First P&O Sailing - Is it usually like this?

[paulatsea]

2 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

He's put it above - Thomas C

Ok ! Still don’t get it !! Wasn’t sure if that was serious . I must be thick today.

[wowzz]

16 minutes ago, paulatsea said:

Ok ! Still don’t get it !! Wasn’t sure if that was serious . I must be thick today.

Death on the Nile is set on a Thomas Cook boat. 

[paulatsea]

Just now, wowzz said:

Death on the Nile is set on a Thomas Cook boat. 

Doh !!! Thanks very much wowzz

[Rosroz]

I think P and O are rubbish , and they are expensive for what you get, when people talk about the wonderful service and fabulous food, I think to myself are they really talking about P and O ! 
If you want a great cruise then sail with the lines that cater mainly for Americans then you will see what good food and service truly are., and for what you pay it’s a far far superior experience.

Yes I know there will be many, many people who will disagree but this is my opinion, I’ve got over 40 cruises under my belt and this is my experience 

[Megabear2]

3 minutes ago, Rosroz said:

I think P and O are rubbish , and they are expensive for what you get, when people talk about the wonderful service and fabulous food, I think to myself are they really talking about P and O ! 
If you want a great cruise then sail with the lines that cater mainly for Americans then you will see what good food and service truly are., and for what you pay it’s a far far superior experience.

Yes I know there will be many, many people who will disagree but this is my opinion, I’ve got over 40 cruises under my belt and this is my experience 

I'm not going to defend or recommend one way or the other but would say P&O smack the American cruise lines out of the ballpark for pricing particularly onboard. - and yes I know all about "All included".  However a fortnight's wifi on Britannia cost me £120 bookdd in advance for strong enough to zoom meetings. To upgrade on Celebrity to their next level $44 per day.

 

I'm currently organising my first Celebrity cruise and on Wednesday my friend and I looked at costs for the spa: 70 minute deep tissue massage $273 on Celebrity £79 on P&O!  Err hello is this a misprint, no!

 

Excursion in Majorca on the Soller train: $129 on Celebrity £49 on P&O.

 

I can go on, the upgrade costs and excursions on Celebrity are double the price of Cunard never mind P&O.

 

I do not think P&O are perfect but their product is generally sound and good value.

[Harry Peterson]

25 minutes ago, Rosroz said:

I think P and O are rubbish , and they are expensive for what you get, when people talk about the wonderful service and fabulous food, I think to myself are they really talking about P and O ! 
If you want a great cruise then sail with the lines that cater mainly for Americans then you will see what good food and service truly are., and for what you pay it’s a far far superior experience.

Yes I know there will be many, many people who will disagree but this is my opinion, I’ve got over 40 cruises under my belt and this is my experience 

You’re probably right, and I’ve heard much the same from people who’ve switched away from P&O, but it’s all down to price. Cheap and cheerful with P&O perhaps? Not remotely what it was, but it has extended cruising to a much wider market, and it does sail predominantly from the UK.

[wowzz]

27 minutes ago, Rosroz said:

I think P and O are rubbish , and they are expensive for what you get, when people talk about the wonderful service and fabulous food, I think to myself are they really talking about P and O ! 
If you want a great cruise then sail with the lines that cater mainly for Americans then you will see what good food and service truly are., and for what you pay it’s a far far superior experience.

Yes I know there will be many, many people who will disagree but this is my opinion, I’ve got over 40 cruises under my belt and this is my experience 

Well, that's an interesting random post  !

Care to share when you were last on a P&O ship ?

And whilst I am not the biggest P&O fan, I do think that on the whole they offer reasonable value for money.

[Megabear2]

6 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Well, that's an interesting random post  !

Care to share when you were last on a P&O ship ?

And whilst I am not the biggest P&O fan, I do think that on the whole they offer reasonable value for money.

According to the previous posts and discussions this person appears to travel on Oceania and Azamara, I'd politely suggest not your normal P&O guest!

[wowzz]

5 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

According to the previous posts and discussions this person appears to travel on Oceania and Azamara, I'd politely suggest not your normal P&O guest!

Yes, I saw that.  

Really comparing apples to pears.  

[zap99]

44 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I'm not going to defend or recommend one way or the other but would say P&O smack the American cruise lines out of the ballpark for pricing particularly onboard. - and yes I know all about "All included".  However a fortnight's wifi on Britannia cost me £120 bookdd in advance for strong enough to zoom meetings. To upgrade on Celebrity to their next level $44 per day.

 

I'm currently organising my first Celebrity cruise and on Wednesday my friend and I looked at costs for the spa: 70 minute deep tissue massage $273 on Celebrity £79 on P&O!  Err hello is this a misprint, no!

 

Excursion in Majorca on the Soller train: $129 on Celebrity £49 on P&O.

 

I can go on, the upgrade costs and excursions on Celebrity are double the price of Cunard never mind P&O.

 

I do not think P&O are perfect but their product is generally sound and good value.

We have an RCI cruise booked for September. We normally buy the soft drinks/coffee package ,every other day a new special offer email arrives. The price changes from £20 to about £28. We will buy it at some point. They can stick their WiFi. I will use my data roaming when we are near to shore.

Edited April 22, 2022 by zap99

[terrierjohn]

18 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Well, that's an interesting random post  !

Care to share when you were last on a P&O ship ?

And whilst I am not the biggest P&O fan, I do think that on the whole they offer reasonable value for money.

My view as well, and certainly never felt they were rubbish. The hotel staff do not provide the can do service that the American lines do, and whilst the service may be slow, it's rarely downright poor, and the overall price is generally very competitive.

[Denarius]

23 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

You’re probably right, and I’ve heard much the same from people who’ve switched away from P&O, but it’s all down to price. Cheap and cheerful with P&O perhaps? Not remotely what it was, but it has extended cruising to a much wider market, and it does sail predominantly from the UK.

Very much so I think.

My first P&O cruise was in 1997, on Oriana. Since then I have sailed with them 33 times. During that time I have witnessed many cutbacks, and many things charged for (like cabin service) which were previously complementary. Also a vast increase on onboard mechandising and new pay extra services like "select" restaurants. But in real terms their cruises cost much less than they did when I started sailing with them. Things have obviously been cut back to a price, rather than priced up to a standard. Recently I took my first cruise with Saga, and the standard of service etc reminded me of my first cruise on Oriana all those years ago. Virtually everything was included including cabin service and select dining, and onboard mechandising was noticable by its absence. The cost was considerably more, but probably not so in real terms to what I paid with P&O in 1997. So if P&O had maintained their prices in real terms, they could probably have been providing a cruise experience similar to Saga today. But Saga are not mass market cruising, and P&O had the choice of maintaining standards and potentially pricing themselves out of the latter or reducing them to compete on price. They chose to compete on price and trimmed their product accordingly.

[Cruisemeister2002]

2 hours ago, Rosroz said:

I think P and O are rubbish , and they are expensive for what you get, when people talk about the wonderful service and fabulous food, I think to myself are they really talking about P and O ! 
If you want a great cruise then sail with the lines that cater mainly for Americans then you will see what good food and service truly are., and for what you pay it’s a far far superior experience.

Yes I know there will be many, many people who will disagree but this is my opinion, I’ve got over 40 cruises under my belt and this is my experience 

I have long been of the opinion that Americans get better everything onboard their ships. I think it's because the Brits tend to accept what they are dished up. I remember a case in question where we docked on a very hot day. The port of call was by tender. When we returned a ship carrying German passengers had an area where their passengers could take shade from the sun and had various drinks to choose from. Our fare was a cup of water served in a plastic cup out in the sun. I do think although P&O are part of the Carnival group we don't get the service and food they do on their ships. Also having done many P&O cruise I have on several occasions referred to how many little things that were once given to enhance the cruise experience have disappeared either to be replaced with having to pay extra for it or not available at all. 

[Cruisemeister2002]

1 hour ago, Denarius said:

Very much so I think.

My first P&O cruise was in 1997, on Oriana. Since then I have sailed with them 33 times. During that time I have witnessed many cutbacks, and many things charged for (like cabin service) which were previously complementary. Also a vast increase on onboard mechandising and new pay extra services like "select" restaurants. But in real terms their cruises cost much less than they did when I started sailing with them. Things have obviously been cut back to a price, rather than priced up to a standard. Recently I took my first cruise with Saga, and the standard of service etc reminded me of my first cruise on Oriana all those years ago. Virtually everything was included including cabin service and select dining, and onboard mechandising was noticable by its absence. The cost was considerably more, but probably not so in real terms to what I paid with P&O in 1997. So if P&O had maintained their prices in real terms, they could probably have been providing a cruise experience similar to Saga today. But Saga are not mass market cruising, and P&O had the choice of maintaining standards and potentially pricing themselves out of the latter or reducing them to compete on price. They chose to compete on price and trimmed their product accordingly.

Even in 2002 which was my first cruise onboard Victoria P&O service and general fare was better than now. I have a couple of cruises booked with them in 2023 which although I look forward to there is a certain amount a nervousness on my behalf as to what to expect as a few of the posts on this forum have alluded to poor service and the food not being the best. I think this may be an error on P&O's behalf if by serving food of a lower standard than in their Specialist Restaurants they are trying to force people into paying the extra when if they charged a bit more for a cruise and used the Specialist Restaurants to serve only the type of food available in them they would still get takers for the different foods available whilst not getting adverse comments on food served in the MDR's.

[wowzz]

20 minutes ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

Also having done many P&O cruise I have on several occasions referred to how many little things that were once given to enhance the cruise experience have disappeared either to be replaced with having to pay extra for it or not available at all. 

You can read exactly the same comments on the Princess board.  Every mass market cruise line us cutting costs.

[Sir Cumference]

I'll confess right now that I've not read this entire thread - only the first two pages - so forgive me if I repeat something already said. I was on Ventura over Christmas and was very disappointed with so many aspects of the cruise. On my return home, I wrote to P&O (customer services) and eventually got a non-personal response simply saying that they were sorry I'd not enjoyed the cruise - none of the particular complaints were addressed. I will never book another P&O cruise again. I have four future ones booked and have already cancelled two of them - the other two may be cancelled soon too.

[Cruisemeister2002]

2 minutes ago, wowzz said:

You can read exactly the same comments on the Princess board.  Every mass market cruise line us cutting costs.

I do think it is totally false economy though. When you consider what a small dish of sweets costs, a sachet or two of drinking chocolate and as I say if the turndown service has been dispensed with is because of Covid therefore  staff coming into contact with passengers doesn't the same apply to breakfast served in your cabin for which they now apparently charge £2.50 or have they installed cat flaps that they shove the trays through ?

[Josy1953]

A P&O cuise is definitely not what it used to be but you get what you pay for.  They cannot be expected to provide the same cruise as more expensive lines.  We have been happy to sail with P&O in the past but this year we only have cruises booked with other lines because we think that they have cut a bit too much but we would still go with P&O if they had a cruise that we were really interested in.

[Fionboard]

3 hours ago, Rosroz said:

I think P and O are rubbish , and they are expensive for what you get, when people talk about the wonderful service and fabulous food, I think to myself are they really talking about P and O ! 
If you want a great cruise then sail with the lines that cater mainly for Americans then you will see what good food and service truly are., and for what you pay it’s a far far superior experience.

Yes I know there will be many, many people who will disagree but this is my opinion, I’ve got over 40 cruises under my belt and this is my experience 

I have 63 cruises "under my belt" and the worst ones were on cruises full of Americans! Each to their own!

[davecttr]

2 hours ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

I have long been of the opinion that Americans get better everything onboard their ships. I think it's because the Brits tend to accept what they are dished up. I remember a case in question where we docked on a very hot day. The port of call was by tender. When we returned a ship carrying German passengers had an area where their passengers could take shade from the sun and had various drinks to choose from. Our fare was a cup of water served in a plastic cup out in the sun. I do think although P&O are part of the Carnival group we don't get the service and food they do on their ships. Also having done many P&O cruise I have on several occasions referred to how many little things that were once given to enhance the cruise experience have disappeared either to be replaced with having to pay extra for it or not available at all. 

Musn't grumble

 

some consider that Carnival treat P&O as their cash cow for the above reason. We will never know though as I believe the profit margins of the Carnival brands are not public knowledge.

 

I have seen Marella do better than that!

However it appears Marella are now more expensive than P&O

[yorkshirephil]

6 minutes ago, davecttr said:

 

 

I have seen Marella do better than that!

However it appears Marella are now more expensive than P&O

Marella cruises are all inclusive, if you add the £40 pp/day for P&O drinks there isn't a big difference if you consider like for like cruises. We used to go with Marella/Thompsons regularly before they went AI whereas as light drinkers these days we are not willing to subsidise the drinkers. 

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, yorkshirephil said:

Marella cruises are all inclusive, if you add the £40 pp/day for P&O drinks there isn't a big difference if you consider like for like cruises. We used to go with Marella/Thompsons regularly before they went AI whereas as light drinkers these days we are not willing to subsidise the drinkers. 

But if you look at Princess,  with their  £30 Princess Plus package,  plus choice of cabin at no charge (unlike Marella), suddenly Princess look better value than P&O and Marella. 

[Megabear2]

Time to face up to cruising being more expensive and a different experience to  in the past. Time has moved on and the new generation of cruisers seem to be happy with a product some of us think is now inferior.  We cannot turn back the clock no matter how much we may want to.  It's simply an inter generational thing.  

 

Television and mobile telephones are an example in a way. Those of us raised with only terrestrial television services tend to watch more traditional programmes on a TV screen even when we have access to hundreds of Internet based streaming services whereas younger people think nothing of carrying around phones and ipads laden with downloaded entertainment. We continually debate how we don't want to be forced to carry a telephone everywhere and consider it almost an affront to us that the cruise lines want us to do that.  Younger people are the opposite and think that if they can't access everything they need at the touch of a button on their screen the product isn't worth having.

 

There has to be room for both sets in the market but we have to faceup to the fact that the new cruisers are different and clearly set dining times, dressing formally etc will just not sell to the new mainstream and the traditionalists are now considered the minority.  Unfortunately for us traditionalists now need to look to move away to the specialist market for the experience they seek and this comes with the bigger price ticket of a Saga or whoever. We may have had our time in the sun and need to move over to make room for the next generation of cruisers who expect and want different things.

 

The Curt Cobain generation "Here we are now, entertain us" has duly arrived on cruise ships around the world as they are growing older and moving on to other things. This generation and it's children and grandchildren have been raised not to "make do" but to expect everything they do to be an "experience".  The cruise lines know this hence the bigger ships with more thrills and little formality onboard.

 

For my part I love it but many don't and may feel they are being squeezed out.

Edited April 23, 2022 by Megabear2

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Time to face up to cruising being more expensive and a different experience to  in the past

I would just disagree with one point you made.

Cruising compared to the past,  as you say, is now a mass market product, but pricing (in real terms) is now cheaper than ever.

[Megabear2]

7 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I would just disagree with one point you made.

Cruising compared to the past,  as you say, is now a mass market product, but pricing (in real terms) is now cheaper than ever.

Accept that, I'm a working class oik who was laughed at when at school for saying I'd go on the QE2 one day.  My equivalent today would not have that occur as in general a cruise isn't posh or for the elite only anymore.

 

My badly made point was that during this period of transition we traditionalists have been able to take advantage of lower fares which were there to entice Curt Cobain and Co but now he's on the hook so to speak we are going to see them continue to rise to "proper" levels, ie no more £50 a night bargains on an average  £100 a night typical price.  Basically we will see big jumps in cost now and in the future.