Rare windra06 Posted September 23, 2023 #1276 Share Posted September 23, 2023 3 hours ago, cruisingiscool said: Does Britannia still have a Grab and Go section? No it was not available when we were recently on her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaefell Posted September 23, 2023 #1277 Share Posted September 23, 2023 5 hours ago, FredaFlinstone said: I'm on Arcadia 23rd November with friends. 2 in each cabin. If I am able to book restaurants can I do it for all 4 of us or do I need to do 2 bookings like I did with the excursions? Sorry if it seems daft question Thanks It seems to vary across the fleet but we were on Arcadia back in May & even though the cruise planner origionally said that restaurants would be bookable 2 weeks before departure that never happened,2 weeks from departure that changed to book on board. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddler7 Posted September 23, 2023 #1278 Share Posted September 23, 2023 Currently half way through my 14days in the med on Arvia. NEVER AGAIN! There are far too many people on this ship for the facilities both dining and entertainment. The Flexible dining app has been abandoned by the staff. Every time you try to book it says that there are no booking slots available. You have to go to the restaurant and ask for a beeper.then they send you away and you have to wait until there is a tble available. The first couple of nights we only had to wait for around 30 to 40 mins but when we got to the table we ordered starters and mains but had to wait at the table for 45 mins before being served the starter. We were told by the waiter that the galley was overloaded and could not cope. after that we noticed that the wait times for the tables were much longer and that when we got to the table their were only half of the tables occupied. They had obviosly decided to slow down the pressure on the galley. In the horizons self service it was really difficult to find a table. Everyone was trying to eat in there because of the restaurant problems. What a mess. we will never go on this ship again. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionboard Posted September 23, 2023 #1279 Share Posted September 23, 2023 43 minutes ago, Saddler7 said: Currently half way through my 14days in the med on Arvia. NEVER AGAIN! There are far too many people on this ship for the facilities both dining and entertainment. The Flexible dining app has been abandoned by the staff. Every time you try to book it says that there are no booking slots available. You have to go to the restaurant and ask for a beeper.then they send you away and you have to wait until there is a tble available. The first couple of nights we only had to wait for around 30 to 40 mins but when we got to the table we ordered starters and mains but had to wait at the table for 45 mins before being served the starter. We were told by the waiter that the galley was overloaded and could not cope. after that we noticed that the wait times for the tables were much longer and that when we got to the table their were only half of the tables occupied. They had obviosly decided to slow down the pressure on the galley. In the horizons self service it was really difficult to find a table. Everyone was trying to eat in there because of the restaurant problems. What a mess. we will never go on this ship again. Sorry to hear that. But it was the same on Iona last year. Overcrowding, queues for everything and unhappy crew. And ship was not even full! No wonder they are selling cruises on these two so cheaply. Much better on the smaller ships. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majortom10 Posted September 24, 2023 #1280 Share Posted September 24, 2023 12 hours ago, Saddler7 said: Currently half way through my 14days in the med on Arvia. NEVER AGAIN! There are far too many people on this ship for the facilities both dining and entertainment. The Flexible dining app has been abandoned by the staff. Every time you try to book it says that there are no booking slots available. You have to go to the restaurant and ask for a beeper.then they send you away and you have to wait until there is a tble available. The first couple of nights we only had to wait for around 30 to 40 mins but when we got to the table we ordered starters and mains but had to wait at the table for 45 mins before being served the starter. We were told by the waiter that the galley was overloaded and could not cope. after that we noticed that the wait times for the tables were much longer and that when we got to the table their were only half of the tables occupied. They had obviosly decided to slow down the pressure on the galley. In the horizons self service it was really difficult to find a table. Everyone was trying to eat in there because of the restaurant problems. What a mess. we will never go on this ship again. Cannot understand the difference between 2 cruises. We disembarked Arvia on 17th September and we had no issues with dining in MDR. I must admit I think it helped that we pre booked 1830hrs for every night pre cruise. The only night when there was a queue was the first night which seems to happen on all ships. Once we were seated the service in the MDR was good with no long waits.y only issue with the ship is the stupidity of keeping theatre doors locked until 30 mins before the show creating unnecessary queues in casino and Brodie's. All this was the totally stupid reason of making people pre book for the theatre which is totally unreasonable. Let people go when they want and if you go late and it's full you miss out, that is the system that has been in operation on P&O for 23 years so why change to this stupid system. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Selbourne Posted September 24, 2023 #1281 Share Posted September 24, 2023 33 minutes ago, majortom10 said: Cannot understand the difference between 2 cruises. We disembarked Arvia on 17th September and we had no issues with dining in MDR. I must admit I think it helped that we pre booked 1830hrs for every night pre cruise. The only night when there was a queue was the first night which seems to happen on all ships. Once we were seated the service in the MDR was good with no long waits.y only issue with the ship is the stupidity of keeping theatre doors locked until 30 mins before the show creating unnecessary queues in casino and Brodie's. All this was the totally stupid reason of making people pre book for the theatre which is totally unreasonable. Let people go when they want and if you go late and it's full you miss out, that is the system that has been in operation on P&O for 23 years so why change to this stupid system. From what I can work out from the countless reports, the issues seem to be less about cruise to cruise and more about when people prefer to dine. It seems that most regular contributors to this forum prefer to eat early, often pre 7pm. I might be mistaken, but I think that most people who like to dine early rarely, if ever, experience issues. Those who prefer to eat later tend to encounter more challenges, as we did on Britannia when the app was clearly abandoned for long periods as the staff couldn’t cope with app users, walk ups and those with pagers all conflicting with one another, so the app was always the first to give. That being said, one of our daughters used the MDR for dinner a couple of times on Iona at peak times and encountered no issues, but there is significantly more MDR capacity on Iona than Arvia, hence why they allow pre-booking for early dining on Arvia in an attempt to ease pressure on peak times. I agree with your comments about pre booking shows. We pre-booked all the shows on both Britannia and Iona and half the time the staff weren’t even bothering to check people in which made a farce of it. Also, the argument that it allows you to turn up at the last minute knowing that you’ve got a seat doesn’t hold water. They allow those who haven’t booked in from 5-10 minutes before the show starts and some who had pre-booked couldn’t get in when they arrived a few minutes before the show! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majortom10 Posted September 24, 2023 #1282 Share Posted September 24, 2023 2 hours ago, Selbourne said: From what I can work out from the countless reports, the issues seem to be less about cruise to cruise and more about when people prefer to dine. It seems that most regular contributors to this forum prefer to eat early, often pre 7pm. I might be mistaken, but I think that most people who like to dine early rarely, if ever, experience issues. Those who prefer to eat later tend to encounter more challenges, as we did on Britannia when the app was clearly abandoned for long periods as the staff couldn’t cope with app users, walk ups and those with pagers all conflicting with one another, so the app was always the first to give. That being said, one of our daughters used the MDR for dinner a couple of times on Iona at peak times and encountered no issues, but there is significantly more MDR capacity on Iona than Arvia, hence why they allow pre-booking for early dining on Arvia in an attempt to ease pressure on peak times. I agree with your comments about pre booking shows. We pre-booked all the shows on both Britannia and Iona and half the time the staff weren’t even bothering to check people in which made a farce of it. Also, the argument that it allows you to turn up at the last minute knowing that you’ve got a seat doesn’t hold water. They allow those who haven’t booked in from 5-10 minutes before the show starts and some who had pre-booked couldn’t get in when they arrived a few minutes before the show! It was never really a problem on the 1030pm on Arvia recently as the theatre me er seemed to be full and surprisingly on Greatest Days show was half empty. Cannot help but think a lot of the problems they seem to be having on Arvia and Iona are self inflicted and totally unnecessary. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gettingwarmer Posted September 24, 2023 #1283 Share Posted September 24, 2023 3 hours ago, majortom10 said: we had no issues with dining in MDR. I must admit I think it helped that we pre booked 1830hrs for every night pre cruise Of course this makes a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majortom10 Posted September 24, 2023 #1284 Share Posted September 24, 2023 1 hour ago, Gettingwarmer said: Of course this makes a difference. It benefitted us as we were able to go into 710 club for 8-45pm show and then on to see 10-30pm show in the theatre. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted September 24, 2023 #1285 Share Posted September 24, 2023 I think having a plan of what to do and when to do it clearly helps on board I look at issues others complain about on the bigger ships and shake my head However, if everyone had my plan and went to the places I prefer on the ship at the same time as me I guess my plan wouldn't work For example once I've booked theatre I'm not going to be anywhere near that theatre until 10 minutes before the show starts If others want to get there 30 minutes plus before and queue etc etc then it actually helps me arrive when all is calm and easy and pleasant and restful If others prefer Club House and Brodies and the Atrium bars to 710 Club and Crows Nest that's brilliant for me to 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredaFlinstone Posted September 25, 2023 #1286 Share Posted September 25, 2023 On 9/23/2023 at 7:55 PM, snaefell said: It seems to vary across the fleet but we were on Arcadia back in May & even though the cruise planner origionally said that restaurants would be bookable 2 weeks before departure that never happened,2 weeks from departure that changed to book on board. When they have the Celebration night do they have a special menu in Meridian or do you think I would be better trying to book Ocean Grill maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Bill Y Posted September 25, 2023 #1287 Share Posted September 25, 2023 53 minutes ago, FredaFlinstone said: When they have the Celebration night do they have a special menu in Meridian or do you think I would be better trying to book Ocean Grill maybe? We had not come across celebration nights before this year, one of more formal nights were named as celebration nights, before they used to have black and white nights etc. As others have said P&O no longer appear to push the boat out for formal night menus whether this applies to the two smaller ships we will find out next year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Selbourne Posted September 25, 2023 #1288 Share Posted September 25, 2023 1 hour ago, FredaFlinstone said: When they have the Celebration night do they have a special menu in Meridian or do you think I would be better trying to book Ocean Grill maybe? There will be an ‘enhanced’ MDR menu but it’s not as good as it used to be. On Britannia in July the Celebration menu that I had (Marco Pierre White) was the weakest meal that I had all fortnight. Arcadia may be better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaefell Posted September 25, 2023 #1289 Share Posted September 25, 2023 1 hour ago, FredaFlinstone said: When they have the Celebration night do they have a special menu in Meridian or do you think I would be better trying to book Ocean Grill maybe? In our 19 nights we had one celebration night & 2 formal nights,should have been 3 but the itinerary changed as we went along,on 'posh' nights MPW's name did appear on the menu but I wouldn't say the menu was that special.We We ate in the Ocean Grill 3 times & Sindhu twice,the worst thing I can say about Sindhu is that we didn't consider it to be as good as the Ocean Grill which was outstanding,especially for the price being asked,to put things in perspective we are booked with Royal Caribbean in April & have booked Jamie's Italian for the second night,that is over £90,I know some people seem happy to pay whatever the cruise lines ask,I'm not one of those people,having tried RCI's steak house Chops in the past,OG was far better at a fraction of the price,dining(& drinking) on P&O is a bargain!(no I don't work for them!) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredaFlinstone Posted September 25, 2023 #1290 Share Posted September 25, 2023 1 hour ago, snaefell said: In our 19 nights we had one celebration night & 2 formal nights,should have been 3 but the itinerary changed as we went along,on 'posh' nights MPW's name did appear on the menu but I wouldn't say the menu was that special.We We ate in the Ocean Grill 3 times & Sindhu twice,the worst thing I can say about Sindhu is that we didn't consider it to be as good as the Ocean Grill which was outstanding,especially for the price being asked,to put things in perspective we are booked with Royal Caribbean in April & have booked Jamie's Italian for the second night,that is over £90,I know some people seem happy to pay whatever the cruise lines ask,I'm not one of those people,having tried RCI's steak house Chops in the past,OG was far better at a fraction of the price,dining(& drinking) on P&O is a bargain!(no I don't work for them!) How much was OG when you were on Arcadia in May? I have done cruises from Miami and New York and all the speciality restaurants were around the £50 mark . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaefell Posted September 25, 2023 #1291 Share Posted September 25, 2023 21 minutes ago, FredaFlinstone said: How much was OG when you were on Arcadia in May? I have done cruises from Miami and New York and all the speciality restaurants were around the £50 mark . Seems ages ago now but £30 for the two of us sticks in my mind,the quality was superb,the portions generous & on two occasions the service was amazing,on our second visit our main course seemed to get lost somehow,the waiting on crew seemed more upset than us that things had gone wrong! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredaFlinstone Posted September 25, 2023 #1292 Share Posted September 25, 2023 3 minutes ago, snaefell said: Seems ages ago now but £30 for the two of us sticks in my mind,the quality was superb,the portions generous & on two occasions the service was amazing,on our second visit our main course seemed to get lost somehow,the waiting on crew seemed more upset than us that things had gone wrong! Thats great thanks for all your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaefell Posted September 25, 2023 #1293 Share Posted September 25, 2023 1 minute ago, FredaFlinstone said: Thats great thanks for all your help. No probs,my only real bug bear was booking,departure day was my Wife's Birthday so OG on the first night was a must,not being able to book until on board was frustrating,being told it was full when we got on board was annoying,refusing to accept that had the desired effect though,enjoy your cruise! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zap99 Posted September 25, 2023 #1294 Share Posted September 25, 2023 5 hours ago, snaefell said: In our 19 nights we had one celebration night & 2 formal nights,should have been 3 but the itinerary changed as we went along,on 'posh' nights MPW's name did appear on the menu but I wouldn't say the menu was that special.We We ate in the Ocean Grill 3 times & Sindhu twice,the worst thing I can say about Sindhu is that we didn't consider it to be as good as the Ocean Grill which was outstanding,especially for the price being asked,to put things in perspective we are booked with Royal Caribbean in April & have booked Jamie's Italian for the second night,that is over £90,I know some people seem happy to pay whatever the cruise lines ask,I'm not one of those people,having tried RCI's steak house Chops in the past,OG was far better at a fraction of the price,dining(& drinking) on P&O is a bargain!(no I don't work for them!) Can you not get the 3 night package ?. I think we paid £96 each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaefell Posted September 25, 2023 #1295 Share Posted September 25, 2023 1 hour ago, zap99 said: Can you not get the 3 night package ?. I think we paid £96 each. Must admit not to have looked,for one I tend to find packages not great value but we hadn't tried OG before so wasn't sure how good it would be,as for Sindhu we hadn't been impressed with our one past experience so basically were only certain of using a speciality restaurant the first night,we were pleasantly surprised!😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisemeister2002 Posted September 27, 2023 #1296 Share Posted September 27, 2023 On 9/25/2023 at 12:34 PM, Bill Y said: We had not come across celebration nights before this year, one of more formal nights were named as celebration nights, before they used to have black and white nights etc. As others have said P&O no longer appear to push the boat out for formal night menus whether this applies to the two smaller ships we will find out next year. To be honest if I was one of these top chefs putting my name to some of the fare dished up on our March/April cruise to the Caribbean, Mexico and the US I would think pretty long and hard as to whether I wanted to be associated with this food. I do believe that since we first started cruising back in 2002 that the food quality has gone down considerably. During this 35 nighter onboard Ventura I can honestly say that only four evening meals were good. Three at Sindu, excellent and one at the Beech House which was good. The food in the MDR was bland, varied between cold and warm. Desserts that were Rum or Pina Colada infused tasted nothing of either. Custard was thinner than water. One reason put forward was the fact that many of the crew were new recruits. I felt sorry for our main waiter as he spent most nights asking why people on our table had left a lot of the food. Yes I know that cruising is probably cheaper than before but I would rather pay another £10 or £20 per head per day to get better quality food. The same applies to excursions that include meals. They always remind me of coach type tours in the UK where it sometimes seems that a hotel or restaurant that gives the cheapest deal is chosen and again the food is substandard compared with customers who come from off the street to eat. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted September 27, 2023 #1297 Share Posted September 27, 2023 (edited) Marco Pierre White sold out as a chef many many years ago. He was a legendary 3 michelin star chef everybody in the industry looked upto Then for millions of pounds just puts his name to pretty much anything that will pay him too Beware of MPW branded restaurants or food anywhere as a result He's no longer a chef just a TV celebrity The vast majority of chefs cooking the food in his branded restaurants nowadays wouldn't have lasted working with him in his real kitchens more than a few days He famously made Gordon Ramsay cry when he was working under him (or not depending if you believe MPW side of it) Watch til the end of this short clip. It's funny!! Edited September 27, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecttr Posted September 27, 2023 #1298 Share Posted September 27, 2023 We experienced a Marco Pierre White xmas dinner on Oceana a few years ago. My comment was 'pretentious rubbish', the entire table left before the dessert. Contrast this with the xmas dinner at a local country pub which was excellent and what was meant to be hot was HOT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Selbourne Posted September 27, 2023 #1299 Share Posted September 27, 2023 51 minutes ago, davecttr said: We experienced a Marco Pierre White xmas dinner on Oceana a few years ago. My comment was 'pretentious rubbish', the entire table left before the dessert. Contrast this with the xmas dinner at a local country pub which was excellent and what was meant to be hot was HOT. I used to like his menus on P&O, but it was the only poor meal I had in the MDR all fortnight on Britannia. There’s a MPW New York Italian diner opened not far from us, which we’ve been to a few times. It’s OK but nothing special. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted September 27, 2023 #1300 Share Posted September 27, 2023 3 minutes ago, Selbourne said: I used to like his menus on P&O, but it was the only poor meal I had in the MDR all fortnight on Britannia. There’s a MPW New York Italian diner opened not far from us, which we’ve been to a few times. It’s OK but nothing special. At the end of the day he just designs the menu and visits occasionally Totally reliant on the chefs employed (in the franchise or location) to cook the food well and the waiting staff to prepare it well Doesn't have MPW's exacting eye checking every course before it leaves the pass etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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