The official reason for the lack of turndown service.

[Trevor Fountain]

2 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

If you miss the old standards and don't mind  the old higher prices in real terms,  and want no flying,  try Saga

My wife is too young. In the future maybe.

[Snow Hill]

10 hours ago, Trevor Fountain said:

They used to have stewards that stood in the corridor near the cabins. You would press a button and the steward would come to your service. They would make you a snack and bring tea and coffee, all free.

If you left your shoes visible in the cabin your steward would polish them, without being asked. He would assist with your bow tie on formal nights. This has long gone.

The food in the restaurants really was first class including starter, sorbet, main, sweet, cheese and biscuits, coffee.

A waiter would always be close to hand, no need to ask for a second bread roll, it would be offered after he noticed you'd finished your previous one, and never did I have an empty glass of water.This has long gone.

Who would ever have dreamt of paying a supplement to dine in a speciality restaurant, where the product is still inferior (imo) to what it was back in the day.

Midnight buffet? Long gone.

Theme nights such as Race Night, Black and White Night, Casino Night. Long gone.

A proper daily entertainment program, organised by fantastic cruise directors and entertainment staff. Long gone.

I could go on.

So in answer to your question, no it doesn't matter if my bed sheets are not turned down before I get in it, but it is just another example of the watered down product that they still call cruising.

Alas there will be many who cruise today who have absolutely no idea what traditional cruising was like.

Though it's fair to say that the fare reflects the changes, and now a lot more people can afford to 'cruise'.

I shouldn't complain, there's always Butlins.

 

Having only started cruising in the last 12 years, the majority of what you have quoted we never experienced on any of cruises we have done, so we don’t miss what we have never had. As for turndown service always thought it was pointless, the stewards time is better spent doing other things, so not concerned if it doesn’t return. 

[Gettingwarmer]

39 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

Having only started cruising in the last 12 years, the majority of what you have quoted we never experienced on any of cruises we have done, so we don’t miss what we have never had. As for turndown service always thought it was pointless, the stewards time is better spent doing other things, so not concerned if it doesn’t return. 

When do you shower, morning or evening?

[bbtablet]

"Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone?

They paved paradise - put up a parking lot."

 

The one thing you really will miss when it's gone is good health - if you've still got yours, cherish it.

[Bazrat]

2 hours ago, Gettingwarmer said:

When do you shower, morning or evening?

I shower when I need to depending how I feel 

Edited August 11, 2022 by Bazrat

[Bazrat]

3 hours ago, Trevor Fountain said:

My wife is too young. In the future maybe.

Don’t forget there is also Fred RC and a lot more

[Bazrat]

Don’t forget the cheese wheel some on here missed that terribly, that special bottle of wine fermented on the southern alps, the turn down service with that special bit of chocolate how I miss those days

[Presto2]

It is sad to read that a lot of people are suggesting that  long standing PO folk - who do  not seem to be happy and notice that what they expect from a PO cruise is no longer available -  should move cruise like it is their fault. Is it me but surely the cruise line needs to reflect on its short comings ????

It has also become a bit ageist...... ie if you are not happy it's an age thing so move on somewhere else for older people.

Perhaps it's me but surely it is a cruise line issue. There is nothing wrong with people having high expectations of a cruise line they have known and loved ...... and been loyal to. I do worry that PO may use Covid as an excuse to.drop some perks ......

If this is the case and once we retire and sail when we want to and can make use of deals we will move to Celebrity and be sad to leave the old PO behind .......

 

 

[terrierjohn]

28 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

Don’t forget there is also Fred RC and a lot more

Saga allows spouses/partners to be over 40.

[Snow Hill]

3 hours ago, Gettingwarmer said:

When do you shower, morning or evening?

Whenever I feel like it, but what has that got to do with a turndown service? 

[Gettingwarmer]

6 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

Whenever I feel like it, but what has that got to do with a turndown service? 

Because I am not worried about a turndown service where my quilt is opened up and a chocolate is put on the pillow and the light turned on. I wish my wet towels to be replaced after a shower in the evening. 

[JDB78]

18 hours ago, Trevor Fountain said:

They used to have stewards that stood in the corridor near the cabins. You would press a button and the steward would come to your service. They would make you a snack and bring tea and coffee, all free.

If you left your shoes visible in the cabin your steward would polish them, without being asked. He would assist with your bow tie on formal nights. This has long gone.

The food in the restaurants really was first class including starter, sorbet, main, sweet, cheese and biscuits, coffee.

A waiter would always be close to hand, no need to ask for a second bread roll, it would be offered after he noticed you'd finished your previous one, and never did I have an empty glass of water.This has long gone.

Who would ever have dreamt of paying a supplement to dine in a speciality restaurant, where the product is still inferior (imo) to what it was back in the day.

Midnight buffet? Long gone.

Theme nights such as Race Night, Black and White Night, Casino Night. Long gone.

A proper daily entertainment program, organised by fantastic cruise directors and entertainment staff. Long gone.

I could go on.

So in answer to your question, no it doesn't matter if my bed sheets are not turned down before I get in it, but it is just another example of the watered down product that they still call cruising.

Alas there will be many who cruise today who have absolutely no idea what traditional cruising was like.

Though it's fair to say that the fare reflects the changes, and now a lot more people can afford to 'cruise'.

I shouldn't complain, there's always Butlins.

 

Think you were doing well until the last comment. As others have said what you are looking for still exists, but just not with P&O.

 

 

 

Imo its not just a price issue - many people I know who are non cruisers still view cruising as something that generally older people do, posh people, very formal and just not what they would regard as a holiday or somewhere they could relax. Some people, like me I suppose, cruise as they like holidays, but just dont want to fly. I'm not interested in the pomp or creating a 5* hotel experience. So to be honest I'm 100% glad of the changes and our biggest fear of travelling with P&O was that it would be exactly how you describe it used to be like. I dont think the new era of cruising is any less of a product than previously. I honestly wouldnt want many of the formal elements even if they were available for free.

 

 

 

For what it's worth I thought Ventura's entertainment was brilliant and couldn't have been more organised or varied. Guest speakers, singers, discos, gameshows, quizes, race nights. Activities taking place in the gym / Spa, kids club, table tennis, quoits, shuffleboard, films, magicians, live music poolside - and this was on top of the main shows in the Arena theatre. Did I watch or take part in many of these activities? No, but I certainly couldn't say they weren't making the effort to entertain people on board. It seemed to me there was always 2 if not 3 different forms of entertainment on at all times of the day and night.

[Josy1953]

9 hours ago, Presto2 said:

 

If this is the case and once we retire and sail when we want to and can make use of deals we will move to Celebrity and be sad to leave the old PO behind .......

 

 

We were both fortunate enough to be able to retire at 55.  We can now go away as and when we like though  because we like to chose exactly where our cabin is on ships we don't take advantage of last minute deals but we have already left P&O for the moment and are booking mainly with Princess and occasionally Celebrity  because our last cruise on P&O was just before the Covid pause and left us feeling that P&O had reduced their standards to match their lower prices snd no longer gave us what we wanted.   The final straw though was the problems getting our money back from them for a cancelled cruise yet Princess returned the money a lot more promptly despite being part of the same travel group.

We don't feel that we are ready for Fred or Saga and RCI doesn't appeal to us with the flow riders  ziplines etc.

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, Josy1953 said:

We were both fortunate enough to be able to retire at 55.  We can now go away as and when we like though  because we like to chose exactly where our cabin is on ships we don't take advantage of last minute deals but we have already left P&O for the moment and are booking mainly with Princess and occasionally Celebrity  because our last cruise on P&O was just before the Covid pause and left us feeling that P&O had reduced their standards to match their lower prices snd no longer gave us what we wanted.   The final straw though was the problems getting our money back from them for a cancelled cruise yet Princess returned the money a lot more promptly despite being part of the same travel group.

We don't feel that we are ready for Fred or Saga and RCI doesn't appeal to us with the flow riders  ziplines etc.

If Saga is in your price range, it might be worth looking at Oceania or Viking on the limited number of round-trip cruises they do from the uk.

[gsmt47471015]

13 hours ago, Gettingwarmer said:

When do you shower, morning or evening?

 

14 hours ago, Snow Hill said:

Having only started cruising in the last 12 years, the majority of what you have quoted we never experienced on any of cruises we have done, so we don’t miss what we have never had. As for turndown service always thought it was pointless, the stewards time is better spent doing other things, so not concerned if it doesn’t return. 

We are by some peoples standards  late to cruising (16years) and have also not had some of the experiences of lots of seasoned travellers, we have always enjoyed what has been offered but do admit it is not the same as it was when we had our early cruises, and believe that covid may have accelerated these changes

[NewWestwardbound]

7 hours ago, JDB78 said:

what you are looking for still exists, but just not with P&O.

Some of which with other mainstream cruise lines. 

[Bazrat]

On 8/9/2022 at 4:20 PM, Megabear2 said:

Interestingly reports from Britannia have shown big improvement on restaurants etc.  I wonder how much impact the staff arriving at Gatwick specifically for her have had?  When I chatted to the lady who was waiting for them to get off the plane she emphasised she'd only been collecting staff for Britannia and Queen Victoria.

 

[Bazrat]

We are probably lucky as in we missed the golden age of cruising on P&O, we  have had great holidays and really don't believe we are missing out.

[zap99]

On 8/11/2022 at 8:43 AM, Trevor Fountain said:

You are of course correct about the upper market lines.The problem for me is I don't fly, and that limits my choice. I like everybody else just has to accept that things have changed. nobody forces me to cruise. I just miss what it was I guess. 

Butlins are much unproved. I suggest you give them another try.you may be impressed.

[zap99]

3 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

We are probably lucky as in we missed the golden age of cruising on P&O, we  have had great holidays and really don't believe we are missing out.

Our first cruise was 20 years ago on Island escape. We didn't cruise before then as it looked too stuffy. One of the chaps where I worked, he loaded the trucks, went on a cruise every year. He said he could dress up every night and be waited on. 

[Megabear2]

The whole world has just gotten judgmental and likes to have someone to look down on. Just been reading comments on why Newcastle shouldn't host Eurovision, unbelievable the rubbish people spout, really hope they do host it just to shut them up.

 

Cruising like the rest of the world shouldn't be elitist or stuck in the past. Move on and let the new generation decide what they'd like.  The so called "golden age" is a bit like the war years I frequently hear being reminisced about - not something we would enjoy as much as we are told and certainly not for the modern day.  Instead of harping for the past maybe we should embrace the here and now and enjoy what the ships are giving us. They still take us to foreign and far flung places in comfort after all.

[zap99]

15 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

The whole world has just gotten judgmental and likes to have someone to look down on. Just been reading comments on why Newcastle shouldn't host Eurovision, unbelievable the rubbish people spout, really hope they do host it just to shut them up.

 

Cruising like the rest of the world shouldn't be elitist or stuck in the past. Move on and let the new generation decide what they'd like.  The so called "golden age" is a bit like the war years I frequently hear being reminisced about - not something we would enjoy as much as we are told and certainly not for the modern day.  Instead of harping for the past maybe we should embrace the here and now and enjoy what the ships are giving us. They still take us to foreign and far flung places in comfort after all.

Well said. We are off on Anthem of the seas in  few weeks. I will probably give the flowrider a miss this time, insurance might not like it, not the climbing wall. I don't think the dodgems are excluded and the silent disco should be ok. Give anything a go once, even Butlins.

 

Cheers Non judgemental of Woking.

 

[Eglesbrech]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

Move on and let the new generation decide what they'd like.

Personally I have moved on but for standards, not any sense of elitism. 

 

Respectfully, I  don’t agree that only the new generation should get to decide. Turn that statement round and there would be complete outrage. 
 

Age discrimination however seems to be last of the acceptable ”isms”

[Eglesbrech]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

Well said. We are off on Anthem of the seas in  few weeks. I will probably give the flowrider a miss this time, insurance might not like it, not the climbing wall. I don't think the dodgems are excluded and the silent disco should be ok. Give anything a go once, even Butlins.

 

Cheers Non judgemental of Woking.

 

Tried the wall once, once was quite enough!

Edited August 12, 2022 by Eglesbrech

[Windsurfboy]

We are embracing the here and now, and P&O bargins.

 

Treating the big P&O ships as an opportunity to be experimented with.  We have booked 2 weeks in a suite on Arvia in 2024 , giving it time to settle in. It will cost precisely  43% yes 43% of our Saga cruise in June or our upcoming  Cunard QG. Full Suite on P&O marginally cheaper than standard balcony on Cunard.

 

  So we obviously won't be expecting same service throughout ship. Àlthough our last P&O trip on Aurora the room and butler service was as good as anywhere. But for the £8k saved, can and will eat every night in Epicurean, Sindhu, ... and hardly touch savings. If we want peace and quiet get a huge balcony, at bargin price