More bad publicity for P&O

[Windsurfboy]

The service on app shouldn't depend on people having latest technology 

[July morning]

Well my phone is far from being the latest technology but it worked ok when I needed it but we didn't bother to book mdr after the first night and didn't have to wait for a table (3) 

We did book for the afternoon tea on the first day as it said it would be limited availability many on the day didn't and got turned away.

[tring]

34 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

The service on app shouldn't depend on people having latest technology 

 

Agreed, or any technology for that matter.  If it does then it is discrimination, though there do seem to be other options inist cases.

 

Edited January 2, 2023 by tring

[tring]

Everyone has the option to write reviews or comment on their cruises and all should be able to do so freely, without anyone else implying that they are not telling the truth.  

 

People reading reviews can make their own mind up about reports and the more options to read about cruises the better from that perspective.  Different people will have different experiences and there is certainly differences on different cruises.  For instance we went on Azura in October and there were a good number of problems on the ship regards dining and some other things, yet on Aurora in November everything, including the booking system on the app and service was working very well indeed in the freedom dining Mdr's.

 

[Solent Richard]

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

The service on app shouldn't depend on people having latest technology 

Well they used to say that when colour TVs replaced the old 'Black & White ones'. 😁

 

My wife inherits my old phone and when we were recently on Celebrity Silhouette we noticed a small difference between them and that's her with a 12 Pro: less than 3 years old.

Edited January 2, 2023 by Solent Richard

[zap99]

2 hours ago, Bazrat said:

I have an android phone wife as a iPhone no problems on either we must be lucky.

Same here. Works OK on both platforms.

[Bazrat]

57 minutes ago, tring said:

 

Agreed, or any technology for that matter.  If it does then it is discrimination, though there do seem to be other options inist cases.

 

Than we would still be in the stone age.

[zap99]

3 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

Or maybe you were just lucky enough to avoid all the problems which have been so well documented by others…….

Lucky here as well🤣

[zap99]

59 minutes ago, tring said:

Everyone has the option to write reviews or comment on their cruises and all should be able to do so freely, without anyone else implying that they are not telling the truth.  

 

People reading reviews can make their own mind up about reports and the more options to read about cruises the better from that perspective.  Different people will have different experiences and there is certainly differences on different cruises.  For instance we went on Azura in October and there were a good number of problems on the ship regards dining and some other things, yet on Aurora in November everything, including the booking system on the app and service was working very well indeed in the freedom dining Mdr's.

 

How about folk criticising ships they haven't been on based on some adverse comments and ignoring all the many positive reviews. Fair. I don't think so.

 

 

[grapau27]

17 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Lucky here as well🤣

+1.

[Cruisemeister2002]

If I have and gripes about a cruise I have had I write to P&O Carnival House Southampton. I have never as yet had anything negative about the response I get. It has either been in the form of a refund, OBC or a hamper. I am not one of the "Big Hitters" who takes a cruise. If it was the Titanic I'd be Steerage class so therefore there's no ulterior motive for P&O to satisfy my complaint.

[bobstheboy]

I have read some very negative and others very positive reviews about the Arvia Xmas/New Year cruise. One thing is clear, the poor service many received on Christmas Day, was not repeated on New Years Eve. As I and others commented, good planning helps.

 

I am thinking of doing a Christmas cruise this year on Iona, I was put off initially with the problems but back on track with them putting things right on both ships, it's still on my maybe list.

[P&O SUE]

8 minutes ago, bobstheboy said:

I have read some very negative and others very positive reviews about the Arvia Xmas/New Year cruise. One thing is clear, the poor service many received on Christmas Day, was not repeated on New Years Eve. As I and others commented, good planning helps.

 

I am thinking of doing a Christmas cruise this year on Iona, I was put off initially with the problems but back on track with them putting things right on both ships, it's still on my maybe list.

Yes I have seen ‘elsewhere’ very good reports on NYE . I do like Camby, sounds like he got people to sort themselves out!

[zap99]

10 minutes ago, bobstheboy said:

I have read some very negative and others very positive reviews about the Arvia Xmas/New Year cruise. One thing is clear, the poor service many received on Christmas Day, was not repeated on New Years Eve. As I and others commented, good planning helps.

 

I am thinking of doing a Christmas cruise this year on Iona, I was put off initially with the problems but back on track with them putting things right on both ships, it's still on my maybe list.

We are definitely maybe. Just a bit to early to decide on Chrismas yet. No worries about P&O, or the ships, or any cruise company.

[majortom10]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

How about folk criticising ships they haven't been on based on some adverse comments and ignoring all the many positive reviews. Fair. I don't think so.

 

 

On Arcadia maiden we had a gentleman  sharing our table at breakfast. He said he was going to put a complaint in about the sausages and grabbed a card that used to be on the tables to fill in. One person at table noticed he didn't have sausages on his breakfast his reply was no but they look disgusting. We also had a pair of elderly ladies sit with us in the atrium of Britannia on her maiden cruise. They asked us if we had any complaints about the ship as they pulled out a pen and a roll of paper with a long list on. We said it was only first morning and as of then we were impressed by the ship and liked her. They didn't seem happy and when a waiter approached asking politely if they would like to order coffee/tea and they responded very rudely and I'll mannered why should they pay for coffee when it's free in the buffet and got up and stormed off. We somehow seem to attract people like this on holiday but my theory is only if needed complain about things that have happened to you and affected you and not others.

[DS_Dean]

Dont get me wrong I am all for technology and think that the My Holiday app both pre cruise one and the on board one are great ideas. They just need to ensure it works. I was on Azura in the Summer and the app seemed to work ok then, but the November cruise on Iona it was terrible.

 

I do think there are specific things about the way its been done that will make it hard work. For instance when you connect on  Android you'll get a "This network cannot provide internet". Unless you explicitly choose the option to stay connected Android seems to prefer to disconnect it after a while.

 

I think the app would work better if they gave everyone free internet access albeit at a low speed, then devices would connect easier and would avoid devices having the "This network cannot provide internet" issue. Then P&O should offer an actual WiFi ultimate package that genuinely increases the speed for those who want more premium WiFi.

 

I only have one cruise example where I tried the ultimate WiFi upgrade and it did nothing, has anyone else tried it, did it actually increase the speed?

Edited January 2, 2023 by DS_Dean

[Denarius]

18 minutes ago, DS_Dean said:

Dont get me wrong I am all for technology and think that the My Holiday app both pre cruise one and the on board one are great ideas. They just need to ensure it works. I was on Azura in the Summer and the app seemed to work ok then, but the November cruise on Iona it was terrible.

 

I do think there are specific things about the way its been done that will make it hard work. For instance when you connect on  Android you'll get a "This network cannot provide internet". Unless you explicitly choose the option to stay connected Android seems to prefer to disconnect it after a while.

 

I think the app would work better if they gave everyone free internet access albeit at a low speed, then devices would connect easier and would avoid devices having the "This network cannot provide internet" issue. Then P&O should offer an actual WiFi ultimate package that genuinely increases the speed for those who want more premium WiFi.

Or offer complimentary wifi access to all passengers as part of the cruise package. Rightly or wrongly, wifi seems to regarded nowadays as an important component of modern life and is available without charge in most bars and restaurants and in many stores and shopping centres. As such it seems incongruous for companies like P&O to continue to charge extra as though it was a luxury. In recent months I have had the pleasure of taking an ocean cruise with Saga and a river cruise with Riviera and in both cases wifi was provided as standard without charge. Its time P&O followed suit!

Edited January 2, 2023 by Denarius
grammar

[Gettingwarmer]

36 minutes ago, Denarius said:

Or offer complimentary wifi access to all passengers as part of the cruise package. Rightly or wrongly, wifi seems to regarded nowadays as an important component of modern life and is available without charge in most bars and restaurants and in many stores and shopping centres. As such it seems incongruous for companies like P&O to continue to charge extra as though it was a luxury. In recent months I have had the pleasure of taking an ocean cruise with Saga and a river cruise with Riviera and in both cases wifi was provided as standard without charge. Its time P&O followed suit!

Ships satellite wi fi is not the same as that provided on land. Also Saga may include it but their dearer prices reflect this. I’ll admit P&O internet is not one of the best. 

[Bazrat]

1 hour ago, Denarius said:

Or offer complimentary wifi access to all passengers as part of the cruise package. Rightly or wrongly, wifi seems to regarded nowadays as an important component of modern life and is available without charge in most bars and restaurants and in many stores and shopping centres. As such it seems incongruous for companies like P&O to continue to charge extra as though it was a luxury. In recent months I have had the pleasure of taking an ocean cruise with Saga and a river cruise with Riviera and in both cases wifi was provided as standard without charge. Its time P&O followed suit!

Was the price comparable for your saga cruise to that of a p&o cruise, I for one have not bought the internet package nor would I like the price of the cruise to go up to please some.

[Windsurfboy]

Do you need to pay for Wi-Fi to use app, or does it use very limited free WiFi 

[wowzz]

Just now, Windsurfboy said:

Do you need to pay for Wi-Fi to use app, or does it use very limited free WiFi 

No, because you connect to the ship's intranet system.

[Megabear2]

39 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

Ships satellite wi fi is not the same as that provided on land. Also Saga may include it but their dearer prices reflect this. I’ll admit P&O internet is not one of the best. 

We had the 14 day ultimate package on our Christmas cruise.  We used it daily for work and apart from day 2 it worked okay.  Sea days were slower, most likely because of the number of people using it  it cost £246 fo the package but we had bought it in advance of the price rise and my discount was applied to bring it down to £198.

 

This year I have used the included package on Celebrity Edge (normally payable at $35 per day) and Regal Princess ($15 per day but I paid a reduced rate due to my aunt's loyalty status).  These also were slow when at sea and large numbers were using the wifi.  These two wifi packages are advertised as the best at sea - when Enchanted Princess was alongside us in St Kitts the Medallionnet was stronger onboard Britannia than her own one!

 

Internet charges are expensive on all lines if you require it unless it's in a "free" package.

 

 

[davecttr]

Earlier someone mentioned the app logging you off if you moved around the ship. Maybe the WiFi access points are zoned and the design does not allow for logged in phones to move to a different zone. If do BAD system design IMO.

 

I like the portal system they have on Marella. This is in addition to the onboard 'app' . The portals are large touch screen, 32" that you can access by scanning your cruise card. This gives you the 'app' without a smart phone and you have big virtual buttons to hit. Booking stuff also allows you to print out the paperwork then and there. Best of both worlds and it saves a lot of questions at reception.

 

For those on Iona and Arvia? you can see your onboard account using the cabin TV

[davecttr]

8 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

Do you need to pay for Wi-Fi to use app, or does it use very limited free WiFi 

Actually it is not an App but a number of pages on the ships internal network. You connect via the Wifi hardware but not to the internet, just the local network. Free of course.

[zap99]

48 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

We had the 14 day ultimate package on our Christmas cruise.  We used it daily for work and apart from day 2 it worked okay.  Sea days were slower, most likely because of the number of people using it  it cost £246 fo the package but we had bought it in advance of the price rise and my discount was applied to bring it down to £198.

 

This year I have used the included package on Celebrity Edge (normally payable at $35 per day) and Regal Princess ($15 per day but I paid a reduced rate due to my aunt's loyalty status).  These also were slow when at sea and large numbers were using the wifi.  These two wifi packages are advertised as the best at sea - when Enchanted Princess was alongside us in St Kitts the Medallionnet was stronger onboard Britannia than her own one!

 

Internet charges are expensive on all lines if you require it unless it's in a "free" package.

 

 

We had ' free ' WiFi on Silhouette.  Pretty rubbish, but it didn't bother us too much as data roaming worked OK for most of the cruise through the Fjords. I think our free roaming ends at the end of May. We will need to have some email access so that our financial advisor ( he 's a Nigerian Prince ) can keep in touch....although we haven't heard from him much recently.🤔