Review of Britannia as promised

[Selbourne]

19 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

It really isn’t fair on folk who have to sail during school holidays. Service levels should not dip drastically. 

Agreed, especially as those who cruise in school holidays, whether experienced cruisers or newbies, pay a hefty premium for the privilege!

[Presto2]

Just now, AndyMichelle said:

I guess he was meaning that they wouldn't get away with that level of service with people who know what to expect... 

They must know when it is not up to standard and probably feel embarrassed. 

It's not good enough, but if it was your first time, you possibly don't know any better. 

Andy 

I wasn't sure and was trying to give him answers, like were they more demanding but he was saying that they knew what they wanted. I suppose me saying that we had done lots of P&O cruises made him think that we knew that it wasn't right. To clarify for everyone what I meant re Fawlty Towers:

 

+We waited until 8.50pm for a table booked from 7pm

+The restaurant guy led us to a table at break neck speed across the whole length of the restaurant despite us having a member of our party with a walking stick

+He left us at a table and walked off

+ All of the tables around us were full of dirty dishes etc etc

+We waited about 10 minutes for someone to acknowledge we were there

+We had menus and then waited another 10 minutes

+The waiter went off in search of bread after another 5 minutes -- he returned with a half empty basket with hardly any bits left ..it was like the scraps he could find. Some butter arrived at some point.

+Waiter headed off to find water -- we asked for a bottle when he returned and his face was a picture 

+We asked if we could order a drink. It eventually came as a glass of wine rather than a bottle ... hubby almost lost it at this point and he is Mr Calm and Patient normally

+The first course was ok and followed quickly  by the second.

(In the mean time a lady in the table behind sent hers back as it was cold. She waited about 15 / 20 minutes for a replacement)

+The desserts were ok

+My friend had to ask if it was possible to have a coffee at all as no one had mentioned it

+Some chocolates were almost thrown on the table at us as an after thought

 

It didn't feel like Britannia the ship, but Britannia Hotels !!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Presto2]

4 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Agreed, especially as those who cruise in school holidays, whether experienced cruisers or newbies, pay a hefty premium for the privilege!

We were told that over 2,000 passengers on the ship were new to P&O.

 

I am becoming negative now and must switch my brain to positive mode and all the lovely stuff we experienced, which was overshadowed by this area.

 

Perhaps I should start a 'Who hates the new FD System?' thread, like the ones we used to all fall out over like the dress code 🙂. 

 

 

[Presto2]

11 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Thank you @Presto2.

We have stayed in that cabin twice last year but fortunately did not experience soot but on a night time the smoke from the funnel seemed much worse than during the day.

Your review was excellent and described Britannia perfectly especially the cabins.

When Royal Caribbean did ship refurbishment on Independence of the sea's they also did no upgrade to the cabins.

Your freedom dining review was eye opening and I'm sorry you experienced what you did.

To be fair there wasn't that much soot at all. I took some photos for Sarah, and you can hardly see anything. We take a cloth to wipe down any soot (on any aft cabin on P&O and Celebrity). It was the build up that caused a problem because it was never cleaned. Perhaps we shouldn't be so nice and tell the cabin steward it needs cleaning. but I felt that he was working flat out poor guy.

[Selbourne]

6 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

We were told that over 2,000 passengers on the ship were new to P&O.

Gosh. That’s over half the passengers. I would have expected that on Iona and Arvia, but less so on Britannia. Makes me wonder if P&O regulars are deserting in large numbers, which would explain the cheap prices after balance due date and the high proportion of first time cruisers? 

[Presto2]

Just now, Selbourne said:

Gosh. That’s over half the passengers. I would have expected that on Iona and Arvia, but less so on Britannia. Makes me wonder if P&O regulars are deserting in large numbers, which would explain the cheap prices after balance due date and the high proportion of first time cruisers? 

This figure was given by the Captain on the formal night so isn't 'gossip'.

 

Having thought about it, this cruise went on a Friday and IONA sailed the next day to more or less the same ports. We were surprised that there were 800 children on board.

 

To be honest, we have a cruise booked on her from Barbados and are really excited about it. It will be different to sail out of school holidays. Does that make us 'real cruisers' ? (ha ha ha ha )

[No pager thank you]

Thank you for sharing this review.  What I can say, being on the previous voyage on Britannia (and not in the school holidays) is that the dining issues are not limited to the "peak" season, as an increasing number of posters report.

 

However, the experiences were more in the 100+ range in the virtual queue, and bad, but neither extreme delays for dining.  Specialty dining was, in the main, excellent.  I wouldn't be happy with attempting Freedom Dining under the current set up, only Fixed or Specialty only dining on the larger ships.

 

I would concur with your opinions on the buffet, although was, it seems, more fortunate on the cleanliness, particularly the balcony area.

[AndyMichelle]

9 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Gosh. That’s over half the passengers. I would have expected that on Iona and Arvia, but less so on Britannia. Makes me wonder if P&O regulars are deserting in large numbers, which would explain the cheap prices after balance due date and the high proportion of first time cruisers? 

I doubt they are 'deserting' yet, more likely trying out the newer ships, leaving space on Britannia etc that needs filling. 

I'm sure it will all settle itself down in time. 

We were all 'newbies' once, I think it's fantastic more people are getting the chance to enjoy what we love. 

Andy 

[Josy1953]

10 hours ago, Presto2 said:

I nearly reminded him that there was a 6 week holiday looming so they needed to get their act together.

Good luck in the main holidays ......

 

I didn't realise that they differentiate between school holidays and other times of the year other than the prices shooting up for school holidays.  It doesn't really affect us because we avoid school holidays but I think that a lower level of service for those who don't have the choice to sail outside school holidays is disgusting, they are paying more for less.

[Selbourne]

42 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

I doubt they are 'deserting' yet, more likely trying out the newer ships, leaving space on Britannia etc that needs filling. 

It could be Andy, but I glanced down the titles and star ratings of the other recent Britannia cruises and Presto2’s was one of the more positive ones! I decided not to read them as it would be too depressing. Like you, we will experience it for ourselves in a matter of weeks. Fingers crossed!

[zap99]

13 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Gosh. That’s over half the passengers. I would have expected that on Iona and Arvia, but less so on Britannia. Makes me wonder if P&O regulars are deserting in large numbers, which would explain the cheap prices after balance due date and the high proportion of first time cruisers? 

Perhaps the 2000 new to P&O were not new to cruising, but were flocking to P&O from other cruise lines. Just saying ( speculating ).🤔

[Britboys]

13 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Perhaps the 2000 new to P&O were not new to cruising, but were flocking to P&O from other cruise lines. Just saying ( speculating ).🤔

I'm just speculating that the 2000 were flocking to P&O because of the incredibly cheap deals that have been on offer recently... 😁

[zap99]

9 minutes ago, Britboys said:

I'm just speculating that the 2000 were flocking to P&O because of the incredibly cheap deals that have been on offer recently... 😁

Could be that indeed. I just hope that they are happy folk. When we go to the Caribbean on Britannia in December I hope it is full of cheerful folk who will look at all the lovely islands and warm sun and will enjoy their holidays. When we got back after our wonderful cruise on Britannia in October I remember all those happy smiley people and folk working their socks off to ensure we had a good time. Didn't meet any grumpy folk on board. I had one complaint....the focaccia didn't have any rosemary,  but 99.9% of people don't like it anyway.🤣

[No pager thank you]

The current Feefo score for P&O Cruises is 3.7/5 ... for customer experience, which probably is as representative as is possible of wider customer sentiment. 

 

Yes, there is some evidence that people are more likely to review a negative experience, but with tens of thousands of individual views, and the fact that this is the same across all products, and is on verified customers only, its probably fair to use.

 

The score used to be just over 4 out of 5.  So, customer perception is getting somewhat worse, and the improved value for money is not the same as customer expectation, but also 3.7 / 5 is not terrible either.

 

Kind of says to me, P&O are, as they say are focusing on "good enough," and "pay more" for a special experience, when it comes to key parts of the holiday, like dining.

[zap99]

17 hours ago, No pager thank you said:

Thank you for sharing this review.  What I can say, being on the previous voyage on Britannia (and not in the school holidays) is that the dining issues are not limited to the "peak" season, as an increasing number of posters report.

 

However, the experiences were more in the 100+ range in the virtual queue, and bad, but neither extreme delays for dining.  Specialty dining was, in the main, excellent.  I wouldn't be happy with attempting Freedom Dining under the current set up, only Fixed or Specialty only dining on the larger ships.

 

I would concur with your opinions on the buffet, although was, it seems, more fortunate on the cleanliness, particularly the balcony area.

We had freedom dining on Britannia in October. I worked fine. Fixed dining doesn't suit us.

[tacticalbanjo]

I'm on Britannia towards the end of the month on what looks like a very similar itinerary. I'm hoping MDR service will be improved. I'm travelling with my mum and we're both regular cruisers so we will both notice if the service is lacking. Even the toddler might! This is her fourth cruise with two Cunard and a Princess trip under her belt.

 

Also hoping that Haugesund will be more open in the middle of the week as I will be cruising with my one year old which puts lots of excursions out of the picture because I can't guarantee she'd have a car seat. So walking about it is! We've got plenty of years of travel left ahead of us and I've been to the fjords before so this is really a test of whether we like the kids facilkites now that such things are important to us instead of bars and atmosphere.

[zap99]

4 hours ago, No pager thank you said:

The current Feefo score for P&O Cruises is 3.7/5 ... for customer experience, which probably is as representative as is possible of wider customer sentiment. 

 

Yes, there is some evidence that people are more likely to review a negative experience, but with tens of thousands of individual views, and the fact that this is the same across all products, and is on verified customers only, its probably fair to use.

 

The score used to be just over 4 out of 5.  So, customer perception is getting somewhat worse, and the improved value for money is not the same as customer expectation, but also 3.7 / 5 is not terrible either.

 

Kind of says to me, P&O are, as they say are focusing on "good enough," and "pay more" for a special experience, when it comes to key parts of the holiday, like dining.

I have never posted a feefo review and have never read one, so I thought I would have a look. Somebody gave P&O a one star as they were a solo cruise and had to carry the remainder of their wine around. Obviously taking it back to the cabin was too difficult. ...I didn't bother after that.

[Megabear2]

18 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I have never posted a feefo review and have never read one, so I thought I would have a look. Somebody gave P&O a one star as they were a solo cruise and had to carry the remainder of their wine around. Obviously taking it back to the cabin was too difficult. ...I didn't bother after that.

As Feefo review has replaced in most cases the after cruise survey I do complete them.  This has in the past led to a call from customer service to clarify why certain things have happened or been changed.  As it is P&O instigating the Feefo request I assume they do actually monitor and read what people are commenting on as a result.  No doubt they raise their eyebrows at such trivia as the case you highlight but my experience to date has been they are grateful for you taking the time to record your experience

 

Incidentally on the subject of review sites, I came across this on Trustpilot a couple of days back in regard to a person complaining about a noisy cabin on Arvia.  P&O seem to have a social media team reading these reviews and replying. In light of my experience I found this replying enlightening:

 

We are sorry if you were disturbed at night due to the location of your cabin, as I am sure you realise a certain level of noise is to be expected on such an active ship and it is therefore not possible for us to isolate cabins that may experience noise at certain times of the day or night. However, the noise experienced should not go beyond acceptable limits and we are sorry that you were affected by this.
Best wishes, P&O Cruises Social Media Team

 

I wonder who determines "acceptable limits" and what they actually are.

[terrierjohn]

3 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

As Feefo review has replaced in most cases the after cruise survey I do complete them.  This has in the past led to a call from customer service to clarify why certain things have happened or been changed.  As it is P&O instigating the Feefo request I assume they do actually monitor and read what people are commenting on as a result.  No doubt they raise their eyebrows at such trivia as the case you highlight but my experience to date has been they are grateful for you taking the time to record your experience

 

Incidentally on the subject of review sites, I came across this on Trustpilot a couple of days back in regard to a person complaining about a noisy cabin on Arvia.  P&O seem to have a social media team reading these reviews and replying. In light of my experience I found this replying enlightening:

 

We are sorry if you were disturbed at night due to the location of your cabin, as I am sure you realise a certain level of noise is to be expected on such an active ship and it is therefore not possible for us to isolate cabins that may experience noise at certain times of the day or night. However, the noise experienced should not go beyond acceptable limits and we are sorry that you were affected by this.
Best wishes, P&O Cruises Social Media Team

 

I wonder who determines "acceptable limits" and what they actually are.

At least 99% of passengers thought cabin noise was within acceptable limits.😁

[zap99]

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

At least 99% of passengers thought cabin noise was within acceptable limits.😁

We have never had a noisy cabin.  DW complained about somebody snoring, but put a pillow over my head and it didn't bother her again.🤣

[Fionboard]

Only had a noisy cabin once, in 12 years cruising. On  Iona. Horrendous.

[Angel57]

I had a noisy cabin on Aurora in 2019.  Inside on C deck and it sounded like trolleys moving back and forth at night. Officers sent to listen, but it was never identified.

Another year in a B deck balcony cabin the woman next door had the most irritating laugh (think hyena) that got louder and louder. In desperation and after a few disturbed nights (talking after midnight here) I banged on the wall and yelled shut up - and amazingly, she did…..

[P&O SUE]

Fantastic review thanks @Presto2 good detail.

 

We last went on Britannia last year for a three night cruise and the only night the booking system went ‘wrong’ was the formal night. It still annoys me  when I think of it now! We waited for nearly two hours in the virtual queue and when we decided to go and ask at the restaurant they said our table had been ready for ages but we hadn’t been notified on the app! I wanted to go to the Glasshouse but I was overruled 🙄

 

Knowing that the first night is often chaos in the MDRs I’ve just booked the Epicurean for our first night on Ventura coming up soon!

[Britboys]

15 hours ago, zap99 said:

I have never posted a feefo review and have never read one, so I thought I would have a look. Somebody gave P&O a one star as they were a solo cruise and had to carry the remainder of their wine around. Obviously taking it back to the cabin was too difficult. ...I didn't bother after that.

Feefo reviews are only as good as the reviewers. There is no structure to them and unless the reviewer states which ship they were on, you don't even know that.

I think it is very poor that P&O no longer issue the full questionnaire to all pax. It would be interesting to know what percentage of bookings do actually receive the full customer satisfaction survey.

[zap99]

14 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Feefo reviews are only as good as the reviewers. There is no structure to them and unless the reviewer states which ship they were on, you don't even know that.

I think it is very poor that P&O no longer issue the full questionnaire to all pax. It would be interesting to know what percentage of bookings do actually receive the full customer satisfaction survey.

TBH, we get the email from P&O quite often, but delete them. It seems that every time we buy anything we get an email ' how did we do ?'..... In a shop ,we will email your receipt.....oh no you won't as you don't have my email address. I would guess a good number of reviews are from folk with an axe to grind......Did you know that there are no midship stairs on Britannia?..........really...astonishing....one star.