Hmm - last time with P&O for us.

[ceeceeDee]

We normally don't bother with room service. I think the last time I did so was on the old Pacific Dawn in 2016. That was a Caesar salad and it was around the same price (possibly a dollar or two less) than what is shown on the menu John posted (my memory may be at fault, but it wasn't very expensive). I've seen the breakfast menu, but don't recall any of the prices. You have a decent amount of OBC, Yaya, so ordering room service breakfast each morning shouldn't be a financial burden.🙂 And brekkie on the balcony should be a delight (weather permitting).

[LynSF]

We have been on P&O prior & since been on 5 since June last year. A few short ones to make up “cruises” for Princess. Many times said “I’ll never cruise with P&O again”. As we heard many others doing what we were doing to get our cruises/sea days up.

Our last cruise in July was the Bounty.  The average age was 66+. I kid you not, even though we over that age, were a lot more older than us !!. Getting a seat around the decks 5-6-7 was hard at times, however pool area free. 

At Norfolk, we were 2hr leaving due to lots of walkers & wheelchairs. Tender port yes. As yes they also have a right to see Norfolk. It was mighty dangerous getting off the tender to.

This was not school time either, the 2 cruises before ours had 600 on & the one after ours were expecting 500. Both were just doing up north & back.

I feel P&O the coffee at Inter Lounge was hit & miss & I cut my intake by half. You could tell from cruise to cruise. Last cruise didn’t feel like eating dinner or where. In the end we just went to Angelo’s. Same menu all over. But they did have a few Crew specials. 400 Gradi was nice. Shows were good, however some singers around the place were not.

I don’t think money wise they are cheap anymore. If you watch where you want to go & prices, you can get some good deals.

However if you want to cruise in Australia mid year all there is, is P&O. We have also recently been on Royal, Carnival & Princess. We have a Holland next year. Virgin is expensive however some good prices flowing around. I’m tempted.

[joejoe 59]

17 hours ago, arxcards said:

Like P&O, Princess has plenty of cruises at, around or under $100 per day. That is the norm for any cruise that isn't selling to expectations.

 

Look 12 months ahead, and P&O's twin pricing on 7 nighters out of Sydney is around $145pp/per day; Princess is around $150pp/per day. Carnival is cheaper than both, with lots of sub $100pp/pd twin pricing for this time next year. P&O pricing in Brisbane is cheaper than Sydney for this time next year, so they must be having lots of challenges in filling Encounter.

 

We are at around 20 cruises with P&O, so my recent dissatisfaction isn't an anti-P&O sentiment. Over the past 15 years I have seen P&O go from Australia's version of cruising down to lowest common denominator cruising.

Princess cruises out of Brisbane is never at $100 a day,  but I can see they are out of Sydney or Melbourne. I can understand why Sydney pricing is low as there are more visiting ships, but not Melbourne. 

I can't compare cruise lines 12 months ahead because it's P&O or P&O out of Brisbane for 6 mths of the year. Even when Princess is here it's only over summer as they are off doing the world or Hawaii cruises.

Of the 3 lines we've cruised since cruising restarted, non of the are like the good old days.

[arxcards]

16 minutes ago, joejoe 59 said:

Princess cruises out of Brisbane is never at $100 a day,  but I can see they are out of Sydney or Melbourne. I can understand why Sydney pricing is low as there are more visiting ships, but not Melbourne. 

I can't compare cruise lines 12 months ahead because it's P&O or P&O out of Brisbane for 6 mths of the year. Even when Princess is here it's only over summer as they are off doing the world or Hawaii cruises.

Of the 3 lines we've cruised since cruising restarted, non of the are like the good old days.

Agree. Brisbane isn't served the same way. Despite having little choice, they are still discounting Encounter to fill it. I believe Carnival will have a year-round ship out of Brisbane from 2025, so that would be a start and you deserve to have a longer Princess season. Through winter Sydney only has Pac Adventure & Carnival Splendor, so there are similarities.

 

Staffing was hit & miss across the board last year, and service suffered. Lots of ships were unable to get enough crew, and then had a rolling shortage from covid isolations. I am looking forward to early season feedback from the visiting ships, in the hope that it has all settled down a bit.

[MicCanberra]

On 10/1/2023 at 6:03 AM, Tranquility Base said:

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

Exactly how I feel.

[MicCanberra]

BTW, P&O Arcadia is coming to Australia for a few cruises, perhaps this P&O is more to your tastes as it is much more like an Princess experience.

[Over from NZ]

8 hours ago, LynSF said:

We have been on P&O prior & since been on 5 since June last year. A few short ones to make up “cruises” for Princess. Many times said “I’ll never cruise with P&O again”. As we heard many others doing what we were doing to get our cruises/sea days up.

Our last cruise in July was the Bounty.  The average age was 66+. I kid you not, even though we over that age, were a lot more older than us !!. Getting a seat around the decks 5-6-7 was hard at times, however pool area free. 

At Norfolk, we were 2hr leaving due to lots of walkers & wheelchairs. Tender port yes. As yes they also have a right to see Norfolk. It was mighty dangerous getting off the tender to.

This was not school time either, the 2 cruises before ours had 600 on & the one after ours were expecting 500. Both were just doing up north & back.

I feel P&O the coffee at Inter Lounge was hit & miss & I cut my intake by half. You could tell from cruise to cruise. Last cruise didn’t feel like eating dinner or where. In the end we just went to Angelo’s. Same menu all over. But they did have a few Crew specials. 400 Gradi was nice. Shows were good, however some singers around the place were not.

I don’t think money wise they are cheap anymore. If you watch where you want to go & prices, you can get some good deals.

However if you want to cruise in Australia mid year all there is, is P&O. We have also recently been on Royal, Carnival & Princess. We have a Holland next year. Virgin is expensive however some good prices flowing around. I’m tempted.

You pay for cruises with a line you say you'll never use again.. just to get closer to a couple of wee perks on Princess you could otherwise just pay a few buck for?? Can't get my head around that one.. lol. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

5 minutes ago, Over from NZ said:

You pay for cruises with a line you say you'll never use again.. just to get closer to a couple of wee perks on Princess you could otherwise just pay a few buck for?? Can't get my head around that one.. lol. 

There are no short Princess cruises out of Australia during the off-season. The only Princess ship operating here does the big cruises - 28 days Round Australia, 35 days Hawaii/Tahiti and the World Cruise. P&O have three ships here all year round so building up the status levels by doing winter escapes makes sense. The Elite free laundry is worth it! 😊

[Over from NZ]

1 minute ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

There are no short Princess cruises out of Australia during the off-season. The only Princess ship operating here does the big cruises - 28 days Round Australia, 35 days Hawaii/Tahiti and the World Cruise. P&O have three ships here all year round so building up the status levels by doing winter escapes makes sense. The Elite free laundry is worth it! 😊

Yeah nah. The snobbery value ain't important enough for me and I can pay for laundry without having to do cruises I don't want to do just to get my shorts washed!! lol. 

[MicCanberra]

For me if the itinerary is right, cruising with any line will be fine as long as the price is reasonable for that lines product. Loyalty perks are fine but not really a defining factor of who we cruise with.

[arxcards]

I love the free valet laundry when we are travelling on the other side of the world. It isn't everything, but it is nice to pack a bit lighter and save my shoulders as well as some dollars. It is just one of the things in the mix when we lay out a trip. The perks came about by doing cruises, not from doing cruises to get the perks. Once you lock yourself into one loyalty program, you exclude a world of great options.

 

I am sure there will be plenty of people this weekend doing a flight between Sydney & Melbourne to build or keep their FF tiers and points. Loyalty works in strange ways, usually meant that way by the providers that set them up.

[MicCanberra]

9 hours ago, arxcards said:

The perks came about by doing cruises, not from doing cruises to get the perks. Once you lock yourself into one loyalty program, you exclude a world of great 

And if you cruise across the lines, you will be getting perks from many of the lines.

[lyndarra]

10 hours ago, arxcards said:

 

I am sure there will be plenty of people this weekend doing a flight between Sydney & Melbourne to build or keep their FF tiers and points. Loyalty works in strange ways, usually meant that way by the providers that set them up.

OT, but related to this. News this morning of Qantas rorting FFs.

Edited October 3, 2023 by lyndarra

[ceeceeDee]

And P&O Australia cruises earn points on Princess, which I guess kinda sorta makes up for P&O offering diddly squat when it comes to loyalty points. Either way, I cruise for the cruise itself not any potential points.

[challis]

My p@o gripe is since covid p@o out of  Sydney has added 1 extra sea day on the  return  trip pacific  Islands  to  Sydney. 

Used to be isle of pines last stop,then 2 sea days,now last stop mystery Island  ,then Sydney  is 3 sea days.yes I know, 1st world  problem...I like the  pacific adventure. Like the  promenade  deck,old princess  ships are fine for  me.

[OzKiwiJJ]

7 minutes ago, challis said:

My p@o gripe is since covid p@o out of  Sydney has added 1 extra sea day on the  return  trip pacific  Islands  to  Sydney. 

Used to be isle of pines last stop,then 2 sea days,now last stop mystery Island  ,then Sydney  is 3 sea days.yes I know, 1st world  problem...I like the  pacific adventure. Like the  promenade  deck,old princess  ships are fine for  me.

Don't blame P&O for that. Some of the islands aren't hosting cruise ships at the moment for various reasons - local politics, cyclone damage to wharves etc. It affects all the cruise lines not just P&O.

[SuitesRbest]

After reading this whole thread, the definate trend is that P&O have and will continue to cut always included choices and nickel and dime where they can. P&O Aust are the budget cruise line and generally have the cheapest fares.

We have been on 2 P&O cruises post Covid and mostly agree with all coments in this thread however, to be very honest, the only thing that is keeping us cruise with P&O Aust is the deals we are getting from P&O Players Club. At $500 per the 2 of us we can put up with the Nickel and Diming as we can spend a little more at the specailty restraunts like Lukes. We will be dong 2 more cruises on the Encounter next year, 14 day NZ and a 10 day PNG cruises, both from the players club at $500 each cruise for both of us.

 

All in all, any cruise for us is a cruise after all. Some are exellent some are OK, we make the best of any s@#t situation.

[MicCanberra]

The cruiselines all offer a slightly different product as they are trying to attract a differing demographic, some of that it governed by the pricing other by the experience.

[OzKiwiJJ]

46 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

The cruiselines all offer a slightly different product as they are trying to attract a differing demographic, some of that it governed by the pricing other by the experience.

But it is annoying when a cruise line that has been a perfect match for you starts changing its style. Yes, I'm talking about Princess! 

[cheznandy]

23 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

But it is annoying when a cruise line that has been a perfect match for you starts changing its style. Yes, I'm talking about Princess! 

Did you get the latest survey from Princess? For some reason I got one today, havent got any cruises booked with them nor have plans to do so in the near future, but I filled in my thoughts.

It was about the Princess Plus and Premier and choices of Ambassadors.

I said Celebrities don't make me choose cruiselines.....and neither do free gym classes, crap desserts and cheap wine.

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

27 minutes ago, cheznandy said:

Did you get the latest survey from Princess? For some reason I got one today, havent got any cruises booked with them nor have plans to do so in the near future, but I filled in my thoughts.

It was about the Princess Plus and Premier and choices of Ambassadors.

I said Celebrities don't make me choose cruiselines.....and neither do free gym classes, crap desserts and cheap wine.

 

Yes, I have got it but haven't done it yet. I will be saying the same as you, especially about the wine. Also about downgrading the experience by charging for things that used to be included. 

[possum52]

49 minutes ago, cheznandy said:

Did you get the latest survey from Princess? For some reason I got one today, havent got any cruises booked with them nor have plans to do so in the near future, but I filled in my thoughts.

It was about the Princess Plus and Premier and choices of Ambassadors.

I said Celebrities don't make me choose cruiselines.....and neither do free gym classes, crap desserts and cheap wine.

 

I basically said the same Cheryl.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, cheznandy said:

Did you get the latest survey from Princess? For some reason I got one today, havent got any cruises booked with them nor have plans to do so in the near future, but I filled in my thoughts.

It was about the Princess Plus and Premier and choices of Ambassadors.

I said Celebrities don't make me choose cruiselines.....and neither do free gym classes, crap desserts and cheap wine.

 

No survey in my inbox yet.

[Aus Traveller]

I received the survey. I gave them my opinions on Ambassadors (why??) and Plus and Premier packages. The survey doesn't give you a chance to give you opinion on anything other than reply to the questions asked.

[Relaxing Robbies]

I also got the survey and completed it. The questions didn’t really give me a chance to tell them what I would like them to know. Who cares about ambassadors?