Camberley

Just from a personal view, it’s very much a “no frills” cruise company, but arguably without being too tacky. For the prices involved I think it’s absolutely fine, even in school holidays, but not particularly special if you crave something a bit more upscale - but it is, I feel, decent value for money for what it is.
 

We used to just do P&O but we now do far fewer P&O cruises in favour of other cruise lines which tick our boxes much better, but we still keep our options open with P&O.

52 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

I have also tried some of the desserts as they looked fine from the description but were tasteless. We used to have a local cafe where the lady who ran it made various vegan cakes and pastries which were delicious, so it can be done.

It can indeed be done and there are some phenomenal foods that are any combination of gluten-free, dairy-free, low sugar, low salt, suitable for vegans etc…..

Sadly, a combination of using cheap alternatives for the key ingredients (which are themselves often ultra-processed rubbish), and making the dishes without any real conviction or love of food, will rarely a result in a good dish! And for me, a good dish - be it suitable for vegans, meat eaters or whatever - should be able to stand up well in its own right rather than a very obvious afterthought to “tick a box”.

Ah I came to this thread thinking it was about the movie under the stars but with a typo 🤣

We are also likely to be jumping ship as for us P&0 has become far too watered down and the last couple of cruises with them has been only about adequate overall. We are finding that even the extras you pay for are becoming less value. We have one paid for this summer with family on Arvia…..But despite my criticisms of them - and praise where it has been due - I always board with a very positive mind, so fair play if they win me back over: I am giving them every chance to - and I really hope they do. 
 

Granted, other cruise companies have also made cuts and changes, but for us some of those in a simpler price bracket we have also done have offered better value and a better experience. Again, this is just how we feel: I appreciate how subjective it all is.

This thread is now well and truly saturated 

18 hours ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

Sorry for this. But obviously "To infinity and beyond"

Well, this issue has certainly generated quite the Buzz!

9 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

You've actually done that?

No although it sure seems like it at times

18 hours ago, tonit964 said:

I agree completely but currently Princess is saving me a ton of money by still allowing smoking in the casinos.

I will not drop one penny in there as long as it's smoking.

Absolutely the same: it’s like diving into an ashtray and rubbing it all into your clothes, skin and mouth. Just a horrid, horrid experience 

I’m so sorry about this and how you were treated onboard: a little concern for patients and looking out for them more can go a long way. I hope it doesn’t put you off cruising but I understand how you will be feeling at the moment,

17 hours ago, HappyGiraffe said:

Based on our experiences of Iona last year, the two weaknesses in the design seem to be that at times the "overspill thingy" filled up faster than it could drain, so if there was much movement in the ship then the water rolled up the nice conveniently-angled glass ramp and onto the balconies with a big splosh (especially from the corners if the ship rolled side to side) and that if someone was happily splashing water over the glass pool wall and managed to hit the right diagonal angle, there's not enough distance between the corner of the pool (on the right hand side of photo above) and the side of of the overflow to stop the water overshooting the overspill tray. We saw one little monkey who discovered this loophole and was making the most of it until a staff member caught up with him!

It really is a dreadful flaw - and each time we’ve been on Iona we’ve seen from that deck the deliberate splashing by folk on the pool - and have been with friends on their balconies below as water cascades down. And normal swimming etc in there doesn’t cause this waterfall onto the balconies below. Personally I’d throw the offending splashers and family off the ship at the next port 🤣

On 3/27/2024 at 11:08 AM, pennib said:

He didn’t even bring our canapés each afternoon.

Ah a lucky escape 🤣

Destinations aside, I have always found P&O to be fine for what it is: not downmarket and certainly not upmarket but no frills, pleasant, great crew and pretty reliable. There were signs of things such as little cuts here and there and deterioration in food quality (admittedly the food is a subjective view!): but these were fine for us as they were not major enough overall. And I don’t mind change of the experience is still good.

But in the last couple of years I am now much more selective with P&O in terms of the ship than I used to be and am less keen on the “pack em in and be damned” mentality with some of their recent ships where quality seems to take second place over quantity: again, purely my opinion. Plus some very poor customer services issues that still remain unresolved over a year or so later: customer services in several cruise companies are rarely first rate in my experience but with P&O I think this area has certainly taken a nosedive.

And of my cruises I now sail less with P&O (about 1/4 of my cruises are with them now compared to previously sailing exclusively with them). They still have something to offer for me, but I rarely find myself recommending them to others nowadays and I sail more with other companies that I find tick the boxes more for me - despite all of them still having their own “quirks”.

1 hour ago, Ladyshopper23 said:

It wasn't too clear what your friend did in relation to their meals Camberley - you said they looked at the menu for the next night? Did they actually make a pre-order, or did they just look and see there were some meals marked as GF, so decided that would be fine and then ordered at the time?

P&O are very good for marking up their menus, and a lot of their menu options are marked up as gluten free - far more than any other cruise line I've sailed on. However, unless you pre-order your meal in advance, then the meals will just come out with everyone else's and will have been made in the main galley, where not as much care will have been taken to avoid cross contamination (obviously not everyone that is gluten free has coeliac disease, so for some people this won't be a problem and it's fine for them to just order at the time). By pre-ordering, you should (in theory) ensure that your meal is made in the separate area of the galley that is specifically for allergy/special order meals, and so it should be a lot safer. Just like in a land based restaurant though, there is always that slight chance of cross contamination unless the kitchen is 100% gluten free, which if course it isn't.

I'm so sad to read about these bad experiences on here. If you see my signature you'll see I've sailed on a number of cruise lines being gluten free, and P&O has been the best of the lot (closely followed by Disney, but I don't have the budget to sail with them as often as I'd like to cruise, and would rather do 2 or 3 P&O cruises than one Disney cruise!).

She looked ahead, discussed with MDR and made a preorder, as she is used to doing on other lines. Which you would think would be good enough!
 

It was clearly not good enough.

And with so many elements of cruising we all get varying experiences. It was just a shame for her that first time, and to a lesser extent that second time

A dear friend of mine who is coeliac sailed with us on Iona last year: her first time with P&O. Being used to cruising with other companies and potential food issues, she gave very clear notification in advance - and checked each night for the following day just in case. She actually loved the selection on offer and each night had, in theory, a varied selection of some nice looking and what she felt was delicious food. Sadly she spent most of the cruise sick because of cross-contamination from non GF foods. And it wasn’t because of any seasickness: she assured me she knows her body if she is ill because of ingesting gluten etc. P&O had a kind of “sorry but we try our best” response, which was really poor.

However, she still went with P&O again earlier this year and apart from one meal she most of the cruise without being sick from cross contamination. For me even one meal messed up is bad - and there could be very severe implications for some people.

You can dress up as much as you want or you can dress more casually if you wish: just dress to the level YOU want (within reason depending on the venue and the “guidelines”: sometimes enforced, sometimes not) and be comfortable and confident in that. 

On formal nights, for example, I typically go reasonably smartish: decent trousers, shoes rather than trainers, standard shirt (often short-sleeved), tie and sometimes a suit jacket if going to a main dining room or speciality restaurant etc - rather than a full tuxedo/bow tie affair as that is what I find is more comfortable for me. But often the jacket is not needed and simply gets draped over my chair and I sometimes end up taking off my tie later in the night (shhh!).

There are some passengers who love to moan when other folk’s attire is not what they would want to see being worn, but at the end of the day you are there to enjoy your holiday and not to gain approval of insignificant others.

Whatever you wear, I hope you have a fabulous time.

35 minutes ago, Mama.nurse said:

Ah, sorry I don't think I was very clear. Myself and my husband will always be taking them and collecting them and probably floating near by as they are young I meant about the butler booking a slot for the following day for the children to have a space for the club. 

 

I have read lots about people not being best pleased with children in there and I didn't want to upset fellow guests. 

In all of our cruises in suites, we’ve always found the children at breakfast in Epicurean to be very well behaved so I wouldn’t worry about upsetting other guests.

23 minutes ago, Sussexboy said:

I think you may be getting mixed up, apparently P&O is meant to be Butlins-on-sea, not Butlers-on-sea….😉😂😂

 

I’ll get my coat

Well I did feel that ditching the sail aways for the knobbly knees competitions was a smart move

6 hours ago, david63 said:

Next thing that will be wanted is someone in an inside cabin will want a butler!

Wait, what? There’s no butler for inside cabins? On P&O? I thought they were available in 99.9% of all cabins. now where are my pearls to clutch?

A day of gentle house and garden work today, in and out of the rain showers. But excited to have just booked our first Cunard cruise: will be our 3rd cruise this year following Princess at Easter and P&O in the summer. for October. So for our first Cunard we’ve squeezed in 4 nights on Queen Victoria in a Queens Grill. Cannot wait. 

5 hours ago, MrBreeze said:

Will the Cruising Ducks be banned next? 

Oh if only 

11 hours ago, zap99 said:

We live an hour,or so away and book CPS parking. We leave fairly early from home and stop at Chandlers Ford for a coffee. About an hour before boarding time we drive the last few miles and pop into Mayflower park to watch the world and the ships go by. Around 30mins to boarding, off to the car park queue. A nice leisurely start to our holiday.

Pretty much the same routine here. And it really builds up the excitement of the cruise

You have clearly weighed up the significant other risks of cruising with so many others on board, esp. if going with someone who is vulnerable - and fair enough.
 

I totally get the allure of the glaciers etc: sometimes there are risks to be taken for the other benefits, whereas for some they would not. Each of us is so different.

I hope you have a wonderful cruise - and one that is as hygienically safe as is possible for a cruise. Enjoy the experience.

We’ve never taken cash - just credit cards. And if a place does not take cards then that’s their loss - although in all our travels, even buying at street markets and tiny stalls in remote places etc… we’ve never had that issue. We have only had 2 dodgy transactions, but at least with a credit card we were covered and things were easily and swiftly sorted at no expense to us.

It happens almost anywhere: schools, crowded shops, theatres….….. It’s about being as careful - and as hygienic - as you possibly can (whether or not food is involved).
 

True, you can’t do much about the dubious sanitary habits of others, esp. at a buffet or if folk are coughing and sneezing in lifts and corridors without covering their mouth etc…..but life is like that. Otherwise you would never leave the house.

Ah my daughter, Chardonnay. She is not for sale - although there are times when we would happily sell off her stroppy sister Lambrini.

I think it was on the drinks package the other month: we don’t buy the package as it is never even close to being worth it for us - and we do drink a fair bit of alcohol! But a friend on our cruise was on the drinks package and I am pretty sure she was mostly on Chardonnay. But if it is no longer on the package, it is arguably worth buying it as you go.