Why cruise with P&O

[Devon born and bred]

I follow these threads with interest and was wondering, with all the problems/issues and negativity, why cruise with P&O.

[yorkshirephil]

15 minutes ago, Devon born and bred said:

I follow these threads with interest and was wondering, with all the problems/issues and negativity, why cruise with P&O.

Why indeed. In some cases it is just differences of opinion or meeting expectations, we have been cruising for nearly 30 years with various lines and I don't think it is much different now to what it was when we started. When we were new the experienced cruisers were saying things were going down hill, or prices were going up and things were not getting any better, blah blah. I see posts from new cruisers who think the cruise lark is brilliant. They may be making negative comments in years to come. 

Of course there are the people who just like to moan regardless plus those who think a good moan to the cruise line will get them some compo. At the end of the day this is a cruise forum and discussing experiences is what it is about, good or bad. I have learned lots of good things on here and other sites that I didn't need to learn the hard way; through experience. 

[carlanthony24]

Like YorkshirePhil people just like to complain you can read some reviews on one review site which is monitored by P&O but is not the official one plus anyone can write a review compared to the one they send a link for you get a good laugh at some of them. Especially the ones who seem to just constantly write one star reviews to a load of different companies. 

 

For me and the family it is cheap, we feel the service is fine, love the way they operate the fly cruises etc. Menus are repetitive but even though I am a fussy eater always something I can have. Food never been a problem we are glad themed buffet nights have made a return though.

 

We don't bother looking for problems. In the cruises we have done I believe we have complained three times and have received compensation which we never expect too.

 

One to do with the bar waiter insisting he got drinks correct even though he had written down what we had asked and kept saying don't report me. Manager gave us a bottle of wine and chocolates, reported a cabin steward when they complained about the tips we gave him and told us is that it, we were told this was not the first time that the same cabin steward had done this. We were given a massive hamper which turned up at the house, never told this was going to happen and the other time when they use to sell cigarettes in Brodies/The Exchange they would not serve me even though I was over the age of 18. I took my ID and my dad came along they still refused so went to reception who scanned a copy of the driving license and told the staff they need to serve me and would be retrained.    

[AndyMichelle]

We feel P&O still offer fantastic value and enough good things for us to have a great time. 

They certainly aren't perfect, but many of us keep coming back, so must be OK. 

We have always felt comfortable with the offering and felt it suited us. We have got a couple of Cunard cruises booked, but really not sure we will be at home like we have been previously with P&O. 

We board Britannia Friday and are looking forward to clean, comfortable accommodation, plenty of food, good entertainment, good service and affordable drinks. 

Very confident that is what we will get. 

Andy 

 

[Angel57]

43 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

We feel P&O still offer fantastic value and enough good things for us to have a great time. 

They certainly aren't perfect, but many of us keep coming back, so must be OK. 

We have always felt comfortable with the offering and felt it suited us. We have got a couple of Cunard cruises booked, but really not sure we will be at home like we have been previously with P&O. 

We board Britannia Friday and are looking forward to clean, comfortable accommodation, plenty of food, good entertainment, good service and affordable drinks. 

Very confident that is what we will get. 

Andy 

 

Have a great cruise Andy and Michelle. 🛳️⚓️🍷🥂🍺🍸🥃

[Cathygh]

We sail with P&O for the value they offer, and we know what to expect. I admit to moaning about the food if it's sub par, and it is noticebly not of the same standard across the fleet. If there is a good late deal to be had we might book it. We only go with other lines of they are sailing somewhere we want to go anad P&O don't go there.

[alpha whiskey]

6 hours ago, Devon born and bred said:

I follow these threads with interest and was wondering, with all the problems/issues and negativity, why cruise with P&O.

 Read across lots of different boards and cruise lines and I think you will pretty much find that they all follow much of the same format..... The good, the bad and the ugly! 

 

Always balance it with the positives, the live reviews, and useful tips and experiences from others, and don't dwell too deeply on stuff that you know won't bother you. 

 

[Cloudyrain]

I think on balance the majority of people feel quite positive about P&O: and it’s the same with all the other lines I follow on here. In fact it seems sometimes that complaints from some are met by cheerleading from others. there are the occasional whinge-fest, but predominantly it’s pretty balanced. 

 

People talk about “the good old days” but for me personally we cruised with P&O for the first time over 10 years ago and thought it was dreadful and didn’t go with them again for many years. I now think they are great: they provide decent ships with a good options for evening entertainment, to good destinations at a very competitive price. My only slight criticism is that the itineraries are very static and a bit of variety would be nice.

 

P&O aren’t promising anyone a rose garden, it’s not a 6* line, and sometimes they don’t do things right, but overall they do a decent job - quite clearly so considering they manage to fill so many ships with so many people on a frequent basis!

[daiB]

8 hours ago, Devon born and bred said:

I follow these threads with interest and was wondering, with all the problems/issues and negativity, why cruise with P&O.

Well they must do something right as on a recent cruise there were so many Caribbean/Baltic and Ligurian peninsular club members they had to have 4/5 special lunches to fit them all in. That was just under half the ship. 

[alpha whiskey]

10 hours ago, Cloudyrain said:

People talk about “the good old days” but for me personally we cruised with P&O for the first time over 10 years ago and thought it was dreadful and didn’t go with them again for many years. I now think they are great:

That's exactly us too! 

 

[waddle]

19 hours ago, Devon born and bred said:

I follow these threads with interest and was wondering, with all the problems/issues and negativity, why cruise with P&O.

Some people are just predisposed to moan. There might be 10 positive things but they will concentrate on the 1 negative

 

We have had a few minor issues/niggles on our P&O cruises but

I try to not let them ruin my holiday. Nothing yet has stopped me booking with them again

 

Much depends on if you are a half glass full or half empty person and my answer is it depends if I am on a drinks package or not ! 

[Funboy]

2 minutes ago, waddle said:

Some people are just predisposed to moan. There might be 10 positive things but they will concentrate on the 1 negative

 

We have had a few minor issues/niggles on our P&O cruises but

I try to not let them ruin my holiday. Nothing yet has stopped me booking with them again

 

Much depends on if you are a half glass full or half empty person and my answer is it depends if I am on a drinks package or not ! 

We have to remember this is the P&O Cruise CRITIC blog, not the cruise praise blog!

 

 

[kalos]

19 hours ago, Devon born and bred said:

I follow these threads with interest and was wondering, with all the problems/issues and negativity, why cruise with P&O.

 

I take it you are asking the folk who have these "problems/issues" you have read about?

Lots of folk who don't post are happy with what they get and post how many more cruises

they have booked .

Some recent cruises we went on were sold out which begs the question ..

What is the ratio of satisfied /un-satisfied cruises ? 🤔

 

 

[sandancer]

1 hour ago, alpha whiskey said:

That's exactly us too! 

 

And us. We have been cruising since 1990 but didn’t take our first cruise with P&O until 2018. We compared it with other cruise lines and decided never again. However when cruises to nowhere were offered during the pandemic we were so desperate to cruise we went on Britannia. Since then we have been on Azura, Arvia, twice on Iona with 3 more P&O cruises booked. We have a Princess cruise this year and reading some of the comments on the Princess CC forum, there are just as many moans on there. 

[Thejuggler]

We cruise for destinations, but the ever increasing size of ships doesn't appeal.

 

It is therefore highly unlikely P&O would be chosen by us above all other providers.

[zap99]

2 hours ago, alpha whiskey said:

That's exactly us too! 

 

We didn't start cruising till the ' good old days ' ended. Gin and It before dinner with the officers. A cheese wheel sounds fun, a bit like the funfair. Since Covid we have sailed with P&O, Celebrity and RC. Celebrity and RC are a bit better, but a bit dearer. Off on our 7th P&O since lockdown, so they must be OK.

Edited April 25 by zap99

[Wedgeh]

It's my least favourite line that I will still consider, but sometimes the value and/or itinerary is such that it makes sense. Eg we like transatlantics and P&O do more stops on the caribbean side (which we would prefer) than other lines who presumably targetting an American audience see the European stops as more appealing. The service level is a bit lower on the whole and the food a bit worse, but that doesn't mean I can't have a good time at the right price.

[happy v]

I think we are P&O 'family'. Like all families we moan and groan but basically get along. If an outsider comes in and criticises. Like all families we band together and fight back.

[Josy1953]

We have seen a lot of changes since our first cruise was on P&O Canberra in 1982 and things are definitely different now.

Passengers have greater expectations than we had back then.  We had an outside cabin and thought that it was fantastic, now we always book at least a balcony.  The food was plain English food.  There were no alternative dining places and we were on the same table every night.  The cabin steward was our alarm in the morning when he delivered tea other than that there was no such thing as room service.

That cruise got us hooked and we have now done over 50 cruises and still enjoy them.  Like everything else few cruises are perfect but most are better than sitting at home.

 

[NewWestwardbound]

21 hours ago, Devon born and bred said:

I follow these threads with interest and was wondering, with all the problems/issues and negativity, why cruise with P&O.

Perceived value for money.

[bobstheboy]

No moans but after 25 years we have had enough of cruising. Currently in a 5* AI hotel in Paphos and it ticks all the boxes. By for now.

[AndyMichelle]

Just wanted to revisit this thread to highlight how opinions can differentiate. 

We are currently on Britannia, having a fantastic time. 

Michelle is on a forum for this cruise on the dark side and so many people say they are having terrible holidays? 

Complaints include rude staff, almost everyone we have encountered have either been really lovely or very efficient. 

Dirty rooms, our 4 cabins were spotless. 

Cold/poor food, ours have been served hot, (except the toast of course) and mostly very nice. 

Slow drinks service, not waited more than a few minutes in any bar. 

It's not perfection, but we paid about the same price for the same cabin etc in 2018, so not surprised there are a few minor cutbacks. 

It just goes to show how different we all are.

Andy 

[sandancer]

Glad you are having a good time. Often after a cruise I see a review and have to wonder if we were on the same ship. I believe it’s all to do with expectations. You are not and never will have 5* service on a cruise with the cost of a P&O cruise, especially the newer big ships. However, dirty cabins, rude staff etc etc should be addressed immediately with management and not be allowed to become a social media scenario. 

[Beckett]

39 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Just wanted to revisit this thread to highlight how opinions can differentiate. 

We are currently on Britannia, having a fantastic time. 

Michelle is on a forum for this cruise on the dark side and so many people say they are having terrible holidays? 

Complaints include rude staff, almost everyone we have encountered have either been really lovely or very efficient. 

Dirty rooms, our 4 cabins were spotless. 

Cold/poor food, ours have been served hot, (except the toast of course) and mostly very nice. 

Slow drinks service, not waited more than a few minutes in any bar. 

It's not perfection, but we paid about the same price for the same cabin etc in 2018, so not surprised there are a few minor cutbacks. 

It just goes to show how different we all are.

Andy 

Don't you think Andy that a lot of complaints about rude staff quite often reflect back on the way they are treated in the first place. I don't 'know' you and Michelle but from your light-hearted, funny and friendly posts on here I suspect you both treat people with kindness and respect. I'm glad you're having a good cruise and I hope Hyacinth is behaving herself. Jane xx

[Ardennais]

We are also faving a fabulous time on Iona. Food has been really good - so much better than what we had on Britannia last year! Very clean everywhere. Last time on Iona it was half term and full plus about 1000 children - far fewer children this time and service is much quicker. We’ve been able to walk in and get a table for the eight of us without any problem - around 8.30. We really love Iona!