Iona specialty restaurants closed?

[Grandad John]

By the time I get on board Azura in late October am I going to be condemned to walking around with a bowl asking for some gruel? Did Oliver Twist ever take a cruise I wonder?

 

[majortom10]

4 hours ago, Grandad John said:

By the time I get on board Azura in late October am I going to be condemned to walking around with a bowl asking for some gruel? Did Oliver Twist ever take a cruise I wonder?

 

Whatever you dont ask for more.

[bbtablet]

On 6/26/2022 at 9:33 PM, my marina bay said:

If Carnival/ PO is in as much debt as the financiers say, then possibly some suppliers haven't been paid what they are owed therefore no more supplies until debts settled. Just a thought.

I think you will find that the sort of debt the financiers are discussing is not the localised current liabilities that are owed to suppliers but the billions owed on huge loans Carnival have taken out over the years.

[mondas42]

I think for me the bigger issue is that despite P&O knowing these restaurants are closed and will be for the foreseeable future, they still continue to advertise them on the website and the cruise personaliser. This to me smacks as false advertising but I'm no expert.

 

I accept that times are more challenging than before in the tourist trade, but at least be honest with your customers at the point of booking so they can make an informed decision.

 

[molecrochip]

3 hours ago, mondas42 said:

I think for me the bigger issue is that despite P&O knowing these restaurants are closed and will be for the foreseeable future, they still continue to advertise them on the website and the cruise personaliser. This to me smacks as false advertising but I'm no expert.

 

I accept that times are more challenging than before in the tourist trade, but at least be honest with your customers at the point of booking so they can make an informed decision.

 

Cruise personaliser had been listing 'enquire on board'. That doesn't say open, it says ask.

[Ardennais]

3 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

Cruise personaliser had been listing 'enquire on board'. That doesn't say open, it says ask.

Flipping heck! What a sly comment. 

[MPC1986]

11 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

Cruise personaliser had been listing 'enquire on board'. That doesn't say open, it says ask.

Blimey! Not the most helpful comment I have seen from Molecrochip on this site.

 

The issue is that the restaurants are not open, P&O know they won't be open but let people believe that they will be able to book onboard, why else would they enquire? Iona is advertised as having a number of dining options and yet people aren't being told that a some of these will not be available for the whole cruise. Cruises are still available to book when P&O know those cruises won't have certain restaurants open, its just bad form. 

 

It is a simple matter of being honest with the people paying the fares.  A lot of people book P&O with the specific intention of using these restaurants, we are one example. 

 

It would be helpful if P&O could given an indication as to when these restaurants will open. I am on the 13-20 August Iona cruise and I am now assuming I will have no access to these restaurants. For reasons unknown, P&O don't want to let me know if they will be available. 

[terrierjohn]

35 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

Cruise personaliser had been listing 'enquire on board'. That doesn't say open, it says ask.

You're not helping P&O with this comment Moley. If fluctuating staff levels, due to covid, delays with replacements or produce shortages, then that information needs to be shared with the passengers, as early as possible.

[chrisg1uk]

48 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

Cruise personaliser had been listing 'enquire on board'. That doesn't say open, it says ask.

Personally having spent a fortune on my next cruise I would prefer to know what I am going to get for my money.  Is it too much to ask?  After all, P&O still publicise the availability of all the facilities. If this is the attitude then I think its time for me to jump ship before balance due.    

[Camberley]

For my late July cruise, it has been saying enquire on board for months - as my previous two cruises did. Then close to sailing it changes to allow booking online. As for my July trip, who knows.
 

If it transpires the speciality restaurants are cancelled - and P&O have not been up front so far - then given their normal fayre is not always good enough (we find it adequate/functional but not at all special), I will be cancelling my P&O cruises booked for the next two years and go elsewhere: those speciality restaurants have always been the food highlight of the cruises - meals to look forward to! Now that might well be my cutting of nose to spite my face, but it would be one key thing that nudges me to use another company.

Edited June 29, 2022 by Camberley

[Froxfield]

Thinking much the same. Is it worth paying the balance for a cruise whilst this uncertainty exists?At least we are not travelling until November so I have a few weeks to watch this space.

[Megabear2]

We cruise Iona October and would book these restaurants as a special treat for my aunt.  Will be disappointed if closed.

 

The highlight of my Christmas cruise is Christmas dinner in Epicurean.  I will NOT be a happy bunny if that goes missing on Britannia this year.  This cruise is costing just close to £8,000 and has two cancelled cruises involved.  The fare is already extortionate and I'm watching very closely.  After my Celebrity experience P&O are skating on thin ice with all this. No one is telling me why it is continuing to happen.  At least Cunard had the decency to cut occupancy to match the staff they have.

[zap99]

4 hours ago, Ardennais said:

Flipping heck! What a sly comment. 

Not open at the moment is too honest. 

[zap99]

4 hours ago, molecrochip said:

Cruise personaliser had been listing 'enquire on board'. That doesn't say open, it says ask.

Does that mean it's open, closed, or can't be bothered to tell the truth to paying customers ?

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

We cruise Iona October and would book these restaurants as a special treat for my aunt.  Will be disappointed if closed.

 

The highlight of my Christmas cruise is Christmas dinner in Epicurean.  I will NOT be a happy bunny if that goes missing on Britannia this year.  This cruise is costing just close to £8,000 and has two cancelled cruises involved.  The fare is already extortionate and I'm watching very closely.  After my Celebrity experience P&O are skating on thin ice with all this. No one is telling me why it is continuing to happen.  At least Cunard had the decency to cut occupancy to match the staff they have.

We paid the balance for our October Britannia trip today. Paid in full for all this year's cruises. Celebrity,then RC, then P&O. We won't be booking any 2023 cruises until;

A. Prices stop being silly.

B. We review how these 3 Companies perform.

Reports on here indicate X are performing well. We shall see.🤔

 

 

 

[AnnieC]

4 hours ago, chrisg1uk said:

Personally having spent a fortune on my next cruise I would prefer to know what I am going to get for my money.  Is it too much to ask?  After all, P&O still publicise the availability of all the facilities. If this is the attitude then I think its time for me to jump ship before balance due.    

No, it's not too much too ask. I haven't contributed for a while as I have nothing booked, but have carried on reading, and this is a most unsatisfactory attitude.

 

Dining in the speciality restaurants on P&O every evening was a vital component of the holiday for us, in fact the only reason we carried on cruising with P&O, and their removal,  without notice or the option of cancelling without penalty, is completely unacceptable. I do hope standards in the main dining rooms have improved to compensate, but rather doubt it.

 

 

Edited June 29, 2022 by AnnieC

[newbie cruissy]

5 hours ago, molecrochip said:

Cruise personaliser had been listing 'enquire on board'. That doesn't say open, it says ask.

Interestingly, my Cruise Personaliser has changed in the last day or so, and now, instead of "Enquire on board", says "Available to book on board" 

Small change of wording, but reason for optimism perhaps?? 

[dunnster1965]

14 minutes ago, newbie cruissy said:

Interestingly, my Cruise Personaliser has changed in the last day or so, and now, instead of "Enquire on board", says "Available to book on board" 

Small change of wording, but reason for optimism perhaps?? 

Thanks mentioning that, I thought it had changed when I checked it this morning but started doubting myself. 

[Presto2]

I find all of this really sad to be honest.

As we have posted we cancelled our cruise on Ventura for August this year due to not knowing if our cabin was going to be swapped and P&O not giving us a straight answer.

I can't believe I am saying I am glad we cancelled now and are going to a lovely lake side lodge (on the lake) in Keswick and then our little piece of heaven by the sea in Llanddulas  as I would really NOT have been happy one little bit to go and then find out the select dining areas were closed.....

I feel like P&O are not giving straight answers. I would respect them far more if they were honest and we knew what we were getting.

 

[molecrochip]

I must remember, quick replies are never the thing to do. Sorry to anyone offended. 

 

I was focused on the comment that it was false advertising by showing restaurants that P&O know are closed. My point, made badly, was that cruise personaliser doesn't list these restaurants as open. It just lists the restaurants that are on the ship. They could be closed, fully booked or available to book on board.

 

What I am seeing more and more is a passenger expectation that things are back to the pre-pandemic ways of working. This is despite being told that there are changes. Unfortunately, I fear we have these difficult times for a little longer.

[Grandad John]

Molecrochip

 

Would you care to hazard a guess on how long ‘a little longer’ is likely to be?

[grapau27]

6 hours ago, molecrochip said:

Cruise personaliser had been listing 'enquire on board'. That doesn't say open, it says ask.

It nearly always says Enquire on Board but sometimes it allows us to book online @£22pp less Discount as opposed to £28pp on board.

I would have thought the speciality restaurants were profitable especially when most people also get a bottle of wine with dinner too considering we could go to the MDR for free.

[grapau27]

6 hours ago, Ardennais said:

Flipping heck! What a sly comment. 

Absolutely agree.

[grapau27]

37 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

I must remember, quick replies are never the thing to do. Sorry to anyone offended. 

 

I was focused on the comment that it was false advertising by showing restaurants that P&O know are closed. My point, made badly, was that cruise personaliser doesn't list these restaurants as open. It just lists the restaurants that are on the ship. They could be closed, fully booked or available to book on board.

 

What I am seeing more and more is a passenger expectation that things are back to the pre-pandemic ways of working. This is despite being told that there are changes. Unfortunately, I fear we have these difficult times for a little longer.

We have been on Iona twice and Britannia twice since August 2021 and experienced no problems with plenty of crew on board so why now?

[chrisg1uk]

34 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

I must remember, quick replies are never the thing to do. Sorry to anyone offended. 

 

I was focused on the comment that it was false advertising by showing restaurants that P&O know are closed. My point, made badly, was that cruise personaliser doesn't list these restaurants as open. It just lists the restaurants that are on the ship. They could be closed, fully booked or available to book on board.

 

What I am seeing more and more is a passenger expectation that things are back to the pre-pandemic ways of working. This is despite being told that there are changes. Unfortunately, I fear we have these difficult times for a little longer.

I for one accept that not everything will be back to pre pandemic levels and sympathise. But that sympathy will only continue if I feel we as customers are being treated with respect and openness - which I doubt at the moment.  The lack on board photographers, the loss of the turndown service in the evening, people who have paid a significant premium to choose their cabin being forced to change without compensation are all examples of changes that have been initially highlighted on social media.  The speciality restaurants form a very important part of some customers very expensive holidays - it is not surprising that folk will get upset.