joeholiday2

As someone from the States who has long admired P&O and its rich history, if they want to emphasize the "Britishness" of their ships they could start by returning London as the port of registry for their ships and maintain officers from the UK only...

 

Totally agree.

They label themselves as Britain's favourite cruise line, but are registered elsewhere. Bad form!

 

The livery is just plain tacky....

I feel a duck moment coming on.....

yeh... it worked...

Go to user cp, delete the code in your signature.

We never reserved a table, but always waited for the same waiter (Manny).

Sometimes after seeing the Maitre De we would have to wait on the settees outside for up to half an hour.

We never minded, it was relaxing sat there with a G&T, people-watching.

 

8 Pm is the busiest time, I would say 7:15 to 7:30 and you will normally get in without waiting, after 7:30 you will normally end up queuing on the stairs. Of course all cruises can vary

Be careful with insurance....

 

We had a policy with the bank account we had, have just cancelled the "extras" side of the bank account so had to go looking for insurance.

 

Upon looking I have found that some insurance have clauses like this one from Diamond insurance:

"You must add cruise cover to your policy if you are going on a cruise, without the cruise cover upgrade your main travel policy will be invalid."

 

The cruise cover was £20 extra for a couples annual policy.

 

We found the best deal on moneysupermarket, using their link was cheaper than buying direct.

 

A lot of the cheaper policies only have a small cancellation limit, so you might have to go "premium".

We should all be on commission from the Son Matias on here:D

This is the sixth day that this thread has been up, and no response from Thomson:eek:

 

They have said in the past that they regularly check this forum and will respond when necessary:rolleyes:

 

Lets face it, they are a business and only after the money, they could be bothered to phone me up yesterday to try and sell an upgrade. When asked if we could reserve the cabin whilst we were on they said no, you have to phone the other number, yet another money making scheme as they keep you hanging on....

 

They know only a small percentage of customers read this forum, so if they upset their loyal followers so what, another new one will be along in a minute.

How many on here have been recognised as repeat customers with a bottle of cheap wine? One or two?

 

What REALLY came out of the Q&A? They are just paying us lip service.

 

As the reviews keep coming in they keep saying the same thing, food worse, staff cuts, come on Thomson, sort it out!

April.

The Son Matias is nice, we went years ago and many on here still recommend it.

 

There is a thread on here about it:

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1960586

 

The Camp De Mar hotel is nice too, (again we did it many years ago) but as Campolady says it is a bit remote. On balance we would do the Son Matias over this one.

If you do it Cappers make sure you book midships cabin, we were tossed around like being in a tumble dryer some nights in our cabin right at the front of the Oceana. It was bad going, but fine on the way back, that's the unpredictability of the BOB....

We liked La Coruna, we just walked over to the lighthouse and around towards the long beach. Not an awful lot there, but pleasant enough to walk around. The Deportivo stadium is right in the centre of town, and the aquarium is supposed to be good. There is a funicular that goes up to a viewpoint, we fancied that but never made it there as the ship left around 3pm.

There is always the trip to Compostela de Santiago if you feel the need for spiritual enlightenment.

Not done any of the other places.

DW is also 50 this year and we will be on the Majesty, she says there is nowhere else she would rather be than on a Thomsons ship.

PS. find the town hall square in La Coruna, walk up the steps to the left of the town hall and have a look inside the church to the left, it's really nice.

Yes, it's a lovely Hotel, with a nice bar.

 

The Botanical Gardens are worth a walk over to, and up the trail to the top of the hill if you can manage the very steep walk. It's hard going in the heat.

 

This is the Dream docked, taken from the top of the hill:

https://joeholiday2.shutterfly.com/pictures/1612

Manhattan does it for me.

American Horses Neck is nice too. (I hope it's still on the list)

Cracking review Geo, thank you.

 

I would agree with this comment, it applies to the Oceana too:

"I can safely say that i did not feel the thomsons happy village atmosphere on the ventura, people were friendly enough but going about their private day enjoying their own thing"

 

Also, as you say there is more polish on the ship, but not the underlying camaraderie between the staff and passengers, or even passengers to passengers.

You can remove or reduce the gratuities on P&O. It's £3.50 each per day.

We had them halved as we felt the service was not that good, and then tipped the cabin Stewardess separately.

 

The drinks were not too dear, I was mainly drinking bottled (500ml) london pride, think it was £3.45 or £3.25 a bottle. The Draught beer was £3.70 a pint.

The 6 bottle red wine package was really good, £90, but the quality was excellent, all nice wines that are normally priced around £18, so a good saving. The house wine was around £9 for half a carafe and £16 for a litre, this too was really good quality.

We like a G&T before dinner and usually have a couple each on Thomsons, we didn't bother on P&O, and had our own in the cabin as we got ready, I think they wanted around £3.70 for the gin and the tiny mixer cans were 90p each, so that worked out quite dear. You also have to bear in mind the Thomson (official) measures are 40ml, the P&O are a standard 25ml and that would have been measured rather than the usual 5 second pour on a Thomson ship...;)

 

 

Whilst I have said I am glad to be back on the Majesty next, I wouldn't discount trying another P&O, maybe the Ventura as Geo seems to like it. It's just the staff are not as friendly and the entertainment not as good. The food was on a par we have had on previous Thomson ships.

 

Reading some of the latest reviews of Dream and Celebration is worrying though regarding the food and the cut backs on staff levels.

Thomson need to sort it soon, otherwise they may lose pax to other lines and they may never come back.

I never knew that most of the outsides have baths, just thought it was one odd one or two.

 

What about the insides though? Was I unlucky getting just a shower?

Great review Geo, you are selling it to me.

I thought that a single standard UK 3 pin socket was supposed to be in all cabins by now.

They are to take the kettle. (it probably needs the extra power)

 

I don't know how powerful the hairdryer is, I don't think you are allowed to take your own anyway.

 

Shallwe, you would need to put the pictures on a photosharing website like flickr or the one I use. What type of socket did the kettle plug in to?

We have had both an Outside plus and a normal inside.

 

As Linda says the seating area is slightly bigger on the Plus's, but they also all have a bath with a shower over it.

 

The normal Insides and Outsides just have a shower, there are reports of some having a bath, but I don't know which ones they are.

 

We didn't miss the extra size of the Plus cabin, but then we only use it for showering and sleeping.

 

My pics from last March:

https://joeholiday2.shutterfly.com/pictures/1550

Hi Geo, good to have you back safe and sound. hope you get the tree problem sorted without too much bother.

 

oh dear...yes...dont so many other ships passengers always feel so sorry for us poor thomsons....little do they know (taps nose):p;)

 

We had a comment like that on the last P&O cruise:

"Oh you were on that little Thomson thing behind us in Dubrovnik?"

Reply: "Yes we were, and we had around 5 hours longer in Dubrovnik too... we managed to get all the way to Cavat as well as explore Dubrovnik"

 

Can't wait for your comparison with the Ventura.

 

Try the Santiago rum in Cuba, it's what lot of locals drink rather than the Havana Club.

In case you have not seen them these are the pictures I took of Celebration last May just after the AHEM "platinum" upgrade.

 

https://joeholiday2.shutterfly.com/pictures/1649

 

Explorers has now changed into a coffee shop, and there are new balconies, hopefully someone will post some pictures of those soon.

Pictures are up if anyone's interested.

 

https://joeholiday2.shutterfly.com/pictures

 

Videos being added right now, give it a few hours...

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/joeholiday2

Shamelessly pinched from a thread on the P&O board:

 

http://www.beachesofbarbados.com/

 

Thought some on here would like it, the baby video is so cute, don't forget to have the sound on.

Hi StPiran.

 

Copied from the P&O Vs thread.....

 

Casablanca... Hmm, I think you are doing the best thing doing a trip.

We just walked off the ship and along the front to see the big Mosque, it's very impressive. We then spent the rest of the day sunbathing on the ship.

 

Many we spoke to got the shuttle bus to the main square and got straight back on to come back. They also said the shuttle bus was disgusting, filthy and full of gum on the seats. We never walked into the town properly, just along the front, but never felt threatened like we did in Alexandria. We are back in April, but will more than likely just treat it as a sunbathing day on the ship.

 

Cadiz is lovely.... very walkable and loads to see.

It's great if you like Churches, some are really nice inside. We didn't do the Cathedral (€5 each) but the small Church in the same square is gorgeous inside, don't miss it. We also found the Holy Cave Church (€3 each) which has some Goya paintings inside, it's small but we thought it was well worth the entrance fee.

It's on a street called Rosario, and you would not think it was a Church from the outside. It's worth tracking down though, it took us ages to find it.

 

http://www.cadizturismo.com/media/pu...pdf/4walkl.pdf

This map gives some good walks, but it's easy just to do your own thing with the map.

 

When we are there in April, I think we will head for Seville on the train if time permits.

 

Will put some pictures of the ports up when I get them all sorted...

 

I don't know what the trips from casablanca are like, you may get a response from someone who has done them.

Just found this on youtube.

 

You don't get fun with the staff on P&O like that.....

Casablanca... Hmm, I think you are doing the best thing doing a trip.

We just walked off the ship and along the front to see the big Mosque, it's very impressive. We then spent the rest of the day sunbathing on the ship.

 

Many we spoke to got the shuttle bus to the main square and got straight back on to come back. They also said the shuttle bus was disgusting, filthy and full of gum on the seats. We never walked into the town properly, just along the front, but never felt threatened like we did in Alexandria. We are back in April, but will more than likely just treat it as a sunbathing day on the ship.

 

Cadiz is lovely.... very walkable and loads to see.

It's great if you like Churches, some are really nice inside. We didn't do the Cathedral (€5 each) but the small Church in the same square is gorgeous inside, don't miss it. We also found the Holy Cave Church (€3 each) which has some Goya paintings inside, it's small but we thought it was well worth the entrance fee.

It's on a street called Rosario, and you would not think it was a Church from the outside. It's worth tracking down though, it took us ages to find it.

 

http://www.cadizturismo.com/media/publications/pdf/4walkl.pdf

This map gives some good walks, but it's easy just to do your own thing with the map.

 

When we are there in April, I think we will head for Seville on the train if time permits.

 

Will put some pictures of the ports up when I get them all sorted...

Ok guys, you get the exclusive first look.....

 

I have sent this in as a review, won't publicize it on the P&O board as I expect to be shot down in flames on there....;)

 

Oceana E330.

 

We are seasoned Thomson Cruisers, having been on 8 or 9 of their cruises, one NCL and once on the Oceana around 2 years ago, so you have an idea what we are comparing to....

 

The ship was very similar to how we found it 2 years ago, modern and new looking compared to the Thomson ships we are used to. The food was good, nothing spectacular, but good quality and well presented.

 

The weather was poor on the BOB crossing and to say we were in a force 9 at times the ship handled it well, it got better as we headed home. We were in cabin F229 (we did book late) which is right at the front, so some nights were sleepless. It was like being in a tumble dryer sometimes. The cabin was spotless and kept well by Joris our lovely Stewardess. The only good weather we had was in Casablanca, the rest of the ports having dull days. I would have to think hard about whether to do a similar cruise at this time of year again, the Canaries or Caribbean being a better option.

 

This was a Christmas cruise but it was no party ship. 12.30am Christmas Day and the ship was dead, they had all gone off to bed. This doesn’t happen on a normal Thomson ship night never mind Christmas. There was no atmosphere on the ship, this probably comes down to the entertainment team, they don’t mingle with the guests and get people involved in anything. After the main shows finish there is not a lot going on, no late night cabaret from the show team that gets everyone up dancing, the disco is quiet, it’s just a hot chocolate or horlicks and bed....

 

The acts performing were good, Lloyd the Comedian was good, Clem Curtis (singer ex Foundations) and Matthew McGurk the magician were excellent. Howard Hughes the Children’s Magician was also excellent, great shows and he along with his wife were wonderful company on the dinner table. However the rest of the entertainment left something to be desired. The headliners company could be considered to be OK as long as you have not been spoiled by Thomson show teams in the past. These guys probably work about a quarter of the hours the Thomson teams do, hence the atmosphere on the ship.... It was however good to have real life backing Musicians to the shows, they really are professional. Having two good venues to perform in I found it strange that on some nights there would be one of the acts in one venue and a film being shown in the other, where were the show team?

 

In general the waiting on service was slow and poor. We waited half an hour one night for a drink, and the lounge was mostly empty, this was not uncommon. It took 1.5 hours to have Lunch in the MDR one day, and a lot of the evening services took around 2 hours. Again there is no atmosphere in the MDR, too few staff waiting on, most (but not all) are miserable, no groups of waiters going around playing guitars and singing if they a spare 5 minutes (which these guys do not have). I get the impression that the staff are told not to get too friendly or interact with the guests, just do your job with a stiff upper lip.

 

On Christmas Day the kids were all meeting Santa on his sleigh, parents were told they could not take their own pictures and were being turned on by the ship’s Photographers. Come on guys, we know you have a job to do but it’s Christmas Day for crying out loud!

 

One excellent service was the Eavesway coach transfer, they have been dropped by P&O as they want a large upfront payment to be the “preferred” provider. If you need a coach service to Southampton I suggest you take any OBC offered instead of the P&O coach service and give Eavesway a call, it will more than likely work out cheaper for a guaranteed quality service. There was a free WiFi connection on the coach back too.

 

Would we go back on P&O? Yes we would, as despite these little niggles we did have a good time, and a cruise is as much about the itinerary as the ship, and after all we wouldn’t get entertainment this good in a 5 star Hotel anywhere for the price we paid.

 

Still, glad I’m back on Thomson Majesty for my next cruise though.

 

 

Having read some of the comments on this forum, I will make some additional notes.

The background music is present on P&O too, the only quiet place we could find was in the Library or the card room. The music was so loud that I could not sit and watch a downloaded Iplayer programme, even with the headphones on full volume.

 

On the whole the cruise was good, I just think that we are more Thomson's type of people, yep the ships aren't as good but it's the staff that make it for us. A lot of the staff on P&O are Indian, so they are more reserved than the Filipino/Indonesian crew members that we have come to think of as our friends on the Thomson ships.

 

If anyone wants reviews of the ports, La Caruna, Casablanca, Cadiz, and Lisbon, just shout.

 

BTW, the sea was that rough that some families got off at Casablanca and flew home....

We found the Avomine that P&O sell at reception (£3.60 for 10 tablets) better than Stugeron, kwells, or travel-eez.