First time with P&O..Disappointment

[jeanlyon]

Well I am on Arcadia in 5 weeks for a long cruise, so it will be interesting to see. I have done three cruises with P*O although not on Arcadia. I have never known the waiters in the MDR to greet you by name. I don't think they know your names. However, I have always been greeting with a Good Evening and a broad smile. It also depends how you treat them too? I always find a way to have a chat with them and I think they appreciate it.

 

So roll on Arcadia!

[Peaches10]

Can I ask the OP what other cuiselines they have sailed with? Assuming this wasn't your first cruise overall people often compare to previous cruises.

 

I have been on other cruises but I think that is irrevalant, bad manners is bad manners whether on a cruise ship or the local cafe, if it was a restaurant and the service i received I would not return, unfortunately I was on a cruise so you do not have much choice.

I just wanted to air my views, I am writing to P&O to express these concerns and maybe things can improve.

For other people service and manners may not be paramount but for me I find it distasteful,it shows a complete lack of respect and for one I will not tolerate it.

Rant over:D

[WATB]

I've only ever cruised with P&O, firstly 2 weekend breaks on Aurora both times had good, happy service and very enjoyable cruises.

 

We then did the same on Arcadia....there was a vast difference in the waiting staff who had an extremely poor attitude toward the guests and in one case out and out rude. Food in the buffet was extremely limited and the entertainment was appalling. The saving grace on this trip was the spa facilities which were fab.

 

Having been assured that 2 day cruises are not the best way to experience cruising, I recently went on a 7 day trip on Ventura, overall it was fabulous. The service, food and atmosphere was good, in fact very good.

 

Our disappointing experience on Arcadia was not imagined.....I just wonder why there can be such a stark difference from one ship to another, even one to cruise to another with the same cruise line ?

[Somerset Cruiser]

One morning the waiter announced to the table full English and toast, when we all said no the face he pulled was unbelievable,

 

Unbelievable!! What I mean is I don't believe it, the waiter must have been joking, I have had breakfast dozens of times in a P&O MDR, always been offered the menu. Humour dosen't easily bridge the cultural divide in my experience.

 

On Azura last week I ordered Eggs Benedict, apparantly you have to specify the number of eggs required or you only get one. A second egg was obtained with little fuss.

[Dorset Cruiser]

The service on Arcadia in the MDR in the evening was fine although the waiters never once addressed by name, we were only every greeted with a smile no response to hello, good evening or any other pleasantries. The wine waiter was a bit hit and miss and twice vanished completely during dinner.

 

Breakfast in particular was bad it seemed the waiters would prefer you to eat somewhere else. One morning the waiter announced to the table full English and toast, when we all said no the face he pulled was unbelievable, I'm still waiting on my tea and croissants. Spoke to the head waiter on the way out and was told a real cock and bull story.

 

When on other lines the staff and crew always greet you when passing not on Arcadia they often looked the other way, they were a real miserable bunch. The only friendly people who we came across on the ship were the spa staff, who always greeted you no matter where you were on the ship you met them

 

 

We found the same with the wait staff on Ventura in April Elaine, except for the next to last evening when they were much more forthcoming;)

 

Our experience using My Time Dining on Grandeur of the Seas last week could not have been more different. We were always greeted by name when we entered the dining room, on the majority of nights we were given a table for 2 by the window in the same area of the dining room, and every evening the Head Waiter came up and spoke to us about what we had done that day and what we had planned for the evening. They were the most friendly wait staff we have had in a long time and it really made such a difference to our dining experience:D In fact all the staff we came in contact with on Grandeur were very pleasant.

[LibraLass41]

The recent experiences seem to be poor with the waiter service, a few are saying 'I've always had good service (in the past)'... But Peaches is telling us of her recent experience. NOW, didn't I read that the waiters and serving staff on Arcadia actually went on strike a few months ago, it was so bad that Carol Marlow MD had to be flown out to the ship to calm things down and get them back to work...

PERHAPS the waiters are revolting :eek: Perhaps their work conditions and pay recently is upsetting them -more tables to serve per duo of waiters etc... Thats why they are upset at the moment.....?

[u2cruiser]

One of our waiters was as miserable as anything on Ventura last October, whereas his colleague was great. He would literally snatch the menus from us. It did kind of spoil the dining experience. He perked up remarkably towards the end of the cruise and showed us pictures of his baby. Maybe he was missing his family? This is another reason for us to do anytime dining; at least you don't get stuck with a miserable waiter for a fortnight.

 

It really was the only thing we could fault with the cruise.

 

It will be interesting to see how it is on Azura this October after having had a recent Celebrity cruise with amazing dining room service.

[Single Cruiser]

The recent experiences seem to be poor with the waiter service, a few are saying 'I've always had good service (in the past)'... But Peaches is telling us of her recent experience. NOW, didn't I read that the waiters and serving staff on Arcadia actually went on strike a few months ago, it was so bad that Carol Marlow MD had to be flown out to the ship to calm things down and get them back to work...

PERHAPS the waiters are revolting :eek: Perhaps their work conditions and pay recently is upsetting them -more tables to serve per duo of waiters etc... Thats why they are upset at the moment.....?

 

Maybe Carol should become an undercover boss and see what the staff have to put up with.

 

The NCL CEO did and made interesting discoveries.. If you haven't seen it, it was on US TV version the following clips (after the ads) make interesting viewing especially the waiter one! (that's the 3rd link) I was only eating in there 2 months ago!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqITFNn550A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c16j4tyr6WE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcuyubFVvZg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THEX-Oku4Dc

 

Carol should do it for the UK version!

[portiaqueen]

We were on Oceana last October and can honestly say this was the only occasion we have ever found fault with the service and that was in Cafe Jardin - every time we went in.

As the OP says, it was bordering on rude. We only ever went in when it wasn't select dining and were always made to feel unwelcome. Long waits to be seated, stuck away in a corner, left to wait ages for our order to be taken and then for the food or drinks to arrive. And this was at times when the place was nearly empty. No smiles, no attentiveness. Absolutely dreadful.

Apart from that, we've never had a problem at all and YES, we're just as fussy as the next person.

[jeanlyon]

Sue, you are right. I had forgotten about the strike. It will be interesting to see what it's like when we board in 5 weeks. hopefully not like the OP says.

[jeanlyon]

Just read a report from people who are on board at the moment. They said "food is good, staff are friendly"

[NSWP]

Maybe in this time of recession the ship's service staff - waiters, cabin stewards etc, are NOT getting the tips they used to. Thus they have become demotivated. Anyone agree?

[Saligo]

Just back from Aurora R108. Service from restaurant and cabin staff friendly and very good. Bar staff pushy as always and not particularly friendly, but never rude. Deck/entertainment/engineering staff friendly and courteous when encountered around the ship. And that's on a cruise where unkind weather required lots of hard work by all to rearrange programmes. Aurora is a "comfort" ship. Don't expect pzazz or wow factor, but everything is arranged to give you as far as possible a relaxed holiday. Probably wouldn't suit most younger people, but having said that the youth staff are fantastic at keeping kids happily occupied, and happy kids generally mean happy parents.

[LibraLass41]

One of our waiters was as miserable as anything on Ventura last October, whereas his colleague was great. He would literally snatch the menus from us. It did kind of spoil the dining experience. He perked up remarkably towards the end of the cruise and showed us pictures of his baby. Maybe he was missing his family? .

 

Sorry,I expect it was because tip-night was due. :rolleyes:

[ovccruiser]

A question for all the complainers. Did you complain to anyone onboard ship regarding poor service etc If you did, was anything done about it? If you didn't complain on the ship, why wait to bring it up here? No attack on anyone, but it does seem strange that people will complain on a forum, but do nothing when they really have the chance to

[blitznbobs]

I complain if there is reason to complain.. The wine waiters however ( who obviously know nothing about wine) were of constant amusement to us.. The fact that we didn't want our (own bottle from home) of a 1990 Chablis served at sub zero temperature horrified them so much that we'd wished that we had a Beaujolais with us so we could ask them to chill it! Don't get me wrong I like great service and expect good manners from everyone... But the 2 things are not the same ..

 

These wine waiters were not rude but did not understand their subject so couldn't give good service...

 

However, the one who was keen to learn got a hefty tip and to sample some seriously fine wine. (my husband collects fine wine so we take our own and pay corkage- one of the reasons we always sail with p&o or princess...

[Peaches10]

I complain if there is reason to complain.. The wine waiters however ( who obviously know nothing about wine) were of constant amusement to us.. The fact that we didn't want our (own bottle from home) of a 1990 Chablis served at sub zero temperature horrified them so much that we'd wished that we had a Beaujolais with us so we could ask them to chill it! Don't get me wrong I like great service and expect good manners from everyone... But the 2 things are not the same ..

 

These wine waiters were not rude but did not understand their subject so couldn't give good service...

 

However, the one who was keen to learn got a hefty tip and to sample some seriously fine wine. (my husband collects fine wine so we take our own and pay corkage- one of the reasons we always sail with p&o or princess...

 

Did you also know that if you open the bottle yourself you do not have to pay corkage? I had champagne and we were told if you open it yourself no charge.

[BORDER REIVER]

We sailed on Aurora for 18 days last year and found the staff to be excellent. Our cabin steward was polite and helpful, nothing was too much bother for him - although he was leaving P & O at the end of the cruise to return to India (apparently unhappy at work conditions). Nobody ever tried to get us to buy drinks we didn't want - they asked if we wanted some and if we said no they smiled, wished us a nice day/evening and walked away.

The table waiters in the MDR were lovely people, always smiling. On one occasion my fiancee didn't feel well enough to have dinner and when I had finished my own dinner, I was presented with a tray of sweet treats to take back to our cabin for her, just in case she was feeling better (she was delighted). The next evening, as soon as we appeared at our table, both waiters came over to ask how my fiancee was and if she had recovered. They always complimented her on how she looked each evening.

The photographers as usual were looking for photo opportunities, some we took up, some we didn't, but if we politely declines, they didn't persevere.

P & O staff, in our opinion, are their greatest asset.

[bogofman]

Our cabin steward was always very friendly and always wished us a good morning and good evening etc. Except the day we left the ship and he already had his tip the night before. :mad:

 

As a previous OV cruiser i expected a step up in service etc from P&O, i'd say in the main it was the same and in some cases worse. The staff definetly seemed less happy, although there were alot more Philipino staff on OV who always seemed to be frindlier. I loved watching them laughing at the English comedians on OV along with everyone else. No sign of that on P&O.

 

sometimes we found it difficult to get a drink in the bar (only two of us and one Teetotal) since the waiters seemed to spend most of thier time with thier regular high spending clients. Now i'm sure they will have had excelent service and a nice big tip at the end.

[Meg1962]

On our recent P&O cruise the service was fine in the bars and restaurants but comparing with our last cruise, Thomson certainly had the edge on P&O in terms of service, the staff just seemed happier and more friendly

[sammydo]

it will be interesting to see what the service is like on our next cruise in November.

we have always sailed P&O,...7 cruises, and the service has been totally faultless, up to our lst cruise in Jan 2010 on Ventura. The waiting staff were not very friendly, to the point of being very rude on occasions.

 

i dont go on holiday to spend my time complaining,...and am hoping that this years cruise will be better, It hasnt put us off... YET!! I am giving P&O the benefit of the doubt......we are back on Ventura again in November. It does appear that the moans about the service are through the entire fleet....but hopefully Carole Marlow has addressed some of the staffs concerns.........(Cos they obviously aint happy at times )

 

I am hoping the service will be better this year, but if not, it will be time to look elsewhere in future .

[daiB]

it will be interesting to see what the service is like on our next cruise in November.

we have always sailed P&O,...7 cruises, and the service has been totally faultless, up to our lst cruise in Jan 2010 on Ventura. The waiting staff were not very friendly, to the point of being very rude on occasions.

 

i dont go on holiday to spend my time complaining,...and am hoping that this years cruise will be better, It hasnt put us off... YET!! I am giving P&O the benefit of the doubt......we are back on Ventura again in November. It does appear that the moans about the service are through the entire fleet....but hopefully Carole Marlow has addressed some of the staffs concerns.........(Cos they obviously aint happy at times )

 

I am hoping the service will be better this year, but if not, it will be time to look elsewhere in future .

 

No the moans are not across the fleet only from a small number of people. And many people have never experienced it at all.

 

Gan canny

 

 

Dai

[kevinyork]

I agree service can be variable. We have found bar stewards to be efficient and friendly but maybe this is because the more they serve the more they earn in commission.

 

However, in Freedom Dining the waiters have on the whole on our three P&O cruises been nothing more than functional. No attempt to strike up a rapport and no interest in how you enjoyed your food. In fact its usually hard to identify who are your waiters for the evening with a variety of waiting staff attending to you. We have found dinner in Freedom Dining can take 50 mins or 2 hours 15 dependant on who had been serving us that evening. This lackluster service is presumably because their tips are ensured and shared amongst all Freedom Dining staff.

 

Try RCIs version of freedom dining to experience top notch, attentive and personable service.

[sammydo]

i actually think many of the moans ARE across most of the fleet, even on this thread ventura, arcadia and oceana have been mentioned, if not more.

 

i am very pro P&O, but i did notice a difference on our last cruise, and i'm hoping this time that it will be the great service that we have usually experienced, tbh we put it down to the number of new recruits that were being employed at that time, but will wait to see.

 

i am sure that on all cruise lines there are these niggles, just to say that as much as i have always supported P&O, they are not perfect !! and have areas and service that would benefit from improvement.!!!!

[NSWP]

A question for all the complainers. Did you complain to anyone onboard ship regarding poor service etc If you did, was anything done about it? If you didn't complain on the ship, why wait to bring it up here? No attack on anyone, but it does seem strange that people will complain on a forum, but do nothing when they really have the chance to

Exactly..if you come across a 'slack' crew member, report him/her, whilst you are onboard. They don't deserve to be on the ship. Who knows? they may already be on 'probation' for being slack.

 

And remember..don't tip the service staff that fail to meet your service expectations.

 

I have done most of my cruising with Princess Cruise Line and only once felt the need to report a very slack service person..our cabin steward on Crown Princess, he was slack, very, very slow at replacing towels, toilet rolls, soap, shampoo. Cabin cleanups poor and always sullen and a little aggressive. He would not listen to my requests. I later found out from the Hotel Manager who I spoke to at a Cruise Critic meeting on board that our cabin steward was on 'probation for poor service.' Good riddance, I trust he got the 'flick'. We pay a lot of money to go on these ships and service should meet our expectations.

 

Just my two cents worth.