Food and dining on P&O ships

[RJChatsworth]

With all these 45 minute queues I am reading about, do they have rows of chairs for oldies who can’t stand for that long?  Also, this queuing must detract from holiday enjoyment - it would for me!
 

Another question for those in the know; if you are in a suite with a butler, the P&O blurb states that the butler will make the bookings for you.  How does that work?  If you say to him/her book me a table for two in freedom dining at 7pm this evening will he be able to or will he be continually telling you they are ‘full’?  Does he have some leverage with maitre d’?  If butler does manage to book you a table for two at, say, 7pm for that evening do you still have to queue?

[No pager thank you]

33 minutes ago, RJChatsworth said:

With all these 45 minute queues I am reading about, do they have rows of chairs for oldies who can’t stand for that long?  Also, this queuing must detract from holiday enjoyment - it would for me!
 

Another question for those in the know; if you are in a suite with a butler, the P&O blurb states that the butler will make the bookings for you.  How does that work?  If you say to him/her book me a table for two in freedom dining at 7pm this evening will he be able to or will he be continually telling you they are ‘full’?  Does he have some leverage with maitre d’?  If butler does manage to book you a table for two at, say, 7pm for that evening do you still have to queue?

Hello,

 

I can't answer on the Butler issue as we do not travel in a Suite.  However, I do know that when we were approached on Aurora, the Maitre D offered to put us in to the queue so that we could dine at our preferred time, which for us was 7.30. 

 

In truth, even with this (gratefully received) assistance, we were called for dinner anytime from 8.00 to 8.40.  It appeared to be the case that another diner was on "our" allocated table, hence our reference to the 45 minute wait. 

 

I would assume that the Butler could book an allocated time in the specialty restaurant, or perhaps offer the same service as we received.  One benefit of the Suite is that the same experience is not repeated at breakfast, as the Epicurean (or a separate space/restaurant) is reserved I believe.

 

The issue isn't one for physical sitting space.  If the guest cannot use the app, although this is encouraged, one queues separately at the entrance to the MDR, receives a pager, and then attends a bar/seating area, whilst their table becomes ready.  On the app, you can sit in your cabin until this point.

 

Hope this helps.

[Bazrat]

2 hours ago, PJ's said:

We also did a FO cruise some years ago now and requested a table for 2 which we were allocated. BUT next to us was a table for 4 and we were so close to them that the waiter took all the orders at the same time. We might as well have asked for a table of 6. Fortunately we all got on fine and had a few laughs. We always book club dining and now cruise with friend so we request just a table for 4.

Not just a FO problem we asked for a table for 2 when we was on explorer 2 and was shown to ours the 2 other tables was so close together you could not get between them, we was going to turn it down but the couple on the next table called us over, they was relieved to know someone.

[Fionboard]

5 hours ago, Denarius said:

I am also a solo traveller, but take the opposite view. I like to meet new people at dinner rather than sit with the same people every evening. You meet many interesting people that way, and if you are unfortunate enough to be seated with someone you can't stand you can console yourself with the thought that you are unlikely to to be so again.

You can always move tables if necessary but I have only had to do that on a handful of times in over 70 cruises (I must be lucky!).

[Solent Richard]

On 1/14/2023 at 10:44 AM, Tablelamp said:

Could somebody give me a review please.  I gather there have been changes.  ALSO are there still Wine waiters?

I, more often than not,  prefer to use the Wine Line.

 

That way I can choose my wines to match my food having scrutinised the menu earlier in the day.

 

There is no prolonged delay as the wine should have been delivered to the restaurant.

 

 

 

[jeanlyon]

11 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

You can always move tables if necessary but I have only had to do that on a handful of times in over 70 cruises (I must be lucky!).

We've only done it once in about 20 cruises

[Denarius]

37 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

You can always move tables if necessary but I have only had to do that on a handful of times in over 70 cruises (I must be lucky!).

Accepted, although I never felt it necessary to do so in the days when club dining was the only option. But I like to meet new people rather than dine with the same people every night, however sociable the latter may be. This rather than the fear of being trapped with unsuitable dining companions is why I prefer freedom dining. And I also like the flexibilty of freedom dining, being able to vary my dining time to fit in with other activities rather than having to fit everything around it. But in the end it comes down to personal preferences.

[zap99]

6 hours ago, yorkshirephil said:

They were doing that on Arcadia just before Christmas

Left over wine. There's a thought. 

[Fionboard]

9 minutes ago, Denarius said:

Accepted, although I never felt it necessary to do so in the days when club dining was the only option. But I like to meet new people rather than dine with the same people every night, however sociable the latter may be. This rather than the fear of being trapped with unsuitable dining companions is why I prefer freedom dining. And I also like the flexibilty of freedom dining, being able to vary my dining time to fit in with other activities rather than having to fit everything around it. But in the end it comes down to personal preference

• Exactly, with fixed dining I know what time I am going to be eating and can plan my evening.

[yorkshirephil]

8 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Left over wine. There's a thought. 

 

[zap99]

10 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

 

Size doesn't matter. This is from my year of birth. I will open it when I grow up.

[tring]

If anyone asks for a table for two on club dining with P&O is it assured that a table for two will be supplied, or is it dependant upon availability?  I can see if you book at launch, there would be a fair chance of getting one, but what about later bookings, perhaps just six months from sailing day or less?

 

[FangedRose]

8 minutes ago, tring said:

If anyone asks for a table for two on club dining with P&O is it assured that a table for two will be supplied, or is it dependant upon availability?  I can see if you book at launch, there would be a fair chance of getting one, but what about later bookings, perhaps just six months from sailing day or less?

 

You state a preference when asking for fixed dining, and for table size. As such, no request can be guaranteed. They reserve that right. That said, I've always got what I requested. But I've never asked for a table for two.

[jeanlyon]

Agree.  We always ask for a table for 8, but often get a table for 6.

[RJChatsworth]

We have requested tables for 2 in Club dining on both P&O and Cunard and not failed to get one for at least 15 years.

[paulatsea]

On 1/20/2023 at 10:26 PM, davecttr said:

My smart phone does not have a SIM so it is not a phone but it is a very small portable computer, there is no way to make or receive a call or text. Apparently you CAN make an emergency call without a SIM. This is what confused me.

 

Never mind, I will find out next month. I only want to pre book The Beach House and The Olive Grove but apparently you can't do that before you board.

It’s possible to make calls and texts over the internet without a sim -  WiFi calling - text can be received and sent via iCloud if you have iPhone  .
Your phone may have an e-sim built in if it’s not too old - that’s  probably how the SOS call works.

 

What phone is it and model ?

 

all phones have either an e-sim built in or a SIM card slot or both.

Edited January 23, 2023 by paulatsea

[Port out]

Was wondering what the situation is now on Aurora when booking a table on freedom dining, do they use the app now as per the larger ships or is it still the hand held device. Thanks 

[arlowood]

I think all ships have now adopted the app for booking tables in the dining rooms. It was certainly nin use on our Arcadia cruise last August/September.

 

Unfortunately my experience with it was poor on Arcadia. I could not get any Wi-Fi reception in the cabin and often had to find a "hotspot" on the ship to ensure that I could open and use the app reliably. (BTW the best spot I found was the library).

 

This made the app next to useless for table bookings as you had to keep the booking page "open" after you selected a time so that they could contact you once your table was free. For me this would have meant booking a time then staying in that location until our table was called. Not very convenient.

 

I have heard that the older ships (Arcadia, Aurora) are prone to poor Wi-Fi reception due to the predominance of metal throughout the structure of the passenger areas. ( and also possibly the lack of booster hubs)

 

We eventually just reverted to going down at a specific time and joining the non app booked queue. We never waited more than a few minutes.

[smj777]

I see someone has mentioned 'The Wine Line'. I've not heard of this, can anyone explain please?

 

[paulatsea]

5 minutes ago, smj777 said:

I see someone has mentioned 'The Wine Line'. I've not heard of this, can anyone explain please?

 

Telephone number (line) to order your wine 

Edited January 23, 2023 by paulatsea

[smj777]

Is this new? I've been cruising with P&O for about 10 yrs and hadn't heard of it, although it seems like a good idea. Where can the tel. number be found?

[paulatsea]

8 minutes ago, smj777 said:

Is this new? I've been cruising with P&O for about 10 yrs and hadn't heard of it, although it seems like a good idea. Where can the tel. number be found?

It’s in the directory somewhere or possibly on a card left in the room - can’t remember exactly.

Yep - great idea. I used it every day for dinner wine order - and it worked !

 

Not sure when it was introduced.

Edited January 23, 2023 by paulatsea

[tring]

4 hours ago, Port out said:

Was wondering what the situation is now on Aurora when booking a table on freedom dining, do they use the app now as per the larger ships or is it still the hand held device. Thanks 

 

We were on Aurora in Nov/Dec and the app worked brilliantly, even in our cabin, but not on the balcony.  Bleepers were available from the restaurant if you preferred and we never saw any real queues at any time and we varied our dining times. Just a few people waiting a few minutes to check in or collect a bleepers.  If you had been called by the app or a bleeper you went straight to another member of staff, just inside the restaurant.   You could just walk in without a booking if early or later arrival.  The restaurant service was incredibly good at all times.

 

Our wait on the app was about half an hour on average for the popular times but could be a less.  A bit longer on formals, which is what brought my average estimate up.  

 

By comparison the app was hardly working at all on on Azura in Oct and restaurant service we as very poor.  In fact, after the first week on Azura we did not even attempt to use to he mdr on formal nights.

 

Edited January 23, 2023 by tring

[smokey01]

18 hours ago, RJChatsworth said:

We have requested tables for 2 in Club dining on both P&O and Cunard and not failed to get one for at least 15 years.

Likewise for us, we always request a table for 2 and always get one including when we have booked within 3 or 4 months of departure.

[tring]

4 hours ago, Port out said:

Was wondering what the situation is now on Aurora when booking a table on freedom dining, do they use the app now as per the larger ships or is it still the hand held device. Thanks 

 

Just to add that on Aurora you had 15 minutes to go to the restaurant after being called on the app, so do not need to keep looking at it all the time or rush off the minute you are called.  We usually joined the queue, left the phone on the bed and went out onto the balcony with drinks, popping in to check every so often. The app gave you the number of people ahead of you in the queue, so it was easy to track what was happening and estimate how long until you will be called.  You may have to refresh the page, but not a problem.  

 

Just a case of getting used to it and you soon learn how long you will be in the queue at various times and queue lengths, so can join it at the best time.