TRLD,
I think you are right about the P&O split personality.
Those hankering after the good old days prefer Aurora, Arcadia .
Azura, Ventura (once described as the 'Butlins' cruise ship) and the Britannia heralded the move to much larger ships such as Iona and Arvia.
I'm assuming that the change in ship size allows them to be very competitive on price.
As others have said the drink prices and the ship excursions are more reasonably priced than the American cruises ships. However, on Princess and Celebrity, we find that the basic drink package/ basic WiFi /tips paid is an excellent way of avoiding the extra costs.
How did P& O get away with the tips included pricing? This seems a complete anathema when you consider the low pay of the excellent cruise staff.
Perhaps people have generally returned to the old notion of tipping for good service. I hope so.
Anyway those P & O old days are gone now. We loved it while it lasted : Arcadia, Adonia, Oceana, Canberra, Oriana, etc...
What do others think?