Oh dear ! Will I like P&O ?

[NauticalMiss]

Hi, am new to this site and am considering booking with P&O. Decided to look at these reviews and am scared stiff. Have previously been with Cunard (fabulous), Thomson (also fabulous), Celebrity (don't get me started) and Royal Caribbean (flip flops and remote-controlled cars in the dining room! :eek: ). We loved Cunard and thought that Celebrity would also suit. Solstice ticked all the boxes, but I was seriously disappointed, so much so that I don't want to give them a second chance. Blu restaurant/Aqua Class did not live up to the blurb. Youngest son works on Crystal Serenity but that's way too expensve for us. Anyway, we are thinking P&O and have seen a cruise on Arcadia next spring that looks interesting. Any comments/suggestions would be really appreciated. Thanks

[dorsetlad]

I think you will find that there are far more positive comments about P&O cruises than negative ones. We thoroughly enjoy what they have to offer, but I understand that sometimes standards can slip, we are all living in difficult times. We have 2 cruises booked for this year, and wouldn't hesitate to book again.:):) There again, some people are extremely difficult to please.

 

Brian

[daiB]

It is exactly this type of review that makes me worry so much about our forthcoming, first cruise with P&O. We are on the Aurora in August, and were it not for the fact that we would lose our deposit (which we can ill afford) I think that, now, I would cancel like a shot. We have sailed Princess and RC several times, and loved it. Fingers crossed that this Summer wont be the one that spoils cruising for us.

 

 

Hi sez809

 

Sorry but there is a lot of rubbish said in reviews we are on to our 20+ cruise with P&O and we do not recognise the ships that people write about.

 

Yes we have seen people with bald heads and the odd tattoo (shock horror) why on earth should that be a problem. They look very smart on formal nights. Aurora in the summer will be great and you will have a great time. But if you go looking for problems ... You will find them on P&O or any other cruise line.

 

With regard to people being put off ships, just follow the press and you will find this happens on most lines including Cunard.

 

The food on P&O is not fine dining but it is not designed to be as it is not on other cruise lines. However it is good to excellent. In all our cruising I have never seen a fellow cruiser send a dish back because it was not good. Some have because the dish was not what they thought and the waiters have then replaced the meal with anything the customer wanted.

 

 

Go and enjoy your cruise.

 

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

 

:cool:

[daiB]

Hi, am new to this site and am considering booking with P&O. Decided to look at these reviews and am scared stiff. Have previously been with Cunard (fabulous), Thomson (also fabulous), Celebrity (don't get me started) and Royal Caribbean (flip flops and remote-controlled cars in the dining room! :eek: ). We loved Cunard and thought that Celebrity would also suit. Solstice ticked all the boxes, but I was seriously disappointed, so much so that I don't want to give them a second chance. Blu restaurant/Aqua Class did not live up to the blurb. Youngest son works on Crystal Serenity but that's way too expensve for us. Anyway, we are thinking P&O and have seen a cruise on Arcadia next spring that looks interesting. Any comments/suggestions would be really appreciated. Thanks

 

Hi NauticalMiss,

 

Please read my reply to sez809

 

Go and enjoy your cruise with P&O

 

 

Gan canny

 

 

 

Dai

:cool:

[freckles2]

My husband is bald (not through choice) and has tattoos which he had done when he was younger and regrets them now.

 

I have freckles

 

Should we cancel our next cruise in case people judge us without bothering to find out that we are kind decent individuals?

 

I'm not so much worried about whether I'll like P&O I'm more concerned about the attitudes of some of the passengers, I say some because I suspect most people will take you as they find you and those who are obviously superior because they have hair and no tattoos, well I think I'll avoid them.

[chirpy007]

My husband is bald (not through choice) and has tattoos which he had done when he was younger and regrets them now.

 

I have freckles

 

Should we cancel our next cruise in case people judge us without bothering to find out that we are kind decent individuals?

 

I'm not so much worried about whether I'll like P&O I'm more concerned about the attitudes of some of the passengers, I say some because I suspect most people will take you as they find you and those who are obviously superior because they have hair and no tattoos, well I think I'll avoid them.

 

Outrageous, cancel immediatley ;);) how did you get passed the the secure booking system.

 

My husband is ginger, going bald with tattoos, he swears(not in company as l have trained him well) and drinks beer. He drives a crane for a living but we do drive a Jag. Im loud and overweight with a discreet tattoo and have a very responsible well paid job in environmental health. In all the cruises we have done (P&O and others) we have mixed with some (what l would call well to do and wealthyish people)lovely people and we have never been aware of being judged. Please forget others, enjoy your cruise.:D:D

[sez809]

Hi sez809

 

Sorry but there is a lot of rubbish said in reviews we are on to our 20+ cruise with P&O and we do not recognise the ships that people write about.

 

Yes we have seen people with bald heads and the odd tattoo (shock horror) why on earth should that be a problem. They look very smart on formal nights. Aurora in the summer will be great and you will have a great time. But if you go looking for problems ... You will find them on P&O or any other cruise line.

 

With regard to people being put off ships, just follow the press and you will find this happens on most lines including Cunard.

 

The food on P&O is not fine dining but it is not designed to be as it is not on other cruise lines. However it is good to excellent. In all our cruising I have never seen a fellow cruiser send a dish back because it was not good. Some have because the dish was not what they thought and the waiters have then replaced the meal with anything the customer wanted.

 

 

Go and enjoy your cruise.

 

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

 

:cool:

 

Thank you! Feeling somewhat reassured now. As for hair or lack of, and freckles..no...........that fine! We are from a family of red-heads, and our son is....gasp....horror.............ginger. Amazingly he managed to get a passport, and has been allowed to leave the country, without necessitating the cover of darkness!! Such progress!! Seriously though, throughout my life I have learned that things such as tattoos, being hirsute or otherwise, nor style of dress make not a jot of difference. It is loutish behaviour, that impacts on other folks enjoyment of things such as holidays, theatre, days out, etc that really does bother me. I try to live and behave in such a way that I affect no-one else adversely, and would expect similar courtesy from fellow travellers, as far as possible. I dont mean giving up your seat to me, or not having an extra glass of wine, I am not a prude and don't expect perfection..........just manners, I guess!

 

I hope I have come across the way I intend, and not as some pompous, snob. Forgive me, if the latter is the case.

 

Thanks again.:o

[dorsetlad]

I don't have hair or tattoos, so I don't know how I'm expected to fit in. I do have 2 left feet if that's any help.:D

 

Brian

[cruisebore]

We sailed on Ventura in December and yes, it does attract an eclectic mix of folk, similar no doubt to the people you would find shopping in any provincial high street on a Saturday. One however must congratulate P&O who manage to cater well for this varied mix of passenger, with events from classical concerts to game show take offs. Interestingly we often find we come across the same people about the ships despite their size. No doubt people migrate to the bars, show lounges, talks etc, that reflect their taste and interest. Awake early one morning 7.00 a.m. I decided to check to see if people were actually saving sun beds. Sadly they were, however the vast majority were not sporting tattoos, rather a smug selfishness. On all our many cruises I cannot think of one incident resulting from the action/behaviour of another passenger that has adversely effected our enjoyment

Glass always half full?

[freckles2]

Thank you! Feeling somewhat reassured now. As for hair or lack of, and freckles..no...........that fine! We are from a family of red-heads, and our son is....gasp....horror.............ginger. Amazingly he managed to get a passport, and has been allowed to leave the country, without necessitating the cover of darkness!! Such progress!! Seriously though, throughout my life I have learned that things such as tattoos, being hirsute or otherwise, nor style of dress make not a jot of difference. It is loutish behaviour, that impacts on other folks enjoyment of things such as holidays, theatre, days out, etc that really does bother me. I try to live and behave in such a way that I affect no-one else adversely, and would expect similar courtesy from fellow travellers, as far as possible. I dont mean giving up your seat to me, or not having an extra glass of wine, I am not a prude and don't expect perfection..........just manners, I guess!

 

I hope I have come across the way I intend, and not as some pompous, snob. Forgive me, if the latter is the case.

 

Thanks again.:o

 

I'm with you on this, it's now what you wear or how you look it's how you behave.

 

I always try to be considerate of others, we go to enjoy ourselves and will have a drink or 5 but but we do know how to behave. I don't think being bald or having tattoos is a pre requisite for loutish behaviour, but having two left feet might be:D

[dorsetlad]

Heck, I've been found out.:o

 

Brian

[sotonjoe]

I'd happily cruise again on p&o but it's only really worth it if you get it on a last minute fare in the £50-£60 pppn range.

 

This is the sort of price paid by many people onboard now which has altered the demographic somewhat from the picture painted by the brochure and is evidenced in what some have labelled 'cutbacks'.

[daiB]

I'd happily cruise again on p&o but it's only really worth it if you get it on a last minute fare in the £50-£60 pppn range.

 

This is the sort of price paid by many people onboard now which has altered the demographic somewhat from the picture painted by the brochure and is evidenced in what some have labelled 'cutbacks'.

 

These fares may be available for some cruises, but not many and I suspect very much fewer in the future. So there goes your cruising.

 

Come to think where have you seen cruises lately for around £700 for two weeks? Of course that would be a balcony? Or a suite even?

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai:cool::cool:

[sotonjoe]

Last 14 night cruise I did with P&O was available for £699. They don't all quite get that low but the point rings true. Customers paying the brochure price are few and far between, hence the reality of what a P&O cruise has become.

[smithy62]

I have read and followed this post with a mixture of disbelief and horror. We were on Ventura for Xmas an NY and as I have said, had a great time. (Only our 2nd ever cruise) There is a huge mix of people but surely that's why an awful lot of people holiday this way? All of us could choose to holiday in a 5* resort or island hop or whatever but choosing a cruise is choosing to spend time with lots of different people, lifestyles and cultures isn't it? Thats my thinking anyway.

 

We met some very different people, some tattoed, some not, some with hair, some not and some who were friends of Dorothy....but people are meant to be different surely? I agree there is no need to be rude or offensive, ever, but even the most mild mannered person can have that 'one too many'. We also heard about the Wedding Party thrown off and saw the broken window but the gossip surrounding the event was possibly just that - gossip. A cruise ship is a great place for chinese whispers! We were also informed that a member of staff was thrown off during our time on board for unacceptable behavior - no idea if that's true though!

 

Once you have found your feet you do find that people congregate in the same places - you then can choose where you want to be as well though and I fail to see how you cannot enjoy the places you want to be - its big enough!

 

We went to a quiz one night and found the other contestants just a little too 'hooray henry' for us but that didn't mean we criticised them or their behaviour, simply moved on to somewhere we felt more at ease.

 

The whole sunbed thing is, I agree, a fiasco though. I watched so many reserved beds on sea days without a person on them at all, all day and that isn't fair. Fortunately for me, we were always up early enough to sort ourselves out - refused to grab beds for the kids who may not bother to turn up till 3pm - but even so a lot of people did, as in reserve 4 beds, and then not show up except to remove their book/shoes/hat. Not on.

 

Again, I am not an expert on any of this but we have booked again for this Xmas and NY because we had such a lovely time, the islands, the weather the staff and yes, the people on board.

 

Enjoy

[daiB]

Last 14 night cruise I did with P&O was available for £699. They don't all quite get that low but the point rings true. Customers paying the brochure price are few and far between, hence the reality of what a P&O cruise has become.

 

Sorry that last statement is wrong the vast majority pay the brochure price. Read the other boards. One recently had someone complaining that a cruise had gone down £200 since she bought it. The next day it went back up. The next cruise we are on has no offers. Please come up with facts and not conjecture. Unless you say that it is conjecture.

 

Remember as a proportion of the cruising public the number of people who use these boards and other Internet sites is quite small.

 

 

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

[sotonjoe]

That was a fact.

[daiB]

That was a fact.

 

No, speculation.

 

Looking at the web site most if not all cruises are well filled long before any cheap fares come in.

 

Do not forget the system has changed. Five years ago you would have been correct.

 

 

Gan Canny

 

Dai

[daiB]

That was a fact.

 

No speculation.

 

Looking at the web site most if not all cruises are well filled long before any cheap fares come in.

 

Do not forget the system has changed. Five years ago you would have been correct.

 

 

Dai