zap99 Posted December 14, 2023 #126 Share Posted December 14, 2023 (edited) 39 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said: I've definitely found the entertainment on the bigger ships at least to be better than ever IMO High quality entertainers Don't forget there's a lot more passengers to spread the actual cost of entertainment to on bigger ships with more passengers Food wise there's better quality than ever available as well IMO. Standard of cuisine have improved worldwide the last 5 decades immeasurably - nowhere more so than in the UK Don't forget 40 to 50 years ago if you wanted a "special" meal Berni Inns were high on the list That kind of meal now is just average or below average compared to what's available On the ship so many varied options. Some with a price but the prices are so low and the cost of cruising so cheap unless you insist on extra to cruise that I don't think the ships have gone backwards on anything I personally think the ships have significantly improved in real terms cost, facilities on board, entertainment, food and drink options. Even in the cabins. The showers and toilets are way better quality and reliable than in the past. The size of TVs in the bigger ships way better. Pretty much everything has improved IMO whilst affordability has got way better and tips have gone at the same time. It's hard to say that about any other type of holiday Let's see how prices do change now. But to date cruising is all positives to me With P and O at least We love our cruises and have not noticed any drop in standards, some things have changed. No turndown or chocolates, where's me canopies ? The butler didn't do it, whereas in the old days he did it all the time. All trivia that don't matter to us. Folk who enjoy everything about their holiday are somehow viewed by some as inadequate in some way. They don't know how bad things really are. How seriously poor everything is. If all is doom and gloom....I don't know why we bother Fawlty.🤣 Edited December 14, 2023 by zap99 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted December 14, 2023 #127 Share Posted December 14, 2023 13 minutes ago, zap99 said: We love our cruises and have not noticed any drop in standards, some things have changed. No turndown or chocolates, where's me canopies ? The butler didn't do it, whereas in the old days he did it all the time. All trivia that don't matter to us. Folk who enjoy everything about their holiday are somehow viewed by some as inadequate in some way. They don't know how bad things really are. How seriously poor everything is. If all is doom and gloom....I don't know why we bother Fawlty.🤣 We in the UK are considered a nation of moaners aren't we I try my hardest not to be. I'm in a Rotary Club. Many of the elder members are also in U3A. For those who don't know that organisation it's for retired or semi retired people to from clubs and hobby groups together. One of my friends is leader of a group they've called "Grumpy Old Men" They meet for lunch once a month to complain about stuff as a group!! Lol Still some of the nicest people you could wish to meet of course and they do loads for Charity The same guy voluntarily runs a "Memory Cafe" with his wife that meets every week for people with dementia and carers to enjoy a nice experience together with others 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted December 14, 2023 #128 Share Posted December 14, 2023 17 minutes ago, zap99 said: We love our cruises and have not noticed any drop in standards, some things have changed. No turndown or chocolates, where's me canopies ? The butler didn't do it, whereas in the old days he did it all the time. All trivia that don't matter to us. Folk who enjoy everything about their holiday are somehow viewed by some as inadequate in some way. They don't know how bad things really are. How seriously poor everything is. If all is doom and gloom....I don't know why we bother Fawlty.🤣 I read somewhere recently that in general we all actually need a few struggles, a bit of pain and effort etc In order to fully appreciate the good things about life If everything was always perfect we wouldn't all enjoy it as much!! It kind of makes sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted December 14, 2023 #129 Share Posted December 14, 2023 "We need contrasting experiences in life to get the most from it. This is because our pleasures and pains are always relative " Basically in crusing terms- you need a poor dining experience or problem with your cabin or service etc every now and then in order to really appreciate the good ones!! Lol Also something I learnt very early on in life: An unhappy customer has the potential to become your happiest ever customer if you deal with their problem well Whereas a happy customer just stays a happy customer as you never have the opportunity to go the extra mile for them Basically an unhappy customer provides you with a huge opportunity to engage well and create really great relationships Do P and O achieve that. Probably nowhere near enough. Not many brands their size do. They become too regimental etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zap99 Posted December 14, 2023 #130 Share Posted December 14, 2023 1 minute ago, Interestedcruisefan said: I read somewhere recently that in general we all actually need a few struggles, a bit of pain and effort etc In order to fully appreciate the good things about life If everything was always perfect we wouldn't all enjoy it as much!! It kind of makes sense Yes, your right. Difficult choices and dealing with stress make life what it is....out to lunch....where to go...what to eat....thinking about that has stressed me out nicely. Seriously, do all our holidays go without issues ?. Of course not. If we can't get the seat we want in Headliners we will sit somewhere else and arrive a few minutes earlier next time. Life throws up loads of little problems. We deal with them and move on. It's not long before all the good stuff makes them seem trivial and they pass into ancient history. I can't remember if we had a cheese wheel in 2010, but I can remember that sunset on the sailaway from Venice. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted December 14, 2023 #131 Share Posted December 14, 2023 10 minutes ago, zap99 said: Yes, your right. Difficult choices and dealing with stress make life what it is....out to lunch....where to go...what to eat....thinking about that has stressed me out nicely. Seriously, do all our holidays go without issues ?. Of course not. If we can't get the seat we want in Headliners we will sit somewhere else and arrive a few minutes earlier next time. Life throws up loads of little problems. We deal with them and move on. It's not long before all the good stuff makes them seem trivial and they pass into ancient history. I can't remember if we had a cheese wheel in 2010, but I can remember that sunset on the sailaway from Venice. Away from cruising we once went to Venice and arrived for the very first time by water taxi I remember so well my wife and I turning to look at each other at exactly the same time and thinking this is just magical You are so right Zap. It's the magical stuff you really remember. Or should want to remember at least. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zap99 Posted December 14, 2023 #132 Share Posted December 14, 2023 57 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said: Away from cruising we once went to Venice and arrived for the very first time by water taxi I remember so well my wife and I turning to look at each other at exactly the same time and thinking this is just magical You are so right Zap. It's the magical stuff you really remember. Or should want to remember at least. We have thousands of photos on memory sticks and in the cloud. Many memories that I look at from time to time. Venice, dolphins, Santorini, Cornwall etc, etc. All the good things we have enjoyed together. When our traveling days are restricted, happy memories to enjoy again. Not any pictures of the cracked bathroom tile, or packet of broken biscuits. Life is far too short for that. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted December 14, 2023 #133 Share Posted December 14, 2023 On a separate post one of the guests at my Rotary event last night caught covid whilst on a recent P and O cruise. Initially confined to his cabin but ended up with him being off loaded and flown to Barcelona from La Coruna where he spent 6 weeks in hospital there He's back recovering now but received a bill this week for 25k So he's obviously hoping his insurance will cover that but doesn't know yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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