Where are all the P&O cruisers?

:D It seems to me that these message boards are not frequented by many P&O cruisers? Is there any other message boards on any other sites that are more geared towards the P&O cruises appart from cruiseconnections, which is never available! (sorry CC Hosts:eek:)

:D It seems to me that these message boards are not frequented by many P&O cruisers?

I have to tell you, it was so tempting to deliberately not reply to this! ;)

 

The only purely British message board I know of is this one. But frankly it doesn't look any better than CC. I don't feel at all guilty about posting the link, though, because I notice that people post links from there back to here.

I keep reading, hoping for news/info, but it seems so abandoned :) I haven't asked any questions - I asked some on CC when it sped up after their 'relaunch' & got replies, but its not as nice to use as CruiseCritic as its difficult to see later replies.

I also look at ShipHappens occasionally, but its mainly Ocean Village & Sea Wing queries/comments at the moment.

Another one I use if the theunofficialpandoclub on Yahoo - but its very quiet too.

 

Perhaps we should make a concerted effort to get/keep this one active :D If only I could think of some questions!!

 

Ok Got one...

 

Karen

And you won't find too many of us colonials positing about P&O - very difficult to book P&O from the US. Sister company Princess doesn't seem to acknowledge they exist - but that may change (I hope) in the near future.

 

Would love to take Oriana (new) through the Suez. Rode old Oriana twice - lovely ship in her day.

 

Michael

Perhaps we should make a concerted effort to get/keep this one active :D If only I could think of some questions!!

Karen

Karen your right... I keep looking at the princess board and wishing for such a plethora of threads on the P&O board!

 

And you lucky thing... three weeks away from the Oceana! I cant wait til next September when we go! :D

>> And you lucky thing... three weeks away from the Oceana!

Yes I know, but brother is STILL waiting for his passport :( - beginning to get a bit nervous about it!! he's promised to take a day off work to visit the passport office if it goes on :D

 

>> I cant wait til next September when we go!

I'm already scouring the brochures for my next one - but got to wait til bro been on one cruise and decides if he likes it or not!! (I've got my eye on some of these south american ones, but they tend to be more than 14 days - can I justify 22 days to the boss!!

 

Karen

Can you justify 22 days to yourself!

 

Boses always fall for the "trip of a lifetime" line! you can swing it!

Yes I know, but brother is STILL waiting for his passport :( - beginning to get a bit nervous about it!! he's promised to take a day off work to visit the passport office if it goes on :D

He should try calling them first. I was full of cynicism when I did this to chase my own passport last year. I was very surprised when within a few minutes was talking to someone in the office in which my application was being dealt with, and within a couple of hours to an examiner who approved the renewal over the phone - and the passport was on my desk at 9 am the following morning.

It's great to see some messages on this board and long may it continue. The ship happens board seem mostly to be used by people who cruise on Ocean Village or Thomson Cruises and very rarely by P&O cruisers. We're going on a P&O ship, Adonia, for the first time next Jan and can't wait. Have other people had problems registering on the Cruise Connections Board of P&O? I filled in the registration and got sent an e mail which I had to click on to activate. This took me to the CC board which asked me to fill in my email and password. When I did this it then asked me to fill an authentic email and password. I have sent an email to P&O but so far have heard nothing.

It would be great if many more people used this board. Some of the tips and pointers on the Princess board are interesting to me as people went on Adonia when it was Sea Princess but it would be great to read about people's trips on P&O ships. How about people posting reviews of their trips for us novices to read. It would be great.:)

And you won't find too many of us colonials positing about P&O - very difficult to book P&O from the US.

Soon, I think you may be able to book through the P&O mainline website - although there may be the usual issues about the country of the credit card and whether they'll take a non-UK address online.

I would love to flood this board with tips on cruises and reviews from my many cruise trips, but alas, i havent been on one yet. Not til next september anyways. But i love the idea of it and i am sure i will love the cruise experience. I do intend on sailing with as many lines as possible to get a feel for the overall cruise experience.

 

As soon as i have experienced this i will inundate this board with reviews, pics, and grumps (hopefully not) i expect!

 

But for those of you who have been on cruises already then post your experiences, let us newbies read your review or story on your last cruise(s)! P&O preferable but any will do for starters!

Globaliser

 

Thanks for the advice, I will keep it in mind - its not actually due yet, it's just that it seems to be going on forever, as his first application, made when we booked, was rejected as his reference was not 'good' enough :confused: - it should arrive this weekend / early next week - it just makes me nervous this close to departure - I keep having to check my passport to make sure it really is still valid :D

 

Karen

Can you justify 22 days to yourself!

 

Boses always fall for the "trip of a lifetime" line! you can swing it!

 

Cost is also an issue :D especially if I end up having to go alone.

Another issue is that most sailings round South America require flying to and from the area and I haven't actually flown before :o

First time flyer and first time solo cruiser - I am not sure I could deal with that!

I am hoping my brother will like cruising enough to want to do it again & he can show me the ropes re flying

 

That said this 12 day cruise coming up has issues of its own - I've never left the cat for that period of time before - haven't mentioned the litter boxes to the neighbours yet :D

 

Karen

Hello,

To all looking for a board predominantly P.O. suggest looking at http://www.welovecruising.co.uk This can be found within Yahoo clubs and is controlled by a P.O. devotee.Plenty of info here and related matters concerning P.O.

regards,

Iain

Iain, are you sure about that URL? It comes up with nothing for me, even on a whois search - the domain is simply unregistered.

welovecruising is just a yahoo messageboard group.. not a web url!

welovecruising is just a yahoo messageboard group.. not a web url!

Aha! Found it. Use this URL - http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/welovecruising

Aha! Found it. Use this URL - http

://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/welovecruising[/quote

 

Thanks for the link Globaliser..I've just joined the group, although I had a little trouble getting it to accept my interpretation of the wavy letters.

 

It's good to see new posters on this CC board - I get so excited when I see there is a new message - how sad is that? :rolleyes: :o

 

We are booked on the Oceana for 2005. We've cruised many times, but never on P&O. We've sailed on Dawn Princess, so know the layout of it's former sister ship Ocean Princess, but are keen to know the differences we will find between Princess and P&O. Hopefully, as cruising becomes more popular in the UK, this board will grow and we can share our experiences

 

I hardly ever go on Cruise Connections - I get too frustrated at the way you have to return to the message every time you've read a reply :(

[quote=suekay

We are booked on the Oceana for 2005. We've cruised many times, but never on P&O. We've sailed on Dawn Princess, so know the layout of it's former sister ship Ocean Princess, but are keen to know the differences we will find between Princess and P&O

QUOTE=suekay

 

Hi Suekay

 

Have you read the bit I wrote after our Oceana cruise? with a few additions.

 

Ray

 

P&O Oceana, 7th February 2003

 

Account of Oceana cruise Caribbean 7 Feb 03 and comparisons with cruising on her sister ship the Dawn Princess. This is our 12th cruise, the third with P&O

Flights from the UK were again with Britannia Airways; the obvious advantage on this occasion was flying from a local airport, Manchester, especially appreciated when arriving back early in the UK. Sadly, we arrived an hour and a half late into UK because of overbooking, yes overbooking by P&O. Things resembled Fred Karnoes (sp.) at one time, with the pilot stating that we would be going nowhere until he got five volunteers to transfer to the Gatwick flight, oh well!

 

Arrival at West Palm Beach was uneventful, we were met by the folksiest and most helpful officials we have ever come across at an airport. Transfer time was 1 hour 20 due to traffic congestion. Only 20 min at San Juan to board Princess. Boarding was a dream; P&O use the Princess facility at Port Everglades, five minutes from entering the building to boarding Oceana. Sadly, the luggage did not arrive that efficiently. It took three and a half-hours, by far the longest we have ever had to wait; apparently this problem was experienced by many others.

P&O unlike Princess do ensure that you are properly escorted to your cabin. We were on Canberra deck in a balcony cabin just off the stern. The cabins are small but functional as long as I was tidy. It appears to be that the space used for the balcony is to the disadvantage of the cabin. Senim our cabin steward, possibly because he was also responsible for the premier suites, was exceptional. Any request had only to be mentioned once to be acted on throughout the cruise. Irrespective of what time we left our cabin of a morning, he serviced it immediately we left. It is a pity that robes are not provided as on Princess. Chocolates are left on your pillow only twice during the cruise, not every night, and that welcoming fruit bowl was missing. A big plus was the tea making facilities and those wonderful but fattening biscuits. My wife found it a delight to have tea made with boiling water during a cruise. Breakfast menu was disappointingly very limited so we did not use it.

 

First impression on looking around the ship was that apart from an attempt to provide another bar, “Winners” located in the Casino area, Oceana is a mirror image of the Dawn Princess.

 

The Stewards in the dining room Mahesh and Vincent were first class. Any changes of mind or request for something other than on the menu seemed to have been second-guessed as it arrived so quickly. Evening meals in the Restaurant were very good in both quality and presentation. I find silver service preferable to the plated meals on Princess. The dining room considering it seats 500 people is elegant, surprisingly intimate and not at all noisy. In order to maximise our time in port we ate self service for breakfast, and lunch if not ashore. Boring can best describe the breakfast menu in the Plaza no attempt at any variations was made during the cruise. However, the bacon and sausage were as we are used too at home.

 

Again, the choices available at lunch were much less than that enjoyed on Princess.

 

One point I would mention, P&O staff use Sir and Madam to address their clients. I prefer the Princess way where the staff take time to learn your surname; just seems that bit less impersonal.

 

Our first two days aboard were sea days. One comparison with Princess was the number of people taking the sun. Our American cousins do not appear to be the avid sun worshippers we are. This made for congested sun decks, albeit P&O to their credit had packed the sunbeds in and at no time was there not sufficient. One observation was that due to the narrow walkways between the sunbeds there was only single file passage. Surprising the number of people who did not acknowledge when someone stepped aside to allow them to pass. Unfortunately, P&O attracts a minority of rude, boorish people whose sole pleasure in cruising, apart from rejoicing their own importance, is to look down on others. However, these were far fewer in number than we found on Oriana

 

We had more rain on this cruise than previously in the Caribbean, however apart from a wet day in Barbados it mostly cleared by noon. Could have been a lot worse as we arrived in St. Lucia, Grenada and Tortola following days of heavy rain.

 

Entertainment was a bit mixed. Of the six shows, two were taken from Princess, Moulin, and Another Opening Another Show; a third Swing while your Singing featuring songs from Dean Martin, Sammy Davies Jnr. etc. These were excellent, as was the Roger Carr orchestra who accompanied them. Incidentally, members of the orchestra provided an “impromptu” jazz session one evening in the Yacht and Compass with some magnificent solos. Cannon and Ball provided the comedy not just on the stage but about the ship. These delightful gentlemen and their families were ever present about the ship, and friendly to everyone. Gary Lovini the violinist impressed. Lorraine Brown was a good female vocalist Bernie Flint the one hit wonder of the seventies was particularly entertaining with his mixture of 70s music, folk songs and comedy. The trio playing in the Yacht and Compass were very good but the two singers were disappointing. Overall, I found the entertainment marginally better than on the D.P.

 

In mentioning the Yacht and Compass, it like the Wheelhouse on the D.P is in my opinion the only venue with any real atmosphere, consequently and especially on Oceana, it did fill rather quickly. Neither ship has a quiet convivial bar; Magnums the nearest attempt is alongside a busy thoroughfare. The area around Tiffany’s is very open and part of a busy thoroughfare. To me it is reminiscent of the eating area in one of the new up market malls (Trafford Centre)

 

As might be expected the atmosphere onboard was a little more constrained than on Princess with its predominantly American passengers. However, as the cruise progressed we all seemed to lighten up and the general feel was of a happy friendly ship. This was undoubtedly helped by draught ale, and bar prices 40% lower than Princess. Average age must have been around sixty plus, at least ten years higher than Princess, mainly because there were few young families aboard.

 

In conclusion, both Princess and P&O provide a good cruising experience. We find one of the most important components of a cruise is the ability to enjoy a private balcony. IMO There being little difference between P&O and Princess, any future choice would be dependent on itinerary and price.

Fantastic, wonderful to read a review of a cruise on the P&O board. Hopefully many more may follow. Our only cruise has been on the Fred Olsen's Braemar, eighteen months ago to the Caribbean. Will willingly post a review if anyone would be interested. It's not a P&O ship so don't know whether it's acceptable to put it on this board? Could put it on 'other lines' board but again most of the ships mentioned on there are American. Hope this sudden surge of interest on this board continues.:)

:rolleyes: Hi all. I have to agree about lack of P&O postings esp. on the web in general. Most seem to be by Americans who dislike not-only P&O, but Oceana in particular! (no offence meant btw - just a summation of reviews found so far). Can't wait to try Oceana end of this month. I will be posting a review upon my return!! :)

Hello

 

We have been on a number of P&O cruises (Oriana, Aurora and Oceana) and would be happy to answer any questions. Our latest cruise was on Celebrity's Constellation and we thought it was far better than our last couple of P&O cruises. Since Carnival took it over P&O are cutting corners and it shows!

 

I found the P&O site Cruise Connections very informative but agree that it can be tedious having to keep on looking back to see if there are any replies. I also used the 'welovecruising' site but they are such devotees of P&O that I felt you didn't always get an unbiased reply. It was also quite cliquey.

 

sweep

Excellent review, cruisebore, I really enjoyed reading it. Very refreshing to read a UK point of view.

Cruisebore

 

Sorry not to acknowledge your comment earlier - I usually check the boards daily (and get excited when I see a new posting on the P&O board :) ) but my Dad died suddenly last week (chasing a burglar at 84 can you believe? :rolleyes: )

I saw your review when you first posted it, and again when we booked Oceana, but I enjoyed reading it again here - I keep hoping I'll see something new in it if I read it again :)

 

BDeckD

I don't think the Americans dislike P&O - I get the impression that the line is not promoted in the States so it's not easy to book

 

We're going on Splendour of the Seas next week - hoping for hot weather and calm seas!!

Hi Suekay

 

Sorry to hear about your father. Did they catch the B******?

Hopefully before they try to rob someone else. I suppose if they appear in court they will blame your dad for having the audacity to chase after them.

What an upside down world.

Enjoy your Splendour cruise,we look forward to your review.

Regards

Ray