Should we book P&O?

[Interestedcruisefan]

29 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I guess we are using 3* as a point if comparison.  If you take a line such a Viking to be 5*, Celebrity to be 4*, then P&O is 3*. 

No one is knocking P&O for being 3*,  we are just reflecting on the quality vis a vis other lines.

If you compare to hotels then I would say P and O cruising is on a par with 5  star hotels

 

Stars are awarded to hotels for facilities 

 

Lifts, pools, room service, restaurants etc, spa, gym 

 

All P and O cruise ships have facilities above well in excess of 5 star hotels 

 

If you choose speciality dining options then the food offered is on a par with decent restaurants in 5 star hotels

 

And many 5 star hotels don't offer balconies nor the range of rooms or suites to choose from. Nor the entertainment, theatres and cinemas

 

Comparing to other cruise lines is a different debate entirely of course

 

We've also used Royal Caribbean which is probably slightly better than P and O and also Carnival which despite often being cheaper is more fun than any other cruises weve been on

 

Tbh every cruise we've been on has been great

 

We've stayed in 5 star hotels all over the world

 

But I would honestly say we would prefer a P and O cruise holiday to any 5 star hotel holiday now

 

Not only that it's a fraction of the price of 5 star hotel holidays with standard food which itself is perfectly ok included and free travel included

 

 

 

 

[wowzz]

15 minutes ago, zap99 said:

No it's not. We have had 3 P&O cruises so far this year. No problems with standards at all. None, nowt. Graham Pauline has had 2, us 3. Other opioniongivers none. 

We have two booked, and are quite happy with P&O quality in relation to the prices we have paid.

[wowzz]

16 minutes ago, LynnForestgate said:

 

 

Should these boards not be a discussion point of peoples experiences of P&O ?

 

.

Indeed,  but comparing P&O experiences to other lines is surely entirely legitimate? 

[wowzz]

17 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Unless its changed drastically since 2019 then I think your 3 star rating a bit unkind, IMO 4 star would be more suitable, with Celebrity on 5 and Princess between the two.

 

John, if you give Celebrity 5*, what do you give the likes of Silversea ?

You'll need a different category system.

[bobstheboy]

38 minutes ago, zap99 said:

No it's not. We have had 3 P&O cruises so far this year. No problems with standards at all. None, nowt. Graham Pauline has had 2, us 3. Other opioniongivers none. 

I assume you did not mean the last two sentences to read that no other opinions are based on current experiences. I have read a few opinions of recent cruisers, I have  been on Iona twice and given opinions. 

 

There are others full of bluster constantly belittling the Line, but their opinion counts for nought IMO.

Edited October 6, 2021 by bobstheboy
Typo

[terrierjohn]

25 minutes ago, wowzz said:

John, if you give Celebrity 5*, what do you give the likes of Silversea ?

You'll need a different category system.

The cruise industry and Silversea themselves consider it to be 7 star, or Luxury. Never having been on any of the 7 star cruise lines I wouldn't like to comment. But for facilities P&O beats any 5 star hotel we have stayed in.

Edited October 6, 2021 by terrierjohn

[zap99]

32 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Indeed,  but comparing P&O experiences to other lines is surely entirely legitimate? 

Certainly legitimate. But folk come on here to try and glean opinions on which to base their decisions. If people who haven't been on a P&O ship in recent years start slagging them of based on no recent knowledge whatsoever. Is that legitimate,?.

[zap99]

16 minutes ago, bobstheboy said:

I assume you did not mean the last two sentences to read that no other opinions are based on current experiences. I have read a few opinions of recent cruisers, I have  been on Iona twice and given opinions. 

 

There are others full of bluster constantly belittling the Line, but their opinion counts for nought IMO.

No. What I meant was folk giving negative opinions who haven't cruised in the last few years. That is not fair. 

[wowzz]

14 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

But for facilities P&O beats any 5 star hotel we have stayed in.

For facilities, possibly, but  the service levels on P&O bear no comparison to those you would find in hotels such as a  Mandarin Oriental. 

[terrierjohn]

1 minute ago, zap99 said:

No. What I meant was folk giving negative opinions who haven't cruised in the last few years. That is not fair. 

Quite a few of us haven't cruised in the last few years. Because we were moving house, and had a cruise booked for this October, we did not consider the seacations, unfortunately we lost our cruise because of P&O needing accessible cabins for possible quarantine. Our last P&O cruise was April 2019, and we should have cruised with them again in April 2020, but that was one of the first to be cancelled because of the pandemic.

We now need to wait until Feb next year, and hope that nothing further happens to prevent us cruising.

[Harry Peterson]

59 minutes ago, LynnForestgate said:

 

 

Should these boards not be a discussion point of peoples experiences of P&O ?

 

.

Indeed so. But sometimes it might seem that objectivity is in short supply. This is a P&O forum, and people tend understandably to defend their own choices. Anything that isn’t praising the product to the hilt tends to be seen as criticism by some.

[wowzz]

10 minutes ago, zap99 said:

What I meant was folk giving negative opinions who haven't cruised in the last few years. That is not fair

Our last cruise with P&O was in February 2020, just prior to lockdown,  so one of the most recent international cruises. 

[zap99]

3 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Quite a few of us haven't cruised in the last few years. Because we were moving house, and had a cruise booked for this October, we did not consider the seacations, unfortunately we lost our cruise because of P&O needing accessible cabins for possible quarantine. Our last P&O cruise was April 2019, and we should have cruised with them again in April 2020, but that was one of the first to be cancelled because of the pandemic.

We now need to wait until Feb next year, and hope that nothing further happens to prevent us cruising.

Hope you get back to cruising soon. Would you give P&O a negative review based on recent experience. If someone says that their cruise in 1973 was of a higher standard than the cruise they had in 2019, that is fair, but to generalise based on no information isn't. 

[zap99]

7 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Our last cruise with P&O was in February 2020, just prior to lockdown,  so one of the most recent international cruises. 

Then a valid comparison. What gets me is a small number of posters who have stated their intention not to cruise for a few years and have not cruised for a few more, giving advice about dropping standards. Folk who may be seeking guidance from experienced cruises are then mislead. My last post on the subject as off to spend a Costa bean.🤣

[terrierjohn]

21 minutes ago, wowzz said:

For facilities, possibly, but  the service levels on P&O bear no comparison to those you would find in hotels such as a  Mandarin Oriental. 

Mandarin does prefix itself as Luxury 5 star, and having stayed in a far east Madarin hotel they do offer far better service and food standards than very many other 5 star hotels, so maybe it's the classification system that's wrong  which is probably why the cruise industry have added 6 and 7 star classes to the smaller luxury and boutique cruise lines

 

[Harry Peterson]

17 minutes ago, LynnForestgate said:

 

 

 

Oh Dear,  does it really appear that one can not express an opinion of P&O based on a past cruise ? Whatever the reason, moving house, illness, etc ?

 

.

It’s a very defensive forum, unfortunately. Even the most inoffensive comment tends to be interpreted as negative unless it’s positively glowing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an OK product, for an OK price - that’s why we use it. But however you dress it up it’s not the luxury product the advertising suggests. It was once, but it isn’t now, and it’s reflected in the lower prices.

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

Mandarin does prefix itself as Luxury 5 star, and having stayed in a far east Madarin hotel they do offer far better service and food standards than very many other 5 star hotels, so maybe it's the classification system that's wrong  which is probably why the cruise industry have added 6 and 7 star classes to the smaller luxury and boutique cruise lines

 

Which is why I cannot see how P&O can be said to offer the same same quality of service as a Mandarin Oriental, or indeed any other "legitimate" 5* hotel (as compared to hotels given 5* by the likes of Tui)

 

[Harry Peterson]

11 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Then a valid comparison. What gets me is a small number of posters who have stated their intention not to cruise for a few years and have not cruised for a few more, giving advice about dropping standards. Folk who may be seeking guidance from experienced cruises are then mislead. My last post on the subject as off to spend a Costa bean.🤣

I think people are looking for objective, unbiased views. They don’t always get them though.

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, Harry Peterson said:

It’s a very defensive forum, unfortunately. Even the most inoffensive comment tends to be interpreted as negative unless it’s positively glowing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an OK product, for an OK price - that’s why we use it. But however you dress it up it’s not the luxury product the advertising suggests. It was once, but it isn’t now, and it’s reflected in the lower prices.

Agreed.  If suggesting that P&O is not as good as other cruise lines, I plead guilty,  but I have never knowingly knocked it. It offers exactly what you would expect  for the price paid.

[Cruise Puss]

My advice to you would be a definite No.

 

Try Princess instead, much better.😊

 

 

[daiB]

3 minutes ago, Cruise Puss said:

My advice to you would be a definite No.

 

Try Princess instead, much better.😊

 

 

No not better different.

 

And in reality not that much. Well not from Southampton. However I  thoroughly enjoyed my Princess cruise and would recommend them. Having Elite status helped however.

 

Dai

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Which is why I cannot see how P&O can be said to offer the same same quality of service as a Mandarin Oriental, or indeed any other "legitimate" 5* hotel (as compared to hotels given 5* by the likes of Tui)

 

I said 4 star, and I still think that applies, especially when I compare it with many 4* hotels we have stayed in, many of which only offer self service dining rooms, with very few frills.

In fact one of my main complaints pre covid was the cleanliness and rather infrequent cleaning that they employed, especially compared with Celebrity. But I think that post covid that will now have been improved considerably, so I am looking forward to our next cruise to see if that has improved.

 

[davecttr]

3 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

If you compare to hotels then I would say P and O cruising is on a par with 5  star hotels

 

Stars are awarded to hotels for facilities 

 

Lifts, pools, room service, restaurants etc, spa, gym 

 

All P and O cruise ships have facilities above well in excess of 5 star hotels 

 

If you choose speciality dining options then the food offered is on a par with decent restaurants in 5 star hotels

 

And many 5 star hotels don't offer balconies nor the range of rooms or suites to choose from. Nor the entertainment, theatres and cinemas

 

Comparing to other cruise lines is a different debate entirely of course

 

We've also used Royal Caribbean which is probably slightly better than P and O and also Carnival which despite often being cheaper is more fun than any other cruises weve been on

 

Tbh every cruise we've been on has been great

 

We've stayed in 5 star hotels all over the world

 

But I would honestly say we would prefer a P and O cruise holiday to any 5 star hotel holiday now

 

Not only that it's a fraction of the price of 5 star hotel holidays with standard food which itself is perfectly ok included and free travel included

 

 

 

 

I agree, according to Which the only 5 star item P&O would miss out on would be the lack of 80% of cabins with a bath.

[Harry Peterson]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

I said 4 star, and I still think that applies, especially when I compare it with many 4* hotels we have stayed in, many of which only offer self service dining rooms, with very few frills.

In fact one of my main complaints pre covid was the cleanliness and rather infrequent cleaning that they employed, especially compared with Celebrity. But I think that post covid that will now have been improved considerably, so I am looking forward to our next cruise to see if that has improved.

 

Decent hotels, though, John, do usually ensure that their rooms and facilities are maintained to good standards, and any problems rapidly fixed.

 

I won’t bore everyone with the details of our last suite with P&O, but it was in a pretty poor state, and getting other more general problems resolved required an email to the Carnival CEO because the ship’s Customer Service Manager had decided he didn’t need to talk to customers.

[Angel57]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

Agreed.  If suggesting that P&O is not as good as other cruise lines, I plead guilty,  but I have never knowingly knocked it. It offers exactly what you would expect  for the price paid.

I think that is a very good point. In general you gets what you pay for. For the price I believe P&O is very good value. A few years ago the product was definitely better but you paid more for it……