Comparing Princess to P&O.

[terrierjohn]

5 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Yes we won premium plus for our cabin so didn't have to pay for our gratuities 

 

(We paid the cabin steward some extra cash in dollars though as he was good)

 

But we paid the gratuities on the cabin for our daughter and her boyfriend (as they were on a tight budget)

 

And I'm not relying on winning the raffle every time I travel on Princess! Lol

 

My point is the same that the value of P and O including gratuities FAR outweighs any of the things they no longer put in the cabin

 

IMO

You're right the P&O price will generally be lower than Princess, but the standard of service and food that we received on Sky Princess was also far superior to what P&O have been offering lately.

[mrsgoggins]

On 5/19/2024 at 6:05 PM, Interestedcruisefan said:

 

I know better now of course should I ever cruise with P and O again

 

Early dining has always been very easy for us on P and O

 

Not having to share a table equally easy for us on P and O

 

 

 

 

I suggest you never try a 35 night cruise on Ventura in that case!  To get a table for 2 on early opening a MDR, you would need to be in the queue 20/30 minutes before opening - and then it would most likely be one of the awful banquette seating tables with about 30 cm between you and the next table.  On Iona last year, I will admit that getting a table for 2 was easier, despite my not caring much for the ship itself (we do have another booking on her however).  On Princess we have never had a problem getting a 'good' table for 2 being early diners, and like @terrierjohn have found the levels of service, especially in the dining rooms, to be far superior to P&O.  I think you have been very unlucky.

 

I'm no flag-waver for Princess.  We did one of our first ever 'proper' cruises on Grand Princess in Alaska in 2016 and was so disappointed when I saw the dated cabin - my only previous experience sailing had been Viking river cruises and 2 short Disney cruises.  This was more than compensated for by the fact that we had a (coveted) rear corner balcony cabin with close to 270° viewing capability.  It was a stunning cruise.  Since then we have sailed on Princess a few times and ditto P&O - last year we had one Princess, 2 P&O and 2 Celebrity cruises.  The latter remains my favourite cruise line but I could give you pluses and minuses for each cruise line.

 

I don't think you should write off Princess based on your one less-than-stellar experience.  I have never experienced the queues you mention on Princess, and the most miserable MDR staff I ever encountered on any cruise ship were on my first ever P&O cruise on Azura in 2018, but it didn't put us off and has never been experienced since.  We have both P&O and Princess bookings in our future.

 

 

[Interestedcruisefan]

20 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

You're right the P&O price will generally be lower than Princess, but the standard of service and food that we received on Sky Princess was also far superior to what P&O have been offering lately.

How did you find the buffet  on Princess John on your cruise?

 

I was shocked how poor it was in Alaska

 

Breakfast really poor. Hot and cold options. Pastries awful cheap and nasty. All the hot stuff overcooked and hard. Eggs the  worst ever.

 

Lunch and dinner the roasts always overcooked. The soups watery

 

Bland vegetables. 

 

Same 3 potato options every day. Chips, mash and roast potatoes (overcooked)

 

Awful cheap array of desserts we don't like on all cruise ships and one hot dessert every day that wasn't same quality as P and O hot desserts

 

I found it shockingly poor tbh

 

And with no Quays like P and O I had to use it a lot

 

Not saying P and O buffet is amazing. But it's better than Princess in Alaska

 

MDR was decent enough. Although the queues and sharing tables isn't our thing and meant we were rushed when we did get in  for shows etc 

 

But I think MDR on P and O is decent as well tbh

 

[Interestedcruisefan]

With the buffet on Princess the first 2 days or so of the cruise you couldn't serve yourself due to illness issues on previous cruise

 

But then the rest of the time they seemed to go the total opposite way

 

The roast for example they just carved a load and left it there in a pile for people to put on their own plate

 

But by doing that it just gets dry immediately under the warm lights

 

You would get to the desert and all the sauce or custard would be gone

 

Or you would go to put gravy on the roast to try and freshen it up and the gravy pot was empty

 

It seemed either that they were totally understaffed or else simply didn't care

 

They needed someone going round checking the quality 

 

If they did they would see the they've put so many eggs out at a time they've all gone hard under the lights

 

Same with the rest of the breakfast they put it out in such big qualities by the time you served yourself it was all dried up

 

The bacon I couldn't cut with a knife it would just fly everywhere 

 

I had to break it with my fingers and then balance on end of my fork alongside flaky hash brown and a bit of sausage

 

I'm not exaggerating 

 

I do like crispy bacon myself but woe betide anyone who didn't on Princess. I don't think it was that way intentionally

 

There seemed to be nobody checking the quality. They can't have been

 

The quantity was there. And maybe if prepared and looked after better it would have been ok. 

 

On the flip side the bread and butter pudding dessert was undercooked and possibly a health risk 

 

Never seen one that looked like it before. I took a photo will try and find it

 

My wife advised me not to eat it. She didn't need to as I realised from looking at it closer that it just wasn't edible

 

They need a better Head Chef for the buffet on Ruby as honestly it was so poor

 

You definitely get better quality meals at Premier Inn for sure. Breakfast, lunch and dinner than Ruby Princess buffet. 

 

I will stand by that 

 

I'm thinking maybe their senior chefs were all cabin bound with illness the week we were on

Edited May 23 by Interestedcruisefan

[Cruisemeister2002]

On 5/22/2024 at 4:20 PM, Interestedcruisefan said:

That's not confrontational at all

 

Worth saying though that  in real terms the pricepoint for cruising now compared to 2002 will be SO MUCH lower it's actually hard to believe at a time when the rest of the things we pay for in real terms in the world have increased so dramatically

 

And my other point is on our recent cruise with  Princess we had to pay gratuities of 16 us dollars per person per night (standard room gratuities). It's more for more expensive rooms. 

 

Which we don't have to pay on P and O of course

 

So thats 176 pounds for the seven nights for 2 people

 

I think the chocolate and biscuits and toiletries cruises provided each night would likely only account for less than 6 pounds of that cost? If that?

 

And come to think of it we didn't actually get any biscuits or chocolate any night on Ruby Princess in our standard rooms?

 

We did get our room cleaned in the evenings though as often in the mornings I would work on my laptop in the cabin

 

So maybe  biscuits and a chocolate only applies to higher standard cabins?

 

We didn't get ANY biscuits or chocolates of any kind left in  our cabin morning or night last week AT ALL?

 

(Ps assuming my wife didn't keep stealing them all. Lol)

 

Which I've just checked and she assures me we didn't get any at all

 

No tea or coffee making options in the cabin either? No idea if they normally offer that on Princess ?

 

 

Don't know if Princess have biscuits but P&O always did. We would eat the occasional ones, but if you put them in a draw with your clean clothes they would put another packet in it's place so we would on a long cruise have a decent bag full which we took home and issued them out to the Grandchildren, As for tea and coffee making facilities apparently those sailing from the UK have them ? The biscuits were for all grades of cabin, as we tend to have an inside cabin on long voyages where the cruise is September or early in the year as the likelyhood of being able to sit on a balcony crossing the Atlantic is pretty remote. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Megabear2]

I always find Princess buffet food cold whichever ship tbh.

[Interestedcruisefan]

2 minutes ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

 

We got biscuits on arvia last cruise In  Feb I'm sure in the Caribbean. Not only that but our cabin steward used to bring lots more for us once he knew we liked them 

 

Unless it's azamara I'm remembering from January?

 

The cruise memories merge together!

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 minute ago, Megabear2 said:

I always find Princess buffet food cold whichever ship tbh.

I'm not thinking it was cold in particular just bland and not fresh once under the lights

 

Maybe it's because on arvia there's more people going through the buffet it doesn't stay under the warming lights so long

 

I can't remember every going to the roast on P and O and there not being someone carving it to you

 

I could always get runny eggs on P and O with my breakfast 

 

The hot traditional desserts always made nicely and a go to for me

 

The cold desserts we all know what they are like on most cruise ships nowadays. 

 

I've never eaten so little dessert as the quality just wasn't there

 

For the hot desserts on princess not once was there any ice cream to add to them 

 

They told me if you want ice cream you have to go to the ice cream serving counter next to the pool (the place where you always had to queue to get it)

 

Only had 2 ice creams all week due to those queues and I was getting Premier ice cream sundaes foc

 

It's unheard of for me!!

 

Lol

[Interestedcruisefan]

I actually really wanted to eat the bread and butter pudding despite it looking awful. The photo I took was because it didn't look cooked properly and I wanted some photo evidence in case it made me ill!

 

In the end I just had a small bite and decided not to risk any more

 

[Gettingwarmer]

17 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

 

 

I do like crispy bacon myself but woe betide anyone who didn't on Princess. I don't think it was that way intentionally

Americans always have crispy bacon, with maple syrup on top. They hate our soft back bacon rashers. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

35 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

Americans always have crispy bacon, with maple syrup on top. They hate our soft back bacon rashers. 

Do they all like bone dry roast meats as well?

Edited May 23 by Interestedcruisefan

[cruising.mark.uk]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

 

 

Breakfast really poor. Hot and cold options. Pastries awful cheap and nasty. All the hot stuff overcooked and hard. Eggs the  worst ever.

 

 

Hi ICF.  Does the Ruby not have an International Cafe?

 

We're just starting our last week of a 4-week BTB on the Caribbean Princess and have had 90% of our breakfasts at the IC.  The pastries are good and the Egg McMuffin they do is about as good as what you get in McD's (albeit with ham rather than bacon!).  It has certainly seen us right most mornings.

 

IC does good pies, soups and sandwiches at lunchtime as well.  Not as much choice as the buffet, but better quality and without the crowds.

[Interestedcruisefan]

7 minutes ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

Hi ICF.  Does the Ruby not have an International Cafe?

 

We're just starting our last week of a 4-week BTB on the Caribbean Princess and have had 90% of our breakfasts at the IC.  The pastries are good and the Egg McMuffin they do is about as good as what you get in McD's (albeit with ham rather than bacon!).  It has certainly seen us right most mornings.

 

IC does good pies, soups and sandwiches at lunchtime as well.  Not as much choice as the buffet, but better quality and without the crowds.

Always had big queues in there on Ruby.

 

Assuming it's the one next to the Piazza?

 

Only had a premier dessert. After a queue and then a wait for it to be served from the kitchen. Premier dessert was code for huge piece of chocolate cake or red velvet cake

 

That's where my wife was queuing for her coffees I think?

 

Unless it's a different place?

 

 

[cruising.mark.uk]

15 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

That's where my wife was queuing for her coffees I think?

 

Unless it's a different place?

 

 

No, that's the place.

 

It's my home from home on the Caribbean!

[MyriamS]

1 hour ago, Gettingwarmer said:

Americans always have crispy bacon, with maple syrup on top. They hate our soft back bacon rashers. 

I'm French, so have no innate "loyalty" to either side but I have to defend American bacon, and American breakfast in general. There's just so much choices and, if you pick the right diner type place, it's wonderfully tasty: my favourite order are the soft giant fluffy pancakes, bacon crisped to perfection and over easy eggs (I always put the syrup on the pancakes and never directly on the bacon) but there are also waffles, bagels, breakfast burritos, breakfast sandwiches that comes with fries (fries for breakfast!). Of course, all of this is far too calorific for every day, but I am much more active on my holidays and only have two meals a day. In the US/on cruises, it's late breakfast and early dinner, instead of early lunch and dinner in Europe. So yes, please bring us the American bacon! 

 

My favourite British breakfast items are crumpets with lots of butter. I also love that, in the UK, drinking tea is seen as equal to drinking coffee, and thus breakfast tea is always an option. In the rest of Europe or the US, sometimes there will be no tea for breakfast, or only herbal/green tea! (I carry my own tea bags now.)

 

 

[Interestedcruisefan]

On the princess buffet there were pancakes

 

A large pot of whipped cream with just a very small spoonful left for me. 

 

And a jug of maple syrup with less than a tablespoon full left in it

 

Another jug with a fruity jam in it that clearly wasn't popular

 

This is what I mean about a lack of care or love from the staff

 

And the need for someone who knows what a buffet should look like on patrol making sure everything either replenished or fresh

 

I used to get to the roast meat every time and be so disappointed with how dry and unappetizing it looked

 

Same with the fried eggs for breakfast. You knew they were hard as soon as you saw them

 

Can't believe it's like that every week. They would get too many complaints

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

Hi ICF.  Does the Ruby not have an International Cafe?

 

We're just starting our last week of a 4-week BTB on the Caribbean Princess and have had 90% of our breakfasts at the IC.  The pastries are good and the Egg McMuffin they do is about as good as what you get in McD's (albeit with ham rather than bacon!).  It has certainly seen us right most mornings.

 

IC does good pies, soups and sandwiches at lunchtime as well.  Not as much choice as the buffet, but better quality and without the crowds.

Mark this was what the queues were like for the IC on the mornings on Ruby 

 

Hence we avoided

 

 

 

 

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

How did you find the buffet  on Princess John on your cruise?

 

I was shocked how poor it was in Alaska

 

Breakfast really poor. Hot and cold options. Pastries awful cheap and nasty. All the hot stuff overcooked and hard. Eggs the  worst ever.

 

Lunch and dinner the roasts always overcooked. The soups watery

 

Bland vegetables. 

 

Same 3 potato options every day. Chips, mash and roast potatoes (overcooked)

 

Awful cheap array of desserts we don't like on all cruise ships and one hot dessert every day that wasn't same quality as P and O hot desserts

 

I found it shockingly poor tbh

 

And with no Quays like P and O I had to use it a lot

 

Not saying P and O buffet is amazing. But it's better than Princess in Alaska

 

MDR was decent enough. Although the queues and sharing tables isn't our thing and meant we were rushed when we did get in  for shows etc 

 

But I think MDR on P and O is decent as well tbh

 

TBH the breakfast buffet was not as good as P&O, as far as the hot options, although the omelette station and the eggs Benedict station were quite good, and don't seem to exist on P&O. The so called english bacon was quite fatty, and  the american bacon was not really crispy, the fried eggs were mainly done easy over, as the yanks call them, but I did find the occasional sunny side up one with a  soft yoke.

However the array of fruits, muesli and cereal offering was far more extensive, and the pastries looked delicious, but I managed to avoid temptation.

We only had light snacks for lunch, soup and a roll or maybe a stir fry veggie dish, so did not try the meats.

We did have afternoon tea in the buffet once, as I posted earlier, and with real clotted cream, freshly baked warm scones and som excellent desserts, which we thought far surpassed the afternoon tea choice on P&O.

I guess you just struck unlucky with a poor head chef.

 

PS the pool deck Pizzas from Slice were to die for, probably the best pizzas we have ever tasted, whether at sea or on land. We enjoyed these quite a times for lunch.

 

Edited May 23 by terrierjohn

[terrierjohn]

48 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Mark this was what the queues were like for the IC on the mornings on Ruby 

 

Hence we avoided

 

 

 

 

@Interestedcruisefan did you raise any of your concerns with the restaurant senior staff?

I commented about some hot breakfast dishes being cold, and not being able to find berry fruits or prunes and figs as topping for my wifes porridge on the, How are we doing so far form, which we received on day 3. A few days later the restaurant manager sought me out at breakfast, amazing what the medallion can do, thanked me for my comments and promised improvements which we did notice, as well as sending half a dozen chocolate covered strawberries to our cabin.

[Interestedcruisefan]

5 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

@Interestedcruisefan did you raise any of your concerns with the restaurant senior staff?

I commented about some hot breakfast dishes being cold, and not being able to find berry fruits or prunes and figs as topping for my wifes porridge on the, How are we doing so far form, which we received on day 3. A few days later the restaurant manager sought me out at breakfast, amazing what the medallion can do, thanked me for my comments and promised improvements which we did notice, as well as sending half a dozen chocolate covered strawberries to our cabin.

No we didnt complain 

 

 

[Interestedcruisefan]

6 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

TBH the breakfast buffet was not as good as P&O, as far as the hot options, although the omelette station and the eggs Benedict station were quite good, and don't seem to exist on P&O. The so called english bacon was quite fatty, and  the american bacon was not really crispy, the fried eggs were mainly done easy over, as the yanks call them, but I did find the occasional sunny side up one with a  soft yoke.

However the array of fruits, muesli and cereal offering was far more extensive, and the pastries looked delicious, but I managed to avoid temptation.

We only had light snacks for lunch, soup and a roll or maybe a stir fry veggie dish, so did not try the meats.

We did have afternoon tea in the buffet once, as I posted earlier, and with real clotted cream, freshly baked warm scones and som excellent desserts, which we thought far surpassed the afternoon tea choice on P&O.

I guess you just struck unlucky with a poor head chef.

 

PS the pool deck Pizzas from Slice were to die for, probably the best pizzas we have ever tasted, whether at sea or on land. We enjoyed these quite a times for lunch.

 

There was no omelette station on Ruby buffet

 

Nothing freshly made in front of you that I saw all week

 

 

[brian1]

12 hours ago, Gettingwarmer said:

Americans always have crispy bacon, with maple syrup on top. They hate our soft back bacon rashers. 

Princess always had Canadian bacon which is a thicker version of ours.I asked nicely once and they produced proper English bacon.I think it was in the pursers vault.

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

No we didnt complain 

 

 

It's not a complaint if you are suggesting ways they can improve their passengers enjoyment.

[happy v]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

It's not a complaint if you are suggesting ways they can improve their passengers enjoyment.

You should have been a diplomat, John🙂

[MyriamS]

Might not apply to cruise lines, but businesses tend to prefer a politely worded complaint to them, which gives them a chance to fix the situation, rather than the customer not saying anything and then later leaving a negative review/not coming back/not recommending their experience to others.

 

I think many people are afraid of complaining because they don't want to be seen as entitled or rude... but you can complain without being rude and you are imho entitled to have a good meal on your vacation.