Arcadia debate ... what value P&O brand if offering is inconsistent ??

I've posted this on cruise critic via the normal way but as the site posts reviews based on sailing date (2016) and on Aurora now, then it is hidden away and even I can't find it..

I have held back from posting the following critique of Arcadia for almost 9 months . After writing it I thought ; Well P&O is just like this now and you can take it or leave it. However, I am currently on the Aurora and many of my critiscisms of Arcadia, simply do not apply. For example, I have seen the Captain almost every day and exchanged pleasantries on numerous occasions. The jacuzzis are hot and, yes, the water jets work. The pool is warm..ish and therefore passengers actually swim in it!! Etc etc

I have friends who concurred with my original views and who also travelled on the Aurora recently and, like me, feel that it is managed better than the Arcadia. Finally, yesterday, I was talking to some fellow passengers who commented, without prompting, that the Arcadia has issues.

To my mind, the Arcadia, which was a ship originally built for the more up-market Cunard brand, should be the pride and joy of the P&O fleet but, unfortunately, it is not. Sad really.

What is therefore clear to me is that P&O give a great amount of freedom to the management team on each ship. This means that the brand offering can be different on each ship and better or worse, depending on your viewpoint of course.

I have to ask, therefore, whether their marketing department is keeping tabs on the feed back and whether their reports are read by a Senior management team who take action. To my mind, when something small goes wrong, it is often symptomatic of a larger problem. In my experience of business, most customer experience enhancements cost little, or nothing, to implement.

So here is my post and if anyone feels that it is factually incorrect then I hope you will let me know and I will tell you my exact experience.

Arcadia is great if you…

Are happy with good to very good general service

Like to spend time in a well equipped modern gym with spinning bikes and treadmills etc , where most of the equipment functions correctly.

Like a good size cabin with a very large and comfortable bed.

Like a cabin with a half bath as well as a shower.

Want your cabin to be always well cleaned and tidied and to have good quality linen.

Don't mind waiting 45 minutes to an hour for room service.

Like to have a cabin with a modern and large TV which connects to your own storage devices (USB) and plays almost every film and audio format available as well as photo files.

Aren't too bothered by a poor quality (Fuzzy) picture on said TV when watching all of the ships channels.

Like swimming in unheated swimming pools that are cold unless they have been warmed by the sun in a tropical location.

Are happy to sit in a tepid jacuzzi that doesn't have jets or bubbles as they have been purposefully disconnected, for "health and safety reasons"

Don't want to eat high quality or Gourmet food.

Like onions, mustard, pesto and an odd assortment of other additions, being added to all and every one of their pre prepared sandwiches.

Like odd food combinations. Eg pineapple slice and Edam cheese toasties, fresh prawns always in Pesto sauce or with some other weird addition , Mackerel curry??

Like eating food that can have different ingredients than described on the menu.

Understand that the quality of the ingredients in the Marco Pierre White restaurant is substantially lower than you might expect in his UK restaurants.

Like poor quality Sirloin or Rib-Eye steak that is pre cut and only served 1/3 inch thick.

Don't mind having to ask the occasional member of staff to repeat themselves two or three times because you don't understand them.

Are happy to watch a film in the wrong Aspect Ratio where James Bond is 7ft tall and his Aston Martin looks like a bus.

Are tone deaf and can't tell that some of the bar singers are occasionally out of tune or are just not very good.

Want to enjoy some of the best production shows you are ever likely to see on a ship.

Don't mind seeing the same shows repeated on long voyages.

Love watching some great guest singers perform to a very high standard.

Like watching great shows in a beautiful theatre.

Like a wide variety of entertaining guest speakers who make presentations on a multitude of interesting topics.

Like to watch recent release films in a purpose built cinema with comfy chairs and great viewing positions and don't mind the poor quality of the picture projected onto the screen by the out of date projector.

Like to learn ballroom dancing and to have the chance to practice every night with professional and entertaining dance coaches.

Like to play table tennis.

Like to play Bridge.

Like to buy Original Art at sea.

Like to spend an evening down at the local pub with a good choice of beers and music and quizzes etc.

Like to gamble in a Casino.

Want to be able to have your own spirits in your cabin and don't mind paying £6 a litre for the mixers. Eg Tonic or ginger ale etc .

Always take your own thick cushions with you so that you can enjoy sitting on the very uncomfortable reclining beds by the indoor pool. ( they have an iron rail in an odd position that sticks into your buttock )

Understand that the crew are much too busy to respond to your complaints and have to keep a straight face when they pass on what their senior mangers tells them, even though they know it is total rubbish.

Understand that there will be times when there are no cups available in the buffet or that the tea box will not always have the one tea you prefer.

Understand that the buffet will not always have the one dish from the menu that you want, unless you ask for it.

Want WIFI and don't mind paying a premium rate for a very slow connection.

Don't think that the huge rust patches on the outside of the ship are symptomatic of the crews attitude.

Don't mind not seeing the Captain around the ship very often and don't expect him to personally attend the Captains Cocktail Party or make the daily announcements.

Don't mind paying the doctors fee of £60 plus, when that is the only way the pharmacy will give you a "non prescription" cream. (which they have dozens of on the shelf in the pharmacy.)

Like a ship with a modern and well thought out interior.

Enjoy using a hydropherapy pool with strong water jets and don't mind paying extra for the privilege of using it or that it is occasionally closed with no explanation of why.

Don't mind going to occasional ports of call that have little to offer but are probably cheap to Park at.

Notes:

My wife and I have been cruising for over 25 years and have cruised on P&O, Princess, Celebrity, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Cruise and Maritime, NCL, Costa, Cunard and Fred Olsen. We believe that almost every cruise ship and itinerary combination has a price at which it is good value providing you are happy to accept any known limitations.

Very interesting.

We've never cruised on Arcadia (we have been on Oriana, Oceana, Azura, Ventura and Britannia - most of them twice - and we have several Aurora cruises booked, as well as further cruises on Ventura and Britannia).

We had a cruise booked on Arcadia but after booking it we did a ship visit. It's quite difficult to put our finger on it, but both my wife and I didn't like the ship anywhere near as much as we did the others in the P&O fleet. Perhaps it was the fact that it wasn't originally built for P&O so felt very different, or the fact that there were no 'wow' factors, or the fact that we felt that all the public rooms were underwhelming. Don't know. But the upshot was that we cancelled the booking and switched to another ship.

You will find, however, that an awful lot of P&O regulars absolutely love Arcadia and for many it's their favourite ship, which I guess goes to show that we are all different. We are P&O regulars, yet love Britannia, which many hate!

My wife and I are going to try to do another ship visit to Arcadia to see if we can change our mind, as the 'adult only' aspect really appeals to us. Arcadia also has a reasonable selection of Accessible Balcony Cabins (which we now need) whereas Oriana, the other adult only ship, doesnt.

I have no issue with your review - it is balanced with the good and the not so good. Some of it I have experienced myself on Arcadia and some of it the total opposite. But I do think you have a valid point about brand difference across the fleet...I found the customer service desk on Arcadia the worst ever!

But I am just curious, I repeat, just curious, as to why you should join CC and the post a review as your first post, especially as you suggest this cruise was some nine months ago? Actually , quite a lot has changed across the fleet in this space of time....including new menus and a new internet system...

Very interesting.

 

We've never cruised on Arcadia (we have been on Oriana, Oceana, Azura, Ventura and Britannia - most of them twice - and we have several Aurora cruises booked, as well as further cruises on Ventura and Britannia).

 

We had a cruise booked on Arcadia but after booking it we did a ship visit. It's quite difficult to put our finger on it, but both my wife and I didn't like the ship anywhere near as much as we did the others in the P&O fleet. Perhaps it was the fact that it wasn't originally built for P&O so felt very different, or the fact that there were no 'wow' factors, or the fact that we felt that all the public rooms were underwhelming. Don't know. But the upshot was that we cancelled the booking and switched to another ship.

 

You will find, however, that an awful lot of P&O regulars absolutely love Arcadia and for many it's their favourite ship, which I guess goes to show that we are all different. We are P&O regulars, yet love Britannia, which many hate!

 

My wife and I are going to try to do another ship visit to Arcadia to see if we can change our mind, as the 'adult only' aspect really appeals to us. Arcadia also has a reasonable selection of Accessible Balcony Cabins (which we now need) whereas Oriana, the other adult only ship, doesnt.

Selborne....I think you are doing the right thing by doing another ship visit. The key with Arcadia is that is simply does not have that "wow" factor....I have described it before as having understated elegance, combined with being a bit "beige"!

The one thing I think P&O could do is to make somehow a proper Atrium, which would improve its looks no end, and give it a bit of character. The rest just needs a bit of modernising...might give it a bit of sparkle! We enjoyed our cruise on her, and wouldn't hesitate to book her again if the itinerary was the right one. But we have fallen in love with Oriana...that is our ship of choice at the moment!

Having been on all ships in the past 3/4 years I know that any view of a particular ship is only good for that period of time of the cruise. Things change as the crew of each ship changes almost with every new cruise. The management of each ship also changes. So issues which are not related to the fabric of the ship it's layout or its passenger mix, adult only or family can change over short periods of time.

Arcadia today will not be the same as Arcadia 9 month ago and Aurora will not be the same in 9 months time.

Doing it this way makes the product more consistent. Which is exactly how we find it.

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Totally agree with Dai. We cruised about 25 times on Arcadia from maiden voyage until 2010 and loved it.

However, decided to try other ships in the fleet before returning to our 'favourite' last May. Sadly only to be slightly disappointed at the offering as undoubtedly we were drawing comparisons with those of our more recent cruises.

Not to be daunted, we had a further cruise booked on Arcadia in The October of last year and WOW it was back to the ship we loved so much.

We had a terrific time and frankly it all comes down to attitude, who's on board and perhaps itinerary. We all know there are things that can be put right on any P&O ship, as is the case with any 4 star land based hotel, but we continue to really enjoy the overall 'product' on all ships despite the occasional hiccup.

By the way and just for interest, 'Arcadia' was designed for HAL, then Cunard took over the build, then close to launch P&O was designated the ship.

Bal

Perhaps the beige decor will be updated during the refit later this year?

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It is very difficult for any organisation, whether hotel, restaurant chain or cruise line to guarantee the same quality in each establishment on each and every visit, which is one very good ŕeason why they all request feedback from their customers to check on the service provided.

After some decline a few years ago, I am pleased to say that P&O have shown improvements over the last 2 years, although not yet up to Celebrity standard, and I am looking forward to checking if it's improved further in May.

My favourite ships are Aurora and Oriana; they are just the right size and I love their design. I don't get on Oriana as often as I'd like because the balconies are too expensive and I usually travel solo.

However my next favourite ship is definitely Arcadia. Yes she's different, but I found her almost as good in a different way. I infinitely prefer all 3 to the monsters, though I used to like Adonia too and would like to cruise on her again now she is returning to P and O.

I'm very interested in this discussion. I just experienced my first P&O cruise in December 2016, which was a lovely 10-night sailing on Aurora around the North Sea. It was so lovely I booked a 14-night sailing for June 2017 on Arcadia to the Baltic Sea. As I have sailed HAL previously and I love their Vista-class ships, of which Arcadia is one, I thought the choice was an excellent one. Now I have just a bit of trepidation.

I'm only reassured by the positive comments about the ship by other posters, above. I'm not worried at all about the ship's design, as I am very familiar with the layout. But, as I'm a water baby, I'm discouraged by hot tubs not working properly and the pool not being heated. The best feature for me on Vista-class ships is the Lido Pool, and as we have five sea days in Northern Europe in June, I was planning on spending a lot of time there.

Oh well, as the plans are set in stone at this point, I will just have to keep my fingers crossed. I would be reassured by further positive comments.

I like Arcadia because she has a little bit of everything, a prom, crows nest, hydropool, MPW etc. Having said this there are certain things that really bug me, for example they always used to advertise aromatherapy in the steam rooms (not sure if they still do) but only once was this ever there. The people on reception are very nice but they apply P&O processes very literally without having the autonomy to think about whether that fixed process is actually relevant to each particular case in hand, this means that as a customer you feel like a victim being forced through P&O internal complexities, which is incredibly frustrating and leaves you in a state of turmoil over relatively small matters. I have found this to be particularly so on Arcadia. I've experienced good and bad in terms of staff, we had the same room steward on our last two cruises who was truly excellent, yet one of the bar staff in intermezzo was fairly unpleasant. In September we had a change of Captain mid cruise, and the one that got off was much more passenger centric than his replacement. The food on Arcadia seems to have declined significantly in the last year. There are lots of plus points about Arcadia too and I think I agree that the ships management does 'shine through' and the customer experience can be varied.

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I like Arcadia because she has a little bit of everything, a prom, crows nest, hydropool, MPW etc. Having said this there are certain things that really bug me, for example they always used to advertise aromatherapy in the steam rooms (not sure if they still do) but only once was this ever there. The people on reception are very nice but they apply P&O processes very literally without having the autonomy to think about whether that fixed process is actually relevant to each particular case in hand, this means that as a customer you feel like a victim being forced through P&O internal complexities, which is incredibly frustrating and leaves you in a state of turmoil over relatively small matters. I have found this to be particularly so on Arcadia. I've experienced good and bad in terms of staff, we had the same room steward on our last two cruises who was truly excellent, yet one of the bar staff in intermezzo was fairly unpleasant. In September we had a change of Captain mid cruise, and the one that got off was much more passenger centric than his replacement. The food on Arcadia seems to have declined significantly in the last year. There are lots of plus points about Arcadia too and I think I agree that the ships management does 'shine through' and the customer experience can be varied.

 

 

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As I said above Florry. Anything to do with staff will always change. It has little to do with the ship.

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At the end of the day I think it is a case of 'to each his / her own' and what suits one doesn't suit another. E.g. We love Oceana (our first P&O ship) and others hate her.

On Oceana in August a member of the crew told us that he thought Arcadia was a lovely ship, so who knows?

We are trying Ventura in August and I'm trying not to get too stressed about it ;)

After some decline a few years ago, I am pleased to say that P&O have shown improvements over the last 2 years, although not yet up to Celebrity standard, and I am looking forward to checking if it's improved further in May.

I would agree with this assessment, our last cruise on P&O was much improved and am looking forward to our next one in 5 weeks time. I agree that Celebrity is a notch higher standard but unless you get a drinks package with the falling pound against the dollar the american lines are not attractive to us at the moment. We are looking for another cruise later in the year and am 90% certain it will be P&O - we pretty much know almost exactly how much we will spend on board and the difference between P&O and the $ ships is quite striking when you do the sums and the generous OBC on P&O at the moment makes the difference even greater. Yes, we prefer Celebrity/Princess but feel that the value is with P&O at this time. Example, we travel as a 4 and estimating our spend for drinks and tips for 4 on a 14 night Princess we estimated £2700 - on a comparison cruise on P&O taking OBC into account and cheaper drinks/tips we estimate £800.

Arcadia('The Sloop John B') - This is the worst trip(ship) I've ever been on.

It's a funny thing about Arcadia - she seems to attract more diverse opinions than any of the rest of the fleet. I post on another site where there are many Arcadia lovers and some who do not like it so much. I've been on Arcadia twice - once quite a few years ago and the second time about 3 years ago. I wouldn't say I hate the ship and I wouldn't say that I'd never travel on her again if the right itinerary came up. However, I would never choose Arcadia if another ship was available. To me she seems to lack a heart. Trying to work out what it is I suppose the lack of an atrium is one of the main points. The so-called atrium is just like any other staircase. The coffee bar - can't remember what it's called is such a small area which appears as though it's in the corridor on the way to somewhere else. We had an aft suite on D deck which was a lovely cabin with a huge wrap-around balcony but I'd rather be in a mini suite on Aurora. I suppose in the end it's just what different people enjoy, wouldn't do if we all liked the same thing. At the moment I would stay that the ships that are at the top of our list are Aurora, Adonia and Oceana. Now Oceana is another ship that divides opinion - we really like her - her suites and aft minisuites are the best and largest in the fleet. We've just come back from Ventura and just before Christmas we were on Aurora. Both ships had the same new menus that have recently been introduced. However, the food served on Aurora was far better than the same menu on Ventura. One example, a minor one, was the new Ice cream Sundaes that are on the new dessert menu. The ones on Aurora were delicious, with a scoop of ice cream on the top and whipped cream and a decoration of nuts, chocolate or whatever on top. The ones on Ventura were watery, too much liquid with a tiny amount of ice cream and a little sort of teaspoon size of cream - so much so the sundae didn't even reach the top of the glass. This, I presume, is down to the interpretation of the chef on board. This seems a very minor matter but it's just an example of a difference between the two ships. Don't get me wrong I'd never choose a ship because of an ice cream but the food, in general wasn't as good as on Aurora.

I've posted this on cruise critic via the normal way but as the site posts reviews based on sailing date (2016) and on Aurora now, then it is hidden away and even I can't find it..

 

I have held back from posting the following critique of Arcadia for almost 9 months . After writing it I thought ; Well P&O is just like this now and you can take it or leave it. However, I am currently on the Aurora and many of my critiscisms of Arcadia, simply do not apply. For example, I have seen the Captain almost every day and exchanged pleasantries on numerous occasions. The jacuzzis are hot and, yes, the water jets work. The pool is warm..ish and therefore passengers actually swim in it!! Etc etc

 

I have friends who concurred with my original views and who also travelled on the Aurora recently and, like me, feel that it is managed better than the Arcadia. Finally, yesterday, I was talking to some fellow passengers who commented, without prompting, that the Arcadia has issues.

 

To my mind, the Arcadia, which was a ship originally built for the more up-market Cunard brand, should be the pride and joy of the P&O fleet but, unfortunately, it is not. Sad really.

 

What is therefore clear to me is that P&O give a great amount of freedom to the management team on each ship. This means that the brand offering can be different on each ship and better or worse, depending on your viewpoint of course.

 

I have to ask, therefore, whether their marketing department is keeping tabs on the feed back and whether their reports are read by a Senior management team who take action. To my mind, when something small goes wrong, it is often symptomatic of a larger problem. In my experience of business, most customer experience enhancements cost little, or nothing, to implement.

 

So here is my post and if anyone feels that it is factually incorrect then I hope you will let me know and I will tell you my exact experience.

 

 

Arcadia is great if you…

 

Are happy with good to very good general service

Like to spend time in a well equipped modern gym with spinning bikes and treadmills etc , where most of the equipment functions correctly.

Like a good size cabin with a very large and comfortable bed.

Like a cabin with a half bath as well as a shower.

Want your cabin to be always well cleaned and tidied and to have good quality linen.

Don't mind waiting 45 minutes to an hour for room service.

Like to have a cabin with a modern and large TV which connects to your own storage devices (USB) and plays almost every film and audio format available as well as photo files.

Aren't too bothered by a poor quality (Fuzzy) picture on said TV when watching all of the ships channels.

Like swimming in unheated swimming pools that are cold unless they have been warmed by the sun in a tropical location.

Are happy to sit in a tepid jacuzzi that doesn't have jets or bubbles as they have been purposefully disconnected, for "health and safety reasons"

Don't want to eat high quality or Gourmet food.

Like onions, mustard, pesto and an odd assortment of other additions, being added to all and every one of their pre prepared sandwiches.

Like odd food combinations. Eg pineapple slice and Edam cheese toasties, fresh prawns always in Pesto sauce or with some other weird addition , Mackerel curry??

Like eating food that can have different ingredients than described on the menu.

Understand that the quality of the ingredients in the Marco Pierre White restaurant is substantially lower than you might expect in his UK restaurants.

Like poor quality Sirloin or Rib-Eye steak that is pre cut and only served 1/3 inch thick.

Don't mind having to ask the occasional member of staff to repeat themselves two or three times because you don't understand them.

Are happy to watch a film in the wrong Aspect Ratio where James Bond is 7ft tall and his Aston Martin looks like a bus.

Are tone deaf and can't tell that some of the bar singers are occasionally out of tune or are just not very good.

Want to enjoy some of the best production shows you are ever likely to see on a ship.

Don't mind seeing the same shows repeated on long voyages.

Love watching some great guest singers perform to a very high standard.

Like watching great shows in a beautiful theatre.

Like a wide variety of entertaining guest speakers who make presentations on a multitude of interesting topics.

Like to watch recent release films in a purpose built cinema with comfy chairs and great viewing positions and don't mind the poor quality of the picture projected onto the screen by the out of date projector.

Like to learn ballroom dancing and to have the chance to practice every night with professional and entertaining dance coaches.

Like to play table tennis.

Like to play Bridge.

Like to buy Original Art at sea.

Like to spend an evening down at the local pub with a good choice of beers and music and quizzes etc.

Like to gamble in a Casino.

Want to be able to have your own spirits in your cabin and don't mind paying £6 a litre for the mixers. Eg Tonic or ginger ale etc .

Always take your own thick cushions with you so that you can enjoy sitting on the very uncomfortable reclining beds by the indoor pool. ( they have an iron rail in an odd position that sticks into your buttock )

Understand that the crew are much too busy to respond to your complaints and have to keep a straight face when they pass on what their senior mangers tells them, even though they know it is total rubbish.

Understand that there will be times when there are no cups available in the buffet or that the tea box will not always have the one tea you prefer.

Understand that the buffet will not always have the one dish from the menu that you want, unless you ask for it.

Want WIFI and don't mind paying a premium rate for a very slow connection.

Don't think that the huge rust patches on the outside of the ship are symptomatic of the crews attitude.

Don't mind not seeing the Captain around the ship very often and don't expect him to personally attend the Captains Cocktail Party or make the daily announcements.

Don't mind paying the doctors fee of £60 plus, when that is the only way the pharmacy will give you a "non prescription" cream. (which they have dozens of on the shelf in the pharmacy.)

Like a ship with a modern and well thought out interior.

Enjoy using a hydropherapy pool with strong water jets and don't mind paying extra for the privilege of using it or that it is occasionally closed with no explanation of why.

Don't mind going to occasional ports of call that have little to offer but are probably cheap to Park at.

 

 

Notes:

 

My wife and I have been cruising for over 25 years and have cruised on P&O, Princess, Celebrity, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Cruise and Maritime, NCL, Costa, Cunard and Fred Olsen. We believe that almost every cruise ship and itinerary combination has a price at which it is good value providing you are happy to accept any known limitations.

Would love to pass this to Sherlock in the current BBC series. I guess he could fully explain your preferences and frustrations. He could probably also deduce what time you prefer breakfast and what your scone preference in afternoon tea would be.

I think that one of the things that sets P&O apart from many (although not all) other cruise lines is the diversity of the fleet. Apart from Ventura and Azura, every other ship is fairly unique within the fleet, and in the case of Oriana and Aurora, unique in the world. Intentional or not (but most likely a result of the merger with Princess and then the takeover by Carnival Corp), I think for many this is an attractive feature of the brand, and is therefore bound to divide opinions of the individual ships. What I'm saying is that I think it's more a case of individuality than brand inconsistency. You've got large ships, small ships, modern and traditional, adult-only and family-oriented. If I wanted exactly the same passenger experience every time I cruise, regardless of what ship I was sailing on, I probably wouldn't choose P&O. However luckily that's not the case for me. I've sailed on Arcadia and Ventura, and enjoyed them both, for different reasons. I preferred Ventura's interior a bit brighter and more modern than Arcadia's, however I preferred Arcadia's selection of public spaces to spend time relaxing in the evening. Would I say that these differences detracted from P&O as a brand? Of course not. In fact it would probably make me more likely to cruise with P&O again in the future, and to try another ship for a different and new experience. For me, that's an important factor when it comes to holidaymaking!!

P&O aquired Princess cruises in 1974, well before any of the current fleet were designed.

Brian

It's a funny thing about Arcadia - she seems to attract more diverse opinions than any of the rest of the fleet. I post on another site where there are many Arcadia lovers and some who do not like it so much. I've been on Arcadia twice - once quite a few years ago and the second time about 3 years ago. I wouldn't say I hate the ship and I wouldn't say that I'd never travel on her again if the right itinerary came up. However, I would never choose Arcadia if another ship was available. To me she seems to lack a heart. Trying to work out what it is I suppose the lack of an atrium is one of the main points. The so-called atrium is just like any other staircase. The coffee bar - can't remember what it's called is such a small area which appears as though it's in the corridor on the way to somewhere else. We had an aft suite on D deck which was a lovely cabin with a huge wrap-around balcony but I'd rather be in a mini suite on Aurora. I suppose in the end it's just what different people enjoy, wouldn't do if we all liked the same thing. At the moment I would stay that the ships that are at the top of our list are Aurora, Adonia and Oceana. Now Oceana is another ship that divides opinion - we really like her - her suites and aft minisuites are the best and largest in the fleet. We've just come back from Ventura and just before Christmas we were on Aurora. Both ships had the same new menus that have recently been introduced. However, the food served on Aurora was far better than the same menu on Ventura. One example, a minor one, was the new Ice cream Sundaes that are on the new dessert menu. The ones on Aurora were delicious, with a scoop of ice cream on the top and whipped cream and a decoration of nuts, chocolate or whatever on top. The ones on Ventura were watery, too much liquid with a tiny amount of ice cream and a little sort of teaspoon size of cream - so much so the sundae didn't even reach the top of the glass. This, I presume, is down to the interpretation of the chef on board. This seems a very minor matter but it's just an example of a difference between the two ships. Don't get me wrong I'd never choose a ship because of an ice cream but the food, in general wasn't as good as on Aurora.

And of course next time you go the chefs could have swapped round.

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The one thing I think P&O could do is to make somehow a proper Atrium, which would improve its looks no end, and give it a bit of character. The rest just needs a bit of modernising...might give it a bit of sparkle!

Can't say I disagree there. Her atrium is a bit of a let down. I just wonder how they could actually do it? (Admittedly it'd be a major refurb, so its not happening any time soon.)

They can't really go into the lift lobby on the Prom deck as there's the staircase to consider. That makes me think that the only option is to remove the Ocean Grill (as its an upcharge venue, I doubt they'd do it).

You could then at least have a more open aperture - but that would only work if they also changed the deck above and below.

From what I've seen of cousins - the Queen Victoria has a very different atrium layout, which is impossible to recreate. The Niuew Amsterdam however might be a better direction to look (at the very least in decor).

EDIT: I did a quick YT search and found this video...

They could emulate quite a bit of this on the Arcadia. I could do without the glass stairs, but at the very least removing the Ocean Grill wall and adding a chandelier would make a difference.

Perhaps the beige decor will be updated during the refit later this year?

 

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I think there's a good chance. As they've already added soft furnishings on the Oriana that are similar to those on Britannia, I'm thinking they're going in that direction for the rest of the fleet.

I do hope that P&O management read CC, if so maybe they will become less blase about the popularity of the low key decor on their ships, and take a leaf out of their Princess cousins book and jazz up their interiors a bit more.

I like to be wowed when cruising, and Britannia's Atrium looks more like a John Lewis store than a luxury cruise ship.

Most of the posts in reaction to mine, confirm the basic theme of my review. As one very small example, P&O should not allow Chefs to interpret anything it should be prescribed ..exactly. Even down to the contents of every sandwich.. That way you reinforce the Brand and customers know exactly what to expect. Yesterday for example, they served prawns smothered in Tomatoe ketchup in the lunch salad. The local chef will have decided that this is what he wants.. but does customer research at head office level suggest that this is the perfect offering for prawns or would it say for example, offer prawns with 3 types of sauces in pots on the side. I don't know the answer but my argument is that the cruise line don't either and they should, if they want a consistent brand.

Ships layouts are of no concern to my basic argument nor the colour of the decorations. For me ... and I appreciate we are all different, .this rarely effects my cruise experience as I can check this out before booking.

As I hinted, I wrote the review and shared with friends and wasn't going to post it. I actually like P&O and have cruised with them for 35 years, but, after finding the Aurora different in quite a few ways, it confirmed my view that P&O are not taking control of their brand in the way that most large and successful companies do.

The devil is in the detail, as they say, and the details are not being managed with any consistency i.e. Too much local freedom which means local actions are taken, or not, without the support of properly controlled market research. You can ask everyone who travels to rate the food when they leave, but you will never know exactly what could improve your offering in detail unless you research it. I refer to my, silly and lighthearted, prawn example and argue that if they haven't researched how to serve prawns and told the Chefs how to serve them, when they serve kilos of them on board every ship every day, then there are a 1000 other things that they haven't researched either.

Running the company properly (only in my opinion of course!!) could save them from going out of business in 5 years time when the cruise market really firms up and they wonder what they are going to do with all these 6000 passenger ships in a crowded market.

I think that one of the things that sets P&O apart from many (although not all) other cruise lines is the diversity of the fleet. Apart from Ventura and Azura, every other ship is fairly unique within the fleet, and in the case of Oriana and Aurora, unique in the world. Intentional or not (but most likely a result of the merger with Princess and then the takeover by Carnival Corp), I think for many this is an attractive feature of the brand, and is therefore bound to divide opinions of the individual ships. What I'm saying is that I think it's more a case of individuality than brand inconsistency. You've got large ships, small ships, modern and traditional, adult-only and family-oriented. If I wanted exactly the same passenger experience every time I cruise, regardless of what ship I was sailing on, I probably wouldn't choose P&O. However luckily that's not the case for me. I've sailed on Arcadia and Ventura, and enjoyed them both, for different reasons. I preferred Ventura's interior a bit brighter and more modern than Arcadia's, however I preferred Arcadia's selection of public spaces to spend time relaxing in the evening. Would I say that these differences detracted from P&O as a brand? Of course not. In fact it would probably make me more likely to cruise with P&O again in the future, and to try another ship for a different and new experience. For me, that's an important factor when it comes to holidaymaking!!

This is a fantastic response and I, and my husband, totally agree with all of it.

We've been on every P&O ship (except Ventura, but she's the same as Azura) and have enjoyed every one of them because of their differences.

It is possibly why P&O stand out from everyone else (that and the lack of surcharges! :D).