P&O standards

[Whitechapel girl]

Yikes!! First time for us on P&O and so many negative comments on the food, which after all is a massive part of a cruise holiday. I gather food is pre plated and served. Can you ask for a variety of extra vegetables as well with dinner. I love my veg but even I am not sure I could do 7 nights of green beans!!!

[GLYNAGP]

Yikes!! First time for us on P&O and so many negative comments on the food, which after all is a massive part of a cruise holiday. I gather food is pre plated and served. Can you ask for a variety of extra vegetables as well with dinner. I love my veg but even I am not sure I could do 7 nights of green beans!!!

Go with an open mind , were are.

 

Luckily (or not) I'm not really a veg person .

 

I'm sure we will enjoy our P and O cruises. We've done many cruise lines RCI,Celebrity,NCL,Costa, Thomson. All of which are individual in their own way we always adapt and enjoy.

[majortom10]

We have cruised nearly 30 times with P&O since 2000 and had some great cruises but we have only done 3 in the last 3yrs. The last one was Britannia maiden cruise and the food was as good as it has ever been, prior to that the food on our 2 cruises on Oriana and Azura were very poor and we decided to not cruise again after Britannia which was already booked. The food onboard for us is a major part of a cruise so we therefore switched to Princess and Cunard which IMO is far superior. Too many UK cruisers put up with a poor cruise experience with P&O by convincing themselves that the gratuities and drinks are cheap. Granted other cruise lines might be dearer but you get what you pay for and you get a whole lot better cruise experience.

[balf]

You can be certain that if more is spent on food quality less will be spent somewhere else. Why does that make me think of George Osbourn?

 

Goans have a long tradition of working for P&O and there are a number of colleges dedicated to cruise training there.

 

David.

[daiB]

Yikes!! First time for us on P&O and so many negative comments on the food, which after all is a massive part of a cruise holiday. I gather food is pre plated and served. Can you ask for a variety of extra vegetables as well with dinner. I love my veg but even I am not sure I could do 7 nights of green beans!!!

 

 

If you want more veg have a word at the start of the cruise and you will get what you want. On our recent 28 night Ventura cruise one lady had a bowl of mixed veg served with her meal each night. If you feel the portions are small then just ask for a large portion.

 

Interestingly many people on our Britannia and Ventura cruises thought the food had improved. Perhaps the 'memo' had not reached Aurora.

 

 

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[bee-ess]

We have cruised nearly 30 times with P&O since 2000 and had some great cruises but we have only done 3 in the last 3yrs. The last one was Britannia maiden cruise and the food was as good as it has ever been, prior to that the food on our 2 cruises on Oriana and Azura were very poor and we decided to not cruise again after Britannia which was already booked. The food onboard for us is a major part of a cruise so we therefore switched to Princess and Cunard which IMO is far superior. Too many UK cruisers put up with a poor cruise experience with P&O by convincing themselves that the gratuities and drinks are cheap. Granted other cruise lines might be dearer but you get what you pay for and you get a whole lot better cruise experience.

 

Very similar situation to ourselves, we only ever cruise on P&O now on Saver fares as that is about what we feel the product is worth. Once you get into Select fare territory the product is just not as good as Celebrity or Princess and these comments about food standard reinforce our belief. We are trying a P&O saver on Britannia in May to see if we like her in preparation for a Caribbean next spring on either Britannia or Azura as that is one place we do feel that the P&O saver prices are good value with the air fare included. As you say drinks/tips are more expensive on other lines but with Celebrity we can usually get a drinks package included for only a small amount more than a P&O Select fare.

Edited March 24, 2016 by bee-ess

[Clodia]

I haven't had poor food on any P and O cruise as yet and on Aurora last October felt it was as good as ever; I have been cruising with P and O since 2001.

Comments on this forum always make me apprehensive about my next cruise (Back to back April 1st and April 8 th on Azura) but so far things have been alright.

Sometimes I've had one MDR meal I felt was dry or overcooked, but if I have mentioned it to the waiters they have always offered me something else and been most apologetic.

If the food does deteriorate it will likely drive me towards the luxury end of the market because i generally cruise alone and pay enormous single supplements. I've just been working out the cost of going with Silversea, Seabourn or Regent with drinks and tips all included and low supplements for solo cruisers in verandah suites. I always have a balcony with P and O, and really the extra cost for a solo isn't that huge for what you get.

[Eglesbrech]

Part of the reason we have not travelled with P&O in a while was our (perceived) deterioration in the food in the MDR. It is sometimes down to personal taste but I found the offering bland, the quality deteriorating and the choice limited, particularly in the buffet.

 

We are now more used to extensive choice and "always availabe" alternatives in the MDR and buffets that have a huge range on US ships. We went on a cruise with Fred Olsen last year an even it was not too bad food wise.

 

We thought we would give P&O another go and so far I am a bit apprehensive between the poor food reviews here and comments about embarkation issues etc. Food is a big part of a holiday, we have booked into the select venues for 4 nights so that will at least be a change of pace.

 

That I said I will go with a very open mind and one bright point..... I like green beans which appears to be fairly essential!:)

 

If it is cost cutting then they perhaps need to think again because they will lose all but the most loyal passengers. We have come back to give it another go but would not do so again if this next cruise is poor food wise.

 

We booked a saver rate for this cruise but have still paid a more than adequate price to expect a reasonable quality of food, when compared to what we would have got for the same cost on other lines or land based hotels.

 

I am only guessing but the issue might be the very low rates that they now sell saver inside cabins for, when we were looking there was a 14 day cruise where the inside cost was just £649 per person. The food budget based in this price must be extremely low, (even taking account of the double, triple or quadruple prices paid by outsides, balconies, delux and suite customers and perhaps more for select).

[daiB]

I haven't had poor food on any P and O cruise as yet and on Aurora last October felt it was as good as ever; I have been cruising with P and O since 2001.

Comments on this forum always make me apprehensive about my next cruise (Back to back April 1st and April 8 th on Azura) but so far things have been alright.

Sometimes I've had one MDR meal I felt was dry or overcooked, but if I have mentioned it to the waiters they have always offered me something else and been most apologetic.

If the food does deteriorate it will likely drive me towards the luxury end of the market because i generally cruise alone and pay enormous single supplements. I've just been working out the cost of going with Silversea, Seabourn or Regent with drinks and tips all included and low supplements for solo cruisers in verandah suites. I always have a balcony with P and O, and really the extra cost for a solo isn't that huge for what you get.

 

Clodia, snap I also have cruised since 2001 and cruise rather a lot now I take no notice at all of what people say about poor food. I know what I have on the ship and very little I have been served could be called poor. On our last cruise on Ventura on a table of 8 only one meal was sent back. It was a 28 night cruise.

 

The MDR is not a fine dining room it is a mass catering establishment serving 300 people a night. The food is firmly standard British. Which is what most P&O cruisers want. Considering all that they do very well.

[heathcharnock]

 

serving 300 people a night.

 

 

Surely it's more than that ?

[daiB]

Surely it's more than that ?

 

 

So I missed a 0. :) :) :)

 

 

 

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[peteukmcr]

Clodia, snap I also have cruised since 2001 and cruise rather a lot now I take no notice at all of what people say about poor food. I know what I have on the ship and very little I have been served could be called poor. On our last cruise on Ventura on a table of 8 only one meal was sent back. It was a 28 night cruise.

 

The MDR is not a fine dining room it is a mass catering establishment serving 300 people a night. The food is firmly standard British. Which is what most P&O cruisers want. Considering all that they do very well.

But dare I say what most P&O cruisers want is not what many others want and they expect far more in this day and age. Steak pie and chips however you dress it up isn't haute cuisine in anyone's language. P&O are setting back the UK culinary representation by years. Please see the recent feedback on the food quality and then comment.

[brillo]

I have over the years had far poorer food in some supposed superior eating establishments than I have ever had on a cruise.

[jetset763]

Love the fact that if you have an opinion that differs to your own you are shot down! Good isn't it? I'm not going to fall into the trap of replying with negative comments about anyone on here. We did report everything we were unhappy with. We were given a weak standard reply - lots of we are trying to improve our standards and we are sorry. The most disturbing thing was the levels of hygiene- especially in the buffet. There was multiple days where none of the sinks were working. Nobody seemed bothered when we reported it.

 

We also had bad experiences in Java where we were refused cake because we didn't order it when we ordered the coffee ( we tried getting cake literally 20 seconds after ordering) the server refused us point blank. In the glass house we were told there was a 45 minute wait only for a group of staff members (band and entertainment team) were seated before us! Everyone was kicking off about it. We also reported both these things and were given another weak sorry.

 

We have sailed mainly on US liners but that does not justify hard, over cooked meats and veg, poor selection and cold food! Frozen chips and green beans served with almost everything. The choice in the buffet was awful - greasy, soggy, cold and so limited. The breakfast was the same every single day. I have a sweet tooth - the breakfast pastries and muffins were the same tasteless and hard 4 every day. It was not even a patch on our other cruises. Food is a big part of the holiday for us. Had it been on a similar level to our other cruises we would have enjoyed our holiday much more. Sorry but I do have some standards that need to be met.

 

The interior of the ship is beautiful but is it all style over substance? It didn't feel like a really big ship mainly because of the amount of cabins they have crammed on. There were loads of weird dead ends and having to go up and down a level to get to certain sections. We really missed the walk around deck and being able to walk to the front of the ship. There was very little to do during the day - with 8 sea days this became very repetitive. We did the Epicurian last night and it was fantastic, superb food and even better service.

 

 

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Edited March 25, 2016 by jetset763

[peteukmcr]

Love the fact that if you have an opinion that differs to your own you are shot down! Good isn't it? I'm not going to fall into the trap of replying with negative comments about anyone on here. We did report everything we were unhappy with. We were given a weak standard reply - lots of we are trying to improve our standards and we are sorry. The most disturbing thing was the levels of hygiene- especially in the buffet. There was multiple days where none of the sinks were working. Nobody seemed bothered when we reported it.

 

We also had bad experiences in Java where we were refused cake because we didn't order it when we ordered the coffee ( we tried getting cake literally 20 seconds after ordering) the server refused us point blank. In the glass house we were told there was a 45 minute wait only for a group of staff members (band and entertainment team) were seated before us! Everyone was kicking off about it. We also reported both these things and were given another weak sorry.

 

We have sailed mainly on US liners but that does not justify hard, over cooked meats, poor selection and cold food! Sorry but I do have some standards that need to be met.

 

On a positive note the ship is beautiful but is it all style over substance? There was very little to do during the day - with 8 sea days this became very repetitive. We did the Epicurian last night and it was fantastic, superb food and even better service.

 

 

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Totally agree with your comment about having a different opinion than the P&O cheerleaders. From reading this thread though I'd take some comfort from the fact that your experience of poor food is not an isolated incident and appears to be a fleet wide issue. That implies that it is a head office decision to cut back on the per day per passenger food budget, which in turn results in poor quality food.

 

I also wholeheartedly agree with you that there is no excuse for cold food or over cooked dishes however cheap the cuts of meat are.

 

Interesting isn't it that in order to get a good meal you have to pay more and incur the cost of additional cover charge in a speciality restaurant. That tells me everything about what P&O want.

 

I would seriously let P&O know about your experience not only on the end of cruise survey (I assume P&O have those), but also to head office when you return. And everyone else who commented on here about poor quality food, if you haven't already, I'd encourage you to do this too. This applies to poor service too, there is no excuse for that either.

 

Rest assured those who sail US lines do give feedback and that's how things get changed for the better. If you just sit back and accept it, then the corporation will just continue serving the same old quality because they don't know it isn't acceptable unless you tell them.

[bee-ess]

I would seriously let P&O know about your experience not only on the end of cruise survey (I assume P&O have those), but also to head office when you return. And everyone else who commented on here about poor quality food, if you haven't already, I'd encourage you to do this too. This applies to poor service too, there is no excuse for that either.

 

 

I would also suggest that customers unhappy with the food quality post on Facebook as P&O seem to take more notice of that medium.

Although we are not P&O stalwarts, we haven't cruised with them since 2014, we have never had poor quality food on any of their cruises, a bit repetitive in the buffets but nothing we would call poor, although from comments on here it seems to have deteriorated since then. Hope it improves for us on Britannia in 5 weeks time.

Edited March 25, 2016 by bee-ess

[jody75]

We are planning to cruise P&O at the year end, presently still undecided on whether to choose Britannia or Azura. The issues the OP had with the quality of the food is very common across most of the Mass Market cruise lines like P&O. We were die-hard HAL cruiser but the standards have fallen so much that we changed to Celebrity. That was our cruise line of choice and probably still our number one, although food quality in their MDR has dropped, similar to others these days, poor, bland, over seasoned and sometimes served cold.

 

We have heard many complaints, these days we swim with the tide, expect less than perfect as the price they charge has never kept pace with inflation, shame really but still better than most land-based holidays.

 

I hate it when die-hard fans contradict people saying the food is excellent which is seldom the case these days. Which ever ship we choose we will book most nights in the specialty restaurants ahead of the cruise and will enjoy the relaxation of being waited-on hand and foot.

[peteukmcr]

I would also suggest that customers unhappy with the food quality post on Facebook as P&O seem to take more notice of that medium.

Although we are not P&O stalwarts, we haven't cruised with them since 2014, we have never had poor quality food on any of their cruises, a bit repetitive in the buffets but nothing we would call poor, although from comments on here it seems to have deteriorated since then. Hope it improves for us on Britannia in 5 weeks time.

Great idea as it is doubtful P&O read this medium.

 

I hope you find the food good on your upcoming sailing, me too! All buffets can appear repetitive, but still no excuse for poor quality, overcooked (or under for that matter) food.

[Granny bee]

Call me a P & O cheerleader if you like but we have been on other cruise lines, RCI, Princess and Cunard and the only time I have encountered rudeness from a waiter was on the Queen Mary. Imagine any first time cruiser reading all this negativity and wondering if they have made a mistake booking with P &O. Let me assure them they will receive first class service that they never encounter at home. Everyone from cabin stewards to the captain are extremely pleasant. Food is not Michelin star but then it's not meant to be. Some meals are better than others but always a good choice. I notice no complaints about being able to take alcohol on board, cheaper drink prices than on US lines, no 15% additional charge to drinks, cheaper gratuities. So maybe I am a P & O cheerleader after all. On another note we have just received our embarkation time of 3.30 which is fine by us so we intend to have a lunch in the local Wetherspoons as it seems that it might be the only good meal we will have for the forthcoming seventeen days [emoji41][emoji41][emoji41]

[daiB]

Call me a P & O cheerleader if you like but we have been on other cruise lines, RCI, Princess and Cunard and the only time I have encountered rudeness from a waiter was on the Queen Mary. Imagine any first time cruiser reading all this negativity and wondering if they have made a mistake booking with P &O. Let me assure them they will receive first class service that they never encounter at home. Everyone from cabin stewards to the captain are extremely pleasant. Food is not Michelin star but then it's not meant to be. Some meals are better than others but always a good choice. I notice no complaints about being able to take alcohol on board, cheaper drink prices than on US lines, no 15% additional charge to drinks, cheaper gratuities. So maybe I am a P & O cheerleader after all. On another note we have just received our embarkation time of 3.30 which is fine by us so we intend to have a lunch in the local Wetherspoons as it seems that it might be the only good meal we will have for the forthcoming seventeen days [emoji41][emoji41][emoji41]

 

 

Sums it up perfectly.

 

 

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[tartanexile81]

On another note we have just received our embarkation time of 3.30 which is fine by us so we intend to have a lunch in the local Wetherspoons as it seems that it might be the only good meal we will have for the forthcoming seventeen days [emoji41][emoji41][emoji41]

 

No you'll be fine. Food on Oceana was on a par with Wetherspoons :D

 

Seriously, I'm usually very positive about P&O (we've spent 140 nights on Oceana previous to this and loved every minute) but I'm not going to pretend that we thought the food on our recent cruise was anything but the poorest we've ever had. We always book as soon as the booking window opens but we didn't pay a future cruise deposit this time and we're not booking P&O again till we've been on Ventura next Jan so we know if it was just a one-off. Sorry if you think we shouldn't be making negative comments but I think we should be honest. I will be doing a review when I get time about all aspects of the cruise so people can judge.

Edited March 25, 2016 by tartanexile81

[tartanexile81]

just a quick p.s. I've read this on that huge social media site Faceache and I think it justifies what we've been saying.

 

Hearing from family who are currently on Aurora's world cruise and also seen very similar on another cruise forum that the food onboard is very poor and even gone as far as having a meeting with F&B Manager, Executive Purser and Executive Chef. They admitted that the food budget was decreased when the menu's changed at the end of 2015 and apparently the Executive Chef said he was not happy with the quality of food given to him but he could only serve with what was provided. If this is all true this is a very worrying admission and surely P&O are sliding very quickly to the bottom of the barrel. I and am sure many others see the food served as a major part of any cruise holiday and if that isn't right then the cruise is not very enjoyable.

[jetset763]

I didn't have bad service apart from the incident at Java. The only place we had good service was in the Epicurian and our room steward. Everywhere else was just bla...most of the crew looked miserable.

 

 

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[tankmc]

Saying that the OP is used to American Liners is a poor excuse. These american Liners also sail form the UK and Europe and this is only increasing. These are therefore P&Os direct competition and the OP has every right to compare them.

 

I was also on the Britannia Transatlantic crossing and was bitterly disappointed. I so wanted to like this ship but was left confirming every concern I had of P&O prior to sailing.

 

The food was atrocious. I have ate better meals at a Wetherspoons than onboard.

 

The biggest offender was the main dining room which was a absolute shambles. I visited it three times before giving up. For the remainder of the cruise was left to eating in the buffet as at least then I didn't have to wait for a replacement dish and could just choose a different option if it was bad.

 

The staff on board did there job but with no enthusiasm at all except in the Speciality Dining restaurants where the service was incredible.

 

You could not sit in a public area without been harassed constantly asking if you would like a drink. I felt like i had to just leave a little bit of my drink left so I would not be asked. On one occasion i was asked 7 times in a row by different staff members if I would like another drink in the Live Lounge. It actually became a running joke but It made me feel like I could not sit in any public area without buying a drink.

 

On a positive I thought the headliners cast and there shows where fantastic as well as the Epicurean Afternoon Tea and Dinner. I put a excellent service comment card in about the staff at the Epicurean.

 

I also complained on board and was encouraged by the manager to also put my comments on the the end of cruise comment card. I will also be contacting P&O directly.

[Granny bee]

Fair do tartanexile. We will go with open minds and report honestly as we find [emoji568][emoji568][emoji568]