Things that we want P&O to INTRODUCE ...

[Deeliteful]

My last two cruises were on NCL, not my favourites but had a great time, especially winning $7000 on the poker cruise last month!

However one thing they do really well is what they call the waterfront. This is an area outside some of the bars and restaurants which have comfy chairs and sofas, and tables even when the restaurants are closed. Great to watch the sunset with a cocktail in hand and a lovely area to relax in during the day, away from the crowded pools (NCL pools are ridiculously tiny for the number of passengers they have). And of course great to be outside and see the sea, which is why I like cruising 😂

[Presto2]

20 hours ago, Britboys said:

It will indeed be interesting to see how P&O manage the 4 main dining rooms on Iona.

 

Very happy with apps to control things as long as you don't have to use them.  As a confirmed luddite and troglodyte, I have no wish to use my mobile phone when on a cruise 😁

 

That's exactly what we said and we only used it a few times (to play with the cabin stuff to be honest) The rest of the time it was in the safe :-)

[happy v]

We have been on cruises where there has been an afternoon play, or murder mystery on sea days. Sometimes very good, sometimes not so, but still a bit different.

[peteukmcr]

37 minutes ago, Deeliteful said:

My last two cruises were on NCL, not my favourites but had a great time, especially winning $7000 on the poker cruise last month!

However one thing they do really well is what they call the waterfront. This is an area outside some of the bars and restaurants which have comfy chairs and sofas, and tables even when the restaurants are closed. Great to watch the sunset with a cocktail in hand and a lovely area to relax in during the day, away from the crowded pools (NCL pools are ridiculously tiny for the number of passengers they have). And of course great to be outside and see the sea, which is why I like cruising 😂

I agree, one of our favourite places on the Breakaway and Breakaway Plus class ships.

[terrierjohn]

2 minutes ago, peteukmcr said:

I agree, one of our favourite places on the Breakaway and Breakaway Plus class ships.

I am hoping that Iona's alfresco dining on the promenade deck will be something similar.

[Francisdrake]

On 1/4/2020 at 4:56 PM, Presto2 said:

Hubby's contribution - Mr Whippy ice cream 'serve yourself' station - with a 99 flake

 

Not sure about it being free mind, may give the finance officer for P&O / Carnival a coronary to even suggest it ….

The Carnival ships actually have (had?) this (minus the flakes) so it's not beyond the realms of possibility that P&O introduce it.  I went on an Hawaiian cruise on the Miracle a few years back & they had Mr Whippy style ice cream machines on the pool deck.

[Britboys]

14 hours ago, Francisdrake said:

The Carnival ships actually have (had?) this (minus the flakes) so it's not beyond the realms of possibility that P&O introduce it.  I went on an Hawaiian cruise on the Miracle a few years back & they had Mr Whippy style ice cream machines on the pool deck.

Sadly, apart from including gratuities, P&O are going further down the route of finding extra things for people to pay for, so I doubt we are likely to see any freebies introduced...

[wowzz]

45 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Sadly, apart from including gratuities, P&O are going further down the route of finding extra things for people to pay for, so I doubt we are likely to see any freebies introduced...

Or, you could argue, that P&O are keeping costs down, by not introducing "freebies" that not everyone would necessarily want, and which would inevitably be paid for through higher fares.

[pete14]

16 hours ago, Francisdrake said:

The Carnival ships actually have (had?) this (minus the flakes) so it's not beyond the realms of possibility that P&O introduce it.  I went on an Hawaiian cruise on the Miracle a few years back & they had Mr Whippy style ice cream machines on the pool deck.

I suspect it is highly unlikely that they will introduce this because of their contract with a pricy (high end?) manufacturer they advertise as being onboard. 

[Presto2]

4 hours ago, pete14 said:

Trying to delete this and have given up

 

5 hours ago, wowzz said:

Or, you could argue, that P&O are keeping costs down, by not introducing "freebies" that not everyone would necessarily want, and which would inevitably be paid for through higher fares.

Not really as we are not at all impressed with the new drinks package and the fact that if you have children they get a free package if adults have one. We don't have any children so we must be paying for this perk for others in some way.

Sorry, really annoys me

[Harry Peterson]

8 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

 

Not really as we are not at all impressed with the new drinks package and the fact that if you have children they get a free package if adults have one. We don't have any children so we must be paying for this perk for others in some way.

Sorry, really annoys me

Look at it this way: P&O make money out of these packages, or they wouldn't be selling them. The actual cost to P&O of children's drinks will be minimal, and far outweighed by the profit on the additional adult packages sold to parents who probably wouldn't otherwise buy them.

 

So overall, it's probably actually reducing what you're paying.

[Presto2]

25 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Look at it this way: P&O make money out of these packages, or they wouldn't be selling them. The actual cost to P&O of children's drinks will be minimal, and far outweighed by the profit on the additional adult packages sold to parents who probably wouldn't otherwise buy them.

 

So overall, it's probably actually reducing what you're paying.

 

I am trying to see what you mean, but can't :-(

 

I just see adults with children paying for a drinks package and getting their drinks included as well as those of their children. That could be a lot of drinks for the children depending on how many there are and how old there are.

 

How is that fair for a couple who do not have children and would not have any perk whatsoever for paying a small fortune for a package? Seems totally unfair to me

 

By the way, we never go for a package unless it is a perk when booking .. silly money (Celebrity)

Edited January 20, 2020 by Presto2

[AndyMichelle]

10 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

 

I am trying to see what you mean, but can't 😞

 

I just see adults with children paying for a drinks package and getting their drinks included as well as those of their children. That could be a lot of drinks for the children depending on how many there are and how old there are.

 

How is that fair for a couple who do not have children and would not have any perk whatsoever for paying a small fortune for a package? Seems totally unfair to me

 

By the way, we never go for a package unless it is a perk when booking .. silly money (Celebrity)

I don't suppose it's any different to the free child places that were on offer at launch, couples don't benefit from that either, but good luck to the families who can take advantage of it. 

Andy 

[Presto2]

Just now, AndyMichelle said:

I don't suppose it's any different to the free child places that were on offer at launch, couples don't benefit from that either, but good luck to the families who can take advantage of it. 

Andy 

 

Yes, good luck to them, totally agree, but where are the perks for adults travelling with no children?

Do they not want our business? Who is paying for the perks?

[Harry Peterson]

7 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

 

Yes, good luck to them, totally agree, but where are the perks for adults travelling with no children?

Do they not want our business? Who is paying for the perks?

Simple supply and demand economics.  Adults without children don't need to be tempted with perks - it's the ones with children that tend to have less available money, so they need tempting in with perks.

 

Much the same with the drinks packages. The more they sell the more money P&O make, and the more money they make the lower your adult fare will be. There is a logic to it, but it's a financial logic.

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

Look at it this way: P&O make money out of these packages, or they wouldn't be selling them. The actual cost to P&O of children's drinks will be minimal, and far outweighed by the profit on the additional adult packages sold to parents who probably wouldn't otherwise buy them.

 

So overall, it's probably actually reducing what you're paying.

I agree - P&O (and their parent company) are not financially inept - the profit implications of the drink packages are carefully calculated . P&O are not going to offer  anything that will make a loss.

[Tablelamp]

On 1/4/2020 at 3:14 PM, Host Sharon said:

I agree.Saga can do it so why not P&O.

I like the idea of shared tables, but please don’t limit it to solo travellers.  As a solo traveller, I don’t want to be labeled.    ‘SOLO TRAVELLER’

[davecttr]

1 hour ago, Tablelamp said:

I like the idea of shared tables, but please don’t limit it to solo travellers.  As a solo traveller, I don’t want to be labeled.    ‘SOLO TRAVELLER’

You could amend it to solo booking request for the cover charge restaurant. you would still be sitting with people you have probably never met.

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, Tablelamp said:

I like the idea of shared tables, but please don’t limit it to solo travellers.  As a solo traveller, I don’t want to be labeled.    ‘SOLO TRAVELLER’

Whilst we enjoy meeting other people in the MDR (anytime dining) for some reason, in the speciality restaurants we do want to share a table. Perhaps it's because that as we have paid for the meal, we want to enjoy it in our own company, rather than with strangers. Are we alone in this preference?

[Clodia]

I always dine alone in the speciality restaurants; I look forward to it. But on Freedom dining I always ask to share, usually on a 6 or 8. Best of both worlds in my view.

[AndyMichelle]

52 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Whilst we enjoy meeting other people in the MDR (anytime dining) for some reason, in the speciality restaurants we do want to share a table. Perhaps it's because that as we have paid for the meal, we want to enjoy it in our own company, rather than with strangers. Are we alone in this preference?

I assume you meant 'do not' want to share? 

I understand that, part of paying the extra is for the intimacy and wanting it to feel like a treat. 

Andy 

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, AndyMichelle said:

I assume you meant 'do not' want to share? 

I understand that, part of paying the extra is for the intimacy and wanting it to feel like a treat. 

Andy 

Sorry, yes a typo on my part. Being a mean old sod, if I've paid extra, I don't want to eat with some random strangers !

[annieuk]

We have always chosen Club Dining on all our P&O cruises but when we've been chosen to go to a Select Dining restaurant one evening we would always expect to be seated on our own.  We enjoy getting to know our table companions and although sometimes we've had a lot more in common with some people more than others, we've never in over 25 cruises had what I'd call a 'bad' table.  However, as has been said a Select Dining occasion seems more of a private, intimate evening and we certainly wouldn't want to share it with others.  I suppose the only time we've done this was on Aurora - and Azura - when we've attended one of The Glasshouse Taster evenings where there's a set menu and they pair the food with the wine.  There we've always been seated with at least two other people, which has been fine but not something we'd want as the norm in a Select Dining restaurant.

[terrierjohn]

13 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Sorry, yes a typo on my part. Being a mean old sod, if I've paid extra, I don't want to eat with some random strangers !

I can understand why couples would want to have a table to themselves in a Speciality restaurant, but for solo travellers an option to share a table in Speiality dining would appeal to me if I was solo.

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, Clodia said:

I always dine alone in the speciality restaurants; I look forward to it. But on Freedom dining I always ask to share, usually on a 6 or 8. Best of both worlds in my view.

I quite envy you in that you feel comfortable dining alone in the Speciality Restaurants.  I'm happy enough eating alone in the buffet but would feel it uneasy - and somewhat boring - doing so in the mdr or for-fee venues.  I always choose Club Dining and am usually on a table with other solos.  Usually, some of the other solo pax on the table wish to go to one or more of the for-fee venues and we arrange to go together which is nice.  It could be difficult for P&O to keep a table free every night in case solo travellers wished to go.  A better idea would maybe for the Loyalty Managers to have a role with Solo pax and perhaps co-ordinate table bookings for a specific number of nights on each cruise.