No pager thank you

Thank you, yes, today is cooler, but sunny today in Lisbon, an improvement on Cadiz yesterday, weather has been great overall. On Iona, there are the Aqua, Coral, Pearl and Opal MDR restaurants, all serving the same menu largely. On Arvia, the two smaller Iona equivalent restaurants have been replaced with the American and Mediterranean restaurants. This means that there are only two MDR restaurants, Meridian (Deck 6) and Zenith (Deck 7). One of the issues is that the quoted demand level for "formal dining" cannot be serviced properly with just these two options. This gets worse when the table allocation and waiting on ratios are further reduced. Quality is variable. 2 hours plus for MDR dinner standard. This is because, despite being free of charge, P&O cannot move the residual demand to the new options in the same degree. As it happens, we like the American restaurant, particularly the breakfast option, but for an evening meal, it is not traditional "formal dining." The success relies on the guests choosing to pay for the upgrade options, and availability being available - for example Sindhu, The Beach House, Epicurean, Limelight Club, Keel and Cow etc. Also, people appreciating the buffet option and expanded informal dining like The Quays. Essentially, the only way to avoid significant queuing for dinner is to both book early and use the paid upgrade options. But, being positive, because the fares are being lowered, the value for money is still there.

Currently in Lisbon on the aforementioned cruise, I will leave a fuller review upon return; great and good, bad, and downright ugly. From my experience, can confirm that whilst the WiFi and Christmas Dinner gained the most attention, these are not the only issues on Arvia, and it has been more difficult than we would have expected for a maiden voyage; this being our fourth for comparison purposes. Some of the issues are "baked in," and partly come of the fact that the MDR restaurants are more popular than yhe two new options, 6th Street Diner (American) and Olive Grove (Mediterranean). Service standards improved for New Years Eve, food quality less so; but the main act, Ronan Keating was excellent and made for a great evening. All passengers have been provided with £150 per person (£300 per cabin) of OBC to recognise the poor service received. Note this was provided automatically, the hunch of a previous poster was correct. There is also a rumour that Paul Ludlow has been flown in to the Canaries to oversee the recovery. I haven't seen him, although the Captain has been seen a few times. Next cruise down to £779 for two weeks, they are still pushing the fill rate.

It may be different now than earlier this year on Iona, however it was then possible to pre-book a table in the MDR. Where possible, this was only at either a very early (pre, or sometimes at 6pm) or very late (after 9pm) time. Same applied for breakfast in the MDR, with a very early slot only available. Lunch was fine. I believe that it was possible also to book days ahead, whilst on board if you so wished, subject to the above. App is awful, you have to remember to keep refreshing the page to be "pinged" when it is your turn. On our cruise on Aurora earlier this year, the balance feature stopped working after week 1 for everyone om board, but P&O still found a way to keep counting of course 🤣 If this becomes a problem a good tip is to consider booking a specialty restaurant for the first evening on board, as they tend to be less popular then, occasionally there is an offer on, and you get a fixed time to plan the evening around after you have unpacked and began to orientate yourself around the ship etc. My experience has been that waiting times have got longer as the app was introduced and "flow" has got worse. Certainly that was noticeable on Iona. The reason appeared to be that areas of the MDRs were closed off earlier in the evening, because the staffing ratios have decreased (and the staff can't see the queue physically), however my cruise was at a time when passenger numbers were deliberately lower due to Covid, so perhaps different now. The challenge with this system is that, as all passengers are on Freedom Dining, and assuming you want to be dining between 7pm and 9pm say, then you have to "guess" which queue will be quickest, which is not necessarily the shortest one. Those who cannot use the system are given a manual pager. This "guessing system" contrasts with the smaller ships where the allocation staff may add you to the queue at a certain point, if you want to dine at the same time each day and you let them know. However, you have to accept waiting invariably long periods if you have a preference for a particular table/area I.e., you have developed a rapport with the team waiting on. The cynic in me says that the system is in part designed to encourage greater bar tabs from pre dinner drinks as people wait. Hence, we tend to guess the queue length and add ourselves to the queue whilst getting ready to go out for the evening. That said, the 15 minutes to get there on Iona is trickier than on Aurora! Hope this helps...would be interested if there are any changes as I assume that it will be similar on Our Vera!

Yes, we have been on Aurora for Christmas a few years ago from Southampton, before the pandemic; highly recommended. IMHO, as a "cold" cruise it is special to go to the Christmas Market in Oslo (or the village of Drobak), Tivoli in Copenhagen and a trip to Bruges (or possibly Brussels which has a great market). Weather is no worse than at home. We are off to the Canaries this Christmas.

My understanding is that the Bingo is regulated under US rules, as it is an extension of a casino game. May be wrong, but that's in all the onboard casinos. If it helps illustrate your point, on a recent cruise on Aurora where the typical number of players was anywhere between 35 and 60, we were (sad I know), able to work out the difference between incomings (£6-15 per player) and total payouts - around 30% I think on a couple of occasions. Same for the "race nights." Good for income for the subsidiary. I think that the most allowed to be paid out is 50% of takings, but again that may be incorrect. Theoretically, I suppose, the company could lose if the bingo jackpot was won every day, however that is exceptionally unlikely to happen and indeed the early jackpot payouts are a rare occurrence - although I did hear that someone managed it on the Iona Maiden. In case it is won, it resets to a much smaller amount to lower the net risk. The "jackpot" does get paid out on the final sea day, unless it varies by ship. In the last game, there is no ball count. Clearly the jackpot is bigger for the players but is harder to win. It is worth playing, some would say, for the (very unlikely) possibility that a win of the jackpot on the final sea day could clear your on board bill. That could be achieved by a single stake of £15....

Want to avoid the middle seat on the Tender...? How about an exclusive service to avoid check in online...? Care to pre-book your "Freedom Dining" time...? Can we tempt you with adding access to the new "Loyalty Lift" to avoid the queues? Take control of your holiday with P&O Cruises...😂

To add to this, we are booked on the Christmas sailing on Our Vera, so now the Maiden, as it currently stands. I'm sorry for those who actually paid for this experience and have been let down again. However, it was telling yesterday that when we passed a message on to friends in conversation, their response was, "So are they going to cancel your cruise in a couple of weeks time then?" "What will you do if they cancel Christmas too - will you just stay at home, you'll not get something else that close that's affordable. " Response was, "Well, mid December cruises are not peak fares and they were struggling to fill it, Christmas will cost them a small fortune as some passengers are paying a lot more, so they'll be reluctant to do that, even if she's not quite ready." The 10pc premium (and a lottery for a "look what you could have had" tour) is not enough to compensate for the costs of rebooking a holiday at that notice and you can do without the worry. Yes its T&Cs, but yes it's also trust, reputation, and customer confidence. Takes you back to the 90 day balance due issue when these scenarios are at play. Absolutely P&O should not have been promoting bookings on a cruise this week that they thought could have been cancelled. Sorry again for those affected and hope that you get chance to sail on the new ship soon.

Yes, I noticed that, a particularly good deal on Ventura I saw to the Canaries also. We were looking at a Christmas cruise, where for the last few years (including this year on Arvia) the prices have risen from launch, booking to now (this also takes out the "£100 off"). Clearly, Christmas/New Year and the school holidays are the likely ones out. That's where we found the deal I mentioned. My take on the launch price issue is that with the select fare, you can move the booking before the balance is due, thereby taking advantage of any reduction in price, if its significant and your deposit exposure is 5%. However, you also immunise from the price increase possibility, particularly for a peak time cruise. The unknown is with headline inflation going at 10% steady and two years of inflation to factor in, I'm not sure how attractive the late deals will look in 2 years time - hard to say. That said, people who took the FCCs and rebooked are essentially being penalised now as I see it.

Speaking of the new brochure ... 3 weeks on Iona available for less than £1500 per passenger, not bad value in terms of value... Points noted in advance around not wanting to travel on a floating small town in terms of numbers and finding your way on board, etc etc ... ; )

In terms of the EU, it may be worth looking at providers who use Three's network. For my existing mobile phone, I can use my mobile data at no additional cost whilst in the EU - this didn't change post Brexit and its only £5-7 per month. This means I don't need to worry about turning my phone off whilst in port and will use it normally for calls/data/texts etc. If you don't have this facility and want to use data then the key is to go to a cafe/restaurant/public place and use their data feed, to avoid being charged (or pay the "data passporting" fee) which varies from network to network. I do make sure to turn the flight mode on (and mobile data off) whilst at sea, as the Maritime costs of using data are extortionate and can't be got around. I also can wait a few days before picking up emails/voicemails, as the internet packages on P&O are expensive in my opinion.

No problem - not yet in terms of the specialty restaurants, we have them both booked this weekend coming and looking forward to them. As reassurance, we didn't have any issues with booking either. Noticeably, there is no "pushing" going on for these specialty restaurants (or the on the board retail offer, beyond the usual daily 25% sales) - stock levels look quite tight (a few items/sizes unavailable at the start of the cruise from items we asked about). Spa being pushed as normal too.

We have just purchased the 12 bottle version on board (that way the OBC pays ... ) You purchase directly in the main dining restaurant. 6 bottle is the same. Only catch is that the wines are accessible from there only...if using a specialty dining restaurant then a different wine list is passed to you. Savings are about 25% depending on the bottles you choose.

I recall being asked to update on Aurora: - Sindhu open. - Beach House open. - Glass House open, but not offering food (beyond cheese, all cruise). - All bars seemingly open. Aurora does not sail "full," even though she is "sold out," not 100% sure on pax numbers. Other points of interest: - Entertainment (daytime) - cut whilst in port today (no quizzes and such like). - Remember to request toast at breakfast. - Glass House cut out of drinks programme. - Pagers have made a return for all meals apart from lunch and it seems as if the afternoon tea isn't on. 🤦 Good cruise so far, shop and facilities looking fine overall. Regards from Cartegena!

Thanks for confirming - 🙂

In terms of the OP question, my personal view is that the drinks package overall is priced so high and so restrictively that it's almost as if P&O don't want the American "all inclusive" cruise line to permeate too much. They would rather rack up on board spend in other ways IMHO. I saw references in the thread to wines and champagne - there is another option to consider. Guests can purchase either the "Captains" or the "Commodore" selection of wines. There is a reasonable choice, good quality, and can be purchased in either six or twelve bottles in the MDR only. Notably, the price comes to around £20 per bottle on the "Captains" package (£245 for 12 I believe), which is considerably better value than purchasing a bottle from the standard menu in the MDR in most cases which were increased in price and reduced in breadth of choice as part of the post pandemic changes. They can be purchased on board in the restaurant and not the worst way to use P&O's OBC ... particularly the "free £150" some of us have received ... 😉 However, it's not pushed, so you have to ask. On a separate point, I'm not sure if they still do a Costa coffee card (X10) which comes to about £2 - £2.50 a cup. That's not bad if you prefer a different brand to the buffet (and better than the "hot drink" package - anyone who drinks that much caffeine to make that package great value we are yet to meet)!!

From the P&O Booking Conditions: P&O Cruises will allow the transfer without treating it as a cancellation if the P&O Cruises holiday to which the transfer is to be made departs within 12 months (within 6 months in the case of transfer from a World Cruise, Classic Southern Hemisphere Journey, Grand Tour or Exotic Fly-cruise) of the original and is for a higher price. Agreement to transfer a Package would also be conditional upon such a request being made more than 90 days before the original scheduled departure date; there being availability; and to payment of any expenses (such as airline and/or hotel charges) incurred by P&O Cruises as a result. Such a transfer would only be allowed on one occasion. The criteria for allowing transfers may be changed by P&O Cruises at any time without notice. Guests who have booked an Early Saver or a Saver shall not be entitled to transfer to another Package and the provisions of this clause 15 shall not apply. In terms of relevance to people who have booked a Select Fare - the following scenario could occur: 1) Cruise booked in March next year - let's say £1,000 each for two people sharing an inside cabin, total £2,000. Customer pays £100 deposit (5%) and let's say has £100 OBC. 2) P&O then introduce an offer reducing the price of a very similar cruise (let's say same ship, the itinerary before or after the one booked) now £800 each. They are also now offering £200 of OBC for an inside cabin, and even more OBC for a higher grade, including outsides, balconies and suites. In this example, let's say that the price of the balcony cabin on this new cruise is £1050 pp. 3) The customer can't directly switch to the second cruise without losing their £100 - which some people may choose to, if the overall deal is better, which it would be in this scenario. They also can't change their cabin on their current cruise, if the price has fallen, as they have to pay the relevant price when they booked. 4) However, if the customer has booked a Select Fare and moves their booking before the balance due date, they could "switch and upgrade" their booking to the balcony cabin, for the new cruise; transfer their £100 deposit (and pay slightly more to make it 5 or 15%); and get more OBC. In this scenario, the conditions are met. The extra £100 paid in this scenario for the balcony cabin would be less than the extra OBC gained, so the customer would benefit from "switching and upgrading." Some people won't want the hassle or want to check prices after they book, all fair enough. However, if the deal is good, and the conditions are right then it can make sense to move bookings, particularly considering that on the new cruise you retain choice of cabin and dining. This assumes you don't very particularly want a cabin number which may have gone by the time you come to switching bookings. Hope this helps and sorry for the long-winded answer!

Hmm...bit of a puzzle is this, I'm usually a bit wary when they are generous without needing to be! 1) It's clearly not linked to loyalty status, about why you get the OBC. 2) It doesn't appear to be linked to date. 3) It doesn't appear to be definitively linked to when you booked (we have had OBC based on booking either at, or close to launch). 4) It doesn't appear to be linked to the length of the sailing directly. 5) It doesn't appear to be goodwill "compensation" for reduced facilities on board. So, I favour it being linked to the strength of sales for the cruise, and the company seeking to keep the "boarding" price quite similar. Also, then enticing more people on with extra OBC, but not to go so far that enough passengers look and work out that it is worth losing their (typically) 5% deposits by cancelling and rebooking, or using the "switch and upgrade" feature on their select price booking. The interesting point is, for passengers now with substantial OBC, are they creating a type of "all inclusive" cruise by the back door, as you can essentially get a reduced price drinks/wine package using "their" money? They must think that how much people will spend of their own money will either be the same or is going to increase as a result. Or perhaps this is a cruise critic feature and they are wanting some better reviews 😂

Last cruises April and May this year. With respect to our forthcoming cruise on Aurora next week, that was shown as "sold out" on all cabin grades more than four weeks ago. It will be interesting to see if she actually sails full and indeed if any upgrades have been offered. I'm guessing not. Have to say Aurora with 850 guests was a good cruise, although the coffee bar and indeed "Champions" still got full regularly in the evening!

My guess (nothing more) is that Carnival will adopt this approach across the brand soon, including P&O, maybe wrong. Notably, the Autumn booster programme appears initially restricted to groups 1-9, which will mean that for some passengers, it could be more around a year since they had their last course of vaccine (depending on age and various other factors). This would mean that the current policy would need to change anyway as currently written. The other way of looking at it is to (sadly) consider the possibility of a growth in influenza and a new COVID-19 variant at the same time - how does the company want to manage these factors and how are passenger attitudes changing?

Happy to update once we are on board

It's been from on board observation from two P&O itineraries, one Iona, one Aurora. One which was notable was a sailing on Aurora which departed (we were advised) by approximately 850 passengers, but, as I said, with many balcony cabins seemingly unoccupied. We had selected the "free" upgrade option, but nothing was provided to anyone we spoke to on board. We asked a question and were advised (on the sales desk) that, due to the low occupancy, there was no need to upgrade guests from the "headline" inside / outside rate, as bookings could be accommodated at that price point (i.e., using more inside and outside cabins). Therefore, the rationale didn't exist to upgrade guests...made sense from a P&O perspective.

We sail on Aurora next week and there are no advance dining options bookable (including gift packages where this may be included). We got a message warning about two weeks before sailing. I read one message on this thread suggesting that Aurora's Sindhu and Beach House were available and that was our experience earlier this year when her staffing was lower. Fingers crossed as we enjoy both. However, it does appear that matters are not consistently coming back to normal by the end of August as initially forecast - annoying app and virtual pagers still being pushed although we just largely ignored them on our last cruise.

We just received extra OBC for our cruise next week (apparently was full several weeks ago) and again at Christmas. Was pleasantly quite surprised by the latter as wouldn't have thought that occupancy was low and there was any need for them to be generous. That said, we now have £250, which with current inflation, will be worth about the same as a coffee in the canteen by the time we set sail!

Maybe P&O will send an online auction page via one of its emails ... ah, just remembered, its IT system wouldn't cope! You can just see them trying to do a video introducing the auction soon, but I can't see this going down very well with most P&O customers, unless the "bidding" is notional. On a related topic, I have noticed that on sailings with lower occupancy, balcony cabins appear to be left unsold in some cases, as opposed to offering to guests paying inside or outside fares (and not just in the COVID-19 isolation areas either), so this is an extension to that line of thinking.

If it helps, and depending on the ship you are travelling on, we found on Iona that the formal wear dress code was not enforced in the Limelight Club, which gives an option, and on Britannia. As we chose to, many guests did wear black tie, lounge suits, and ladies dinner dresses, however others wore jeans and trainers and were admitted without difficulty. I would also observe that the formal dress code appears infrequently enforced in the main dining rooms on the P&O ships. We have often seen guests wearing smart casual clothing be admitted on formal nights. Yes, there is a risk that you may be asked to change and I suppose it's how and what you feel comfortable in, but I wouldn't take it as a given that you would be denied entry somewhere for dining purposes because you don't comply "exactly," times have changed. Comments about theatre and entertainment venues - yes agree.