Americans on P & O in Caribbean

[ssawjo]

Greetings,

 

Two couples from Arizona are thinking of cruising in late Oct. 2023 on the Arvia from Bridgetown.  I was just wondering if Americans would be ok being with all of the Brits onboard.  I am sure we will be welcomed but stand out a bit.  We have been to England on a few occasions.  The accent sometimes is difficult but I am sure an American accent is the same to the English.  We have sailed in Australia, and we had no problems and loved the people.  

 

Also, we are active cruisers, but would like to try a different cruise line.  Any tips/hints you can pass along would be greatly appreciated.  For example, is it the same/similar to Princess?  

 

Cheers,

 

Bill and Kathi

Carefree, Arizona

[yorkshirephil]

4 minutes ago, ssawjo said:

Greetings,

 

Two couples from Arizona are thinking of cruising in late Oct. 2023 on the Arvia from Bridgetown.  I was just wondering if Americans would be ok being with all of the Brits onboard.  I am sure we will be welcomed but stand out a bit.  We have been to England on a few occasions.  The accent sometimes is difficult but I am sure an American accent is the same to the English.  We have sailed in Australia, and we had no problems and loved the people.  

 

Also, we are active cruisers, but would like to try a different cruise line.  Any tips/hints you can pass along would be greatly appreciated.  For example, is it the same/similar to Princess?  

 

Cheers,

 

Bill and Kathi

Carefree, Arizona

You will fit in fine, we had a couple on our dinner table on one Caribbean cruise and they loved it, albeit P&O is typically British we have many nationalities in Britain. Not sure how you would go about booking, you may need to go to a specialist travel agent at home?

[ssawjo]

32 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

You will fit in fine, we had a couple on our dinner table on one Caribbean cruise and they loved it, albeit P&O is typically British we have many nationalities in Britain. Not sure how you would go about booking, you may need to go to a specialist travel agent at home?

Thank you.  I will be contacting my usual TA, if we decide on this particular cruise, and see what she

can do.  Or there is a way to contact P & O directly to book on the website.

[Gettingwarmer]

3 minutes ago, ssawjo said:

Thank you.  I will be contacting my usual TA, if we decide on this particular cruise, and see what she

can do.  Or there is a way to contact P & O directly to book on the website.

This thread may be of use.

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2905020-canadians-on-po/#comment-64589963

 

[yorkshirephil]

2 minutes ago, ssawjo said:

Thank you.  I will be contacting my usual TA, if we decide on this particular cruise, and see what she

can do.  Or there is a way to contact P & O directly to book on the website.

I am not sure that you can book via the website, it may be a currency thing, probably worth having a chat with your TA and see what they say.

[sandancer]

I’m sure you will be very welcome. There was a recent post (can’t remember the thread) where it was suggested that if P&O had a more International demographic it would make for a more interesting cruise. The one thing you would need to take into account is that all onboard spend is in £ sterling so you would have to factor in currency fluctuations. As we stand right now you would be at an advantage. 
 

[FamilyCruiserUK]

You will be fine and will enjoy yourself. The main difference i have found from my P&O and Royal carribean cruises is:

 

The formal night dress code. We brits do enjoy dressing up a little bit.

 

The rest is relyativtly the same tbh

 

[Cathygh]

You will be very welcome but please be aware that the dress code in the MDR is more formal.than Princess especially on.formal night. I only say This as I am on my first Princess cruise out of the US and I am surprised by the casualness of the way some people dress..I don't mean to sound snobby it's just different to what I'm used to.

[ace2542]

15 hours ago, ssawjo said:

Greetings,

 

Two couples from Arizona are thinking of cruising in late Oct. 2023 on the Arvia from Bridgetown.  I was just wondering if Americans would be ok being with all of the Brits onboard.  I am sure we will be welcomed but stand out a bit.  We have been to England on a few occasions.  The accent sometimes is difficult but I am sure an American accent is the same to the English.  We have sailed in Australia, and we had no problems and loved the people.  

 

Also, we are active cruisers, but would like to try a different cruise line.  Any tips/hints you can pass along would be greatly appreciated.  For example, is it the same/similar to Princess?  

 

Cheers,

 

Bill and Kathi

Carefree, Arizona

Bingo would be a different experience for you and something I think you would enjoy.

[wowzz]

Just now, ace2542 said:

Bingo would be a different experience for you and something I think you would enjoy.

Why ? 

Bingo is played all over the US and on US cruise ships. 

[ace2542]

4 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Why ? 

Bingo is played all over the US and on US cruise ships. 

On P&O it is english bingo line and full house like at the Mecca not corners and how the americans play it?

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, ace2542 said:

On P&O it is english bingo line and full house like at the Mecca not corners and how the americans play it?

You obviously have spent more time playing Bingo than me ! 

The last time I played was on the pier at Walton on the Naze in 1961. 

[ace2542]

8 minutes ago, wowzz said:

You obviously have spent more time playing Bingo than me ! 

The last time I played was on the pier at Walton on the Naze in 1961. 

On P&O they will also do the call signs won't they you know kellys eye number 1 that sort thing which again they might enjoy

[wowzz]

4 minutes ago, ace2542 said:

On P&O they will also do the call signs won't they you know kellys eye number 1 that sort thing which again they might enjoy

You certainly know a lot about Bingo !

[Megabear2]

2 hours ago, ace2542 said:

On P&O they will also do the call signs won't they you know kellys eye number 1 that sort thing which again they might enjoy

Good job they weren't sailing in 2022 as they'd have been very confused by the call sign for 10!  

[Britboys]

For many years, it seemed that P&O and Princess were very similar. It is however worth bearing in mind that P&O are very much in a process of change at the moment with the two new very large ships (as you probably already know, Arvia holds over 5000 passengers). My last Princess cruise was to Alaska in Summer 2019 and at that time I felt Princess were significantly better in terms of food quality, service and entertainment.

Arvia is a brand new ship so there are very few reviews at present and until fairly recently, her sister ship, Iona had been sailing at reduced capacity, post-Covid.

The British passengers will of course welcome you. You may however find that food and entertainment (both daytime and evenings) are very much geared to British tastes and expectations.

Many of the staff on P&O are from India and whilst they speak very good English, some have very strong accents which can be hard to understand at times. Service on P&O is generally much less forward/smiley/"out there" than on many of the American Lines.

If you are regular Princess cruisers, you might also want to consider P&O's Britannia, which is a Royal Class ship and so has a similar layout to many of the Princess ships, albeit with very different decor.

[ssawjo]

2 hours ago, Britboys said:

For many years, it seemed that P&O and Princess were very similar. It is however worth bearing in mind that P&O are very much in a process of change at the moment with the two new very large ships (as you probably already know, Arvia holds over 5000 passengers). My last Princess cruise was to Alaska in Summer 2019 and at that time I felt Princess were significantly better in terms of food quality, service and entertainment.

Arvia is a brand new ship so there are very few reviews at present and until fairly recently, her sister ship, Iona had been sailing at reduced capacity, post-Covid.

The British passengers will of course welcome you. You may however find that food and entertainment (both daytime and evenings) are very much geared to British tastes and expectations.

Many of the staff on P&O are from India and whilst they speak very good English, some have very strong accents which can be hard to understand at times. Service on P&O is generally much less forward/smiley/"out there" than on many of the American Lines.

If you are regular Princess cruisers, you might also want to consider P&O's Britannia, which is a Royal Class ship and so has a similar layout to many of the Princess ships, albeit with very different decor.

Thank you for your comments.  I don't play bingo, BTW.

[GemC]

You might also find it's also a little different on the tips/gratuities side of things, it is not the same as USA, in fact on P&O website it states..

Great service comes as standard

Tipping isn't needed on our ships so you can relax knowing good service and good times are all part and parcel of your P&O Cruises holiday.

[ssawjo]

21 hours ago, GemC said:

You might also find it's also a little different on the tips/gratuities side of things, it is not the same as USA, in fact on P&O website it states..

Great service comes as standard

Tipping isn't needed on our ships so you can relax knowing good service and good times are all part and parcel of your P&O Cruises holiday.

I do like that kind of service.

[Host Sharon]

I suspect the main difference you would notice is the food. On all the US ships I have sailed on, the dinners have had large portions of meat and a very few vegetables hidden underneath. In the UK we like our veggies and the meat portions will be smaller. Entertainment may not be so glitzy either, but other than that, I am sure you would find them very similar.

[crossingfan]

I’ve been reading some reports that P&O are no longer providing wash cloths (face flannels) in the cabins?  I find this odd on a ship. Sailing on Azura in April.  

Anyone back recently that can answer this question? 
Thanks!

[Gettingwarmer]

5 hours ago, crossingfan said:

I’ve been reading some reports that P&O are no longer providing wash cloths (face flannels) in the cabins?  I find this odd on a ship. Sailing on Azura in April.  

Anyone back recently that can answer this question? 
Thanks!

Not supplied on my last cruise but if you ask they will provide and change every day. 

[Britboys]

13 hours ago, crossingfan said:

I’ve been reading some reports that P&O are no longer providing wash cloths (face flannels) in the cabins?  I find this odd on a ship. Sailing on Azura in April.  

Anyone back recently that can answer this question? 
Thanks!

Iirc, Molecrochip posted that it is P&O's policy now not to replace stocks of facecloths and that they will only be available until the current stocks run out. You might want to pack one just in case...

[crossingfan]

Thank you for the reply’s .  We will be gone for 17 days total land and cruise. In my opinion no reason that P&O, nor any cruise line should not provide that.  I know in some hotels it’s the norm, but it comes off as cheap