First P & O cruise questions

[NSWP]

On 6/19/2023 at 4:24 PM, Essence08 said:

A giant 1kg slab should get us through the week 😛 Not sure that counts as non-perishable 🙂

 

Plenty of smoked salmon on Prrincess, love it. Tomato juice for brekkie too. Addicted to that. I suppose tom jooce is extra on P and O Australia and Carnival  Straya.

Edited June 21, 2023 by NSWP

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

Plenty of smoked salmon on Prrincess, love it. Tomato juice for brekkie too. Addicted to that. I suppose tom jooce is extra on P and O Australia and Carnival  Straya.

I think they still have tomato juice as inclusive, straight from the can.

[Essence08]

4 hours ago, NSWP said:

Plenty of smoked salmon on Prrincess, love it. Tomato juice for brekkie too. Addicted to that. I suppose tom jooce is extra on P and O Australia and Carnival  Straya.

 

Lucky we have a vista suite booked on Princess for Christmas/New Year - can almost taste that slab of smoked salmon, the cream cheese, capers and red onion from the breakfast buffest. Not mention a side of poached egg with some benny sauce over the top 😛 

[NSWP]

9 hours ago, Essence08 said:

 

Lucky we have a vista suite booked on Princess for Christmas/New Year - can almost taste that slab of smoked salmon, the cream cheese, capers and red onion from the breakfast buffest. Not mention a side of poached egg with some benny sauce over the top 😛 

Indeed and tomato juice, all at no additional charge.

[sewgood]

16 hours ago, NSWP said:

I suppose tom jooce is extra on P and O

 

I only saw apple and orange juice on the breakfast drink trays.

Maybe you could get it for free if you asked. Maybe...

There were certainly more choices up at the buffet but we only went there on the last day so I didn't take any notice as we were in a rush on the last day.

[ceeceeDee]

Yes, even in Angelos on Encounter the choices were restricted to apple and orange at breakfast. Admittedly, I didn't ask for anything else

[Sparky74]

1 hour ago, sewgood said:

 

I only saw apple and orange juice on the breakfast drink trays.

Maybe you could get it for free if you asked. Maybe...

There were certainly more choices up at the buffet but we only went there on the last day so I didn't take any notice as we were in a rush on the last day.

Last week on the Pacific Encounter apple juice and orange juice were offered at breakfast in the Waterfront restaurant. One morning a lady at my table ordered pineapple juice. She explained to the table that it was available for no additional charge, but you had to ask for it. 
In the Pantry, juice was only available at breakfast. Some mornings there was apple juice and orange juice; some mornings there was grapefruit juice and cranberry juice. 
One night I had trouble sleeping so I got dressed and stole up to the Pantry at 3:30am for some hot water to make a drink. (I bring my own hot chocolate powder). I was surprised to see that the juice was already in the dispensers with plenty of ice. 

[MMDown Under]

21 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

Last week on the Pacific Encounter apple juice and orange juice were offered at breakfast in the Waterfront restaurant. One morning a lady at my table ordered pineapple juice. She explained to the table that it was available for no additional charge, but you had to ask for it. 
In the Pantry, juice was only available at breakfast. Some mornings there was apple juice and orange juice; some mornings there was grapefruit juice and cranberry juice. 
One night I had trouble sleeping so I got dressed and stole up to the Pantry at 3:30am for some hot water to make a drink. (I bring my own hot chocolate powder). I was surprised to see that the juice was already in the dispensers with plenty of ice. 

Next time take a small 24 hour thermos so you can make a hot drink whenever you like.  I also take a second container for ice, so I can have a cold drink whenever I want.  It helps keep the fridge cooler also.

[MMDown Under]

On 6/21/2023 at 12:20 AM, SinbadThePorter said:

 

On P&O's plus side I think you're forgetting Dragon Lady and Angelo's.

 

I was on Luminosa 3 times this year and I also lived on pizza and ice cream, mainly because I thought the other offerings were pretty poor. Their free pizza was definitely the highlight of the menu. Although as pizza goes it was just average.

 

To tell the truth I wouldn't separate P&O and Carnival as far as food goes. They are both not up to scratch and far behind Princess and Royal. Which is a shame because in most other respects they provide a comparable product to the more expensive cruise lines.

I'm surprised you felt Carnival wasn't up to scratch, as far as food goes.  I thought the food on Luminosa was very good.  I started each day with a made to order omelette, with fresh fruit.  Their brunch had an excellent selection of food.  Their Indian food was so good, I had it every time it was on the menu.  I also enjoyed their Asian food in the buffet.  Only negative it took me awhile to find some of the delicious food on offer.  

[arxcards]

10 hours ago, sewgood said:

 

I only saw apple and orange juice on the breakfast drink trays.

Maybe you could get it for free if you asked. Maybe...

There were certainly more choices up at the buffet but we only went there on the last day so I didn't take any notice as we were in a rush on the last day.

We usually ask for pineapple juice, and has never been a problem. Then again, that was in the days of poached eggs, and that menu is clearly listing only apple & orange juices now.

[arxcards]

13 hours ago, NSWP said:

Indeed and tomato juice, all at no additional charge.

With Princess plus package, a bloody Mary at no additional charge.

[Essence08]

On 6/22/2023 at 9:58 PM, arxcards said:

With Princess plus package, a bloody Mary at no additional charge.

Stayed at the Pullman hotel last night before boarding today - sooooooo many bottles of tomato juice at breakfast. Oh and omelettes or poached eggs cooked to order. 
Bloody Mary is my dads breakfast drink of choice when cruising. 

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, Essence08 said:

Stayed at the Pullman hotel last night before boarding today - sooooooo many bottles of tomato juice at breakfast. Oh and omelettes or poached eggs cooked to order. 
Bloody Mary is my dads breakfast drink of choice when cruising. 

Bon Voyage. Let us know how breakfast goes 😉

 

I mostly like I Bloody Mary as it is the only legit breakfast cocktail. Also, my wife loathes them, so I can get a headstart for the day. Still, without a drinks package I wouldn't be bothered.

[Essence08]

On 6/24/2023 at 11:15 PM, arxcards said:

Bon Voyage. Let us know how breakfast goes 😉

 

I mostly like I Bloody Mary as it is the only legit breakfast cocktail. Also, my wife loathes them, so I can get a headstart for the day. Still, without a drinks package I wouldn't be bothered.

@arxcards Pretty sure thats why my dad has them too, doesn't have to share with the wife and no one is judiging him for morning drinking :P)
Anyway - Home safe and sound and somehow avoided the **** storm that was the east coast airports yesterday - no issues with our flight (yay) Brisbane airport had a cute little kids play space set up for the school holdidays - with a scavenger hunt, craft activities, duplo blocks etc - it was a really great way to spend an hour.

So - because of my son's many many many allergies it was suggested we have all meals at the Waterfront - the manager there looked after us beautifully so no complaints there. I however was bored out of my mind with the same food choices over and over and over again (though happy I didn't have to cook or do dishes) We did have dinner the first night at Dragon Lady and I really enjoyed my meal.

However - breakfast - wow - I decided to be a grown up and order the egg benedict one morning - first egg exploded in a torrent of water which flooded my plate and ruined the sauce - needless to say didn't order them again. It was ok, price is better than a local cafe but I stand by my feelings that it should be an included part of a restaurnt breakfast on a cruise ship.

So the next day I ordered scrambled eggs with sausages and hash browns - the waiter with the toast came around when I had no plate to put the toast on, so had to skip that, the scrambled eggs tasted like they were from a packet and I got exactly one small sausage link and HALF A HASH BROWN!!!!!!!! Yes my friends, P&O has sunk to a whole new level - the hash browns are the oval ones (like at Maccas) and have been cut in half, and I got ONE half on my plate. It was the saddest looking breakfast I have ever seen on a cruise.

Some highlights of our trip though - my super sweet autistic little boy decided he wanted to try some of the edge activities and did the climbing wall, walk the plank and plucked up enough courage to do the zip line - these memories are what cruising is really about. I have never seen him look so proud of himself and he told literally everyone about it for the rest of the cruise, including random strangers on tropical islands.

My youngest got over his fear of swimming and finally stopped clinging to me like a koala. As a family we had heaps of fun and made the best of it.  We didn't do any of the big parties or activities as they were far too loud for my son, we met some lovely families also travelling with special needs kids and appreciated the support from them. Kids club was just chaotic and noisy and often at full capacity so we avoided that after the first day. 

Would I cruise P&O again - undecided - would really have to look at the maths of it and all the additional costs involved. For me travelling on my own with the kids it was convenient and relatively stress free, but if we were travelling as a family I don't think I would, we will probably stick with Princess for now. 

 

[Sparky74]

4 hours ago, Essence08 said:

Edited July 2, 2023 by Sparky74
Formatting

[Sparky74]

4 hours ago, Essence08 said:

Anyway - Home safe and sound…

 

Glad to hear you got home OK and had a good time despite a few hiccups. 

 

We had 10 days on the Pacific Encounter in June. Even going to the three restaurants, I found their wasn’t a great deal of variety on the menus. The Pantry (buffet) also got a bit monotonous but I also found that to be the case with the Windjammer on Quantum of the Seas in February. 
 

My standard breakfast order in the Waterfront ended up being "two fried eggs, over-easy, with all the sides". The first day I just order fried eggs and the white of one of them was still transparent. For a few days I tried ordering them "medium" or "over medium" but this confused the waiters. 🤷‍♂️ They did offer well done (fried) eggs. I’d pick up well done at the Pantry for DW each morning but had to request them each time. 
 

I guess all ships mass produce a limited variety of dishes but this seemed more noticeable on P&O. Anyway, I didn’t have to cook it or clean the kitchen. We sail on the Pacific Encounter again next week. 😱

[Essence08]

5 hours ago, Sparky74 said:

 

Glad to hear you got home OK and had a good time despite a few hiccups. 

 

We had 10 days on the Pacific Encounter in June. Even going to the three restaurants, I found their wasn’t a great deal of variety on the menus. The Pantry (buffet) also got a bit monotonous but I also found that to be the case with the Windjammer on Quantum of the Seas in February. 
 

My standard breakfast order in the Waterfront ended up being "two fried eggs, over-easy, with all the sides". The first day I just order fried eggs and the white of one of them was still transparent. For a few days I tried ordering them "medium" or "over medium" but this confused the waiters. 🤷‍♂️ They did offer well done (fried) eggs. I’d pick up well done at the Pantry for DW each morning but had to request them each time. 
 

I guess all ships mass produce a limited variety of dishes but this seemed more noticeable on P&O. Anyway, I didn’t have to cook it or clean the kitchen. We sail on the Pacific Encounter again next week. 😱

Any meal I don't have to cook is a good meal! 

Have a fabulous time on your cruise next week. 

[arxcards]

10 hours ago, Essence08 said:

@arxcards Pretty sure thats why my dad has them too, doesn't have to share with the wife and no one is judiging him for morning drinking :P)
Anyway - Home safe and sound and somehow avoided the **** storm that was the east coast airports yesterday - no issues with our flight (yay) Brisbane airport had a cute little kids play space set up for the school holdidays - with a scavenger hunt, craft activities, duplo blocks etc - it was a really great way to spend an hour.

So - because of my son's many many many allergies it was suggested we have all meals at the Waterfront - the manager there looked after us beautifully so no complaints there. I however was bored out of my mind with the same food choices over and over and over again (though happy I didn't have to cook or do dishes) We did have dinner the first night at Dragon Lady and I really enjoyed my meal.

However - breakfast - wow - I decided to be a grown up and order the egg benedict one morning - first egg exploded in a torrent of water which flooded my plate and ruined the sauce - needless to say didn't order them again. It was ok, price is better than a local cafe but I stand by my feelings that it should be an included part of a restaurnt breakfast on a cruise ship.

So the next day I ordered scrambled eggs with sausages and hash browns - the waiter with the toast came around when I had no plate to put the toast on, so had to skip that, the scrambled eggs tasted like they were from a packet and I got exactly one small sausage link and HALF A HASH BROWN!!!!!!!! Yes my friends, P&O has sunk to a whole new level - the hash browns are the oval ones (like at Maccas) and have been cut in half, and I got ONE half on my plate. It was the saddest looking breakfast I have ever seen on a cruise.

Some highlights of our trip though - my super sweet autistic little boy decided he wanted to try some of the edge activities and did the climbing wall, walk the plank and plucked up enough courage to do the zip line - these memories are what cruising is really about. I have never seen him look so proud of himself and he told literally everyone about it for the rest of the cruise, including random strangers on tropical islands.

My youngest got over his fear of swimming and finally stopped clinging to me like a koala. As a family we had heaps of fun and made the best of it.  We didn't do any of the big parties or activities as they were far too loud for my son, we met some lovely families also travelling with special needs kids and appreciated the support from them. Kids club was just chaotic and noisy and often at full capacity so we avoided that after the first day. 

Would I cruise P&O again - undecided - would really have to look at the maths of it and all the additional costs involved. For me travelling on my own with the kids it was convenient and relatively stress free, but if we were travelling as a family I don't think I would, we will probably stick with Princess for now. 

 

Great news with your son. That makes for a memorable cruise.

[arxcards]

6 hours ago, Sparky74 said:

 

Glad to hear you got home OK and had a good time despite a few hiccups. 

 

We had 10 days on the Pacific Encounter in June. Even going to the three restaurants, I found their wasn’t a great deal of variety on the menus. The Pantry (buffet) also got a bit monotonous but I also found that to be the case with the Windjammer on Quantum of the Seas in February. 
 

My standard breakfast order in the Waterfront ended up being "two fried eggs, over-easy, with all the sides". The first day I just order fried eggs and the white of one of them was still transparent. For a few days I tried ordering them "medium" or "over medium" but this confused the waiters. 🤷‍♂️ They did offer well done (fried) eggs. I’d pick up well done at the Pantry for DW each morning but had to request them each time. 
 

I guess all ships mass produce a limited variety of dishes but this seemed more noticeable on P&O. Anyway, I didn’t have to cook it or clean the kitchen. We sail on the Pacific Encounter again next week. 😱

Fantastic not to cook it myself for sure. I don't judge P&O vs my kitchen efforts or the local café, but against cruise ships of other lines. We have had some nice meals on P&O, and Mangan's Salt Grill is up there with any other cruise specialty restaurant in the world. However, their food and ability to cope with food allergies has let us down in the past and in my eyes they continue to slide vs other lines. Lots more to cruising than food, but at times that is a kicker for us.