sandancer Posted July 16, 2023 #51 Share Posted July 16, 2023 I forgot to mention the absolute joy of not having to convert everything from US$ to GBP. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickyc123 Posted July 17, 2023 #52 Share Posted July 17, 2023 Don’t tend to post on here but always look at various threads we stopped cruising 5years ago as got so fed up with people constantly moaning and complaining and talking to staff like ***** we took the plunge and booked for Britannia last month and to be honest had low expectations from what people say on the forums yes the cut backs are evident but we had a great cruise.Staff was fantastic and the food on the whole was better than we was expecting our experience was pretty much parallel with Selbourne updates i really don’t get how people want cruising how it used to be but pay only a fraction of the cost I would say P@O is a great value product if your expectations are set right if you are moaning constantly it is obviously not the product now for you life is to short 28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fionboard Posted July 17, 2023 #53 Share Posted July 17, 2023 17 hours ago, grapau27 said: We have had 11 cruises post covid. 8 P&O. 2 RCL. 1 MSC. We have had no issues. Sometimes only the bad comments are highlighted when the vast majority have enjoyed their cruise. We have a number of cruises currently booked. 13 hours ago, Sheep Flavour said: Agreed. And also the fact it is a British ship means the comedy acts and things like this will be comedy I understand rather than shows based around different areas I wouldn’t understand. I have done 13 post covid. All P&O. All very enjoyable bar one (Iona). As a solo traveller (select balcony) I can't beat their price . Also prefer small, adults only, so they have ships that fit the bill. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamilyCruiserUK Posted July 17, 2023 #54 Share Posted July 17, 2023 We are coming back to P&O after years away. We left P&O as we wanted to try different cruise lines. We went to Royal which is fantastic for our now 9 year old however they have become very expensive compared to P&O. We have tried MSC,Princess and NCL since our last P&O cruise. So will be interesting to see how things have changed. We are mid 40s with 9 year old so always look for ships with more family fun activities. Not remotely interested in Cunard or silver seas etc, and do not expect that level service on a P&O cruise. You cannot compare the two brands. Covid hit holiday and cruise lines hard. Its not just cruise lines that have made cutbacks, land based holidays have as well. I am looking foward ro my Arvia cruise in three weeks time, although maybe not the booze cruise chavs that will be onboard 😂 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ace2542 Posted July 17, 2023 #55 Share Posted July 17, 2023 On 7/16/2023 at 7:48 AM, Winifred 22 said: What I don’t understand if P &O are deemed by some on here as incompetent with poor management and policies etc… why are they still sailing with them? If other lines do things so much better why not just sail with them and forget P &O ? If I don’t like the way a service is offered to me I don’t go back or use that firm again. Because people forget and go back to what they know and where they feel comfortable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jahalpin Posted July 17, 2023 #56 Share Posted July 17, 2023 I am just back from a 12 night cruise on the Aurora , I had a great time and I believe that I got great value for money One of the major benefits of going with P&O is that that are no compulsory "gratuities" to pay for housekeeping and the prices on the menu is the price that you actually pay. The prices in the specialty dining venues are also very good value as they take into account that you have already paid for the food so you are actually only paying for a better quality of food, unlike all of the other lines that charge full land-based restaurant prices. The food in the MDR and buffet was reasonably good The drinks prices are also quite fair and are similar to prices in the UK 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
never_cruised Posted July 18, 2023 #57 Share Posted July 18, 2023 First cruise here with P&O currently on Arvia and it’s generally been pretty good , the worst part is the sun bed crowd those who get up at before 6am to ensure one. Quite ironic as it’s something many Brits like to blame on people from other parts of Europe. 6 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majortom10 Posted July 18, 2023 #58 Share Posted July 18, 2023 35 minutes ago, never_cruised said: First cruise here with P&O currently on Arvia and it’s generally been pretty good , the worst part is the sun bed crowd those who get up at before 6am to ensure one. Quite ironic as it’s something many Brits like to blame on people from other parts of Europe. Always been a failure of P&O that they don't control people that 'reserve' sunbeds at any time of the day. They could easily control it by removing towels and items if beds are not occupied over a certain set period. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandancer Posted July 18, 2023 #59 Share Posted July 18, 2023 All of the cruise lines have the same problem, not just P&O and as long the deck attendants are too wary of upsetting guests and having a complaint made against them then this situation won’t change. It’s infuriating, especially the charmers who reserve beds in both the sunny area and the shade. I’ve seen it many times. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrewsbury on Tour Posted July 18, 2023 #60 Share Posted July 18, 2023 On 7/17/2023 at 12:41 PM, FamilyCruiserUK said: We are coming back to P&O after years away. We left P&O as we wanted to try different cruise lines. We went to Royal which is fantastic for our now 9 year old however they have become very expensive compared to P&O. We have tried MSC,Princess and NCL since our last P&O cruise. So will be interesting to see how things have changed. We are mid 40s with 9 year old so always look for ships with more family fun activities. Not remotely interested in Cunard or silver seas etc, and do not expect that level service on a P&O cruise. You cannot compare the two brands. Covid hit holiday and cruise lines hard. Its not just cruise lines that have made cutbacks, land based holidays have as well. I am looking foward ro my Arvia cruise in three weeks time, although maybe not the booze cruise chavs that will be onboard 😂 Good evening, What is a “booze cruise chav”? Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majortom10 Posted July 18, 2023 #61 Share Posted July 18, 2023 1 hour ago, sandancer said: All of the cruise lines have the same problem, not just P&O and as long the deck attendants are too wary of upsetting guests and having a complaint made against them then this situation won’t change. It’s infuriating, especially the charmers who reserve beds in both the sunny area and the shade. I’ve seen it many times. Easy to solve P&O should support their own staff and make it company policy. Clearly placed notices and a regular statement in Daily Programme that unoccupied sunbeds will have items removed and will be available for collection at reception. If any cruiser's get threatening then security should be called and eat ings given. Ultimately though P&O should instigate the policy and support staff 100%. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamilyCruiserUK Posted July 18, 2023 #62 Share Posted July 18, 2023 1 hour ago, Shrewsbury on Tour said: Good evening, What is a “booze cruise chav”? Many thanks People that drink from dawn to dusk, are very loud, swearing and assume they don't have to follow any rules, usually have a drinks package and must get moneys worth out of it. By all means have a drink have fun but also have some respect for others. Thankfully its only a small minority that cant handle a drink or two. And this is not aimed at everyone who have the drinks package as plenty have it but behave. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
never_cruised Posted July 18, 2023 #63 Share Posted July 18, 2023 4 hours ago, majortom10 said: Always been a failure of P&O that they don't control people that 'reserve' sunbeds at any time of the day. They could easily control it by removing towels and items if beds are not occupied over a certain set period. There has been a note about it put on the Horizon today , saying flags will be put on the beds and anyone leaving it for over 30 mins will have their belongings removed. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Megabear2 Posted July 19, 2023 #64 Share Posted July 19, 2023 (edited) 5 hours ago, never_cruised said: There has been a note about it put on the Horizon today , saying flags will be put on the beds and anyone leaving it for over 30 mins will have their belongings removed. Very interesting. If you have time could you let us know if you observe this being carried out? On my May Arvia cruise the same Horizon notice was published but no follow up action was seen so I'd be interested to hear if it does actually happen this time. Thank you. Edited July 19, 2023 by Megabear2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainPedantic Posted July 19, 2023 #65 Share Posted July 19, 2023 10 hours ago, never_cruised said: There has been a note about it put on the Horizon today , saying flags will be put on the beds and anyone leaving it for over 30 mins will have their belongings removed. I saw this a few years back on an Azura cruise (c. 2016?) - tickets with a 30-min expiry were being pinned to vacant sunbeds by deck attendants, and if they were still unoccupied after the time had elapsed, all personal belongings and towels were removed to a table near the bar. It only lasted a couple of sea days and then just stopped without notice (and I've no idea why although I have my suspicions...). 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisemeister2002 Posted July 19, 2023 #66 Share Posted July 19, 2023 20 hours ago, Shrewsbury on Tour said: Good evening, What is a “booze cruise chav”? Many thanks Put him in the longboat and make him bail her ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doog442 Posted July 19, 2023 #67 Share Posted July 19, 2023 On 7/16/2023 at 7:48 AM, Winifred 22 said: What I don’t understand if P &O are deemed by some on here as incompetent with poor management and policies etc… why are they still sailing with them? If other lines do things so much better why not just sail with them and forget P &O ? If I don’t like the way a service is offered to me I don’t go back or use that firm again. For us their Caribbean itinerary is second to none hence we've booked for next January. The flights, package - straight to ship, OBC, shareholder discount makes it extremely attractive price wise compared to any competition or even land based Caribbean all inclusive holidays of which we've done many. We did Princess last year (my wife also did a cruise in May this year with her mother) and weren't impressed enough to ignore P&O again for future cruises dependent on itinerary. However we're not loyal to any brand / ship so will simply go where it flows. That flow will see NZ in due course, Hawaii, Panama Canal, so Princess again and almost certainly Celebrity again who are a notch above but you pay for it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainPedantic Posted July 21, 2023 #68 Share Posted July 21, 2023 On 7/19/2023 at 8:27 PM, doog442 said: For us their Caribbean itinerary is second to none hence we've booked for next January. The flights, package - straight to ship, OBC, shareholder discount makes it extremely attractive price wise compared to any competition or even land based Caribbean all inclusive holidays of which we've done many. Totally agree with this. We have been lucky to have 2x 14 night Caribbean cruises in the last year - one on Britannia last November and the other on Caribbean Princess this May. Our Britannia cruise was our first P&O cruise for 6 years, having being "converted" to Princess a few years earlier and having had a bad experience on Azura over a Christmas/New Year cruise. We loved both these cruises and while we still have a slight preference for Princess overall, the included direct charter flights with P&O (from Manchester) are a huge advantage. P&O would be our first choice for our next Caribbean cruise for sure. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tring Posted July 21, 2023 #69 Share Posted July 21, 2023 On 7/16/2023 at 12:06 PM, molecrochip said: I think this sums up the situation completely. I agree completely, you get what you pay for, but it is good that people share experiences so everyone can make an informed choice. We are happy to travel on P&O at times, but good to have an idea of what to expect and that helps enjoyment of the cruise since you do not then have false expectations and can adjust what you do according to what is likely to happen. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecttr Posted July 27, 2023 #70 Share Posted July 27, 2023 Why cruise with P&O? Solo cruiser I don't fly any more I now cruise for scenery and sea days (whale watching) Favourite destinations are Norway, Iceland, Madeira and the Canaries Not a gourmet, don't use the MDR's anymore I like a game of blackjack in the evening, the table minimum on Aurora recently was only £3 Reasonable prices, a 21 nighter on Arcadia next month cost me £1799 for a forward balcony cabin. £85.6666 per night!. Cheaper than Premier Inn. Happy cruising 😁 12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denarius Posted July 27, 2023 #71 Share Posted July 27, 2023 On 7/16/2023 at 7:48 AM, Winifred 22 said: What I don’t understand if P &O are deemed by some on here as incompetent with poor management and policies etc… why are they still sailing with them? If other lines do things so much better why not just sail with them and forget P &O ? If I don’t like the way a service is offered to me I don’t go back or use that firm again. Exactly. Which is why after over a quarter of a century sailing with P&O and nearly 40 cruises I do not have any plans to sail with them again. To me the product offered whilst now very competitively priced (!) is no longer that which I seek. I am prepared to pay more for better quality and smaller ships and have done so. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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