Food and dining on P&O ships

[jh1809]

18 minutes ago, nellydean said:

Excuse me if I sound completely stupid asking this question but, as regards booking meals etc on the app, when onboard, does that mean you have to buy an internet package, or is the service free to everyone?

Thank you.

It's free.

[davecttr]

1 hour ago, nellydean said:

Excuse me if I sound completely stupid asking this question but, as regards booking meals etc on the app, when onboard, does that mean you have to buy an internet package, or is the service free to everyone?

Thank you.

No need to buy an internet package. The My Holiday App is actually a number of web pages on the ships internal network. You connect to the ships WiFi and use your smart device, phone or tablet, to log onto the 'App', Works with Apple or Android

 

It is free

[majortom10]

2 hours ago, nellydean said:

Excuse me if I sound completely stupid asking this question but, as regards booking meals etc on the app, when onboard, does that mean you have to buy an internet package, or is the service free to everyone?

Thank you.

You don't need to purchase the internet package to use MyHoliday webpage on board to book tables in restaurants.

[nellydean]

1 hour ago, davecttr said:

No need to buy an internet package. The My Holiday App is actually a number of web pages on the ships internal network. You connect to the ships WiFi and use your smart device, phone or tablet, to log onto the 'App', Works with Apple or Android

 

It is free

Many thanks!

[nellydean]

10 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

You don't need to purchase the internet package to use MyHoliday webpage on board to book tables in restaurants.

Thank you!

[snaefell]

21 hours ago, WestonOne said:

We always book fixed dining, but are looking at a last minute deal on Arcadia where we would go for the Late Saver option, so would, I guess, end up in Flexible Dining.

The comments about the difficulty getting places in the MDR above seem to relate to the bigger ships.  Is it the same for Arcadia?

We are on Arcadia now,we used the buffet the first couple of nights,then it changed to the crew serving so we tried the MDR,we went at our normal 1845hrs,there was a large queue, all receiving pagers,on our turn we were told 45 minutes  to an hour so went to the buffet.

The following night as advised we were there at 1730hrs,were given a ticket,doors opened 1800hrs & we have done that most nights since,hated the idea at first but it seems to work!

[snaefell]

16 hours ago, majortom10 said:

You don't need to purchase the internet package to use MyHoliday webpage on board to book tables in restaurants.

When it works!

[WestonOne]

2 hours ago, snaefell said:

We are on Arcadia now,we used the buffet the first couple of nights,then it changed to the crew serving so we tried the MDR,we went at our normal 1845hrs,there was a large queue, all receiving pagers,on our turn we were told 45 minutes  to an hour so went to the buffet.

The following night as advised we were there at 1730hrs,were given a ticket,doors opened 1800hrs & we have done that most nights since,hated the idea at first but it seems to work!

Thanks for that info.  It rather confirms my dislike of 'Freedom Dining' - it is a long way from the 'eat when you like' all cruise lines promote, isn't it?   

[Interestedcruisefan]

3 hours ago, WestonOne said:

Thanks for that info.  It rather confirms my dislike of 'Freedom Dining' - it is a long way from the 'eat when you like' all cruise lines promote, isn't it?   

It's really great once you work out how to best use it to your advantage

 

On Iona our current preference is approx 20 minutes  before we want to sit down in a MDR we join a virtual queue 

 

I do that in seconds whilst sat drinking a cocktail or sat watching a show

 

In the past we would dine first before shows and/or drinks and so would join the queue whilst getting ready in the room

 

It is freedom dining and very easy and fast to use

 

Don't be put off you can even change your mind have another drink and watch another show and then join another queue

 

Once you've used a couple of times you will tailor it to how you like to spend your evenings

 

Better than physical queuing and better than using pagers (which themselves were a a better alternative to old fashioned queuing in their day) in the opinion of most people at least

[Interestedcruisefan]

On 5/24/2023 at 5:05 PM, Megabear2 said:

I would partially agree except not all have these last minute bargain bucket fares.  I've spoken to a surprisingly large number who have been booked for a long time and have paid top price for their holidays, running into several thousands a head.  These people are not all old P&O returns either but a lot of families who've been saving to take their cruise for the first time and even some celebrating big events like wedding anniversaries, big birthdays etc.  

 

That said, the food in all venues I've tried to date has been very good with only one exception being a fish supper in the Quays where it was at best average.

 

I do agree though Majortom despite the good food here the quality and presentation on QM2 the week before I.joined Arvia was without fail a much higher standard.

I find the fish much better than the chips in The Quays

[Interestedcruisefan]

On 5/24/2023 at 10:58 PM, terrierjohn said:

It's not too complex really, on our last 2 Iona cruises, on one I booked nothing in advance, and on the second I did book one or two shows before the cruise. Both cruises went smoothly and other than the first night we encountered very little queueing for dinner, and the MDR virtual queue system worked fairly smoothly and we received confirmation that our table was ready within 10-20 minutes.

However the host stations don't seem to operate as efficiently as they could, we were directed to join some tables where others had already ordered, as well as having to sometimes wait for the table to fill up. I would have expected that when I say I am prepared to share a table, that the app would wait for all 6, 8 Or 10 passengers to be available before declaring our table is ready. Tables for 2 of course won't  have this problem.

I've got to assume joining a shared table with the app is slower than asking for a table for 2. Although they promote the opposite.

 

The MDRs have loads of tables for 2 now and it's by far the most popular choice 

 

Followed by 4s. A few 6s and just a sprinkling of 8s now

 

Might persuade my wife for us to join a shared table tonight to discuss just how good or bad the cruise has been!!

 

[Britboys]

11 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

...Better than physical queuing and better than using pagers (which themselves were a a better alternative to old fashioned queuing in their day) in the opinion of most people at least

Horses for course. If it were me I'd rather have a pager as I've no desire to carry my phone around all night. I'm obviously not most people...😉😂

[Interestedcruisefan]

23 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Horses for course. If it were me I'd rather have a pager as I've no desire to carry my phone around all night. I'm obviously not most people...😉😂

You can still do that. But obviously you have to go and fetch it first. Maybe even having queued to fetch it?  

 

I'm used to having my phone with me and my wife is. We both use phones for photos

[Britboys]

2 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

You can still do that. But obviously you have to go and fetch it first. Maybe even having queued to fetch it?  

 

I'm used to having my phone with me and my wife is. We both use phones for photos

Fortunately, I won't have to worry about that on the ships I cruise on 😊

[Bill Y]

9 hours ago, WestonOne said:

Thanks for that info.  It rather confirms my dislike of 'Freedom Dining' - it is a long way from the 'eat when you like' all cruise lines promote, isn't it?   

Some extol it's virtues but it seems it's freedom to queue when you like either virtual or physical, but then the Brits like to queue.

[Interestedcruisefan]

5 hours ago, Bill Y said:

Some extol it's virtues but it seems it's freedom to queue when you like either virtual or physical, but then the Brits like to queue.

Far far less physical queues on the ships than in the past prior to the app

 

I used to watch comedians on cruises who would base half their acts around our love of queuing up for everything on cruise ships

[WestonOne]

3 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Far far less physical queues on the ships than in the past prior to the app

 

I used to watch comedians on cruises who would base half their acts around our love of queuing up for everything on cruise ships

Which is one reason I prefer set dining.  No need to queue at all, though for some reason many people do like to queue just before the doors open!

I take interestedcruisefan's point "our current preference is approx 20 minutes  before we want to sit down in a MDR we join a virtual queue  - I do that in seconds whilst sat drinking a cocktail or sat watching a show" but that doesn't really fit with the earlier comment from snaefell  "on our turn we were told 45 minutes  to an hour".   How long you to need to wait in a given situation isn't changed by whether you use a bleeper or an app.

When it works smoothly, all is fine.   However the first time I tried to use the virtual queueing was on Iona for breakfast.  We joined the queue as we were about ready and were number 11 in the queue.  This was around 8am.   By 8:30 we were still around 8th in the queue, but decided to go and sit in the library next to the restaurant we were booked in.   As we sat, we could see people arriving and being let into the restaurant.  Around 9 we gave up and walked to the desk, where we were let in.  When we had just about finished the meal my phone buzzed - we had permission from the virtual queue to go and have breakfast!

The app was working, but what was happening was the restaurant was in effect running two separate queues:  one for people who just turned up and one virtual, and they were always giving priority to the physical queue.  So, in effect, joining the virtual queue guaranteed you would be one of the last to be let into the restaurant.

Trying to run two queues for one service is usually a bad idea unless you actually want to implement a priority system.

Of course, we could have abandoned breakfast in the MDR and gone to the buffet, but being served breakfast is, for us, part of the experience.  Thereafter, we always just arrived in person and there were rarely more than a handful in front of us, so waiting times ranging from nothing to about 3 minutes.

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by WestonOne

[Fionboard]

On my 4th cruise this year. Fixed dining, no queues, no stress, phone switched off.  Avoid mega ships. Problem easily solved for me personally. 

[solentsam]

If everything was so perfect , what would we have to moan about 🙂

Edited May 27, 2023 by solentsam

[zap99]

16 minutes ago, solentsam said:

If everything was so perfect , what would we have to moan about 🙂

Everything is, so there is no reason to moan. Nobody does that on here.🥳

[smokey01]

9 hours ago, Fionboard said:

On my 4th cruise this year. Fixed dining, no queues, no stress, phone switched off.  Avoid mega ships. Problem easily solved for me personally. 

Bliss, bring back the good ole days

[zap99]

5 minutes ago, smokey01 said:

Bliss, bring back the good ole days

The good days are here. Ignore trivial problems. No stress. Enjoy things for what they are. Beautiful ships full of staff to feed you, change your towels every day and entertain you. The old days....Rickets. War..cars without electric windows, no thanks.

 

[Harry Peterson]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

The good days are here. Ignore trivial problems. No stress. Enjoy things for what they are. Beautiful ships full of staff to feed you, change your towels every day and entertain you. The old days....Rickets. War..cars without electric windows, no thanks.

 

You’d be an admirable table companion, Zap. One of the reasons we never wanted tables for two. Good cheerful, positive conversations. 

[zap99]

41 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

You’d be an admirable table companion, Zap. One of the reasons we never wanted tables for two. Good cheerful, positive conversations. 

Problem is Harry, I'm the reason DW normally asks for a table for one.😁

[Harry Peterson]

15 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Problem is Harry, I'm the reason DW normally asks for a table for one.😁

We ended up on a table for two once, and they're extremely close together, as you know.  Made the big mistake of starting a friendly, cheerful conversation with the couple on the next table - very much not appreciated.  They spoke occasionally to each other but ignored everyone else, and the steward.  We learned a lesson from that - do not start conversations on tables for two.

 

Tables for 6 or 8 though - fantastic.  You'd never dream of sharing a table in a restaurant (though as a student in a big, 300-seater, restaurant at Felixstowe we frequently had people sharing tables to avoid a long queue) but some of those dinners turned out like dinner parties and we all became good friends.  Staying far too long, really, but relaxed unhurried dining with interesting people you'd not met before was one of the joys of cruising.

 

But I love chatting........ever since I was a kid of 4, hanging on our garden gate talking to anyone who happened to be passing.