PaulManchester

To be fair, I have zero problem with your view on this and therein lies the possible answer. For those who now think P and O are too cheap and attracting “the wrong type of passenger” there are dozens of alternatives that cost far more and attract a different type of fellow guest. Personally I think P and O get it far more right than wrong and I love the mix of people onboard but that’s only my opinion and the opposite view is equally valid. And easy to achieve. For those who don’t like travelling with people who remind them of Butlins or Benidorm Simply book a far more expensive cruise. It’s not difficult. But it’s always been thus and probably always will be. We’re British and we’re never happy if we’re not complaining and comparing ourselves to others. I used to hear variants of the same complaints 30 years ago about P and O and how they were “dumbing down to suit the masses” etc. They were, are, and always will be a mass-market, budget-mid tier cruise line. And they’re brilliant at it on the whole. All power to them. I’ll be trying a Saga cruise in a few years and I can’t wait. I love experiencing new things. Vive La difference.

I’m not entirely sure that accessible pricing is the bête-noir that people like to believe it is. I remember a cruise in the late 1980’s where I had the misfortune to witness a rather well to do gentleman beating seven shades out of another gentleman and spitting on his victims wife after an argument in a very genteel bar onboard the QE2. Some people are just bad people and income/ professional life rarely , if ever, is a factor. Cruising is now an option for so many more people than it used to be and is all the better for it.

I’ve been on both P and O as well as Royal, and several times on each at that, across a variety of ships and itineraries. Both are great, and have a lot to offer. in my personal opinion (and that’s all it is, an opinion) I would say that P and O are better value as the cruise is invariably a lot less upfront, as well as cheaper on board (I’m thinking drinks in bars and speciality restaurants) and I really cannot fault them for the prices they charge. They should be openly congratulated for pricing their offer such as to make the joy of cruising open to as many people as possible. Sadly, dependant on the make up of your fellow passengers that can be an issue, as on two occasions I have witnessed passengers making spurious complaints onboard as they were clearly disgruntled that people who they “wouldn’t be seen dead sitting alongside at home” (a direct verbatim quote from one lovely gentleman on the Ventura a couple of years ago who was annoyed that he had to share his dining table with “council house dwellers” (another verbatim quote). That however is not a P and O problem, it is a lack of manners and common human decency problem. Royal I would say are definitely more glitzy and “exciting” onboard and, whilst this is of course subjective, I think their food offering is better. More varied certainly. I also think their speciality restaurants are better (but also more expensive). If both lines were the same price I would go with Royal every time but as there is a significant price difference, both lines offer fantastic value for money and both have a deserved place in the market. Have a read of the reviews for both lines to get an idea of what you are booking - but ignore those reviews mentioning “Butlins”, “Beer-Swilling”, “football shirts” and the ubiquitous, but very popular “underwear from previous passenger left under the bed” (or variants thereof) - as these reviews (which both lines have aplenty, with perhaps a few more for P and O as they have more British passengers per head) are guaranteed to be untrue/ hugely exaggerated, and basically a more socially acceptable way of saying “I don’t like sharing a holiday with people I (incorrectly, obviously) think are beneath me”. In short, book with either line. I can 99.9% guarantee you’ll have a wonderful time. Bon Voyage.

And this ladies and gentleman is why this poster is my favourite on here. Superb, and very accurate 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Never, ever, EVER, take any notice of excessively negative reviews. They are invariably written by liars. A fun game we always play after any holiday is to wait a couple of weeks and then read the reviews for the cruise/land Holiday we have just been on. Many reviews ARE fair of course, even less than perfect ones naturally, but some are hilariously hyperbolic in their condemnation. Cruise reviews of this nature invariably stick to a well worn path, utilising several popular and oft-used stock phrases. Some examples: “Food was like school dinners” ”Butlins on Sea” (Butlins is a fantastic holiday camp company in the UK, but for some reason I’ve never understood, a very small (but determined to “jolly well have their say”) number of cruise reviewers use it as a pejorative. “Balcony not cleaned once the whole cruise” ”Balcony covered in rust” ”Cups and Saucers in the room not replaced daily, even after use” ”Underwear from the previous passenger found under the bed” (why is it always underwear that the slovenly, lazy, cabin steward forgets to remove and never a tee-shirt or a blouse???) ”Waited up to 30 minutes to be served in the bar” ”Food in MDR was cold” ”Waiter in MDR didn’t greet me or look me in the eye at all, for the entire cruise” ”I received my starter, main course, dessert , and coffee before my companion had even received their starter” ”Couldn’t get into a single show all cruise as seats were always taken despite arriving an hour before showtime each day” In over 40 years of travel I have never, not once, experienced any of the above complaints, nor do I know of anyone that has, but they are there in so many excessively negative reviews. As sure as night follows day. There are several more stalwarts of the lesser-spotted uber-complainer but I’m typing this on a phone and my fingers are tired. The point is, if you read a review that is excessively negative you can be pretty confident in assuming that it is a pile of steaming horse ‘stuff’. Particularly if it contains a selection of the above stock complaints. As an added game, count how many times the enraged reviewer mentions two things 1) How many cruises they have done in the past (“30-40” usually), and 2) How many cruises they have booked over the following 6-12 months with the relevant cruise line (invariably “I’m now having doubts about my 2-week cruise to the med in six weeks, and my canaries cruise a month later and don’t get me started on the 35-nighter we are due to depart on, the week after we get back from the canaries”) For a bit of fun have a look at the review section on this site, go to reviews for the British line P and O cruises, (we Brits love a good moan and whinge), filter it for one star reviews and within one or two pages you will see some of the above phrases used over and over. In short, go and enjoy your cruise. It will almost certainly be excellent and fantastic value for money. Good luck.

Absolutely agree about the cruise. I honestly don’t know how they did it but we were thinking the ship could feel hugely overcrowded with three full sea days, and school holidays on top, but she just…didn’t. I’ve not been on a ship with such seemingly happy crew for a long time either. They were all fabulous. Royal sometimes get a bit of a slating, as they do cost a little bit more than some of their more direct competitors, but I have to say, this whole cruise from start to finish was exceptional. Onboard within five minutes of parking the car, superb balcony cabin with the best cabin steward I’ve ever had (Stanley, deck six), wonderful food, great entertainment, marvellous ports of call (huge shout out to Cadiz above them all), and to top it off walked off the ship with no queue at 7am this morning. Just wonderful.

I’m on the ship with you and totally agree about Katie. She’s been very very good. Extremely approachable and friendly and has a good sense of humour too. A quick, non-related, question if I may.. did you find the ship was unbearably cold until about Tuesday? We have never been so cold on a ship before in over 20 years. It was becoming unbearable in all the public areas. Not just the cold, but the force of the fans. it might well of been only us of course but it was incredibly cold until like I said, about Tuesday/Wednesday. Other than that (admittedly “first world problem”) this cruise has been absolutely fantastic. Never been on Anthem before and we have loved her. Am extra special shout out to Daniel Marks in the schooner bar. He has made our cruise. A brilliant, lovely guy.

Thank you for your reply. Sadly, what you say makes sense. Ah well, I shall have to carry on travelling to Southampton. First world problem I know.

My apologies for veering slightly off topic here, but given the discussion about which RCI ships are/should/we would like to see sailing from the uk, do any more experienced RCI customers reckon there is any slight chance of Royal porting a ship in Liverpool one day to sail the fjords and/or Northern Europe?? Its probably a selfish ask on my behalf but living in the north west of England, having a Royal ship half an hour from my front door would mean I could probably cruise an extra cruise each year. God I’d love it, albeit I suspect it wouldn’t be possible

I’ve posted about her before but worth repeating. If you have a chance to see her onboard, do it. She is absolutely amazing and quite simply the best cruise ship entertainer I’ve ever seen. She is THAT good. I was fortunate enough to see her on Ventura in October, and to say she had the crowd in the palm of her hand would be an understatement. Just a fantastic act.

I’m not sure why people use the term “budget cruise line” as some sort of pejorative term. Isnt it to be celebrated? 30 years ago, people who worked in shops, drove buses, or worked in factories would struggle to afford a cruise. At least without a couple of years worth of saving up beforehand. Nowadays they can experience the delight of a cruise a lot more easily. Isnt that a good thing? If anyone wishes to experience a cruise that costs multiple £100’s pppn with 5* service, entertainment, and amenities, they are free to do so. Those lines exist and service a marketplace. But P & O, Royal Caribbean, Princess, and even Cunard ain’t it. I have enjoyed cruising for decades and I think it’s fantastic that the industry is now reaching out to a group that were excluded from it on economic grounds until a few years ago. It’s marvellous and for me has vastly enriched the feel on those ships that cater for this relatively new market. And as an aside but on the same theme, why do so many in reviews and other posts use terminology like “Butlins at Sea” and “Food like school dinners” when describing life onboard? I’ve heard that butlins is a brilliant holiday but it is used as a pejorative when describing cruises and cruise lines. Not sure why. As for food, I went to a school that cost my parents many thousands per year in the 70s and the food was terrible compared to even the buffet on a cruise ship. I wish I’d gone to a school that catered the way that even ‘budget’ cruise lines do! Lastly, when writing a 1* review, why do our fellow cruisers “swill” or “sup” lager or beer instead of simply drinking it? Theres nowt so strange as folk I suppose.

This site would be a lot nicer if some of the people using it were just more honest. Nowadays, thankfully, with the expansion of the cruising industry over recent years, a cruise holiday, even one around the Caribbean, is within the financial reach of people and families that couldn’t possibly have experienced a cruise even 10-15 years ago. This means it is less exclusive, and certainly less of a status symbol to go on a cruise. Most people, like myself, welcome this and see it as a great thing. I’ve been cruising for many many years and often return to P and O precisely because they are a budget cruise line, and relative to the industry, they always have been. They ALWAYS have been. I love the different types of passenger one gets to interact with on a typical P and O sailing. Sadly, and predictably, some people will never forgive P and O for making the joy of cruising more accessible in recent years. You only have to read this and other threads to witness it. I have news for those people: It ain’t gonna change. Even when you thought you were upmarket by cruising on P and O, you weren’t. You were cruising on a line which has always been (certainly in the last 40 years or so) at the more budget end of the industry. And all power to P and O for it. “These type of people” are welcome to sit alongside me on any of my cruises. As they always have been. And do you know how many incidents of poor behaviour towards me and/or my companions my attitude of life and let live have resulted in? None. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Maybe that’s a clue.

Absolutely spot on. Value for money on a modern cruise ship with P and O is, frankly, off the scale. Our evening meal probably works out at around £5pppd. I think that is magnificent. All power to P and O.

I have also cruised with P and O, amongst others of course, for almost 40 years now, and to be completely frank, one of the reasons I have kept returning over the decades is precisely because P&O are, and always have been, unashamedly mid-market to budget in terms of their pricing and their ‘ offer’. And I for one, congratulate them for it. In my experience, they haven’t ever pretended to be anything else. I do believe it is wonderful these days that more and more people are able to enjoy the peculiar delight of a cruise holiday - as we all secretly agree “there’s no other mainstream holiday quite like it”. I can say, hand on heart, I don’t believe I have ever even noticed the standard of clothing being worn by others, nor would I. On those occasions when I have felt like treating myself and my family to a truly upmarket experience, I have done so. SevenSeas and Seabourn have been particular favourites in the past, along with a handful of exquisite private charters (when ironically I didn’t dress formally once). I return to P&O because I have many happy memories of times onboard, and I actively enjoy meeting people from any, and all, walks of life. I often chuckle at my younger self who used to believe P&O were an exclusive cruise line, when the truth is they aren’t now, never were, and likely never will be. And I say all power to them for it. Theres a place for all of us onboard, and that is precisely the way (I believe) it should be. Long may they continue introducing more and more folks, from a huge and expanding variety of social and economic backgrounds to the absolute joy of cruising.