Returning to P&O

[zap99]

14 hours ago, daiB said:

Sorry don’t agree at all we have been on Ventura, Aurora, Iona and Britannia and the food has been good. Because people had said that there wasn’t not so much choice we have looked a menus from previous cruises and its just not true. Outside of MDR we have found that what is available on Iona in terms of quality and choice is certainly a level above.

We have done 8 cruises since lockdown, 6 of them P&O. The choice of restaurants and range of food has been fine. We don't go to the MDR for an "  experience ". Just some decent food to keep us going. If we want a meal that is a bit more special, we go to a speciality.

[zap99]

42 minutes ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Just a couple of comments from posters only yesterday returning from a trip to the Baltics…..

“The MDR menu was also a bit of a let down. On paper it looked good , but in reality the food was bland and under seasoned. Oven roasted vegetables were usually just boiled and I never want to see another

 

string bean again.”
Or….

“We feel that compared to Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, the dinner buffet was miserable in comparison with very little choice and lacking healthy options or vegetables. When we cruised Celebrity, I came home 8lb heavier, with P&O wedidn’t put on any weight which is a sure way to tell that the food was lacking!”

Case rested….😏

So you won't be sailing with P&O again then?.

 

24 minutes ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Here’s a P&O menu,,,,Chef’s recommendations no less.

Apart from Calamari we had both Main and Dessert for our school dinners.

Which wine did you select at your school?

[yorkshirephil]

4 minutes ago, zap99 said:

 

 

Which wine did you select at your school?

The cooks used to whine if you didn't eat all your dinner.

[Splice the mainbrace]

We were on Arcadia last month and we didn’t have a problem with the quality of the food in mdr. The menu is a bit restrictive but there were only a couple of nights where I had to go for steak, which I probably would have had a couple of times anyway. The chicken breast was always on, the steak not on some nights, both would benefit IMO if they offered a choice of different sauces to go with them.

 

We don’t normally do puddings but sometimes have cheese and biscuits, we tend to have 2 starters and the main only.

[Megabear2]

Well this sadly is going the way of so many threads for a few.  Let's insult P&O however we can, gather lots of one off quotes about the food, have a laugh to prove our points, single out absolutely everything that is wrong by dissecting other people's posts to find something , compare it with every other cruise line, hotel, holiday, caravan park in the world ... oh and by the way I'm going on a P&O cruise for my next trip!!  

 

Food is subjective, what I like and think is good is another man's poison.  I see many on here lauding curry, even the smell of one makes me nauseous but I'd never use my dislike of the stuff as an argument against the MDR food.

 

Ps: I love green beans and Arvia didn't have any ...

 

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Megabear2

[zap99]

10 minutes ago, Splice the mainbrace said:

We were on Arcadia last month and we didn’t have a problem with the quality of the food in mdr. The menu is a bit restrictive but there were only a couple of nights where I had to go for steak, which I probably would have had a couple of times anyway. The chicken breast was always on, the steak not on some nights, both would benefit IMO if they offered a choice of different sauces to go with them.

 

We don’t normally do puddings but sometimes have cheese and biscuits, we tend to have 2 starters and the main only.

A choice of sauces is a very good idea

[Red Ray]

I obviously went to a very good school - it said Approved above the entrance.

[Red Ray]

1 hour ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

I remember P&O food described as Spuds r Us,,,,now it’s ‘Green Beans r Us’.

I don’t see two slices of roast beef,a scoop of mashed potato and three green beans as fine dining.

Oh and don’t forget the bread and butter pudding or a bowl of cold rice pudding,,,,school dinners indeed.

 

If any of you supporters of P&O food ever sail on Celebrity try the Prime Rib of Beef,,,you will see where the school dinners on P&O comes from.

And yet here you are, haunting the Green Beans r Us board...

[zap99]

1 minute ago, Megabear2 said:

Well this sadly is going the way of so many threads for a few.  Let's insult P&O however we can, gather lots of one off quotes about the food, have a laugh to prove our points, single out absolutely everything that is wrong by dissecting other people's posts to find something , compare it with every other cruise line, hotel, holiday, caravan park in the world ... oh and by the way I'm going on a P&O cruise for my next trip!!  

 

Food is subjective, what I like and think is good is another man's poison.  I see many on here lauding curry, even the smell of one makes me nauseous but I'd never use my dislike of the stuff as an argument against the MDR food.

 

Ps: Ilove green beans and Arvia didn't have any ...

 

 

 

 

I find it quite refreshing . Lots of fairly positive posts regarding food. We have booked a cruise on Arvia for next year and are quite looking forward to the selection of restaurants.  As if everything's perfect on land. We had a break in North Devon. Food wilderness and £18 for a burger in a fairly grotty pub. Our cruise is about £100pppn. Unlimited decent food, nice view, good entertainment . All is fine on board. Any cruisewill do.

[daiB]

12 minutes ago, Splice the mainbrace said:

We were on Arcadia last month and we didn’t have a problem with the quality of the food in mdr. The menu is a bit restrictive but there were only a couple of nights where I had to go for steak, which I probably would have had a couple of times anyway. The chicken breast was always on, the steak not on some nights, both would benefit IMO if they offered a choice of different sauces to go with them.

 

We don’t normally do puddings but sometimes have cheese and biscuits, we tend to have 2 starters and the main only.

I could have written this On the sauce front I have heard complaints that the chicken was not there and the person only wanted plain food. Just goes to show with catering you are not going to please everyone.

[zap99]

2 hours ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

As an Elite on Celebrity that’s the one reason I will not book in the future.

I did Iona in Feb and Silhouette in May and food wise Celebrity won  hands down.

And don’t mention P&O buffets compared with Celebrity’s.

 

Alas I am looking to P&O for my next cruises but never again on Iona.

We are Platinum with warners, but we still have to eat the same food as the ordinary folk.🤣

[sandancer]

21 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I find it quite refreshing . Lots of fairly positive posts regarding food. We have booked a cruise on Arvia for next year and are quite looking forward to the selection of restaurants.  As if everything's perfect on land. We had a break in North Devon. Food wilderness and £18 for a burger in a fairly grotty pub. Our cruise is about £100pppn. Unlimited decent food, nice view, good entertainment . All is fine on board. Any cruisewill do.

We were on Arvia for the transatlantic in March/April. Only our 3rd cruise with P&O although many more with other cruise lines. We really enjoyed the cruise, especially the selection of restaurants. We only ate in the MDR 3 times and the food was average. We booked as many of the speciality restaurants in advance as we could to take advantage of the discount offered for advance booking plus the Peninsular discount which made them very affordable. My only moan about Arvia is no library and even then I know that this is the trend now and Celebrity have phased out libraries on their ships. Our next cruise is on Azura (has a library hoorah) and after that Iona. We expect to enjoy both. 

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, lancashire_cruisers said:

I did go to private school (full scholarship - couldn’t have gone otherwise) and our school dinners were vastly inferior to P&O. 🙄

I went to grammar school during the late 50s, and whilst they were in no way gourmet meals, I remember them as being tasty and nutritious, and fairly comparable with the average cafe meal of the time.

[JeanieC,Aston]

2 hours ago, zap99 said:

So you won't be sailing with P&O again then?.

 

Which wine did you select at your school?

As a good catholic it was communion wine,,,,,every morning!!

[majortom10]

1 hour ago, sandancer said:

We were on Arvia for the transatlantic in March/April. Only our 3rd cruise with P&O although many more with other cruise lines. We really enjoyed the cruise, especially the selection of restaurants. We only ate in the MDR 3 times and the food was average. We booked as many of the speciality restaurants in advance as we could to take advantage of the discount offered for advance booking plus the Peninsular discount which made them very affordable. My only moan about Arvia is no library and even then I know that this is the trend now and Celebrity have phased out libraries on their ships. Our next cruise is on Azura (has a library hoorah) and after that Iona. We expect to enjoy both. 

There is a library on Arvia albeit a very small one in Anderson's Bar.

[Red Ray]

4 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

There is a library on Arvia albeit a very small one in Anderson's Bar.

It's not really a library though is it? One cupboard designated a 'book swap' which was virtually empty for the entire cruise until the last day when pax were depositing unwanted books. The other cupboards contain a few desultory magazines and board games.

[JeanieC,Aston]

2 hours ago, Red Ray said:

And yet here you are, haunting the Green Beans r Us board...

I enjoy P&O cruises,but this thread is about the MDR food.
Its become a miserable offering,,,,I will go on another P& O cruise but I just won’t frequent the MDR so much,,,,I can put together a much better meal in the buffet or for a much better offering pay a little extra for the Glasshouse.

 

Unless you forget this is a forum for discussion,,,not a P&O fan club.

I’ll say again…..I like P&O and will sail again on P&O (April next) but that does not mean I can close my eyes to what I feel is lacking with MDR dining food quality at the moment…..and I certainly won’t be silenced by cheap shots on social media.

I don’t ‘haunt’ on this board,I voice an opinion.

 

Let me throw one more grenade in,,,,in my almost 80 cruises my Iona cruise in February was the worse one I can remember.

[majortom10]

4 minutes ago, Red Ray said:

It's not really a library though is it? One cupboard designated a 'book swap' which was virtually empty for the entire cruise until the last day when pax were depositing unwanted books. The other cupboards contain a few desultory magazines and board games.

There were library books available on our cruise last week although not a great choice. Book swap area seemed to be a well used part and a good place to exchange books read. Unfortunately and that is why there is no need for a library many people were reading using Kindle or other electronic devices.

Edited September 19, 2023 by majortom10

[JeanieC,Aston]

2 hours ago, zap99 said:

We are Platinum with warners, but we still have to eat the same food as the ordinary folk.🤣

????????

[majortom10]

4 minutes ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

I enjoy P&O cruises,but this thread is about the MDR food.
Its become a miserable offering,,,,I will go on another P& O cruise but I just won’t frequent the MDR so much,,,,I can put together a much better meal in the buffet or for a much better offering pay a little extra for the Glasshouse.

 

Unless you forget this is a forum for discussion,,,not a P&O fan club.

I’ll say again…..I like P&O and will sail again on P&O (April next) but that does not mean I can close my eyes to what I feel is lacking with MDR dining food quality at the moment…..and I certainly won’t be silenced by cheap shots on social media.

I don’t ‘haunt’ on this board,I voice an opinion.

 

Let me throw one more grenade in,,,,in my almost 80 cruises my Iona cruise in February was the worse one I can remember.

Sorry but having just returned from Arvia on Sunday the food in MDR was nothing like you say and on the whole was good with a good varied choice. The food in Epicurean and Sindhu was excellent as usual.

[JeanieC,Aston]

22 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

Sorry but having just returned from Arvia on Sunday the food in MDR was nothing like you say and on the whole was good with a good varied choice. The food in Epicurean and Sindhu was excellent as usual.

Hi

But another poster only posted 1 hour ago to say they did a TA on Avia and only dined in the MDR x3 times and the food was average.

So yes it is subjective.

Nobody is talking about the speciality restaurants.

Edited September 19, 2023 by JeanieC,Aston

[shot2bits]

We are on Britannia at the weekend. We chose freedom dining. Any issues with this, queuing etc? Thanks

[nosapphire]

3 hours ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Here’s a P&O menu,,,,Chef’s recommendations no less.

Apart from Calamari we had both Main and Dessert for our school dinners.

Bit uncertain what the criticism is here... are we saying that "old fashioned" foods should never be offered?

When Saga offered steak and kidney pudding (also as chef's recommendation)  there was a near riot from some passengers because it was so popular they ran out. And it is not the sort of thing that can be perpared in a few minutes.

Had to do some more specially for the next dinner.

Bread and butter pudding is another popular choice when offered.

 

[Red Ray]

3 minutes ago, nosapphire said:

Bit uncertain what the criticism is here... are we saying that "old fashioned" foods should never be offered?

When Saga offered steak and kidney pudding (also as chef's recommendation)  there was a near riot from some passengers because it was so popular they ran out. And it is not the sort of thing that can be perpared in a few minutes.

Had to do some more specially for the next dinner.

Bread and butter pudding is another popular choice when offered.

 

Exactly. Quintessentially British food (except the calamari obviously) being offered by a British ship - but some people on here choose to sneer at that.

[zap99]

22 minutes ago, Red Ray said:

Exactly. Quintessentially British food (except the calamari obviously) being offered by a British ship - but some people on here choose to sneer at that.

Queet Reet. Don't want that foreign muck on P&O......An always available prawn cocktail would be OK.🤣