whilst Balmoral was OK, the last one we did on the Black Watch, it was falling apart.  Workmen everywhere, windows dirty, pools not working. 

 

I have never experienced things like that on Oriana, Aurora, Arcadia.  Azura was fairly new when we tried her, never again.  But she had public loos leaking and out of order.  I think ships all suffer with problems from time to time.

[glittergal1]

4 minutes ago, Elaine0138 said:

 

P&O is different to Carnival but some of the comments recently makes me think Iona night be more Carnival. RCI in my opinion is a notch above P&O 

I am hoping P&O is VERY different to Carnival however if RCI is a notch above P&O then Im worried because our last RCI was very poor indeed 

[crompton21]

2 minutes ago, daiB said:

SWJumbo,

If you found non of the staff to be friendly. Then you need to look at yourself. Staff tend to react to the customer and their behaviour.

 

I take it you have just had a bad cruise with missed ports and bad weather. So let’s have a moan

 

Just a thought (and not a reaction to your comments Dai) I assume that all staff may be rightly concerned about the Corona virus, either through catching it or the effect of a pandemic on cruising in general and consequently their livelihoods.  If I worked on a cruise ship I could imagine being somewhat concerned at the moment.  

[Adawn47]

1 minute ago, glittergal1 said:

Please please please tell me P&O is better than Carnival and RCI because the last cruises I had with them were pretty 

RCI was ,to us, the worst cruise.A huge ship, and we think more like Butlins than any P&O ship. That's our thoughts on what we experienced at the time. The two lines you mentioned are glitzy American style so if you don't care for that then you should be ok. Don't expect glitz and OTT entrainment,  it's more laid back. The one thing I certainly don't miss is being constantly greeted with is "hey there guys" 

[Cathygh]

I would like to ask the OP which other lines are you comparing P&O to?

I have been on most P&O ships. They all have a different feel to them, there are things i like and dislike about each on and they are all at a different level of repair/refurb. The problem with Oceana is that it's quite old now and many parts of it need stripping back - balconies comes to mind- but I guess P&O won't invest in doing that.

Regarding the staff, many may still be upset about the change from Dubai to Southampton. This means many who have families living near Dubai haven't been able to see them as they had hoped. Possibly P&O have not managed the situation well.

I have sailed with Cunard but we tend to do more with P&O as at the end of the day it's good value for money which means we can cruise more often

Cathy

 

[glittergal1]

8 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

RCI was ,to us, the worst cruise.A huge ship, and we think more like Butlins than any P&O ship. That's our thoughts on what we experienced at the time. The two lines you mentioned are glitzy American style so if you don't care for that then you should be ok. Don't expect glitz and OTT entrainment,  it's more laid back. The one thing I certainly don't miss is being constantly greeted with is "hey there guys" 

Hmmm on Carnival and the RCI there was NO glitz and  the Entertainment was well down right pathetic ive seen better in the local Pub. maybe we were unlucky with the ships we chose

I guess we just go on P&O and enjoy the ports of call which is what drew us to it in the first place and if we enjoy the onboard experience too then that will be a bonus . 

[jeanlyon]

Yes have to agree.  For us, we choose the itinerary with different ports.  The cabins are always very comfortable.  The food is OK, not always very exciting.  The drinks are a reasonable price.  We don't ever do ships excursions.  Much prefer to DIY everywhere, part of the enjoyment is researching before we go.  We love our pre-dinner drinks in the Crows Nest.  I find the staff absolutely super.  Love sitting out on deck up top with my Kindle as the ship moves.  thats about it.

[Adawn47]

Just go with an open mind and enjoy yourself. Some people are negative thinkers and can only see a glass half empty . Mine is overflowing. Your holiday is what you want to make it. 

Edited February 23, 2020 by Adawn47

[eddie11]

My answer to the original question is quite simply Value For Money.

If I paid a lot more, I’d expect a lot more.

 

[jeanlyon]

Absolutely.

[Tom Baker]

I'm no P&O flag-waver, but seriously! If you spent less time moaning and more time actually trying to enjoy yourself you might just crack a smile. If you're walking around taking pictures and fault finding then that makes you one sad person. I mean a tissue that missed the bin, how pathetic are you?

 

As for the "archaic signing in procedure" in the kids club, I know my kids will be in safe hands with fully trained child care professionals unlike one Royal Caribbean "college degree educated graduate" who gave my kid pizza despite him being allergic to tomato puree because he wasn't aware that the pizza had a tomato base. Or the South African Carnival kids club manager who told us not to worry because "We have had training dealing with retards"

[indiana123]

Like Andy, not long off Oceana.   Its not the glitziest ship  but the Christmas decorations were beautiful.   Staff were cheerful and polite.   We had a good time.  The price we paid was incredible due to the ship being pulled from the Dubai area.

 

Of course things go wrong, nothing is perfect, but moaning can be a bit contagious.  A couple on another cruise line who invited us for morning coffee  moaned on and on and on.   Nothing suited them.   Food was wrong, entertainment was wrong, cabin was wrong.. and more.   They could not stop and it was catching.   We found ourselves nodding and almost agreeing (after a while).  

 

Somehow we found ourselves chatting about it and decided we were having a good time.  We didn't turn up for any more coffee meets.

 

 

Edited February 23, 2020 by indiana123
spelling!!!!

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, swjumbo said:

I’ve just today returned from a P&O cruise and I just don’t get it. 
It’s an American owned company which is giving sub standard service to people who obviously haven’t tried other cruise lines.

None of the staff appear friendly, the Oceana was tatty. Scrapes and scratches on old elevator doors for example. No one seemed to be cleaning (as they do on other ships) and no officers to be seen. It is compulsory with other lines to use hand sanitizer on boarding. Not on the Oceana! 
The entertainment was average and the buffet average too. Drinks packages are dire and the staff miserable. 
Dare I mention the kid’s club? It appears to be run for the benefit of the staff’s time off with an archaic signing in procedure.

I so wanted my cruise to be good as I have happy childhood memories but unfortunately it was not.

Just look at the photos attached. The Americans are having a laugh at you as they line their pockets whilst waving the Union Jack!

I could go on but to avid P&O cruisers who have never been with another cruise line remember this. A little bit more money gives you a lot more in the end.

 

 

Firstly Oceana is our least favourite P&O ship and their other ships are much better.

In P&O favour :-

£ sterling on board.

Gratuities included.

Reasonable priced drinks.

Nice balcony cabins.

British entertainment onboard.

Friendly crew.

kettles in cabins.

Nice food onboard.

Nice bars and restaurants.

We are Mediterranean loyalty on P&O.

We are D+ on Royal Caribbean

Elite on Princess so can speak with authority on cruising experience so you were just unlucky unfortunately.