Have P&O stopped their post cruise questionnaires?

[BornLucky]

I would have expected P&O to want to know what recently dissembarked passengers thought of entertainment, beverage packages, covid protoocols etc.

My mistake,

All they weant to do is bombard with marketing material.

[devonuk]

I guess they’re afraid to ask 😇

[BornLucky]

1 hour ago, devonuk said:

I guess they’re afraid to ask 😇

P&O are spending a fortune trying to attract new customers, notably onto their new ship Iona. It beggers believe that they don't want to know what is, and what is not working for passengers both long established and new to the brand. Arrogance?

[devonuk]

26 minutes ago, BornLucky said:

P&O are spending a fortune trying to attract new customers, notably onto their new ship Iona. It beggers believe that they don't want to know what is, and what is not working for passengers both long established and new to the brand. Arrogance?

I was looking forward to ‘reviewing’ the Iona but alas 🙄

[gsmt47471015]

Had a feefo request a few days after our Ventura cruise asking all the usual questions , not sure they take any notice of what gets sent back as some things never change despite numerous comments . filled it in regardless 

[BornLucky]

1 hour ago, gsmt47471015 said:

Had a feefo request a few days after our Ventura cruise asking all the usual questions , not sure they take any notice of what gets sent back as some things never change despite numerous comments . filled it in regardless 

May well be a waste of time but I like to feel I have at least tried to do something for future passengers. For instance, I have heard that given a constant barrage of specific complaints from recent passengers P&O are about to relaunch their "ultimate" beverage package (it certainly needs to).

I also think the guest entertainers should be rated so that the best are invited back.

The request for feedback should be the first thing you get asked for before memories fade rather than just countless book again marketing emails.

[Cruisemeister2002]

I sometimes question why questionnaires are given out as I believe that the questions are/have been loaded to provide P&O with the ammo to do what they want to do. I have felt for a long time, having filled in more than my fair share of questionnaires that with regards to such things as dress codes and dining options they are being steered to sailing down a river that ends at Freedom Dining and Smart casual evenings rather than Club Dining and Formals. Many don't have Tuxedo's and prefer to eat when it suits them and I appreciate this fact. But Iona and Arvia don't have Club Dining and have only one Formal night per week. Which I have the funny feeling that even they may be dispensed with in future. I am aware that these options are available on other ships but as with Aurora and possibly Arcadia I do wonder how much longer they will continue to sail and what they will be replaced with ?

[BornLucky]

Iona is a good example of how P&O should guage customer response on dining arrangements. There are FOUR Main Dining Rooms all serving the same dinner menu. The booking app (which isn't even an app it is just a lonk to a web page) confuses then frustrates passengers. Why not have at least one dedicated to those who prefer to have set dining?

My main gripe is that P&O appear to have no interest in what their passengers think. 

I feel less valued as a customer by P&O than by any other cruise line.

[jeanlyon]

Spot on.  That's the way it's going I'm afraid.

[Cruisemeister2002]

Quite often me and the wife have a chat about cruise lines other than P&O. Sadly I'm not loaded so I can't afford Azamara of even Saga. But when I reflect on past cruises especially in the earlier years of us cruising I did feel that what you got for your money was better value than what you get now. Some will no doubt say the cruises are cheaper. I don't really agree with that. I always said that a P&O cruise would be about £100 per person per night. We even had a balcony on Britannia for around a £1000 for an 8 night cruise. When we started cruising in 2002 you got toiletries in a little P&O bag. After the evening show you could have sarnies and drinking chocolate. If steak wasn't on the menu you could ask for it and the quality was good. I now query, though steak is on the menu all the time if the quality is the same. We have never fancied a Royal Caribbean type cruise. We don't want ballyhoo, pool games and the like. We are not boring, but prefer a more leisurely read a book, have a drink, listen to a speaker, back to the cabin for a snooze, have a shower and a drink in the cabin, get dressed and along to the bar for a drink before dinner at 8.30, nip along to the show at 10.15 or if there's a good cabaret artist on nip into a club and have another drink before back to the cabin. Drinking chocolate that we take with us and to bed. Mostly up for the MDR breakfast and ashore or if a sea day around the ships shops, sometimes take in a film or go to the bar and watch some footie or take in a lecture or go to the Crows Nest and read. When ashore we sometimes go for a walk or go on an open top bus or make our own way, to say like we did in New York, go across to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, come back and go through Battery Park and get a cab uptown to Macy's or Times Square. A visit to the Hamptons is recommended. If in Istanbul, the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bizarre. Obviously the Pyramids in Egypt although the trip from Port Said is a few hours and an early start. Highly recommend a visit to Rose Hall Montego Bay and Mansions of Portland Maine. Also the witch museum in Salem and don't forget to have a Hurricane Cocktail in the Caribbean and some Black Seal Rum in Bermuda. 

[gsmt47471015]

We have upcoming cruises with Holland and America and Azamara this year and have cruised with Celebrity and Cunard,  been loyal to P and O for many years but not to sure as the direction they appear to be taking,  will stick with them for the 65 night cruise in January 23 and the worldie in 2024 but unless the itineraries change ( and by the look of the new 2024 summer offerings they haven't) we will be looking elsewhere as we feel we have exhausted their destinations. Unsure about RC or MSC but not yet ready for Fred !!!!

[Britboys]

2 hours ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

Quite often me and the wife have a chat about cruise lines other than P&O. Sadly I'm not loaded so I can't afford Azamara of even Saga. But when I reflect on past cruises especially in the earlier years of us cruising I did feel that what you got for your money was better value than what you get now. Some will no doubt say the cruises are cheaper. I don't really agree with that. I always said that a P&O cruise would be about £100 per person per night. We even had a balcony on Britannia for around a £1000 for an 8 night cruise. When we started cruising in 2002 you got toiletries in a little P&O bag. After the evening show you could have sarnies and drinking chocolate. If steak wasn't on the menu you could ask for it and the quality was good. I now query, though steak is on the menu all the time if the quality is the same. We have never fancied a Royal Caribbean type cruise. We don't want ballyhoo, pool games and the like. We are not boring, but prefer a more leisurely read a book, have a drink, listen to a speaker, back to the cabin for a snooze, have a shower and a drink in the cabin, get dressed and along to the bar for a drink before dinner at 8.30, nip along to the show at 10.15 or if there's a good cabaret artist on nip into a club and have another drink before back to the cabin. Drinking chocolate that we take with us and to bed. Mostly up for the MDR breakfast and ashore or if a sea day around the ships shops, sometimes take in a film or go to the bar and watch some footie or take in a lecture or go to the Crows Nest and read. When ashore we sometimes go for a walk or go on an open top bus or make our own way, to say like we did in New York, go across to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, come back and go through Battery Park and get a cab uptown to Macy's or Times Square. A visit to the Hamptons is recommended. If in Istanbul, the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bizarre. Obviously the Pyramids in Egypt although the trip from Port Said is a few hours and an early start. Highly recommend a visit to Rose Hall Montego Bay and Mansions of Portland Maine. Also the witch museum in Salem and don't forget to have a Hurricane Cocktail in the Caribbean and some Black Seal Rum in Bermuda. 

You could try Fred Olsen - their late deals are reasonably priced. I have a short cruise later this year on the ex-Princess ship about to start sailing for Ambassador. As I haven't got anything booked with P&O after this autumn, I might risk booking a 2023 cruise with them too once they release their itineraries for next year. They say they aim to provide a more traditional cruise experience aimed at adults 50+.

 

[purplesea]

43 minutes ago, Britboys said:

You could try Fred Olsen - their late deals are reasonably priced. I have a short cruise later this year on the ex-Princess ship about to start sailing for Ambassador. As I haven't got anything booked with P&O after this autumn, I might risk booking a 2023 cruise with them too once they release their itineraries for next year. They say they aim to provide a more traditional cruise experience aimed at adults 50+.

 

I too am waiting to see what they have to offer for next year as I have seen an advert that some of their cruises will be sailing from Falmouth, which is on our doorstep compared to Southampton!

[Britboys]

46 minutes ago, purplesea said:

I too am waiting to see what they have to offer for next year as I have seen an advert that some of their cruises will be sailing from Falmouth, which is on our doorstep compared to Southampton!

Indeed. Ambience will be based in Tilbury again but Ambition will sail a number of regional departures across the summer season apparently.

[gsmt47471015]

No disrespect to Ambassador, or CMV as they were but the ships, even the new one, are not what we would wish to sail on although they are competitively priced. Sailing from Tilbury is no better for us than sailing from Southampton  The price you pay for living in gods own county🤨. 

[Britboys]

16 minutes ago, gsmt47471015 said:

No disrespect to Ambassador, or CMV as they were but the ships, even the new one, are not what we would wish to sail on although they are competitively priced. Sailing from Tilbury is no better for us than sailing from Southampton  The price you pay for living in gods own county🤨. 

If it makes any difference, Ambition will be sailing some itineraries from both Newcastle and Liverpool.

[gsmt47471015]

13 minutes ago, Britboys said:

If it makes any difference, Ambition will be sailing some itineraries from both Newcastle and Liverpool.

Don't think it will make a difference to us as we never liked the look of them before they went bust , just wish some of the bigger cruise companies would consider the northerly based passenger's. Well aware that to open a full port in say Liverpool or Newcastle would cost serious money , however if the companies all put in they could all reap the benefits and a larger customer base