What if you don't like formal wear?

[Beckyfaye-2008]

Well I was on Ventura last Oct and it was full with over 3,000 passengers of which 1,400 were new to P&O. 99% of the passengers all conformed not only to the Formal nights, but also the Semi Formal and Smart casual. I fully realise that they have now removed the Semi Formal.

My question is why would anybody want to sail on a ship or with a company, that has a tradition for Formal nights and to which 99% conform, if they do not like them. Why try and change a tradition which the majority who sail with P&O dont want changed.

Surely its much easier and rather than make yourself stand out in a crowd, to choose a ship that fits in with your dress sense and style of holiday.Dont make sense to me to choose a ship that the majority of passengers on it enjoy dressing up, if you dont and then moan or try to change it. There are enough ships and companys out there providing for all tastes and covering most of the iteneries. I certainly would not choose to eat in Mc Donalds if I prefer the Ritz and visa versa.

As for me I am versatile, I will dress according to the dress code of the night depending whatever ship I am on. I am on P&O Oceana next and will dress as per the code for the evening, next March I am sailing with Thompson Spirit which is less formal and will again dress accordingly.

As others have said if you dont like sailing out of Southampton for two days ( I actually love the days at sea) then there are always fly cruises.

In other words there are different ships, different styles etc,etc to keep everybody happy, what annoys me is when people come along and try to change traditions, that a large no of others enjoy. Each to there own.:D

[Single Cruiser]

Well I was on Ventura last Oct and it was full with over 3,000 passengers of which 1,400 were new to P&O. 99% of the passengers all conformed not only to the Formal nights, but also the Semi Formal and Smart casual. I fully realise that they have now removed the Semi Formal.

My question is why would anybody want to sail on a ship or with a company, that has a tradition for Formal nights and to which 99% conform, if they do not like them. Why try and change a tradition which the majority who sail with P&O dont want changed.

Surely its much easier and rather than make yourself stand out in a crowd, to choose a ship that fits in with your dress sense and style of holiday.Dont make sense to me to choose a ship that the majority of passengers on it enjoy dressing up, if you dont and then moan or try to change it. There are enough ships and companys out there providing for all tastes and covering most of the iteneries. I certainly would not choose to eat in Mc Donalds if I prefer the Ritz and visa versa.

As for me I am versatile, I will dress according to the dress code of the night depending whatever ship I am on. I am on P&O Oceana next and will dress as per the code for the evening, next March I am sailing with Thompson Spirit which is less formal and will again dress accordingly.

As others have said if you dont like sailing out of Southampton for two days ( I actually love the days at sea) then there are always fly cruises.

In other words there are different ships, different styles etc,etc to keep everybody happy, what annoys me is when people come along and try to change traditions, that a large no of others enjoy. Each to there own.:D

 

Because there is no real alternatives!. What other cruise companies serve mainly UK passengers and onboard accounts in £s? Cunard? The indication that has been given to the OV passengers is that two of the ships fleet will be slowly changed from traditional to modern cruising to accommodate the passengers being "left" by Carnival UK.

 

The nearest would be NCL to format but with prices onboard in $ and the weak £ you are paying ridiculous prices for onboard drinks/excursions etc..

 

there is insufficient new passengers entering the market who prefer traditional cruises. Cruising is being opened to the mass markets, P&O have new berths to fill, if they don't fill them then you'll start losing some ships to other brands/markets.

[GixxerGal]

Some sensible posts their Single C :)

 

 

 

I dont fully agree with you John -- Cruising to some is a *means to an end*.

The old days of formal cruising for the better off -- are long gone. Time on board is much less now as the routes mean most days passengers are ashore so the spledour of on board is not quite like it was *in days gone by*

Cruising is affordable to everyone now -- so the cruise it self - is getting more of a *secondary* issue and the actual venue/ports are taking priorities.

And slightly going over the *dress up* bit again - if that ship has an itinery and cabins and prices to suit a certain family criteria etc - They will choose the shipping line for that purpose - If I wanted to dress up I would go Cunard.

I personally could not do Southampton -- I like to get to where I am going quickly --and sea days in the cold is not my No. 1 choice.. BUT, if it was the only way I could get to a specific country that I would like to see for the day --then I would sail from Southampton

 

All I can add is if you don't want to dress up don't go on a ship that requires it & if you think that 2 days cruising to the Med is a hardship then perhaps cruising is not a good choice of holiday, most people that pick cruising as a holiday enjoy actual cruising

[David&Heather]

Not everyone wants to fly, and pando from Southampton is ideal for all these people,

 

I note your location is Bath, a drive to Southampton from there is not too bad, ever tried driving there from Manchester? I have to drive to Eastleigh (next door to Southampton) a few times each year for work and it's a nightmare

 

luggage weight restrictions,sitting around in airports, driving 100miles to a airport, fuss about liquids in hand baggage, sitting for hours on end on a plane.... nah, I'll sail from Southampton thanks,

 

Thats fine for you, I prefer a 10 mile taxi ride to Manchester Airport, a quick flight to the med then straight on the ship. In terms of time I can get from home to a ship in the med quicker than driving to Southampton.

 

the 2 days at sea are great for exploring and getting to know the ship before the first port of call,

 

1 Sea day in 7 is enough for us, still plenty of time to discover the ship, the cruising may be everything for the traditionalists but others view the ship as a lovely floating hotel that takes them to some equally lovely destinations.

 

If you want to comeon our ships.play by our rules LOL !:D

 

Would love to give one of the more informal P&O ships a try but they fall short of our cruise requirements, this annoys us and other soon to be ex OV customers as P&O are giving us the hard sell with respect to these ships.

[MattyBarlow]

NCL Jade could be a good alternative for OV passengers.... she seems to fir the bill with casual cruising? BUT, you won't hear OV pushing their passengers towards NCL .

 

 

 

I went on the Jade last year and was very impressed but it doesnt give us the same product that OV does..ie british passengers paying in pounds. Incidentally the Jade will not be sailing from the UK next year.

[David&Heather]

Well I was on Ventura last Oct and it was full with over 3,000 passengers of which 1,400 were new to P&O. 99% of the passengers all conformed not only to the Formal nights, but also the Semi Formal and Smart casual. I fully realise that they have now removed the Semi Formal.

My question is why would anybody want to sail on a ship or with a company, that has a tradition for Formal nights and to which 99% conform, if they do not like them.

You just dont get it - we would like to continue cruising with OV but the Carnival corporation are phasing it out and are pushing P&O to us for future cruises.

Just to be pedantic could you please qualify the source of your statistics?

Why try and change a tradition which the majority who sail with P&O dont want changed.

With more ships with many more berths to fill P&O are aiming to attract many people new to cruising, the vast majority of these want a more casual experience. I see this mix of traditional and informal as P&O's biggest problem as trying to be all things to all people rarely works.

Surely its much easier and rather than make yourself stand out in a crowd, to choose a ship that fits in with your dress sense and style of holiday.Dont make sense to me to choose a ship that the majority of passengers on it enjoy dressing up, if you dont and then moan or try to change it.

Look at this from our perspective, the P&O brand is being pushed on us, we chose OV because it was informal. It is possible to dress well without wearing a suit. I have no problems with standing out from a crowd of people mostly wearing cheapo suits bought from Asda or Tesco

There are enough ships and company’s out there providing for all tastes and covering most of the iteneries.

Sadly there is one less from October 2010.

I certainly would not choose to eat in Mc Donalds if I prefer the Ritz and visa versa.

On the face of it that just appears to be a condescending comment. I would personally not dine in either of the places mentioned, not sure what that says about me?

As for me I am versatile, I will dress according to the dress code of the night depending whatever ship I am on. I am on P&O Oceana next and will dress as per the code for the evening, next March I am sailing with Thompson Spirit which is less formal and will again dress accordingly.

As others have said if you dont like sailing out of Southampton for two days ( I actually love the days at sea) then there are always fly cruises.

In other words there are different ships, different styles etc,etc to keep everybody happy,

Not for us and many others post OV, no other cruise line offers exactly what we want. At present NCL are the next best fit for us but we do have some reservations.

what annoys me is when people come along and try to change traditions,

P&O are doing this for you as they are significantly altering their customer base, they need to do a bit more to attract us though.

that a large no of others enjoy. Each to there own.

Each to there own is a good idea - have a couple of ships fully informal and keep the rest formal, offer some fly cruise itineries in the med for those of us that dont live in London, the south east or the home counties. Just in case P&O don't want brand confusion they could re-brand these 2 ships and by coincidence they already have a suitable brand name

[miss-heli]

Holidays (in particular cruises), Religion and Politics are very personal and what what suits one does not suit another.

I stopped advising people on these subjects many years ago and if asked am happy to offer MY opinion.

We are keen cruisers and have tried the whole spectrum from Island escape to Courtyard Villas with private pools and Butlers and to be honest nothing is perfect and ALL have something to offer.

As we live 40 minutes from southampton the joy of bypassing the airport chaos is a big draw............we also sail in the peak holiday season so the 2 sea days at the start and finish are often fine and warm and nicely relax you for upcoming sightseeing etc.

Having said that when we travel out of season we have flown and have found that OK.

OV is relaxing and the nearest comparison is NCL.

We were on the Jade last year and although you are paying in dollars the cruise cost in the first place so was so cheap that the overall spend was still tremendous value for money.

Now the Jade was not for us but the choice of dining was FANTASTIC and as I said before every ship has something to offer.

Plenty of research, flexibility and an open mind are your best tools along with an ear open to other peoples observations

Happy Cruising

[Johnthed0g]

I just go with the flow, been on most of P&O's ships as well as Celebrity & QE2 AND OV liked all of them in their way, if they require dressing for dinner we do if they don't ....well we still like to think we make an effort, some don't seem to understand the "smart" part of "smart casual", saw one bloke on Artemis recently in ripped (no doubt expensive) jeans t-shirt & trainers.

[David&Heather]

I just go with the flow, been on most of P&O's ships as well as Celebrity & QE2 AND OV liked all of them in their way, if they require dressing for dinner we do if they don't ....well we still like to think we make an effort, some don't seem to understand the "smart" part of "smart casual", saw one bloke on Artemis recently in ripped (no doubt expensive) jeans t-shirt & trainers.

 

You will get blackballed for admitting to cruising with OV:D

 

I do not like ripped jeans, sleveless t shirts, football shirts, baseball caps, trainers etc and wont wear them, however I do not feel compelled to dictate to others what they should wear. I am also a firm believer that one thing you should leave at home whilst on holiday is intollerance as it is sure to spoil your holliday if you dont.

 

Please prove me wrong but, from the evidence on this forum, I feel that there is a hell of a lot of intollerance and snobbishness aboard P&O ships and that puts me off far more than the penguin suits or long drive to Southampton.

[stopgo]

who is that then?

 

Not our Gerry,as he has been on Ventura and still knocks her.:rolleyes:

 

The NBs and Laconia, check out page one Rear Balcony On Ventura topic.

[David&Heather]

The NBs and Laconia, check out page one Rear Balcony On Ventura topic.

 

Had a look at that and it's doing nothing to change my opinion on P&O cruisers.

[lancashire_cruisers]

Living slightly further North than Manchester I can't say that I'd describe the drive to Southampton as a nightmare.

 

In the 7 or so years of driving to Southampton for our P&O cruises I've never found it to be an issue. Five hours door to ship including stops and without trying to break the land speed record beats the hassle of airports for me hands down.

 

Debbie:) (a non-George @ Asda wearing PandO cruiser;))

[David&Heather]

You are very lucky, I once managed it in a similar time but the M6 usually causes problems somewhere.

 

Having said that 5 hours is a very long time to be in a car, we managed home to OV2 in Palma in a very similar time last October with the added bonus of not then having to spend 2 days cruising the English Channel to get to the med.

[GixxerGal]

On a lighter note -- no one ha s mentioned EASYCRUISE!! . you dont need to wear anything (much) on their from what I have seen lol ;)

[KarenR_UK]

On a lighter note -- no one ha s mentioned EASYCRUISE!! . you dont need to wear anything (much) on their from what I have seen lol ;)

 

Even they are changing - have a look on their board, some not very happy people there when I last looked:eek:

[supered]

Please prove me wrong but, from the evidence on this forum, I feel that there is a hell of a lot of intollerance and snobbishness aboard P&O ships and that puts me off far more than the penguin suits or long drive to Southampton.

I can't give you definative proof but there was no evidence of the intollerance and snobbishness on board Ventura and Oceana when we sailed on them. We came across some moaning minnies but managed to avoid them quickly and not let it spoil our holiday. :eek:

 

Personally we love dressing up but would not criticise anyone for wanting to do something different.

 

Happy cruising!

 

Eddie :)

[Johnthed0g]

Trouble is people continually ask about dress codes, If you answer, as I usually do to try & help these poor souls who don't seem to be able to understand the brochure /website you then get accused of being a snob/elitist/telling people what to wear or whatever...even if your reply is to quote P&O's requirements they still think it is YOU telling them. There is nothing snobbish about pointing out/confirming the dress code to those who ask, but also to be honest who hasn't sat in the bar people watching & said blimey! look at the state of that, haven't they got a mirror??

[David&Heather]

Trouble is people continually ask about dress codes, If you answer, as I usually do to try & help these poor souls who don't seem to be able to understand the brochure /website you then get accused of being a snob/elitist/telling people what to wear or whatever...even if your reply is to quote P&O's requirements they still think it is YOU telling them.

 

I am sure that is the case with some posters but all the current OV customers are presently getting the hard sell by P&O who are telling us that Ventura is a viable alternative to OV, having been browsing this forum for a while and having joined in some of the discussions the conclusion is that P&O are not for us.

 

There is nothing snobbish about pointing out/confirming the dress code to those who ask,

 

Fine, no problems with that, just do it in a civilised and non condesending manner.

 

but also to be honest who hasn't sat in the bar people watching & said blimey! look at the state of that, haven't they got a mirror??

 

Certainly have, but never felt the urge to give them a public dressing down, I get the feeling some on here would do exactly that.

[Johnthed0g]

Sometimes one can appear condescending when trying to explain something that is written down perfectly clearly, especially if some just look to find fault. Difficult sometimes to get over in written form.

[madison quest]

agree john the dog with your comments,

 

people choose to go on cruises for many reasons, ours is because we have an autistic son and the thought of shutting him onto an aeroplane does not apeal very much! but he is quite happy to go onto a ship as big as pando's and have lots of things to do as we sail to new places.

 

we have not had any trouble with the dress code my husband and sons wear dark suits and white shirts and ties on formal nights, and have never looked out of place. i wear a cocktail style of dress and a few bits of bling to brighten the dress up. no big deal.. its easy, why is there so many people who make such a fuss over this. nobody will notice you anyway as long as you blend in!!!

[vizzog]

I have read with much interest all the comments regarding the P&O threads and I do agree there are some very pompus answers to some questions asked especially around dress code. Also there have been some extremely helpful and encouraging answers to questions we have asked.

 

We in the end have booked not one but two P&O cruises :eek::eek: both choosen for their itineraries and durations.

 

My husband has even bought his first ever dinner jacket as we have 5 formal nights on our first cruise! There are arguments for both formal and informal cruises but we think we cannot compare if we have never tried both. We have loved our cruises on OV but with it soon to be no more time for something different.

(We have booked balcony cabins on both ships so can always hide away and order room service!!:o I am sure that will not be the case.)

 

I do tend to agree with the comment that the dress code aboard the Ventura and Oceana will possibly be more relaxed in future as already this year the semi formal nights have been dropped. On our 2 week Caribbean cruise next Feb we have opted for Freedom dining and at the mo have 4 formal nights the rest smart casual. If we are informed of any more changes to this I will post a thread.

 

I will post my thoughts and experiences on this subject once we have done our August cruise perhaps it might help other OV passengers choosing future cruise options.

(This reply also posted on the OV boards)

[ROSEBASKETS]

agree john the dog with your comments,

 

people choose to go on cruises for many reasons, ours is because we have an autistic son and the thought of shutting him onto an aeroplane does not apeal very much! but he is quite happy to go onto a ship as big as pando's and have lots of things to do as we sail to new places.

 

 

Hi, Welcome, we too have an autistic son, 7y/o and we highly recommend cruising, but don't be scared of flying with your child. Manchester airport (if you are anywhere near) caters especially for autistic children and has a policy to allow people with ASD to get on the plane and familiarise themselves with the plane before anyone else gets on, they give you priority seating at the front of the plane so if your child (like mine) kicks the hell out of the seat in front it doesn't matter. They provide an information pack with pictograms and info on what happens while boarding and up in the air as well as a steward or the pilot taking time before take off to explain exactly what will happen, it's great and I would highly recommend it.

 

Stay off the American ships if you want to send your child to the kids club, stick with P&O OV or Thomsons as their kids staff have qualified staff trained to deal with autistic kids, where as the US ships have graduates in things like georraphy or history with no formal childcare qualifications.

 

SORRY to go off at a tangent / jump off track but I thought you may like the information so you could consider other cruiselines.

[Johnthed0g]

We enjoyed our OV cruise very much ..in fact there seemed to be more going on on that ship. Trouble was some people seemed to think that no dress code meant no class/ style/respect for others at all, it was fine 1st week but some of the lot that got on 2nd week were awful.

[berlingo]

I agree with cool cruiser comment about OV. We thought it was a lovely ship with great facilities but felt it did not match our own expectations of a cruise holiday. I accept this was partly our own fault but as with most things in life you have to try things for yourself before you can be sure.

We came away from OV (which was only our second cruise)with a much clearer idea of what we actually wanted from a cruise. We realised that for us that we wanted a more formal/stylish cruise with an opportunity to dress up, waiter service dinner, good food and pretty ports of call plus to share this with others who are looking for similar things from their holiday. However we also want a family friendly environment with excellent children facilities.

Perhaps again we are wanting too much but we have chosen to try Ventura. It is however a little worrying that so many comments seem to be about the lowering of standards. I am now worried we have literally missed the boat as far as P&O is concerned.

[Johnthed0g]

Exactly what we thought too, we just wanted something a bit for formal & P&O is formal enough for us ....Cunard's idea of Smart Casual is taking your tie off!!