mrsgoggins

I had Crepes Suzette prepared table side 2 nights ago on Ventura and my husband has the jamon Pata Negra likewise. When I commented that the same dessert had been brought ready-prepared to the table on Iona in March, the server sounded very knowledgeable in telling me that having been a Covid measure, service had been back to normal for the last 2 Iona sailings and that it was now fleet wide.

A gift left in our room this morning on Ventura The contents were x 2 but DH had his share immediately. He can have mine later (the G&T not the popcorn 😉). Nice gesture even though the mini canvas tote has a clear Made in China label inside.

Interesting. My experience is also that you need to be cautious with these early prices, but I’ve ‘risked’ £2 on a Canaries cruise next year, deluxe balcony. I also priced up Britannia for earlier the same month, 2 days longer and slightly different ports. Britannia was about £100 more and included parking and £300 OBC whereas the Princess Plus package includes wifi, drinks and gratuities. DH makes use of the drinks package even if I don’t, but I enjoy the specialty coffees and mocktails etc. Not much in it but we do like Sky Princess.

Oh dear, miserable cold weather does not, in my book, go hand in hand with feeling good about a destination. We did a Fjords cruise last year (not with P&O) and loved it so much that we are repeating the experience with friends who have never cruised before, but we had fine weather. I hope they get the ‘glitch’ sorted out for you soon. On my first ever P&O cruise some years ago, after returning home we discovered that my husband had been charged for items from the ship’s spa. Once we had stopped laughing (he being a man whose personal hygiene routine is accomplished with help from a discount supermarket’s own brand shampoo, soap, toothpaste and deodorant; the cheaper the better!) it took me a few phone calls to get them to accept that he had never been anywhere near the spa, let alone made expensive purchases. Hopefully as you are not the only ones to experience this, they can sort it quickly for you 🤞

I really like the breakfast on P&O! I like the fact that they serve 'proper' tea, that there are classy pots of Bon Maman jam and most of all, that toast comes in a toast rack and is therefore not soggy, unlike on US lines. And I've found P&O's eggs Benedict to be excellent. Like you, I am not a fan of Apex (sailed on her January last year) and so we are sailing on Silly back to FLL in October and then next April, we are returning with her to Amsterdam 😪 (we are not staying in Florida all that time though!). We especially value our Elites breakfast in Tuscan Grille on the S class ships. I do hope that the OP is finding more things to like on Iona. For me, like with Apex, it was a 'one time and done' ship, even though I know others really like it.

I could also give you things I prefer on P&O too 😉

Yes, I’ve seen the trolley coming round with tea and coffee in mornings in the buffet on Celebrity, but I couldn’t swear to it that it was on sailings out of Southampton. I do remember one highly entertaining Jamaican trolley guy who used to brighten everyone’s morning with his banter. While I don’t disagree that there often a large price difference between Celebrity and P&O, once you factor in that you need a deluxe cabin to compare like with like (ie with sofa), that difference shrinks a little. I keep a spreadsheet with costs of every cruise I have taken since 2015 (my first). This year, my first Celebrity cruise out of Fort Lauderdale cost £17 per person per night more than my recent Iona cruise. On the Celebrity we had internet, drinks package, gratuities and $150 OBC included. On P&O I had gratuities, parking and £150 of onboard credit included. I purchased the internet package at £12 per night, taking the difference down to £5 a night! Both cruises were purchased when they first went on sale. I do generally think that P&O provide good value however, and recognise the price difference is often large. Bargains are definitely to be had with inside cabins for example, as ‘from £495’ prices show. It is interesting to hear of others’ experiences, even if they don’t gel with your own, and even more so when the passengers are from overseas.

We have seen similar comments to those I have emboldened above so often that it’s difficult to ignore. We are not foodies, have done many cruises with many companies (including P&O) and have been happy with them all food-wise but the size of many of the meals served in the MDR on last month’s Iona cruise elicited raised eyebrows from us. I have posted elsewhere about one of the first meals we had on board when we both chose the roast turkey dinner. It comprised largely of 2 thin slices of turkey, 1 piece of roast potato, 2 sprouts, and a small chip-sized piece of parsnip. The taste was good enough I should add. Some meals were better than others but we did have the distinct impression that the food budget had been cut, particularly with the more expensive protein part of the meals. We did not go hungry of course, but that really isn’t the point, and nor is the ‘you can always request more’ suggestion. As has been pointed out, if it were a land-based restaurant, you just wouldn’t go back. I am due on Ventura again shortly and am hoping to notice a difference and make more positive comments.

I've seen a few 'ok' comments from you regarding the food and, as someone who was on Iona last month, I would definitely agree. The refills situation for breakfast drove my husband insane, and I don't think it's that unusual to want at least 2 cups of coffee/tea with breakfast. Good luck going forward with that! We did 2 Celebrity cruises back to back in January and the difference was startling. Celebrity is our favourite line, and I don't claim perfection for it, but we always feel there is a buzz about the service levels and speed of servers, which is not present on P&O. However, we have always felt that P&O gave good value - but maybe not so much on our last Iona cruise when we were also in a deluxe balcony - and have more bookings ahead (and also with Celebrity). Please do try Epicurean if you can, because that was really good, albeit at additional cost. I wish you a good experience and will read your posts with great interest.

I'm now thinking Chops Grille, or at home but dining out? I spy a side dish too, so I favour Chops! It's like a game, where can Graham be eating today? Coast and in-car McDonalds or somewhere fancy. Love it Graham - always makes me smile 💐

My comment was about the number of times this is now mentioned. I doubt anyone feels they are underfed on a cruise ship ……. but, people do notice a difference, and I think that is the issue. 👍 👍

Me too, me too 😄! I think you soon get a ‘feel’ for those online whose views you would share however.

I suspect that the post-Covid cruises have attracted more complaints largely due to staffing levels and (probably) a reduced food budget on some ships, hence the portion size reductions mentioned so often. I could be wrong of course, and things may be different on these 35-nighters next year 🤞

The banner along the top of the screen 'Member Cruise Reviews'. Happy reading 😁

I've just scared myself to death by reading reviews of Ventura's 35-night Caribbean cruises! I have one booked. Whilst I understand that the disgruntled are far more likely to share their experiences than the satisfied/happy, the reviews do seem a bit alarming, with only one exception. Anyone care to share their post-covid experience of these longer cruises on Ventura?

😂 And that would be my husband's idea of a nightmare start to a holiday, but nice try! I would need a good divorce lawyer. I have a Princess cruise in my future with an 11 am check in time that I selected. I take your point about a hotel check in, but there is a difference. I would aim to be at a hotel for the correct time. If the motorway closes in both directions, as has happened today on a motorway in this area, and I am headed to a hotel, it's inconvenient but nothing more - I arrive late. If I'm headed to a ship, it could leave without me! Hence the need to arrive early if travelling down on the day.

Absolutely! The one and only time we did the journey to Southampton in a day (from SW Lancashire) we were in Southampton McDonalds killing time from 10 am! Fortunately this was 2021, when all ships were sailing less than half full, and not with P&O, so we boarded as soon as we arrived at the ship. Every other time (and we have been frequent cruisers of late) we do an overnight at a Premier Inn with a check out time of noon, and yes, we could plan to be elsewhere - we have been to the NT venue at Mottisfont, and Peppa Pig World doesn’t appeal much - then you have the issue of leaving the car unattended with luggage, iPads etc, which we are not keen to do. We next have a boarding time of 3.30 to 4 pm and all suggestions would be gratefully received, or it’s back to Mottisfont again 🙄

My guess is Chef's table on Royal Caribbean!

I sincerely hope you get some reassurance very soon and are able to enjoy your cruise stress-free.

I'm very impressed, especially if you went to the trouble of making a hollandaise sauce from scratch 😇

This exactly! Last year we sailed with Celebrity and Princess out of Southampton and was able to choose our preferred boarding times in both cases. The Sky didn’t fall in.

The forecast in my bit of south west Lancashire for this evening is 1°C so brace yourself for re-entry! May the blue skies and calm seas remain with you in the Bay of Biscay 🤞

Sorry to hear that, it's a bit of a downer, so let's hope it's short-lived! And at least you have time to be fully recovered for your Florida trip 💐

Thanks for all the interesting responses. Quite a few games mentioned about which I know nothing …… yet 😉

Anyone else still doing Wordle, Quordle etc? I enjoy doing them (the dailies accompany my morning cuppa) but I've been trying - and failing miserably - to attain the 500 practice successes in a row with Quordle. I did make it as high as 330 towards the end of last year but haven't got anywhere near that since. You get on online 'Achievement' trophy if you manage it 😂. I know, I know ..... think of all the good books I could be reading, or stuff I could/should be sorting and chucking! Worse still, I've just bought a new iPad, and my AlphaBetty word game has reset when I had completed all 920 levels ..... so here I go again .... 😁 It's not as bad as it sounds in my defence. I do much of this, apart from the dailies, when the TV is on in the evening and if it's something I'm not especially interested in. Am I alone in my affection for online word games?