The First Thing an American will notice about P&O is…

[Fitzplumbago]

I’m sure I’ve had French onion soup on a P&O cruise too. In fact I think the soups I’ve consumed on P&O ships are usually thick and tasty. 
 

Also, pancakes and waffles with maple syrup and crispy (yes crispy!) bacon can be ordered from The Quays for breakfast on Iona. 

[majortom10]

2 hours ago, LynnForestgate said:

A subject of the ...United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland....

as the passport will tell you

Exactly the same as what I said.

[AndyMichelle]

13 hours ago, Fitzplumbago said:

I’m sure I’ve had French onion soup on a P&O cruise too. In fact I think the soups I’ve consumed on P&O ships are usually thick and tasty. 
 

Also, pancakes and waffles with maple syrup and crispy (yes crispy!) bacon can be ordered from The Quays for breakfast on Iona. 

Definitely had French onion soup on P&O on multiple occasions, my favourite. 

My usual order for most nights is the 3 S's... Soup, Steak, Sundae... 

Can't go wrong... 

Andy 

[Huggsy]

You can be British but you can't have a British accent.

And don't forget, there's the British Isles 😁

[mervous]

I have loved all the helpful and tongue-in-cheek comments on this Being an English Brit, I have only ever sailed on American owned cruise lines and one MSc Italian cruise line, next week is my first trip on a British cruise ship.

I am not expecting the same level of excellent customer service that I have always enjoyed on carnival and Norwegian, i’m not expecting poor customer service but I have to say that when it comes to the restaurant service particularly the bars service the customer service on NCL has always been excellent.

But the one thing that I think you’ll notice more than anything will be in the entertainment department. It strikes me that on American cruise ships it is perfectly normal for a performer doing a one hour show to provide about 20 minutes Of actual entertainment (singing magic piano playing) and spend 30 minutes telling me how their grandmother inspired them, how comfortable they are with their curves, and how they have appeared on television in someplace I’ve never heard of. The remaining 10 minutes as usually spent reminding me what a great country America is and how grateful they are for the boys in uniform keeping them safe.

Personally, I find the family history tedious and boring, but the dedication to the country I think it’s something that we should all adopt, even if we tone  it down a little bit.

I feel the other thing that you may notice to be different on a British ship is that it is perfectly normal on an American ship that if somebody lets slip that they have served in an armed force of any kind, the other person in the conversation will thank them for “Their service “ This is something that I have adopted and I think it is the correct thing to do, but we Brits just do not do it.

we are also something of a loophole nation, although not relevant on a cruise, an example of this is that a motorway speed limit will be set at 70 mph, but everybody knows that you won’t be prosecuted for anything under 79 mph, so guess what the target speed is always. It’s just the way we are unfortunately.

I feel sure that you will feel welcomed on the cruise ship the one thing that we Brits are very good at is interviewing foreigners, in order to be fascinated at their life. You will have an absolutely superb vacation

[wowzz]

4 hours ago, mervous said:

I am not expecting the same level of excellent customer service that I have always enjoyed on carnival and Norwegian

Why not ?

Customer service on P&O,  imho, has always been good,  but does not come with the phony "have a good day" rhetoric you get on other lines.

Perhaps it would be better to comment once you have cruised with P&O, as then you would be in a better position to compare and contrast.

I have absolutely no idea what the  UK  motorway speed limit has to do with cruising ! The same rationale applies virtually everywhere. 

Edited February 6, 2022 by wowzz

[john watson]

13 hours ago, mervous said:

 

I feel the other thing that you may notice to be different on a British ship is that it is perfectly normal on an American ship that if somebody lets slip that they have served in an armed force of any kind, the other person in the conversation will thank them for “Their service “ This is something that I have adopted and I think it is the correct thing to do, but we Brits just do not do it.

 

Historically people from the UK are a bit more covert about being in the services.  I know a couple of guys who were in the parachute regiment and if people came in their garage and said they knew them, it was always because they were "in business together."  This was around the time of the troubles and in my experience the British have always been close to the theatre. Do you remember Sefton having a gallop around Hyde Park, doesn't happen in many countries.

 

Regards John

[bbtablet]

If you run into a Geordie on the ship you may well find that you cannot cut through the heavy accent to discover what on earth they are talking about. You will not be alone!

However, in this circumstance it is not wise to keep saying "wye eye mon!" every time you see them, as a smack in the face often offends.

[Cpt Pugwash]

On 1/20/2022 at 12:08 PM, majortom10 said:

United Kingdom is England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Great Britain is England, Scotland, Wales.

A Welshman told me on a cruise once that Wales is not classed as a country and that is why no part of the Welsh flag is incorporated into the Union Jack amd why he refused to wave a Union Jack Flag at sailaways.

[wowzz]

46 minutes ago, Cpt Pugwash said:

A Welshman told me on a cruise once that Wales is not classed as a country and that is why no part of the Welsh flag is incorporated into the Union Jack amd why he refused to wave a Union Jack Flag at sailaways.

Fortunately the jingoistic sailaways are no more. 

[Cpt Pugwash]

12 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Fortunately the jingoistic sailaways are no more. 

Personally i never got involved in them, i can make a fool of myself plenty of other ways.😜

[Cpt Pugwash]

On 2/8/2022 at 6:26 PM, bbtablet said:

If you run into a Geordie on the ship you may well find that you cannot cut through the heavy accent to discover what on earth they are talking about. You will not be alone!

However, in this circumstance it is not wise to keep saying "wye eye mon!" every time you see them, as a smack in the face often offends.

Know exactly what you mean, one cruise i was on this one guy would shout 'Hey Jock' to get my attention everytime he seen me and it did start to grate after a while.

[wowzz]

50 minutes ago, Cpt Pugwash said:

Know exactly what you mean, one cruise i was on this one guy would shout 'Hey Jock' to get my attention everytime he seen me and it did start to grate after a while.

Are you sure he wasn't a amateur terrorist shouting "Hijack !".

[lujaha]

I know the Americans like their eggs for breakfast.  As do we Brits.  P&O is the only cruise line I have been on that doesn't fry eggs to order.  Their fried eggs sit on a tray.  On my Iona cruise, just back, I saw a man bringing a fresh batch of eggs to put on the tray.  Ah, I thought, hot eggs.  No, cold eggs again.  Omelettes cooked in advance.  In my search for a hot egg we tried one of the main restaurants for breakfast.  I chose to have poached eggs.  Sadly they were cold too.  You can get a fresh omelette in the Quays though!  

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, lujaha said:

I know the Americans like their eggs for breakfast.  As do we Brits.  P&O is the only cruise line I have been on that doesn't fry eggs to order.  Their fried eggs sit on a tray.  On my Iona cruise, just back, I saw a man bringing a fresh batch of eggs to put on the tray.  Ah, I thought, hot eggs.  No, cold eggs again.  Omelettes cooked in advance.  In my search for a hot egg we tried one of the main restaurants for breakfast.  I chose to have poached eggs.  Sadly they were cold too.  You can get a fresh omelette in the Quays though!  

Princess doesn't fry them to order - well they didn't on our last cruise with them.

[picsa]

3 hours ago, lujaha said:

I know the Americans like their eggs for breakfast.  As do we Brits.  P&O is the only cruise line I have been on that doesn't fry eggs to order.  Their fried eggs sit on a tray.  On my Iona cruise, just back, I saw a man bringing a fresh batch of eggs to put on the tray.  Ah, I thought, hot eggs.  No, cold eggs again.  Omelettes cooked in advance.  In my search for a hot egg we tried one of the main restaurants for breakfast.  I chose to have poached eggs.  Sadly they were cold too.  You can get a fresh omelette in the Quays though!  

The simple solution is to remind the waiter that you want a freshly cooked and hot egg when you order and if it arrives cold then send the breakfast back.

 

Same in the buffet restaurants, if you find the food is cold then tell the restaurant manager - they will get you a hot version of whatever you want.

 

Don’t be a doormat and put up with poor service.

[lujaha]

1 hour ago, picsa said:

The simple solution is to remind the waiter that you want a freshly cooked and hot egg when you order and if it arrives cold then send the breakfast back.

 

Same in the buffet restaurants, if you find the food is cold then tell the restaurant manager - they will get you a hot version of whatever you want.

 

Don’t be a doormat and put up with poor service.

Should you have to ask for a hot egg?  Eggs are freshly cooked, fried or poached on other cruise lines.  Next time I have an all day breakfast, I will make sure I ask for a hot fried egg, or ham hot egg and chips!!

[terrierjohn]

7 hours ago, lujaha said:

I know the Americans like their eggs for breakfast.  As do we Brits.  P&O is the only cruise line I have been on that doesn't fry eggs to order.  Their fried eggs sit on a tray.  On my Iona cruise, just back, I saw a man bringing a fresh batch of eggs to put on the tray.  Ah, I thought, hot eggs.  No, cold eggs again.  Omelettes cooked in advance.  In my search for a hot egg we tried one of the main restaurants for breakfast.  I chose to have poached eggs.  Sadly they were cold too.  You can get a fresh omelette in the Quays though!  

I dont remember having a cold fried egg in the buffet, the trays keep them warm, and the plates are normally red hot as well. I have experienced coolish  poached eggs with buffet made eggs Benedict, but the next time I just asked for it to be cooked longer.

[Cruisemeister2002]

It has always been my opinion that our American friends expect and get a better standard of everything on a cruise than we the British get. We are learning to not accept second best but sadly I think we are way behind not just Americans but the Germans also. I remember going ashore one day when it was very hot and it was a tender port. On returning to get the tender there was a ship which was largely German occupied (If that's the correct term to use ) We as British P&O passengers returned to be greeted with a plastic cup of water whilst queuing in the sun. Whereas the German ship had put up a canopy for them to shelter from the sun and orange juice and other refreshments. As with ships that are Royal Caribbean that sail from Southampton they are generally older ships that have had their usefulness sailing out of Florida or some other US port and have been replaced by newer ships for the American market.

[wowzz]

4 hours ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

As with ships that are Royal Caribbean that sail from Southampton they are generally older ships that have had their usefulness sailing out of Florida or some other US port and have been replaced by newer ships for the American market.

Although Princess have some of their newest ships sailing out of Southampton,  so your argument loses traction.

[terrierjohn]

9 hours ago, wowzz said:

Although Princess have some of their newest ships sailing out of Southampton,  so your argument loses traction.

So do RCI who had Anthem here in its first year, and Indy came straight here after its complete recent refurb.

[Cruisemeister2002]

12 hours ago, wowzz said:

Although Princess have some of their newest ships sailing out of Southampton,  so your argument loses traction.

Did say Royal Caribbean, not the same as Princess although I am aware that they are, as with P&O part of the Carnival group. I will stick with my statement that Americans expect and get better service. They may pay more relatively, I don't know. Some would say "You get what you pay for" with P&O and again it could be said that the reason for cut backs in what you get and having to, if you wish, pay for what are now extra's is due to fares being cheaper.