Has P&O lost your trust

[bee-ess]

I wouldn't say they have lost my trust, it is just that I have had my eyes opened by cruising with Celebrity and my priorities have changed

 

I don't want to sail from Southampton again in a hurry as I have found that P and O are now having too many sea days for my taste, top that with unpredictable weather, and I also find the itineraries are not thrilling me either

 

 

I totally agree about the itineraries, there are only so many places you can go from Soton on a 'standard' 14 night holiday. There are some good itineraries on P&O but not for 14 nights as they mostly go from Southampton. Even the Caribbean itineraries are the same every year.

 

I for one would rather that the fares had not changed as I only consider P&O's current Standard to be worth the money at the Getaway rates.

Edited November 6, 2013 by bee-ess

[tjwa]

I for one would rather that the fares had not changed as I only consider P&O's current Standard to be worth the money at the Getaway rates.

 

I agree.

[kevinyork]

But the new pricing structure omits the key issue......what will the late availability fares be like? When they are half the Premium fares then people will once again be disgruntled. Its too early for the Jury to decide.

They will be very very cheap when you compare the lead in price to the select and saver fares. However now you will get NO choice at all with them. Except for the grade of cabin that will be it. No free upgrades as with getaway fares. No choice of dining and paying for shuttles. If enough people book the select/saver fares there may not even be the cheap cheap fares for the cruise you want, in the grade you want. Some people do not mind paying select prices, if they know they are getting more for their money than the late bookers.

Of course I guess we will still have people booking select fares , who find out about the with in 90 day fares, and bleat how they feal cheated. One just wishes they did some research first.

 

For someone like me then the choice is book early and save a bit, but get no choices, book late and save more but get no choices or dont book the Premium fare as its too expensive. Leaves me looking elsewhere.

[majortom10]

Well not quite.... Ryanair have a fleet of 300+ aircraft with a capacity of 57.000 seats. with a constant need to maximise seat occupancy You appear to have missed the point, it was whether it is a wise marketing strategy for P&O to be known for offloading last minute giveaways ( perhaps a better name than getaways)

 

Cb

 

Problem is Ryanair staff dont rely on tips to top up their wages, unlike waiters/cabin stewards, so they couldnt care if seats were empty in fact would prefer it because it would mean an easy journey. Also Ryanair dont make the majority of there profits from onboard spend during the 2 hr flights unlike most cruise companies who make most of there profit in that manner so therefore do not want to sail with any empty cabins.

[CCFC]

Until I book another cruise with them then its hard to say, my cruise last year with them was great but that was before all the pricing and loyalty rewards all got changed.

 

Must say the rewards for loyalty are not up to other lines standards by any means.

[Aloonie]

Yes P&0 have lost my "trust" but not just on pricing...as an earlier comment was made it is on quality of food...service....general overall running of the ships.

We have just returned from a cruise on the Ventura and the cutbacks are really beginning to show.Taken singularly they seem minor but add them all together and it really affects your overall enjoyment of the cruise. For many... but not for me...the end of Silver Service is a big big issue....really caused a lot of upset with the "regular" P&O cruisers We did exactly the same cruise in July but on a different cruise line and the difference between the two really really showed...P&O is an inferior product now in many ways and I am amazed that people only ever cruise with them ... there was so many people on board the Ventura who have only ever cruised with P&O....many for 20 years or more...that were very very upset at what is happening now as to the standards on the ship.

 

Thank goodness I only paid a Getaway fare....certainly wouldn't have been happy at paying a Vantage fare...will I cruise with P&O again...don't think so...not even with a getaway price...there are too many superior cruise lines...even within the same 4 star grading...

 

Hi

Sorry but we have just come back from a cruise on Ventura and found it the best ever. It was our 3rd time on her and everything was great.

[tjwa]

I have recently returned from a trip on Arcadia and if I had paid the Vantage fare I would have classed it as extortion but since I paid a Getaway fare it was a disappointment.

[janny444]

Hi Aloonie...you probably were on the same cruise and if what was on offer "ticked your boxes" all well and good but for us it did not. As I said we did a very similar cruise in July...just no comparison....far too many niggling things wrong....venue for guest speaker...a fiasco...TV in stateroom...pathetic unless you were willing to pay £1.99 for an old film..food/service in MDR not up to standard until 3rd night when we received a survey to fill in and then it did improve....debates..once again wrong venue....no films shown on the first 2 sea days to name but a few.

[simonpjd]

I just hope all these whingers actually do what they say they will do and sod off to another cruise line. Then those of us left will just have to put up with the rubbish that P&O give us - except , of course, it is not rubbish. Just that some are so picky they slag off everything - and I have no doubt will end up slagging off whatever line is 'lucky' enough to get their business.

[janny444]

Hi simonpjd....mmm..not sure if your comments are directed at me but if you are classing me as a "whinger" then I can assure you I am not...I could certainly have more important things to moan about than a cruise. Actually I have never had to "slag off" a cruise before...cruised with various cruise lines including P&O...I am just stating the "cut backs and "cutting of corners" that happened on this cruise...it is upsetting to be sat at a table in the MDR with a family and see them struggle with a son who had no arms and the mother pointed out that before P&O used to provide straws for his drink and cut up his food before served....not any more...she was just so glad that she had brought her own straws....now if you think that is "whinging" about nothing so be it but myself I think the cutbacks are really beginning to show.

[crompton21]

I can't help but feel that a large proportion of the negative comments are driven by anger with pricing issues. Hopefully the new structure may change some of that, but I can't help but feel that the new prices still look a tad high.

In general terms, it has been possible to get great deals via the getaway pricing, but it should be acknowledged that Carnival updated the stock markets indicating that it will post a loss in Q4. There appears to be a perfect storm of people wanting to pay almost nothing for a cruise (£40 per night seems to be available at the moment) and then moaning that there have been cutbacks.

When I first cruised in 2005, I think that about £100 per night was the average fare. There would appear to be a general perception that the cost per night that people are now prepared to pay is quite a bit less than that.

[daiB]

Hi Aloonie...you probably were on the same cruise and if what was on offer "ticked your boxes" all well and good but for us it did not. As I said we did a very similar cruise in July...just no comparison....far too many niggling things wrong....venue for guest speaker...a fiasco...TV in stateroom...pathetic unless you were willing to pay £1.99 for an old film..food/service in MDR not up to standard until 3rd night when we received a survey to fill in and then it did improve....debates..once again wrong venue....no films shown on the first 2 sea days to name but a few.

 

Sorry to upset you but these complaints do seem to me to be entirely trivial, what were you expecting on the TV? A speaker you thought was in the wrong venue??? A problem with the meals......which was then put right.

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[janny444]

Hi daiB...quite so taken individually they are all...except the family with the disabled son...quite minor issues BUT when put together it does impede on the overall enjoyment.

You ask what I was expecting on the TV...well..rather more than we got. Before....including P&O...there was quite a selection of channels and films to watch...this time there were 9 channels...4/5 were P&O promotional channels...the rest were news channels. You had to go on the interactive TV to receive more..179...95% or more had a charge of £1.99 to watch an old film...Dr Zhivago..Gone With The Wind etc.

Guest speaker in wrong venue...a big yes. Bear in mind that our first 3 days were at sea so many people like to go to listen to a Guest speaker especially if it is an interesting subject as this was. Where was it held....in the Tamarind Club...how many does the Club hold...350 people...how many on board...over 3000....it was chaos...people "crammed in"...sat on floor...blocking fire exits and quite a lot missing out altogether I actually spoke with the guest speaker after and he was not at all happy with the venue...he had wanted it in the main theatre. He said that there had been over 450 complaints...of which I was one....about it. When I told him what excuses P&O had come up with to me about why they hadn't held it in the main theatre he was amazed. Their excuses were just not believable.

Problem with the meals....indifferent ...rather cool...and a big complaint from "seasoned" P&O cruisers is the end of Silver Service. I have never on any previous cruise...P&O...whichever.. been given a survey to fill in at the end of our meal on the 3rd day in the MDR.

[bee-ess]

We have cruised on Ventura 4 times - first 3 times were good but the last time (T/A back from Carib Mar 2013) was not at all good, we had many complaints, mainly about the entertainment, especially during the day with many days at sea. No complaints about the food however but we and others we spoke to felt that the standards on this cruise had been 'cut to the bone', I know that they sold many cheap Getaways on this cruise but this is no excuse, not everyone had paid Getaway fare. We did pay a cheap fare and honestly did not feel that it was not worth even what we paid. We complained to P&O and were given a generous OBC to use on another cruise and full refund for an excursion that was very poor.

We at that point decided to finish with P&O but after a rethink decided to book another cheap cruise to use our OBC and booked a week on Oriana in July and it was wonderful, no complaint at all. So we wonder if the dropping of quality of the product is across the fleet or just on Ventura where there seems to be a greater level of complaints or were they just not making too much effort on the transatlantic we did in March. It has soured us for Ventura for sure but not P&O if the price is right - not sure that the product is worth the Select fares though, I feel that there will still have be a Getaway equivalent for last minute fares.

[Scriv]

Well, I can only say that our week on the Oriana in May was just wonderful and we could not fault anything anything on it.

[Josy1953]

Yes P&0 have lost my "trust" but not just on pricing...as an earlier comment was made it is on quality of food...service....general overall running of the ships.

We have just returned from a cruise on the Ventura and the cutbacks are really beginning to show.Taken singularly they seem minor but add them all together and it really affects your overall enjoyment of the cruise. For many... but not for me...the end of Silver Service is a big big issue....really caused a lot of upset with the "regular" P&O cruisers We did exactly the same cruise in July but on a different cruise line and the difference between the two really really showed...P&O is an inferior product now in many ways and I am amazed that people only ever cruise with them ... there was so many people on board the Ventura who have only ever cruised with P&O....many for 20 years or more...that were very very upset at what is happening now as to the standards on the ship.

 

Thank goodness I only paid a Getaway fare....certainly wouldn't have been happy at paying a Vantage fare...will I cruise with P&O again...don't think so...not even with a getaway price...there are too many superior cruise lines...even within the same 4 star grading...

 

I notice that the cruise that you are comparing P&O with was on Crown Princess, we have done 23 cruises on Princess and their standards have dropped so much since Carnival took over that we have said that we won't cruise on Princess again. We were on the Crown in May 2012 and it was so bad that for the first time ever I complained on board the ship about the standards of food and about the levels of service. Since then we have been on Ventura, Azura and Queen Mary all of which out-performed Princess by a long way. We will be going on Aurora in December and I feel sure that we will enjoy that too. We have also found that P&O are less expensive than Princess for the actual cruise, for tips and for onboard purchases. My only concern is that P&O are going along Princess's route of stopping free courtesy buses and making extra charges for things that have been free in the past and I just wonder how many other things will be introduced that will reduce the P&O offering to the level of Princess.

[English Voyager]

I can't help but feel that a large proportion of the negative comments are driven by anger with pricing issues. Hopefully the new structure may change some of that, but I can't help but feel that the new prices still look a tad high.

In general terms, it has been possible to get great deals via the getaway pricing, but it should be acknowledged that Carnival updated the stock markets indicating that it will post a loss in Q4. There appears to be a perfect storm of people wanting to pay almost nothing for a cruise (£40 per night seems to be available at the moment) and then moaning that there have been cutbacks.

When I first cruised in 2005, I think that about £100 per night was the average fare. There would appear to be a general perception that the cost per night that people are now prepared to pay is quite a bit less than that.

 

The basic question of supply and demand

 

How many new, especially mega, ships have come into service since 2005?

With more to come in 2014.

It is a case of too many cabin beds chasing too few customers.

 

The Cruise Companies have made a rod for their own back in bringing so many new ships into service, and creating a need to either maintain high standards with high prices and sail a ship partially full, or slash prices in order to fill the ship.

 

How can a 10 day cruise on the Queen Elizabeth, in a balcony cabin, for £499pp be economically viable?

[daiB]

I notice that the cruise that you are comparing P&O with was on Crown Princess, we have done 23 cruises on Princess and their standards have dropped so much since Carnival took over that we have said that we won't cruise on Princess again. We were on the Crown in May 2012 and it was so bad that for the first time ever I complained on board the ship about the standards of food and about the levels of service. Since then we have been on Ventura, Azura and Queen Mary all of which out-performed Princess by a long way. We will be going on Aurora in December and I feel sure that we will enjoy that too. We have also found that P&O are less expensive than Princess for the actual cruise, for tips and for onboard purchases. My only concern is that P&O are going along Princess's route of stopping free courtesy buses and making extra charges for things that have been free in the past and I just wonder how many other things will be introduced that will reduce the P&O offering to the level of Princess.

 

P&O are not stopping free buses, only for very late deals. Apart from speciality meals I cannot think of one thing I have paid for on P&O that I had not before. Do not believe all you read.

 

Many things on cruises are so subjective that many comparisons are difficult to relate to. I am sure that if I sailed with Princess I would have a great time. As with Thompsons, Celebrity, Silversea and any other line. After all it is a cruise.

 

 

Gan Canny

 

 

Dai

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[west2000]

I just hope all these whingers actually do what they say they will do and sod off to another cruise line. Then those of us left will just have to put up with the rubbish that P&O give us - except , of course, it is not rubbish. Just that some are so picky they slag off everything - and I have no doubt will end up slagging off whatever line is 'lucky' enough to get their business.

 

Good luck Simon and enjoy because if people do vote with their feet those left will have to pay handsomely to keep P&O afloat. People are unhappy, this is a forum and they are entitled to their opinions Unfortunately there are a few who only wear rose tinted specs when viewing the P&O product and then resort to abuse of those that don't share their views.

[Thejuggler]

If P&O now expect some passengers to pay for shuttle buses they should state in the brochures at which ports this will apply so passengers can assess how much of a benefit this is when paying full price.

 

Both Princess amd Celebrity charge. In 10 different ports with them the only one where a charge was made was Reykjavik and even then the city centre was within walking distance.

 

At other ports the buses were provided by the local tourist authority so were free anyway and at others no buses were necessary.

[davecttr]

P&O have a chance next year to redeem themselves over the Vantage fares fiasco. I expect anyone paying full fare and that includes those who have already booked as Vantage to be offered free upgrades to better cabins BEFORE any of those cabins are discounted in fire sales. This also includes those who have taken the no upgrade option. P&O should contact all early bookers 3 months before the cruise, in strict booking date order, offering a free upgrade to a cabin of choice, not just a general grade. If, after they have gone through that process, there are any cabins at a higher grade left they can discount them.

[majortom10]

Its a fallacy about P&O stopping silver service in main dining rooms they have not done proper silver service for many years all they do is bring meat and some veg plated and then serve other vegetables silver service. I for one am glad they are doing plated meals because when you are on a table for 8 and everyone has been served their main meal and then you had to wait while everyone was served vegetables was fed up of eating cold meals.

[Scriv]

That seems a very fair and sensible option, davecttr. Wonder if that will happen?

[Eastbourne]

Hello Cruisers!

 

I have read (too) much now about the ins and outs of fares but have a question!

It seems that Getaway passengers (I have booked 10 of these for Christmas!) don't get transfers included at the port. Can anyone tell me please does this refer to a trip to say, the town centre or is it for when the ship is far from the port entrance and therefore a bus is required just to leave the port?

I know many of the port entrances are within easy walking distance but I also remembered somewhere in the Middle East taking a lengthy ride just to get to the port exit!

 

Thank you in anticipation!

[daiB]

Hello Cruisers!

 

I have read (too) much now about the ins and outs of fares but have a question!

It seems that Getaway passengers (I have booked 10 of these for Christmas!) don't get transfers included at the port. Can anyone tell me please does this refer to a trip to say, the town centre or is it for when the ship is far from the port entrance and therefore a bus is required just to leave the port?

I know many of the port entrances are within easy walking distance but I also remembered somewhere in the Middle East taking a lengthy ride just to get to the port exit!

 

Thank you in anticipation!

 

You are fine until March no paying for buses before then.