Comparing Princess with P&O

[AndyMichelle]

8 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

TBH  there is not any more faff than P&O, their app and The Princess Medallion do almost the same things, and you can totally ignore them for MDR dining if you so wish, and Alfredos new pricing puts it on a similar footing to the Glass House and  Beach House. As regards the Princess Plus, then IMO unless there is a 50% reduction offer then it's probably not worth taking, and Princess do at least have regular offers on Princess plus, which of course never happens on P&O.

Otherwise the Princess experience is very similar to P&O, but a bit more upmarket, with more and better musical groups, and lots of entertainment taking place in the Atrium, instead of it being a wasted space as on Britannia, Oh and much superior customer service.

From what you have told us John, I definitely like the sound of Princess, but didn't get too far as when comparing with P&O, familiarity won over. 

I'm sure it's all good when you are used to it, but, as you say yourself, PP is not worth it unless it's reduced, then you have to consider the drinks prices, tax, dollars, tips etc. It seemed almost impossible to budget.  Of course, the cruises we liked had very little in the way of offers. 

Perhaps one day, but not for us for now. 

Andy 

[alpha whiskey]

9 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

TBH  there is not any more faff than P&O, their app and The Princess Medallion do almost the same things, and you can totally ignore them for MDR dining if you so wish, and Alfredos new pricing puts it on a similar footing to the Glass House and  Beach House. As regards the Princess Plus, then IMO unless there is a 50% reduction offer then it's probably not worth taking, and Princess do at least have regular offers on Princess plus, which of course never happens on P&O.

Otherwise the Princess experience is very similar to P&O, but a bit more upmarket, with more and better musical groups, and lots of entertainment taking place in the Atrium, instead of it being a wasted space as on Britannia, Oh and much superior customer service.

Not keen on the one time activation charge of $14.99 for ordering drinks via medallion,  if not taking a package. Do you know if  that's pp rather than stateroom, and presumably gratuity will still be added? It's kind of like paying for service twice. 

Must say we had 4 enjoyable cruises on Princess during 2021/22 and Princess will be in the pile when looking for future cruises.

We've taken 3 on P&O this year, only slightly disappointed with 1 of them. We are back on Celebrity in a few weeks, more expensive, but it will be very interesting to see how they measure up for the price. 

Needless to say, like you, I will be keeping my eyes open for the next 50% off Princess plus sale!  👀

 

 

 

Edited August 4, 2023 by alpha whiskey

[Gettingwarmer]

2 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

It seemed almost impossible to budget.

 

1 hour ago, alpha whiskey said:

I will be keeping my eyes open for the next 50% off Princess plus sale!  👀

Premium Plus. It is easier to work on the US price which is $60 (£50 UK). Crew Appreciation $12-$15  3 glasses of wine $33, 2 spirits $16. Total  $61. And you have free Starlink WiFi. 
If you drink even a small amount of alcohol (speciality teas, coffees and extras are included) it is a great deal. 

Edited August 4, 2023 by Gettingwarmer

[Cathygh]

16 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

Our thoughts exactly. 

We were looking for an alternative/slightly better option than P&O, but couldn't really get my head around it, so decided 'better the devil you know' for now. 

Andy 

How about Cunard? More expensive but it is better than P&O. I recently saw a reasonable price for a cruise from Southampton to the Canaries. Or MSC  but I don't recommend the booze cruises. On second thoughts MSC's drink package is complicated and offers different deals to different agents.

With Princess, the service charge is $16 a day each, 18% service charge on drinks. In January a glass of wine was $8 dollars, so about $9.40 with the service charge. I don't know what they charge for wifi but P&O is £20 (I might have got that wrong but it is about that) and I iagine Princess is about the same. The Princess bar prices are published somewhere, so it would be easy to work out if $50 a day each is worth paying. I liked the convenience of having wifi included, but once I retire I won't need to be contactable so might not bother.

Edited August 4, 2023 by Cathygh

[CaptainPedantic]

1 hour ago, AndyMichelle said:

Perhaps one day, but not for us for now. 

This was exactly our opinion before our first Princess cruise in 2010, having travelled extensively with P&O upto that point and loving it every time. We got a ridiculously cheap offer for a round Britain cruise on Crown Princess that summer and never really looked back. P&O is still our choice for Caribbean fly-cruises, mainly due to how much easier the flight arrangements are, but Princess is definitely our preference for the cruise experience.

[AndyMichelle]

20 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

 

It is easier to work on the US price which is $60 (£50 UK). Crew Appreciation $12-$15  3 glasses of wine $33, 2 spirits $16. Total  $61. And you have free Starlink WiFi. 
If you drink even a small amount of alcohol (speciality teas, coffees and extras are included) it is a great deal. 

This thread is about comparing Princess to P&O. 

For us, we don't need WiFi, dont pay gratuities or taxes on P&O and never spend £100 per couple per day on drinks... 

Still doesn't work for us. 

Andy 

[Gettingwarmer]

34 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

This thread is about comparing Princess to P&O. 

For us, we don't need WiFi, dont pay gratuities or taxes on P&O and never spend £100 per couple per day on drinks... 

Still doesn't work for us. 

Andy 

I can see that it wouldn’t work for you. It is the high price of the unworkable WiFi on P&O that makes Princess good. 

[Selbourne]

26 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

This thread is about comparing Princess to P&O. 

For us, we don't need WiFi, dont pay gratuities or taxes on P&O and never spend £100 per couple per day on drinks... 

Still doesn't work for us. 

Andy 

That’s similar to us Andy. I have never paid for WiFi on a single cruise that we have been on. My mobile phone provider, at the princely sum of £10 a month, gives me all my calls and data not just in the U.K. but at every European port that we have been to (through national operators, not just WiFi) and I can usually pick up a signal when in sight of land. On our recent 14 day cruise I was only without signal for the sea days (although I managed to pick up a signal on some of those when we passed near places) and I had no issues in any of the ports. Didn’t cost me a penny. I did see a number of people who had paid a fortune for WiFi getting fed up with how poor it was though!

 

We did a Cunard cruise a few months back and it was indeed far better than P&O, but we were in grills, for which there is no equivalent on P&O, so not really a fair comparison (although other aspects of the cruise, available to all, were better also). Friends regularly cruise both P&O and Cunard (standard balcony cabins on both) and reckon that Cunard is much better, but obviously it’s more expensive. We really enjoyed our first Cunard experience and have booked 2 x 14 night cruises with them for next year, but having to pay extra for gratuities grated, especially as we tipped our dedicated restaurant staff directly as well. Our friends have also cruised Princess and reckoned that it had the edge on P&O (overall - they felt that some aspects were better on P&O), but wasn’t as good as Cunard from a quality perspective. 

 

Finally, also like yourselves, we are nowhere near £100 a day on drinks. On our 14 day Britannia cruise our on board spend was less than £700, and that included 4 visits to Epicurean, 2 to Sindhu and 2 to the Beach House - and we had £510 OBC to come off that!

[AndyMichelle]

56 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

That’s similar to us Andy. I have never paid for WiFi on a single cruise that we have been on. My mobile phone provider, at the princely sum of £10 a month, gives me all my calls and data not just in the U.K. but at every European port that we have been to (through national operators, not just WiFi) and I can usually pick up a signal when in sight of land. On our recent 14 day cruise I was only without signal for the sea days (although I managed to pick up a signal on some of those when we passed near places) and I had no issues in any of the ports. Didn’t cost me a penny. I did see a number of people who had paid a fortune for WiFi getting fed up with how poor it was though!

 

We did a Cunard cruise a few months back and it was indeed far better than P&O, but we were in grills, for which there is no equivalent on P&O, so not really a fair comparison (although other aspects of the cruise, available to all, were better also). Friends regularly cruise both P&O and Cunard (standard balcony cabins on both) and reckon that Cunard is much better, but obviously it’s more expensive. We really enjoyed our first Cunard experience and have booked 2 x 14 night cruises with them for next year, but having to pay extra for gratuities grated, especially as we tipped our dedicated restaurant staff directly as well. Our friends have also cruised Princess and reckoned that it had the edge on P&O (overall - they felt that some aspects were better on P&O), but wasn’t as good as Cunard from a quality perspective. 

 

Finally, also like yourselves, we are nowhere near £100 a day on drinks. On our 14 day Britannia cruise our on board spend was less than £700, and that included 4 visits to Epicurean, 2 to Sindhu and 2 to the Beach House - and we had £510 OBC to come off that!

We will definitely try other lines when we 'grow up', but for now, familiarity is a big winner. 

We are fully aware that P&O are far from perfect and of the cutbacks, but they still give us enough to have a great holiday. 

We are still at the stage where we would rather have a few cheaper, shorter cruises as opposed to blowing our budget on 1 good long one, but that will change when I retire I'm sure... 

Andy 

 

[bobstheboy]

I'm looking forward to trying Princess again, our last one was over 20 years ago on the Dawn. I booked the Sky Princess when they had their half price drinks promotion for next year. £25 pppd was well worth it so we are onboard in Sep 24, 14 nights to the Med in a deluxe balcony. Will be interesting after a few P&O cruises since Covid.

[Pine Man]

One surprising thing about Princess that is different to P&O - I've just booked an excursion on my forthcoming cruise and it was paid for out of the On Board Credit!

[Gettingwarmer]

1 hour ago, Pine Man said:

One surprising thing about Princess that is different to P&O - I've just booked an excursion on my forthcoming cruise and it was paid for out of the On Board Credit!

This is a good thing with Princess. However their excursions are much pricier than P&O. 

[Dermotsgirl]

22 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Glad it’s not just me then 😂 I’ve looked at a few other operators and lost interest as it all seemed so ruddy complicated. I coped with Cunard, as the main differences were that the prices were in dollars and service charges were extra - plus, of course, the class system that they have 😂. Saga is dead easy to work out as everything is all inclusive - but the prices reflect that 😱.

I don't know if it's an age thing, but I'm getting to a point where I crave simplicity.

 

We go on our Saga cruise at the end of next week, and so far it has been very simple, and communication has been timely.

 

Shore excursions were available to book 8 weeks before our cruise.  As might be expected, being a smaller ship, there are not as many choices available, compared to P&O.  Even the included excursions have to be booked, and there are several different timeslots available for this.  We have six ports and 4 included excursions. We have decided to do 3 of the included excursions, and have booked paid for excursions in the other 3 ports 

 

Our luggage labels arrived by post about 3 weeks ago, and we've also had information booklets through the post. Very simple to understand, especially for people who are used to P&O

 

We've been advised that we will be picked up between 12.25 and 12.55.  Depending on traffic, I hope to be on board not long after 2pm, which isn't too bad.  Our first task, once on board, even before unpacking, will be to sort out our speciality dining.  There are 3 speciality restaurants on Spirit of Adventure. I've seen comments which say that, on shorter cruises, passengers are only permitted to book one restaurant at first, to allow all passengers  a chance to enjoy the speciality experience.  As this is only a 10 day cruise, I'm prepared for this, and would go on a wait list for the other venues if necessary.  We want to book the Nepalese restaurant for our anniversary, so hopefully we'll achieve this.  Unfortunately, Saga don't do online booking for restaurants prior to the cruise, which would save time.

 

 So far, everything is very straightforward.

 

As we have been permitted a P&O / Princess comparison thread, I'm hopeful that I will be permitted to do a report on this board after the cruise, 

[Presto2]

4 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

We will definitely try other lines when we 'grow up', but for now, familiarity is a big winner. 

We are fully aware that P&O are far from perfect and of the cutbacks, but they still give us enough to have a great holiday. 

We are still at the stage where we would rather have a few cheaper, shorter cruises as opposed to blowing our budget on 1 good long one, but that will change when I retire I'm sure... 

Andy 

 

The problem is that when we retire we will have less money to spend on our cruises so less likely to go to the expensive ones then. Keep looking at  Celebrity Edge class ships but that will have to be a very special occasion ... like winning the lottery perhaps !!!

[Selbourne]

26 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I don't know if it's an age thing, but I'm getting to a point where I crave simplicity.

 

We go on our Saga cruise at the end of next week, and so far it has been very simple, and communication has been timely.

 

Shore excursions were available to book 8 weeks before our cruise.  As might be expected, being a smaller ship, there are not as many choices available, compared to P&O.  Even the included excursions have to be booked, and there are several different timeslots available for this.  We have six ports and 4 included excursions. We have decided to do 3 of the included excursions, and have booked paid for excursions in the other 3 ports 

 

Our luggage labels arrived by post about 3 weeks ago, and we've also had information booklets through the post. Very simple to understand, especially for people who are used to P&O

 

We've been advised that we will be picked up between 12.25 and 12.55.  Depending on traffic, I hope to be on board not long after 2pm, which isn't too bad.  Our first task, once on board, even before unpacking, will be to sort out our speciality dining.  There are 3 speciality restaurants on Spirit of Adventure. I've seen comments which say that, on shorter cruises, passengers are only permitted to book one restaurant at first, to allow all passengers  a chance to enjoy the speciality experience.  As this is only a 10 day cruise, I'm prepared for this, and would go on a wait list for the other venues if necessary.  We want to book the Nepalese restaurant for our anniversary, so hopefully we'll achieve this.  Unfortunately, Saga don't do online booking for restaurants prior to the cruise, which would save time.

 

 So far, everything is very straightforward.

 

As we have been permitted a P&O / Princess comparison thread, I'm hopeful that I will be permitted to do a report on this board after the cruise, 

Sounds good. We are seriously considering Saga, but the prices are eye watering, even allowing for the fact that everything is included. I fear that my expectations would be sky high as a result!
 

I really do hope that you will report on your Saga cruise and how it compares to P&O, as this will help me decide. I know that one or two people can get very defensive when comparisons are made with P&O, but the vast majority of us have an open mind and genuinely want to know how other lines compare. This thread on the comparisons with Princess has been interesting. 

[AndyMichelle]

2 hours ago, Presto2 said:

The problem is that when we retire we will have less money to spend on our cruises so less likely to go to the expensive ones then. Keep looking at  Celebrity Edge class ships but that will have to be a very special occasion ... like winning the lottery perhaps !!!

When I win, we can all go together😊

[Presto2]

1 minute ago, AndyMichelle said:

When I win, we can all go together😊

We don't play the lottery so it really will be a miracle !!! 

[heatherb1958]

Just wanted to add  as  I don't think it has been mentioned,  a big  difference between the 2 companies is that P&O is predominantly British guests and Princess is a cosmopolitan crowd with a lot of Brits out of Southampton but you will also meet Americans,  Canadians , lots of folks from Asia too. We prefer a multinational crowd, makes for more interesting conversations at the dinner table 😆.