Red Leicester

This is a good and valid point. I work in the transport industry and read relevant forums, I’m a lurker there. There is much speculation and assumptions about why things are done and changed and in general any changes are met with disdain as you say and “not how I would have done it”. Things such as political landscape, resources, budgets, regulations and rules are not always considered or thought about. There are however snippets of information that are useful and prompt me to make changes or correct something. I also find there are two opinions on said forum, drivers opinions and the wrong one. I do deal with user groups and internal industry forums and find these more productive and positive as we take the time to explain and show why things can or can’t be done. If they can’t be done we have a discussion as to when it could be done or why it is unlikely to be done. As ever you can’t please all the people all the time and setting expectations is key. But open and transparent communication can work with the right and realistic people.

Is there a forum for P&O and their passengers? If not could there be? Bus and rail certainly have them. Issues like advanced booking could be discussed with a cross section of cruisers. Where issues are flagged then P&O can say this can be fixed, this can be partially fixed or this can’t be fixed. I find the latter is equally as important as the fixed as at least then everyone knows where they stand.

Good good. Add you in for the passenger forum then 🙂

Running to the Exec is extreme in my opinion on this, and most, issues. It'll only get passed down and take days to get anywhere and to the right person, adding to the frustration and stress. And you just end up with a standard politicians reply that won't help. If you want some info out of me, I'm subject to Freedom of Info requests, then the pleasant ones get resolved within a couple of days, the obscure even quicker. The real pedantic ones, or ones that have bounced back and getting ruder in tone take a longer time and are replied to nearer the end of the statutory requirement. Ones sent via my CEO and land on my desk, and I'm six levels down from them, get the bare minimum in response and detail, by the time the info is sent back up and put into proper grammar it becomes even more corporate and meaningless. My record is a reply in six minutes from someone wanting some info so they could complete a safety assessment to adopt a cat. We all have soft spots. Do P&O do passenger forums where things like this can be discussed openly and sensibly with both sides prepared for a bit of give and take?

If the price is right and cheaper then we need to accept service and quality may not / will not be A1. You pay £1 for a flight with a budget airline and it’s delayed then customer service isn’t going to brilliant, why people think it will be staggers me to be honest. Manage your expectations and all that. P&O certainly isn’t cheap compared to others but is cheaper then luxury lines but for the price I pay I feel I get value for money in all honesty. I’d much rather pay less and have the odd compromise, and accept as such. We have looked at other lines which cost more and have weighed up the pros and cons and don’t agree that paying more equals better value. Yes, we may get more but for us we wouldn’t use it. We can’t have our cake and eat it.

Why choose P&O then out of curiosity?

There should also be something done for booking stuff and then being a no-show. Same applies for people who reserve seats on trains and then don't turn up. Though I can jump into that if needs be. And don't get me started on being able to reserve a seat mid-journey on a train. You get comfy at Birmingham in a free seat heading to York and unbeknownst it is booked after you leave Brum and you are turfed out at Burton. That's for a different forum though!

Lower prices all the way for the me. And when people jump ship (no pun intended) to the competition that suits their needs it may mean more changes can happen on P&O. Some change is good. Not all, some will be awful, and depends how you do it. But some change is good.

Indeed we should. I'm all for valuing loyalty but not 90% of everything going before newbies have a chance to experience and the rest getting snapped up in minutes on board. Ultimately it will stop some coming back which is what P&O rely on.

It is what it is I guess. I'm not fussed by fine dining so I'm not losing out there. But we wanted to try the Olive Grove and that was fully booked every time we tried. I'm not sure if you can book these as soon as you board but if you can that is also a little unfair on those with a later boarding time. I stand to be corrected though.

Indeed. But impossible for those that can't be up at midnight. Or those that bag two of something when others get nowt. I have no objection to booking one early doors.

So really is first come first served and unlucky for those who can't book in time ahead of boarding.

No to which bit and why is it dangerous? I'm sure I read on here a year or so back someone emailing the CEO as they couldn't get the booking they wanted.

I agree with a post up there somewhere... Find out what you drink on your first cruise and go accordingly with a package / no package on the second. I would always go for the non-alcoholic package now, I've worked out I get my monies worth over the course of a holiday and don't then have to worry having paid up front. No doubt some port days I don't break even but on most I easily do and then some so it balances. I just don't drink enough alcohol to justify double the fee so I pay as I go for beer. I think you are limited to 15 per day. That's a lot, even at height of my student days I rarely went north of ten. Each to their own on it. If you think it's worthwhile then do it, if you don't then don't! Having paid for 90% of my drinks upfront leave me one less bill to worry about,

Do they hold any back for those that aren't as organised or have to work at midnight so can't book or is it just tough?! This is one thing I don't think is fair that it's first come first served on bits that are extremely limited or where people have to budget. Or maybe limited people booking to one Epicurean etc to leave chances / opportunities for others.

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Shameless plug for my map, click here, Reykjavik is listed.

Times are changing. I am heading home from the office having ended the day with a discussion over the wearing of… what do you call them again… erm… ties! That’s it. Been a while since I wore one but some still do. That’s another marmite thing. I’m surprised the Glass House wasn’t formal. I thought it would be so never ventured near it on formal night.

I’ve commented on this before. But in summary: - I respect those that want to do formal night. - I respect those that do not want to do formal night. - I respect and abide by the decency rules and regs as I would do at all times. - if you don’t want to do formal night you don’t have to. It isn’t mandated. I did two weeks on Britannia last year and didn’t take formal wear full stop. - you do need to accept some areas of the ship are off limits. Crows Nest, main restaurant, epicurean etc are formal only. Some others bars were formal only. Buffet, pub, Beach House were mixed and you could go in non-formal. - you will not stand out by not wearing formal on formal night but you will probably be in the minority. - my food doesn’t taste any different whether I am in formal or not. - no one has yet told me their food tastes any different whether you are are in formal or not. - it is my holiday. I go to enjoy myself and switch off. I do not want to do formal night. I don’t have to do formal night. I accept there are parts of the ship I cannot access on formal night. - those in formal wear are as jovial as those in non-formal wear as in my experience. I enjoyed a meal in the Beach House in non-formal next to a table of formal wear and they were very rowdy. - do what makes you happy and comfy and don’t worry about what others think or do. If people want to get wound up by me not wearing formal then let them. It’s not my problem, pick yer battles and all that!

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Hello All, Hope everyone is well. Not read all this thread but will add in my thoughts so if repetitive then apologies. P&O will have a business model and know what they are doing. Theirs appears to be the mass market, if that's what they need to do to stay in business then they will. Times change as noted many times on this forum and the 80/20 rule applies. 80% will accept and 20% won't. Also demographics change as has what people want to do. Iona etc may be aimed at families but not everyone has children (I'm in the 20% that don't) and during term time it is a better environment for Mrs RL me. It is also when groups of friends travel. If I had friends and wanted to travel with them I would choose Iona during term time! I haven't worked out yet whether I'm surprised or not surprised how many children are on board during school term time but it will still be a lot less then during school holidays. The web browser non-app is what it is, it's here to stay and will improve over time. I have never known a piece of software come in that is perfect. I don't live on my phone nor hate it, though the amount of time I now spend at work with headphones in on calls is awful, and accept it is needed for certain things. A lot of places are app only. I play board games and a lot of those have an accompanying app. Dress codes have been regularly discussed. Informal is more to the fore these days it would appear, if that's what people want then that's what P&O will do. I'm only a cruiser now as a lot of formality has gone, this was my number one concern when booking that first cruise. Don't get me wrong I'm not totally uncouth (although me grammar is bad) but I don't want to be told what I have to wear and when I have to eat and where with what. As I keep saying on other threads why does what I wear make anyone elses food taste any different? And I accept my movement are restricted for an evening. My food doesn't taste any different because some are in black tie I can assure you. Simply put if we don't like P&O and the way they are headed then we jump to someone else. I have very little loyalty to brands or shops etc and will flit between many. If one does something I don't like I go elsewhere. If I receive bad service in say Morrisons or they don't have what I want I go to T E Stockwell & Cohen next time. I hope to have a good 40 years of cruising ahead of me and that is what P&O have tapped into. In 30 years time they and societal needs will have changed and I may have to look elsewhere to a more niche line that does what I want. I won't blame P&O as they don't need me anymore, they will be appealing to those who have another 40 years in them. Also as I keep saying it's your holiday, just go and enjoy it accepting perfection isn't possible, except in my case of course, and if you don't like it book elsewhere next time. P&Os loss is someone elses gain. I've only done four cruises with P&O, not even a novice cruiser I suspect, and every one has been fantastic despite the pre and post changes. Have they been perfect? Probably not but it's a holiday so I don't go looking nor sweat the small stuff. One last thought though is I like things to be fair. I don't like the fact that I board and a lot of things are booked up already. Everyone should get a fair crack of the whip at things and it doesn't always seem possible. Mrs RL and me wanted to sample the Olive Grove on Iona and fully booked and we checked a couple of times a day each day. I'm all for book early to avoid disappointment and having a bit for loyalty but keep some open for everyone else who are later bookers.

How much for a number 1 back and side and trim on top?

Never had any issues with cleanliness. Seen plenty of shower heads outside in buckets, seen the room vacuumed, seen the shower and privy being cleaned, seen the balcony cleaned. I see constant cleaning around the ship, all days. It's a live working ship with thousands of people, it's going to get dirty. When boarding look for the good exciting things rather than walking on going "I wonder what they haven't done this time, let's see what I can find to complain about". If you go looking you will find fault for sure, I would anywhere with anything. Go on glass half full not half empty. As ever it's your holiday, take it as you find it, don't listen to others, don't be swayed by others, don't go looking for issues, just go and enjoy it. If you do have an issue be polite, use the right tone and non-verbal gestures, it'll get sorted. Make demands and they will not be too bothered and do the bare minimum. If one of my team comes to me at work with an issue and asks for something then I will listen and agree / compromise or do them a favour. If one of my team comes to me at work demanding something then I will listen and they get whatever the policy states, nothing more, nothing less. Some learn, some don't, some never will.

The Smash n Grab, thank Maurice Grumbleweed on Oriana for that one, is very Marmite, you either love it or hate it. I'm rare in never ever having eaten in the Main Dining Room. Like some I eat to live, get in, get it scoffed, get out. Never had an issue in there nor something that should have been warm or hot not being so. Some odd menu choices some nights but there would be in the Main Dining Room plus I don't have to interact with anyone nor worry I'm using the wrong cutlery. The only poor thing I had was custard on Britannia last year, I've mentioned this before. People who don't like the buffet will pick fault. People who don't like formality pick fault with the Main Dining Room. It's your holiday, eat what you want, where you want, how you want, with who you want. Well within reason please don't come and sit with me, I'm unsociable! Enjoy it, don't sweat the small stuff, don't expect every meal to be absolute perfection, don't look for fault, don't worry what other people choose to do or how they find things. Concentrate on what you like. Relax and enjoy your cruise! Ever since calories have been shown on everything I'm shocked how calorific rocky road is. I'm also not surprised about c/mocktails given I can feel my teeth shattering after a sip...

I’m still in! Reminds me of a company I worked for where we told all our clients we weren’t sending Christmas cards and we would make a charity donation instead. And sent that out as a first class letter…