Lack of staff- Ventura

[david63]

Just a thought.

 

Could the staff level issues on P&O ships be to do with the varying numbers of passengers from one cruise to the next?

 

For example last month we did a b2b on Britannia and on the first cruise the ship was about 60% passenger capacity and on the next it was about 90%. If there are variations at that level on all ships then it is an impossible job to have adequate staffing levels - you have two options either have staff doing nothing or run a reduced staffing level.

 

If all ships were to turnaround in the same port on the same day then they could possibly move the "pool" of staff around to suit the current cruise requirement but that does not happen.

[Danamis]

3 hours ago, Rainmow said:

We have just returned on Saturday from a cruise on Ventura. We booked Epicurian  online 4 days before we sailed only to have a note left in our cabin plus a bottle of wine to say it was not going to be open.Sindu was open and enjoyed a nice meal although not as good as it used to be when you just paid a fixed amount. We went to glasshouse and asked for the food menu only to be told it wasn’t open on this cruise. Ventura is supposed to be a family ship but all the cruise the baby pool was not open and other pools were too cold for younger children to be in for a long time. We have sailed on other P&O ships but would not rush back on Ventura. The staff all work very hard but are definitely understaffed.

That is such a shame! We did two cruises earlier this year and both restaurants were fully open. They weren't fully booked though so perhaps that has had some influence on the decision to close? We always like to use the speciality restaurants so we would have been disappointed if they were closed. We are on Arcadia next month for a friend's birthday and as there are only two speciality restaurants on there I am hoping that they will be open.

[wowzz]

24 minutes ago, Danamis said:

That is such a shame! We did two cruises earlier this year and both restaurants were fully open. They weren't fully booked though so perhaps that has had some influence on the decision to close? We always like to use the speciality restaurants so we would have been disappointed if they were closed. We are on Arcadia next month for a friend's birthday and as there are only two speciality restaurants on there I am hoping that they will be open.

Both were open in March.  Hopefully they will be open for you. 

[Danamis]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Both were open in March.  Hopefully they will be open for you. 

 

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Both were open in March.  Hopefully they will be open for you. 

Thank you. Fingers crossed!

 

[Ardennais]

All eateries seem to be open currently on Enchanted Princess. I’m sitting in the bar outside the Crown Grill and it’s quite full there. 

[doog442]

7 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

All eateries seem to be open currently on Enchanted Princess. I’m sitting in the bar outside the Crown Grill and it’s quite full there. 

 

Excellent, we're on the Enchanted this Friday, can't wait.  

[bbtablet]

7 hours ago, david63 said:

Just a thought.

If all ships were to turnaround in the same port on the same day then they could possibly move the "pool" of staff around to suit the current cruise requirement but that does not happen.

The mind boggles!

[terrierjohn]

We spoke to several waiters on Britannia last week who informed us they were leaving the ship to join Arcadia ready for her to restart cruising.

Possibly that's why Britannia has had to close Epicurean and stop serving food in the Glass House.

Not very satisfactory for passengers however.

[Dermotsgirl]

Going back to the original cancellations of the Arcadia cruises, Molecrochip explained that it made more sense to P&O to cancel sailings on one ship rather than offer sub-par cruises on all ships.

 

Now P&O seem to have done an about turn and are bringing back Arcadia, but all the other ships will offer less than optimum alternative dining arrangements! 
 

Not satisfactory at all for passengers 
 

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

Going back to the original cancellations of the Arcadia cruises, Molecrochip explained that it made more sense to P&O to cancel sailings on one ship rather than offer sub-par cruises on all ships.

 

Now P&O seem to have done an about turn and are bringing back Arcadia, but all the other ships will offer less than optimum alternative dining arrangements! 
 

Not satisfactory at all for passengers 
 

I assume that in the three months since Arcadia was taken out of service,  additional staff have been recruited. 

However,  recent reviews indicate that staff issues remain.

I'm glad that my next holiday is to Ilfracombe,  where Mrs W will provide the drinks service,  and I will be in charge of the speciality restaurant,  which will be open every night,  microwave allowing !

[Harry Peterson]

The Guardian sums it up rather nicely - skimpflation. Good word!
 

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/jun/28/cancelled-flight-shoddy-clothing-disappointing-meal-blame-skimpflation-the-hidden-curse-of-2022

[Snow Hill]

9 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

The Guardian sums it up rather nicely - skimpflation. Good word!
 

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/jun/28/cancelled-flight-shoddy-clothing-disappointing-meal-blame-skimpflation-the-hidden-curse-of-2022

We are now having to recheck regularly the ingredients of some of the food products we purchase to ensure no wheat or barley based products have sneaked in as my wife is coeliac. 

[molecrochip]

22 hours ago, david63 said:

Just a thought.

 

Could the staff level issues on P&O ships be to do with the varying numbers of passengers from one cruise to the next?

 

For example last month we did a b2b on Britannia and on the first cruise the ship was about 60% passenger capacity and on the next it was about 90%. If there are variations at that level on all ships then it is an impossible job to have adequate staffing levels - you have two options either have staff doing nothing or run a reduced staffing level.

 

If all ships were to turnaround in the same port on the same day then they could possibly move the "pool" of staff around to suit the current cruise requirement but that does not happen.

Nothing to do with varying numbers of passengers on board. You crew up for the ship as even at 50% full, you still need the majority of your crew in the event of an emergency.

 

You can't just move staff between ships. When new crew join any ship (or even re-join), they need to undergo a number of days of familiarisation - of the ship, the safety procedures, their specific role etc.

13 hours ago, wowzz said:

I assume that in the three months since Arcadia was taken out of service,  additional staff have been recruited. 

However,  recent reviews indicate that staff issues remain.

I'm glad that my next holiday is to Ilfracombe,  where Mrs W will provide the drinks service,  and I will be in charge of the speciality restaurant,  which will be open every night,  microwave allowing !

Yes, additional staff have been, and continue to be recruited.

13 hours ago, Dermotsgirl said:

Going back to the original cancellations of the Arcadia cruises, Molecrochip explained that it made more sense to P&O to cancel sailings on one ship rather than offer sub-par cruises on all ships.

 

Now P&O seem to have done an about turn and are bringing back Arcadia, but all the other ships will offer less than optimum alternative dining arrangements! 
 

Not satisfactory at all for passengers 
 

Not at all. Arcadia was delayed once and the decision was made not to delay again. There are new crew joining all the time but perhaps just not as quickly as liked. Additionally, you can't account for someone testing positive the day before flying. It's not a case of having a hotel full of spare crew sat in Southampton.

 

Also, the problem is not just staff, its supply chain too

[Cathygh]

22 hours ago, Ardennais said:

All eateries seem to be open currently on Enchanted Princess. I’m sitting in the bar outside the Crown Grill and it’s quite full there. 

I was on Enchanted a few weeks ago, it was fully staffed but only 50% full. No food shortages.  I think Enchanted is the newest Princess ship so may be they have put more resources into her than other Princess ships? However if this is not the case and Princess is managing things well across the fleet then shame on P&O, and Cunard from what I've been told by friends who have sailed on both recently.

[molecrochip]

Its partly because Princess were crewed up in anticipation of having one more ship back in service by now but that's not happened. As for food shortages, its menu/brand specific.

 

I understand that Emerald, sailing out of Southampton has been subject to speciality restaurant closures however she is sailing fairly full so staff are need in the MDR for example. On Enchanted, their sailings are not as full given that they only went on sale in March accordingly its easier to spread staff around without a noticeable impact on service.

[ann141]

23 hours ago, doog442 said:

 

Excellent, we're on the Enchanted this Friday, can't wait.  

We are on enchanted Princess this Friday as well 🙂

[Cathygh]

13 hours ago, molecrochip said:

Its partly because Princess were crewed up in anticipation of having one more ship back in service by now but that's not happened. As for food shortages, its menu/brand specific.

 

I understand that Emerald, sailing out of Southampton has been subject to speciality restaurant closures however she is sailing fairly full so staff are need in the MDR for example. On Enchanted, their sailings are not as full given that they only went on sale in March accordingly its easier to spread staff around without a noticeable impact on service.

I have done a bit more digging and I have found Princess passengers are also complaining about some of the ships, Emerald being one of them.

 

[wowzz]

9 minutes ago, Cathygh said:

I have done a bit more digging and I have found Princess passengers are also complaining about some of the ships, Emerald being one of them.

 

I think that if you look at the boards for virtually all cruise lines, you will see the same complaints on all of them, all either supply chain or staff shortages related.

[Megabear2]

I board Regal Princess on Saturday in Barcelona.  Sailing looks about 60% full.  The ex UK departures seem to have more passengers- assumedly as UK passengers more willing to travel in covid era.  

 

Obviously more passengers means staff more thinly spread so this might impact.

 

I will report back.

[Ardennais]

16 hours ago, ann141 said:

We are on enchanted Princess this Friday as well 🙂

Hope you have a brilliant time. I wish we could stay on but work beckons! 

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

I board Regal Princess on Saturday in Barcelona.  Sailing looks about 60% full.  The ex UK departures seem to have more passengers- assumedly as UK passengers more willing to travel in covid era.  

 

Obviously more passengers means staff more thinly spread so this might impact.

 

I will report back.

 

I'm sure you'll have a great time - we did. All the restaurants on board were open.

Not sure how you get to a 60% occupancy estimate. 

From memory, on our cruise, 2400 pax on the first week, 3000 on the second week.

Edited June 30, 2022 by wowzz

[Megabear2]

21 minutes ago, wowzz said:

 

I'm sure you'll have a great time - we did. All the restaurants on board were open.

Not sure how you get to a 60% occupancy estimate. 

From memory, on our cruise, 2400 pax on the first week, 3000 on the second week.

Figures from Princess - apparently some areaa with hardly any cabins sold - I thought they were quarantine areas!  My aunt's ta gave us between 60 and 70% occupancy quote when we removed her friend who hasn't travelled. That was on 25th June.

[Broadside]

20 hours ago, molecrochip said:

Its partly because Princess were crewed up in anticipation of having one more ship back in service by now but that's not happened. As for food shortages, its menu/brand specific.

 

 

Whereas P and O were not crewed up in anticipation of all the cruises it had sold on Arcadia. 

 

Arcadia crew then redeployed to other ships yet some facilities still closed on these ships. This should have meant, in theory , well staffed and good service in all other areas of those ships facilities. Reports suggest this is not the situation 

[Eglesbrech]

8 hours ago, Cathygh said:

I have done a bit more digging and I have found Princess passengers are also complaining about some of the ships, Emerald being one of them.

 

Our Sky Princess cruise in May/ June was very short staffed on an almost full capacity sailing, so there were long queues everywhere you went. The issues were acknowledged onboard.
 

It was also messy as waiters were too busy serving to clear. Eventually they used the deck staff in the evenings to clear glasses and debris.

 

They charge the full cost but don’t offer the full service.
 

Skimpflation is a great word for it Harry and they all seem to be at it.

[Mysticalmother]

Interestingly, I am off on a different “ cruise” next week… a Brittany Ferry! And I am hearing of some of their restaurants not being open…in particular the main restaurant on Bretagne. Reasons given are staff shortages and supply chain issues…. I am returning on Bretagne on a day crossing from St Malo and if what I am hearing is true, only the buffet is open until midday…resulting in it being manic… and with the prospect of a further 6 hours on board and no hot food available after midday. I hope this just rumour…as we will have a 3 hour drive when we finally get off and I don't fancy a stop at Burger King on the way home! 
Its not just P & O …..