I think I might pack up cruising!!!

[daiB]

2 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

You have indeed been very fortunate then Dai, or is that your expectations are not quite as high as mine?

 

Good try John but put your wooden spoon away.

[Britboys]

Only had two significant issues in about 15 P&O Cruises.  Both resolved on board - one quickly the other not so quickly but still resolved satisfactorily.

[Clodia]

I have only had 2 problems with toilets in about 25 P and O cruises; one on Oriana and one on Azura. Both were fixed within a couple of hours.

The only ship where I have had a more serious problem was Ventura, and it was not resolved onboard despite attempts to make it so. However, when I complained back in the UK it was resolved satisfactorily. I cancelled a future cruise on Ventura, but will still cruise on the other ships. I really do feel that there are various issues on Ventura with the way things are done.

[pisces14]

On 11/11/2018 at 9:32 PM, terrierjohn said:

I have to agree with jody75s comment about how P&O react to a problem compared with our experiences on other cruise lines.  P&O seem to feel that passengers are a nuisance to the smooth running of their ships, whereas other lines, like RCI and Celebrity, put customer service at the top of their list, and go the extra mile to put things right.

Now before the cheerleaders descend on me I would point out that, as a Yorkshireman, I am more than capable of handling this sloppy attitude, and still manage to enjoy all my cruises on  P&O, and these incidents just add to my cruising stories.

I have to agree with your comment that passengers on P&O seem to be a nuisance. I've always said to my husband that we are a necessary inconvenience. Necessary because the officers can't sail around the world at our expense and an inconvenience because we get in the way of maintaining their ship. Maintenance always seemed to be done to suit the staff and not the paying customer. I've just had my first cruise on Cunard in the Queens grill. Yes much more expensive than a suite on P&O but the difference in treatment was worth every penny. I won't be going back to P&O. 

[janny444]

Hi....we have cruised with quite a few different cruise lines and what P&O offer ....at the right price....is most times acceptable. The "customer service" on board at times though seems to get lost in the translation and although initially you approach " customer service" with the correct attitude at times it feels like you are addressing a brick wall.

I also think it is unfair to compare P&O with an higher end product when P&O is a lower end product.

[terrierjohn]

17 minutes ago, janny444 said:

Hi....we have cruised with quite a few different cruise lines and what P&O offer ....at the right price....is most times acceptable. The "customer service" on board at times though seems to get lost in the translation and although initially you approach " customer service" with the correct attitude at times it feels like you are addressing a brick wall.

I also think it is unfair to compare P&O with an higher end product when P&O is a lower end product.

I do sometimes wonder if its just a lack of understanding because their English skills are not good enough, then again even those with a very good command of English seem  reluctant to take ownership of a complaint.  I do not expect reception staff to have all the answers immediately, but I do want to feel they have understood the query/complaint and they will pass it on to someone who can resolve it, however far too often I get the impression they are just stalling, in the hope that I will go away and then they can forget about it.

P&O could certainly improve their customer service if they went out and recruited staff from the RCI group, who certainly know how to make you feel they care very much about your holiday enjoyment.

[janny444]

14 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I do sometimes wonder if its just a lack of understanding because their English skills are not good enough, then again even those with a very good command of English seem  reluctant to take ownership of a complaint.  I do not expect reception staff to have all the answers immediately, but I do want to feel they have understood the query/complaint and they will pass it on to someone who can resolve it, however far too often I get the impression they are just stalling, in the hope that I will go away and then they can forget about it.

P&O could certainly improve their customer service if they went out and recruited staff from the RCI group, who certainly know how to make you feel they care very much about your holiday enjoyment.

Hi....yes it can be that their understanding of English that can cause a problem but on one particular cruise she was English so understood completely. Did it make any difference...nah....the reasons she was trying to give me were utter " piffle....after stonewalling me...." even though it ws blatantly obvious to all and sundry....except her....that there was a problem(s).

That too was on Ventura and put me off P&O for some time but went on the Azura and that restored my faith in P&O....especially with Robert Camby as captain. I now have further cruises booked with P&O....2 on Ventura. What the OP has stated has made me start to wobble a bit ....I am open minded but we shall see. I will keep in mind the price we have paid ...excellent price....and keep my exceptions low..

As you say Royal Carribean do have a more " hands on" approach to their valued customers although I would think they still get their fair share of complaints

[Harry Peterson]

1 hour ago, janny444 said:

Hi....we have cruised with quite a few different cruise lines and what P&O offer ....at the right price....is most times acceptable. The "customer service" on board at times though seems to get lost in the translation and although initially you approach " customer service" with the correct attitude at times it feels like you are addressing a brick wall.

I also think it is unfair to compare P&O with an higher end product when P&O is a lower end product.

Wilkinsons and Primark might be considered 'lower end products' - but in each case the customer service is excellent.  It's a sure-fire way to ensure that customers keep coming back.  P&O would do well to remember this, particularly as their core market is ageing fast!

[janny444]

33 minutes ago, docco said:

Wilkinsons and Primark might be considered 'lower end products' - but in each case the customer service is excellent.  It's a sure-fire way to ensure that customers keep coming back.  P&O would do well to remember this, particularly as their core market is ageing fast!

Good point....just because you offer a lower end product no excuse for poor or lack of customer service

[grapau27]

29 minutes ago, docco said:

Wilkinsons and Primark might be considered 'lower end products' - but in each case the customer service is excellent.  It's a sure-fire way to ensure that customers keep coming back.  P&O would do well to remember this, particularly as their core market is ageing fast!

The couple of times I have contacted P&O customer service they have been helpful after my Second!! email.

The first contact gets a standard brush off but I persevere and when I attach a second email to the first email reply they then realise I won't be fobbed off and I have had a reply quite quickly to sort my query.

[daiB]

49 minutes ago, docco said:

Wilkinsons and Primark might be considered 'lower end products' - but in each case the customer service is excellent.  It's a sure-fire way to ensure that customers keep coming back.  P&O would do well to remember this, particularly as their core market is ageing fast!

Of course if you read reports on a different forum. One which attracts far more posts the vast majority are very positive about P&O and often describe customer service as excellent.

 

On the other hand if you read forums about other cruise lines you will find complaints about their customer service.

 

No line has perfect customer service. 

[Britboys]

As always, these posts go to show how we all experience things differently.  I tend only to cruise on P&O's smaller ships and my experience on those is that P&O are middle-market as opposed to lower end.

Over the last year I have been lucky enough to take 4 cruises and would think of them in this way:

 

P&O Aurora & Oriana - Sainsbury

Marella Discovery 2 - Lidl

CMV Marco Polo - Tesco

 

From my last Cunard cruise in 2016, I would say that in Britannia Class they are a Waitrose :-).

[frenchmartiniplease]

We have cruised, roughly 20 times over all, with Princess, Celebrity, Cunard and most often with P&O. The cruises were spread over the last 15 years and have mostly been excellent.  P&O tick a lot of boxes for us and as we live in Southampton it's a great holiday option.  It's so disappointing that I have now been totally put off going on another cruise ship.  2 cruises in 6 months covering 19 days and 17 of them with a faulty loo is going to knock anybody's  confidence.

Azura resolved the problem in a proactive way that left us feeling mollified but Ventura did not deal with it well.   We also felt somethings were'lost in translation' .  

 

Apparently our comments have been passed to guest services.🤞

[Lottie A]

We did a Holland America cruise a few years ago. The toilet in our balcony cabin was faulty and after we had called the plumber three times in just the first day onboard he told us that we would be seeing a lot of him. The toilet had been faulty for 6 months and they were still waiting for a special part to arrive.  

 

Armed with this information we requested a meeting with the Guest Services Manager. She took it very seriously and by the following day we had been upgraded to a Neptune Suite, which is their top suite class and we had the many benefits that come with it. Our cabin and balcony were vast and access to the Neptune Suite Club was great. 

Now that is Customer Service! 

[Harry Peterson]

13 minutes ago, Lottie A said:

We did a Holland America cruise a few years ago. The toilet in our balcony cabin was faulty and after we had called the plumber three times in just the first day onboard he told us that we would be seeing a lot of him. The toilet had been faulty for 6 months and they were still waiting for a special part to arrive.  

 

Armed with this information we requested a meeting with the Guest Services Manager. She took it very seriously and by the following day we had been upgraded to a Neptune Suite, which is their top suite class and we had the many benefits that come with it. Our cabin and balcony were vast and access to the Neptune Suite Club was great. 

Now that is Customer Service! 

You make a very good point there, Lottie.

 

I suspect the way an issue like this is dealt with has a lot more to do with the type of customer and the way she or he deals with it than the cruise company or the individual ship.  There are ways of getting a proper response in a situation such as this - and you obviously found them.

[daiB]

46 minutes ago, Lottie A said:

We did a Holland America cruise a few years ago. The toilet in our balcony cabin was faulty and after we had called the plumber three times in just the first day onboard he told us that we would be seeing a lot of him. The toilet had been faulty for 6 months and they were still waiting for a special part to arrive.  

 

Armed with this information we requested a meeting with the Guest Services Manager. She took it very seriously and by the following day we had been upgraded to a Neptune Suite, which is their top suite class and we had the many benefits that come with it. Our cabin and balcony were vast and access to the Neptune Suite Club was great. 

Now that is Customer Service! 

 

Which can only happen if that suite is available. You were lucky. Very few ships sail with their best cabins empty. 

 

One wonders why the toilet had gone 6 month without being repaired. Did all the previous cruisers using the cabin get an upgrade to a suite?

 

how can that work if the problem was in a suite to start with.

 

All cruise lines have problems all cruise lines deal with them in a way that does not satisfy the customer.

[davecttr]

1 hour ago, Lottie A said:

We did a Holland America cruise a few years ago. The toilet in our balcony cabin was faulty and after we had called the plumber three times in just the first day onboard he told us that we would be seeing a lot of him. The toilet had been faulty for 6 months and they were still waiting for a special part to arrive.  

 

Armed with this information we requested a meeting with the Guest Services Manager. She took it very seriously and by the following day we had been upgraded to a Neptune Suite, which is their top suite class and we had the many benefits that come with it. Our cabin and balcony were vast and access to the Neptune Suite Club was great. 

Now that is Customer Service! 

I wonder if the plumber lost his their job for blowing the gaff!

[Lottie A]

5 minutes ago, daiB said:

 

Which can only happen if that suite is available. You were lucky. Very few ships sail with their best cabins empty. 

 

One wonders why the toilet had gone 6 month without being repaired. Did all the previous cruisers using the cabin get an upgrade to a suite?

 

how can that work if the problem was in a suite to start with.

 

All cruise lines have problems all cruise lines deal with them in a way that does not satisfy the customer.

 

You are correct Dai. The reason the Neptune Suite was available is because an American family who had originally booked it were so stupid as to think they did not need passports to travel to Europe! They were stuck in the States frantically trying to get new passports but they missed the flight to Barcelona and we got their cabin. That is why we had to wait until the following day to be moved, just to make sure they would not make it. We had an overnight in Barcelona on embark. 

 

However all cruise ships sail with some available inventory to allow for emergencies such as ours. We may not have got a Neptune suite but certainly we would have been moved to another cabin and duly compensated for the inconvenience I may add. 

 

I do not not know what had happened to the supposed many previous occupants of the cabin. Maybe Holland America didn't use it often? 

 

All I can say is I thought the Guest Relations Manager dealt with our issue very well and it has made me well disposed to Holland America ever since. 😄

[Lottie A]

4 minutes ago, davecttr said:

I wonder if the plumber lost his their job for blowing the gaff!

 

I hope not! He was a nice guy. 

[frenchmartiniplease]

10 hours ago, docco said:

You make a very good point there, Lottie.

 

I suspect the way an issue like this is dealt with has a lot more to do with the type of customer and the way she or he deals with it than the cruise company or the individual ship.  There are ways of getting a proper response in a situation such as this - and you obviously found them.

Wow!  I found this comment rather insulting.  I am the wrong type of customer?  Just what does that even mean?!

We reported the problem promptly, repeatedly to reception and Managers.

The problem covered several decks and many cabins so we wouldn't all get suites, no matter suitable a 'type' we were or who we spoke to. 

[Harry Peterson]

21 minutes ago, frenchmartiniplease said:

Wow!  I found this comment rather insulting.  I am the wrong type of customer?  Just what does that even mean?!

We reported the problem promptly, repeatedly to reception and Managers.

The problem covered several decks and many cabins so we wouldn't all get suites, no matter suitable a 'type' we were or who we spoke to. 

Apologies! The comment wasn’t aimed at you, or anybody in particular. Just a general observation about the different ways in which complaints are handled. 🙂

[daiB]

10 hours ago, Lottie A said:

 

You are correct Dai. The reason the Neptune Suite was available is because an American family who had originally booked it were so stupid as to think they did not need passports to travel to Europe! They were stuck in the States frantically trying to get new passports but they missed the flight to Barcelona and we got their cabin. That is why we had to wait until the following day to be moved, just to make sure they would not make it. We had an overnight in Barcelona on embark. 

 

However all cruise ships sail with some available inventory to allow for emergencies such as ours. We may not have got a Neptune suite but certainly we would have been moved to another cabin and duly compensated for the inconvenience I may add. 

 

I do not not know what had happened to the supposed many previous occupants of the cabin. Maybe Holland America didn't use it often? 

 

All I can say is I thought the Guest Relations Manager dealt with our issue very well and it has made me well disposed to Holland America ever since. 😄

 

Well that sounds as good a result as we had with P&O on Ventura. Everything was done to fix our problem and although not perfect,  as they needed a part, we were however able to enjoy our cruise and the Customer services manager was excellent. Our sweetener was very nice as well, spread over a couple of cruises.

[terrierjohn]

40 minutes ago, daiB said:

 

Well that sounds as good a result as we had with P&O on Ventura. Everything was done to fix our problem and although not perfect,  as they needed a part, we were however able to enjoy our cruise and the Customer services manager was excellent. Our sweetener was very nice as well, spread over a couple of cruises.

Dai, you do have to remember that you are a high tier in the loyalty club, as well as normally a suite passenger, so your treatment by passenger services is not truly representative of the normal P&O standard.

[daiB]

4 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Dai, you do have to remember that you are a high tier in the loyalty club, as well as normally a suite passenger, so your treatment by passenger services is not truly representative of the normal P&O standard.

 

You have proof of this? Or are you just being negitive.

[Harry Peterson]

I do wonder whether having a suite (and maybe a few Carnival shares too) makes a difference.........