bobstheboy Posted October 2, 2023 #1 Share Posted October 2, 2023 I have just logged on to my cruise on Iona in Jan 25, 35 nights to Caribbean. Alongside the four MDRs it says in red letters No Booking Needed. On my Arvia cruise I have just returned from, they were far more accommodating if you wanted the same table, same time, every night. Anyone else seeing the same ? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancashire_cruisers Posted October 2, 2023 #2 Share Posted October 2, 2023 We go on `Iona in a few weeks and yes ours says the same. I wonder what the system will be instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrierjohn Posted October 2, 2023 #3 Share Posted October 2, 2023 22 minutes ago, lancashire_cruisers said: We go on `Iona in a few weeks and yes ours says the same. I wonder what the system will be instead? Hopefully back to the turn up when you want, and if prepared to share, get seated immediately. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted October 2, 2023 #4 Share Posted October 2, 2023 2 minutes ago, terrierjohn said: Hopefully back to the turn up when you want, and if prepared to share, get seated immediately. And if you don't want to share? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancashire_cruisers Posted October 2, 2023 #5 Share Posted October 2, 2023 5 minutes ago, terrierjohn said: Hopefully back to the turn up when you want, and if prepared to share, get seated immediately. I do hope not! I have no interest in sharing a table - ever! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted October 2, 2023 #6 Share Posted October 2, 2023 (edited) I've read the opening post again and am hoping those who want to book and are happy to use the app to do so are still able to do so And that we can still have our own queue away from the guests who just want to turn up on spec and either shared or be turned away with a pager I'm sure that must be the case It won't just be a free for all Edited October 2, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Megabear2 Posted October 2, 2023 #7 Share Posted October 2, 2023 59 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said: And if you don't want to share? You wait with a pager if there's no immediate availability to sit as was always the case. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted October 2, 2023 #8 Share Posted October 2, 2023 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Megabear2 said: You wait with a pager if there's no immediate availability to sit as was always the case. Which is 100 per cent a step backwards if thats the case. For those that have embraced the app and prefer the virtual queues or just to book ahead Hence why I hope app booking and virtual queues remain an option as well For those who wish to take advantage I note the opening post says booking not needed Suggesting you stil can book if you prefer Can't believe they would abandon pre booking for those who value that option Edited October 2, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Megabear2 Posted October 2, 2023 #9 Share Posted October 2, 2023 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said: Which is 100 per cent a step backwards if thats the case. For those that have embraced the app and prefer the virtual queues or just to book ahead Hence why I hope app booking and virtual queues remain an option as well For those who wish to take advantage I note the opening post says booking not needed Suggesting you stil can book if you prefer Can't believe they would abandon pre booking for those who value that option Contrary to your experience a very great number have replied to P&O's Feefo review request indicating the restaurant situation with the app has been challenging. Way back in July a representative of P&O indicated there that they acknowledged P&O had a problem with the app and dining. Why would they not change the way things are to see if they can improve things for the passengers if that's what the passenger has indicated it would prefer? Until Iona and Arvia there was no booking required to dine in MDRs put simply they broke the system on the other ships to try something different on the new ones. Edited October 2, 2023 by Megabear2 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bee-ess Posted October 2, 2023 #10 Share Posted October 2, 2023 We are in a minority but would like it if club dining was available on these 2 ships or at least the option for same table same time every night 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted October 2, 2023 #11 Share Posted October 2, 2023 (edited) 20 minutes ago, Megabear2 said: Contrary to your experience a very great number have replied to P&O's Feefo review request indicating the restaurant situation with the app has been challenging. Way back in July a representative of P&O indicated there that they acknowledged P&O had a problem with the app and dining. Why would they not change the way things are to see if they can improve things for the passengers if that's what the passenger has indicated it would prefer? Because pagers are obsolete, outdated and entirely anti eco and environmentally unfriendly in the world we now live in? They need charging with electricity on an ongoing basis and/or batteries replacing. And need disposing of in an environmentally friendly way at the end of their life cycle They are bulky versions of basic text messaging which is basically a single yes or no message at the end of a wait you receive no information about and cannot reply back to Like I say if P and O revert back to physical queues and pagers for bookings for MDR full stop its such a backward step in so many ways it's untrue Keep them for the people who really want them for old time sake etc but not for the entire cruise And don't deny the people who want to pre plan and pre book their dining the opportunity to do so I shouldn't worry as there's no way they will take the backward step of doing this I'm sure the message is just to appease the cruisers who prefer the old ways and booking the 21st century way is still an option for all who want to Edited October 2, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Megabear2 Posted October 2, 2023 #12 Share Posted October 2, 2023 6 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said: Because pagers are obsolete, outdated and entirely anti eco and environmentally unfriendly in the world we now live in? They need charging with electricity on an ongoing basis and need disposing of in an environmentally friendly way at the end of their life cycle They are bulky versions of basic text messaging which is basically a single yes or no message at the end of a wait you receive no information about Like I say if P and O revert back to physical queues and pagers for bookings for MDR full stop its such a backward step in so many ways it's untrue Keep them for the people who really want them for old time sake etc but not for the entire cruise And don't deny the people who want to pre plan and pre book their dining the opportunity to do so I shouldn't worry as there's no way they will take the backward step of doing this I'm sure the message is just to appease the cruisers who prefer the old ways and booking the 21st century way is still an option for all who want to Your outrage speaks volumes. Now you might understand why others were unhappy when their preference was removed. If the app booking does turn out to not be in use will you feel it necessary to complain about it or will you just go along with what's being offered? Now you see the dilemma P&O faced, just who do they need to keep happy! 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted October 2, 2023 #13 Share Posted October 2, 2023 (edited) Interestingly despite the UK being such a small per cent of the worlds population we account for 10 per cent of the pagers still being used in the world and will be no doubt be the very last country to abandon the use of them as old habits really do die hard with us guys Edited October 2, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted October 2, 2023 #14 Share Posted October 2, 2023 1 minute ago, Megabear2 said: Your outrage speaks volumes. Now you might understand why others were unhappy when their preference was removed. If the app booking does turn out to not be in use will you feel it necessary to complain about it or will you just go along with what's being offered? Now you see the dilemma P&O faced, just who do they need to keep happy! There's no way they will stop using the app or stop people pre-booking. Too many other things happen with the app as well I'm sure this is purely for those who don't want to use the app and don't want to manually book in advance to give them the options they are used to. Although I guess we are assuming that will involve pagers tbh. As thats what's happened in the past. Maybe there's another plan altogether? There's not enough pagers left in the modern world to cope with ionas MDRs Megabear!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Eglesbrech Posted October 2, 2023 #15 Share Posted October 2, 2023 18 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said: Because pagers are obsolete, outdated and entirely anti eco and environmentally unfriendly in the world we now live in? In the scheme of things pagers have a miniscual environmental impact when compared with cruise ship travel and flights to the Carribean surely. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Selbourne Posted October 2, 2023 #16 Share Posted October 2, 2023 2 hours ago, bobstheboy said: I have just logged on to my cruise on Iona in Jan 25, 35 nights to Caribbean. Alongside the four MDRs it says in red letters No Booking Needed. On my Arvia cruise I have just returned from, they were far more accommodating if you wanted the same table, same time, every night. Anyone else seeing the same ? I believe that this has always been the case on Iona. The ability to book the same table every night was unique to Arvia due to the problems caused by the latter only having two MDRs, in an attempt to pull some demand forward away from peak times. As Iona has four MDRs there is no need for this. The app seemed to work well on Iona and we didn’t notice any excessive waits. The problems occur when people don’t use the app and just turn up and/or pagers are used. This is what we experienced on Britannia and it just doesn’t work having three different systems operating (app, turn up and pagers). The restaurant team couldn’t cope so they turned the app to ‘Queue Full’ so those doing as requested and using the app got the worst service and the longest waits. IMHO it’s a shame that they can’t find a way to make the app compulsory and remove any ability to allow pre bookings, walk ups and pagers. That way the app would work brilliantly and there would be minimal waits. Because they can’t do that (due to those who can’t or won’t use the app) chaos can ensue, as we discovered! People worked out that the quickest way to get seated was to ignore the app and just turn up, which made a mockery of the whole thing. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Megabear2 Posted October 2, 2023 #17 Share Posted October 2, 2023 1 minute ago, Interestedcruisefan said: There's no way they will stop using the app or stop people pre-booking. Too many other things happen with the app as well I'm sure this is purely for those who don't want to use the app and don't want to manually book in advance to give them the options they are used to. Although I guess we are assuming that will involve pagers tbh. As thats what's happened in the past. Maybe there's another plan altogether? There's not enough pagers left in the modern world to cope with ionas MDRs Megabear!! I'm not worried, I can assure you I won't be gracing Iona or Arvia with my presence any time soon! Might make the other ships better for the rest of us though so fingers crossed. Perhaps Medallion is coming ... OMG 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted October 2, 2023 #18 Share Posted October 2, 2023 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said: In the scheme of things pagers have a miniscual environmental impact when compared with cruise ship travel and flights to the Carribean surely. You can say that about lots of things that happen on cruise ships but they all add up don't they? I love reading the daily horizons myself. But let's be honest what a huge waste of paper they are The debates on here about people wanting two or three sets of fresh towels daily etc. Complaints about plastic trays no longer being available etc At a time when there is a real urge or movement to reduce unnecessary waste etc UK cruise ships will probably be the last to move with the times based on their customer base and habits I understand why some like them but pagers really are obsolete devices now and unnecessary clunky additions that add so little value to anything Most companies that make them have either closed down or gone bust? It's a bit like sat navs? They served a purpose but they are obsolete now Smart phones and apps have replaced them Edited October 2, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted October 2, 2023 #19 Share Posted October 2, 2023 10 minutes ago, Selbourne said: I believe that this has always been the case on Iona. The ability to book the same table every night was unique to Arvia due to the problems caused by the latter only having two MDRs, in an attempt to pull some demand forward away from peak times. As Iona has four MDRs there is no need for this. The app seemed to work well on Iona and we didn’t notice any excessive waits. The problems occur when people don’t use the app and just turn up and/or pagers are used. This is what we experienced on Britannia and it just doesn’t work having three different systems operating (app, turn up and pagers). The restaurant team couldn’t cope so they turned the app to ‘Queue Full’ so those doing as requested and using the app got the worst service and the longest waits. IMHO it’s a shame that they can’t find a way to make the app compulsory and remove any ability to allow pre bookings, walk ups and pagers. That way the app would work brilliantly and there would be minimal waits. Because they can’t do that (due to those who can’t or won’t use the app) chaos can ensue, as we discovered! People worked out that the quickest way to get seated was to ignore the app and just turn up, which made a mockery of the whole thing. But surely the message is: Bookings not needed in MDRS Not that you can't book at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Eglesbrech Posted October 2, 2023 #20 Share Posted October 2, 2023 1 minute ago, Interestedcruisefan said: I understand why but pagers really are obsolete devices now and unnecessary despite the fact some people liking them definition. - “no longer produced or used; out of date” They are not obsolete as per the dictionary definition as P&O (and other cruise lines) still use them on a daily basis. On Iona I tried to use the app for the Olive Grove but they switched it off after it reached a certain number so I was issued with, guess what, a pager. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrierjohn Posted October 2, 2023 #21 Share Posted October 2, 2023 4 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said: You can say that about lots of things that happen on cruise ships but they all add up don't they? I love reading the daily horizons myself. But let's be honest what a huge waste of paper they are The debates on here about people wanting two or three sets of fresh towels daily etc. Complaints about plastic trays no longer being available etc At a time when there is a real urge or movement to reduce unnecessary waste etc UK cruise ships will probably be the last to move with the times based on their customer base and habits I understand why but pagers really are obsolete devices now and unnecessary despite the fact some people liking them Most companies that make them have either closed down or gone bust? It's a bit like sat navs? They served a purpose but they are obsolete now I assume your last 2 sentences refer to free standing sat navs, compared to built in ones. Although I would guess there are still more cars sold in the UK without built in sat navs, and most older cars will not have one built in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted October 2, 2023 #22 Share Posted October 2, 2023 10 minutes ago, Megabear2 said: I'm not worried, I can assure you I won't be gracing Iona or Arvia with my presence any time soon! Might make the other ships better for the rest of us though so fingers crossed. Perhaps Medallion is coming ... OMG I'm tempted to say that old time cruisers stuck with old habits (that's not you by the way MB) using other ships rather than Arvia and Iona might make them better for modern cruisers as well in the long run when apps are fully embraced and standard and we don't have separate queues for anything and we don't have compromises aimed at keeping everyone happy at the same time There's probably some truth in both points of view for both types of cruiser to be fair There's cruises out there for all tastes but mixing modern technology with old habits and expectations on the same ship is a hard mix for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted October 2, 2023 #23 Share Posted October 2, 2023 1 minute ago, terrierjohn said: I assume your last 2 sentences refer to free standing sat navs, compared to built in ones. Although I would guess there are still more cars sold in the UK without built in sat navs, and most older cars will not have one built in. Yes I used to have issue them to my staff Cost me a fortune and we used to lose them and have to replace on a monthly basis Now they all use their phones and it's real time traffic finding the best route as they travel Absolute godsend I drive a BMW which has an intelligent satnav built in linking with other BMW drivers etc but still nowhere near as reliable and intelligent as googlemaps. So I just use Googlemaps on my phone now unless I don't mind making a few mistakes with my journey and I have time But I imagine we must still have people in the UK who buy road maps. Probably a lot of them like to go on cruise holidays! Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Eglesbrech Posted October 2, 2023 #24 Share Posted October 2, 2023 8 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said: I'm tempted to say that old time cruisers stuck with old habits And P&O who switch off the app when it is overwhelmed and then they (not “old timers stuck with old habits”) issue pages as per my previous post. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Interestedcruisefan Posted October 2, 2023 #25 Share Posted October 2, 2023 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said: And P&O who switch off the app when it is overwhelmed and then they (not “old timers stuck with old habits”) issue pages as per my previous post. On the rare occasions the app goes down Compared to every night trying to operate different rules for different people to try and make everybody happy and then compromising everybody together into a bodge job of how to book As selbourne points out above Has anyone cruised on a Japan cruises lately. I bet theyve got it nailed and everybody using modern tech together ? And I bet it works great? Japan got rid of pagers several years ago now from life in general full stop Edited October 2, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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