New to P&O

[mdandp]

Hello - we are new to P&O but not to cruising. We have sailed with Disney and Royal Caribbean many many times but the perfect itinerary has come up in September 2021 on Ventura (Baltic) out of Southampton and the price is unbeatable. I have read around the forums and all the groups and FAQs and I just wondered as a newbie if I could ask a few things?

 

We don’t do formal nights - we love to watch other people dressed beautifully but it just isn’t for us. What will our dinner options be? Only the buffet? Or can we still eat in the MDR on formal nights as long as it’s no shorts and trainers? Are there entire areas of the ship you can’t go at night if you were, for example, in smart dark jeans? For example, could we still eat food and drink beer somewhere?

 

About the buffet - I see that in the evening a small area has an additional charge for I’m assuming a better quality menu items? Do you know what the current surcharge is? And is the normal “included” buffet still open for dinner? I guess what I mean is that if we didn’t want to eat in the MDRs for the 2 weeks and were happy with less options, are there still places to eat at dinner time?

 

On sea days are the cinema options pretty good? As in, a few showings etc?

 

Can someone tell me whether the evening shows are on twice like other cruise lines to catch first and second diners or whether it’s a one show a night thing? And if so, any thoughts on a start time? We will have a disabled teen with us and I’m wondering what our evening entertainment might look like.

 

Thanks in advance for any help [emoji5]

 

 

 

 

 

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[yorkshirephil]

6 minutes ago, mdandp said:

 

Hello - we are new to P&O but not to cruising. We have sailed with Disney and Royal Caribbean many many times but the perfect itinerary has come up in September 2021 on Ventura (Baltic) out of Southampton and the price is unbeatable. I have read around the forums and all the groups and FAQs and I just wondered as a newbie if I could ask a few things?

 

We don’t do formal nights - we love to watch other people dressed beautifully but it just isn’t for us. What will our dinner options be? Only the buffet? Or can we still eat in the MDR on formal nights as long as it’s no shorts and trainers? Are there entire areas of the ship you can’t go at night if you were, for example, in smart dark jeans? For example, could we still eat food and drink beer somewhere?

You can still use the MDR on formal nights, plenty of people will dress in smart casual wear, it can vary from ship to ship though. Ask the maitre de on the first night. There will be a few places where more formal dress is required on formal nights but still plenty of places where casual is OK.

 

About the buffet - I see that in the evening a small area has an additional charge for I’m assuming a better quality menu items? Do you know what the current surcharge is? And is the normal “included” buffet still open for dinner? I guess what I mean is that if we didn’t want to eat in the MDRs for the 2 weeks and were happy with less options, are there still places to eat at dinner time?

You can eat in the buffet anytime, the small area has a surcharge, around £ 8 pp.

 

On sea days are the cinema options pretty good? As in, a few showings etc?

This is a bit hit and miss, depending on what you actually want to see, they do have reasonably new films.

 

Can someone tell me whether the evening shows are on twice like other cruise lines to catch first and second diners or whether it’s a one show a night thing? And if so, any thoughts on a start time? We will have a disabled teen with us and I’m wondering what our evening entertainment might look like.

There will be 2 shows per night, on odd occasions they may have 3 if it is a new show.

 

Thanks in advance for any help

 

 

 

 

 

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[Adawn47]

Formal nights  in the MDR  on P&O in my experience has always been black tie. Not necessarily dinner suit or tux but a suit with shirt and tie.

[daiB]

You would not be able to use the MDR on formal night without a minimum of a dark suit and tie. Most men would wear a DJ on any cruises in excess of 95%.

 

The buffet and the Beach House are OK for casual wear on formal nights.

 

Whatever some people would like to think happens, P&O are still a very formal cruise line on those 2 Formal nights per week.

 

On Ventura there are films shown but they are not a regular feature, ie at the same time each day.

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, mdandp said:

Or can we still eat in the MDR on formal nights as long as it’s no shorts and trainers?

Short answer is  "No".  And the answer given earlier that smart casual wear is OK, is, IMHO, totally wrong. At the very least, a man will require a jacket, dress shirt and a tie, and NO jeans. On our last cruise, 100% of men wore jacket and ties to the MDR on formal nights, with the vast majority in DJs.

And, of course, shorts are not allowed anywhere in the ship after 6 pm, unless you are in the Caribbean, which obviously doesn't apply in your case.

Edited February 19, 2020 by wowzz

[pete14]

I completely agree. The first advice you were given (that you can wear smart casual in MDR on formal night) is completely incorrect. The dress code is well observed and enforced. On a recent cruise, I stupidly forgot to take my black jacket. I spoke to the maitre d in advance of the first formal and he allowed me to eat in the MDR (I was wearing smart black trousers, white dress shirt and bow tie) the first formal night and lent me a spare jacket for the others. 

The part of the buffet used as a speciality restaurant in the evening is the Beach house which offers good food at a modest surcharge. There is still a large area of the buffet left for people wishing to dine buffet-style. 
 

Ventura has a few options for evening entertainment, not just the main theatre. I am sure you will be able to find music, comedy, dancing etc which suits you.

[Denarius]

"We don’t do formal nights - we love to watch other people dressed beautifully but it just isn’t for us. What will our dinner options be? Only the buffet? Or can we still eat in the MDR on formal nights as long as it’s no shorts and trainers? Are there entire areas of the ship you can’t go at night if you were, for example, in smart dark jeans? For example, could we still eat food and drink beer somewhere?"

On my recent cruise on Azura a minimum of jacket and tie was required on Black Tie evenings in the main restaurants and the Epicurian. The buffet, Beach House, Sindu (which on previous cruises had required jacket and tie) and the Glass House accepted smart casual. As regards bars, only the the Blue Bar and Planet Bar required a jacket and tie. I would expect Ventura to operate in a similar fashion, su there will be plenty of places to eat and drink if you chose to remain smart casual.

[emam]

These are for the last formal night on our cruise on Ventura in 2017. Though they are old it will give you an idea.Obviously any prices on them will be out of date. I thought I had the ones for 2018 but they aren't where they should be and we were on Britannia last year.

 

I think the Beach House on a night is American themed food, but others will confirm this. Though a lot of people on here don't like the buffet, if you go later on in the night it is a lot quieter and nicer, around 8.30 pm. I go into the buffet a lot to get a hot drink and have noticed that on opening times of any meal it is always crowded. It's better to wait until it calms down. However on a morning it is better early on before everyone gets up.

 

I'm not sure if I shold have added these as attachements rather than inserting them, maybe someone can advise me on that for future reference.

 

 

[wowzz]

Yes, the Beach House is a US themed restaurant, with a cover charge of £7.50 iirc. Certain menu items, such as steak on a hot rock incur a supplement. 

[kruzseeka]

Here you go.... Beach House Menu with extravcharges for some items over and above the £7.50? cover charge .

https://www.pocruises.com/onboard-activities/dining/beach-house

There are two menus which change mid week usually so even if on a one week cruise you could sample both menus.

This is the Sindhu menu.  Not certain- someone will no doubt know the charge but I think it may be around £25 p.p..

https://www.pocruises.com/onboard-activities/dining/sindhu

 

P.S. You'll notice the example of wine prices on the Beach House menu are very reasonable - much cheaper I suspect than RIC.

 

 

Edited February 19, 2020 by kruzseeka

[wowzz]

32 minutes ago, kruzseeka said:

Here you go.... Beach House Menu with extravcharges for some items over and above the £7.50? cover charge .

https://www.pocruises.com/onboard-activities/dining/beach-house

There are two menus which change mid week usually so even if on a one week cruise you could sample both menus.

This is the Sindhu menu.  Not certain- someone will no doubt know the charge but I think it may be around £25 p.p..

https://www.pocruises.com/onboard-activities/dining/sindhu

 

P.S. You'll notice the example of wine prices on the Beach House menu are very reasonable - much cheaper I suspect than RIC.

 

 

The Bon Viveur house wine was £6 for a 250ml glass,  last week. I can't imagine that the wine in the Beach House would be cheaper than elsewhere on the ship, so I suspect that P&O have not updated their web page. 

Still cheap compared to other lines however! 

[jh1809]

36 minutes ago, kruzseeka said:

Here you go.... Beach House Menu with extravcharges for some items over and above the £7.50? cover charge .

https://www.pocruises.com/onboard-activities/dining/beach-house

There are two menus which change mid week usually so even if on a one week cruise you could sample both menus.

This is the Sindhu menu.  Not certain- someone will no doubt know the charge but I think it may be around £25 p.p..

https://www.pocruises.com/onboard-activities/dining/sindhu

 

P.S. You'll notice the example of wine prices on the Beach House menu are very reasonable - much cheaper I suspect than RIC.

 

 

Sindhu is cheaper than that. From memory it's £15 per person, unless it's gone up recently. Fantastic value considering what you get.

[kruzseeka]

10 minutes ago, jh1809 said:

Sindhu is cheaper than that. From memory it's £15 per person, unless it's gone up recently. Fantastic value considering what you get.

 

I've just picked this up (which may well be out of date too!!😁) but the prices vary according to cruise length but gives details of each ship's restaurant cover charges.

https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/life-on-board/cover_charges

 

[HappyGiraffe]

The list of where the dress codes apply on each ship is here: https://ask.pocruises.com/help/po/life-on-board/enforced_dresscode

 

The main options for non-formal dining on black tie nights (roughly 2 per week) are the buffet and the Beach House. The buffet is fine, but we really enjoy the Beach House and think it's worth the small amount extra. We check which nights are black tie when we get on board and then, depending on whether we've packed formal stuff, we book the Beach House to either avoid or coincide with the formal nights. The rest of the week, the main dining room has a more relaxed evening casual dress code, there's examples of the different dress codes here: https://ask.pocruises.com/help/po/life-on-board/dress_code

[AndyMichelle]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

The Bon Viveur house wine was £6 for a 250ml glass,  last week. I can't imagine that the wine in the Beach House would be cheaper than elsewhere on the ship, so I suspect that P&O have not updated their web page. 

Still cheap compared to other lines however! 

You still here??? 

I keep asking them to block you!!! 

Nobody listens to me... 😊

Andy 

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, HappyGiraffe said:

The list of where the dress codes apply on each ship is here: https://ask.pocruises.com/help/po/life-on-board/enforced_dresscode

When was the glass house restricted to formal attire, it was definitely smart casual last January?

[HappyGiraffe]

2 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

When was the glass house restricted to formal attire, it was definitely smart casual last January?

 

Good question! Perhaps you are more up to date than the website! 

[wowzz]

4 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

You still here??? 

I keep asking them to block you!!! 

Nobody listens to me... 😊

Andy 

I have been officially told that I must not say anything, as to do so breaches the forum rules. 

[terrierjohn]

6 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I have been officially told that I must not say anything, as to do so breaches the forum rules. 

Sounds about right!😇

[Denarius]

20 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

When was the glass house restricted to formal attire, it was definitely smart casual last January?

I agree. I sailed on Azura this January 2020 and the evening dress codes in bars and restaurants were most definately as per my previous post on this thread. I have never known formal attire to be required in the Glass House, although on previous cruises it was in Sindu.