AndyMichelle

Just now, Gettingwarmer said:

Are you saying it’s the newbies replacing us that are bringing their own drinks to the bars. Seems this is what P&O wanted and now they’re cracking down. 

Definitely not solely blaming the newbies, as many have said before, they take their own drinks because they cannot get what they want on board. 

I had never noticed it so blatant before, but this time I did and it wasn't being discouraged. 

Andy 

1 minute ago, S1971 said:

 

I think it's very unlikely that the policy was changed because of the odd few pouring their own and if the waiters are encouraging it, then can't blame the customers for that.

 

As has been said, this change is as a result of low baseline prices, wanting to sell packages etc.

That's my point, it used to be the odd few, now it seemed commonplace. 

I don't doubt you are right about the baseline etc, but was just surprised how many were blatantly doing it now. 

As has also been said before, if we don't like it, we can go elsewhere. 

With all the ships sailing at capacity, there seems to be a stream of people willing to replace us, despite the cuts. 

Andy 

9 minutes ago, S1971 said:

 

It was previously allowed so how have the small few ruined it for everyone else??

 

 

We were shocked to see very many passengers last week pouring their own drinks in the bars, have never really noticed it before. 

Even saw a couple asking the waiters for 2 glasses with ice... 

Andy 

1 minute ago, Lee Jones Jnr said:

The P&O website still shows A-OK to take spirits onboard for me, maybe I need to clear internet history or summink.

On that other site, people still receiving emails saying there is no change... 

It is changing, we just need to let the P&O employees know😂

Andy 

13 minutes ago, purplesea said:

There is no logic!

We are in the Mediterranean tier and were on deck 14 on Arvia at Easter and our boarding time was 3.30 pm.

That's my theory out of the window then😂

29 minutes ago, the wandering two said:

Due to board Iona on Saturday, we're Mediterranean tier & been given 3.15 check in.

Doesn't seem to be any sort of pattern as we've had earlier times on previous sailings, regardless hope to be on for lunchtime, yes it's a seven night cruise but with these timings it's a 61/2 day cruise! 

Good luck, you may be lucky but we wasn't last week. 

They say it is allocated by floor, we were deck 8 on Britannia with a 3.15 boarding time, so I assume it goes from top to bottom. 

We tried our luck but had to wait, so no complaints here, we knew the rules. 

Andy 

2 hours ago, royallondon said:

Thank you AndyMichelle for opening this thread.  We sailed on Britannia 6 years ago but with our then 2 year old Granddaughter and didn’t experience the ship from an adults perspective.  We sail again on her in January in the Caribbean and have found your feedback and observations most helpful.  

 

Regards

It's my absolute pleasure. 

From our perspective, we rely on others feedback, so very happy to share ours. 

Andy 

11 minutes ago, Photo Andy said:

Further update. 
Last night went for dinner at the Keel and Cow - clean plates well except the occasional steak bones. I had the trout starter, followed by fillet steak with peppercorn sauce. My wife had no starter but had the ploughman’s. Desert was the sharing platter of ice cream, cheese cake and pecan pie. Superb meal, must book again. 
Just a problem I noted in the cabin no 2 pin round charging point. Searched everywhere and no. My Braun toothbrush was running out of power yesterday am.I had packed chargers or charging cables for all my gear or so I thought. I did not pack a square 3 pin to 2 pin round plug. In Stavanger found a Clas Ohlson selling Philips Sonic toothbrush which charges via a USB to 3 pin square plug. 
Note to all make sure you have all the correct plugs and charging cables. The new toothbrush is really good. 
Arrived and now docked in Olden, walking to Briksdal glacier so if you see a guy with a Nikon camera, zoom lens and a Gitzo tripod say hello. 
Derek - my real name. 
Weather 12c, no wind and snow on tops, cloudy. Looks like rain?

That's a fair old walk to the glacier Derek, then the trek up... 

Rather you than me😊

Have a great day, 

Andy 

Excellent summary, thank you. 

We never fancied Iona, too big etc, but positive reviews like yours have made us look to give it a try. 

Andy 

31 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

After the two cruise’s this year and the ones next year, and the one the year after we will not be using P&O again because there are to many people like us onboard.

Yeah, I wouldn't want to be in a cabin next to me😂

Have a fantastic time. 

Thank you for reporting in, we love 'travelling along' with other cruisers, we learn so much. 

Andy 

20 minutes ago, Lee Jones Jnr said:

I really think that I probably won’t.

i have three cruises booked which I’ll still do but I won’t book anything else for now, I’ll see how I feel after the next one.

If it’s not clear, I’m not suggesting that there is anything wrong with what P&O is now, just that I liked what P&O used to be and will certainly use other lines more if not exclude P&O completely.

 

You make good points, it's all about expectations. 

We only miss what we had before. 

'If I hadn't seen such riches, I could live with being poor'... 

We just had a great cruise on Britannia, but we knew what to expect and made sure the rest of our party did too. All the first time cruisers (5) with us have fallen in love with cruising and are booking more cruises with P&O and taking others with them. 

We have opened our minds to other cruise lines but will still book P&O when it suits us. 

There seems to be enough people ready to replace us cynics if we do move on, the ships are busy. 

Andy 

Have a great time Andy, thanks for reporting in. 

Unfortunately, some people do not understand the risks of not washing hands until too late. 

We love Olden, I am sure you will too. 

Andy 

Have a great time John. 

We will watch with interest. 

We did look at Princess on your recommendation last year, but the prices seemed to jump overnight, so are trying Cunard instead, but still have a very open mind. 

Andy 

5 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Surely the answer is to wait until Thursday to see if anything happens, after all that's the first date in the supposed email in post 1?  Rather than speculating on what is or isn't happening if that date passes and nothing occurs that will settle the issue of whether it is a fact or not.  Until that time it would seem rather futile to stress over the issue.

Of course, you are the voice of reason. 

I am enjoying having the popcorn out to see the debate between 'P&O always get it right' and 'don't believe a word they say' 😂

That's my Bank Holiday sorted... Sad I know😊

Andy 

26 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

Sorry I disagree there is a history on here of stories being seized on then turning out to be inaccurate, as for the staff not being told and allowed to give out false information,only time will tell which of us was correct.

Yes, it's a tricky one to know what is true but I must add that, twice very recently, we have been given information in writing from P&O that turned out to be false, even after going away and checking...

I still wouldn't be surprised if there is some truth in it, despite the email denial, but time will tell. 

Andy 

2 hours ago, Cloudyrain said:

We saw Paloma (well, Yzzy as Paloma) on the Ventura a few yeara ago and thought she was incredible. I wish they would do a few more modern tributes, just to add a bit of variety.

 

I agree, there seemed to be no variety when we were on Britannia: it was all older, despite it being a very multi-generational vibe on the ship. They need a good mix to get the party going so to speak. Having said that, the first time we went on Ventura 10+ years ago it was very "old" music, but the last few times I have found it much more diverse in music years and genre. 

Our Paloma was Sammie Lomax from Southampton, a good singer in her own right and came across as a very nice person too, taking time to chat to some audience members after the show. 

We like some modern music, but unfortunately, the modern stuff being played was a bit too 'out there' for us... 

Andy 

3 hours ago, Clodia said:

Yes. I decided not to have the drinks package on my last cruise, and bought gin, vodka and mixers to drink on my balcony. Mixers are expensive but spirits quite reasonably priced; you just call Room Service who deliver them usually within half an hour.

Also, ask for Ice when you order and your cabin steward will top it up daily, well, ours did. 

It lasts in the fridge overnight. 

Andy 

1 hour ago, Mymarina Bay said:

Just to let you all know the CP and PO customer service were both wrong. There were two formal nights as usual. Lots of unhappy cruisers on the second night because of the mix up particularly those refused entry to MDR. I overheard a few complaining at reception. It was noticeable in the Theatre, I would guess 50% not in formal attire. Ship to shore obviously not got act together.

This frustrates me as we have had a couple of queries recently where a mistake has obviously been made, but customer service, both on land and on ship, insist it is right. Even going away to check with superiors and coming back with the same answer, only later to be proved wrong... 

I hope you managed to have a good cruise, despite the issue. 

Andy 

3 hours ago, Gettingwarmer said:

Unfortunately this is not correct for Britannia. 

We had Karl Shepherd last week, who was replaced on Friday by his deputy, I think his name was Denis? 

Andy 

1 hour ago, P&O SUE said:

Glad you had a great time Andy, I can’t wait for my Britannia cruise. Disappointing to hear about the entertainment, the silent disco would be better in the Crystal Room surely. We had it in the Tamarind on Ventura. I honestly think we had more varied entertainment on Aurora recently. We had a jazz orchestra in the Crows Nest one evening who were good.Also an outside group ‘The Celtic Harps’ as well as a couple of sets by Pulse and that was a four night cruise! 
 

I’ve never had time for a film on Britannia before, perhaps I’ll get the chance this time!

Thanks Sue, I hope you and John are well. 

It was a strange cruise for entertainment, nowhere near as good as last year, but I wonder if the Headliners and Pulse are new since the refit, so needed more rehearsal time and the gaps were filled with quizzes etc. 

The silent disco was in the Crystal room last year, but Karaoke was in there on at least one of the silent disco nights. 

The big plus for us was the Privateers, they were fantastic. Unfortunately, they are giving up cruising soon. 

Andy 

25 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Most of them are indeed premixed, it was explained to us whilst on Britannia that was the company policy.  Several people were complete frozen cocktails had little flavour.  The packets being used were from Funkin which you can buy in the local supermarket.

That is slightly different from what we were told on Britannia last week. 

The waiters said they were happy to make any cocktail in any bar, as long as they had the ingredients. 

We had 'Mai Tai' all around the ship, even when not on the menu. 

The frozen cocktails must be different, and I suppose it depends on the helpfulness of the bar staff. 

Andy

17 minutes ago, laslomas said:

Just reading the thread entitled 'Britannia today, any questions?' and saw this in #100:

 

"To let you know we had an email this morning to say only a bottle of wine or champagne is allowed to be brought on board, but no vodka, or spirits.

It seems our cruise next week on Britannia is the first to do this."

 

So not a 'scam'.

 

 

That's from a trusted member too, coupled with what Moley said that P&O policy is not to announce officially until launch date, it is definitely not a scam, just not announced yet. 

Andy 

9 hours ago, airwaves said:

Thank you , just wondered if still at the very attractive prices per litre we experienced on Arcadia . Example  captain Morgan ! 

 

Can't remember the rum prices, but a bottle of Baileys was £24, supermarket prices here around £18.

Hope that gives you a bit of a guide. 

Andy

10 hours ago, Cloudyrain said:

It was pretty bad the whole cruise to be honest. Even the tributes were uninspiring (Rod Stewart or someone like that), and the newest lively music they played was awful 70s disco. No-one really danced and the bars were pretty quiet: there was a great woman singing ballads, but there's only so much romance/heartbreak I can cope with 😂 There was one formal night when it was a bit more lively, but it was like a ghost town by 10pm most nights. 
 

It's funny because on the Ventura and Iona we've always been quite lucky with them having some diversity in their entertainment and music choices, so maybe we just had a bad lull on Britannia: it was a covid-cruise so maybe they didn't want everyone bopping and breathing germs all over each other 😂

Oh we would have loved some 70s disco and I would bet most of the other people in the Live Lounge when we were there would have too. 

I think the problem was there was no 'mix', everything was this type of modern music that I can't even describe, but it wasn't any sort of dance music. 

Our tribute act was Paloma Faith, I am not a fan, but she was very good and we knew a few of her songs, but on her last show, ( 3 shows on 1 night) it was empty. 

Andy