We've jumped ship from Celebrity to P&O

[janny444]

Hi...I agree....whatever grade there should always be an acceptable level of service/ cleanliness etc. I was just trying to put a point over....which maybe I didn't do very well....that there is a difference in " star grading" between cruise lines ....in this case P&O & Celebrity.

[daiB]

I agree with you to a point but the comparison was made because it was requested by the OP. As I said above you pay less on P&O because you get less. Paying less means accepting a different product, which is fair enough and as I also said you still get a good holiday.

 

 

To follow you analogy of hotel grades where I feel differently is that regardless of what "star" hotel you pay for you should be able to expect positive and professional customer service when there is an issue. This is not always the case on P&O in my experience and that of others, even one or two of those who were real P&O fans have been dissilusioned by poor customer care if you read back some of these threads.

 

 

Things go wrong on Celebrity as they do on any line but they deal with it better when they do in my experience anyway.

 

Add to that the fact that P&O take bookings then cancel them as and when they feel like (Adonia twice, Aurora families) and the customer ethos looks even worse. Celebrity have also cancelled cruises or chartered them out to a group which is equally bad but they at least pay good compensation, not just 5%.

That last point is not exactly correct as I have been reading on the Celebrity boards.

 

I am one of those who think the standard of service is very good to excellent. I now pay more attention due to the many moans.

 

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[Presto2]

It is really interesting reading through this thread and having sailed on both Celebrity and P&O as we seem to agree with everyone to some extent so no need to repeat what others have said.

 

The only thing I will echo is the massive difference in price. We have looked at the new Mediterranean cruise for July 2019 on the Silhouette from Southampton and for a sunset veranda cabin (the one we have had 3 times in the past) the price is coming out at a whopping £6,600 for the 14 nights. We sail in the school holidays so don't like to wait for offers etc etc etc / often can't.

 

I nearly fell off the settee when the price came up. I do feel that Celebrity prices are going through the roof at the moment and though it is a stunning 4 star ship I fail to see (based on our experience) how they can justify it being £2400 more expensive (plus £100 pp OBC) than a comparable cabin on a 14 night cruise on Britannia (same time of the year and 14 nights).

 

I really do not think that the Celebrity experience is worth that additional cost for 2019

 

Re cancelling cruises - they are as bad as one another ...

[AnOnymously]

Yes Celebrity are cancelling cruises and chartering their ships, quite common from what one can read on their threads.

 

Sadly its comments like Celebrity are 4/5 star that persuaded me to go with them, but never again. I cannot compare with P&O, still to have that experience, but I would rather sail with Fred Olsen than my Celebrity experience and Fred are not usually described as luxury cruising. Celebrity certainly was not that, but this is a P&O thread so if you want to know my issues you will have to read Celebrity threads, except to say that from the UK Celebrity's best experience was supposed to be Jet Set Sail. It was incredibly badly organised, we were left out in the rain and cold waiting to check luggage. It was absolutely dreadful and onboard not much better.

 

If we had been happy with Celebrity we would have not booked this upcoming cruise, but never again, will try other things. Three cruises booked none with Celebrity and all three different lines, give them a chance to impress, or otherwise!

[leehal]

 

The only thing I will echo is the massive difference in price. We have looked at the new Mediterranean cruise for July 2019 on the Silhouette from Southampton and for a sunset veranda cabin (the one we have had 3 times in the past) the price is coming out at a whopping £6,600 for the 14 nights. We sail in the school holidays so don't like to wait for offers etc etc etc / often can't.

 

I nearly fell off the settee when the price came up. I do feel that Celebrity prices are going through the roof at the moment and though it is a stunning 4 star ship I fail to see (based on our experience) how they can justify it being £2400 more expensive (plus £100 pp OBC) than a comparable cabin on a 14 night cruise on Britannia (same time of the year and 14 nights).

 

I really do not think that the Celebrity experience is worth that additional cost for 2019

 

My experience too, the cruise we booked with P&O in a balcony cabin (we had Aqua booked originally) was going to be around £1,200 less and it was for 14 nights rather than 11. I am looking forward to trying P&O, I am not expecting it to be as 'good' as Celebrity, but we are looking forward to a different experience and hopefully more options for taking future cruises as we will have been on all of the Celebrity cruises we can do from the UK without flying by the end of this year.

 

I think we were spoiled initially by Celebrity giving us a cracking upgrade deal from an inside cabin to Aqua class on our first cruise, we were reluctant to do any other cruise line or category. Prices have meant that we have had to look around and from either being used to the product offered or a general feeling that standards aren't as high we cannot justify the outlay.

 

On a side note, are there any quiet bars on the Britannia and do bands/singers perform in them as background music rather than a full on performance?

[Eglesbrech]

That last point is not exactly correct as I have been reading on the Celebrity boards.

 

I am one of those who think the standard of service is very good to excellent. I now pay more attention due to the many moans.

 

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I think we are wires crossed. I was talking specifically about customer service in reference to when things go wrong.

 

I agree that the general service onboard P&O is good, as I said it provides a good holiday.

 

The "moans" I was referencing were not the day to day grumbles but the big issues like cruise cancellations which even you must admit have been more frequent recently on P & O.

[daiB]

I think we are wires crossed. I was talking specifically about customer service in reference to when things go wrong.

 

 

 

I agree that the general service onboard P&O is good, as I said it provides a good holiday.

 

 

 

The "moans" I was referencing were not the day to day grumbles but the big issues like cruise cancellations which even you must admit have been more frequent recently on P & O.

 

 

 

They do happen on Celebrity as well but even worse was the couple who were bumped off a cruise and found out at the airport after check in on there way to the cruise. The compo they were offered was not great. At least with Aurora people were given 13 month notice.

 

 

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[snaefell]

On a side note, are there any quiet bars on the Britannia and do bands/singers perform in them as background music rather than a full on performance?

 

Crows Nest was lovely on Britannia,we both thought Brodies had great potential,lovely room,good selection of beers,BUT there always seemed to either be bingo or a quiz going on during which time daring to make a noise brought dirty looks or a boy/girl duo who frankly were pretty awful,nice room wasted IMO!

[Eglesbrech]

They do happen on Celebrity as well but even worse was the couple who were bumped off a cruise and found out at the airport after check in on there way to the cruise. The compo they were offered was not great. At least with Aurora people were given 13 month notice.

 

 

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Yes, I already mentioned above that they happen on Celebrity as well. I'm not defending the position in either cruise line, again as I said above it all bad.

 

 

Bumping booking is not acceptable or fair regardless of who does it and P&O now seem to be doing it a lot to people numbering in their thousands.

 

 

Have you ever tried a Celebrity cruise Dai?

[kruzgal]

This is a review I wrote just over 2 years comparing the two lines.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2295848

 

Interestingly we have just returned from spending Christmas on Celebrity Constellation to Dubai/India. The price for the 2 week trip was several thousand pounds less than we paid for our Britannia 2 week Christmas/New Year trip and included a drinks package which gave us wine, spirits, speciality coffee etc. plus enough onboard credit to cover our gratuities, making it all inclusive. Taking into account our onboard bill on Britannia it was probably around £3,000 less total for 4 people in 2 balcony cabins. We thought it was brilliant value and it confirmed our thoughts that the food quality and choice is much better on Celebrity. It pays to shop around and don't always presume that one will be more than the other as it varies. P&O have now tightened up on taking alcohol on board so that 'benefit' is gone. The tips have also gone up so there is less of a difference in cost. We would probably still do P&O to the Caribbean purely for the ease of travel/number of ports visited, but because of the food quality and choice that's about it.

[daiB]

This is a review I wrote just over 2 years comparing the two lines.

 

 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2295848

 

 

 

Interestingly we have just returned from spending Christmas on Celebrity Constellation to Dubai/India. The price for the 2 week trip was several thousand pounds less than we paid for our Britannia 2 week Christmas/New Year trip and included a drinks package which gave us wine, spirits, speciality coffee etc. plus enough onboard credit to cover our gratuities, making it all inclusive. Taking into account our onboard bill on Britannia it was probably around £3,000 less total for 4 people in 2 balcony cabins. We thought it was brilliant value and it confirmed our thoughts that the food quality and choice is much better on Celebrity. It pays to shop around and don't always presume that one will be more than the other as it varies. P&O have now tightened up on taking alcohol on board so that 'benefit' is gone. The tips have also gone up so there is less of a difference in cost. We would probably still do P&O to the Caribbean purely for the ease of travel/number of ports visited, but because of the food quality and choice that's about it.

 

 

 

Celebrity tips have also gone up to between $14.50 & $18. Hardly a comparison when you look at a special deal and a Christmas Cruise which is more expensive than any other.

 

A comparison should be like for like.

 

 

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[kruzgal]

I am not sure why it can’t be compared? I was comparing like for like. Both cruises were for 14 nights, including flights and transfers and covered the Christmas and New Year period. The Celebrity gratuities are more than P&O but at the end of the day what matters is the total cost to me, and taking into account the cost of the holiday, drinks/onboard bill, gratuities, onboard credit etc. the Celebrity trip was much cheaper by several thousand pounds. This isn’t always the case, but all I am saying is don’t presume that Celebrity will always be more expensive.

[daiB]

I am not sure why it can’t be compared? I was comparing like for like. Both cruises were for 14 nights, including flights and transfers and covered the Christmas and New Year period. The Celebrity gratuities are more than P&O but at the end of the day what matters is the total cost to me, and taking into account the cost of the holiday, drinks/onboard bill, gratuities, onboard credit etc. the Celebrity trip was much cheaper by several thousand pounds. This isn’t always the case, but all I am saying is don’t presume that Celebrity will always be more expensive.

 

 

 

Clearly if you got drinks and OBC over the Christmas holidays it was a special deal.

 

 

 

 

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[Wiltonian]

Clearly if you got drinks and OBC over the Christmas holidays it was a special deal.

 

Hardly; Celebrity very very often include the Classic Drinks package in their pricing, excluding repositioning cruises. irrespective of holiday periods. And many travel agents offer OBC. So, not a "special deal' and perfectly comparable.

[daiB]

Hardly; Celebrity very very often include the Classic Drinks package in their pricing, excluding repositioning cruises. irrespective of holiday periods. And many travel agents offer OBC. So, not a "special deal' and perfectly comparable.

 

 

 

A cruise line offering an incentive of over £500 on any cruise is having difficulty in selling its cruises. It is a marketing ploy. If all there cruises were selling well then there would be no price drop. P&O generally find that pre Christmas cruises are a hard sell therefore the prices are lower, considerably lower. A number of years ago there were last minute deals on nearly all cruises and people were up in arms as they had paid much more than others for the same cruise. All cruise lines have offers at some time, our Princess Cruise dropped the price by $1000 a month or so before we sailed.

 

If a cruise is selling well there will be no extra incentives.

 

 

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[kruzgal]

Both cruises were booked a considerable time ahead and the Celebrity Christmas cruise was certainly not a last minute deal. The Constellation is an older ship whereas Britannia was still quite new when we went so maybe that explains the price difference.....either way it pays to shop around and not presume that one is always more expensive than the other, as this simply isn’t the case. It is also sensible to look at the total cost of the trip and not focus on one charging a bit more for drinks/gratuities than the other. If you can get a good price with Celebrity with a drinks package and onboard credit thrown in it can sometimes be a win win!

[Presto2]

Both cruises were booked a considerable time ahead and the Celebrity Christmas cruise was certainly not a last minute deal. The Constellation is an older ship whereas Britannia was still quite new when we went so maybe that explains the price difference.....either way it pays to shop around and not presume that one is always more expensive than the other, as this simply isn’t the case. It is also sensible to look at the total cost of the trip and not focus on one charging a bit more for drinks/gratuities than the other. If you can get a good price with Celebrity with a drinks package and onboard credit thrown in it can sometimes be a win win!

 

I suppose we have to stick for like to like as we are limited to school holidays and always book early on any cruise line to get what we want. We tend to want an aft cabin with a balcony on any ship if possible and always take into account the cost of drinks (we know what we tend to spend on P&O) and the gratuities and the cost of any select dining venues. We also tend to buy excursions from the ship so we can add that in as well. As for flights we go with P&O flights and with Celebrity do our own to keep the price down. We also take in to account any on board credit ... oh and gratuities.

 

For us P&O is way cheaper as posted above. I suppose that, if we were able to be more flexible, then this could be different.

 

One day when we retire perhaps ..

[Wiltonian]

A cruise line offering an incentive of over £500 on any cruise is having difficulty in selling its cruises. It is a marketing ploy. If all there cruises were selling well then there would be no price drop. P&O generally find that pre Christmas cruises are a hard sell therefore the prices are lower, considerably lower. A number of years ago there were last minute deals on nearly all cruises and people were up in arms as they had paid much more than others for the same cruise. All cruise lines have offers at some time, our Princess Cruise dropped the price by $1000 a month or so before we sailed.

 

If a cruise is selling well there will be no extra incentives.

 

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You really ought to familiarise yourself with Celebrity before making generalisations.

 

Most of the time, Celebrity includes a drink package in the price. Most of the time; not just for late bookings; typically when they go on sale, 12-18 months ahead.

 

It's certainly a marketing technique, but there is no evidence to suggest Celebrity cruises aren't selling well, Indeed, the big problem, reflected in this thread, is that Celebrity prices can be very high. The poster who found that a Celebrity cruise was cheaper than a comparable P&O one was pointing out an exception to the rule.

 

I've been on 4 Celebrity cruises, all sold with drinks packages and booked around 15 months in advance. It's just the way they sell their cruises.

 

Stuart

[daiB]

Ah so you are saying they need large incentives a lot of the time?

 

 

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[snaefell]

I suppose we have to stick for like to like as we are limited to school holidays and always book early on any cruise line to get what we want. We tend to want an aft cabin with a balcony on any ship if possible and always take into account the cost of drinks (we know what we tend to spend on P&O) and the gratuities and the cost of any select dining venues. We also tend to buy excursions from the ship so we can add that in as well. As for flights we go with P&O flights and with Celebrity do our own to keep the price down. We also take in to account any on board credit ... oh and gratuities.

 

For us P&O is way cheaper as posted above. I suppose that, if we were able to be more flexible, then this could be different.

 

One day when we retire perhaps ..

 

Exactly,until now my place of work dictated that we too have been stuck with the school holidays,in which case,unlike many forum posters we just have to go with whoever is offering something we fancy & can afford at that time,choosing which cruise line hasn't really been an option,I have retired now,off to Barbados to join Britannia on her return cruise to the UK soon,seems wierd taking a 'big' holiday this time of year!

[Wiltonian]

Ah so you are saying they need large incentives a lot of the time?

 

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From the high prices of their cruises, it would seem that Celebrity don't need large incentives at all; they just choose to include drinks packages in their "offer". It makes sense because the cost to them of providing drinks is less than the savings which customers perceive themselves to be getting.

[leehal]

You really ought to familiarise yourself with Celebrity before making generalisations.

 

Most of the time, Celebrity includes a drink package in the price. Most of the time; not just for late bookings; typically when they go on sale, 12-18 months ahead.

 

It's certainly a marketing technique, but there is no evidence to suggest Celebrity cruises aren't selling well, Indeed, the big problem, reflected in this thread, is that Celebrity prices can be very high. The poster who found that a Celebrity cruise was cheaper than a comparable P&O one was pointing out an exception to the rule.

 

I've been on 4 Celebrity cruises, all sold with drinks packages and booked around 15 months in advance. It's just the way they sell their cruises.

 

Stuart

 

Our Celebrity cruise in August was booked on the release day with no offers, we had the next 14 months or so to lock in an offer. Without exception all of the 'offers' which included 'free drinks' were more expensive than our original cruise price and buying a drinks package independently.

 

Our Celebrity cruise last year included drinks, wifi, $500 OBC and gratuities. The one we are taking this year is more expensive than the last and we have no perks at all. I am sure some of this is down to the weak £, however, we have cancelled our 2019 cruise as we feel we may be in a similar scenario of a relatively high price cruise with no offers.

[rubydoobydoo]

We cruise with both lines, preference would be Celebrity every time if budget would allow

In my opinion you get what you pay for and celebrity is far superior but the cost is way higher unless you get a great deal

 

I think you will still enjoy P and O, we do but just keep in mind it’s much cheaper

[Lintravel]

We have booked P&O - first cruise - and now I’m worried! It wasn’t even that cheap!!

[Ehg]

We have booked P&O - first cruise - and now I’m worried! It wasn’t even that cheap!!

 

 

 

Don't worry, you'll love it. [emoji4]

 

 

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