Just off Britannia, my thoughts and happy to try and answer questions

[BouncingWheel]

On 8/12/2021 at 9:28 PM, cruisenewbie1976 said:

Interesting that you mention Princess, as we'd heard how good the food was on their ships. But we were on Regal Princess last weekend and found the options in the buffet and the main dining room to be really limited. I'm not a fussy eater but it was a struggle to make a meal out of the things on offer in the buffet. And I ended up having the "always available" roast chicken in the dining room 2 out of the 3 nights due to the lack of choice (what we did have was lovely though). I've never had this problem on P&O. So I'm wondering if the selections are more limited with both lines at the moment? 

Can echo the Princess comment. Just got off Regal and the food was very hit and miss and nowhere near as good as previous P&O offerings so I think it is COVID times or cutbacks affecting things on both lines.

[debsjc]

1 hour ago, BouncingWheel said:

Can echo the Princess comment. Just got off Regal and the food was very hit and miss and nowhere near as good as previous P&O offerings so I think it is COVID times or cutbacks affecting things on both lines.

 

How was the general dining experience on the Regal, if you don't mind me asking. Did you have to wait long for tables, or were you able to book on the medallion app?
With so many people on Princess plus, was it a long wait for bar service?
Was the ship 50% full?

Thanks 🙂

[cruisenewbie1976]

8 minutes ago, debsjc said:

 

How was the general dining experience on the Regal, if you don't mind me asking. Did you have to wait long for tables, or were you able to book on the medallion app?
With so many people on Princess plus, was it a long wait for bar service?
Was the ship 50% full?

Thanks 🙂

We went on 7th August, so only the 3rd or 4th since restart and I think the numbers were due to increase on the day we got back. Think we had 50% on ours though. Very little wait for drinks unless the sunshine came out and you were trying to get a drink on the open decks. We did book the restaurants but was no need to in the end. We walked straight in each night - we are later eaters though, so around 8 - 8.30. Service was excellent in the main dining rooms (and at Alfredos where we had lunch, twice). No complaints about the quality of the food, just the choice. I'm normally torn between about 4 dishes every evening on P&O and I struggled to find one dish that I wanted on Regal. The one lunch time we ate in the buffet I ended up with a little bit of lasagne with mashed potato (I know!!). But there didn't seem to be anything to make a meal out of. And weirdly, there are never any chips available at lunch time in the buffet, unless you made a special request! 

[debsjc]

Thank you, that's very helpful 

[HalifaxYorksCruiser]

On 8/14/2021 at 6:27 PM, sandancer said:

Sorry, I have another question. Do we both need the app or can we just use one phone?  Having heard such good things about the Glasshouse we are really looking forward to trying it. 

We didn’t bother using the app to go to the Glasshouses. Just turned up at the entrance to the Glasshouse but we doing make sure we got there early. Apart from the excellent food the Glasshouse has the advantage that you can hear the performer in the Atrium.

[BouncingWheel]

3 hours ago, debsjc said:

 

How was the general dining experience on the Regal, if you don't mind me asking. Did you have to wait long for tables, or were you able to book on the medallion app?
With so many people on Princess plus, was it a long wait for bar service?
Was the ship 50% full?

Thanks 🙂

We pre-booked dining times on app. That was easy for us. If you wanted to change then it didn't look like there were available slots other than very early or very late but I guess (and hope) you could ask at the restaurant direct.

The ship was under half full (1387 someone said but don't take that as gospel.). It is a nice ship but felt crowded in the middle (where all the main parts are) but empty elsewhere. 

We did walk ins to MDR for breakfast and lunch once and no wait at all. 

Cannot use bars and must either flag down a waiter or use the app for free delivery. For me both worked well and I loved the fact that I ordered crisps for the movie under the stars (don't like popcorn) and a waiter with a food plate with a cover appeared and underneath.... a whole plate of crisps.

People were having issues with the app (same as P&O) but my iphone 8 was happy unless I tried to use the event planner but I found a workaround.

Hope that answers all your questions.

[BouncingWheel]

3 hours ago, cruisenewbie1976 said:

We went on 7th August, so only the 3rd or 4th since restart and I think the numbers were due to increase on the day we got back. Think we had 50% on ours though. Very little wait for drinks unless the sunshine came out and you were trying to get a drink on the open decks. We did book the restaurants but was no need to in the end. We walked straight in each night - we are later eaters though, so around 8 - 8.30. Service was excellent in the main dining rooms (and at Alfredos where we had lunch, twice). No complaints about the quality of the food, just the choice. I'm normally torn between about 4 dishes every evening on P&O and I struggled to find one dish that I wanted on Regal. The one lunch time we ate in the buffet I ended up with a little bit of lasagne with mashed potato (I know!!). But there didn't seem to be anything to make a meal out of. And weirdly, there are never any chips available at lunch time in the buffet, unless you made a special request! 

We had a couple of dishes that were dry and/or lukewarm and the prime rib tasted more water than meat. However, we also had at least the same number of dishes that were excellent. Alfredos is a gem - wish we had not tried it out on the last day as would have gone again. Agree with lack of choice and the American entertainment director announcing to the ship that we were in for a special buffet treat because they were serving Pie & Mash and then repeated it again the next night for Fish & Chips made us laugh.

[cruisenewbie1976]

6 minutes ago, BouncingWheel said:

We had a couple of dishes that were dry and/or lukewarm and the prime rib tasted more water than meat. However, we also had at least the same number of dishes that were excellent. Alfredos is a gem - wish we had not tried it out on the last day as would have gone again. Agree with lack of choice and the American entertainment director announcing to the ship that we were in for a special buffet treat because they were serving Pie & Mash and then repeated it again the next night for Fish & Chips made us laugh.

Alfredos was fantastic. Fortunately we tried it for lunch on embarkation day and then on the last sea day. Staff were amazing too. 

Our main dining room food was OK but I suppose you can't go wrong with a bit of chicken. Partner had fillet steak one night and that was amazing apparently. I can't say I didn't enjoy the food, I was just a bit underwhelmed. My friends always travel with Princess and think they're amazing. They turn their nose up at P&O, despite never having tried them, but I would definitely say P&O have been better for us in the past. Maybe unfair to compare pre covid to current times though. I loved the app too. Was so convenient although I did feel guilty having someone traipse across the ship to our cabin to bring me some tortillas and humous 🤣🤣 

Edited August 16, 2021 by cruisenewbie1976
Typo

[BouncingWheel]

How do we start a campaign for P&O to start delivering crisps and Tortillas/humous. If I could have those added as a option on my beloved Aurora then I would be in heaven.

[Rod424]

Thanks for all the tips, good and bad, about using the My Holiday app. Can it be downloaded before you go to the port? I can't find it on the Play Store.

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, Rod424 said:

Thanks for all the tips, good and bad, about using the My Holiday app. Can it be downloaded before you go to the port? I can't find it on the Play Store.

I understand it's not an app, just a website which can only be accessed with a code from your booking in documents.

[davecttr]

2 hours ago, Rod424 said:

Thanks for all the tips, good and bad, about using the My Holiday app. Can it be downloaded before you go to the port? I can't find it on the Play Store.

It is not an actual App but a series of pages on the ships onboard network, a bit like a mini web site

 

edit - it seems great minds think alike, at the same time!

Edited August 16, 2021 by davecttr

[debsjc]

10 hours ago, Rod424 said:

Thanks for all the tips, good and bad, about using the My Holiday app. Can it be downloaded before you go to the port? I can't find it on the Play Store.

I believe you can not access it until you get on board, as it only runs from the ships wi-fi (free to use for My holiday)

 

As others have said, it's actually just a webpage, rather than an app 

[Bill Y]

1 hour ago, debsjc said:

I believe you can not access it until you get on board, as it only runs from the ships wi-fi (free to use for My holiday)

 

As others have said, it's actually just a webpage, rather than an app 

I sounds like the 90's company intranet

[Selbourne]

7 minutes ago, Bill Y said:

I sounds like the 90's company intranet

Which is a fair summary of P&O’s whole IT system! As two reviewers on a video review of Iona that we watched last night said, it is inexcusable that with all the time that P&O has had to come up with something decent that they have come up with such a sub standard system. There are quite enough restrictions and hassle with cruising at present without adding yet another through the one thing that is meant to ease them!

[wowzz]

Not quite sure where to post this - didn't want to start a new thread- but Princess are now allowing independent shore visits.  You would think that P&O woukd follow suit

Will I be able to go ashore?

In accordance with health authority guidelines, fully vaccinated guests may choose to explore destinations independently, and should comply with all local guidance relating to social distancing and face masks.

Guests aged 17 years or younger who are unvaccinated sailing on Regal Princess from 30 September to 3 November and Sky Princess 5 October to 5 November on 2021, will only be permitted to go ashore through shore excursions sold by or through Princess using tour operators who comply with our COVID-19 controls. Self-exploration or participation in shore excursions not sold through or operated by Princess will not be permitted.

[Josy1953]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

Not quite sure where to post this - didn't want to start a new thread- but Princess are now allowing independent shore visits.  You would think that P&O woukd follow suit

Will I be able to go ashore?

In accordance with health authority guidelines, fully vaccinated guests may choose to explore destinations independently, and should comply with all local guidance relating to social distancing and face masks.

Guests aged 17 years or younger who are unvaccinated sailing on Regal Princess from 30 September to 3 November and Sky Princess 5 October to 5 November on 2021, will only be permitted to go ashore through shore excursions sold by or through Princess using tour operators who comply with our COVID-19 controls. Self-exploration or participation in shore excursions not sold through or operated by Princess will not be permitted.

Thanks for posting this, we are going with Princess next March and have said that we would cancel rather than take excursions because part of the enjoyment of a cruise is getting off the ship to explore the ports at our own pace.

My guess is that P&O and Cunard will probably make the same decision soon.

[jaydee6969]

7 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Not quite sure where to post this - didn't want to start a new thread- but Princess are now allowing independent shore visits.  You would think that P&O woukd follow suit

Will I be able to go ashore?

In accordance with health authority guidelines, fully vaccinated guests may choose to explore destinations independently, and should comply with all local guidance relating to social distancing and face masks.

Guests aged 17 years or younger who are unvaccinated sailing on Regal Princess from 30 September to 3 November and Sky Princess 5 October to 5 November on 2021, will only be permitted to go ashore through shore excursions sold by or through Princess using tour operators who comply with our COVID-19 controls. Self-exploration or participation in shore excursions not sold through or operated by Princess will not be permitted.

 

This is what is holding us back booking something at the moment.  We had some great deals for October offered to us yesterday, but with lack of clarity over independent exploration overseas in particular, will have to hold off.

Edited August 17, 2021 by jaydee6969

[P&O SUE]

RCI are also allowing independent sightseeing on their UK cruises.

[Britboys]

2 hours ago, debsjc said:

I believe you can not access it until you get on board, as it only runs from the ships wi-fi (free to use for My holiday)

 

As others have said, it's actually just a webpage, rather than an app 

I have seen one person post that they could access it once they were in the terminal building...

[BestGuessed]

1 minute ago, P&O SUE said:

RCI are also allowing independent sightseeing on their UK cruises.

As are Celebrity … they have been for around two weeks I believe 

[kalos]

9 minutes ago, Britboys said:

I have seen one person post that they could access it once they were in the terminal building...

I read somewhere that is fake news as you need the last few numbers of your cruise card 

to gain access and they are in an envelope outside your cabin door 

[jaydee6969]

12 minutes ago, kalos said:

I read somewhere that is fake news as you need the last few numbers of your cruise card 

to gain access and they are in an envelope outside your cabin door 

 

The numbers are also on your boarding pass you print off before going to the terminal, last 6 digits below the barcode.

 

Didn't verify if it worked, as I did not want my phone in flight mode whilst awaiting my test result.

[Son of Anarchy]

59 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Not quite sure where to post this - didn't want to start a new thread- but Princess are now allowing independent shore visits.  You would think that P&O woukd follow suit

Will I be able to go ashore?

In accordance with health authority guidelines, fully vaccinated guests may choose to explore destinations independently, and should comply with all local guidance relating to social distancing and face masks.

Guests aged 17 years or younger who are unvaccinated sailing on Regal Princess from 30 September to 3 November and Sky Princess 5 October to 5 November on 2021, will only be permitted to go ashore through shore excursions sold by or through Princess using tour operators who comply with our COVID-19 controls. Self-exploration or participation in shore excursions not sold through or operated by Princess will not be permitted.

Thanks for posting this.  Hopefully P&O will adopt this policy before 25 September.

[BouncingWheel]

Need to ensure the independent shore excursions are not just for UK ports before booking anything after seacations