Interesting chat on Iona about the P and O app failing

[Megabear2]

3 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

But the point is they should not have to deal with it.  Why are Brits so ready to accept such poor service. The “ mustn,t grumble culture just annoys me, yes things happen but it doesn’t make it acceptable and particularly when it happens frequently like BA.

 

@Interestedcruisefan you are correct, the Princess app is pretty bad and we had many more issues with it than the P&O version.

The app or the Medallion onboard? The app is very half hearted and midway through your booking stops and sends you to My Medallion. I thought they were one and the same thing.  The Medallion was good for organising stuff like ice, turndown, room service. The only thing I didn't like was it opening the door on approach as I was often just passing to go to my aunt or my friends' rooms.

[Eglesbrech]

3 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

The app or the Medallion onboard? The app is very half hearted and midway through your booking stops and sends you to My Medallion. I thought they were one and the same thing.  The Medallion was good for organising stuff like ice, turndown, room service. The only thing I didn't like was it opening the door on approach as I was often just passing to go to my aunt or my friends' rooms.

Onboard, we made orders they were processed then frequently shown as delivered ( which they were not) or simply cancelled after about 30 minutes. The “delivered” drinks were deducted from our 15 beverages per day, which we never bothered to challenge as we would never reach that limit but if you are someone who would it could be very annoying.

[Megabear2]

Just now, Eglesbrech said:

Onboard, we made orders they were processed then frequently shown as delivered ( which they were not) or simply cancelled after about 30 minutes. The “delivered” drinks were deducted from our 15 beverages per day, which we never bothered to challenge as we would never reach that limit but if you are someone who would it could be very annoying.

I see. I never used that part of the Medallion so had no experience of it.  We were not on the package on any of our Princess cruises.  That would I can see be very annoying.

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Eglesbrech said:

But the point is they should not have to deal with it.  Why are Brits so ready to accept such poor service. The “ mustn,t grumble culture just annoys me, yes things happen but it doesn’t make it acceptable and particularly when it happens frequently like BA.

 

@Interestedcruisefan you are correct, the Princess app is pretty bad and we had many more issues with it than the P&O version.

Lots of folk, us included enjoy many cruises on P&O with no problems worth mentioning . Some experience problems and tell us about them. Some pick up on a rumour about an alleged problem and flog it to death. The mustn't grumble culture is folk who don't see these little hiccups as something worth getting hot and bothered about. Stuff happens, some just deal with it. We have a BA flight in 2 weeks. If it goes belly up, we will deal with it.

 

[Eglesbrech]

6 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Lots of folk, us included enjoy many cruises on P&O with no problems worth mentioning . Some experience problems and tell us about them. Some pick up on a rumour about an alleged problem and flog it to death. The mustn't grumble culture is folk who don't see these little hiccups as something worth getting hot and bothered about. Stuff happens, some just deal with it. We have a BA flight in 2 weeks. If it goes belly up, we will deal with it.

 

Personally I prefer not to be a doormat but each to their own. I was not just referring to P&O by the way but more globally.

 

I hope your BA flight goes to plan

[zap99]

Just now, Eglesbrech said:

Personally I prefer not to be a doormat but each to their own. I was not just referring to P&O by the way but more globally.

 

I hope your BA flight goes to plan

Thanks. Do you remember the recent ' no coasters crisis '...If My wife gets a drip on her dress, I will never sail with them again.....if there isn't a coaster...ask for one, or is that being a doormat.🤣

 

[Eglesbrech]

1 minute ago, zap99 said:

Thanks. Do you remember the recent ' no coasters crisis '...If My wife gets a drip on her dress, I will never sail with them again.....if there isn't a coaster...ask for one, or is that being a doormat.🤣

 

No it’s not but then you already know that. I always ask politely if anything is amiss and only escalate if nothing happens after doing so.

 

Being a doormat is accepting the omission without asking 😀

[AndyMichelle]

4 hours ago, zap99 said:

I'm not having a pop at you MB,far from it . I value your contributions. Some folk pick up on every little thing.....massive queues at Southampton...what will all those frail people do...sitting in the sun for hours....turns out not much of a queue and it moved quickly. Those folk never come back to say....whoops sorry, got it wrong .

 

Was only passing on information gained from elsewhere that I thought people boarding may have been interested in... 

The fact remains, there were 2 large queues at that time, gladly it seems one moved fairly quickly.. 

I would say 'whoops, I got it wrong' if I truly believed I had.. 

Andy 

[zap99]

Just now, AndyMichelle said:

Was only passing on information gained from elsewhere that I thought people boarding may have been interested in... 

The fact remains, there were 2 large queues at that time, gladly it seems one moved fairly quickly.. 

I would say 'whoops, I got it wrong' if I truly believed I had.. 

Andy 

Not you Andy, but it started the usual debate about how incompetent P&O were. Some folk just love a bandwagon.

[JeanieC,Aston]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

Lots of folk, us included enjoy many cruises on P&O with no problems worth mentioning . Some experience problems and tell us about them. Some pick up on a rumour about an alleged problem and flog it to death. The mustn't grumble culture is folk who don't see these little hiccups as something worth getting hot and bothered about. Stuff happens, some just deal with it. We have a BA flight in 2 weeks. If it goes belly up, we will deal with it.

 

So who is right?

[Happy afloat]

For us, the "app" has sometimes worked, sometimes not.

We had it on Ventura in Nov 21, when it was just being rolled out. Horrendous, to the point where even the crew were giving up with it. Fair enough, it was new, but if you're going to implement something,  make sure it works first. Then Iona last November, where it was okay, no great problems, other than connectivity at times. But again, that's not acceptable,  if its in place, it should work. IMHO. On Aurora in April this year it was completely superfluous. We never had cause to use it after the fourth night, there just wasn't any need. Possibly this was down to the average age on board(76). They all seemed to want to dine at 6.30, leaving the freedom dining restaurant pretty much available at any time to walk up and get a table, as long as you were willing to share.

So my question would be this:-

Why bother?

Are they not trying to fix something that actually isn't broken? As I've said before on here, the old system of fixed/freedom dining always seemed to work well; the only queues we ever saw was for the early sitting. We were only ever offered a pager a couple of times in our eight or so pre app cruises, so surely it can't ever have been that busy, due to the fixed diners taking the pressure off the freedom restaurant? 

So, is it P&O introducing something because they think they need to, as a means to attract the younger audience they are aiming the newer ships at? Or because they think that they need to because the other cruise lines are doing it and they don't want to appear to be left behind?

Or, is it because by doing away with fixed dining they can get away with a smaller staff to guest ratio?

Answers on a postcard, please. In case the technology lets us down......

 

[AndyMichelle]

9 minutes ago, Happy afloat said:

 

Are they not trying to fix something that actually isn't broken? 

 

Perfectly put... Lots of changes seem pretty pointless to me. 

 

With the exception of a New Year cruise on Ventura, I don't remember having to queue much anywhere, especially for your dinner, on many previous cruises with P&O. 

 

I accept the 2 larger ships have different requirements, but, still... 

Andy 

 

[kalos]

Maybe P&O are following in the footsteps of the Smarty mobile farmer advert.

 

" It's Crypto only mate " 🙃  The times are changing 😉

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, AndyMichelle said:

Perfectly put... Lots of changes seem pretty pointless to me. 

 

With the exception of a New Year cruise on Ventura, I don't remember having to queue much anywhere, especially for your dinner, on many previous cruises with P&O. 

 

I accept the 2 larger ships have different requirements, but, still... 

Andy 

 

I suspect the emphasis is on minimising staff numbers, so they were hoping the app would enable the MDRs to operate more efficiently, allowing them to reduce staffing.  I guess they failed to appreciate that P&O and IT, don't have a happy relationship.

[Interestedcruisefan]

9 hours ago, zap99 said:

Not you Andy, but it started the usual debate about how incompetent P&O were. Some folk just love a bandwagon.

I don't believe the people at check in or security at Southampton actually work for P and O do they?

 

Regardless I believe they are excellent at their jobs and not people to be complaining about

 

It's a well oiled machine there

 

Any issues at Southampton I would suggest are caused by passengers either arriving early or late or both

[Interestedcruisefan]

8 hours ago, Happy afloat said:

For us, the "app" has sometimes worked, sometimes not.

We had it on Ventura in Nov 21, when it was just being rolled out. Horrendous, to the point where even the crew were giving up with it. Fair enough, it was new, but if you're going to implement something,  make sure it works first. Then Iona last November, where it was okay, no great problems, other than connectivity at times. But again, that's not acceptable,  if its in place, it should work. IMHO. On Aurora in April this year it was completely superfluous. We never had cause to use it after the fourth night, there just wasn't any need. Possibly this was down to the average age on board(76). They all seemed to want to dine at 6.30, leaving the freedom dining restaurant pretty much available at any time to walk up and get a table, as long as you were willing to share.

So my question would be this:-

Why bother?

Are they not trying to fix something that actually isn't broken? As I've said before on here, the old system of fixed/freedom dining always seemed to work well; the only queues we ever saw was for the early sitting. We were only ever offered a pager a couple of times in our eight or so pre app cruises, so surely it can't ever have been that busy, due to the fixed diners taking the pressure off the freedom restaurant? 

So, is it P&O introducing something because they think they need to, as a means to attract the younger audience they are aiming the newer ships at? Or because they think that they need to because the other cruise lines are doing it and they don't want to appear to be left behind?

Or, is it because by doing away with fixed dining they can get away with a smaller staff to guest ratio?

Answers on a postcard, please. In case the technology lets us down......

 

I would suggest younger demographics simply don't want set dining times and to share tables. Thats a really old fashioned way of cruising let's be honest and was probably the only way dining could operate on cruise ships with big numbers on board for mass catering without a booking system

 

Also the best  all inclusive hotels in the world now offer multiple dining choices and cruising is simply following suit. People nowadays are used to more choice and variety.

 

Another reason to need a booking system as it involves smaller venues for dining which would be overloaded by people just turning up unannounced or not turning up for MDR without anyone knowing they were heading elsewhere 

 

And the introduction of smaller entertainment venues alongside the huge numbers on the ships now automatically mean bookings are needed to stop venues being overloaded

 

Finally with 5,000 plus guests on ships the theatres need to spread when people turn up to popular shows. 

 

If you are talking about "not being broke" as smaller ships with just MDR dining on set tables at set times  and one main theatre entertainment venue that people were happy to physically queue up early for to get in at their favourite times

 

Then yes I agree it wasn't broke and worked for the guests who enjoyed that

 

But the world's changed significantly and for cruising to move with the times and remain a go-to choice for new passengers cruising without a shadow of a doubt had to move forward

 

Larger ships have also led to much lower entry prices which again will allow cruise holidays to prosper and survive ongoing

 

On our first night on Iona we spoke to a couple who were in their 60s who hadn't cruised  since a Caribbean Cruise 20 years ago but had been persuaded to join their friends on a new cruise

 

Their words were:

 

"Back then going on a cruise was a really big expense and something you actually had to save up for!"

 

The comparative real cost of entry level  cruising now compared to then has changed so much it's untrue. 

 

The world has moved on. Theres still a market for more expensive smaller ship cruising with fixed dining and less choices of things to do on the ships. But that market is without doubt dwindling and the new style cruising with more options and choices on a ship needs a booking app to manage it. 

 

Life in general is managed by apps now anyway. Pretty much everywhere you go and anything you do.

 

Whether you like that or not of course. 

 

Generally I like that myself.

 

(Ps an elderly couple we know just came off a Fred Olsen Mediterranean cruise. They are very very experienced cruisers for 30 years plus):

 

They told us although overall they enjoyed their holiday the ship was clearly on its last legs and likely going to be retired very soon. They were put on a MDR table with one really "snooty" couple and others they literally had nothing in common with to talk about. The first time that's ever happened to them. The lady's words were "after we all had finished talking about past cruises we had been on the conversation ran out. We really just didn't get on as a group. And the snooty couple even started ignoring us and turning away when we walked past them of the ship! That was the final straw and for the last few days of the cruise we decided to avoid them and dine in the Buffet instead"

 

These things happen even to very experienced cruisers who are used to set dining. Although they said they still enjoyed their cruise I could tell in reality they really didn't enjoy it as much as they hoped. 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Winifred 22]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I don't believe the people at check in or security at Southampton actually work for P and O do they?

 

Regardless I believe they are excellent at their jobs and not people to be complaining about

 

It's a well oiled machine there

 

Any issues at Southampton I would suggest are caused by passengers either arriving early or late or both

You are correct . They are not P &O or Cunard employees. I think they work for Intercruises but definitely not Carnival U K.  It’s no point and totally unfair to moan and grumble at them if their policies or way of organising things don’t suit you. They are doing their job as instructed and deserve to be respected. As you say most of the problems arise for whatever reason  from people arriving at the wrong arrival time. 

[AndyMichelle]

2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I would suggest younger demographics simply don't want set dining times and to share tables. Thats a really old fashioned way of cruising let's be honest and was probably the only way dining could operate on cruise ships with big numbers on board for mass catering without a booking system

 

Also the best  all inclusive hotels in the world now offer multiple dining choices and cruising is simply following suit. People nowadays are used to more choice and variety.

 

Another reason to need a booking system as it involves smaller venues for dining which would be overloaded by people just turning up unannounced or not turning up for MDR without anyone knowing they were heading elsewhere 

 

And the introduction of smaller entertainment venues alongside the huge numbers on the ships now automatically mean bookings are needed to stop venues being overloaded

 

Finally with 5,000 plus guests on ships the theatres need to spread when people turn up to popular shows. 

 

If you are talking about "not being broke" as smaller ships with just MDR dining on set tables at set times  and one main theatre entertainment venue that people were happy to physically queue up early for to get in at their favourite times

 

Then yes I agree it wasn't broke and worked for the guests who enjoyed that

 

But the world's changed significantly and for cruising to move with the times and remain a go-to choice for new passengers cruising without a shadow of a doubt had to move forward

 

Larger ships have also led to much lower entry prices which again will allow cruise holidays to prosper and survive ongoing

 

On our first night on Iona we spoke to a couple who were in their 60s who hadn't cruised  since a Caribbean Cruise 20 years ago but had been persuaded to join their friends on a new cruise

 

Their words were:

 

"Back then going on a cruise was a really big expense and something you actually had to save up for!"

 

The comparative real cost of entry level  cruising now compared to then has changed so much it's untrue. 

 

The world has moved on. Theres still a market for more expensive smaller ship cruising with fixed dining and less choices of things to do on the ships. But that market is without doubt dwindling and the new style cruising with more options and choices on a ship needs a booking app to manage it. 

 

Life in general is managed by apps now anyway. Pretty much everywhere you go and anything you do.

 

Whether you like that or not of course. 

 

Generally I like that myself.

 

(Ps an elderly couple we know just came off a Fred Olsen Mediterranean cruise. They are very very experienced cruisers for 30 years plus):

 

They told us although overall they enjoyed their holiday the ship was clearly on its last legs and likely going to be retired very soon. They were put on a MDR table with one really "snooty" couple and others they literally had nothing in common with to talk about. The first time that's ever happened to them. The lady's words were "after we all had finished talking about past cruises we had been on the conversation ran out. We really just didn't get on as a group. And the snooty couple even started ignoring us and turning away when we walked past them of the ship! That was the final straw and for the last few days of the cruise we decided to avoid them and dine in the Buffet instead"

 

These things happen even to very experienced cruisers who are used to set dining. Although they said they still enjoyed their cruise I could tell in reality they really didn't enjoy it as much as they hoped. 

 

 

Very well summed up. 

The problem for us is, preparing for our first cruise since before lock down, everything sounds so different it is quite scary. 

The big worry is will this new experience suit us? 

I don't really recall having to queue much for anything before. Everything seemed relaxed and smooth. 

It's great that everything seems to go smoothly for you, but you do seem to be in a minority with what is reported, although I am aware people are more likely to complain than praise. 

The stories of apps crashing, long waits for dinner, long queues for shuttle buses etc all seem to take away from the relatively stress free experiences we had previously. 

We will go with an open mind and hope our experience is more like yours than many others. 

Andy 

[Megabear2]

4 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Very well summed up. 

The problem for us is, preparing for our first cruise since before lock down, everything sounds so different it is quite scary. 

The big worry is will this new experience suit us? 

I don't really recall having to queue much for anything before. Everything seemed relaxed and smooth. 

It's great that everything seems to go smoothly for you, but you do seem to be in a minority with what is reported, although I am aware people are more likely to complain than praise. 

The stories of apps crashing, long waits for dinner, long queues for shuttle buses etc all seem to take away from the relatively stress free experiences we had previously. 

We will go with an open mind and hope our experience is more like yours than many others. 

Andy 

I'm sure it will be fine.  Some voyages just have bad luck but thankfully few and far between from my experience.  This is number 57, been eventful but not a disaster and number 58 already on the horizon for August.  Wouldn't miss it for the world!

[Interestedcruisefan]

28 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Very well summed up. 

The problem for us is, preparing for our first cruise since before lock down, everything sounds so different it is quite scary. 

The big worry is will this new experience suit us? 

I don't really recall having to queue much for anything before. Everything seemed relaxed and smooth. 

It's great that everything seems to go smoothly for you, but you do seem to be in a minority with what is reported, although I am aware people are more likely to complain than praise. 

The stories of apps crashing, long waits for dinner, long queues for shuttle buses etc all seem to take away from the relatively stress free experiences we had previously. 

We will go with an open mind and hope our experience is more like yours than many others. 

Andy 

Maybe the first couple of days you will worry about the app whilst you figure it out to your best advantage

 

Hopefully after that it will be plain sailing for you!!

 

excuse the pun 

[Josy1953]

16 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

Onboard, we made orders they were processed then frequently shown as delivered ( which they were not) or simply cancelled after about 30 minutes. The “delivered” drinks were deducted from our 15 beverages per day, which we never bothered to challenge as we would never reach that limit but if you are someone who would it could be very annoying.

We never had a problem with orders not being delivered or being cancelled but on 2 occasions we ordered room service for lunch because we like to eat  on the balcony if it is warm and they delivered tomato ketchup ( the devil's invention in my opinion ) instead of mayonnaise but OH used that to dip his fries in so no real problem other than I like mayo on my salad.

[Eglesbrech]

2 minutes ago, Josy1953 said:

We never had a problem with orders not being delivered or being cancelled but on 2 occasions we ordered room service for lunch because we like to eat  on the balcony if it is warm and they delivered tomato ketchup ( the devil's invention in my opinion ) instead of mayonnaise but OH used that to dip his fries in so no real problem other than I like mayo on my salad.

I suspect you were very lucky then. I still had the list of cancelled orders on my phone for the last cruise far less the most recent one and the bars manager admitted it was an known issue.

[zap99]

2 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

Very well summed up. 

The problem for us is, preparing for our first cruise since before lock down, everything sounds so different it is quite scary. 

The big worry is will this new experience suit us? 

I don't really recall having to queue much for anything before. Everything seemed relaxed and smooth. 

It's great that everything seems to go smoothly for you, but you do seem to be in a minority with what is reported, although I am aware people are more likely to complain than praise. 

The stories of apps crashing, long waits for dinner, long queues for shuttle buses etc all seem to take away from the relatively stress free experiences we had previously. 

We will go with an open mind and hope our experience is more like yours than many others. 

Andy 

Have a great cruise Andy. You may find that folk can turn a small hiccup into a major crisis.

 

Doormat of Woking.

[Eglesbrech]

10 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Have a great cruise Andy. You may find that folk can turn a small hiccup into a major crisis.

 

Doormat of Woking.

Glad you are owning it Zapp 😀

[lincslady]

It does seem as though P and O are not yet fully up to speed in handling so many passengers on these two new big ships, trying  to provide a cheap cruise with add on costs for those who want the nice extras  - fine in principle, and no doubt will work given time.  I must say if it were me (particularly not being very keen on the app. way of booking things) I would wait a few months to go on Iona or Arvia until the reviews were more consistent.  It should not be so, but does seem to be the case.

 

The entertainment sounds generally first class, and some of the meals pictured look great, so with a bit of experience on P and O's part it will be fine when it has settled down and any internet glitches sorted.