Returning to P&O

[zap99]

4 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

During meal service don't recline seat.

 

But after meal , if you weren't meant to recline seat then they should be non reclineable .

 

Most short haul seats are now fixed.

 

Long haul answer turn left.

 

 

The only folk who are allowed to turn left on the some of the smaller planes are the drivers. If folk feel entitled to have some extra room in their cheap seats, easy.....put your seat back and encroach into the space of the folk behind you.

[Dermotsgirl]

1 hour ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

I hate those comments as an excuse for poor food,,,another one is ‘you won’t go hungry’

Even if you sail on a cheap cruise the food should be to an acceptable standard.

Also 'you should be grateful that you are on a cruise anyway'

[Dermotsgirl]

21 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Thank you! I had assumed that there were different options each night, but I now assume that this is a fixed list of items available daily? With the caveat that I hope that this doesn't result in even less choice of the ‘included’ items, I have to say that I welcome this. All three very much appeal to me and the first two appeal to Lady Selbourne! There are always at least a couple of nights during a cruise when nothing on the MDR menu massively appeals, and we tend to try getting a last minute booking in a speciality restaurant. This gives us another option.
 

We usually find the MDR dinners to be perfectly acceptable. However, when they arrive, some items don’t always quite live up to the description in the menu! That will be less easy to get away with when they are charging supplements for them. I shall look forward to trying all three of these items when we are on Ventura next month. 

I think it's the thin end of the wedge when there's extra cost items in the MDR.

 

However, the starter doesn't really appeal, but I like the sound of the main and the dessert, so I could see myself ordering a 'Signature' dish if it was one of those nights when there's nothing really that appealing on the main menu. 

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

When you book a cruise at the bottom of the price range what do you expect ?. As for greasy spoons, I bow to your greater experience.

Pie & Mash shop with a big mug of tea instead of the greasy spoon for us! God's own food ...

[Selbourne]

7 hours ago, Scirocco Breeze said:

I'm dining in the Beach House tonight, but tomorrow I will take pics.

Thank you. Can I also ask what the situation is with the My Holiday app on Ventura, as it varies so much by ship? We have switched to Club dining, 2nd sitting, so won’t have any need to use it for dinner, but can you use it for breakfast and lunch in the MDR? If so, how are you finding it?
 

We really liked using it when things worked well, but on Britannia it went to ‘Queue Full’ every morning in the 15 minutes or so before last admission (which is when we usually go) and lunchtimes were chaos on sea days, with the MDR going to ‘queue full’ an hour before the lunch session finished, resulting in people having to take pagers and many not getting in until 20-30 minutes after what should have been last admission. We persevered with the app, but those who refused to use it reported that they were getting seated far quicker by just turning up, which was irritating. 

[terrierjohn]

7 hours ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I think it's the thin end of the wedge when there's extra cost items in the MDR.

 

However, the starter doesn't really appeal, but I like the sound of the main and the dessert, so I could see myself ordering a 'Signature' dish if it was one of those nights when there's nothing really that appealing on the main menu. 

I am sure that dessert, are one very similar, used to be on the MDR menus.

[Scirocco Breeze]

58 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Thank you. Can I also ask what the situation is with the My Holiday app on Ventura, as it varies so much by ship? We have switched to Club dining, 2nd sitting, so won’t have any need to use it for dinner, but can you use it for breakfast and lunch in the MDR? If so, how are you finding it?
 

We really liked using it when things worked well, but on Britannia it went to ‘Queue Full’ every morning in the 15 minutes or so before last admission (which is when we usually go) and lunchtimes were chaos on sea days, with the MDR going to ‘queue full’ an hour before the lunch session finished, resulting in people having to take pagers and many not getting in until 20-30 minutes after what should have been last admission. We persevered with the app, but those who refused to use it reported that they were getting seated far quicker by just turning up, which was irritating. 

The app is pretty limited use to be honest. I've used it to book extra charge restaurants but there's never ever the ability to join the "virtual queue" for the MDR. It has its uses, but mealtime planning isn't one of them on Ventura.

 

I wandered past one of the MDRs earlier and snapped the me I on display outside. It is black tie night so this isn't an every day menu, and the Signature dishes aren't shown.

 

[Selbourne]

8 hours ago, Scirocco Breeze said:

The app is pretty limited use to be honest. I've used it to book extra charge restaurants but there's never ever the ability to join the "virtual queue" for the MDR. It has its uses, but mealtime planning isn't one of them on Ventura.

 

I wandered past one of the MDRs earlier and snapped the me I on display outside. It is black tie night so this isn't an every day menu, and the Signature dishes aren't shown.

 

Many thanks. That’s useful to know. Do you happen to know whether those wanting a table for 2 are usually able to be seated immediately at breakfast and lunch (especially on sea days), or whether pagers are the order of the day? We are sorted for dinner as we have booked Club. 

[Josy1953]

19 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Many thanks. That’s useful to know. Do you happen to know whether those wanting a table for 2 are usually able to be seated immediately at breakfast and lunch (especially on sea days), or whether pagers are the order of the day? We are sorted for dinner as we have booked Club. 

We are returning to P&O in November for the first time since the pandemic and are also interested to know how it works on Ventura for breakfast and lunch, we have booked first sitting for dinner to fit in with DH's medication more easily.

 

[terrierjohn]

51 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Many thanks. That’s useful to know. Do you happen to know whether those wanting a table for 2 are usually able to be seated immediately at breakfast and lunch (especially on sea days), or whether pagers are the order of the day? We are sorted for dinner as we have booked Club. 

Presumanly that will be time dependant as it was before covid, so at peak times you will still be given a pager.

[Scirocco Breeze]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Many thanks. That’s useful to know. Do you happen to know whether those wanting a table for 2 are usually able to be seated immediately at breakfast and lunch (especially on sea days), or whether pagers are the order of the day? We are sorted for dinner as we have booked Club. 

If you get there early you should be fine getting seated immediately, we have been. I can't speak for later arrivals. I will say though having had a table for 2 once, it's not worth the trouble. They still seat in blocks and serve them as though you were at the same table, and you are as cosy as if you were sharing a table. Gone are the days of social distancing! Luckily we've always been seated with lovely people and had enjoyable conversations.

[zap99]

17 hours ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

It was vile,,,I remember when my old dad used to cook a fry up on Sunday morning.

Cooked in lard he would pour the fat over to dip your bread in,,,,,loved it at the time but I suspect that resulted in my heart by- pass 65 yrs later.

 

Thats J&J now……

If it's that bad, why do you still eat there.? 🤔

[JeanieC,Aston]

12 minutes ago, zap99 said:

If it's that bad, why do you still eat there.? 🤔

Who said I do?…….I don’t.

[zap99]

47 minutes ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Who said I do?…….I don’t.

I stopped using greasy spoons many years ago. I'm glad you gave up too, what with your heart issues. Very wise decision. I'm sure there are healthy options you can enjoy in Benidorm.

[yorkshirephil]

13 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I stopped using greasy spoons many years ago. I'm glad you gave up too, what with your heart issues. Very wise decision. I'm sure there are healthy options you can enjoy in Benidorm.

There is the Solana salad, I think Joan Collins pulls pints there.

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

I stopped using greasy spoons many years ago

I take it you bought a new dishwasher then? 

[Selbourne]

3 hours ago, Scirocco Breeze said:

If you get there early you should be fine getting seated immediately, we have been. I can't speak for later arrivals. I will say though having had a table for 2 once, it's not worth the trouble. They still seat in blocks and serve them as though you were at the same table, and you are as cosy as if you were sharing a table. Gone are the days of social distancing! Luckily we've always been seated with lovely people and had enjoyable conversations.

Thanks. We eat later. Luckily, as my wife has a wheelchair we tend not to be given the banquette style seating very often, but if they show us to one I ask if another table is available and am usually lucky. 

[Scirocco Breeze]

As promised, and apologies for poor photography, I was embarrassed at being rude and using my phone at the table 😒

[CarlaMarie]

Thank you for sharing the menus. How are you finding the food @Scirocco Breeze? 

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, Scirocco Breeze said:

As promised, and apologies for poor photography, I was embarrassed at being rude and using my phone at the table 😒

Ham croquettes

And

Broccoli soup

Leg of lamb

Chocolate marquise

And

Honey panacotta

 

Please

 

That's what I would have tonight!!

 

Would save specials for another night

[Scirocco Breeze]

1 hour ago, CarlaMarie said:

Thank you for sharing the menus. How are you finding the food @Scirocco Breeze? 

In all honesty it's not great. More often than not the food is overcooked and under seasoned. I've had cold dry lumpy mash, apple strudel in the form of sponge cake with apple on top, and cold custard atop blistering hot pudding. But I didn't have to shop, cook or wash up so I'm taking the win. The food is definitely a hot topic of conversation on this ship though. The beach house meal was delicious. But for vegetarians, if they don't eat fish, it could be a problem.

[sweep2907]

On 9/19/2023 at 10:19 AM, JeanieC,Aston said:

The difference I can only describe as …..

P&O is school dinners level.

Celebrity is restaurant level.

 

I do agree on Celebrity losing value but that for me is due to price increases.

 

Couldn't put it better, I only ever did P&O uo until last year and when you return to P&O after Celebrity, the food is at times laughable. Anyhow without comparing different companies, P&O quality has reduced massively over the last 5 years and you simply can't argue with that. Whereas other cruise lines have increased their prices since Covid, P&O have dropped theirs. I paid more to do  caribbean cruises 10 years ago then you can get now!

[funinhounslow]

Just back from Ventura - our first since C***d and was wondering how things had changed. 

 

The myP&O app or whatever it’s called was only used to check our balance. No need to use it for booking meals, shows excursions etc…

 

Food - I would echo the comments about a noticeable reduction in quality in the MDR - it’s still fine, just not as good as it was. The extra charge items were excellent though - as they should be. The waiters seemed over stretched though and service could be rushed. I felt sorry for them…

 

We also ate in Glass House, Epicurean and Sindhu (twice). Exactly the same as before and  prices don’t seem to have been hitched too much either. All were wonderful. 

 

Buffet as it always was - absolutely fine. 

 

Bar prices also fine - comparable to what we pay in pubs. 

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and look forward to going away again with P&O. 

 

I would say with inflation running at what 10%+ recently I haven’t noticed P&O’s prices going up by a similar amount. Obviously something “has to give” and if the tactic is to keep headline prices low and “nudge” passengers into paying for specialty restaurants or the odd extra charge “treat” in the MDR that’s fine by me. 

 

I think comparisons with cruise lines that charge a lot more are unfair. You pays your money and makes your choice. Nobody would stay at a Best Western and expect Mandarin Oriental standards would they?

[Interestedcruisefan]

2 hours ago, sweep2907 said:

Couldn't put it better, I only ever did P&O uo until last year and when you return to P&O after Celebrity, the food is at times laughable. Anyhow without comparing different companies, P&O quality has reduced massively over the last 5 years and you simply can't argue with that. Whereas other cruise lines have increased their prices since Covid, P&O have dropped theirs. I paid more to do  caribbean cruises 10 years ago then you can get now!

Where did you guys get your school dinners from?

 

Standard MDR on P and O alone compares well to a decent restaurant in a 4 star hotel. Nothing like school dinners at all.  And I went to a private school with better than average school dinners!!

 

Epicurean dining on P and O far better than normal restaurant dining 

Edited September 23, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Interestedcruisefan]

41 minutes ago, funinhounslow said:

Just back from Ventura - our first since C***d and was wondering how things had changed. 

 

The myP&O app or whatever it’s called was only used to check our balance. No need to use it for booking meals, shows excursions etc…

 

Food - I would echo the comments about a noticeable reduction in quality in the MDR - it’s still fine, just not as good as it was. The extra charge items were excellent though - as they should be. The waiters seemed over stretched though and service could be rushed. I felt sorry for them…

 

We also ate in Glass House, Epicurean and Sindhu (twice). Exactly the same as before and  prices don’t seem to have been hitched too much either. All were wonderful. 

 

Buffet as it always was - absolutely fine. 

 

Bar prices also fine - comparable to what we pay in pubs. 

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and look forward to going away again with P&O. 

 

I would say with inflation running at what 10%+ recently I haven’t noticed P&O’s prices going up by a similar amount. Obviously something “has to give” and if the tactic is to keep headline prices low and “nudge” passengers into paying for specialty restaurants or the odd extra charge “treat” in the MDR that’s fine by me. 

 

I think comparisons with cruise lines that charge a lot more are unfair. You pays your money and makes your choice. Nobody would stay at a Best Western and expect Mandarin Oriental standards would they?

And at least with P And O you have the choice of having a great value cruise and adding high end speciality food to it on board and still getting great value

 

Rather than just having a MUCH more expensive cruise from the get go

 

People would never compare what you get paying 80k for a car compared to 30k

 

Or what you get paying 1M for a house compared to 400k

 

But with cruises on here people are comparing entirely different priced products alongside each other all the time

 

And even comparing P and O now to P and O 15 years ago is not relevant as pricewise against cost of living P and O seems to be the only place where prices haven't actuallty one up???

 

Personally I way prefer the current offering I get from Arvia now at the current price to the offering I got from Azura over 10 years ago at the price back then

 

Much wider choice of food and bar options now. Much wider choice of entertainment and activities now. Plus way more modern facilities on the ships.

 

Only thing that's got worse for me is Wi-Fi costs 

Edited September 23, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan