Food and dining on P&O ships

[Jennizor]

Before our recent Iona cruise I pre-booked the speciality restaurants through the P&O website before we sailed. For the rest we either went to the MDRs or straight to Glasshouse or Olive Grove and never had a problem getting in any of them, without booking.

[Clodia]

I also did this; booked 7 nights paying in advance, and got the Olive Grove, which is popular, twice on boarding afternoon. Other nights I walked into the Glass House or the Keel and Cow and asked to be seated. One night I went for early dining in the MDR because there were 2 shows I wanted to see. Liked the bookings because I like to plan, but it seemed to work ok even for those who didn't.

[WestonOne]

I have friends who are currently on the World Cruise on Arcadia.  In one of their emails they have expressed some disappointment with the food in the Main Dining.  Over the years I have found it varies a lot:  a few decades ago it was excellent, then it went into a decline to such an extent I was on the point of abandoning P+O entirely, but I had 'one more go' and found it improved.  My most recent trip was on Iona and I found the Main Dining 'fine':  nothing like the original highs, but far far better than the lows.

Then I get that email from regular P+O travellers.

What is the general opinion of the current food standard in main dining on the older ships?

Edited April 4, 2023 by WestonOne
Clarifying I am not talking about speciality restaurants

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, WestonOne said:

I have friends who are currently on the World Cruise on Arcadia.  In one of their emails they have expressed some disappointment with the food in the Main Dining.  Over the years I have found it varies a lot:  a few decades ago it was excellent, then it went into a decline to such an extent I was on the point of abandoning P+O entirely, but I had 'one more go' and found it improved.  My most recent trip was on Iona and I found the Main Dining 'fine':  nothing like the original highs, but far far better than the lows.

Then I get that email from regular P+O travellers.

What is the general opinion of the current food standard in main dining on the older ships?

I think it's the kind of meal you would get as a set meal in a decent hotel in the UK and pay 25 to 30  pounds approx for 

 

Nothing more nothing less

 

I could happily eat that meal for 14 days but I prefer to use the buffet to give me more time to do other things some nights and I prefer to also mix it up with speciality dining. MDRs don't offer me enough to make me want to go to them to be honest

 

I also thinl the buffet could easily be valued at 25 to 30 pounds per head for dinner and 15 to 25 pounds per head for lunch

 

Based on modern day hotel prices

 

I think if people want a special meal on P and O they do need to consider Epicurean for that

 

And that still represents great value compared to other cruise lines speciality restaurants

 

 

 

 

[zap99]

1 hour ago, WestonOne said:

I have friends who are currently on the World Cruise on Arcadia.  In one of their emails they have expressed some disappointment with the food in the Main Dining.  Over the years I have found it varies a lot:  a few decades ago it was excellent, then it went into a decline to such an extent I was on the point of abandoning P+O entirely, but I had 'one more go' and found it improved.  My most recent trip was on Iona and I found the Main Dining 'fine':  nothing like the original highs, but far far better than the lows.

Then I get that email from regular P+O travellers.

What is the general opinion of the current food standard in main dining on the older ships?

My friend enjoyed it.

[zap99]

8 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I think it's the kind of meal you would get as a set meal in a decent hotel in the UK and pay 25 to 30  pounds approx for 

 

Nothing more nothing less

 

I could happily eat that meal for 14 days but I prefer to use the buffet to give me more time to do other things some nights and I prefer to also mix it up with speciality dining. MDRs don't offer me enough to make me want to go to them to be honest

 

I also thinl the buffet could easily be valued at 25 to 30 pounds per head for dinner and 15 to 25 pounds per head for lunch

 

Based on modern day hotel prices

 

I think if people want a special meal on P and O they do need to consider Epicurean for that

 

And that still represents great value compared to other cruise lines speciality restaurants

 

 

 

 

We go to a 4* UK hotel in May for a few days. We get £27 pppn dinner allowance. The menu isn't that special, a bit like the MDR menu, but £27 won't get you 2 courses. The hotel itself is nice, but the menu is a bit like P&O, RC ,or Celebrity. Not fine dining, but perfectly acceptable.

[majortom10]

Food is very subjective but having done over 30 cruises with P&O since 2000 we were disappointed with the food served in MDR on our recent Iona cruise. No issue with quality just small portion size and very repetitive menu with poor choice.

[Britboys]

My last cruise was six months ago aboard Aurora. The food is a pale imitation to what it was 20 years ago but as we often say, cruises are significantly cheaper now.

Main courses on Aurora last Summer, whilst a bit boring/bland were generally pretty reasonable, albeit much smaller than in recent years. I found the starters to be a real problem for me, often with only one that I would eat. There also seems to be a much reduced choice of desserts, especially when ice cream and the always available is on the main menu. At least one of the desserts is vegan and one sugar-free and sadly, in my experience with P&O, that means tasteless and/or dry and/or hard...

Personally, I feel the selection/choice for non-vegetarian/vegan eaters is poor compared with that prior to Covid.

[Fionboard]

I find the food on the small ships about the same as it was pre covid. Quite sufficient for me. I only use the dining room so cannot comment on the standard of the buffet. Miss the prawn cocktail and fruit salad though! 

[Camberley]

The portion size is indeed very measly: we’re hardly pigeons with our appetite and nor do we get full after a mouthful!….But we now have no shame in asking for another portion when we feel hard done by on the size and if it was tasty food - and fair play to P&O for doing so.

[mrsgoggins]

15 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

No issue with quality just small portion size and very repetitive menu with poor choice.

Coming off Iona last Saturday, I agree but mostly about the portion size and choice. Our first experience of the new ‘difference’ was a roast turkey dinner. Two thin, small pieces of turkey, 2 sprouts, 1 tiny piece of broccoli, a small strip of parsnip and 1 roast potato. The taste was fine by the way.  It just looked far more like a child’s portion. This experience was repeated many times in the MDR as far as portion size went. We did not, of course go hungry….. it was just a surprise based on past experience of P&O.

 

On previous P&O cruises I was impressed with the amount of vegetables that arrived as standard, but not this time. Before someone points out that they will happily bring you more by request - I know!

 

We are frequent cruisers (this was our 3rd cruise this year; the others not P&O) and are generally easy to please on the food front, but some of the dining experiences on Iona left us underwhelmed. Epicurean, however, was excellent and we also enjoyed the food in the Limelight club. I definitely suspect budget cuts to food costs and will be interested to see if we feel the same on our upcoming cruise on Ventura.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[zap99]

1 hour ago, mrsgoggins said:

Coming off Iona last Saturday, I agree but mostly about the portion size and choice. Our first experience of the new ‘difference’ was a roast turkey dinner. Two thin, small pieces of turkey, 2 sprouts, 1 tiny piece of broccoli, a small strip of parsnip and 1 roast potato. The taste was fine by the way.  It just looked far more like a child’s portion. This experience was repeated many times in the MDR as far as portion size went. We did not, of course go hungry….. it was just a surprise based on past experience of P&O.

 

On previous P&O cruises I was impressed with the amount of vegetables that arrived as standard, but not this time. Before someone points out that they will happily bring you more by request - I know!

 

We are frequent cruisers (this was our 3rd cruise this year; the others not P&O) and are generally easy to please on the food front, but some of the dining experiences on Iona left us underwhelmed. Epicurean, however, was excellent and we also enjoyed the food in the Limelight club. I definitely suspect budget cuts to food costs and will be interested to see if we feel the same on our upcoming cruise on Ventura.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought on Britannia in October the MDR portions were a bit smaller, as were Celebrity and RC. I still put on half a stone. Limelight was better food. On Azura I thought the MDR meals were fine. Beach house was better. All in all, quite acceptable, bordering on good.

[jh1809]

When I was on Aurora in Nov/Dec I thought that the MDR quality and portion sizes were OK. Having also patronised the restaurant for breakfast and - on sea days - for lunch as well, I didn't really need a huge meal in the evening. As the end of the cruise was only a couple of weeks before Christmas, one evening a couple of days before the end they had some Christmassy options on the menu. I had the roast turkey and was given two enormous slices of meat. One was hidden under the other, and I was quite surprised to find the second slice. And the Christmas pudding dessert was one of the nicest ~I've ever had.

 

One thing I did notice was that the increase in vegetarian/vegan options meant that there were fewer meat options for committed carnivores like myself. I suspect that the predominantly elderly clientele on Aurora means that there are fewer vegetarians and vegans aboard than there would be on some of the other ships, but I don't think P&O take that into account. 

 

I wonder how much variation in the quality of meals there is from ship to ship depending on how good the head chef is. 

[Fionboard]

I must admit that on Iona I found the food to be lower standard than on the small ships. Maybe because of the difference in cruise prices? Iona cruise was a third of what I pay for Aurora and Arcadia! You get what you pay for, it seems.

[jh1809]

1 hour ago, Fionboard said:

I must admit that on Iona I found the food to be lower standard than on the small ships. Maybe because of the difference in cruise prices? Iona cruise was a third of what I pay for Aurora and Arcadia! You get what you pay for, it seems.

Or maybe the greater number of meals that have to be prepared in a limited time mean that corners have to be cut on the bigger ships?

[terrierjohn]

30 minutes ago, jh1809 said:

Or maybe the greater number of meals that have to be prepared in a limited time mean that corners have to be cut on the bigger ships?

I think that food quality on each ship varies with the head chef. I assume that the menus are the same on each ship, and the food will be sourced from the same provision merchants for all Southampton cruises, although fresh produce may vary for the fly cruise holidays, and the world cruises and S American cruises.

[crompton21]

I saw a review video where the poster suggested that the drop in food quality/choice was as a result of the cabin stewards doing food prep in the evenings rather than room turndown.

 

Hadn't thought of that as a concept, and not seen it mentioned elsewhere.  It might be an explanation for various changes though.  Not saying it's a fact, just sharing someone else's opinion. 

[glennbtn]

Here on Iona now

 

the quays are fantastic. Horizon does not have the same selection as it used to and no themed nights either. I would also say the quality was down since covid. 
 

freedom dining is a nightmare if you have not got a booking and enter the virtual queue. You can loose you place if you let your screen go off. The old fashioned pager system worked much better. 

[Jennizor]

3 hours ago, glennbtn said:

Here on Iona now

 

the quays are fantastic. Horizon does not have the same selection as it used to and no themed nights either. I would also say the quality was down since covid. 
 

freedom dining is a nightmare if you have not got a booking and enter the virtual queue. You can loose you place if you let your screen go off. The old fashioned pager system worked much better. 

I am very surprised things have changed in a matter of weeks. We were on Iona 18 Feb to 4th March. I booked speciality dining for four nights before we sailed, Limelight Club twice, Sindhu and Chefs Table). For the other 10 nights we just went to either the MDRs, the Glasshouse or Olive Grove. Didn’t book in advance just turned up between 8 - 8.30 and got a table straight away. We shared in the MDRs mostly but were offered a table for two if we wanted one. We are on Iona again in July and hope we get the same experience.

[Dermotsgirl]

2 hours ago, Jennizor said:

I am very surprised things have changed in a matter of weeks. We were on Iona 18 Feb to 4th March. I booked speciality dining for four nights before we sailed, Limelight Club twice, Sindhu and Chefs Table). For the other 10 nights we just went to either the MDRs, the Glasshouse or Olive Grove. Didn’t book in advance just turned up between 8 - 8.30 and got a table straight away. We shared in the MDRs mostly but were offered a table for two if we wanted one. We are on Iona again in July and hope we get the same experience.

I think it’s school holidays now, so the ship will be busier 

[jh1809]

7 hours ago, crompton21 said:

I saw a review video where the poster suggested that the drop in food quality/choice was as a result of the cabin stewards doing food prep in the evenings rather than room turndown.

 

Hadn't thought of that as a concept, and not seen it mentioned elsewhere.  It might be an explanation for various changes though.  Not saying it's a fact, just sharing someone else's opinion. 

When I was on Aurora just before Christmas, my cabin steward worked as a cleaner in the evenings, and I think I heard of some stewards working as waiters. I'd hope that they wouldn't be doing any food prep unless it was pretty basic stuff that didn't require any cookery skills..

[glennbtn]

It is busy with children this week,  that’s for sure. 
 

horizon has times of being a war zone!!

[majortom10]

6 hours ago, glennbtn said:

Here on Iona now

 

the quays are fantastic. Horizon does not have the same selection as it used to and no themed nights either. I would also say the quality was down since covid. 
 

freedom dining is a nightmare if you have not got a booking and enter the virtual queue. You can loose you place if you let your screen go off. The old fashioned pager system worked much better. 

We used virtual queuing on Iona on our recent cruise in March and thought it was excellent. Booked place on leaving cabin and 99% of time table was ready before reaching restaurant. Far better than standing in a queue and to be given a pager if there wasn't a table ready.

[snaefell]

34 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

We used virtual queuing on Iona on our recent cruise in March and thought it was excellent. Booked place on leaving cabin and 99% of time table was ready before reaching restaurant. Far better than standing in a queue and to be given a pager if there wasn't a table ready.

Depends on what you are comfy with technology wise I guess!

[Ardennais]

I think the school holidays are going to pose more problems. We were on the Iona half term February cruise, and it was very very busy. We thought that they were very understaffed in places. We hadn’t realised that the southern half of England were on half term - Wales was the following week.  Still had a great cruise! I love seeing children around.