More bad publicity for P&O

[Ardennais]

7 minutes ago, carlanthony24 said:

Maybe I have. I won't go into detail like I said but some of the things people say to try and get what they want is unbelievable 

You’re being quite mysterious! On one hand, you say that things need be said, but on the other hand, you won’t go into detail and say that you can’t be bothered to find out! The plot thickens! 

[davecttr]

56 minutes ago, Tablelamp said:

Just a little concerned on how people like myself who don’t have a mobile phone or tablet are expected to cope.  I go on holiday to leave computer issues at home.

Don't worry. My mobile phone is a 'dumb' one. Big buttons for old hands and you can make and receive calls and texts. I also have a cheap 'smart' phone that was not recommended by Which. No SIM in it so it only works with free WiFi. I only use it to access my medical records and occasionally my Costa account. I have cruised on Iona twice and the phones remained locked in the cabin safe. Reception will book stuff for you but I found just turning up at the restaurant worked as well.  It helps that I tend to eat my main meal of the day at lunchtime.

[Bill Y]

6 hours ago, davecttr said:

The internal organisation of the galley must be different for Club and Freedom dining and maybe the galley on Iona/Arvia is designed for Freedom. Do the ships have 2 galleys? If so they could have one serving each MDR

I don’t know about these new ships as we have not been on one, but have done galley tours on Grand class ships where one central galley services the three MDRs whether they are freedom or club dinning.

[grapau27]

3 hours ago, Ardennais said:

We’ve never had any reason to complain in 13 years of cruising, and can easily dismiss minor issues. But in the past 3-4 years, I have had my eyes opened to the problems faced by people with limited mobility. When you’re in constant pain, when you’ve had new hips and knees and when your spine is crumbling, excessive queueing and standing about is very very hard. Now my parents would never dream of complaining, but in such situations, the enjoyment disappears. Nobody expects wonderful 100% of the time, but it’s quite reasonable to expect a professional product, akin to what is advertised. 

I can understand because I have arthritis in my hips and knees so I can only stand for a short time and why we haven't been in a MDR for dinner on our last 3 cruises preferring speciality or buffet if no speciality available to book.

Our next cruise which is on Royal Caribbean we have paid for an unlimited dining package in the speciality restaurants.

We also have 2 more P&O cruises booked.

Like yourself and John @zap99 we always ignore any minor issues and can genuinely say we have enjoyed every one of our 61 cruises to date.

Edited December 30, 2022 by grapau27

[Yorkypete]

3 hours ago, carlanthony24 said:

Hoping to win big by getting as much compo as possible for instance they think by going to the news companies they think we will get even more than what is offered.

Sorry but where do you get your info from. Please let us have yoursource.

[Snow Hill]

Reviews starting to appear on the pilot site. 

Edited December 30, 2022 by Snow Hill

[Selbourne]

9 minutes ago, carlanthony24 said:

I guess you are trying to compare me to someone else. I am known for not doing correct grammar, punctuation a lot. It's just who I am. I type and tend to just not read over what I have put.

 

I will defend companies where I feel I need to, I will also give balanced reviews where I can. I like to give my views from a crew perspective since not everyone knows the In and out of how things work.

 

If people do want to get to know me more and see what I have done. I am happy to share. I have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Feel free to even DM me and I will be happy to share experiences. 

 

 

Apologies. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have mentioned the grammar especially as, in my case, it’s a case of the pot calling the kettle black!. I was being a bit tongue in cheek to fuel the conspiracy theories, hence the emoji. Your posts are far too articulate to be the other poster that I was obliquely referring to 😂 

 

Having contributed to this forum for many years, I can assure you that almost all contributors give very balanced feedback and views, both good and bad. P&O does seem to be having quite a few issues at present, so it is inevitable that the conversation in the 3 weeks that you have been a contributor to Cruise Critic will seem more skewed to the negatives. These problems have come on top of a brand repositioning that might make a lot of sense (as they are after a bigger market segment than before), but isn’t landing as well with many who enjoyed the P&O of old. All these points are valid and should be discussed. 
 

Having another contributor with inside knowledge is very welcome, but just as you may feel that some are overly critical, there can be a natural tendency for staff members to be overly defensive. In many respects, the reasons for shortfalls in service whilst interesting are irrelevant. Customers pay for a service and have a right to expect it. Everyone understands that things can go wrong but, as others have said, it’s how you handle these problems that set apart good companies from poor ones.  P&O don’t have the best record in this respect and their land based customer service is woeful and has been for years. Sadly, there has never been any evidence that the decision makers at P&O ever read these forums but, if they did and, better still, they acted on some of the recurring issues that crop up, they could generate a lot more bookings, which could only be a good thing. 

[Yorkypete]

1 hour ago, carlanthony24 said:

Source is from myself. If you look at other comments I have replied to you realize why. Also its known fact people will do anything to try and get what they want.

So where is the 'known fact' coming from. I presume you have some facts to back it up. Until then it is just your opinion and you don't mind insulting people who complain. My opinion, based on known facts is that most people complain, as I have done, to rectify problems. If you do not complain then nothing gets done.  The fact that the media picked up this story helps to rectify the problems. Perhaps you can provide some insight as to where you get your information.

 

[carlanthony24]

3 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Apologies. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have mentioned the grammar especially as, in my case, it’s a case of the pot calling the kettle black!. I was being a bit tongue in cheek to fuel the conspiracy theories, hence the emoji. Your posts are far too articulate to be the other poster that I was obliquely referring to 😂 

 

Having contributed to this forum for many years, I can assure you that almost all contributors give very balanced feedback and views, both good and bad. P&O does seem to be having quite a few issues at present, so it is inevitable that the conversation in the 3 weeks that you have been a contributor to Cruise Critic will seem more skewed to the negatives. These problems have come on top of a brand repositioning that might make a lot of sense (as they are after a bigger market segment than before), but isn’t landing as well with many who enjoyed the P&O of old. All these points are valid and should be discussed. 
 

Having another contributor with inside knowledge is very welcome, but just as you may feel that some are overly critical, there can be a natural tendency for staff members to be overly defensive. In many respects, the reasons for shortfalls in service whilst interesting are irrelevant. Customers pay for a service and have a right to expect it. Everyone understands that things can go wrong but, as others have said, it’s how you handle these problems that set apart good companies from poor ones.  P&O don’t have the best record in this respect and their land based customer service is woeful and has been for years. Sadly, there has never been any evidence that the decision makers at P&O ever read these forums but, if they did and, better still, they acted on some of the recurring issues that crop up, they could generate a lot more bookings, which could only be a good thing. 

I may have broken a rule somewhere. I guess the social part. Still getting use to being on here. I just use to read the topics.

 

I understand were you come from. I am trying not to be defensive but when you see posts saying things that I feel are incorrect I feel I just have to say something. E.G Someone complaining about TUI flights being delayed and TUI aircrafts being swapped with a different company. People blaming the cruise company but in no way is it the cruise companies fault. They just hire an aircraft and say they want this included and that's it. Some people just can't seem to grasp how it works.

 

As a passenger things have gone wrong. I might have said it earlier or on a different topic. We complain on board just to make staff aware we tend to not ask for compensation if staff want to then they can give us something. All complaints go back to head office after the last cruise has finished might take them a few days to do from time to time and from the one time we complained onboard to being back home about a month we received a gift which we didn't even know was coming. So head office definitely do read complaints and you can always tell who really want to go the full way for compensation just by reading them. Especially some of them that have decided to go to the news and can see they are actually enjoying the cruse.

 

I don't work for said company since Covid came along. Aiming to go back or just go back to being a flight attendant. I am happy to give my experiences from a crew perspective and passenger experiences. If you want to ask me anything go ahead I will do my best to answer if I can. It's crazy what people come to you to complain.

[carlanthony24]

7 minutes ago, Yorkypete said:

So where is the 'known fact' coming from. I presume you have some facts to back it up. Until then it is just your opinion and you don't mind insulting people who complain. My opinion, based on known facts is that most people complain, as I have done, to rectify problems. If you do not complain then nothing gets done.  The fact that the media picked up this story helps to rectify the problems. Perhaps you can provide some insight as to where you get your information.

 

Not insulting anyone to be honest sorry if it feels that way.

 

From my experience working onboard and talking to other passengers as guests.

 

We typically write down everything the guest says and try to do it word for word. I said about one instance about guests coming back late and we were about to leave them behind. They got very annoyed that people were cheering and the Captain blowing the horn and wanted to make a formal complaint and would take it further if nothing was done they said they would go to the newspapers. Loads of meetings happened but we weren't prepared to give them anything. We passed onto head office since it was coming to the end of the cruise.

 

The media picked up because one writer was looking around for a bad article to write and he saw after someone had tweeted. It seems when the person who gave the newspaper the story it was already in the process of something being done to rectify the issue.

 

If I have missed the point somewhere. I apologise but its just the way I am taking the information in. 

[Ardennais]

2 hours ago, carlanthony24 said:

Not insulting anyone to be honest sorry if it feels that way.

 

From my experience working onboard and talking to other passengers as guests.

 

We typically write down everything the guest says and try to do it word for word. I said about one instance about guests coming back late and we were about to leave them behind. They got very annoyed that people were cheering and the Captain blowing the horn and wanted to make a formal complaint and would take it further if nothing was done they said they would go to the newspapers. Loads of meetings happened but we weren't prepared to give them anything. We passed onto head office since it was coming to the end of the cruise.

 

The media picked up because one writer was looking around for a bad article to write and he saw after someone had tweeted. It seems when the person who gave the newspaper the story it was already in the process of something being done to rectify the issue.

 

If I have missed the point somewhere. I apologise but its just the way I am taking the information in. 

You are now disclosing more background information and providing context to your opinions. I don’t think you have actually mentioned the incident described above before on this forum  - you might possibly have done so on FB or another forum as you have said that you use other social media platforms. Hence the confusion and ambiguity in relation to some of your comments. 

 

You appear to have experience of dealing with passengers and their complaints and some might indeed be unreasonable, but that doesn’t invalidate all the complaints. You might have come across some media exaggeration too, but that also doesn’t mean that many stories/articles aren’t reporting the facts in a truthful fashion. As I said before, the newspapers also contain pages of positive coverage so it’s definitely not one-sided as you claimed. 

Edited December 31, 2022 by Ardennais
Spelling

[carlanthony24]

4 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

You are now disclosing more background information and providing context to your opinions. I don’t think you have actually mentioned the incident described above before on this forum  - you might possibly have done so on FB or another forum as you have said that you use other social media platforms. Hence the confusion and ambiguity in relation to some of your comments. 

 

You appear to have experience of dealing with passengers and their complaints and some might indeed be unreasonable, but that doesn’t invalidate all the complaints. You might have come across some media exaggeration too, but that also doesn’t mean that many stories/articles are reporting the facts in a truthful fashion. As I said before, the newspapers also contain pages of positive coverage so it’s definitely not one-sided as you claimed. 

I get what you mean but people really do go to the papers in the hope to get more out of the outcome I.E More money if they get offered any. They have reported problems with Arvia but could include the  positives because some people onboard have reported via the same sites. I have not seen a positive news paper report on Arvia yet. I have also just seen someone asking a newspaper why they published a picture of them without permission and they are apparently on Arvia.

[P&O SUE]

20 hours ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

That is very true, but it ended up being a maiden voyage. I do feel sad for those that were affected and also the staff who struggled. I just get fed up with always hearing the negative issues from a small % of people. Lets hear what was good as well as what went wrong. 

 
I’ve posted on another thread that I’ve seen positive posts ‘ elsewhere’ but my post had to be ‘approved’ first before it’s posted 😳😳

[Interestedcruisefan]

5 hours ago, carlanthony24 said:

I get what you mean but people really do go to the papers in the hope to get more out of the outcome I.E More money if they get offered any. They have reported problems with Arvia but could include the  positives because some people onboard have reported via the same sites. I have not seen a positive news paper report on Arvia yet. I have also just seen someone asking a newspaper why they published a picture of them without permission and they are apparently on Arvia.

They will want compensation for using the photo no doubt as well

[Snow Hill]

6 hours ago, Ardennais said:

You are now disclosing more background information and providing context to your opinions. I don’t think you have actually mentioned the incident described above before on this forum  - you might possibly have done so on FB or another forum as you have said that you use other social media platforms. Hence the confusion and ambiguity in relation to some of your comments. 

 

You appear to have experience of dealing with passengers and their complaints and some might indeed be unreasonable, but that doesn’t invalidate all the complaints. You might have come across some media exaggeration too, but that also doesn’t mean that many stories/articles aren’t reporting the facts in a truthful fashion. As I said before, the newspapers also contain pages of positive coverage so it’s definitely not one-sided as you claimed. 

Spot on

[Megabear2]

9 hours ago, carlanthony24 said:

Someone complaining about TUI flights being delayed and TUI aircrafts being swapped with a different company. People blaming the cruise company but in no way is it the cruise companies fault. They just hire an aircraft and say they want this included and that's it. Some people just can't seem to grasp how it works.

I hope that's not another dig at me!  I'm just off another ***** eyed flight which I'll speak about later but  for now will say Britannia apparently had Christmas dinner problems too. 

[Solent Richard]

On 12/29/2022 at 2:42 PM, carlanthony24 said:

The journalist was hungry for a poor review. People will do anything for a bit of compo nowadays. Wonders if the journalist would do a review on an American ship based in the UK if they had the same problems and the article still doesn’t give the full story.

 

The MSM never revisit their sensationalist headlines when it's shown to be just that, they just move on to the next thing.

 

[Solent Richard]

On 12/29/2022 at 2:42 PM, carlanthony24 said:

The journalist was hungry for a poor review. People will do anything for a bit of compo nowadays. Wonders if the journalist would do a review on an American ship based in the UK if they had the same problems and the article still doesn’t give the full story.

The MSM never revisit their sensationalist headlines when it's shown to be just that, they just move on to the next thing.

[Angel57]

10 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I hope that's not another dig at me!  I'm just off another ***** eyed flight which I'll speak about later but  for now will say Britannia apparently had Christmas dinner problems too. 

Glad you safely back home @Megabear2. Sounds like another not so good flight experience. Get some rest now and I wish you and all your family a very happy and healthy 2023. You have been an absolute star with all your informative posts this year which have been appreciated by so many.

Gill

[zap99]

On 12/29/2022 at 6:38 PM, Yorkypete said:

Neither do P&O. They openly lie. They lied to me and they lie to others. I would not believe a word they say.

 

They have never lied to me. I don't believe most stuff companies say, so don't get too disappointed when things aren't 100%.

[zap99]

18 hours ago, Camberley said:

Yes exactly: craving that bit of “fame” to spread around family get togethers and work mates so they can feel special. Plus milking it for all they can get.
 

And sadly many readers of papers, esp. the gutter press such as the Mail etc…will happily believe anything they read and tut like mad. There are times I think mankind is doomed…

They didn't print that story in the mail, tut, tut. We are all doomed.

[zap99]

4 hours ago, P&O SUE said:

 
I’ve posted on another thread that I’ve seen positive posts ‘ elsewhere’ but my post had to be ‘approved’ first before it’s posted 😳😳

I cooked Christmas Dinner for 5 people. It was about an hour late. I am not going to offer any compensation and if any had complained I would tell them their option's  for next year.

[kalos]

11 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I cooked Christmas Dinner for 5 people. It was about an hour late. I am not going to offer any compensation and if any had complained I would tell them their option's  for next year.

 

With an attitude like that ,you will end up on Trip Advisor 😉😆

[Snow Hill]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

They didn't print that story in the mail, tut, tut. We are all doomed.

An aside, about 5 years ago we were on holiday in Devon in a supermarket paying for our shopping when we spotted a large dog ***** his leg up and wee all over large pile of copies of the Mail on the bottom shelf of the stand. 

[pete14]

24 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

An aside, about 5 years ago we were on holiday in Devon in a supermarket paying for our shopping when we spotted a large dog ***** his leg up and wee all over large pile of copies of the Mail on the bottom shelf of the stand. 

Well trained dog obviously