First P&O Cruise - Possibly our last!

[lcheater]

OK, my wife and I are just back from a 2 night mini cruise on P&O's Azura from Southampton to Zeebrugge, back to Southampton.

 

This was our 2nd ever cruise, our first being last August for a 2 week roundtrip cruise from Southampton to the Med, on Princess' Crown Princess. Azura and the Crown are the same ship, just run by different cruise operators, so we knew what to expect from the ship in terms of size and layout. The similarities between the two ships sadly ended there for us...

 

Let me start by saying we aren't snobs by any stretch of the imagination, and we are down-to-earth and easy going people (both in our mid-late 20's). BUT... we see cruising as a very expensive top-notch holiday choice; and as a result, it is reasonable to expect good service and quality. Princess more than exceeded ALL our expectations and as a result, obviously this has set our expectations for future cruises.

 

I know i am comparing a 2 week £1600 per person cruise to a 2 night £220 per person cruise, but per night, the price isnt massively different. However, as one of the bar staff said to me just after we boarded, "this will be a different experience to a 2 week cruise, you will see people being carried away on stretchers and all sorts". I think what he was trying to say is this "cruise" is going to be like booze cruise. Obviously because its only a couple of hundred pounds per person, it is affordable to alot more people, which means the "class" (for want of a better word) of people on a 2 night cruise will be somewhat different to a 2 week cruise. OK, i accept that, and thats fine; as a result, i found the atmosphere to be quite good - lots more going on, the entertainment seemed to be enjoyed better etc. Buit thats no excuse in my opinion for the staff to let their hair down and lower their standards...

 

Maybe this is just the way P&O operate, and I shouldnt be comparing to Princess (a far superior cruise operator in my opinion), but I found the following thing unacceptable:

 

Despite multiple requests at all the bars we visited, not one of them could provide us with a cocktail menu or wine menu (except for the Peninsular Restaurant where a wine menu was provided). This is VERY poor in my opinion.

 

The laundry service ruined my brand new shirt which i sent to be ironed. The shirt came back with 4 or 5 different crease lines down the sleeves (instead of one running all the way down). I complained to my room steward, who responded with a big smile and a chuckle!!!??? I then visited the reception desk to complain and after a phone call to someone, the receptionist told me they had refunded the laundry charge. There was no apology from anyone!

 

Our room steward and the laundry person delivering our laundry both let themselves into our cabin unannounced whilst we were in it; once whilst i was in the middle of getting changed! Unacceptable in my opinion!

 

The length of time it took to be served at the bars (even though they weren't busy) was also unacceptable. The bar staff seemingly ignored me in favour of doing other things!

 

The formal evening dress code was not policed in the restaurants. My wife and I were dressed appropriately and in the middle of a quiet meal in the Glass House (think that's its name) when a group of people came in with T-shirts and jeans and sat next to us! The restaurant staff then told us to move our table away from them so that we weren't so close! We were not very impressed at all!

 

You could probably argue that all of the above *must* have been one-off isolated incidents, but the attitude of all the staff was the same, and we quite often witnessed things which we said "you wouldn't see that on Princess".

 

Lots of other finishing touch sort of details that were there on Princess were missing from P&O - tiny things which i would probably get slated for if i mentioned them on here, but to us, its the small finishing touches that differentiates between good and excellent.

 

I would be very interested to hear from people who have cruised P&O and Princess to see what your thoughts are.

[janny444]

Last year I did exactly the same cruise... one on the Crown Princess and one on P & O Ventura...as you say Icheater exact same size and layout but the cruise experience was as different as cheese and chalk with Princess far superior on every level.

[simonpjd]

The main thing is that it was a two nighter. They are renowned for being completely different to a two weeker. I suspect if you did a two night Princess trip your high opinion of them might come down a notch or two as well.

Having said that I agree with many of your points but would have expected lower standards - which is one reason I wouldn't have booked it.

[callow]

I was on this cruise and it is slightly different to the longer cruises. I personally had a great time. I have been on Azura for a 10 and 7 day cruise previously.

 

There were no menus in the bars, but each time I asked I was given one to look at. I also didn't find it a problem getting service. I found the food fantastic, although I did go to the Verona Italian on the first night. The beef wellington on formal night was superb. Much better than my previous cruise on Oceana.

 

I was in the Planet Bar just after 6pm on the formal evening when a couple came in wearing shorts and T shirts. The waiter immediately went over and explained that they were unable to serve them as the gentleman needed a jacket. They then left. They usually have little cracker nibbles there and I heard a group ask for them but the waiter said they didn't offer them on the 2 day cruise.

 

There were a lot of hen and stag dos on board, but it gave the ship a great atmosphere. Everyone was out to have a good time. I am sure they don't put much alcohol in the cocktails though. I was able to get through several without feeling under the weather. The atmosphere is much quieter on the longer cruises, hardly anyone up on the dance floor

 

I don't know about the ironing service, I would just have ironed it myself in the laundry room.

 

I don't think you can judge P&O by a 2 night cruise.

[lcheater]

The main thing is that it was a two nighter. They are renowned for being completely different to a two weeker. I suspect if you did a two night Princess trip your high opinion of them might come down a notch or two as well.

Having said that I agree with many of your points but would have expected lower standards - which is one reason I wouldn't have booked it.

 

I accept what you are saying about the difference between a 2 night and a 2 week cruise, but loads of people try a 2 night cruise as a sampler to help them decide whether to shell out thousands on a 2 week cruise; OK, P&O cant alter the people who are on these 2 nighters but they can at least provide their best quality services so that people are hopefully impressed enough to book again. All i know is that a 2 week cruise with P&O is out of the question!

[frenchmartiniplease]

Such a shame did not enjoy your trip! I've cruised Princess and P & O, Azura being my favourite ship ( I like Planet Bar, Sindu and Glass House).

 

I have found that for me, Princess does somethings better, some are done better by P & O.

 

What I will say is that 2 day trips seemed to be full of hen do's, stag do's and party groups, so I don't think any cruiseline will be showing itself at it's best.

 

I once did a 2 day trip on Independence of the Seas. Food and service was awful. Speaking to a friend who is a regular on RIC, it was nowhere near the standard normally experienced.

 

I was on the previous 4 night trip on Azura and it was as enjoyable as any previous cruises on Princess, P & O.:)

[lcheater]

Sounds like my expectations of a 2 night cruise being the same as a 2 week cruise is what has caused my disappointment. Its a shame because i am now going to be very nervous of booking any cruise (long or short) with P&O. As people have said, i suspect any cruise line will "let their hair" down a bit on shorter cruises because they know their customer base is a different sort of class (generally), and they also know not as much money has been spent.

 

Princess dont do short roundtrips from Southampton, which is why i will probably end up back on P&O again at some point in the future, but at least this time i will know what to expect!

[the english lady]

Yes I think it totally comes down to the difference between a 2 night cruise-where basically everyone is out to have a good time -and speed is of the essence, to the much more laid back feeling arou nd a 2 night cruise.

We once did a 2 nighter on Aurora, followed on by an 18nighter. It was totally different.

The waiters have time for you on a longer cruise.

Ref at the bars, it was once explained to me that if you go straight up to the bar , the guys behind the bar will always get a waiter to serve you-rather than themselves. I think its because the waiters get their grats from the drinks sales. We always sit down in comfy seats somewhere-rather than sit up at the bar-I am very short so it is difficult for me to sit at the bar anyway.

If you do consider cruising with p and O in the future, do look at all their ships and decide which one "fits" you better. Some are more traditional than others.

[frenchmartiniplease]

I know what you mean, Icheater. Although I believe my friend when she said what we experienced was nothing like she knew RIC could be, it's put me off.

 

Regarding 2 nighters, one friend told me how her sister went on a hen do and didn't realise the trip was nearly over till she saw the Spinnaker tower for the second time, they never slept in their cabins at all! I reckon the crew go into survival mode on these trips! lol

 

These very short trips get filled very quickly and although cheap, lots of money is spent in the bars.

 

On our 4 nighter we had 2 smart casual, 1 formal and 1 semi formal ( jacket required). The dress code is not required in the Glass House but was requested in select bars and dining rooms. In Planet bar, if customers were having a drink in casual dress, come 6-6.30, they were quietly informed that if they wished to stay in the bar, jackets or black tie was required if that was the code that night. I would say the majority of passengers dressed up and looked fab.

Personally, I'd avoid a 2 night trip like the plague on any cruiseline, though loads love them and have a great time.

[Tug10]

I have cruised on both the Ventura & the Azura as well as the Crown & the Grand with Princess.

Both are very similar and as someone else posted, there are little things that are better on each cruise line - I personally prefer the food on Princess.

My mum recently cruised on one of these short cruises to Bruges and she has previously sailed on both Azura & Ventura as well as Princess ships and she also commented that it was not at all up to standard to what she would expect.

It was basically full of hen and stag parties and she commented that the stag parties were fine but the hen parties were extremely loud and rude.

I know the shorter cruises you would expect these type parties but she said that there were a lot of first time cruisers who commented they would not be booking another cruise as this really put them off although my mum did advise them the longer cruises are not like this and to not be put off.

Also, there were a number of items that were not available such as smoked salmon at breakfast and the pastries were not replenished at all.

I understand that the prices are a lot less for the shorter cruise but you have paid your money and so should expect the same standard.

A friend of ours works on the P&O ships and she commentated that the staff do not like these shorter cruises because of the rowdy passengers and its very hard work for them in such a short time.

[P&O SUE]

I know what you mean, Icheater. Although I believe my friend when she said what we experienced was nothing like she knew RIC could be, it's put me off.

 

Regarding 2 nighters, one friend told me how her sister went on a hen do and didn't realise the trip was nearly over till she saw the Spinnaker tower for the second time, they never slept in their cabins at all! I reckon the crew go into survival mode on these trips! lol

 

These very short trips get filled very quickly and although cheap, lots of money is spent in the bars.

 

On our 4 nighter we had 2 smart casual, 1 formal and 1 semi formal ( jacket required). The dress code is not required in the Glass House but was requested in select bars and dining rooms. In Planet bar, if customers were having a drink in casual dress, come 6-6.30, they were quietly informed that if they wished to stay in the bar, jackets or black tie was required if that was the code that night. I would say the majority of passengers dressed up and looked fab.

Personally, I'd avoid a 2 night trip like the plague on any cruiseline, though loads love them and have a great time.

 

 

Hi, would you say the 4 nighter was a lot better? I have a 4 nighter booked in November and am hoping it's not as "party" as the 2 nighters!

[Mysticalmother]

Icheater - i confess that I wouldn't go on a 2 nighter with any cruise line for the reasons others have given - as well as your experiences which are not uncommon for these "party" cruises. But I am about to go on Azura for a 7 nighter, and haven't been on P & O for a few years now. I generally prefer the smaller, adult only ships, but am giving this a go, and will see whether or how much things have changed over the years. You will see I have been on Cunard for the last few times, and I know that they can and do have similar issues reported on their 2 nighters.

I'll do a review after my cruise! Hopefully I will give a balanced report - I am a "glass half full" person...

 

PS. I understand also (don't know how true it is?) that they sometimes use these trips as a training ground for some new staff - that might explain some of the problems too.:confused:

[frenchmartiniplease]

Hi, would you say the 4 nighter was a lot better? I have a 4 nighter booked in November and am hoping it's not as "party" as the 2 nighters!

 

Hi!

 

The 4 nighter we had last week ( Mon/Fri) was nothing like a party cruise, it was a great minibreak, though you probably need at least a week to really chill.

 

We had Freedom dining but we wanted to spoil ourselves and paid extra for the other dinner options. If you fancy trying these I would recommend booking Sindu and XV11 before getting on board ( I booked weeks ahead). These venues were VERY busy and we saw people turning up to see if there were cancellations. These places may not look busy when you walk past but tables are reserved and you're not rushed. Sindu dinner about 1 1/2 hours. They serve little tasters/muse bouches (sp) during the meal. XV11 took 2 1/2 hours. Again lots of little tasters, I staggered out of there truly stuffed.

 

As someone else said, bar staff are usually busy getting the bar waiters orders ready, so take a seat with a view in Planet Bar and relax. They do great Martinis.

 

Oooh! Just remembered. A few years ago we did a 3 nighter on Grand Princess from Southampton/Le Harve. visiting Honfleur. Again, was not a 'booze cruise'

 

Enjoy your 4 nighter.

[rooftop]

Working in the hospitality/entertainment industry myself (I am a theatre/venue manager), I know that my staff "brace" themselves for certain types of event. e.g. weddings where the families hail from certain areas known to be "rough"; certain types of live performance (60s / 70s soul music for example) which will attract a high percentage of drinkers (and has to be said, 60+ year olds who frankly should know better by now!!!).

 

When you're working in that environment it can be difficult to see the wood for the trees and consequently everyone tends to get treated the same way. I'm not saying it's necessarily right, but working in the industry myself, I'm pretty sure this is what is happening on these 2-nighter cruises.

 

Sometimes we get it wrong - for example we recently had a stand up comedian who attracted a very young audience - nearly all of the 600 audience were under 30. I thought we'd be in for trouble that night, but honestly they were the most appreciative and well behaved audience. They put the 60-year-old soul music "fans" to shame.

[frenchmartiniplease]

I agree rooftop.

 

Plus I think P&O feel these short trips are good earners. It's easier to fill a ship at say approx. £200-£300 than £1600 for a fortnight. Azura did 4 nights then the 2 nighter that the OP was on. Living in Southampton, we've noticed that the ships are in and out like fiddlers elbows. The crew must be exhausted turning round a ship every few days instead of weekly or fortnightly.

 

The very nature of a short trip with hen/stag parties, birthday, anniversary and even works do's means hectic bar duties.

 

I would agree MDR food on Princess is slightly better and at times the entertainment is as well. But, I prefer the extra vegetables served on P&O and that you can make your own tea and coffee in your cabin (no waiting for that early cuppa to be delivered or having to manipulate the other half to go and get it).:D

 

I like both cruise lines, itinerary is usually my decider. Both deliver an excellent product. JMHO

[jeanlyon]

Although I haven't been on a 2 night cruise, I have never waited more than about 2 minutes to be served in the bars, and there were always menus on the table. wonder why it would be so different on one of these?

[tartanexile81]

We've done cruises on different lines, ranging in length from 7 to 35 nights and have always loved every minute. However we'd never been sure if Royal Caribbean was for us, so last year we decided to do a taster cruise. It was just awful! We hated pretty much everything about it, particularly the general atmosphere on the ship and the large groups of people who wandered round (taking over?) all the venues. We've met lots of people who have nothing but praise for RC and have urged us to give them another try. We love Azura so I'm sorry you hated it so much but maybe you got the wrong impression, like everybody tells us we have of RC, because of the nature of the cruise rather than the whole of P&O?

Edited June 2, 2014 by tartanexile81

[alvin moondust]

Its fair to say that you have been on a P&O cruise ship and NOT on a P&O Cruise. I fear you were expecting rather too much. We have done three cruises with P&O and found the service to be excellent at all times

[rubydoobydoo]

I did a 2 night cruise on Oceana last July and it was really great, nothing like you describe. It was just as good as the 14 night cruises we have had on Oceana.

 

I did however see a drop in standards on our 12 nights Azuara cruise last October, our previous cruise on Azura was in 2010, and I am not a snob but Azura just seemed to attract a different type of cruiser

 

I have not sailed with Princess before but I have heard it is very good, I have certainly noticed the difference between P and O and Celebrity, which is now our first choice

[Sealoveragain]

I would NEVER book a 2 day cruise. P&O call them taster cruises, the staff call them party cruises and they loathe them or so we've been told by many of them. I really don't think they can give a good impression of P&O. I also think you may have been happier on one of the medium sized ships which are more traditional.

[Josy1953]

We were happy Princess cruisers until 2 years ago when we took our 23rd Princess cruise on the Crown Princess (2 weeks med) and it was so bad that we have said that we will never cruise with them again. We have since done 2 Cunard and 4 P&O cruises and have found both lines to be superior to the current Princess offering. I have yet to see teeshirt, shorts and flip-flops in the MDR on a formal night on P&O but this was common place on the Crown. Our room has been made-up every morning and turned down every evening on P&O not so on the Crown. We have never taken 3 hours to get a 3 course meal in the MDR on P&O, the waiters on the Crown could not be bothered to serve the food on the Crown, they were too busy arguing with the Maitre D' . We were so disgusted that we wrote to Princess who acknowledged that they had problems on the Crown and refunded part of our fare and offered us a 30% reduction on a future cruise seemingly they do not understand that a future cruise reduction is not enough to entice us back. We have never done a 2 nighter but in my opinion P&O are currently far better than Princess on 7 - 14 nighters.

[davedex]

OMG. You say you are in your mid to late 20s, this reads as if you have gotten old before your time, is a non ironed shirt really the end of the world? My kids say I have OCD but I don't think I'd be too bothered about that! If you are the age you say you are, why did you not do your research before you left as anyone who does knows that the whole experience on these two day cruises is VERY different.

I'd put it down to experience

[Ataraxia]

I thought P&O, Princess and Cunard were the same company with the brands serving different demographics.

[davecttr]

I thought P&O, Princess and Cunard were the same company with the brands serving different demographics.

they are all Carnival brands but with different styles. i have never tried Princess but will next year to see how it compares with P&O. hopefully there will be a more international set of passengers which might liven things up a bit. some P&O cruises can be very british, and i don't mean knees up and 'butlinesque' behavior I mean everyone in bed by 11pm and far too much Vera Lynn ;)

 

Cunard is not british either, tending to be too formal and more of a 'Downton Experience'. Obviously aimed at the american market as the onboard currency is dollars.

[Tom Baker]

I found the following thing unacceptable:

 

Despite multiple requests at all the bars we visited, not one of them could provide us with a cocktail menu or wine menu (except for the Peninsular Restaurant where a wine menu was provided). This is VERY poor in my opinion.

 

The laundry service ruined my brand new shirt which i sent to be ironed. The shirt came back with 4 or 5 different crease lines down the sleeves (instead of one running all the way down). I complained to my room steward, who responded with a big smile and a chuckle!!!??? I then visited the reception desk to complain and after a phone call to someone, the receptionist told me they had refunded the laundry charge. There was no apology from anyone!

 

Our room steward and the laundry person delivering our laundry both let themselves into our cabin unannounced whilst we were in it; once whilst i was in the middle of getting changed! Unacceptable in my opinion!

 

The length of time it took to be served at the bars (even though they weren't busy) was also unacceptable. The bar staff seemingly ignored me in favour of doing other things!

 

The formal evening dress code was not policed in the restaurants. My wife and I were dressed appropriately and in the middle of a quiet meal in the Glass House (think that's its name) when a group of people came in with T-shirts and jeans and sat next to us! The restaurant staff then told us to move our table away from them so that we weren't so close! We were not very impressed at all!

 

You could probably argue that all of the above *must* have been one-off isolated incidents, but the attitude of all the staff was the same, and we quite often witnessed things which we said "you wouldn't see that on Princess".

 

Lots of other finishing touch sort of details that were there on Princess were missing from P&O - tiny things which i would probably get slated for if i mentioned them on here, but to us, its the small finishing touches that differentiates between good and excellent.

 

I would be very interested to hear from people who have cruised P&O and Princess to see what your thoughts are.

 

Thank goodness, I thought it was just me! I have found this to be true on P&O (with the exception of formal nights, which are generally well respected) even on longer cruises.

 

I totally agree with you. Sat in the bar in exchange, it was nearly empty at the time. I waved at the waiter, he waved back, then chatted to his mate, put 8 selections in the Jukebox and then made his way over. My wife ordered a choco-banana, "we've run out of bananas" .... yeah right!

 

I sent my dress shirt to the laundry 3 days prior to the 2nd formal night, I had to chase it up at 6pm on the night, it came back grey, with several onyx buttons missing, and the sleeves were like crazy paving. If you're paying for a service you expect one. I received £16 compensation from P&O for a £75 dress shirt.

 

I have moved to Princess this year as I have lost faith and patience with P&O and definitely NOT a snob but P&O seem to be the cruise line now catering to the "Benidorm" crowd