Oldies not catered for anymore

[Megabear2]

Just now, carlanthony24 said:

Going to be honest you say a large number. A large number on other sites have also said they found the cruise faultless besides the shuttle bus chaos.

I don't doubt they did.  A large number however didn't so probably split fairly evenly.  I've no intention of arguing numbers we all have different opinions.  When I added my Feefo review many reviews were 1,2 and 3 stars with a scattering of 4+.  It's all a question of what an individual experienced.  I did notice a fair scattering of complaints about noise and suprisingly the same sort of comments for Iona.  Certainly I'm not suggesting everyone had a bad time and I never said that would be the case. 

[carlanthony24]

The way I look at it is how many of these people are repeat complainers just after some money back. We never know. In all honesty. I can't think of many places still using drink mats and like a few have said deck plans are available you would like to think some research should of been done regarding Library etc.  

Edited May 31, 2023 by carlanthony24

[Megabear2]

2 minutes ago, carlanthony24 said:

The way I look at it is how many of these people are repeat complainers just after some money back. We never know

I doubt they'll get any money back.  Even after the shuttle fiasco all we were told was you won't be charged, rather an insult to those on the much vaunted select fare, pay more and see those paying less rewarded for P&O's mess.

 

No doubt you are including me in your repeat complainers comment.  Just to be clear this is the first official complaint I've ever made in 50 odd cruises on many lines.  I am always honest on my surveys and Feefo forms and generally it's P&O that have contacted me when I've done so.  Any compensation etc has never been asked for or expected.

 

Of course you could say my battle over insurance was a "complaint" but personally I call that a discussion on unfair contract terms.

[Eglesbrech]

19 minutes ago, carlanthony24 said:

The way I look at it is how many of these people are repeat complainers just after some money back. 

Surely anyone who complains would only get money back if the cruise line agreed there was a genuine issue? 
 

 

[swanseaboy]

The one thing I did notice on my recent QM2 cruise was the Daily Planner (Horizon) was available to read on the App. This was really handy as I always forget to take the paper copy with me. I don't think P&O currently have the daily 'Horizon' on the App?

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Scorpio41 said:

Well said.

Some if us oldies are quite happy with the big ships. We will be even more happier if the can't fill them up and discount heavily.  So many more choices to eat ,drink and be entertained. We went on Anthem last year. Didn't seem that big.

[carlanthony24]

12 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

Surely anyone who complains would only get money back if the cruise line agreed there was a genuine issue? 
 

 

Depends really. Companies will just give money back to complainers to try and keep custom.

[zap99]

6 minutes ago, swanseaboy said:

The one thing I did notice on my recent QM2 cruise was the Daily Planner (Horizon) was available to read on the App. This was really handy as I always forget to take the paper copy with me. I don't think P&O currently have the daily 'Horizon' on the App?

SiL and BiL joined us on Azura last year. We had dinner and were out by 8.00ish. We were going to the show at 10.30. Anybody got any idea what they would like to do ?.  I'll have a look on the app...super easy to plan your evening.

Edited May 31, 2023 by zap99

[carlanthony24]

4 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Some if us oldies are quite happy with the big ships. We will be even more happier if the can't fill them up and discount heavily.  So many more choices to eat ,drink and be entertained. We went on Anthem last year. Didn't seem that big.

We have done Independence Of The Seas once and we said never again just too big for us.

[zap99]

1 minute ago, carlanthony24 said:

We have done Independence Of The Seas once and we said never again just too big for us.

We had 3 cruises on Indi. It's about the same size as Britannia.  We have done 8 on her and another booked for December.

[Harry Peterson]

2 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

Looks like another company that doesn't understand economics. 

 

Exactly wrong time to abandon oldies.

 

Interest rates soar and will never go back to the 1% of the last 15 years that was an aberration 

 

Families with mortgages disposable incomes will be drastically squeezed.

 

Those oldies with substantial savings are seeing income rising.

 

It's  not technology that will put affluent oldies off , most are tech savvy, it's all the other things mentioned above . Hence move to Saga even though they are far more expensive 

Ahhh…..but they know full well that quite a chunk of younger people are starting to come into quite substantial wealth as their parents die and leave behind houses worth potentially several hundred thousand pounds.

 

That’s a whole new demographic for the cruise companies.

[Jazzytelly]

We are in our mid to late 70s and find the app really good and enjoyed both Iona and Arvia. 

 

Yes people not adhering to the dress code is most annoying though.

[AndyMichelle]

Why does it seem that you cannot express an opinion on this forum, good or bad, without someone challenging you because it doesn't match their experiences... 

I appreciate the positive and negative reviews as it enables me to hopefully make a balanced decision. 

Please keep sharing your experiences, that is what this forum should be for... 

Andy 

 

[Windsurfboy]

Clearly P&O see future in big ships after spending two billion on them.

 

They are in the process of abandoning the more affluent older cruiser.  The ships offering have changed. P&O has decided on a policy of a cheap entry price and make the profit on extras - drink packages and speciality restaurants etc.. The standard of MDR food has thus fallen across the board. You get what you pay for. The smaller ships don't have the speciality restaurants to enable you to dine around. So those that like their atmosphere dont have the food and service they were used to.

 

Traditional cruisers , want better MDR food and don't mind paying for it upfront.

 

So by concentrating on the younger set who seem to be more influenced by low entry price they have made a mistake. For example The big ships have got cabin mix wrong

 

If something sells out on launch there are not enough of them. - ie suites on big ships. Whilst rest of cabins are more than half empty even a year after .

[Fionboard]

For heaven's sake lets drop the argument re big or small ships. There is something for everyone whatever your budget or preferred type of cruising. Good job or we would all be in the same (very large) boat! 

[Happy afloat]

13 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Why does it seem that you cannot express an opinion on this forum, good or bad, without someone challenging you because it doesn't match their experiences... 

I appreciate the positive and negative reviews as it enables me to hopefully make a balanced decision. 

Please keep sharing your experiences, that is what this forum should be for... 

Andy 

 

Well said!

[jessybell]

I didn’t make my comments to claim compensation…..I just wanted to share our opinion of the ship.   Everyone is different …….my comments stem from 45 years of cruising,,..mostly with P&O…..I know the world is changing….but is it always for the best?  We love Arcadia but were let down by a very disappointing 2022 Christmas cruise…….and several friends had an awful World Cruise on there this year.  Another complaint is the decision not to give out port guides…….I suggested they could put one on the cabin tv……..have always found them handy. 

[Windsurfboy]

52 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Ahhh…..but they know full well that quite a chunk of younger people are starting to come into quite substantial wealth as their parents die and leave behind houses worth potentially several hundred thousand pounds.

 

That’s a whole new demographic for the cruise companies.

 

Given that the average life expectancy in UK is 83 , and higher the more comfortably off you are , eg  house owners  it will be nearer 90. Then people inheriting house are in their sixties.  Sorry all this money isn't generating a new demographic of young cruisers.

[Eglesbrech]

1 hour ago, carlanthony24 said:

Depends really. Companies will just give money back to complainers to try and keep custom.

I very much doubt it. Giving money to “complainers” without any sort of relevant justification just encourages more complaints surely?

 

I rather suspect that refunds, FCC etc are only given when the cruise lines knows full well there has been an issue.

[Harry Peterson]

4 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

 

Given that the average life expectancy in UK is 83 , and higher the more comfortably off you are , eg  house owners  it will be nearer 90. Then people inheriting house are in their sixties.  Sorry all this money isn't generating a new demographic of young cruisers.

The more financially savvy ones, who may well be the ones with the highest value houses, will know, though, that it makes sense for IHT purposes to skip a generation and have the money go direct to the grandchildren.  There's an awful lot of money tied up in large houses containing two people, and the Baby Boomer generation (I'm one) is reaching the point when the money tied up in those houses will, one way or the other, be released.

 

The sums involved are huge. 

 

One example: 3-bed semi in Bromley costing £15,000 in 1974 and accessible to a normal young professional couple.  Value now £750,000 - accessible to ?

[carlanthony24]

3 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

I very much doubt it. Giving money to “complainers” without any sort of relevant justification just encourages more complaints surely?

 

I rather suspect that refunds, FCC etc are only given when the cruise lines knows full well there has been an issue.

It does happen though. If you give people some form of compensation. Yes it could be because cruise line is at fault but not all the time. 

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Well my official complaint has now gone off with all my app comments included.  Not only did I mention crashes but non functionality. 

 

What's the point of linking a diary which only shows excursions, theatre shows and dining booked when they want you to book spa and other appointments which don't show in your diary? The spa in particular doesn't give written appointment slips like they used to and you have to rely on memory to keep a note elsewhere. You can't see them in your diary.

 

The app should in my opinion show you other options available to you without you having to click through 9 or 10 dining/entertainment options to be told no availability - time consuming and fruitless.  If I click on Zenith and it's full I'd like it to say Meridian is available or whatever.   However as on many occasions nothing appears to be available perhaps they are attempting to hide it!

 

I also think instead of telling me just how many are in the virtual queue it should indicate your wait time is estimated to be between x and y minutes.  If the queue closes it should indicate if it is temporary or actually really full.  As it stands you're left totally bemused as to what to do next.  

 

There are sections saying room service, you can see an example menu but not order.  The same with drinks etc.

 

If you want people to rely on this thing it has to offer you everything you may need. There's a message service. All it ever told me was my virtual queue time was up, come in in.  I'd like it to remind me, Mrs Megabear you have a dining reservation at Sindhu this evening at x o'clock etc etc.

 

If and when it can offer me this functionality I might be more impressed and happy to use it, especially if it was reliable.

 

 

 

 

MB I agree with you 100%, the app idea is good but its application is lacking, and unfortunately P&O don't appear to have the organisation in place to be able to fix it.

What each ship is doing, is operating work arounds to try to make the app work for them, but each ship seems to be doing it's own thing. As a result no one can rely on the app to provide them with accurate feedback, especially when restaurants are providing non app users with pagers, and the theatres staff are annoying app users by letting in non app users at the last minute, to fill up the scattered vacant seats.

Only in P&O land could a good idea, poorly implemented,  create such animosity among their customers.

[Eglesbrech]

8 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

The more financially savvy ones, who may well be the ones with the highest value houses, will know, though, that it makes sense for IHT purposes to skip a generation and have the money go direct to the grandchildren.  There's an awful lot of money tied up in large houses containing two people, and the Baby Boomer generation (I'm one) is reaching the point when the money tied up in those houses will, one way or the other, be released.

 

The sums involved are huge. 

 

One example: 3-bed semi in Bromley costing £15,000 in 1974 and accessible to a normal young professional couple.  Value now £750,000 - accessible to ?

Jumping generations is not uncommon. The ones in the middle are usually doing pretty well anyway.

 

Personally I am a fan of giving what I can within the tax rules now and otherwise enjoying it while I have the health to do so.

 

We inherited nothing as our parents had nothing but they gave us the chance of further education and aspirations. I hope to leave a decent amount and in 4 generations we have gone from illiterate (will marked with an x) to qualified professionals.

 

 

[Son of Anarchy]

1 hour ago, swanseaboy said:

The one thing I did notice on my recent QM2 cruise was the Daily Planner (Horizon) was available to read on the App. This was really handy as I always forget to take the paper copy with me. I don't think P&O currently have the daily 'Horizon' on the App?

Would certainly be helpful.  Hopefully save a bit on printing all those Horizons.  Just a short print run which can be left at Reception for those who require a paper copy.  I think it would also be helpful if you could also see the menus that day for the restaurants.  

[Happy afloat]

On the subject of compensation, I wonder how many settlements are subject to

non-disclosure agreements? By doing this, the company at fault is in admission of the problem, but said problem does not get aired in public. Therefore, as far as the public are concerned, there is no problem, and no band wagon for anyone else experiencing the same issues to jump on. Thus, no stream of claims from people experiencing the same issues.