What kind of people are p&o trying to attract?

[Vampiress88]

Seen this a few times on the threads. 
I’d love to know, exactly what type of people do p&o attract or are trying to attract. 

I don’t know what kind of passengers they would like but I do think that currently the majority are 50+. When I look around when sat in the bars etc then that’s the age range I would guess at. 
 

I assume that when people are making this comment that maybe they mean the younger generation 20+ and maybe what someone would say is lower class? 
I suppose that then opens up to what class someone is in and how you put them in that class. 
 

 

[Angel57]

In my view “class” is determined by your behaviour and the way you treat others as opposed to anything else……

[CarlaMarie]

I think in general class is not what it used to be. I would determine class by behaviour, and there has been a massive shift and trend in what people now deem acceptable. You do notice this more on for example a cruise ship because you are in a confined space and surrounded by alot of people. 

[kruzseeka]

1 minute ago, Angel57 said:

In my view “class” is determined by your behaviour and the way you treat others as opposed to anything else……

I agree - it's not a matter of class or age in my eyes I would just hope for people who are respectful (of others, the crew, their environment) and behave in such a way that they enjoy themselves but not at the expense of others being able to enjoy their holiday too. 

[Megabear2]

Nice ones like all of us!!!!

[yorkshirephil]

1 hour ago, Vampiress88 said:

Seen this a few times on the threads. 
I’d love to know, exactly what type of people do p&o attract or are trying to attract. 

 

Anyone willing to part with their money

[Leomins]

You only have to see what’s been happening in musical theatre lately to see how the behaviour of a significant few can spoil everything for the majority. This is not solely a cruise issue but a societal one.

This is not linked to class which I had hoped, as a concept, had disappeared from discussions such as these.

[AndyMichelle]

I consider myself working class. 

I don't always understand etiquette and sometimes when I do, I ignore it. 

I like a pint of Peroni at the dinner table and have been known to swap hands with my knife and fork. I even once took my jacket off on formal night!!! 

 

I try to treat everyone with respect, have good manners and do not judge anybody. 

To me, these are the most important traits, enabling me to mix with any 'class'. 

We are attracted to P&O partly due to price/value, service etc, but what keeps us coming back is the amount of amazing people who cruise with them that we have been luckily enough to meet. 

We have dined and become friends with politicians, bankers, senior police officers, a retired Mayor, shop workers, hairdressers and road sweepers and have enjoyed all of their company equally. 

Is anybody on board really bothered about class? If they are, I am yet to meet them. 

Andy 

 

[Harry Peterson]

Class has very little relevance today. As others have said, it’s not about supposed class - it’s all about socialisation, behaviour and awareness of others.

 

These people would claim to be from the upper echelons:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullingdon_Club

 

But I’d wager nobody here would want them anywhere near a cruise ship.

[Denarius]

When I first sailed with P&O on Oriana in 1997 P&O was very much middle England at sea. The fact that they organised onboard get togethers for Rotarians, Freemasons and Masonic Widows (but not the Buffs) gives you a good idea of the type of passengers they attracted or hoped to attract. Cruises were much more expensive in real terms than they are today and passengers were by and large well educated, well travelled and well heeled. They also tended to be middle aged or older. Much like Saga passengers are today. All they wanted from a cruise was interesting ports, good food, good service and good company, and a comfortable cabin.

Over the years, P&O have gradually moved their target customer base. Their target nowadays appears to be families who in the 1970s would have opted for a beach holiday in the Mediterranean and to whom interesting ports are often of lower priority than onboard facilities. Cruises are now marketed as a family holiday at sea. The ship is increasingly seen as the prime destination, with ever bigger ships offering more and more entertainment and dining options. Prices have been held down to make cruises more affordable to the new target clientelle, at a cost of some reduction in standards. This has alienated some long standing customers like myself, but has undoubtedly gained others who would not previously have considered a cruise. P&O obviously see this as the way forward, and commercially they are probably correct.

 

Edited April 11, 2023 by Denarius

[Britboys]

In answer to the original question, anyone who will pay the fare and preferably those that will spend more on board. I do also however think that with the new ships they are trying to attract a lower age range...

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, AndyMichelle said:

I consider myself working class. 

I don't always understand etiquette and sometimes when I do, I ignore it. 

I like a pint of Peroni at the dinner table and have been known to swap hands with my knife and fork. I even once took my jacket off on formal night!!! 

 

I try to treat everyone with respect, have good manners and do not judge anybody. 

To me, these are the most important traits, enabling me to mix with any 'class'. 

We are attracted to P&O partly due to price/value, service etc, but what keeps us coming back is the amount of amazing people who cruise with them that we have been luckily enough to meet. 

We have dined and become friends with politicians, bankers, senior police officers, a retired Mayor, shop workers, hairdressers and road sweepers and have enjoyed all of their company equally. 

Is anybody on board really bothered about class? If they are, I am yet to meet them. 

Andy 

 

 

 

Edited April 11, 2023 by grapau27

[twotravellersLondon]

1 hour ago, Denarius said:

When I first sailed with P&O on Oriana in 1997 P&O was very much middle England at sea. The fact that they organised onboard get togethers for Rotarians, Freemasons and Masonic Widows (but not the Buffs) gives you a good idea of the type of passengers they attracted or hoped to attract. Cruises were much more expensive in real terms than they are today and passengers were by and large well educated, well travelled and well heeled. They also tended to be middle aged or older. Much like Saga passengers are today. All they wanted from a cruise was interesting ports, good food, good service and good company, and a comfortable cabin.

Over the years, P&O have gradually moved their target customer base. Their target nowadays appears to be families who in the 1970s would have opted for a beach holiday in the Mediterranean and to whom interesting ports are often of lower priority than onboard facilities. Cruises are now marketed as a family holiday at sea. The ship is increasingly seen as the prime destination, with ever bigger ships offering more and more entertainment and dining options. Prices have been held down to make cruises more affordable to the new target clientelle, at a cost of some reduction in standards. This has alienated some long standing customers like myself, but has undoubtedly gained others who would not previously have considered a cruise. P&O obviously see this as the way forward, and commercially they are probably correct.

 

 

 

Brilliant!... the head nail the on That hits!

[Vampiress88]

I wouldn’t say we have any class but do have manners. We are probably what they are trying to attract the younger age but just cos we are younger etc doesn’t mean we are slobs etc. 

 

I suppose I assume that when I hear these comments that I feel they are slightly towards us younger ones rather that the ones who have been cruising decades, feels like a dig. 
 

anyhow, I’ve seen some things before from all ages that I don’t like anywhere. 
Feet out on the back of my child seat and farting in theatre. 
talking down to staff

laying across a large sofa with no shoes on in the pub when others wanted seats. 

Asking if my kids can move up so she can sit down to watch a comedian 5mins before the show after we’d been there an hour to fetch three more people and end up with kids on our knees (they are 7&8 and so not want to sit on our knees in pubs nor do I want a numb knee for an hour!) 

pushing my kids out the way to sit at a table when they had already put their bags down. 
 

there will be things we all do that would probably be seen as incorrect to some. 
I suppose it’s more be polite, and try to treat others as you’d like. 
 

And Andy Peroni at the table tut tut

(what’s it supposed to be? I drink coke 😂 but hubby has that beer at the table too)

[AndyMichelle]

12 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

I wouldn’t say we have any class but do have manners. We are probably what they are trying to attract the younger age but just cos we are younger etc doesn’t mean we are slobs etc. 

 

I suppose I assume that when I hear these comments that I feel they are slightly towards us younger ones rather that the ones who have been cruising decades, feels like a dig. 
 

anyhow, I’ve seen some things before from all ages that I don’t like anywhere. 
Feet out on the back of my child seat and farting in theatre. 
talking down to staff

laying across a large sofa with no shoes on in the pub when others wanted seats. 

Asking if my kids can move up so she can sit down to watch a comedian 5mins before the show after we’d been there an hour to fetch three more people and end up with kids on our knees (they are 7&8 and so not want to sit on our knees in pubs nor do I want a numb knee for an hour!) 

pushing my kids out the way to sit at a table when they had already put their bags down. 
 

there will be things we all do that would probably be seen as incorrect to some. 
I suppose it’s more be polite, and try to treat others as you’d like. 
 

And Andy Peroni at the table tut tut

(what’s it supposed to be? I drink coke 😂 but hubby has that beer at the table too)

We would love to share a table with people like yourselves. You have plenty of class in our books, good manners and great parenting shows class. 

I might have to swap the Peroni for a sweet sherry or something though 😂

Andy 

[GSPG]

3 hours ago, Denarius said:

When I first sailed with P&O on Oriana in 1997 P&O was very much middle England at sea. The fact that they organised onboard get togethers for Rotarians, Freemasons and Masonic Widows (but not the Buffs) gives you a good idea of the type of passengers they attracted or hoped to attract. Cruises were much more expensive in real terms than they are today and passengers were by and large well educated, well travelled and well heeled. They also tended to be middle aged or older. Much like Saga passengers are today. All they wanted from a cruise was interesting ports, good food, good service and good company, and a comfortable cabin.

Over the years, P&O have gradually moved their target customer base. Their target nowadays appears to be families who in the 1970s would have opted for a beach holiday in the Mediterranean and to whom interesting ports are often of lower priority than onboard facilities. Cruises are now marketed as a family holiday at sea. The ship is increasingly seen as the prime destination, with ever bigger ships offering more and more entertainment and dining options. Prices have been held down to make cruises more affordable to the new target clientelle, at a cost of some reduction in standards. This has alienated some long standing customers like myself, but has undoubtedly gained others who would not previously have considered a cruise. P&O obviously see this as the way forward, and commercially they are probably correct.

 

Agree with most of this.

I was on Iona for a Canaries Cruise last Autumn. There were a number of families on there who ‘reserved’ beds by the pools first thing, and basically treated the pool like a big bath for the rest of the day. Anyone who dared entered the pool was subject to intimidation, and soon left. I did see an altercation between a head of one of the families and members of staff, and other guests.

 

There are reviews from last year titled “Butlin’s at Sea”, and also suspect P&O are attracting families who would normally spend two weeks wollowing around a pool in the Med.

 

I think they want a mixture of everyone. Heck they are building ships which have gone from 3,000 to 6,000 capacity, so have to fill them!

Personally I wonder who these bigger ships are for, I feel Britannia is better than Iona and laid out better in a number of areas.

 

FWIW, away from the pool the children on Iona looked bored out of their heads, there wasn’t much for them to do, and suspect a number of families won’t return on another cruise and go back to two weeks on land.

 

And as for class, on the whole most guests to me behave very well. You get the few percent who for whatever reason think they are better like in many areas of life, but in truth they have absolutely no class.

[Francisdrake]

They seem to be aiming towards families for the most part currently which is understandable as much as it does alienate some of the passengers who's seen the standards change over the years.   P&O do seem to have a better balance than some of the other cruise lines though as they haven't gone all out with their attractions for families there is still a lot of the more traditional aspects of cruising available for those who want it.

 

Ultimately it's the families that are going to bring in the revenue long term as they tend to be younger they are going to be cruising for more years generally with the added bonus of getting the next generation (children) into the habit of cruising before they grow up.    That way when it comes to them being old enough to start working & going on their own holidays cruising is 2nd nature to them.

[Interestedcruisefan]

I feel anyone who looks down on their fellow guests on holiday and complains about people around them are quite simply in the wrong place themselves

 

We all know with cruising its possible to pay more than 5 times the price P and O charges if it's important for them to be surrounded by a "higher class" of guest

 

If you want to be surrounded by that higher class of guest then bite the bullet and be prepared to pay the prices the pay

 

Can't  have it both ways unfortunately

 

Are the people on cruiselines who are paying 5 times the prices having 5 times better holidays?

 

Not a chance

 

 

 

 

[davecttr]

12 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

I consider myself working class. 

I don't always understand and sometimes when I do, I ignore it. 

I like a pint of Peroni at the dinner table and have been known to swap hands with my knife and fork. I even once took my jacket off on formal night!!! 

 

I try to treat everyone with respect, have good manners and do not judge anybody. 

To me, these are the most important traits, enabling me to mix with any 'class'. 

We are attracted to P&O partly due to price/value, service etc, but what keeps us coming back is the amount of amazing people who cruise with them that we have been luckily enough to meet. 

We have dined and become friends with politicians, bankers, senior police officers, a retired Mayor, shop workers, hairdressers and road sweepers and have enjoyed all of their company equally. 

Is anybody on board really bothered about class? If they are, I am yet to meet them. 

Andy 

 

Apparently etiquette says that if a host sees gentlemen distressed because of the heat he should announce that he is removing his jacket because of the temperature and others may do likewise.

 

There used to be an excellent Canadian site about formal wear and the rules thereof.

ps. don't wear a red cummerbund, it makes you look like a circus ringmaster.

[Vampiress88]

9 hours ago, GSPG said:

Agree with most of this.

I was on Iona for a Canaries Cruise last Autumn. There were a number of families on there who ‘reserved’ beds by the pools first thing, and basically treated the pool like a big bath for the rest of the day. Anyone who dared entered the pool was subject to intimidation, and soon left. I did see an altercation between a head of one of the families and members of staff, and other guests.

 

There are reviews from last year titled “Butlin’s at Sea”, and also suspect P&O are attracting families who would normally spend two weeks wollowing around a pool in the Med.

 

I think they want a mixture of everyone. Heck they are building ships which have gone from 3,000 to 6,000 capacity, so have to fill them!

Personally I wonder who these bigger ships are for, I feel Britannia is better than Iona and laid out better in a number of areas.

 

FWIW, away from the pool the children on Iona looked bored out of their heads, there wasn’t much for them to do, and suspect a number of families won’t return on another cruise and go back to two weeks on land.

 

And as for class, on the whole most guests to me behave very well. You get the few percent who for whatever reason think they are better like in many areas of life, but in truth they have absolutely no class.

my kids love cruising and are excited to go back. However when we told them we had booked they did ask is it msc or p&o as the difference they both found was massive. They were glad it was p&o but the youngest (7) did say “it’s iona, again” will have to ask why she said that. Unfortunately she had to go learn to swim and the conversation got interrupted 

[Snow Hill]

14 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

I consider myself working class. 

I don't always understand etiquette and sometimes when I do, I ignore it. 

I like a pint of Peroni at the dinner table and have been known to swap hands with my knife and fork. I even once took my jacket off on formal night!!! 

 

I try to treat everyone with respect, have good manners and do not judge anybody. 

To me, these are the most important traits, enabling me to mix with any 'class'. 

We are attracted to P&O partly due to price/value, service etc, but what keeps us coming back is the amount of amazing people who cruise with them that we have been luckily enough to meet. 

We have dined and become friends with politicians, bankers, senior police officers, a retired Mayor, shop workers, hairdressers and road sweepers and have enjoyed all of their company equally. 

Is anybody on board really bothered about class? If they are, I am yet to meet them. 

Andy 

 

I have taken my jacket off on more than one occasion on a formal night, partly due to the jacket being a little tight and uncomfortable when sitting down, but worse I have dared to undo the top button on my shirt. 😂

[Dermotsgirl]

2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I feel anyone who looks down on their fellow guests on holiday and complains about people around them are quite simply in the wrong place themselves

 

We all know with cruising its possible to pay more than 5 times the price P and O charges if it's important for them to be surrounded by a "higher class" of guest

 

If you want to be surrounded by that higher class of guest then bite the bullet and be prepared to pay the prices the pay

 

Can't  have it both ways unfortunately

 

Are the people on cruiselines who are paying 5 times the prices having 5 times better holidays?

 

Not a chance

 

 

 

 

Although, it has to be said, having money doesn’t equate to having class 

[Vampiress88]

The scoop from the youngest is that she wanted to nosy at a different ship. She’s 7 and has tried 5 different ships! 
 

I don’t know how people can sit in jackets in warm weather. 
 

The only thing my two would prefer is the water park on the top of the ship like other ones. They are looking forward to Arvia for the few little extra bits but they actually like dressing up at night and going to the mdr etc - I’ve just had to convince them that 3 formal dresses for a weeks cruise is more than enough, that they will be more dressed up than others and they still want to dress like that. They didn’t feel like they could do that on msc so probably it is families with kids like mine that are cruising young as I assume when they are older then they will do this with their kids. I know if the deals are still good I’ll be taking grandkids etc if we have them. Cruising is just much easier. 

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I feel anyone who looks down on their fellow guests on holiday and complains about people around them are quite simply in the wrong place themselves

 

We all know with cruising its possible to pay more than 5 times the price P and O charges if it's important for them to be surrounded by a "higher class" of guest

 

If you want to be surrounded by that higher class of guest then bite the bullet and be prepared to pay the prices the pay

 

Can't  have it both ways unfortunately

 

Are the people on cruiselines who are paying 5 times the prices having 5 times better holidays?

 

Not a chance

 

 

 

 

Depends on which behaviours I'm supposed to find acceptable, be they rich or poor.  Unfortunately the level of drunkenness and anti social related behaviour onboard vessels has notably increased in recent years (not just P&O) in the same way as it has at big events in society.  Whilst having accidentally become caught up in a brawl at Glorious Goodwood a couple of years back was frightening encountering it on a ship (as has happened on some US sailings) in a closed environment would be far worse.  Carnival recently laid out very clearly what will happen to passengers causing disruption to other passengers including fines and being forced to leave the ship, but will it stop the problem.

 

Whilst UK sailings on any line rarely have the problems they are trying to address the cruise lines have to be careful that it doesn't creep in through the back door. My last cruise over Christmas was spoilt by drunken fellow passengers and the disappointing reaction of staff to their behaviour. Just a one off I hope, but the memory lingers and does cause a little anxiety that this one off experience won't become the norm.

 

 

[david63]

In answer to the original question it depends on the ship/itinerary.

 

The "adult" ships obviously will attract adults.

 

The longer cruises (over three weeks) will, in the most part, attract those who are retired.

 

All other ships/itineraries main target is young families and the under 40s - both groups being the long term customer base.