Returning to P&O

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, funinhounslow said:

You are overlooking the fact that Carnival is over US$30 billion in debt

Oh, so that is the reason the MDR food and service quality has reduced in P&O. So why is it OK in Princess,and presumably HAL, Carnival, AIDA and possibly Costa.

[funinhounslow]

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

Oh, so that is the reason the MDR food and service quality has reduced in P&O. So why is it OK in Princess,and presumably HAL, Carnival, AIDA and possibly Costa.

How should I know I don’t work for them. 
 

You were the one listing business costs while ignoring the massive elephant in the room - tens of billions of debt…

[yorkshirephil]

4 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Oh, so that is the reason the MDR food and service quality has reduced in P&O. So why is it OK in Princess,and presumably HAL, Carnival, AIDA and possibly Costa.

It was great on Cunard too.

[Fionboard]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

ICF if everyone chose to ignore Brodies, the Club House and the Atrium all the other places you mentioned would be rammed.  The ship has 5200 passengers, big venues are needed to hold the events that are part of the cruise.  You go to bed early by your own admission, many don't and want to go somewhere lively where they have a sing and dance, watch the late night comedy etc.  It's totally impractical to say that the rest of the small venues can soak up these people. 

 

You speak of Azura and she's a totally different animal.  In her day she too was the most up to date and modern offering of the day.  More importantly people didn't want to eat in all the speciality restaurants, for British ship she and Ventura were a revelation in having 17 as it was then called.  

 

The many cruises you told me your been on last year are in the scheme of it really quite small.  There are people here on this forum who will do that number in a eighteen months or so (not me I hasten to add).  Arvia cannot in any way be called "serene"! Have a look at the Food thread for a current example of what I mean.  Her public areas inside are large, often crowded and noisy.  That's fine if people go aware of it.  

 

As someone who sails all year willl tell you a Caribbean port intensive sailing is not comparable in any way with a cut back itinerary in the Med with 8 seadays and only 6 ports.  You too might find that a different experience and not be quite so enthusiastic.  Until you try it is suggest you withhold comment on such a cruise.

 

Evening dress in the Quays?  Yes they are inviting you to go there in it.  On celebration night they've tried to relieve the pressure on the MDRs by offering special pop up food offerings in the Quays, one such being a tandoori offering.  

 

Here's a scenario.  Mr and Mrs Fred book Arvia and love one or two nights in their posh gear.  They think they'll get into a main MDR for that nice meal in their best big and ticket. On boarding the MDR has no availability so they ask reception  where might be nice to eat for that special night.  We have a pop up in the Quays  says the man. Oh that sounds nice says Fred.  Result, he finds himself dressed up in the Quays eating his self served Tandoori.  Don't mock it ICF, if you read enough reviews elsewhere it's happening - not everyone is I hasten to add complaining just telling their experiences.

 

Before jumping in defending the big ships you should remember that because you want to sit listening to quite stuff drinking cocktails many would gate that.  They want to dance, have a laugh etc and therefore need to use those venues you dislike.

 

Ps:  Brodies is a pub, it's MEANT to be.

Well put.  Can do without the rather sneering references to us "elderly" regular cruisers and those of us who prefer a different style of cruising to that offered on the new ships. Thank you.

[yorkshirephil]

Just now, Fionboard said:

Well put.  Can do without the rather sneering references to us "elderly" regular cruisers and those of us who prefer a different style of cruising to that offered on the new ships. Thank you.

Some people seem to struggle with the idea that we are all different and may or may not like the same things however much they push their opinions. Our tastes and capabilities have changed over the years and we adapt accordingly. 

[daiB]

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Oh, so that is the reason the MDR food and service quality has reduced in P&O. So why is it OK in Princess,and presumably HAL, Carnival, AIDA and possibly Costa.

Sorry food quality and service has not been reduced. The food we have had on Aurora, Britannia and Iona in the last 12  months has been good to very good 6 cruises in all.

[kalos]

2 hours ago, Fionboard said:

Well put.  Can do without the rather sneering references to us "elderly" regular cruisers and those of us who prefer a different style of cruising to that offered on the new ships. Thank you.

 

Great point , over the years I adapted from a rock group party animal into someone who 

has to take a little more care of myself, I'm sure I'm not alone but we cut our cloth to suit our needs .

 

[Eddie99]

Despite some of the more personal and unnecessary spats, I am enjoying reading this thread.  It has not put me off my impending return to cruising, after 4 years.  We disembarked Ventura on 8 February 2020.  We all know what happened next

 

I have always said that, for me, P&O offers value for money.  I’ve cruised on more expensive lines and expected and received higher service; I’ve gone cheaper and noticed the difference.

 

I have also always thought that you could put, say, 25 (or even 50) different people on the same cruise and they would have a different experience, dependant on any number of variables - party people v quiet people; early people v late people; young people v older people; families v singles v couples; first time cruisers v old hands, etc etc.  That being the case, it’s probably best not to rely entirely on another persons recollection and recommendations.  Reading across the range a drawing an overall idea might be helpful.

 

Anyway.  Thanks to everyone for their input.  I’ll report back in a few months after my return to P&O

 

 

Edited September 24, 2023 by Eddie99
Typo 🙄

[Ardennais]

1 hour ago, daiB said:

Sorry food quality and service has not been reduced. The food we have had on Aurora, Britannia and Iona in the last 12  months has been good to very good 6 cruises in all.

We found the food very good on Iona in Feb but sadly very poor on Britannia in April. 
 

Meant to add - service poor on Iona but good on Britannia! Very inconsistent, 

Edited September 24, 2023 by Ardennais

[daiB]

45 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

We found the food very good on Iona in Feb but sadly very poor on Britannia in April. 
 

Meant to add - service poor on Iona but good on Britannia! Very inconsistent, 

We must just be lucky. Service on Britannia excellent but we were in fixed dining. Cant fault Iona either. 

[CarlaMarie]

44 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

We found the food very good on Iona in Feb but sadly very poor on Britannia in April. 
 

Meant to add - service poor on Iona but good on Britannia! Very inconsistent, 

 

It is that inconsistency which is the most disappointing and frustrating.

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, daiB said:

Sorry food quality and service has not been reduced. The food we have had on Aurora, Britannia and Iona in the last 12  months has been good to very good 6 cruises in all.

Only in your opinion Dai, as a Yorkshireman I must have different ideas of food quality, because ,IMO it has declined in both choice and quality, since the pre C era.

Edited September 24, 2023 by terrierjohn

[Interestedcruisefan]

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Only in your opinion Dai, as a Yorkshireman I must have different ideas of food quality, because ,IMO it has declined in both choice and quality, since the pre C era.

Surely in terms of choice it should be easy enough to find menus to compare food choice pre Covid and post Covid in MDRs?

 

Quality less easy to compare of course and subjective 

 

Always seemed plenty of choices on the recent MDR menus we tried on Iona

 

Made even better because we were able to have extra starters and desserts and cheese if we fancied it

 

On the nights we couldn't choose

 

Anyone got any pre 2019 normal MDR menus from P and O to compare to now?

[Interestedcruisefan]

6 hours ago, Fionboard said:

Well put.  Can do without the rather sneering references to us "elderly" regular cruisers and those of us who prefer a different style of cruising to that offered on the new ships. Thank you.

I feel like I'm the  "elderly one" preferring the quieter and calmer places on the ship to Brodies and the Club House though?

 

Avoiding the casino etc

 

Aren't  I? 

 

And going to bed early?

 

I guess I could actually be called boring

 

Lol

[majortom10]

7 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Oh, so that is the reason the MDR food and service quality has reduced in P&O. So why is it OK in Princess,and presumably HAL, Carnival, AIDA and possibly Costa.

Certainly isn't OK on Princess as there has been a similar fall in service and quality. You must be very lucky to have cruised on all those lines since COVID or are you just guessing. My last cruise on Emerald Princess the service and quality was very poor, in fact that bad we enquired about disembarking the ship in Greenock half way through the cruise. If it wasn't for the extortionate cost of a train from Greenock- Glasgow-Southampton to pick up the car by we would have disembarked.

Edited September 24, 2023 by majortom10

[majortom10]

One of the major declines in food on P&O since COVID was the removal of the special of the day on the breakfast menu in MDR sadly no more.

[Interestedcruisefan]

5 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

One of the major declines in food on P&O since COVID was the removal of the special of the day on the breakfast menu in MDR sadly no more.

What kind of things were special of the day?

 

 

[Selbourne]

12 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Surely in terms of choice it should be easy enough to find menus to compare food choice pre Covid and post Covid in MDRs?

 

Anyone got any pre 2019 normal MDR menus from P and O to compare to now?

Yes, I do. However we are away on holiday at present (not on a cruise) and they are in my garage loft, so that’s a job for a day in the depths of winter when I’m at a loose end 😂 

 

My perception is that there is less choice, but primarily because some of the items that used to be in the ‘Always Available’ section at the bottom of the menu are now listed within the main menu in order to pad it out. 
 

Having had cruises on Britannia and Iona over the past 2 months, I would say that we have been pretty happy with the MDRs on both. We could usually find something that we fancied. All meals were served hot and with only a few exceptions, quality was perfectly OK as well. I’d say 3 to 4 star hotel equivalent. Portion sizes are definitely smaller - sometimes laughably so - but given that we are never too far from the next meal I haven't had to ask for more! I still marvel at how they can churn out so many meals in a mass catering environment and still get most of them to a pretty good standard. 
 

Reports from Ventura don’t sound so good, but we are on her next month so will see how we find it. 

[lincslady]

21 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I feel like I'm the  "elderly one" preferring the quieter and calmer places on the ship to Brodies and the Club House though?

 

Avoiding the casino etc

 

Aren't  I? 

 

And going to bed early?

 

I guess I could actually be called boring

 

Lol

I think other people have the impression that you feel everyone is cast in the same mould as yourself, and should be in agreement with you about the various  aspects of cruising life.

 

I hope you can by now see that you are wrong in this assumption,  on reading the comments on your posts, both on here and on flights to the Caribbean.

[Selbourne]

14 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

One of the major declines in food on P&O since COVID was the removal of the special of the day on the breakfast menu in MDR sadly no more.

Thankfully my favourite special which, from memory, was only available on Monday’s, has now made it on the the daily menu - Eggs Benedict 👍

[majortom10]

12 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

What kind of things were special of the day?

 

 

Nothing special just a set dish that changed on a daily basis the only example I. Could think of was corned beef hash which the wife liked with a poached egg, kedgeree and minute steak. Also on our last cruise there was no smoked haddock available all cruise for breakfast.

Edited September 24, 2023 by majortom10

[majortom10]

One thing that I didn't like is that there were no omelettes on the menu but they were available if you asked. Also didn't realise until our last full day that plum tomatoes were available as they were also not on the menu but a gentleman on the next table asked for them.

[Interestedcruisefan]

24 minutes ago, lincslady said:

I think other people have the impression that you feel everyone is cast in the same mould as yourself, and should be in agreement with you about the various  aspects of cruising life.

 

I hope you can by now see that you are wrong in this assumption,  on reading the comments on your posts, both on here and on flights to the Caribbean.

I just say what I see

 

Nobody has to agree with me at all

 

But similarly if I read something I don't see on the cruises I point it out

 

And always back it up with examples?

 

And/or ask questions. And often the answers help me plan better for my next cruise.

 

Knowing potential problems in advance helps me avoid those problems and find solutions

 

I watched a Forest game very early on in Brodies on my Iona cruise on May. It was barely half full. And service for drinks was slow DESPITE being barely half full. So if people say service is always slow in there and not enough staff then I won't disagree. 

 

But it's on my list of places to avoid.

 

Same with Beach Club. Last time I went in there could only get seats at the bar. It really did remind me of Butlins cabaret bars. So again rather than argue with people that it's too busy and not enough staff (we actually got served straight away by a waiter stood by the bar) I just avoid the place.

 

Im one of the first on here to say I find the Arvia and Iona atriums like a busy airport terminal. And also avoid them. It's put me off ever trying the steak at Keel and Cow so far. Despite the great reports on here. 

 

But I guess people who keep using those places every night do have a point. About too busy and not enough staff?

 

And MB is correct - I need people to use those places.

 

But I can at least tell the people on here about other places on the ship they can go for great fast personal service and calm, serene surroundings

 

When I'm cruising on the big ships that's where I head for. The atrium is just for passing through for me to go somewhere nicer

 

But Arvia and Iona 100 per cent have smaller places offering great service, great drinks, great food options and great entertainment. Knowing where to find them certainly helps

 

Maybe just keep it to between us all on here! Lol

 

It's all opinions of course

Edited September 24, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Interestedcruisefan]

6 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

One thing that I didn't like is that there were no omelettes on the menu but they were available if you asked. Also didn't realise until our last full day that plum tomatoes were available as they were also not on the menu but a gentleman on the next table asked for them.

Yep it's  interesting as I do think they will do extras for you that aren't advertised

 

On Iona MDR in May my wife asked for  avocado on toast (I assume it was on the menu) and the waiter asked if she would like some smoked salmon with it

 

Just to be transparent. I may have got that wrong and she asked for scrambled eggs with salmon and waiter asked if she would like avocado with it?

 

Basically the waiter suggested either avocado or salmon to add to her breakfast which wasn't advertised

 

So basically another good tip I would say people could learn from the above post and our experience is if you fancy something for breakfast that isn't advertised there's no harm asking

 

Not sure they will conjure up corn beef hash though!!

[CarlaMarie]

It is amazing what you can put your hand to quickly! The main menu from the Captain's Welcome On Board Dinner in 2013, on Oceana. I believe this was before they introduced the 'always available' choices.