Food and dining on P&O ships

[Jennizor]

We were on Iona Feb/March and could book speciality dining two weeks before. I hope that’s not changed and will be the same for our Iona cruise in July.

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

We got off Azura a few days ago. Speciality restaurants and entertainment weren't available to book pre cruise. I suspect that this is a change to policy rather than a glitch. Entertainment and MDR are  just show up. Just as folk have been longing for. Specialities are book on the app, but be quick as they fill up fast. Back to normal, just as folk have been wishing.

Wouldn’t ‘back to normal’ be no pre booking of entertainment (other than Limelight Lounge, where available) or MDRs which, as you say, many of us would wish for, but the ability to pre book some speciality restaurants (which is specifically what we are talking about)?
 

I may be wrong and am happy to be corrected if I am, but couldn’t you pre book (before the cruise) certain speciality restaurants such as Epicurean and Sindu before that virus that turned everything on its head?

[Megabear2]

I understand on all but Iona and Arvia you cannot prebook apart from Britannia Limelight, certainly we couldn't on our last two Britannia cruises.  I'm told not to expect any different on my August Britannia as well.

 

Regarding Arvia all of my options apart from Keel & Cow (including two MDR) state they will be available on 30 April which is 14 days before sailing. 

 

Same on Iona.  Speaking to P&O they have indicated it is to help flow and control (whatever that is!) on the two biggest ships.

 

I'm happy either way.

[Selbourne]

4 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I understand on all but Iona and Arvia you cannot prebook apart from Britannia Limelight, certainly we couldn't on our last two Britannia cruises.  I'm told not to expect any different on my August Britannia as well.

 

Regarding Arvia all of my options apart from Keel & Cow (including two MDR) state they will be available on 30 April which is 14 days before sailing. 

 

Same on Iona.  Speaking to P&O they have indicated it is to help flow and control (whatever that is!) on the two biggest ships.

 

I'm happy either way.

That would explain it. Just checked our July Britannia cruise and there are only two dining options showing as “Coming Soon”. One is the Limelight Lounge and the other is New Year at the Epicurean, a special meal for New Years Eve to “ease us in to 2023”. I repeat, this is a July cruise 🤣 🤣 

 

It does make a difference though. If you can pre book the extra cost restaurants you can get your Peninsular Club discount plus (I believe) a pre booking discount, allowing you to use 100% of your OBC for drinks etc. If you can’t pre book, your OBC is used first, so you get no discount whatsoever.

[Megabear2]

16 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

That would explain it. Just checked our July Britannia cruise and there are only two dining options showing as “Coming Soon”. One is the Limelight Lounge and the other is New Year at the Epicurean, a special meal for New Years Eve to “ease us in to 2023”. I repeat, this is a July cruise 🤣 🤣 

 

It does make a difference though. If you can pre book the extra cost restaurants you can get your Peninsular Club discount plus (I believe) a pre booking discount, allowing you to use 100% of your OBC for drinks etc. If you can’t pre book, your OBC is used first, so you get no discount whatsoever.

I think the extra discount is on certain restaurants, I never got it on Limelight on Britannia just my Peninsular Club discount.  Booking my next batch very soon for Arvia/Iona so will see what happens there.

Edited April 21, 2023 by Megabear2

[zap99]

4 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Wouldn’t ‘back to normal’ be no pre booking of entertainment (other than Limelight Lounge, where available) or MDRs which, as you say, many of us would wish for, but the ability to pre book some speciality restaurants (which is specifically what we are talking about)?
 

I may be wrong and am happy to be corrected if I am, but couldn’t you pre book (before the cruise) certain speciality restaurants such as Epicurean and Sindu before that virus that turned everything on its head?

Folk have been longing for the return of spontaneity.  I want to go to dinner when I want and see the show I want without all the faff of prebooking was the cry....P&O have listened to the punters. Now it seems that folk didn't want that spontaneity after all. So it seems that some folk don't really know what they want, but blame P&O's IT.

[Interestedcruisefan]

5 hours ago, zap99 said:

Folk have been longing for the return of spontaneity.  I want to go to dinner when I want and see the show I want without all the faff of prebooking was the cry....P&O have listened to the punters. Now it seems that folk didn't want that spontaneity after all. So it seems that some folk don't really know what they want, but blame P&O's IT.

In all other aspects of life if you want to go a quality restaurant or popular theatre show then you very happily make a booking for it in advance (nowadays mostly online)

 

We are all used to it in real life now 

 

It's simple, it's tried and tested around the world at both small and huge venues and it's what allows us to make restaurants and theatres and suchlike civilised places and prevents  and  removes chaos and even health and safety danger in some places

 

On cruise ships from my point of view you can quite simply replace the word spontaneous with disorganised IMO

 

In the real world I prefer to remove myself from places that are disorganised as soon as I encounter them. I certainly don't want to encounter disorganised on my cruise holidays where it's hard to remove yourself

 

Anyone who likes what they describe "spontaneity" is actually a driving force of potential chaos IMO

 

And should never ever ever complain about physical queues or lack of space or not being able to do something they wanted to do. As its their spontaneous attitude  that can lead to the physical queues and chaos on a ship

 

And I don't want them to spoil it for the majority of the ship who I'm sure given the choice also like things to run smoothly and don't want to waste time standing in queues or getting to things really early to ensure they get a space 

 

I wish on a cruise ship they could actuallu have a dedicated  amount of seats in theatres and restaurants set aside for "spontaneous" guests with their own private entrance far far far away from guests with a plan.

 

Obviously this would need to be a reasonably long and wide entry space to allow for the physical queues that develop.

 

And it would also need to be available to be stood in at least 45 to 60 minutes before it opens for the "spontaneous" guests to queue  to make sure they get in! Lol

 

Even on the big ships we should allow those "spontaneity" loving guests somewhere to physically queue and jostle to get in to their hearts content whilst the rest of us sip cocktails or enjoy cheese and biscuits and don't even realise it's happening.

 

So the organised passengers aren't impacted by the just turning up somewhere on the off chance they will let me in attitude

 

Perhaps P and O could provide buns in these far away areas for the guests to throw at each other??

 

Call them "bunfight" zones maybe?

 

 

 

[Selbourne]

4 hours ago, zap99 said:

Folk have been longing for the return of spontaneity.  I want to go to dinner when I want and see the show I want without all the faff of prebooking was the cry....P&O have listened to the punters. Now it seems that folk didn't want that spontaneity after all. So it seems that some folk don't really know what they want, but blame P&O's IT.

No, that’s not a fair representation at all.
 

As you know, in the past, there was no need to have to book any of the free entertainment or Freedom Dining MDRs. Theatre shows and Freedom Dining were all ‘first come, first served’. The higher end chargeable speciality restaurants (e.g. Epicurean and Sindhu) could always be pre-booked before the cruise. All worked well IMHO. 
 

Then came the need to pre-book theatre shows etc and even Freedom Dining MDRs started being bookable. As I recall, you defended that saying that you can’t just wander into a restaurant or a theatre at home without having booked. That’s true, but cruise ships operate entirely differently, allowing spontaneity, which has always been one of their USPs over land based holidays. As has been widely reported, this new approach presented some new issues, such as standby queues for entertainment, when people who had decided on the night to go to a show had to wait and would be let in if there were ‘no shows’, and ‘down time’ on MDR tables sitting empty waiting for those who had booked, who may or may not show up, resulting in longer waits for those who had chosen Freedom Dining for its intended purpose i.e. to just wander down when they wished to dine. On Arvia some have given up and used the buffet, even on formal nights. 
 

It is indeed good news that P&O have listened to feedback on some of the ships and removed the need to pre-book things that you never had to in the past, as this does indeed allow a return to the spontaneity of the cruise experience that is advertised and that many of us enjoy. However, if it isn’t one of P&Os many IT issues (which it could still well be, as some have said that bookings opened a few days later than the advertised date), it appears that we could now have another all new policy on some ships, where the restaurants that could always be pre-booked (such as Epicurean and Sindhu) can only be booked once on board.
 

If I was to be selfish about it, that’s fine for people like me, because we get priority boarding and can therefore snap up the reservations before most folk board. However, that’s not terribly fair for others and I can understand why people may be frustrated about that, especially if they were after a booking for a particular evening for a birthday or anniversary. Where I struggle a bit is what appears to be this never ending quest to fix things that aren’t broken!

[Interestedcruisefan]

11 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

No, that’s not a fair representation at all.
 

As you know, in the past, there was no need to have to book any of the free entertainment or Freedom Dining MDRs. Theatre shows and Freedom Dining were all ‘first come, first served’. The higher end chargeable speciality restaurants (e.g. Epicurean and Sindhu) could always be pre-booked before the cruise. All worked well IMHO. 
 

Then came the need to pre-book theatre shows etc and even Freedom Dining MDRs started being bookable. As I recall, you defended that saying that you can’t just wander into a restaurant or a theatre at home without having booked. That’s true, but cruise ships operate entirely differently, allowing spontaneity, which has always been one of their USPs over land based holidays. As has been widely reported, this new approach presented some new issues, such as standby queues for entertainment, when people who had decided on the night to go to a show had to wait and would be let in if there were ‘no shows’, and ‘down time’ on MDR tables sitting empty waiting for those who had booked, who may or may not show up, resulting in longer waits for those who had chosen Freedom Dining for its intended purpose i.e. to just wander down when they wished to dine. On Arvia some have given up and used the buffet, even on formal nights. 
 

It is indeed good news that P&O have listened to feedback on some of the ships and removed the need to pre-book things that you never had to in the past, as this does indeed allow a return to the spontaneity of the cruise experience that is advertised and that many of us enjoy. However, if it isn’t one of P&Os many IT issues (which it could still well be, as some have said that bookings opened a few days later than the advertised date), it appears that we could now have another all new policy on some ships, where the restaurants that could always be pre-booked (such as Epicurean and Sindhu) can only be booked once on board.
 

If I was to be selfish about it, that’s fine for people like me, because we get priority boarding and can therefore snap up the reservations before most folk board. However, that’s not terribly fair for others and I can understand why people may be frustrated about that, especially if they were after a booking for a particular evening for a birthday or anniversary. Where I struggle a bit is what appears to be this never ending quest to fix things that aren’t broken!

I have to totally disagree. And there's not much I disagree with you on normally

 

I consider having to rush a meal or drink on a cruise to walk to a theatre 45 to 60 mins early on a ship to get a seat for the 8.30pm show and then sit about waiting with  everybody else who has done the same thing entirely broken

 

Just because people put up with doing that on cruises.  Doesn't mean that it's not broken IMO

 

I don't want to physically queue for 45 minutes with many others to get into a Comedy Club on Carnival not even knowing if there will be space for me when I reach the entrance

 

I consider that entirely broken

 

We wouldn't do that in the real world. No idea why we should consider it on a cruise other than its tradition to queue for things on a cruise

 

The apps fix that for me

 

I honestly dont want to go on a cruise that goes back to that way or working

 

I've seen how the app has seriously removed stress of physically queuing and wasting precious holiday time having to  get to places early on a ship. And I seriously do not want to lose the significant improvements the app made to our holidays

Edited April 22, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Fionboard]

Simple answer. If you want spontaneity and not to be constantly organizing yourself, stick to the smaller ships. Lovely on Aurora at present. No queues, no pre booking, no stress! 

[Angel57]

3 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Simple answer. If you want spontaneity and not to be constantly organizing yourself, stick to the smaller ships. Lovely on Aurora at present. No queues, no pre booking, no stress! 

Sounds perfect to me. 👍

[AndyMichelle]

Good points being made on both sides of this debate, really enjoying it. 

In my and many others simple world, embracing change is not easy, until we get used to it. 

If things have to change, we want it set out simply and to run smoothly. 

Once this happens, we will all be OK. 

Andy 

 

[Fionboard]

1 minute ago, Angel57 said:

Sounds perfect to me. 👍

It is. So was my cruise on her last month. Get what you pay for. 

[zap99]

I can't remember the halcyon days where every thing revolved around me. If the procedure is to book in advance, we will do that. If it is to turn up at the restaurant front desk and be given a table or a pager, no problem. Book on the app ?...Will do. We have done all of the above and got fed and entertained. If everyone wanted the same procedure, life would be easy for P&O, but they don't. We just go with the flow.  If it doesn't suit us we will flow somewhere else.

[zap99]

8 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I have to totally disagree. And there's not much I disagree with you on normally

 

I consider having to rush a meal or drink on a cruise to walk to a theatre 45 to 60 mins early on a ship to get a seat for the 8.30pm show and then sit about waiting with  everybody else who has done the same thing entirely broken

 

Just because people put up with doing that on cruises.  Doesn't mean that it's not broken IMO

 

I don't want to physically queue for 45 minutes with many others to get into a Comedy Club on Carnival not even knowing if there will be space for me when I reach the entrance

 

I consider that entirely broken

 

We wouldn't do that in the real world. No idea why we should consider it on a cruise other than its tradition to queue for things on a cruise

 

The apps fix that for me

 

I honestly dont want to go on a cruise that goes back to that way or working

On Azura in February we booked all the entertainment on the app. This week it was just walk up. Both worked quite well. Neither resulted in a queue. TBH I'm not bothered which.

[Interestedcruisefan]

7 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Simple answer. If you want spontaneity and not to be constantly organizing yourself, stick to the smaller ships. Lovely on Aurora at present. No queues, no pre booking, no stress! 

That's fair enough. And equally avoid those ships if you like to be organised.

 

I've spoken to others on here who confirm on the smaller ships not using the booking apps some of the theatre shows will be full if you don't get there well in advance

 

Exactly what I can now avoid worrying about by choosing ships with the benefit of booking apps

[alessia2050]

Yesterday P&O sent me a survey link regarding dining and said that they are doing focus group. I have a feeling that they are reforming their dining offerings. The project codename is 'On Deck' from what I saw in the survey.

I also saw a job advert stating 'help leading the P&O Food and Beverage reform roadmap'.

Let's see what they come up with. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

8 minutes ago, zap99 said:

On Azura in February we booked all the entertainment on the app. This week it was just walk up. Both worked quite well. Neither resulted in a queue. TBH I'm not bothered which.

That's because people don't class having to get to the 8.30pm theatre shows 45 mins before the show starts as queuing

 

Just because they are sat down in a theatre waiting for ages  it's accepted as being ok

 

It's not ok to me when with a booking app I can arrive 10 mins before the show starts

 

That's 35 more minutes for me to enjoy a meal or a cocktail or another bit of entertainment on the ship elsewhere

 

For the cruisers who say it's all great and easy just walking in to shows on the smaller ships  - please acknowledge to me that I'm at least correct on how early you have to be in the theatre to secure seats for 8.30pm shows

 

I'm not here to stop others  having the choice to do that on smaller ships

 

I'm just saying it's not something I want to return to if that's still happening?

 

And I know that's still happening. It's just that regular cruisers have got used to it being the norm and are prepared to accept  it as being ok

 

Some of them probably just enjoy having a chat and gossip in the theatre every night for 45 minutes. It's just that I don't!!

 

Lol

 

Edited April 22, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Fionboard]

2 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

That's fair enough. And equally avoid those ships if you like to be organised.

 

I've spoken to others on here who confirm on the smaller ships not using the booking apps some of the theatre shows will be full if you don't get there well in advance

 

Exactly what I can now avoid worrying about by choosing ships with the benefit of booking apps

No problem getting into shows, etc, as venues on small ships are big enough for the number of pax. Hence no need for pre booking. 

[AndyMichelle]

Just now, Fionboard said:

No problem getting into shows, etc, as venues on small ships are big enough for the number of pax. Hence no need for pre booking. 

It's funny how quickly perception changes... 

I think the 'small ships' being referred to by ICF are Azura and Ventura... 

It's not that long ago we were calling these the 'big girls'... 😊

Andy 

[zap99]

1 minute ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

That's because people don't class having to get to the 8.30pm theatre shows 45 mins before the show starts as queuing

 

Just because they are sat down in a theatre waiting for ages  it's accepted as being ok

 

It's not ok to me when with a booking app I can arrive 10 mins before the show starts

 

That's 35 more minutes for me to enjoy a meal or a cocktail or another bit of entertainment on the ship elsewhere

 

 

We normally do the 10.30 show. We like to get settled a bit early, say 10 minutes out of consideration to other folk. Last cruuse we walked up,picked a seat and enjoyed the show. No queue ,ever.  We didn't notice many folk who had been camped out for 45 minutes

[Selbourne]

Just now, Interestedcruisefan said:

I have to disagree

 

I consider having to rush a meal or drink to walk to a theatre 45 mins early on a ship to get a seat for the 8.30pm show and then sit about waiting with  everybody else who has done the same thing broken

 

I'm glad they fixed it for me

 

I honestly dont want to go on a cruise that goes back to that way or working

We both posted at exactly the same time and my post addresses your issue as to why cruise ships operate differently to land based holidays. In fact, this difference and the freedom to do what you want, when you want, is promoted by cruise lines as being their USP!

 

In all our years of cruising with P&O we have never encountered the chaos that you describe. We have used Freedom Dining since its creation and it works really well for us. I would say that over 90% of the time we have been able to walk straight in when we want, even when we ant a table for 2. On the occasions that we were given a pager the wait was never excessive and certainly nothing like what has been reported on some cruises recently.

 

We have always gone to the theatre early, but that is because my wife is a wheelchair user and the seats adjacent to the wheelchair spaces are often taken by people who aren’t accompanying wheelchair users (a point of great irritation, but that’s a separate issue). However, we have always seen people being able to wander in right up until the show starts, and often beyond.

 

It’s an interesting discussion and I guess that it exposes the differences in expectations between those of us who were drawn to cruising decades ago because of the fact that it was different, and those who are more recent converts who expect it to replicate their land based experiences. I guess there’s no right or wrong and cruise lines will go with what the new generation of cruisers want, as they are the future and we are increasingly the past. 
 

I’m still looking forward to our next cruise, but with the speed with which everything seems to be chopping and changing I’m not entirely sure what to expect. It will certainly be a voyage of discovery 😂 

[Interestedcruisefan]

9 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

No problem getting into shows, etc, as venues on small ships are big enough for the number of pax. Hence no need for pre booking. 

What time shows do you watch and how soon before the show starts do you head to the theatre?

 

We watch 8.30pm shows. The most popular shows. We dine and drink before them

 

With the booking app we can now get to the theatre for a guaranteed seat 10 mins before the show starts. Totally relaxed

 

Without the app 30 to 45 mins before the show starts was the norm. Slightly stressed at least and watching the clock

 

Please don't tell me I'm wrong?

Edited April 22, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Interestedcruisefan]

9 minutes ago, zap99 said:

We normally do the 10.30 show. We like to get settled a bit early, say 10 minutes out of consideration to other folk. Last cruuse we walked up,picked a seat and enjoyed the show. No queue ,ever.  We didn't notice many folk who had been camped out for 45 minutes

Yep that makes sense. 

 

Entirely different story if you wanted the 8.30pm shows. I assure you

 

No chance of 10 mins early getting in the popular shows at 8.30pm without the app from our experience

 

30 minutes early would be cutting it fine as well for those shows

Edited April 22, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Fionboard]

2 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

What time shows do you watch and how soon before the show starts do you head to the theatre?

 

We watch 8.30pm shows. With the booking app we get to the theatre for a guaranteed seat 10 mins before the show starts. Totally relaxed

 

Without the app 30 to 45 mins before the show starts was the norm 

 

 

Please don't tell me I'm wrong?

You are talking about Arvia. Totally different cruising experience. Each to their own.