Oldies not catered for anymore

[jessybell]

Just had first….and last…..cruise on Arvia.  We are in our 70’s and fairly computer literate.  What is all this booking on an app about…..I don’t  want to spend my holiday trying to book restaurants and shows……almost impossible sometimes.   I expect a cruise ship to have a library and a card room……I expect dress codes to be followed..or why bother having them…..I would like drink mats on the tables in the bars…having to put up with wet tables and dripping glasses is not pleasant.  Sorry P&O you are going to lose your older clientele….we spoke to many people who feel the same……back to Fred Olsen for us after 40 years of being P&O customers. Oh I forgot to mention…….the queues…….everywhere queues!

[Cynthia Darch]

Completely agree with you .. many years with P&O and now off to Saga

[Harry Peterson]

Thanks - that’s an interesting viewpoint. Sorry you didn’t enjoy the cruise. 
 

We’re probably in much the same age group, though I’m more than happy to use apps, or any other form of tech, if it makes life easier.  P&O is however now targeting much younger customers because they’re deemed more profitable, and they may well be right. I guess they know their business better than we do.

 

Have you considered Saga?

[Britboys]

57 minutes ago, jessybell said:

Just had first….and last…..cruise on Arvia.  We are in our 70’s and fairly computer literate.  What is all this booking on an app about…..I don’t  want to spend my holiday trying to book restaurants and shows……almost impossible sometimes.   I expect a cruise ship to have a library and a card room……I expect dress codes to be followed..or why bother having them…..I would like drink mats on the tables in the bars…having to put up with wet tables and dripping glasses is not pleasant.  Sorry P&O you are going to lose your older clientele….we spoke to many people who feel the same……back to Fred Olsen for us after 40 years of being P&O customers. Oh I forgot to mention…….the queues…….everywhere queues!

Being in my early sixties, I don't consider myself an Oldie but completely agree with your sentiments. I am however happy to try Aurora again this summer as the only real concern I had last summer was the food. I do think you have a different experience on the smaller ships.

[Fionboard]

If P&O depend on younger pax (who work) and families, they will come unstuck when trying to fill the mega ships during term time, winter, etc. We "oldies" are the ones with the funds, and time, to cruise all year round. Dismiss us at your peril! 

[1160451]

Just back from a first time Princess Cruise round the UK.

We are in our early 70’s and are very computer and social media literate.

BUT….to prepare for the Princess Cruise was an absolute nightmare if you had never done it before.

Switching between the APP then Webb site to input and sort tickets, embarkation time, luggage labels and personnel information was difficult to understand.

On Board you had to use your smart phone to book things.

They even wanted you to order drinks on the APP then a waiter should find you by GPS.

That was a laugh.

We ditched it after three days and reverted to normal, which to be fair worked.

If P and O are following this then it’s a no no for us.

Hope the Balmoral next March is APP free 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

 

 

[1160451]

Forgot to mention about the Dress Codes on Princess.

Smart Casual or Dress to Impress was indicated.

I would describe the majority of Americans on the cruise dressed

“direct from an afternoon in the Allotment”

On our first night, as we went for Dinner, the four of us were asked “are you famous?” by some Americans.😂😂😂😂😂

 

[lancashire_cruisers]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise but a simple view of the deck plans should have shown that there was no library or card room on the ship! From Ventura and Azura onwards the library has been much reduced and on the older ships it just seemed to be a place where people could have a siesta! 

[Cloudyrain]

I haven’t been on the Arvia, and wasn’t on it with you, so I can’t comment, but taking pensioner parents on the Iona wasn’t particularly difficult: once we uploaded their My Holiday app/site for them. The booking of things is literally a click of a button and takes seconds, and there were staff in the Atrium helping people set things up and book things all week. Staff in venues also took bookings in person, even the MDR was booking tables for people, and all shows had spaces for walk-ins (except Limelight).

 

But, even if Iona and Arvia are focusing on younger ages then I don’t see the issue: different ships have different facilities for a different market. It doesn’t make either worse or bad, just different. 

 

I don’t think it’s innovation that’s marginalising passengers, but rather people feeling they are being marginalised. 

Edited May 31, 2023 by Cloudyrain

[daveoc]

23 minutes ago, 1160451 said:

Forgot to mention about the Dress Codes on Princess.

Smart Casual or Dress to Impress was indicated.

I would describe the majority of Americans on the cruise dressed

“direct from an afternoon in the Allotment”

On our first night, as we went for Dinner, the four of us were asked “are you famous?” by some Americans.😂😂😂😂😂

 

On Regal now and your description is spot on.

[zap99]

2 hours ago, jessybell said:

Just had first….and last…..cruise on Arvia.  We are in our 70’s and fairly computer literate.  What is all this booking on an app about…..I don’t  want to spend my holiday trying to book restaurants and shows……almost impossible sometimes.   I expect a cruise ship to have a library and a card room……I expect dress codes to be followed..or why bother having them…..I would like drink mats on the tables in the bars…having to put up with wet tables and dripping glasses is not pleasant.  Sorry P&O you are going to lose your older clientele….we spoke to many people who feel the same……back to Fred Olsen for us after 40 years of being P&O customers. Oh I forgot to mention…….the queues…….everywhere queues!

Sound like Arvia is for younger folk Indeed.

[solentsam]

Been on both Iona X 3 and Arvia love them both, we are in our late 60's

Edited May 31, 2023 by solentsam
typo

[zap99]

2 minutes ago, solentsam said:

Been on both Iona X 3 and Arvia love them both, we are in our late 60's

We are 73&67. We have had 8 cruises since breakout and 3 flyaway. Apps for all of them. We have had 4 on UK holiday parks, all drinks orders through the app. If folk can't cope with Technology they may not be going far from home. A.I is just around the corner.

[Fionboard]

Notice the use of "we" a lot. Cruising solo is a different experience and much more suited to smaller, friendlier ships. Nothing to do with technology, just the overall ambience created by smaller passenger numbers on board. 

[Windsurfboy]

Looks like another company that doesn't understand economics. 

 

Exactly wrong time to abandon oldies.

 

Interest rates soar and will never go back to the 1% of the last 15 years that was an aberration 

 

Families with mortgages disposable incomes will be drastically squeezed.

 

Those oldies with substantial savings are seeing income rising.

 

It's  not technology that will put affluent oldies off , most are tech savvy, it's all the other things mentioned above . Hence move to Saga even though they are far more expensive 

Edited May 31, 2023 by Windsurfboy

[Megabear2]

To be truthful I have a lot of sympathy with the OP.  It's okay being fairly computer literate but if the app is constantly going wrong as it did on Arvia it becomes messy and difficult. There's also the problem of not a level playing field as people can and do book absolutely everything in advance (including me as I learned from others on here)! This leaves everyone else in the lurch and depending on goodwill onboard which sadly the reception staff on Arvia weren't too keen or were unable to offer.  As the OP indicates there were a very large number of disgruntled passengers.  Truthfully it's not an age thing, I spoke to many young people often with children who were fed up to the back teeth with the app failing or showing no availability.

[zap99]

26 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

Looks like another company that doesn't understand economics. 

 

Exactly wrong time to abandon oldies.

 

Interest rates soar and will never go back to the 1% of the last 15 years that was an aberration 

 

Families with mortgages disposable incomes will be drastically squeezed.

 

Those oldies with substantial savings are seeing income rising.

 

It's  not technology that will put affluent oldies off , most are tech savvy, it's all the other things mentioned above . Hence move to Saga even though they are far more expensive 

Do a search for...Saga app.. it's behind you.🤣

[Fionboard]

24 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Do a search for...Saga app.. it's behind you.🤣

Have the app on the smaller ships too, but it is superfluous on those as they can manage the numbers on board with no need for pre booking everything 😂

[Scorpio41]

2 hours ago, Fionboard said:

If P&O depend on younger pax (who work) and families, they will come unstuck when trying to fill the mega ships during term time, winter, etc. We "oldies" are the ones with the funds, and time, to cruise all year round. Dismiss us at your peril! 

Well said.

[ExpatBride]

I'm in my mid-40s and agree with you. Part of the reason I fell in love with cruising was because in a way, it felt like a step back to a nicer and more elegant time. Unfortunately, I think COVID might've cost us that as cruise lines cut back to save money, and cruise passengers dig in their heels on dressing up.

[Cloudyrain]

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

Looks like another company that doesn't understand economics. 

 

Exactly wrong time to abandon oldies.

 

Interest rates soar and will never go back to the 1% of the last 15 years that was an aberration 

 

Families with mortgages disposable incomes will be drastically squeezed.

 

Those oldies with substantial savings are seeing income rising.

 

It's  not technology that will put affluent oldies off , most are tech savvy, it's all the other things mentioned above . Hence move to Saga even though they are far more expensive 

But in reality are they “abandoning the oldies”? 
 

They have 2 new large family-friendly ships, which has taken lots of families who previously had no choice but to go on the likes of Azura, Ventura and Britannia if they wanted to go P&O. I think these 3 former family-focussed ships will probably shift focus more in target audience.
 

Plus they still have Arcadia, Aurora as adults only in addition to Britannia and Ventura and Azura: the latter really being better suited to multi-gen cruises or adults considering the bedroom layout options (especially Ventura and Azura).

 

And I also think plenty of “oldies” like the Iona and Arvia style of cruising (excluding times where there are IT problems that no one likes, except maybe IT consultants who charge by the hour 😂)

[Megabear2]

Well my official complaint has now gone off with all my app comments included.  Not only did I mention crashes but non functionality. 

 

What's the point of linking a diary which only shows excursions, theatre shows and dining booked when they want you to book spa and other appointments which don't show in your diary? The spa in particular doesn't give written appointment slips like they used to and you have to rely on memory to keep a note elsewhere. You can't see them in your diary.

 

The app should in my opinion show you other options available to you without you having to click through 9 or 10 dining/entertainment options to be told no availability - time consuming and fruitless.  If I click on Zenith and it's full I'd like it to say Meridian is available or whatever.   However as on many occasions nothing appears to be available perhaps they are attempting to hide it!

 

I also think instead of telling me just how many are in the virtual queue it should indicate your wait time is estimated to be between x and y minutes.  If the queue closes it should indicate if it is temporary or actually really full.  As it stands you're left totally bemused as to what to do next.  

 

There are sections saying room service, you can see an example menu but not order.  The same with drinks etc.

 

If you want people to rely on this thing it has to offer you everything you may need. There's a message service. All it ever told me was my virtual queue time was up, come in in.  I'd like it to remind me, Mrs Megabear you have a dining reservation at Sindhu this evening at x o'clock etc etc.

 

If and when it can offer me this functionality I might be more impressed and happy to use it, especially if it was reliable.

 

 

 

 

[happy v]

If you don't want more entertainment venues and more dining options. Go on all the other ships apart from Iona and Arvia. Problem solved.

[carlanthony24]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

To be truthful I have a lot of sympathy with the OP.  It's okay being fairly computer literate but if the app is constantly going wrong as it did on Arvia it becomes messy and difficult. There's also the problem of not a level playing field as people can and do book absolutely everything in advance (including me as I learned from others on here)! This leaves everyone else in the lurch and depending on goodwill onboard which sadly the reception staff on Arvia weren't too keen or were unable to offer.  As the OP indicates there were a very large number of disgruntled passengers.  Truthfully it's not an age thing, I spoke to many young people often with children who were fed up to the back teeth with the app failing or showing no availability.

Going to be honest you say a large number. A large number on other sites have also said they found the cruise faultless besides the shuttle bus chaos.

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

Looks like another company that doesn't understand economics. 

 

Exactly wrong time to abandon oldies.

 

Interest rates soar and will never go back to the 1% of the last 15 years that was an aberration 

 

Families with mortgages disposable incomes will be drastically squeezed.

 

Those oldies with substantial savings are seeing income rising.

 

It's  not technology that will put affluent oldies off , most are tech savvy, it's all the other things mentioned above . Hence move to Saga even though they are far more expensive 

I don't think they are abandoning oldies.  We have sailed on lots of ships with a number of different companies. Iona and Arvia give us a couple of extra options. On our first Azura cruise I thought how small it was. A bit cramped. Britannia is OK and we enjoyed Iona. I just don't understand why folk think only young people will go on the big, new, shiny ships. We will try Arvia when the right deal/itinerary comes along. When we grow up we may try Saga...but probably not.