After 5 P&O cruises.....Ive had a taste of Celebrity...

[scifimonkey]

We have travelled on Ventura, Azura and Silhouette and had a great time on all of them. IMHO X is not better than P&O but it is different in feel and in what it does well. Whether you like one or other will depend on exactly what you want from your cruise and how easily you can adapt to the differences.

ship/finish/design - slight win for X mostly down to the atrium and associated spaces and a bit on cabin finish. Only negative on X cabins is a lack of tea and coffee making facilities but maybe that's just us being typically 'British'.

Service - another slight win for X maybe this is due to the compulsory 15%service charge on everything or maybe it is training? That is not to say the service on P&O is in any way poor it is just exceptional on X.

MDR - big win for P&O, better atmosphere, less compressed tables and more effort made on formal and theme nights. Cheese board available every night. The food quality we have found more or less the same.

specialist restaurants - slight win for X but only because the choice is wider.

Entertainment - big win for P&O both in the main theatre and around the ship. For us the specialist club type venues on Ventura and Azura are far better than musicians haphazardly stuck in odd corners of bars however good the actual musicians actually are. Silhouettes club lounge was almost always half empty on our cruise relegated to karaoke. It seems that for US cruisers the draw of the casino and the martini bar is much greater than a secondary show and the ship is set up to cater for that taste.

Bars - win for X in terms of quality and variety the martini bar the molecular bar and Michaels Club are all excellent. We loved Metropolis and Planet but they cannot compete other than for entertainment.

Formal nights on P&O seemed better to us with greater participation and more of a special evening feel. (Though this will not attract if you would rather travel casual, this seems much easier to do without feeling like you are compromised for choice on formal evenings.)

Ports - P&O score for free port transfers but X seem to consistently have longer in port and most cruises have less sea days (though that is based on the number of UK departures which enforce a couple of days lead in and sail out to virtually anywhere.) so a draw for us here. P&O excursions also seemed to be significantly cheaper. Probably why the main topic of conversation on X roll calls is private excursions.

On board spend - for us at least it has been much lower on P&O as the drinks prices are cheaper even before you factor in X's compulsory 15% gratuity on everything. It shows up big time on bottles of wine where a huge number of good quality wines can be obtained for under £25 on P&O whereas you would do well to find anything under £25 on X and then there is 15% on top of that. 14 bottles of wine and it adds up. On top of this P&O allow bring your own. X will confiscate and there are no exceptions.

Generally we felt that X exploited every opportunity to fleece the flock whereas if P&O were doing the same it was slightly less obvious.

Fellow travellers - this is really subjective however being in a minority on X led to a more interesting range of conversations and views and a fair degree of cross cultural amusement compared to P&O where Welsh and Scottish were about as cosmopolitan as it got and Irish was positively exotic. I for one wish that P&O marketing were a bit more international. On the other hand P&O's policy of always offering a shared table on select dining led to some really interesting dinners compared to X's policy of seating you as a family only. Ideally being offered the choice would be best so you could choose according to your mood.

 

We have future cruises booked with both X and P&O based primarily on itinerary and am sure we will enjoy both equally but for different reasons. In so far as both have their irritations you just adjust to suit! I would hate to think that anyone passed up a chance to try either on the back of this post as unless you are intent on building elite status in one or the other I would urge people to try both.

Edited March 30, 2014 by scifimonkey

[daiB]

We have travelled on Ventura, Azura and Silhouette and had a great time on all of them. IMHO X is not better than P&O but it is different in feel and in what it does well. Whether you like one or other will depend on exactly what you want from your cruise and how easily you can adapt to the differences.

ship/finish/design - slight win for X mostly down to the atrium and associated spaces and a bit on cabin finish. Only negative on X cabins is a lack of tea and coffee making facilities but maybe that's just us being typically 'British'.

Service - another slight win for X maybe this is due to the compulsory 15%service charge on everything or maybe it is training? That is not to say the service on P&O is in any way poor it is just exceptional on X.

MDR - big win for P&O, better atmosphere, less compressed tables and more effort made on formal and theme nights. Cheese board available every night. The food quality we have found more or less the same.

specialist restaurants - slight win for X but only because the choice is wider.

Entertainment - big win for P&O both in the main theatre and around the ship. For us the specialist club type venues on Ventura and Azura are far better than musicians haphazardly stuck in odd corners of bars however good the actual musicians actually are. Silhouettes club lounge was almost always half empty on our cruise relegated to karaoke. It seems that for US cruisers the draw of the casino and the martini bar is much greater than a secondary show and the ship is set up to cater for that taste.

Bars - win for X in terms of quality and variety the martini bar the molecular bar and Michaels Club are all excellent. We loved Metropolis and Planet but they cannot compete other than for entertainment.

Formal nights on P&O seemed better to us with greater participation and more of a special evening feel. (Though this will not attract if you would rather travel casual, this seems much easier to do without feeling like you are compromised for choice on formal evenings.)

Ports - P&O score for free port transfers but X seem to consistently have longer in port and most cruises have less sea days (though that is based on the number of UK departures which enforce a couple of days lead in and sail out to virtually anywhere.) so a draw for us here. P&O excursions also seemed to be significantly cheaper. Probably why the main topic of conversation on X roll calls is private excursions.

On board spend - for us at least it has been much lower on P&O as the drinks prices are cheaper even before you factor in X's compulsory 15% gratuity on everything. It shows up big time on bottles of wine where a huge number of good quality wines can be obtained for under £25 on P&O whereas you would do well to find anything under £25 on X and then there is 15% on top of that. 14 bottles of wine and it adds up. On top of this P&O allow bring your own. X will confiscate and there are no exceptions.

Generally we felt that X exploited every opportunity to fleece the flock whereas if P&O were doing the same it was slightly less obvious.

Fellow travellers - this is really subjective however being in a minority on X led to a more interesting range of conversations and views and a fair degree of cross cultural amusement compared to P&O where Welsh and Scottish were about as cosmopolitan as it got and Irish was positively exotic. I for one wish that P&O marketing were a bit more international. On the other hand P&O's policy of always offering a shared table on select dining led to some really interesting dinners compared to X's policy of seating you as a family only. Ideally being offered the choice would be best so you could choose according to your mood.

 

We have future cruises booked with both X and P&O based primarily on itinerary and am sure we will enjoy both equally but for different reasons. In so far as both have their irritations you just adjust to suit! I would hate to think that anyone passed up a chance to try either on the back of this post as unless you are intent on building elite status in one or the other I would urge people to try both.

 

By far the best summery of the two lines I have read. Very fair and clear. Thankyou.

 

 

Gan canny

 

 

Dai

[Presto2]

We have travelled on Ventura, Azura and Silhouette and had a great time on all of them. IMHO X is not better than P&O but it is different in feel and in what it does well. Whether you like one or other will depend on exactly what you want from your cruise and how easily you can adapt to the differences.

ship/finish/design - slight win for X mostly down to the atrium and associated spaces and a bit on cabin finish. Only negative on X cabins is a lack of tea and coffee making facilities but maybe that's just us being typically 'British'.

Service - another slight win for X maybe this is due to the compulsory 15%service charge on everything or maybe it is training? That is not to say the service on P&O is in any way poor it is just exceptional on X.

MDR - big win for P&O, better atmosphere, less compressed tables and more effort made on formal and theme nights. Cheese board available every night. The food quality we have found more or less the same.

specialist restaurants - slight win for X but only because the choice is wider.

Entertainment - big win for P&O both in the main theatre and around the ship. For us the specialist club type venues on Ventura and Azura are far better than musicians haphazardly stuck in odd corners of bars however good the actual musicians actually are. Silhouettes club lounge was almost always half empty on our cruise relegated to karaoke. It seems that for US cruisers the draw of the casino and the martini bar is much greater than a secondary show and the ship is set up to cater for that taste.

Bars - win for X in terms of quality and variety the martini bar the molecular bar and Michaels Club are all excellent. We loved Metropolis and Planet but they cannot compete other than for entertainment.

Formal nights on P&O seemed better to us with greater participation and more of a special evening feel. (Though this will not attract if you would rather travel casual, this seems much easier to do without feeling like you are compromised for choice on formal evenings.)

Ports - P&O score for free port transfers but X seem to consistently have longer in port and most cruises have less sea days (though that is based on the number of UK departures which enforce a couple of days lead in and sail out to virtually anywhere.) so a draw for us here. P&O excursions also seemed to be significantly cheaper. Probably why the main topic of conversation on X roll calls is private excursions.

On board spend - for us at least it has been much lower on P&O as the drinks prices are cheaper even before you factor in X's compulsory 15% gratuity on everything. It shows up big time on bottles of wine where a huge number of good quality wines can be obtained for under £25 on P&O whereas you would do well to find anything under £25 on X and then there is 15% on top of that. 14 bottles of wine and it adds up. On top of this P&O allow bring your own. X will confiscate and there are no exceptions.

Generally we felt that X exploited every opportunity to fleece the flock whereas if P&O were doing the same it was slightly less obvious.

Fellow travellers - this is really subjective however being in a minority on X led to a more interesting range of conversations and views and a fair degree of cross cultural amusement compared to P&O where Welsh and Scottish were about as cosmopolitan as it got and Irish was positively exotic. I for one wish that P&O marketing were a bit more international. On the other hand P&O's policy of always offering a shared table on select dining led to some really interesting dinners compared to X's policy of seating you as a family only. Ideally being offered the choice would be best so you could choose according to your mood.

 

We have future cruises booked with both X and P&O based primarily on itinerary and am sure we will enjoy both equally but for different reasons. In so far as both have their irritations you just adjust to suit! I would hate to think that anyone passed up a chance to try either on the back of this post as unless you are intent on building elite status in one or the other I would urge people to try both.

 

You've saved us writing a new comment about Celebrity v P&O - couldn't agree more.

 

We are due to sail on Oceana having done 3 cruises on the Silhouette. We laughed recently when we booked a speciality restaurant on Oceana as it was sooooo cheap and are already looking forward to Britannia next year ---- no 15% service charge on drinks, far cheaper speciality restaurants, a kettle and teabags (!) , a real plug !, shower gel, cheaper tours, a formal formal night, no weight restriction and being able to bring on as much alcohol as we want to after our wine tours.:)

 

Having said all that - we will still miss Celebrity and, as they say, the "Beautiful Celebrity Silhouette" -

 

We'd sail with either cruise line any day and love both the same, but for different things. ;)

[gadabout60]

Just booked my second Celebrity cruise - Eclipse to Iceland and Norway. It will be useful to compare as it has been a couple of years since our previous celebrity cruise

[gadabout60]

sorry - double post

Edited March 30, 2014 by gadabout60

[NauticalMiss]

We have travelled on Ventura, Azura and Silhouette and had a great time on all of them. IMHO X is not better than P&O but it is different in feel and in what it does well. Whether you like one or other will depend on exactly what you want from your cruise and how easily you can adapt to the differences.

ship/finish/design - slight win for X mostly down to the atrium and associated spaces and a bit on cabin finish. Only negative on X cabins is a lack of tea and coffee making facilities but maybe that's just us being typically 'British'.

Service - another slight win for X maybe this is due to the compulsory 15%service charge on everything or maybe it is training? That is not to say the service on P&O is in any way poor it is just exceptional on X.

MDR - big win for P&O, better atmosphere, less compressed tables and more effort made on formal and theme nights. Cheese board available every night. The food quality we have found more or less the same.

specialist restaurants - slight win for X but only because the choice is wider.

Entertainment - big win for P&O both in the main theatre and around the ship. For us the specialist club type venues on Ventura and Azura are far better than musicians haphazardly stuck in odd corners of bars however good the actual musicians actually are. Silhouettes club lounge was almost always half empty on our cruise relegated to karaoke. It seems that for US cruisers the draw of the casino and the martini bar is much greater than a secondary show and the ship is set up to cater for that taste.

Bars - win for X in terms of quality and variety the martini bar the molecular bar and Michaels Club are all excellent. We loved Metropolis and Planet but they cannot compete other than for entertainment.

Formal nights on P&O seemed better to us with greater participation and more of a special evening feel. (Though this will not attract if you would rather travel casual, this seems much easier to do without feeling like you are compromised for choice on formal evenings.)

Ports - P&O score for free port transfers but X seem to consistently have longer in port and most cruises have less sea days (though that is based on the number of UK departures which enforce a couple of days lead in and sail out to virtually anywhere.) so a draw for us here. P&O excursions also seemed to be significantly cheaper. Probably why the main topic of conversation on X roll calls is private excursions.

On board spend - for us at least it has been much lower on P&O as the drinks prices are cheaper even before you factor in X's compulsory 15% gratuity on everything. It shows up big time on bottles of wine where a huge number of good quality wines can be obtained for under £25 on P&O whereas you would do well to find anything under £25 on X and then there is 15% on top of that. 14 bottles of wine and it adds up. On top of this P&O allow bring your own. X will confiscate and there are no exceptions.

Generally we felt that X exploited every opportunity to fleece the flock whereas if P&O were doing the same it was slightly less obvious.

Fellow travellers - this is really subjective however being in a minority on X led to a more interesting range of conversations and views and a fair degree of cross cultural amusement compared to P&O where Welsh and Scottish were about as cosmopolitan as it got and Irish was positively exotic. I for one wish that P&O marketing were a bit more international. On the other hand P&O's policy of always offering a shared table on select dining led to some really interesting dinners compared to X's policy of seating you as a family only. Ideally being offered the choice would be best so you could choose according to your mood.

 

We have future cruises booked with both X and P&O based primarily on itinerary and am sure we will enjoy both equally but for different reasons. In so far as both have their irritations you just adjust to suit! I would hate to think that anyone passed up a chance to try either on the back of this post as unless you are intent on building elite status in one or the other I would urge people to try both.

 

Excellent post by scifimonkey - very balanced.

 

We have just started cruising with P&O as the line has been recommended by so many associates. We have enjoyed 2 cruises with them so far, and have a third booked for later this year. Previously we have cruised with Cunard and Celebrity and what finished us was the auto-tip, the hidden extras and the lack of evening entertainment. We had received perfunctory service (or less) on Celebrity and were loathe to pay an extra 15%. After a busy day exploring ports we like to have a great dinner and be entertained. Only one meal impressed me on the Eclipse. And I don't recall seeing my cabin steward after the first day. Conspicuously absent. For me, my Celebrity experience was a case of style over substance, and I shall be reluctant to sail with them again; although never say never. I like the adult-only ships offered by P&O. Just had a great time on Arcadia. But that's just our opinion.

 

The cruising industry as a whole offers something for everyone - one man's meat is another man's poison, etc. And even ships within a single cruise line differ, so it's a mistake to judge the entire line on one single ship.

[Thejuggler]

Just booked my second Celebrity cruise - Eclipse to Iceland and Norway. It will be useful to compare as it has been a couple of years since our previous celebrity cruise

 

Same trip as we did last year and it was excellent.

[jeanlyon]

Very good write up by SciMonkey. I think we will stick with P&O and Fred. We don't like big ships and going by what has been written, we will stay with the smaller ones.

[cruisebore]

Having recently returned from Eclipse, I enjoyed the bands in the bars, and the very good guest entertainers in the theater. The theater company IMHO did not start to compete with the Headliners. Not being a fan of tribute acts I did not miss them. I felt the MDR was quite basic a little cramped and the food little better than P&O. The buffet luncheon was more extensive than that offered by P&O and possibly of a higher quality.

The staff were wonderful, their interaction with the customer was far superior to the somewhat perfunctory service on offer all to regularly these days on P&O. The passenger demographic would be 65 upwards mainly American seniors, but with many French, German and a fare sprinkling of Brits. Drink prices were not a problem as we had a package, however as the short measures were so generous, you bill wouldn't be to high if you stuck to G&T's When returning to the ship you were always welcomed back home, however to me it did not seem like home, well! not in the way P&O does.

 

Cb