Malcesine

8 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

You will find all the P&O info you need on the portion of Cruise Critic devoted to P&O, located here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/22-po-cruises-uk/

Thanks, I have looked through this board and it's very helpful.

What I don't see though is how P&O are performing generally relative to others and whether many of the criticisms are well founded and fair or are more outliers from a small amount of customers that don't reflect the typical experience of the majority.

9 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

If you routinely stay in 4.5 star hotels, no mass market cruise line will provide a similar experience

 Thanks for reply - just to clarify I meant the reviews left by customers on their experience should normally be 4 or 4.5 for me to feel confident it will be a good experience. Not star rating.

P&O get around 3 to 3.4 which is extremely  low for a £5k cruise.

Ready to book first ever cruise to Norwegian fjords this year.

Did a ton of research and best itinerary and value is P&O with Princess a close 2nd.

However I look up multiple P&O reviews and they are awful, between unreliable old ships, low quality free for all buffets, plumbing issues and norovirus outbreaks they sound like a disaster.

There are a fair few satisfied customers too to be fair.

Princess equivalent does very slightly better but not by much.

At an average rating 3 to 3.5 out of 5 - put it this way, I'd never book a hotel or holiday much below 4.5.

My question is, are P&O really that bad and I should steer clear or are cruisers just super picky and harsh critics?