Food and dining on P&O ships

[Beckett]

8 hours ago, Tablelamp said:

I am on Ventura for 35 nights.  I am beginning to wish I knew the current situation before I had paid my final balance.

Don't be put off. We all have lots of differing views and expectations. You have a wonderful cruise to look forward to, you'll meet some lovely people I'm sure, and you may find that Ventura is your new favourite. I've sailed on her five times and have enjoyed every single trip. Have a great time and enjoy that walk around the prom every night. Best wishes. Jane.x

[SarahHben]

I’ve just had a quick look through those menus…no prawn cocktails? 😳 

 

We’re going to the Canaries on Ventura this summer. We really liked the newness and light, airy feel of Iona so we aren’t sure what we’ll make of on older, smaller ship. with what looks like a much smaller cabin but it was the most affordable 2 week option for us so we’ll give it a go 😊 Mum & Dad prefer Ventura over Iona.

 

I know some people say they are barely in their cabins other than to sleep but we enjoyed relaxing on our balcony and did spend time in our cabin last May. We have booked a C deck balcony cabin on Ventura as apparently the balconies are deeper. 

[Beckett]

44 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

I’ve just had a quick look through those menus…no prawn cocktails? 😳 

 

We’re going to the Canaries on Ventura this summer. We really liked the newness and light, airy feel of Iona so we aren’t sure what we’ll make of on older, smaller ship. with what looks like a much smaller cabin but it was the most affordable 2 week option for us so we’ll give it a go 😊 Mum & Dad prefer Ventura over Iona.

 

I know some people say they are barely in their cabins other than to sleep but we enjoyed relaxing on our balcony and did spend time in our cabin last May. We have booked a C deck balcony cabin on Ventura as apparently the balconies are deeper. 

Good Morning Sarah

 

Yes, the C deck balconies are much deeper but you are of course overlooked from the higher decks. If that's not a problem for you, the deep balconies are lovely and spacious. 

 

I haven't cruised with P&O since 2019 and was on C deck with my two grandchildren while their mum and dad had an inside cabin on a higher deck. 

 

Reading through all the posts it does look like standards in general have slipped, and you, having cruised on Iona, may find Ventura a bit tired and dated. I hope not. Whenever you are going I hope you have a really enjoyable cruise.

 

Best wishes.  Jane.xx

[SarahHben]

10 minutes ago, Beckett said:

Good Morning Sarah

 

Yes, the C deck balconies are much deeper but you are of course overlooked from the higher decks. If that's not a problem for you, the deep balconies are lovely and spacious. 

 

I haven't cruised with P&O since 2019 and was on C deck with my two grandchildren while their mum and dad had an inside cabin on a higher deck. 

 

Reading through all the posts it does look like standards in general have slipped, and you, having cruised on Iona, may find Ventura a bit tired and dated. I hope not. Whenever you are going I hope you have a really enjoyable cruise.

 

Best wishes.  Jane.xx

Thank you. Are C deck balconies partially overlooked and partially covered? We have to go in school summer holidays so we thought a bigger balcony would be a nice escape area if outside decks get too busy/noisy.

Edited January 15, 2023 by SarahHben

[Gettingwarmer]

1 hour ago, SarahHben said:

Thank you. Are C deck balconies partially overlooked and partially covered? We have to go in school summer holidays so we thought a bigger balcony would be a nice escape area if outside decks get too busy/noisy.

Yes they are partially covered. 

[Tablelamp]

The fact that C deck is PARTIALLY overlooked doesn’t seem to matter.  If you don’t want people to see you just stay close to your balcony door.  In turn you will overlook the balconies below.   People don’t constantly LOOK at others, respecting each other’s privacy, but I found it quite nice first thing in the morning when people said ‘Good morning’

[Beckett]

Hi again Sarah.

 

Yes, as Getting Warmer and Tablelamp have said, they are partially covered and largely overlooked. It was never a problem for us and the advantage is that you can stay in the shade out of sight or fry in the sun. The large balconies are fantastic spreadout areas when the pools get too crowded. Jane.xx

[terrierjohn]

4 hours ago, SarahHben said:

Thank you. Are C deck balconies partially overlooked and partially covered? We have to go in school summer holidays so we thought a bigger balcony would be a nice escape area if outside decks get too busy/noisy.

The C deck balcony is twice the depth of the other decks, and on the Grand class ships is always our preferred location. 

[PJ's]

We were on Ventura in November 2022 to the Canary Islands and were very disappointed with the food choices. The "always available" choices were included in the main menu (steak, chicken, salmon) and some days I struggled to choose what to eat. On one occasion my OH had cheese & biscuits and we could not believe what appeared - 2 thin slices of cheese and a few grapes although he could choose his biscuits. Of course he asked for more cheese which the waiter brought eventually. 

We are booked on Britannia in September and hope the food is much improved by then.

[Tablelamp]

Thanks for the warning, I am a cheese addict but mostly only eat French cheese.  

[Selbourne]

On 1/14/2023 at 12:32 PM, Britboys said:

Btw, the cheese course is no longer a choice from the cheese board - it is all pre-plated now.

That’s a shame. First I’ve heard of it. Doubtless one of the things that was changed “because of Covid” but has become a permanent feature with the lower staff numbers. We’d have to make sure that we sat on the same table, as I love blue cheese (which you don’t) and I don’t like Red Leicester , so we could swap 😂 

[terrierjohn]

46 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

That’s a shame. First I’ve heard of it. Doubtless one of the things that was changed “because of Covid” but has become a permanent feature with the lower staff numbers. We’d have to make sure that we sat on the same table, as I love blue cheese (which you don’t) and I don’t like Red Leicester , so we could swap 😂 

No, it had already started before covid, we had cheese plates or platters as I think P&O called them, on a number of our pre covid cruises.

[Selbourne]

24 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

No, it had already started before covid, we had cheese plates or platters as I think P&O called them, on a number of our pre covid cruises.

Interesting. Our last P&O cruise was November 2019 (so just a few months before Covid) on Aurora and cheese was served at the table from a board, but admittedly the choice was very poor compared to previous years. 

[Tablelamp]

Have I heard correctly, that you are expected to choose your desert right at the beginning of the evening meals in the Main Dining room.

 

With no prawn cocktail being served in the evenings in the main dining room, I am wondering if they are still doing the mixed shellfish and half mussels and ‘shell on’ prawns in the buffet at lunchtime.  My all-time favourite.
 

[Megabear2]

3 hours ago, Tablelamp said:

Have I heard correctly, that you are expected to choose your desert right at the beginning of the evening meals in the Main Dining room.

 

With no prawn cocktail being served in the evenings in the main dining room, I am wondering if they are still doing the mixed shellfish and half mussels and ‘shell on’ prawns in the buffet at lunchtime.  My all-time favourite.
 

Yes, they will ask you to order your sweet at same time but there was no trouble if you asked if you could choose later.

 

Unfortunately there was no shellfish in the buffet of Britannia in December, in fact I never saw a prawn or mussel hardly anywhere.  It was one of my biggest disappointments as shellfish is a very large part of my diet.  However looking at the Britannia menus posted for the cruise before mine it bore no resemblance to ours so we may just have been unlucky.

[Tablelamp]

What a shame,  the only time I have known shellfish to be withdrawn is when they had Norvo on board and the Chef considered it unwise to serve it.

[Red Ray]

5 hours ago, Tablelamp said:

Have I heard correctly, that you are expected to choose your desert right at the beginning of the evening meals in the Main Dining room.

 

With no prawn cocktail being served in the evenings in the main dining room, I am wondering if they are still doing the mixed shellfish and half mussels and ‘shell on’ prawns in the buffet at lunchtime.  My all-time favourite.
 

I'll have the Sahara please.

[buddy 27]

Hi, I've just watched a you tube video of the Epicurean  restaurant on the Arvia. It was mentioned that this is a great place for afternoon tea. Anyone done it already or similar on Iona. Is it worth booking and if so what's the extra charge. Thankyou in anticipation. G. 

[happy v]

We had tea on Britannia. I think it was £28 each. The sandwiches and the cakes were nice, but the scones were far too sweet for us. It did fill in a pleasant hour on a sea day but I don't think I would book again. Your tastes could be completely different so if you fancy give it a try. It certainly wasn't horrible.

[Tablelamp]

A friend of mine is on the Iona,  she has just sent me a text to say that the food is not that great and she hasn’t seen any shellfish.  I am slightly concerned as she is most definitely NOT the complaining sort.

[SarahHben]

My parents are also onboard and have said its been very mixed. Dad said he had one of the best MDR meals he's ever had on Sunday, but then on Monday's formal night he said it was one of the worst he's ever had. They have both said service has been slow at times. One night they had to cancel their desert order otherwise they would have missed the show they had booked.

Dad said he hasn't seen prawn cocktail on any menu yet, he would always look for it as that's his favourite, but they did get prawn canapes delivered to their cabin.

 

[Tablelamp]

Sarah,  please let me know how things go on.  I am a big fan of shellfish.  I do feel that P and O may be trying to push us into the Speciality restaurants as they make more money.   I don’t want to be pushed and will complain if necessary to the Maistre D (but nicely and respectfully). You get nowhere by being rude.

[SarahHben]

12 minutes ago, Tablelamp said:

Sarah,  please let me know how things go on.  I am a big fan of shellfish.  I do feel that P and O may be trying to push us into the Speciality restaurants as they make more money.   I don’t want to be pushed and will complain if necessary to the Maistre D (but nicely and respectfully). You get nowhere by being rude.

Yes, I'll let you know 😊

[Harry Peterson]

30 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

My parents are also onboard and have said its been very mixed. Dad said he had one of the best MDR meals he's ever had on Sunday, but then on Monday's formal night he said it was one of the worst he's ever had. They have both said service has been slow at times. One night they had to cancel their desert order otherwise they would have missed the show they had booked.

Dad said he hasn't seen prawn cocktail on any menu yet, he would always look for it as that's his favourite, but they did get prawn canapes delivered to their cabin.

 

Might be worth their asking, Sarah, if they can provide a prawn cocktail as an option. Things may well have changed, but it always used to be available on request, regardless of the printed menu options.

[Tablelamp]

Harry, my friend has just emailed me and said there is no shellfish even in the lunch buffet and I know from past cruises that it was always featured.  Two possible reasons.

1. It is a P and O cutback.

2. P and O consider it a cause of upset tummies.  It this is the reason, I’m surprised I’ve managed to reach my eighties.

 

Certainly, it is worth asking the Maitre D if it could be provided, it’s not as if it were expensive.