Returning to P & O after 13 years

After many cruises with P & O in the 1980/90s, we went on our last cruise with them in 2003. Decided then that we had had "enough of Europe" and wanted to see the rest of the world. Moved over to Princess and been to some lovely places.

Its been a while since we went to the Caribbean for a bit of winter sum so looked at both P & O and Princess for January. P & O just edged it with 14 nights for almost the same price at Princess for 10 with the direct flights from Manchester to Barbados, thereby eliminating the nightmare that is American immigration.

Anyway, my question really is:

Are there any tips or suggestions you can give to help us on our way back to P & O?

Already wondering if we are doing the right thing. So used to the Princess way of life, especially all the perks we get with our elite status, as to having to start from scratch with P & O.

I know that P & O is a bit more formal, but was very surprised to see 5 formal nights in the 14 day holiday. Love dressing up, but does seem a bit excessive, especially given the luggage allowance.

Thanks.

I might be wrong but isn't princess and p & o loyalty interchangeable? I was told I could use my p & o loyalty on princess cruises so should be able to use the other way round.

There are quite a few formal nights but I love it. It's so away from the American thing and much more traditional.

As you say avoiding immigration is much better. It's so much easier going to Barbados. You don't even have to collect your luggage, it's straight onto the coach outside the plane and straight to the ship and sometime later you'll find your luggage outside your cabin.

Your P and O points count on Princess, but not the other way around.

We have never ever cruised with Princess, but are elite with them!!

What changes in 13 years....well I would say its not soo posh now.

P and O appeals because of its prices, but to have those prices there have to be cuts, mainly the entertainment side of things I think..no decent speakers these days, not brilliant shows.

I think the food side had move up recently, we find it better than say 3 years ago.

Formal nights, yes they are still there. We have only done a transatlantic, so the majority of the ship dressed up on formal nights. With the constraints of flying these days I don't know how many still dress up..maybe short dresses for the ladies, and dark suit for the men.

You may get some posts from people who say the bean counters have spoilt P and O ,but if you read the boards on here for all lines (including Princess) people moan about standards dropping.

Obviously the drinks are cheaper on P and O and the grats (which you can leave to be taken off your account automatically now-no envelopes) are £5pppd.

I have never heard of 5 formals for a 14 night cruise - usually 4. Wouldn't be surprised if you find there are only four. We have been with P&O since 2003 and can't say things have altered tremendously since then. I suppose the main change is the introduction of Freedom (Anytime) Dining. We don't use it and always go 2nd sitting but lots of people do like it and use it. Maybe odd little things have disappeared - like champagne waterfall - proper flower arrangements in suites and mini suites - now it's a plant, often fake. However, if prices are to be kept at a reasonable level then something has to go.

My advice would be to stick with Princess for a much better cruise experience than P&O we have jumped ship and now cruise with Princess because of their better service, food and loyalty to their regular customers which P&O lack. I started to see a decline in P&O about 5yrs ago while having lunch with a senior officer to be told "old" P&O cruisers are not spending enough money because they were used to everything being free and no extras like speciality restaurants and coffee shops. Where P&O were aiming for the younger and "newer" cruisers who spend more money onboard and therefore making P&O more profit.

We are just back from 21 nights on Oriana. Have to say the main courses in the MDR was sometimes as bad as last year. I was served Aubergine with mozarella which I couldn't even cut! everything seemed to be "roast" something or other. And all with such flowery names we didn't even know what they meant. Cauliflour Begnettes? Florets I know? I was pushed to choose a dish each night. The starters and desserts were all excellent.

The entertainment was very good indeed. We had a wonderful pianist, not classical, we had one good comedian and one not so good. Two male singers, both very good. Headliners were excellent as usual, although we had seen the shows before. All in all, we had great ports, an overnight in Venice and a very late departure from Dubrovnik which enabled us to go ashore early evening for a drink. It was lovely.

Couple of silly gripes. My friend likes Earl Grey tea, there never was any in the Conservatory in the box marked Earl Grey, so we had to ask. When it arrived, they brought one t-bag!! Same problem with unsweetened Alpen. Never any on the counter, only the sickly sweet stuff. So asked, waited and they brought - yes one packet!

Thanks for the responses.

natross1110 - Sadly, as English Lady says, P & O nights only count for Princess, not the other way round. Used to be reciprocal, but believe they changed it a few years ago.

English Lady. One of the reasons we are trying P & O again (apart from getting more for our money) is that we are a bit disillusioned with Princess. Their standards have certainly gone down. You don't go on Princess for either the food or the entertainment!!. Having said that, have just booked Princess for June, so they can't be that bad. Have some wonderful cruises itineraries around the world.

AnnieUK. Our cruise personaliser says 5. Must say was very surprised as the brochures refer to 4 in a 14 day cruise. Will have to wait and see. Tips on Princess are $11.50 pppn so P & O are loads cheaper. I really used to hate having to handover envelopes at the end of the cruise, so automatic is much better.

MajorTom. Recognise the name, actually think we were on the same cruise a few years ago but can't remember which. Do you really like Princess food or am I just been picky.

jeanlyon - glad to read the positive points. Actually like reading the menus, some of the descriptions are so ostentatious. Our very first cruise was on the original Oriana in 1981 - we were very young!. Went on the new Oriana exactly 20 years later. The unbelievable thing was that we met a couple, Pam & Henry on both the cruises. Coincidence or what.

We returned to P&O after a 10 year break having been seduced by Princess.

Our Britannia cruise was very good but we really missed Princess. Everything about Princess is a notch above P&O.

OK so the food was very British. That I should have expected but is was pretty basic in the MDR. The food in the Horizon court lacked variety too.

Drinks though were really cheap. £6.25 for a glass of champagne and £4.25 for a pint of Peroni.

We wont to rushing back to P&O anytime soon but would happily recommend it for first time cruisers.

If you have cruised with P&O before - didn't they have any sort of customer number for you that will recognise how many nights you have done with them? I know we only had 1 cruise under the old scheme before the new one came in but the points transferred over for us. you never know you might get some grade in the new loyalty scheme...

Thanks for the responses.

 

natross1110 - Sadly, as English Lady says, P & O nights only count for Princess, not the other way round. Used to be reciprocal, but believe they changed it a few years ago.

 

English Lady. One of the reasons we are trying P & O again (apart from getting more for our money) is that we are a bit disillusioned with Princess. Their standards have certainly gone down. You don't go on Princess for either the food or the entertainment!!. Having said that, have just booked Princess for June, so they can't be that bad. Have some wonderful cruises itineraries around the world.

 

AnnieUK. Our cruise personaliser says 5. Must say was very surprised as the brochures refer to 4 in a 14 day cruise. Will have to wait and see. Tips on Princess are $11.50 pppn so P & O are loads cheaper. I really used to hate having to handover envelopes at the end of the cruise, so automatic is much better.

 

MajorTom. Recognise the name, actually think we were on the same cruise a few years ago but can't remember which. Do you really like Princess food or am I just been picky.

 

jeanlyon - glad to read the positive points. Actually like reading the menus, some of the descriptions are so ostentatious. Our very first cruise was on the original Oriana in 1981 - we were very young!. Went on the new Oriana exactly 20 years later. The unbelievable thing was that we met a couple, Pam & Henry on both the cruises. Coincidence or what.

If you are disillusioned with Princess and think there standards have gone down then you are in for a shock, P&Os have dropped considerably in food quality and entertainment choice in the last 5 years. I know food is a personal thing but unless you are a die hard British food person then I think Princess food is far superior than P&Os. As far as getting more for your money yes it might cost less per person per night on P&O but like everything in life you get what you pay for. The only exception to my thoughts was Britannia's maiden cruise where the food and entertainment was excellent but when we once did 3 cruises per year with P&O we no longer do and our last experiences on Azura and Oriana were very poor.

If you have cruised with P&O before - didn't they have any sort of customer number for you that will recognise how many nights you have done with them? I know we only had 1 cruise under the old scheme before the new one came in but the points transferred over for us. you never know you might get some grade in the new loyalty scheme...

We were POSH at the time, but when they changed the loyalty scheme, we were just before the cut-off date, so nothing.

Majortom - yes food is personal. My gripe with Princess is that the food is bland. If it is described as spicy, the creole prawn dish for example, it should be spicy.

Our last cruise was on the Caribbean Princess to the Baltic. Hated the ship. Will be good to compare the Azura in January with the Emerald in June.

We were POSH at the time, but when they changed the loyalty scheme, we were just before the cut-off date, so nothing.

 

Majortom - yes food is personal. My gripe with Princess is that the food is bland. If it is described as spicy, the creole prawn dish for example, it should be spicy.

 

Our last cruise was on the Caribbean Princess to the Baltic. Hated the ship. Will be good to compare the Azura in January with the Emerald in June.

For what reason did you not like Caribbean Princess because Azura like many Princess ships are virtually the same design of ship just different decor.

I agree that the food has gone down since we first sailed on Artemis around 2007. I couldn't fault it then, but I'm afraid now I think it is boring. Can't think how they can make lovely starters and desserts, but the main courses are the opposite.

It seems a shame that the majority of people who have posted in answer to the OP's question are those who are disillusioned with P&O. Maybe those who are satisfied and enjoy P&O don't bother to post. As I said previously, we have sailed with P&O since 2003 - also with Fred Olsen and Cunard. On our last cruise on Oceana earlier this year we felt we had some of the best food we have had on P&O. The plated meals ensure that the food is hot and we don't have to wait while the waiters serve potatoes and vegetables to the rest of the table. We have our 18th cruise with P&O coming up next year and I can honestly say we have enjoyed every one of them. I haven't sailed with Princess so I can't compare them.

We enjoyed our two cruises with Fred Olsen but we felt that P&O offered just that bit more - more to do around the ship, more choice of places to eat. Our Cunard cruise was a little disappointing. I would agree that the food is a notch above P&O - especially the beef and little touches like proper glasses in the buffet with ice machines. However, we had expected the "White Star Service" to be amazing and it wasn't. We may have just been unlucky. Our waiter in the Britannia restaurant was verging on rude - he practically threw the menus at us - no social chit chat at all. We knew that there is no tea/coffee making equipment in the cabins so ordered from Room serice - our first order, I tea, one hot chocolate. Well the tea came without milk and the 'hot' chocolate was stone cold! These are little things I know but it did not give an overall good impression.

To the OP, I know you won't be able to help compare P&O with Princess but do go with an open mind - I would think there will be things you will prefer on P&O and things you think are better with Princess - in the end you will do what suits you best. I just felt that many of the answers here portrayed P&O and fairly inept and a company that had gone downhill - well we don't think so - but again that's just our opinion.

Actually I'm not disillusioned with P&O. We have just had a super cruise. Can't fault the staff or service. Only problem was with evening main courses. Frankly we ate better on the two buffet evenings that we went to. I think the chef on Oriana is the problem, or maybe the quality control. Dried up salmon, aubergine you can't cut, cos it's not cooked.

We are on Fred next in May and I do think their food is better. Plated meals are fine with me. We are back on Oriana next October.

We have no problems with P and O either.

I was trying to get across that things have changed , as all the lines compete against each other.

I was reading a shocking thread on the Holland American board yesterday about the state of their ships.

It always always comes down to money. You just have to find the line that has not cut corners where you personally do not want them cut.

We are happy with P and Os prices, their food, sailing from Southampton, so we stay with them.

To someone else maybe the speakers would be the important part, so they would want to stay with Cunard etc.

For what reason did you not like Caribbean Princess because Azura like many Princess ships are virtually the same design of ship just different decor.

MajorTom. It was more a perception of a not well cared for ship. The slight sewerage smell along the accommodation corridors for example. The area around the International Cafe was a nightmare. Is it just me or does anyone else object to people sitting around reading books, playing card games, etc with not a drink or food in sight, when there are loads of people getting coffees/drinks/food and looking for somewhere to sit. More often than not we had a coffee to go and looked elsewhere to sit. Shame really, the International Cafe is normally my favourite place on ships.

The Emerald we are going on in June is the same design, although don't remember any of these problems on the previous occasions we have sailed on her.

Still trying to think where I have come across you before. Were you on the Baltic cruise last June?

I didn't like Azura for quite a few reasons, but one of them was when you are walking through the ship you can't see the sea, therefore you don't know whether you are walking aft or forward. Also the queues for everything were enough to put me off. Getting on and off for example. There was a big MSC ship in port when we on board Oriana and we actually took a picture of the queues to get back on board that ship. They stretched for ever!

MajorTom. It was more a perception of a not well cared for ship. The slight sewerage smell along the accommodation corridors for example. The area around the International Cafe was a nightmare. Is it just me or does anyone else object to people sitting around reading books, playing card games, etc with not a drink or food in sight, when there are loads of people getting coffees/drinks/food and looking for somewhere to sit. More often than not we had a coffee to go and looked elsewhere to sit. Shame really, the International Cafe is normally my favourite place on ships.

 

The Emerald we are going on in June is the same design, although don't remember any of these problems on the previous occasions we have sailed on her.

 

Still trying to think where I have come across you before. Were you on the Baltic cruise last June?

Yes we sailed on Caribbean Princess to the Baltics in June/July of this year.

Yes we sailed on Caribbean Princess to the Baltics in June/July of this year.

Mystery solved. Hope you enjoyed the ports of call as much as we did, particularly Copenhagen and St Petersburg.

We are going on our fourth P & 0 cruises this year.

All cruises have been brilliant in different ways. Been on both Azura and Ventura and going back on Azura this year.

Not sure which is my favourite ship as had a blast on both. Food is very personal and I loved most of it. Nothing was really ever bad but on occasion in the dining room I didn't like the odd course but I certainly didn't starve.

I loved the speciality restaurants as well. Service from the waiters to bar staff, your cabin, absolutely amazing. Treat people the same way as you would like to be treated yourself. That's my motto and works very well.

In fact I'm trying to find something negative so I can join in with everyone else but I can't.

Oh maybe I can, the moaners and whingers who want to pay peanuts for their cruise but expect a 7 star experience. :cool: They never stop churning out the same old, P&O ain't what it used to be. Maybe it's not but times change and cruising isn't for the elite anymore and they cannot get used to that.

For me P & O does exactly what it says on the tin and that's why I'm never disappointed by them and get exactly what I pay for.

Happy cruising!

Laurakdy, I agree with you absolutely. Time after time I seem to read about complaints that P&O have gone downhill, things not what they used to be - well that's right things change - there is now Freedom Dining - I don't like it but plenty of people do. Over time things change. We have never had a "bad" cruise. We have enjoyed every one and will continue to do so I'm sure.

We are admittedly P & O die hards after 40 cruises with them ( not bragging just explaining my post and where I am coming from)

We started cruising in 2004 on Oceana and loved everything about it after only 1 cruise on Thomsons where we vowed never to cruise again.

Yes things have changed over the last 11 years as have we. We joined the Princess club about 5 years ago thinking that we would see what else was out there. We were immediately put into the top tier despite not having cruised with them. We researched the ships and itineraries, read the forums, spoke to past passengers and compared their cruise experiences to ours and decided to stick with P & O. We don't like flying but do so if necessary but far prefer sailing from Southampton.

Our last cruise on Arcadia (we returned last Wednesday) was superb. The food was amazing and a notch above what we have been served on recent cruises. We had lunch with one of the officers who told us that new more adventurous, more choice menus were in the final stages of being developed and would be available shortly. All good news. The tips have recently been increased to £5.00 pppd but these can be cancelled or lowered at reception at your discretion. Our cabin steward was superb and we felt all the crew and officers mission was to enhance all passengers cruise experience.

We are not saying we will never stray from P & O but for the time being we are happy with our cruise experience and until that changes we will continue to stay loyal to them.

Sue

 

We joined the Princess club about 5 years ago thinking that we would see what else was out there. We were immediately put into the top tier despite not having cruised with them.

 

 

The tips have recently been increased to £5.00 pppd

 

Sue

Thanks Sue

How I wish the reverse was true. We are top tier on Princess but starting over on P & O!

Its very encouraging that there are some very good comments about P & O. Think the problem is, when you have remained loyal to one brand (like us with Princess) you have no idea what the others are like in comparison.

£5.00 pppd is a bargain. Princess charge $11.50 (about £7.50) and it rumoured to be going up to $12.95.

Another question please. The internet prices. We fully intend to use internet cafes/fast food places, etc. in port, but will still need some access whilst on board ship. I note you get free minutes if you buy time before embarking, but do they have any embarkation day deals which could work out cheaper?

Thanks.

Gillian

Hi Wilkies

My wife and I have been cruising with P&O since 2005 and always in the Caribbean, we will be cruising with them again in January 2016 and January 2017.

We have throughly enjoyed every cruise we have had with them,have always found the food to be excellent considering they are catering for 2000-3000 passengers, despite having seen the same theatre shows we find different headliner groups put their own mark on each performance.

Entertainment like food are personal to each person, one mans meat another's poison etc.

As others have said the prices are being kept reasonable therefore something has to go, I consider myself very fortunate that I am in the postition to cruise and enjoy it.

I do hope you enjoy your return to P&O, and have a great cruise.

Will look forward to any comments you may make on your return from your cruise.