AFTERNOON TEA

[Denarius]

13 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

Presumably just the standard pump containers on the wall.

Yes. Two containers on the wall in the shower, one for shower gell and one for shampoo. No loose toileteries in bathroom other than a bar of soap. Not a big deal really other than as a further indication of cutbacks.

[yorkshirephil]

39 minutes ago, Denarius said:

Yes. Two containers on the wall in the shower, one for shower gell and one for shampoo. No loose toileteries in bathroom other than a bar of soap. Not a big deal really other than as a further indication of cutbacks.

Not a problem for me, one container of shower gel gets me clean all over, however the missis will take her own, hair shampoo, conditioner, face wash, exfoliating wash, armpit soap, foot wash, back cleaner, dual action soap scrub, triple action high definition ankle emollient with built in elasticatoriser deep rinse and the myriad of other cleansers, whereas I will have 2 tee shirts and 1 pair of shorts and me crocs, but at least that is formal night taken care of😉.

[Adawn47]

17 hours ago, happy v said:

I haven't been on Aurora yet, but would like to as I loved Oriana

We love Aurora and have sailed on her a few times. We also tried Oriana and even though she was similar, having a tiered stern, we somehow found it difficult to find our way around. I know she was a favourite of many, but for some reason we couldn't feel comfortable on her. 

Avril

[Britboys]

22 hours ago, Adawn47 said:

Not until December 2023, so plenty of time yet.

I should also add that we will be on Aurora, but any cutbacks will be fleet wide, so this thread is still relevant.

Avril

You might recall the report of my Aurora cruise that I posted last month Avril. I was really ambivalent about going on the cruise but definitely enjoyed it. The menu choice was not as good as pre-Covid for me and there were lots of repeated dishes but almost every day I found something very acceptable. I did miss mdr Afternoon Tea but the cakes and scones in the buffet were fine.

I did miss the Port Information sheets in the cabin but frankly the Port Lecturers were becoming more and more like excursion sales people before Covid arrived.

There was varied entertainment, including a pianist in the Crows Nest and busker in Champions. There was a Pulse band and the Aurora Orchestra. I believe there was daily dancing in Masquerade to a live trio.

We had 4 lecturers over the 19 nights. A daily newsheet with a combined soduko/crossword was delivered to cabins each day.

I'm hoping that evening turndown, afternoon tea and a better menu have all returned by next summer when I am back on Aurora again.

Most people will know that I don't hold back criticism of P&O on here but I was pleasantly surprised at how 'normal' a service I received on the cruise. The staff were, almost without exception, excellent.

[happy v]

18 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

Presumably just the standard pump containers on the wall.

Shampoo and shower gel on the wall and soap for hand basin. I asked for body lotion and received some

 

 

[Adawn47]

2 hours ago, Britboys said:

Most people will know that I don't hold back criticism of P&O on here but I was pleasantly surprised at how 'normal' a service I received on the cruise. The staff were, almost without exception, excellent.

That is the one area where P&O excel, imo. 

Avril

 

[Ardennais]

11 hours ago, wowzz said:

I thought that had been the case since pre Covid times. 

They brought me fresh coffee every morning in Jan/Feb 2020 as part of my continental breakfast, 

[Snow Hill]

10 hours ago, Denarius said:

Yes. Two containers on the wall in the shower, one for shower gell and one for shampoo. No loose toileteries in bathroom other than a bar of soap. Not a big deal really other than as a further indication of cutbacks.

I think this is part of Carnival/P&O commitment to reduce the amount of single use plastic rather than cutbacks. 

[yorkshirephil]

7 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

I think this is part of Carnival/P&O commitment to reduce the amount of single use plastic rather than cutbacks. 

That is what they claim, MSC say the same but it didn't stop them from serving water from plastic bottles at dinner, when we had to pay for water on previous cruises the bottles were glass.

[FatBoy20]

On 10/20/2022 at 4:43 AM, devonuk said:

I’m on the Ventura next week and we received an email warning us in advance of staffing issues and longer waits for service in some bars etc. It’s half term so I guess it’s going to pretty busy on board 😳

If the staffing & supply issues are bad now what happens when Arvia launches in December!.

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, Tablelamp said:

...whilst Cunard have a good reputation, they also seem to have a ‘Class system’

Which is no different to MSC, NCL and Celebrity to name three and to a lesser extent Princess...

[Denarius]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

Which is no different to MSC, NCL and Celebrity to name three and to a lesser extent Princess...

.....and P&O, with suite occupants being entitled to breakfast in Epicurian.

[Denarius]

On 10/20/2022 at 1:14 PM, Adawn47 said:

We love Aurora and have sailed on her a few times. We also tried Oriana and even though she was similar, having a tiered stern, we somehow found it difficult to find our way around. I know she was a favourite of many, but for some reason we couldn't feel comfortable on her. 

Avril

I was just the opposite. Loved Oriana (and Oceana) but never felt at home on Aurora. But it would be a boring world if we all liked the same things.

[terrierjohn]

On 10/19/2022 at 9:26 PM, elmsliebev said:

no toiletries in cabins? Not even basic shower gel/shampoo? We were on Cunard in July/Aug and had to ask for soap, cotton buds etc but even Premier Inn has shower gel & shampoo!

But premier inn toiletries are also in a plastic dispenser fastened to the wall. I find the  shower gel and shampoo in the shower cubicle perfectly satisfactory, but I do like a tablet of soap for the wash basin, our steward found us some on Iona, but did say stocks were not being replaced.

[Megabear2]

The toiletries removal on land has been happening since 2019 when IHG group decided to remove individual bottles. IHG offer 850,000 rooms worldwide and their saving is around 200,000,000 bottles!  They aren't alone now:

 

https://www.greenkey.global/stories-news-1/2019/9/16/hotel-chains-take-actions-get-rid-of-single-use-toiletries

 

 

[molecrochip]

Carnival corp. worldwide started a project in 2018 to remove all single use plastics from their ships. This was a phased plan set to take some five years across their fleets.  Plastic items being phased out include: bottles of water, cutlery, sauce sachets, toiletries, balloons, flags etc. etc. 

 

If nothing else, too many of these items could accidentally end up over the side of the ship.

 

Its not always a downgrade. For example, some ships which used plastic cutlery have replaced it with proper metal cutlery instead. Bottles of water have been replaced with cans or glass bottles but ships have also gained water bottle refilling stations.

 

The project was paused during Covid as there was a clear argument for single use items to reduce the risk of transmission. The focus on implementing this is back now.

[elmsliebev]

11 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

But premier inn toiletries are also in a plastic dispenser fastened to the wall. I find the  shower gel and shampoo in the shower cubicle perfectly satisfactory, but I do like a tablet of soap for the wash basin, our steward found us some on Iona, but did say stocks were not being replaced.

yes, I'm fine with the plastic dispenser stuff. My original question was because someone posted that there were "no toiletries" which surprised me. I guess they meant no additional stuff that used to be standard but you now have to ask for, as we did on Cunard in the summer - soap, conditioner, cotton buds etc.  

[Adawn47]

I'm a little mystified over the problem of lack of supplied toiletries in cabins!

Simple solution, take your own. 

I've never used the toiletries supplied and much prefer my own brands. I take travel sizes or transfer some into small plastic bottles. 

Avril

[Harry Peterson]

4 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

I'm a little mystified over the problem of lack of supplied toiletries in cabins!

Simple solution, take your own. 

I've never used the toiletries supplied and much prefer my own brands. I take travel sizes or transfer some into small plastic bottles. 

Avril

Spot on, Avril. Always the commonsense approach!  We’ve got no problems with the liquid soap and shampoo on the wall but other bits and pieces travel with us. That 1969 bottle of Tabac has lasted very well……

[kalos]

Agreed

3 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Spot on, Avril. Always the commonsense approach!

 

Agreed !   It is not just P&O doing this . The times the stewards must have thrown away the 

little half used bottles of "White Company " goods ,sheer waste !

If they left them in the bathroom I'm sure people would soon have something to say about that .

Providing what is strapped to the wall is fit for purpose ,I can see no problem apart from if you 

intended taking the little bottles home to give to the Grandkids?

As for the other things like a tiny bar of soap ,ask the steward and I imagine he /she would be 

more than happy to supply you with one .

We cannot have it both ways ,we are all cutting down on plastic use ..aren't we ? ☺️

[zap99]

13 hours ago, Presto2 said:

I find this quite depressing. I get the impact of Covid etc but are not happy to pay the same as we used to pay for a now inferior product.

Really reconsidering cancelling future cruises and going for land holidays.  

Big Mac's aren't and wagon wheels are tiny. Every product is getting smaller ,or more costly. 

[Adawn47]

10 minutes ago, kalos said:

Agreed

 

Agreed !   It is not just P&O doing this . The times the stewards must have thrown away the 

little half used bottles of "White Company " goods ,sheer waste !

If they left them in the bathroom I'm sure people would soon have something to say about that .

Providing what is strapped to the wall is fit for purpose ,I can see no problem apart from if you 

intended taking the little bottles home to give to the Grandkids?

As for the other things like a tiny bar of soap ,ask the steward and I imagine he /she would be 

more than happy to supply you with one .

We cannot have it both ways ,we are all cutting down on plastic use ..aren't we ? ☺️

I hasten to add, that the little plastic containers I use are washed, dried and reused for the next next holiday😉

Avril

[zap99]

12 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

But premier inn toiletries are also in a plastic dispenser fastened to the wall. I find the  shower gel and shampoo in the shower cubicle perfectly satisfactory, but I do like a tablet of soap for the wash basin, our steward found us some on Iona, but did say stocks were not being replaced.

We had 2 bars of soap on Britannia. We only used one and should have pinched the other one to take on Iona. Just in case.🤔

[Presto2]

2 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Big Mac's aren't and wagon wheels are tiny. Every product is getting smaller ,or more costly. 

But they don't cost me thousands of pounds and don't continue to sell themselves as something really special in big glossy brochures ...

[GSPG]

On 10/17/2022 at 6:54 PM, Denarius said:

Very true.

I have just returned from a cruise on Azura, my first P&O cruise since pre pandemic which was also on Azura. Was amazed by the cutbacks, inter alia

 

No afternoon tea

Greatly reduced menu and wine list in the MDR

No theme nights in the buffet

No evening turndown service

no toiletries in cabin

No deck buffets on sea days

No deck parties

No speciality buffets -Neptune's, chocaholics etc

No in cabin port information. No port lecturer

No photographers (a blessing!)

Reduced number of entertainers - just one band (Pulse, excellent), a singer/guitarist Maddison (also excellent), a female solo singer and a coctail pianist. Plus of course the Headliners and a couple of cabaret artist. Increased use of recorded music in Manhatten etc

 

In addition to which:

the Glass house was mainly marketed as a restaurant, with all entrances apart from one roped off and a reception desk - "wait to be seated" - on the remaining one and closing at 10pm.

Brodies was dominated many evenings by football on TV

Ballroom dancing to recorded music every evening in the atrium, no  live band.

 

Very much no frills cruising.

 

Returned on Iona yesterday.

For now, to that list add.

Very little choice in the buffet, and what there was there was bland.