Why are people still cruising with P&O ?

[sandancer]

I forgot to mention the absolute joy of not having to convert everything from US$ to GBP. 

[mickyc123]

Don’t tend to post on here but always look at various threads

 

we stopped cruising 5years ago as got so fed up with people constantly moaning and complaining and talking to staff like *****

 

we took the plunge and booked for Britannia last month and to be honest had low expectations from what people say on the forums

 

yes the cut backs are evident but we had a great cruise.Staff was fantastic and the food on the whole was better than we was expecting

our experience was pretty much parallel with Selbourne updates

 

i really don’t get how people want cruising  how it used to be but pay only a fraction of the cost 

 

I would say P@O is a great value product if your expectations are set right

 

if you are moaning constantly it is obviously not the product now for you

 

life is to short

[Fionboard]

17 hours ago, grapau27 said:

We have had 11 cruises post covid.

8 P&O.

2 RCL.

1 MSC.

We have had no issues.

Sometimes only the bad comments are highlighted when the vast majority have enjoyed their cruise.

We have a number of cruises currently booked.

 

13 hours ago, Sheep Flavour said:

Agreed. And also the fact it is a British ship means the comedy acts and things like this will be comedy I understand rather than shows based around different areas I wouldn’t understand.

I have done 13 post covid. All P&O. All very enjoyable bar one (Iona). As a solo traveller (select balcony) I can't beat their price .  Also prefer small, adults only, so they have ships that fit the bill. 

[FamilyCruiserUK]

We are coming back to P&O after years away. We left P&O as we wanted to try different cruise lines. We went to Royal which is fantastic for our now 9 year old however they have become very expensive compared to P&O. We have tried MSC,Princess and NCL since our last P&O cruise. So will be interesting to see how things have changed. 

We are mid 40s with 9 year old so always look for ships with more family fun activities. Not remotely interested in Cunard or silver seas etc, and do not expect that level service on a P&O cruise. You cannot compare the two brands. 

Covid hit holiday and cruise lines hard. Its not just cruise lines that have made cutbacks, land based holidays have as well. 

I am looking foward ro my Arvia cruise in three weeks time, although maybe not the booze cruise chavs that will be onboard 😂

[ace2542]

On 7/16/2023 at 7:48 AM, Winifred 22 said:

What I don’t understand if P &O are deemed by some  on here as incompetent with poor management  and policies etc… why are they still sailing with them?   If other lines do things so much better why not just sail with them and forget P &O ?  If I don’t like the way a service is offered to me I don’t go back or use that firm again. 

Because people forget and go back to what they know and where they feel comfortable.

[jahalpin]

I am just back from a 12 night cruise on the Aurora , I had a great time and I believe that I got great value for money

 

 

One of the major benefits of going with P&O is that that are no compulsory  "gratuities" to pay for housekeeping and the prices on the menu is the price that you actually pay. The prices in the specialty dining venues are also very good value as they take into account that you have already paid for the food so you are actually only paying for a better quality of food, unlike all of the other lines that charge full land-based restaurant prices. The food in the MDR and buffet was reasonably good 

 

The drinks prices are also quite fair and are similar to prices in the UK

[never_cruised]

First cruise here with P&O currently on Arvia and it’s generally been pretty good , the worst part is the sun bed crowd those who get up at before 6am to ensure one. 
 

 

Quite ironic as it’s something many Brits like to blame on people from other parts of Europe.

[majortom10]

35 minutes ago, never_cruised said:

First cruise here with P&O currently on Arvia and it’s generally been pretty good , the worst part is the sun bed crowd those who get up at before 6am to ensure one. 
 

 

Quite ironic as it’s something many Brits like to blame on people from other parts of Europe.

Always been a failure of P&O that they don't control people that 'reserve' sunbeds at any time of the day. They could easily control it by removing towels and items if beds are not occupied over a certain set period.

[sandancer]

All of the cruise lines have the same problem, not just P&O and as long the deck attendants are too wary of upsetting guests and having a complaint made against them then this situation won’t change. It’s infuriating, especially the charmers who reserve beds in both the sunny area and the shade. I’ve seen it many times. 

[Shrewsbury on Tour]

On 7/17/2023 at 12:41 PM, FamilyCruiserUK said:

We are coming back to P&O after years away. We left P&O as we wanted to try different cruise lines. We went to Royal which is fantastic for our now 9 year old however they have become very expensive compared to P&O. We have tried MSC,Princess and NCL since our last P&O cruise. So will be interesting to see how things have changed. 

We are mid 40s with 9 year old so always look for ships with more family fun activities. Not remotely interested in Cunard or silver seas etc, and do not expect that level service on a P&O cruise. You cannot compare the two brands. 

Covid hit holiday and cruise lines hard. Its not just cruise lines that have made cutbacks, land based holidays have as well. 

I am looking foward ro my Arvia cruise in three weeks time, although maybe not the booze cruise chavs that will be onboard 😂

Good evening, What is a “booze cruise chav”?
 

Many thanks

 

[majortom10]

1 hour ago, sandancer said:

All of the cruise lines have the same problem, not just P&O and as long the deck attendants are too wary of upsetting guests and having a complaint made against them then this situation won’t change. It’s infuriating, especially the charmers who reserve beds in both the sunny area and the shade. I’ve seen it many times. 

Easy to solve P&O should support their own staff and make it company policy. Clearly placed notices and a regular statement in Daily Programme that unoccupied sunbeds will have items removed and will be available for collection at reception. If any cruiser's get threatening then security should be called and eat ings given. Ultimately though P&O should instigate the policy and support staff 100%.

 

[FamilyCruiserUK]

1 hour ago, Shrewsbury on Tour said:

Good evening, What is a “booze cruise chav”?
 

Many thanks

 

People that drink from dawn to dusk, are very loud, swearing and assume they don't have to follow any rules, usually have a drinks package and must get moneys worth out of it. 

 

By all means have a drink have fun but also have some respect for others. 

 

Thankfully its only a small minority that cant handle a drink or two. And this is not aimed at everyone who have the drinks package as plenty have it but behave. 

[never_cruised]

4 hours ago, majortom10 said:

Always been a failure of P&O that they don't control people that 'reserve' sunbeds at any time of the day. They could easily control it by removing towels and items if beds are not occupied over a certain set period.

There has been a note about it put on the Horizon today , saying flags will be put on the beds and anyone leaving it for over 30 mins will have their belongings removed.

[Megabear2]

5 hours ago, never_cruised said:

There has been a note about it put on the Horizon today , saying flags will be put on the beds and anyone leaving it for over 30 mins will have their belongings removed.

Very interesting. If you have time could you let us know if you observe this being carried out? On my May Arvia cruise the same Horizon notice was published but no follow up action was seen so I'd be interested to hear if it does actually happen this time. Thank you.

Edited July 19, 2023 by Megabear2

[CaptainPedantic]

10 hours ago, never_cruised said:

There has been a note about it put on the Horizon today , saying flags will be put on the beds and anyone leaving it for over 30 mins will have their belongings removed.

I saw this a few years back on an Azura cruise (c. 2016?) - tickets with a 30-min expiry were being pinned to vacant sunbeds by deck attendants, and if they were still unoccupied after the time had elapsed, all personal belongings and towels were removed to a table near the bar. It only lasted a couple of sea days and then just stopped without notice (and I've no idea why although I have my suspicions...). 

[Cruisemeister2002]

20 hours ago, Shrewsbury on Tour said:

Good evening, What is a “booze cruise chav”?
 

Many thanks

 

Put him in the longboat and make him bail her ?

[doog442]

On 7/16/2023 at 7:48 AM, Winifred 22 said:

What I don’t understand if P &O are deemed by some  on here as incompetent with poor management  and policies etc… why are they still sailing with them?   If other lines do things so much better why not just sail with them and forget P &O ?  If I don’t like the way a service is offered to me I don’t go back or use that firm again. 

 

For us their Caribbean itinerary is second to none hence we've booked for next January. The flights, package - straight to ship, OBC, shareholder discount makes it extremely attractive price wise compared to any competition or even land based Caribbean all inclusive holidays of which we've done many. 

 

We did Princess last year (my wife also did a cruise in May this year with her mother) and weren't impressed enough to ignore P&O again for future cruises dependent on itinerary. 

 

However we're not loyal to any brand / ship so will simply go where it flows. That flow will see NZ in due course, Hawaii, Panama Canal, so Princess again and almost certainly Celebrity again who are a notch above but you pay for it.  

 

 

[CaptainPedantic]

On 7/19/2023 at 8:27 PM, doog442 said:

 

For us their Caribbean itinerary is second to none hence we've booked for next January. The flights, package - straight to ship, OBC, shareholder discount makes it extremely attractive price wise compared to any competition or even land based Caribbean all inclusive holidays of which we've done many. 

Totally agree with this. We have been lucky to have 2x 14 night Caribbean cruises in the last year - one on Britannia last November and the other on Caribbean Princess this May. Our Britannia cruise was our first P&O cruise for 6 years, having being "converted" to Princess a few years earlier and having had a bad experience on Azura over a Christmas/New Year cruise. We loved both these cruises and while we still have a slight preference for Princess overall, the included direct charter flights with P&O (from Manchester) are a huge advantage. P&O would be our first choice for our next Caribbean cruise for sure.

[tring]

On 7/16/2023 at 12:06 PM, molecrochip said:

I think this sums up the situation completely.

 

 

 

I agree completely, you get what you pay for, but it is good that people share experiences so everyone can make an informed choice.  We are happy to travel on P&O at times, but good to have an idea of what to expect and that helps enjoyment of the cruise since you do not then have false expectations and can adjust what you do according to what is likely to happen.

[davecttr]

Why cruise with P&O?

 

Solo cruiser

I don't fly any more

I now cruise for scenery and sea days (whale watching)

Favourite destinations are Norway, Iceland, Madeira and the Canaries

Not a gourmet, don't use the MDR's anymore

I like a game of blackjack in the evening, the table minimum on Aurora recently was only £3

Reasonable prices, a 21 nighter on Arcadia next month cost me £1799 for a forward balcony cabin. £85.6666 per night!. Cheaper than Premier Inn.

Happy cruising 😁

[Denarius]

On 7/16/2023 at 7:48 AM, Winifred 22 said:

What I don’t understand if P &O are deemed by some  on here as incompetent with poor management  and policies etc… why are they still sailing with them?   If other lines do things so much better why not just sail with them and forget P &O ?  If I don’t like the way a service is offered to me I don’t go back or use that firm again. 

Exactly. Which is why after over a quarter of a century sailing with P&O and nearly 40 cruises I do not have any plans to sail with them again. To me the product offered whilst now very competitively priced (!) is no longer that which I seek. I am prepared to pay more for better quality and smaller ships and have done so.