Returning to P&O

[Megabear2]

9 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Looks very nice. Just checked out their website which reminds me of Waitrose's.

 

They are obviously a very old well respected food provider moving into other areas.  

 

Personally I like Fortnum & Mason for my upmarket food but unfortunately now I'm 1 1/2 train journey away it's become more of a treat than a regular occurrence. 

[lincslady]

Booths in Keswick - they send out a hardback gorgeous book every Christmas to sell their special stuff; prices are unbelievable.  My son gets one, as they occasionally shop there.   The book itself must cost a lot to produce.

[Interestedcruisefan]

5 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Looks very nice. Just checked out their website which reminds me of Waitrose's.

 

They are obviously a very old well respected food provider moving into other areas.  

 

Personally I like Fortnum & Mason for my upmarket food but unfortunately now I'm 1 1/2 train journey away it's become more of a treat than a regular occurrence. 

They joined forces at some stage when buying products with waitrose to get more buying power

 

But they remain separate businesses I believe

 

So much space in the stores. Feels like you are going into a farm shop rather than a supermarket

Edited September 20, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, daiB said:

There are fine dining rooms on all but one ship. So you can return to cuckoo land. It does not say or claim the MDR is fine dining. NO cruise line would claim that. Fine dining is a small restaurant, serving high end food sometimes with a celebrity chef and costing a fortune. All MDR’s are mass catering.

I have already given you a response on this claim, but as @JeanieC,Aston pointed out, the OP wanted to know if the complaints about the MDR having declined since covid were true. My answer would be yes it has, even though it won't put me off booking with P&O in the future.

[Megabear2]

2 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

They joined forces at some stage when buying products with waitrose to get more buying power

 

But they are separate businesses I believe

 

So much space in the stores. Feels like you are going into a farm shop

Just looked at thick ribeye. You get 4 for £37.00 so £9.25 each.  Saw one of those on sale in Sainsburys yesterday for £8.50 so if the quality matches the hype not exceptionally expensive. Strangely they have no salmon in stock though!

[Peanut006]

We have a Booths about 5 min walk away, do shop there for some things but definitely not everything, they are too expensive. They do lovely Christmas food

 

Michelle

[JeanieC,Aston]

13 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Just looked at thick ribeye. You get 4 for £37.00 so £9.25 each.  Saw one of those on sale in Sainsburys yesterday for £8.50 so if the quality matches the hype not exceptionally expensive. Strangely they have no salmon in stock though!

Hi

Had a thick ribeye from M&S last night,,,£5,,,,,,,pan fried 2 minutes a side,,,delicious.

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by JeanieC,Aston

[JeanieC,Aston]

30 minutes ago, FangedRose said:

There is one in Keswick, and another in Penrith. That is the true north west. From where I am Manchester is considered the beginning of the Midlands.

Hi

I live 10 minutes from LJL airport and I think of myself born and bred in the North West.

Edited September 20, 2023 by JeanieC,Aston

[Megabear2]

2 minutes ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

Had a thick ribeye from M&S last night,,,£5,,,,,,,pan fried 2 minutes a side,,,delicious.

 

Lovely.  Unfortunately our M&S has very little meat on sale these days so sticks to the more basic lines. Still mustn't complain it's fighting to survive and not close down and then we would have the 25 mile trip that we already have if we want their clothing.

[FangedRose]

Just now, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

I live 10 minutes from LJL airport and I think of myself down and bred in the North West.

I beg to differ. You nearly qualify as a Southerner 😁

[JeanieC,Aston]

Just now, FangedRose said:

I beg to differ. You nearly qualify as a Southerner 😁

Wash yer mouth out😏

[Interestedcruisefan]

I live in the Midlands (Derbyshire)

 

Manchester and Liverpool are definitely North West 

 

As is anything further up (until you get to Scotland as far as I'm concerned)

 

Lol

 

Although I guess we also call Keswick etc 

 

 The Lakes?

 

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Interestedcruisefan]

32 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Just looked at thick ribeye. You get 4 for £37.00 so £9.25 each.  Saw one of those on sale in Sainsburys yesterday for £8.50 so if the quality matches the hype not exceptionally expensive. Strangely they have no salmon in stock though!

Sounds like Booths is the cruise equivalent of Silver Seas then?

[Megabear2]

5 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Sounds like Booths is the cruise equivalent of Silver Seas then?

Well the lack of salmon is definitely P&O ...

Edited September 20, 2023 by Megabear2

[zap99]

54 minutes ago, lincslady said:

Booths in Keswick - they send out a hardback gorgeous book every Christmas to sell their special stuff; prices are unbelievable.  My son gets one, as they occasionally shop there.   The book itself must cost a lot to produce.

Last time we were in the lake district we went into Booths in Keswick. Back up again later in the year.

[Ardennais]

3 hours ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Is it,,I don’t know but P&O doesn’t tell you either giving the impression all its food is fine dining,,,,,that’s advertising for you.

P&O (and probably other cruiselines too) tend to over-promise in their marketing. It’s like the Jane McDonald programmes which give the impression that all the activities are included in the basic price. 

[mrsgoggins]

3 hours ago, zap99 said:

We went to the Fjords on Silhouette last year. Very nice too, but about 50% more than P&O. We ate in the MDR mainly. The speciality restaurants worked out at £80pn fir the 2 of us. Comparing fairly doesn't seem to happen sometimes.

 

I was on that same sailing and I know you have previously posted the amount you paid, which I believe was similar to my figure - in the region of £2700 for a balcony cabin for 2, however you omitted to mention that it included the drinks package, internet and gratuities. I rather feel that if you had been doing a like-for-like comparison last year then you would not be showing a 50% difference. By that I mean balcony cabin with a sofa in addition to the aforementioned inclusions.

 

I have posted previously that my Celebrity Eclipse cruise in January was £17.40 pppn more expensive than my Iona cruise in March, with similar OBC. The Eclipse cruise was All Inclusive!  Both cruises were booked far in advance.

 

I agree that the price of Celebrity cruises, especially currently, can be eye-watering, which is why I also use other cruise lines. I am definitely not rubbishing P&O - I just have different expectations when I sail with them, and I suggests the OP does likewise. 

 

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by mrsgoggins

[zap99]

10 minutes ago, mrsgoggins said:

 

I was on that same sailing and I know you have previously posted the amount you paid, which I believe was similar to my figure - in the region of £2700 for a balcony cabin for 2, however you omitted to mention that it included the drinks package, internet and gratuities. I rather feel that if you had been doing a like-for-like comparison last year then you would not be showing a 50% difference. By that I mean balcony cabin with a sofa in addition to the aforementioned inclusions.

 

I have posted previously that my Celebrity Eclipse cruise in January was £17.40 pppn more expensive than my Iona cruise in March, with similar OBC. The Eclipse cruise was All Inclusive!  Both cruises were booked far in advance.

 

I agree that the price of Celebrity cruises, especially currently, can be eye-watering, which is why I also use other cruise lines. I am definitely not rubbishing P&O - I just have different expectations when I sail with them, and I suggests the OP does likewise. 

 

 

You are quite right. Taking off the tips ,gratuities etc brought them closer together. The quality was better than Britannia.  We are looking at Celebrity for the Eastern Med next year, but we need a few more points on RC and NCL. P&O are perfectly fine, but the itineraries need a good tweak.

[zap99]

23 minutes ago, mrsgoggins said:

 

I was on that same sailing and I know you have previously posted the amount you paid, which I believe was similar to my figure - in the region of £2700 for a balcony cabin for 2, however you omitted to mention that it included the drinks package, internet and gratuities. I rather feel that if you had been doing a like-for-like comparison last year then you would not be showing a 50% difference. By that I mean balcony cabin with a sofa in addition to the aforementioned inclusions.

 

I have posted previously that my Celebrity Eclipse cruise in January was £17.40 pppn more expensive than my Iona cruise in March, with similar OBC. The Eclipse cruise was All Inclusive!  Both cruises were booked far in advance.

 

I agree that the price of Celebrity cruises, especially currently, can be eye-watering, which is why I also use other cruise lines. I am definitely not rubbishing P&O - I just have different expectations when I sail with them, and I suggests the OP does likewise. 

 

 

Yes. £2,738 for 2 in a balcony Inc drinks,tips,WiFi. If similar crops up in the med next year  we will bite their hands off.

[JeanieC,Aston]

Hi

This is kicking em off on another P&O social media site,,,haven’t heard of this on here.

Menu looks a bit better than the usual school dinners,,don’t know if I want to pay extra for an MDR meal.

P&O have introduced a new Signature Menu to the MDR, which is chargeable

'yes it began on Ventura at the beginning of September to give guests even more choice in the MDR and has so far proved very popular. Dishes include Cornish crab rillettes with dressed lobster claw, gruyere sable biscuit and bloody Mary cream; fillet of dry aged Foyle beef with truffled potatoes, pickled mushrooms, asparagus and madeira jus and Valrhona chocolate tart with banana and lime pureee, caramelised cocoa nibs and banana gelato'

£14.95 a head seems quite good to me, and they're not altering the existing menus?

[Megabear2]

10 minutes ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

This is kicking em off on another P&O social media site,,,haven’t heard of this on here.

Menu looks a bit better than the usual school dinners,,don’t know if I want to pay extra for an MDR meal.

P&O have introduced a new Signature Menu to the MDR, which is chargeable

'yes it began on Ventura at the beginning of September to give guests even more choice in the MDR and has so far proved very popular. Dishes include Cornish crab rillettes with dressed lobster claw, gruyere sable biscuit and bloody Mary cream; fillet of dry aged Foyle beef with truffled potatoes, pickled mushrooms, asparagus and madeira jus and Valrhona chocolate tart with banana and lime pureee, caramelised cocoa nibs and banana gelato'

£14.95 a head seems quite good to me, and they're not altering the existing menus?

Is it only the same menu offered every day, just on certain days or what

 

I certainly wouldn't go for it, £30 for two to sit in my normal seat doesn't appeal to me but I'm one of those who think MDR food is okay in the main.  If I've got to pay more to eat better food I'll simply go elsewhere I'm afraid.

[Interestedcruisefan]

15 minutes ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

This is kicking em off on another P&O social media site,,,haven’t heard of this on here.

Menu looks a bit better than the usual school dinners,,don’t know if I want to pay extra for an MDR meal.

P&O have introduced a new Signature Menu to the MDR, which is chargeable

'yes it began on Ventura at the beginning of September to give guests even more choice in the MDR and has so far proved very popular. Dishes include Cornish crab rillettes with dressed lobster claw, gruyere sable biscuit and bloody Mary cream; fillet of dry aged Foyle beef with truffled potatoes, pickled mushrooms, asparagus and madeira jus and Valrhona chocolate tart with banana and lime pureee, caramelised cocoa nibs and banana gelato'

£14.95 a head seems quite good to me, and they're not altering the existing menus?

Love it

 

And many will pay for it

 

Those who don't have  lost nothing

[zap99]

3 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Love it

 

And many will pay for it

 

Those who don't have  lost nothing

I would prefer to sthe OBC on lobster than handbags.🤣

[lancashire_cruisers]

1 minute ago, zap99 said:

I would prefer to sthe OBC on lobster than handbags.🤣

Me too! Especially as my handbag brand of choice isn’t available onboard.

[JeanieC,Aston]

14 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Is it only the same menu offered every day, just on certain days or what

 

I certainly wouldn't go for it, £30 for two to sit in my normal seat doesn't appeal to me but I'm one of those who think MDR food is okay in the main.  If I've got to pay more to eat better food I'll simply go elsewhere I'm afraid.

Hi

I haven’t a clue,,the post was from Fb,I’ve looked but can’t find it,unless it’s on a private group.

Does seem odd it’s not been reported here.

 

Looks similar to Celebrity in the MDR,,want an extra Lobster tail =$19,,or extra if you want a nice Fillet Mignon.

I noticed lots of lines offering paid for items in the MDR.

 

Cut back on the choice and quality,,then offer the good stuff back at a cost.Clever.

Edited September 20, 2023 by JeanieC,Aston