pisces14

I know we weren't invited to anything on our first cruise which was 7 years ago. On our last cruise on the Oceana were were invited to a cocktail party with the officers. It was supposed to be for suite passengers only but we were told that as there are only 6 suites they had invited some other passengers. How they chose the other passengers I have no idea. I believe they used to have these parties for suite passengers years ago so maybe they are bringing them back.

We had a suite on C deck and it's true the balcony is really large. I was able to check out the mini-suite next door and was surprised that it was as large as the suite. Although it did not have a divider between the bedroom and the sitting area. The balcony of course was not as large as the suite but larger than the balcony cabins I would say. Unless you particularly want a butler the mini suite is probably better value especially if there is a big difference in price. That probably depends on the length of the cruise.

It’s the sad people who leave the tips, and tip again. But, of course, this comes out of their obc.

 

 

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Why is it sad? If people want to give a little extra to those members of staff who have given good service it's not sad at all. I don't think we've ever had enough OBC to cover the tips and our overall spend on any cruise we've ever taken including our world cruises.

Aurora is my favourite ship. We usually do long cruises and although there have been children on board we've hardly seen them. I've never found Oriana to be like a care home and I really don't understand why people say that. I doubt if the Aurora will be any different than it already is and although it's a shame for people with children I'm sure it will appeal to people of all ages as it does now.

I've voted yes. We can give extra which is what we usually do anyhow, but it will mean that the staff get the expected gratuities from all passengers instead of only some.

Mmmmm...first time ....yes an unfortunate accident but to happen twice surely they must still have been feeling a " bit off" and that there could be a possibility of a " repeat performance"... as there was...out of consideration for fellow table mates I would have given the MDR a miss.

I agree the first time was probably unavoidable. The second time was a complete lack of consideration for fellow passengers. As you say the person involved must have known they were unwell to even consider going again to the MDR was selfish.

Thank you for clarifying that you meant solely in the booking process. Imho, people do not research their holidays enough before booking. Before I booked a cruise for the first time, I read the brochure cover to cover to make sure I understood what I was getting.

Absolutely that's exactly what I did. Which is why I've never had to ask a myriad of questions on a forum about cruising.

Ahhhh, bless

 

 

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Thank you I'm feeling the love.;)

I have wished for a long time that P&O would include the gratuities in with the price of the cruise. I do agree with insanemagnet they will never do it. They prefer to sell cheap cruises to some people and allow those of us who pay the gratuities to subsidise those who don't.

The mega ships are great, and the way forward.

If you want the small, gas guzzlers, then change your cruiseline, but leave the mega ships alone.

 

 

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I really don't think you have to worry. Stack em high sell em cheap is obviously the way P&O are going. Enjoy:rolleyes:

I've never wanted to try the larger ships. Even the Azura or Ventura has never appealed to me. We like the medium sized ships and they offer the sort of cruise we enjoy. I can see as everyone else can that P&O are building bigger ships to appeal to younger people who want more than a traditional type of cruise. I think it's a shame and I do think it will be a mistake if P&O end up with only mega ships. :(

Have to say, on a sea day we tend to enjoy the balcony where it is much quieter and then wander up to the adults only bar area at the back once it has quietened down. We have to go in the school holidays so I suppose we expect it to be pretty busy on any ship.

 

We've only ever done the Med. on Oceana and the last time we sailed on her we met up with Aurora and she looked a really nice similar sized ship. I think we would be happy on her as well.

You should give the Aurora a try. I'm probably biased but I think you may prefer it.:)

If we say that Oceana was our first REAL cruise and that we had the band playing on the dock side, our first formal nights, our first prom deck, our first Champagne Fountain, the first Chef's parade and yes, the first Great British Sailaway. The list is endless. It was just such an AMAZING experience we will never, never, ever forget

 

And she has the BEST atrium of any ship - P&O / Celebrity / RCI we have ever seen.

 

Our first love I suppose ;-)

 

Does that explain it to those of you Oceana cynics out there why we love her ? :p :)

I do understand that we are all different and enjoy our cruises in our own way. I found the Oceana noisy, everywhere there seemed to be Spa talks, quizzes or bowling on the Wii. There was nowhere peaceful to sit on a sea day, Magnums being ridiculously small. I missed having a Crow's nest to sit in. The ship itself I found dirty and the refit was badly needed then (2016). I also found it very unstable, it really wasn't suitable for crossing the Atlantic. It's a sunclass ship and is better suited to being based in the Med. I know I would have enjoyed my cruise so much more if I'd been on the Aurora.:halo:

Of course, my thoughts may be proved completely wrong - I don't have any 'insider info' :D. Oceana has quite a dedicated army of fans but whilst I have been on her, I don't 'feel the love'. Nothing wrong or bad with her but she doesn't quite work for me somehow. She is number 4 in the P&O fleet for me - after Oriana, Aurora & Arcadia.

I'm glad it's not just me I don't understand the appeal of the Oceana at all. Aurora is my favourite followed by the Oriana.

If you handed a crew member a tip and did this deliberately private then no one else would know and it wouldn’t need to be pooled. We have done this with a handshake/in a menu/in our cabin etc

 

 

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It was done very privately. That's my point the only way the Bar manager could have known about the tip was that the wine waiter was obliged to hand it in. My husband has always given cabin stewards, waiters and butlers a tip on our cruises and all done very discreetly. Until that last cruise we thought they were allowed to keep them. I'm not convinced now that they are.

I think the cash tips are definitely handed in. On our last cruise my husband gave one of the wine waiters a tip as she'd been really good. The next day the bar manager thanked him for the tip. I'm sure the same applies to the MDR waiters and the cabin stewards too.

I have cruised on the smaller ships and the massive ones. As a 40 something,at this time in my life, i prefer the larger ships for one reason and it actually has nothing to do with the size. It is the amount of things to see and do whilst on-board. I totally get why the small ships are popular and I do like them especially as they can get into the smaller ports. As I get older I think I probably will like them best but on a long cruise I find I need more to keep me occupied which the big ships always win hands down. If P&O don't address this with the new ships they might as well not bother.

 

Saying that I don't understand why they can't have both size ships to suite different needs and likes.

If P&O carry on building bigger and bigger ships by the time you are older I'll think you'll find they won't have any smaller ships. Perhaps P&O should bear in mind that the younger passengers they are so eager to attract will all become older cruisers one day.

As an autotipper I would agree with you but IMHO it is not fair as long as it is optional. The charge is not a tip, it is a service charge and either needs to be compulsory or included in the price of the cruise because no matter how we feel that the staff deserve the tips some people will never pay. P&O still have the lowest tips compared to other mainstream lines so it not a hardship to pay their tips

I also agree. Unfortunately we seem to be in the minority. Most people seem to find some reason to justify the removal of the auto tips. I'm afraid I think there is no justification. I'm totally fed up with the all the arguments about 'where the tips go', 'we are subsidising the wages P&O should be paying' , 'I prefer to tip people by envelope' or 'I like to tip only those who give good service'. The gratuities are part of cruising just leave the auto tips on and stop finding excuses to remove them.:rolleyes:

Glad that's all been sorted then. Time to go back to sleep.

Ha Ha if only.:rolleyes:

Carnival have built similar sized ships, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria, both circa 90000 tonnes 2000 passengers, for Cunard. I suspect that they see the future of P&O as pile it high, sell it cheap, with the economies of scale which come with larger ships, and see Cunard as a more up market brand with which people will be prepared to pay more.

That's exactly the way I see P&O going. In fact I thought that when they built Britannia.

I suppose we are unusual in that we are relatively new cruisers as we've only been cruising for 7 years. We are also retired people but actually are in a fortunate financial position. So we book suites and spend a lot on excursions and on board the ship. We do though only want to cruise on the medium size ships. We will never be enticed on these huge ships. They may appeal to the younger generation who want cheaper cruises but they don't represent what we consider cruising to be about. If P&O get rid of the medium size ships we will be looking elsewhere I'm afraid.

Perhaps it's just us, but my wife and I do freedom dining, go to the restaurant about 8, and ask for a table of 6 or 8. We would normally be one of the last tables to leave, aroundv10:30. Why do people want to rush through dinner. As much as anything else, we don't want to drink a bottle of wine in 60 minutes, and we never 'keep' an opened bottle for the next night!

 

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No it's not just you. I've always seen Freedom dining as something for people who like to eat and go. That is definitely not we like to do. The evening meal is something we look forward to and is one of the things we enjoy most about our cruise.We like to take our time and enjoy our wine. We always have 6.30 club dining but did notice on our last cruise that the waiters seemed anxious to get us out in order to prepare for the 8.30 diners.

I usually get these surveys but I haven't received this one. I've never tried freedom dining and don't want to. I do hope they don't get rid of club dining.:(

You'll read of the experiences, good and bad of the few on CC and not the vast number of Cunard passengers who are repeaters who don't post on or read CC and other boards.

 

People will always have problems and not everything will be perfect and maybe things aren't what they used to be for those who cruised Cunard years and years ago but I'm pretty picky and I think QG is great.

Thank you Victoria I'm sure you and the others will turn out to be right. Perhaps some people are simply 'glass half empty types. I don't think the way afternoon tea is served will bother me too much.:)

Oh wonderful.:( We are taking our first cruise with Cunard next year in the QG, and all I've been reading on forums and groups is how standards have dropped and nothing is as it used to be.