ARIA & EDEN problems - answers from P&O - Your thoughts?

[MicCanberra]

I don't take any notice of people's reviews - prefer to make my own decisions. I have not been disappointed with any of my cruises and can hardly wait for the next whichever ship I'm on. :)

 

Yep, I always take the reviews whether they are good or bad with a grain of salt as so many things can be subjective, however, some of them do have some great information.:D

[GUT2407]

I don't take any notice of people's reviews - prefer to make my own decisions. I have not been disappointed with any of my cruises and can hardly wait for the next whichever ship I'm on. :)

 

Yep, I always take the reviews whether they are good or bad with a grain of salt as so many things can be subjective, however, some of them do have some great information.:D

 

 

Yep read a review of a cruise you've been on, you may wonder if it was the same cruise.

[MicCanberra]

Yep read a review of a cruise you've been on, you may wonder if it was the same cruise.

 

Agreed, but then everyone views similar things with a differing perspective.

[happysnapper]

My thoughts are that none of this needed to happen.

The over reaction of some on board, the videos, and even the emails. The shake down cruises always have issues.

 

P&O will get their act into gear if they haven't already. My advice is to read the reviews over the next couple of cruises and if the issues persist, cancel your P&O cruise.

 

Perfect. Couldn't agree more.

[Murgat]

People do seem to find it easier to criticise especially when it comes to reviews.

 

I don't take any notice of people's reviews - prefer to make my own decisions. I have not been disappointed with any of my cruises and can hardly wait for the next whichever ship I'm on. :)

 

I read reviews but I take more notice of comments made on the

CC forums where there is talk back and forth with the opportunity for comment/correction/clarification. I am suspicious of reviews (positive or negative) that are the only posting by the reviewer.

[Cyrix400]

Seems crazy doesn't it.

 

That anyone thinks any line doesn't try and fix ANY problems they might have.

 

Any business for that matter.

Agreed - but a few points. The formal reply from P&O clarified some apparent confusion in light of the previous reviews i.e. that ALL tables are in fact being used in the main restaurant (no staffing issues?), that there is NO charge for alternative restaurants (P&O call centre was unsure when I enquired) and that ALL restaurants can be booked even on the first day of sailing. So now we are all clear abut that.

 

Secondly, each cruise line seeks feedback from its passengers, but my understanding is that not many people bother to complete surveys (often by e-mail).

 

So - I fail to see any harm in vigorously bringing to the attention of the senior P&O Aust Communication manager the published views of others (however unrepresentative they may be). I am impressed with the P&O prompt reply- good P .R.

 

I also do not feel that in general one should be unduly sensitive in voicing any concerns to any cruise line - and to the right person, if possible. After all they are all big boys and can defend themselves very well when needed.

[MicCanberra]

I read reviews but I take more notice of comments made on the

CC forums where there is talk back and forth with the opportunity for comment/correction/clarification. I am suspicious of reviews (positive or negative) that are the only posting by the reviewer.

 

Agreed, one time review postings are nearly always scathing and then they are never seen again.

[cruisin-m]

I have my first P&O Aust cruise on Eden in 6 weeks - they seem to have great hardware (ships) but according to a number of first reviews/ posts the service and the food still need quite a bit of work.

 

So on the basis of what people who have sailed Eden/Aria said already - and in light of the so-called 'review' on youtube - I thought it may be a good idea to get a formal response from P&O media people - for everybody on this forum to see. This is the media people job, after all.

 

I think that P&O Aust have a great chance with their boutique design ships (Celebrity lite decor?) to go a little bit upmarket - and in due course hopefully to attract better reviews. They have done something different and deserve to succeed and to diversify their client base.

 

And of course, I can only form my view about my own Eden experience after the cruise.

 

Sounds to me like you're on a witch hunt against P&O. Why don't you just go on the cruise and make up your own mind instead of following the opinions of others?:p :rolleyes: Like did you expect P&O to write back "You got us there" I'm surprised you even got a response from them.

 

I think the problem is that people are silly and compare P&O to Princess/Celebrity/Royal Caribbean when they clearly aren't the market for them, they can't understand that all cruises have a market and a "Standard".... don't expect to pay peanuts and get a diamond. Some people just incessantly whinge unfortunately as well, just can't help but be negative sooks.

 

I wouldn't cruise P&O unless they were a fair whack cheaper than Royal and Carnival but that's my personal preference.

 

Sounds to me like you may have already convinced yourself that you aren't going to have a good holiday... but please try for the sanity of others on board :)

[GUT2407]

I read reviews but I take more notice of comments made on the

CC forums where there is talk back and forth with the opportunity for comment/correction/clarification. I am suspicious of reviews (positive or negative) that are the only posting by the reviewer.

 

Agree about the need for back and forth.

 

I've read reviews of cruises I've been in and wondered if there was a mistake and they were on a different ship.

 

Also often what they're complaining about (when you can ask questions) is of no consequence to me.

[Cyrix400]

Sounds to me like you're on a witch hunt against P&O. Why don't you just go on the cruise and make up your own mind instead of following the opinions of others?:p :rolleyes: Like did you expect P&O to write back "You got us there" I'm surprised you even got a response from them.

 

I think the problem is that people are silly and compare P&O to Princess/Celebrity/Royal Caribbean when they clearly aren't the market for them, they can't understand that all cruises have a market and a "Standard".... don't expect to pay peanuts and get a diamond. Some people just incessantly whinge unfortunately as well, just can't help but be negative sooks.

 

I wouldn't cruise P&O unless they were a fair whack cheaper than Royal and Carnival but that's my personal preference.

 

Sounds to me like you may have already convinced yourself that you aren't going to have a good holiday... but please try for the sanity of others on board :)

But it will still be interesting to see how long it will take P&O Aust to get over their teething problems with Aria & Eden - and to have the positive reviews for these two ships on CC reach the average of the positives for their 3 other ships - i.e. 46% for Dawn and Jewel and 52% for Pearl.

 

And of course nobody can realistically expect the P&O Aust product to EVER reach close to 80% positive reviews for Radiance, Diamond Princess and Solstice.

[The_Big_M]

But it will still be interesting to see how long it will take P&O Aust to get over their teething problems with Aria & Eden - and to have the positive reviews for these two ships on CC reach the average of the positives for their 3 other ships - i.e. 46% for Dawn and Jewel and 52% for Pearl.

 

And of course nobody can realistically expect the P&O Aust product to EVER reach close to 80% positive reviews for Radiance, Diamond Princess and Solstice.

 

It's interesting you compare to Radiance (RCL) and also focus on the scores, still claiming that P&O is worse than others.

 

You may find it insightful to read one of the first reviews of one of Royal's newest ships, Quantum (credit to tmcw)

 

I was on the maiden voyage and it was a "Wow" experience all right, but not what USA Today reported in today's glowing review. From the 2-3 hour wait to get on the ship due to the total technological breakdown of Royal's high-tech "Smart Check-In" system, to the double-booking of our room, the failure to deliver luggage, the malfunctioning of almost every single aspect of the ship itself (the safes and fridges that couldn't be unlocked, the always out-of-service elevators, the ovens and toasters and Coke machines and ice cream machines that worked sporadically, the room air conditioning that couldn't be controlled, the new "smart" technology that made dinners last for hours, the long lines for every single thing on the ship), the piles of construction materials on our balcony and throughout the ship, and the hour and 1/2 disembarking process, this cruise was an unequivocal catastrophe. You expect some things to go wrong on any voyage, but not for most things to go wrong.

 

Even before the cruise, hours were spent trying to get reservations for the new Dynamic Dining program, only for them to be lost before we boarded. Nothing I'm reporting was unusual: we heard story after story of similar - and worse - experiences from other passengers. The next-to-last paragraph in this article is laughable at best and quite the opposite of what happened on the maiden voyage.

 

To give Royal their due, Quantum is undeniably beautiful. The crew, understaffed as they were, was hardworking and patient. Royal refunded a proportion of each stateroom's cost and all charges for the wifi that didn't work, and they offered a 25% future cruise discount. It was the least they could do after putting thousands of passengers on a ship that was not ready to sail.

 

It actually sounds a lot worse than a few empty tables in the restaurant (which is explainable anyway) for a maiden voyage and whatever else you raised.

 

And as you focused on the rating, you might want to check the Quantum one. After a year. 46%. So much for P&O being so bad, eh.

 

Or you may just keep with your comparative slagging off of P&O...

Edited December 13, 2015 by The_Big_M

[MicCanberra]

Following a review on the forum rather than just a review is fine but then most people just do the review because they want their rant and do not want to be slammed for it.

[The_Big_M]

Not sure about that.

 

Having a review in the formal section makes it more easily findable than the free flowing active area of the discussion forums. Additionally you can give formal scores that are then tabulated whereas any score if you give one in the forum doesn't get counted.

 

I think of them as separate areas and personally am not so inclined to put reviews in the forum. Not that there's anything wrong with posting them in the forum, and as you can see, not that I have a problem getting involved in subsequent discussion. :-)

[Aus Traveller]

Agreed, one time review postings are nearly always scathing and then they are never seen again.

On the other hand, it could be someone who posts occasionally, or even regularly, but they use a new (different) name for their post that they feel will cop some flack. :)

[MicCanberra]

On the other hand, it could be someone who posts occasionally, or even regularly, but they use a new (different) name for their post that they feel will cop some flack. :)

 

Possibly but there is no way to respond on the reviews except by starting a thread.

[Cyrix400]

Not sure about that.

 

Having a review in the formal section makes it more easily findable than the free flowing active area of the discussion forums. Additionally you can give formal scores that are then tabulated whereas any score if you give one in the forum doesn't get counted.

 

I think of them as separate areas and personally am not so inclined to put reviews in the forum. Not that there's anything wrong with posting them in the forum, and as you can see, not that I have a problem getting involved in subsequent discussion. :-)

And on that point - re your previous reply post re Quantum - yes, I am well aware of general reviews and her ranking - (and the mixed reviews of QM2 for that matter).

 

The 3 points I was trying to make in my last post, perhaps not so clearly are:

 

1. So far, because of the teething problems, the early scores for Aria and Eden are MUCH lower than the average scores for the 3 other P&O Aust ships - and I was wondering aloud how long will it take for Aria & Eden to catch up with their established 3 other ships - to come up to the average P&O Aust rating of around 50% - I am comparing apples with apples here (the same company)

 

2. I only referred to the Radiance, Diamond and Solstice as the 3 ships from 3 different companies in Aust waters with consistently much higher average rating (and even the the other Princess & RCCL ships in Aust rate in the mid 70's)

 

3. Again, in fairness to P&O Aust and their target market, (and as previous posters have noted), it will not be realistic to expect them to move to the average rating of around 80%

[sailingaway2]

I haven't replied because as stated , we have all said our views (basically very positive) on a number of threads already.

 

I just want to say that I have used my credit from P&O and booked another cruise on Eden. A four night, but it didn't seem long enough so I booked the following cruise as well - another 4 night. This is for March next year, so I'll report back again. And I'm excited to be cruising again so soon. I didn't think I would be next year with different family things happening.

 

Plus I'm expecting it to be as relaxing as the inaugural one was :)

 

Hi we are sailing on Eden in Feb realy worried about reveiws . Do you have to pay for your icecream and extra food outside of lunch and dinner,

[Aus Traveller]

Hi we are sailing on Eden in Feb realy worried about reveiws . Do you have to pay for your icecream and extra food outside of lunch and dinner,

Ice cream "yes"; food "no". Food is available most of the time in the buffet. Except for lunch and dinner in the dining room, icecream can be purchased.

[MicCanberra]

Hi we are sailing on Eden in Feb realy worried about reveiws . Do you have to pay for your icecream and extra food outside of lunch and dinner,

 

Don't stress, your Feb cruise will be fine. The teething issues will be long gone.:D

[Thorpe]

I only bought ice-cream once and it was delicious , I had 2 scoops in a cup (one ice cream and the other sorbet)

And I'm planning to buy some more on Eden again in March :)

[jn2003]

Do you have to pay for your icecream and extra food outside of lunch and dinner,

 

We are home from the Aria today. There's no free food between the hours of 10:30-11:30am and 14:30-17:30pm. They did keep the sandwich section of the Pantry open later on tender port days.

Food was able to be purchased from the Grill (burgers, hotdogs and chip etc) and from the New Zealand ice creamery (ice creams, banana bread and other similar coffee shop items). Also, the Blue room has large cookies for sale at the bar where you can also buy coffee.

A couple of times we took muffins or similar from either breakfast or lunch back to the cabin to have for afternoon tea.

[Cotto jaws]

I'm on the Pacific aria for 9 nights in January. I've been a little concerned about the reports but nothing has really concerned me too much. That was until now. I've started to see reports that they appear to have overbooked kids on the cruises. I've read reports on the p and o fans Facebook page of a race to get your kids in to kids club before it fills up and you are turned away. My kids (and secretly I) would be gutted if this happens regularly. The reason we booked early, paid full price and missed out on many incentives was to get our whole family on a cruise that we would all enjoy. I've got 3 kids split across 3 age groups meaning if it is as hard to get in to kids clubs as people are saying we might never get all the kids in at once. Hopefully this isn't the case.

[sailingaway2]

I only bought ice-cream once and it was delicious , I had 2 scoops in a cup (one ice cream and the other sorbet)

And I'm planning to buy some more on Eden again in March :)

 

Thanks for reply , did you find food and pantry were okay ,

[Cyrix400]

Seems crazy doesn't it.

 

That anyone thinks any line doesn't try and fix ANY problems they might have.

 

Any business for that matter.

To speed fixing things up, there is no harm in writing, yes WRITING, direct to the CEO of P&O - if people have special concerns, real complaints after the cruise or even compliments (?) (No e-mail address available - and for your $1 investment in the stamp at least somebody in the CEO's office will read it).

 

This is my letter written yesterday to Mr Sture Myrmell, Senior Vice President

P&O Australia, PO Box 2006 NORTH SYDNEY NSW 2059 - he will be the President from 1 Jan 2016. Feel free to share your thoughts with him as well.

 

"CONGRATULATIONS – AND PROBLEMS WITH ARIA & EDEN

 

Firstly, let me congratulate you on your promotion to the President, P&O Aust – and for your personal involvement in the design elements of Aria & Eden. Most comments have been very positive about the look and feel of these ships with a modern decor, and this encouraged early bookings by many.

 

Unfortunately, you are no doubt aware of the continuing teething problems with Aria and Eden. When I briefly spoke to 10 groups of random passengers disembarking Eden yesterday, 16 Dec 2015, in Sydney, most of them were NOT happy with the food in the Pantry (restaurant food OK) and the level of service – they rated the total experience at this ship (at best) as only 5 out of 10.

 

No doubt your corporate communication manager has also brought to your attention the initial very negative reviews about Aria & Eden on cruisecritic.com – and the relevant threads & posts on this site discussing why this has happened. To date these posts have been seen by about 2,000 people.

 

I have no doubt that the majority of experienced cruisers and the members of the cruise community have a lot of goodwill towards P&O - and they wish P&O to succeed.

 

But I wonder how long will it be (if ever) before Aria and Eden reach the average ‘loved it’ cruisecritic.com rating – currently they sit only at 13% and 21% for these ships, as compared to 45% to 50% for the three established P&O Aust vessels.

 

It looks like your new vice president responsible for guest experience will be a very busy person indeed. And I only hope that you can really emphasize to him/ her the seriousness of these problems for the potential cruisers.

 

Our small group of 12, going on Eden on 28 Jan 2016, still holds some hope for the things to get a little better – is it just wishful thinking??

Kind regards

[MicCanberra]

I'm on the Pacific aria for 9 nights in January. I've been a little concerned about the reports but nothing has really concerned me too much. That was until now. I've started to see reports that they appear to have overbooked kids on the cruises. I've read reports on the p and o fans Facebook page of a race to get your kids in to kids club before it fills up and you are turned away. My kids (and secretly I) would be gutted if this happens regularly. The reason we booked early, paid full price and missed out on many incentives was to get our whole family on a cruise that we would all enjoy. I've got 3 kids split across 3 age groups meaning if it is as hard to get in to kids clubs as people are saying we might never get all the kids in at once. Hopefully this isn't the case.

 

That is a worry, I take it that it is something that isn't guaranteed when booking.