Woo Hoo... Britannia day today...

[Eglesbrech]

3 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

I wasn't being evasive, just conscious that our experience will differ to others. 

The Epicurean food and service was just not what we expected or had previously... 

Firstly, no dress code. It was evening casual, we were smart, as we're many others. Others had tatty t shirts, jeans and trainers, not smart casual in my book. 1 party of scruffy guys were so loud, it spoilt the atmosphere. 

The amuse buche was missed completely for us and the pallette cleanser served after we had finished all courses as they forgot us... 

The steak I had was very poor quality and drastically overcooked. I ordered medium rare, it was very well done. 

When I queried it, the answer was that passengers don't usually like to see pink!!! 

Michelle had the pork t bone, it was also overcooked and very dry. The chips, ironically, were undercooked. 

The scallop starter just tasted of pepper. 

The desserts were good. 

No choice of petit fors, just 2 served in a dish. 

We spoke to the manager who said sorry, but that was it. 

We have cancelled our bookings for the other nights without penalty. 

Unfortunately, everything else is fully booked, we will take our chances joining the queue for the Glass House where we received outstanding service and great food. 

Andy 

I’m so sorry to hear that Andy. Thats the problem with P&O, there is sometimes a lack of consistency from cruise to cruise. One passenger can have a great experience and another one like yours (and you are one of the people on here least likely to complain).

 

let’s hope things are better from here on in. 

 

 

 

 

[AndyMichelle]

The beauty of cruising is choice. Despite a few things not being ideal, we are still (mostly) managing to eat well, be entertained and relax. 

We will rethink our future plans going forward, whether P&O is still the right choice for us and, if so, do we accept the changes and embrace them on the bigger ships, or try to avoid them on the adults only ships. 

The Mdr experience is no longer what it was pre lock down. 

We chose 2nd sitting fixed dining, as previously this was the least rushed, but the emphasis is now on efficiency and speed. 

We were expected to order all courses at once, as soon as we finished our last mouthful, the next course was served. Coffee was served with dessert. On the first night, we were in and out within the hour, there was no choice to relax between courses or digest your meal before being shown the door... 

Add to this, Michelle had 2 very bad main courses, both overcooked and dry (seems to be a theme). One of these was a formal night, so extra disappointing. 

My food on both nights was great, well cooked, hot and plentiful. 

Again, no dress code on the evening casual night, we were surrounded by muscle t shirts, ripped jeans and trainers... 

In fairness, on formal night, everybody seemed to make some effort. 

I might as well mention all the toddlers, fairly unsupervised, on the dance floor (and the stage) at 11pm when I am trying to throw some shapes to Pulse, and the kids sitting on the bar in Brodies playing bingo at 10pm...

Yep, Aurora it is then😂😂

Andy 

 

[TigerB]

4 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

I might as well mention all the toddlers, fairly unsupervised, on the dance floor (and the stage) at 11pm when I am trying to throw some shapes to Pulse, and the kids sitting on the bar in Brodies playing bingo at 10pm...

 

Don't get me started on irresponsible parenting! 🤬

On our last trip on Iona, when the comedian did his adult only set at midnight in the Club House, there were three children under six years in the area near to the stage. There may well have been others elsewhere. The comedian referenced them a few times in his act, once saying it was the first time he had performed in a crèche. Of course, he did not tone down his language, and why should he?

On another night, we were in the casino late at night, and a young child was sat on the knee of an adult, playing a slot machine. They soon got moved on, though.

[Eglesbrech]

3 minutes ago, TigerB said:

 

Don't get me started on irresponsible parenting! 🤬

On our last trip on Iona, when the comedian did his adult only set at midnight in the Club House, there were three children under six years in the area near to the stage. There may well have been others elsewhere. The comedian referenced them a few times in his act, once saying it was the first time he had performed in a crèche. Of course, he did not tone down his language, and why should he?

On another night, we were in the casino late at night, and a young child was sat on the knee of an adult, playing a slot machine. They soon got moved on, though.

Amen. I am an admittedly a grumpy old woman and (some) modern parenting is a joke.

 

In my day children were pushed too much into the background as in “children should be seen and not heard” and that was wrong. Now for some it’s a free for all and they do exactly as they please and tough luck how it affects anyone else.
 

Some parents manage an effective middle ground and are to be commended for that.

[Angel57]

@AndyMichelle Aurora is certainly a lovely ship, and worthy of consideration for a future cruise, but of course she is a bit worn in places, but then aren’t we all…… 🤣🤣🤣

 

[terrierjohn]

57 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Thanks. I won’t ask why, as I don’t think I want to know 🫣

I must be in the minority as regards Epicurean, we have enjoyed the odd meal whilst on a long Ventura cruise, but also had some poor experiences. However on Britannia and Iona we have not yet had a good experience, the food has been mediocre and the service not a patch on the speciality dining experiences we have enjoyed on Celebrity Eclipse.  Granted the last time we were on Eclipse was 2016, so we have no recent knowledge of how good, or bad Celebrity is post Covid.

Our next cruise is on Sky Princess, and I am hoping the MDR food will be good enough so we dont need to bother with with their extra charge restaurants.

[AndyMichelle]

17 minutes ago, Angel57 said:

@AndyMichelle Aurora is certainly a lovely ship, and worthy of consideration for a future cruise, but of course she is a bit worn in places, but then aren’t we all…… 🤣🤣🤣

 

Michelle absolutely loves Aurora, I found her a bit dated even in 2019.

The solace of Andersons is calling though, especially now the Crystal rooms on Britannia are being used for Karaoke, silent disco and quizzes after 9.15.

We used to enjoy the jazz band and watching the ballroom dancers with a night cap. 

Andy 

[Splice the mainbrace]

54 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

The beauty of cruising is choice. Despite a few things not being ideal, we are still (mostly) managing to eat well, be entertained and relax. 

We will rethink our future plans going forward, whether P&O is still the right choice for us and, if so, do we accept the changes and embrace them on the bigger ships, or try to avoid them on the adults only ships. 

The Mdr experience is no longer what it was pre lock down. 

We chose 2nd sitting fixed dining, as previously this was the least rushed, but the emphasis is now on efficiency and speed. 

We were expected to order all courses at once, as soon as we finished our last mouthful, the next course was served. Coffee was served with dessert. On the first night, we were in and out within the hour, there was no choice to relax between courses or digest your meal before being shown the door... 

Add to this, Michelle had 2 very bad main courses, both overcooked and dry (seems to be a theme). One of these was a formal night, so extra disappointing. 

My food on both nights was great, well cooked, hot and plentiful. 

Again, no dress code on the evening casual night, we were surrounded by muscle t shirts, ripped jeans and trainers... 

In fairness, on formal night, everybody seemed to make some effort. 

I might as well mention all the toddlers, fairly unsupervised, on the dance floor (and the stage) at 11pm when I am trying to throw some shapes to Pulse, and the kids sitting on the bar in Brodies playing bingo at 10pm...

Yep, Aurora it is then😂😂

Andy 

 

I've noticed the rushing of meal service in MDRs on our most recent cruises on P&O, Princess and Cunard.

 

Menus thrust into our hands soon after we have sat down and before we have got settled or in even got our reading glasses out. Coming back to take the order after only a few minutes whilst we are still having a quick chat with our neighbouring table (we normally look and virtually decide what we want before the meal by looking at the menu during the day which speeds the choosing anyway), grabbing our plates within seconds of finishing (on P&O the waitress attempting to take my wifes plate plate before she had finished and nearly got a fork in her hand!!), taking one of our plates before the other partner has finished and not much of a gap between each course. On a couple of cruises when it felt really rushed we told them to slow down a bit which they did but not by much.

 

When I look at the area that our waiters cover it doesn't seem to any more people than pre-covid so it's not like they cover more people and we do late sitting and there are normally several empty tables on their patch decreasing their workload.

 

Overall it isn't as relaxing and pleasant an experience as it used to.

 

On the other hand on our last cruise a lady some nights took 20 minutes to 30 minutes to choose her order, the waiter kept coming back every 5 mins or so and she kept sending him away. One night after 30 minutes the waiter told her that if she didn't order now he couldn't take her order.

Edited July 4, 2023 by Splice the mainbrace

[AndyMichelle]

31 minutes ago, TigerB said:

 

Don't get me started on irresponsible parenting! 🤬

On our last trip on Iona, when the comedian did his adult only set at midnight in the Club House, there were three children under six years in the area near to the stage. There may well have been others elsewhere. The comedian referenced them a few times in his act, once saying it was the first time he had performed in a crèche. Of course, he did not tone down his language, and why should he?

On another night, we were in the casino late at night, and a young child was sat on the knee of an adult, playing a slot machine. They soon got moved on, though.

I love to see people enjoying their holidays their way and have no problem with children on board. 

The kids are not the issue... 

A small toddler got onto the stage between sets and was pulling equipment onto herself. I was too far away to do anything, it was frightening. 

Thankfully, an adult, maybe her Dad, grabbed her just in time. 

The DJ made an announcement and the band mentioned it as well, but the kids were still left to do their own thing... 

Andy 

 

 

[Selbourne]

13 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I must be in the minority as regards Epicurean, we have enjoyed the odd meal whilst on a long Ventura cruise, but also had some poor experiences. However on Britannia and Iona we have not yet had a good experience, the food has been mediocre and the service not a patch on the speciality dining experiences we have enjoyed on Celebrity Eclipse.  Granted the last time we were on Eclipse was 2016, so we have no recent knowledge of how good, or bad Celebrity is post Covid.

Our next cruise is on Sky Princess, and I am hoping the MDR food will be good enough so we dont need to bother with with their extra charge restaurants.

Interesting. In all honesty, on our recent Cunard cruise we wouldn’t have entertained an extra cost restaurant as the food was so good (admittedly Princess Grill). On Britannia over the next fortnight we are planning to eat in speciality restaurants for all but the formal nights. We have never had any complaints about dinner in the MDR on P&O pre Covid, but we have made this decision based on fairly consistent feedback that it’s not as good post Covid. Hopefully we might be pleasantly surprised. 

[AndyMichelle]

3 minutes ago, Splice the mainbrace said:

I've noticed the rushing of meal service in MDRs on our most recent cruises on P&O, Princess and Cunard.

 

Menus thrust into our hands soon after we have sat down and before we have got settled or in even got our reading glasses out. Coming back to take the order after only a few minutes whilst we are still having a quick chat with our neighbouring table (we normally look and virtually decide what we want before the meal by looking at the menu during the day which speeds the choosing anyway), grabbing our plates within seconds of finishing (on P&O the waitress attempting to take my wifes plate plate before she had finished and nearly got a fork in her hand!!), taking one of our plates before the other partner has finished and not much of a gap between each course. On a couple of cruises when it felt really rushed we told them to slow down a bit which they did but not by much.

 

When I look at the area that our waiters cover it doesn't seem to any more people than pre-covid so it's not like they cover more people and we do late sitting and there are normally several empty tables on their patch decreasing their workload.

 

Overall it isn't as relaxing and pleasant an experience as it used to.

 

On the other hand on our last cruise a lady some nights took 20 minutes to 30 minutes to choose her order, the waiter kept coming back every 5 mins or so and she kept sending him away. One night after 30 minutes the waiter told her that if she didn't order know he couldn't take her order.

Glad it's not just us... 

Some people would like this and see it as efficiency. 

I think this is the first cruise where we don't know our waiters names. 

Perhaps now they are not working for tips, they don't make as much effort? 

They still work extremely hard and are polite, but the personal touch has gone. 

Andy 

[Fionboard]

Have done 2 Aurora and 1 Arcadia this year and found staff, including waiters, had time to interact pleasantly. Less pax I suppose. 

[Ilovemygarden]

1 hour ago, AndyMichelle said:

Michelle absolutely loves Aurora, I found her a bit dated even in 2019.

The solace of Andersons is calling though, especially now the Crystal rooms on Britannia are being used for Karaoke, silent disco and quizzes after 9.15.

We used to enjoy the jazz band and watching the ballroom dancers with a night cap. 

Andy 

So when is there ballroom dancing?

[grapau27]

3 hours ago, DamianG said:

 

Andy

 

You've always been a champion of saying people should enjoy their cruise their way so it must have been pretty bad for it to spoil your dining experience (especially in a venue where you paid a supplementary charge).

 

It sounds miles off the description on P&O's website:

 

Dining experiences don’t come any finer than Epicurean. Marvel as each exquisite dish, inspired by classic British ingredients and given a modern twist by expert chefs, is presented at your table. The experience is complete with fine wines, flawless service, elegant surroundings and stunning ocean views.

 

I wouldn't let it drop and would make a formal complaint. I've not had cause to do that on many cruises and can let things slide a lot of the time but I wouldn't on this one, particularly because of the supplementary cost.

 

Glad that you are not letting this or the weather spoil things for you, I hope that the rest of the cruise meets or exceeds expectations in every way.

 

Best regards to you both.

 

Damian

The hotel manager has the authority to compensate you 

eg :- obc,free bottle of wine or complimentary meal and as I mentioned earlier Andy has a good case.

I always photo good food but also poor food if necessary.

[Angel57]

49 minutes ago, Ilovemygarden said:

So when is there ballroom dancing?

Most nights in Carmens and occasionally in Masquerades.

[Britboys]

3 hours ago, DamianG said:

 

Andy

 

You've always been a champion of saying people should enjoy their cruise their way so it must have been pretty bad for it to spoil your dining experience (especially in a venue where you paid a supplementary charge).

 

It sounds miles off the description on P&O's website:

 

Dining experiences don’t come any finer than Epicurean. Marvel as each exquisite dish, inspired by classic British ingredients and given a modern twist by expert chefs, is presented at your table. The experience is complete with fine wines, flawless service, elegant surroundings and stunning ocean views.

 

I wouldn't let it drop and would make a formal complaint. I've not had cause to do that on many cruises and can let things slide a lot of the time but I wouldn't on this one, particularly because of the supplementary cost.

 

Glad that you are not letting this or the weather spoil things for you, I hope that the rest of the cruise meets or exceeds expectations in every way.

 

Best regards to you both.

 

Damian

One dish that P&O (and most cruise lines) consistently serve up very well is hyperbole...

[Britboys]

3 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

The beauty of cruising is choice. Despite a few things not being ideal, we are still (mostly) managing to eat well, be entertained and relax. 

We will rethink our future plans going forward, whether P&O is still the right choice for us and, if so, do we accept the changes and embrace them on the bigger ships, or try to avoid them on the adults only ships. 

The Mdr experience is no longer what it was pre lock down. 

We chose 2nd sitting fixed dining, as previously this was the least rushed, but the emphasis is now on efficiency and speed. 

We were expected to order all courses at once, as soon as we finished our last mouthful, the next course was served. Coffee was served with dessert. On the first night, we were in and out within the hour, there was no choice to relax between courses or digest your meal before being shown the door... 

Add to this, Michelle had 2 very bad main courses, both overcooked and dry (seems to be a theme). One of these was a formal night, so extra disappointing. 

My food on both nights was great, well cooked, hot and plentiful. 

Again, no dress code on the evening casual night, we were surrounded by muscle t shirts, ripped jeans and trainers... 

In fairness, on formal night, everybody seemed to make some effort. 

I might as well mention all the toddlers, fairly unsupervised, on the dance floor (and the stage) at 11pm when I am trying to throw some shapes to Pulse, and the kids sitting on the bar in Brodies playing bingo at 10pm...

Yep, Aurora it is then😂😂

Andy 

 

I was on Aurora last summer in mdr fixed second sitting. The waiter tried to get me to order dessert at the beginning of the meal but I refused asking him to bring me the menu after my main course. Also, I asked for coffee to be served after I had finished my dessert.

Awkward bugger ain't I...😂

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

Glad it's not just us... 

Some people would like this and see it as efficiency. 

I think this is the first cruise where we don't know our waiters names. 

Perhaps now they are not working for tips, they don't make as much effort? 

They still work extremely hard and are polite, but the personal touch has gone. 

Andy 

I always tip £5 every night and £10 on our last night in either Epicurean and Sindhu.

Our 4 server's in Epicurean and Sindhu were fantastic and deserved our tip.

This is just us and I know P&O say tipping is included.

 

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, Splice the mainbrace said:

I've noticed the rushing of meal service in MDRs on our most recent cruises on P&O, Princess and Cunard.

 

Menus thrust into our hands soon after we have sat down and before we have got settled or in even got our reading glasses out. Coming back to take the order after only a few minutes whilst we are still having a quick chat with our neighbouring table (we normally look and virtually decide what we want before the meal by looking at the menu during the day which speeds the choosing anyway), grabbing our plates within seconds of finishing (on P&O the waitress attempting to take my wifes plate plate before she had finished and nearly got a fork in her hand!!), taking one of our plates before the other partner has finished and not much of a gap between each course. On a couple of cruises when it felt really rushed we told them to slow down a bit which they did but not by much.

 

When I look at the area that our waiters cover it doesn't seem to any more people than pre-covid so it's not like they cover more people and we do late sitting and there are normally several empty tables on their patch decreasing their workload.

 

Overall it isn't as relaxing and pleasant an experience as it used to.

 

On the other hand on our last cruise a lady some nights took 20 minutes to 30 minutes to choose her order, the waiter kept coming back every 5 mins or so and she kept sending him away. One night after 30 minutes the waiter told her that if she didn't order now he couldn't take her order.

Waiters taking plates while your partner is still eating is bad etiquette and their training should tell them this.

[Ranchi]

We were not overly impressed with Epicurean. I had to send my steak back. It was all gristle and this would have been obvious before it was cooked. It should have been rejected in the kitchen. The steak was replaced without question but my wife had to wait until I finished so it did rather spoil the evening. 

Edited July 4, 2023 by Ranchi

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

I was on Aurora last summer in mdr fixed second sitting. The waiter tried to get me to order dessert at the beginning of the meal but I refused asking him to bring me the menu after my main course. Also, I asked for coffee to be served after I had finished my dessert.

Awkward bugger ain't I...😂

Having been forewarned that this is the new approach, I shall be doing exactly the same. I never know what I fancy for dessert until I’ve finished my main. Also, if the portions are as small as some have reported, I won’t be afraid to ask for cheese and biscuits to follow the dessert (which, as you know, always used to be the case anyway, but apparently now is listed as one of the dessert choices, rather than an additional course) 😂 

[Dermotsgirl]

I’ve never been in Epicurean, as when it was first introduced I didn’t fancy the menu, although I used to enjoy the previous incarnations of The White Room on Ventura and XVII on Azura.  However, one thing I’ve always noticed in the paid for restaurants is that the service runs like clockwork and that things happen in a timely manner. So I’d have been disappointed when the amuse bouche didn’t arrive and the palette cleanser was late. Also in a fine dining restaurant you expect good quality food and for it to be well cooked.  Plus, I’d have been giving the evil eye to the loud noisy group! 
 

I completely understand why Andy was disappointed with his Epicurean experience 

[Selbourne]

2 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I’ve never been in Epicurean, as when it was first introduced I didn’t fancy the menu, although I used to enjoy the previous incarnations of The White Room on Ventura and XVII on Azura.  However, one thing I’ve always noticed in the paid for restaurants is that the service runs like clockwork and that things happen in a timely manner. So I’d have been disappointed when the amuse bouche didn’t arrive and the palette cleanser was late. Also in a fine dining restaurant you expect good quality food and for it to be well cooked.  Plus, I’d have been giving the evil eye to the loud noisy group! 
 

I completely understand why Andy was disappointed with his Epicurean experience 

Yes the pre-Epicurean restaurants were excellent. Our favourite was Oriana Rhodes. Pre-Covid we always felt that Epicurean on Ventura wasn’t as good as Epicurean on Britannia, but we are on both ships over the next few months, so will be interested to see if things have changed.

[Britboys]

8 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Yes the pre-Epicurean restaurants were excellent. Our favourite was Oriana Rhodes. Pre-Covid we always felt that Epicurean on Ventura wasn’t as good as Epicurean on Britannia, but we are on both ships over the next few months, so will be interested to see if things have changed.

Yes, I loved Oriana Rhodes too. When XV11 was introduced it was very similar to the Rhodes restaurants. It's a shame that they don't 'rotate' the speciality restaurants on Aurora maybe on a yearly basis. Sindhu one year, Epicurean the next. There is little that suits my palette in Sindhu but I'm sure I could enjoy Epicurean - assuming the quality is maintained.

[Britboys]

30 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Having been forewarned that this is the new approach, I shall be doing exactly the same. I never know what I fancy for dessert until I’ve finished my main. Also, if the portions are as small as some have reported, I won’t be afraid to ask for cheese and biscuits to follow the dessert (which, as you know, always used to be the case anyway, but apparently now is listed as one of the dessert choices, rather than an additional course) 😂 

I too asked for cheese & biscuits after my dessert on two or three nights last summer - especially on the few occasions I rejected my chosen dessert after eating a couple of spoonfuls...