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What a year 2025 has been

We’ve loved welcoming each and every one of you Thank you for all your support. We can’t wait to see you in 2026!





















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[david63]

We’ve loved welcoming each and every one of you

Not me you haven't

We can’t wait to see you in 2026!

You will be having a long wait

[oldbluefox]

Good luck with your new mates P&O. I’ll not be one of them

[Onelife]

Only 68 weeks to go…Oh! how time flies.

[Cheshire Cruiser]

'Holiday like never before' how true that is, it used to be so much better.

[towny44]

I am beginning to wonder if I am in the correct forum, although there have been some minor reductions in P&O's cruise offerings, they are no worse than many other cruise line changes, and certainly have little impact on our overall enjoyment. So not for us any negative vibes, especially as the new ships offer so much more than the old days.

[Portsmouth]

If the price is right and the itinerary suits then I would be fine with another cruise with P&O for 2026

[david63]

I am beginning to wonder if I am in the correct forum, although there have been some minor reductions in P&O's cruise offerings, they are no worse than many other cruise line changes, and certainly have little impact on our overall enjoyment. So not for us any negative vibes, especially as the new ships offer so much more than the old days.

It is a few years since we last cruised with P&O and I can accept that some of the reductions that occurred immediately after Covid have now been resolved but because of those problems we have tried several other cruise lines and found that what they offer is more to our liking with the main one being dining. We tried freedom dining on P&O pre Covid and hated it - if busy had to have a pager and wait, although had a table for two it was treated as a table for eight. With other cruise lines we are able to go to the dining room at whatever time we wish and go straight to a table for two and be treated as a table for two. We also like the option to be "all inclusive" that some other cruise lines offer without the extortionate price that P&O ask for their offerings.

Don't get wrong there are some aspects of P&O that are far better than other cruise lines but they do not, in our opinion, outweigh the disadvantages, but the real killer now is having to drive down to Southampton (and for us the coach is not a viable option)

[towny44]

Because Pauline needs a wheelchair and an accessible cabin, we prefer to sail on the newest ships available, which have the most up to date accessible features. Most of the ships sailing from the northern ports are rather old, have fewer balconies which are usually farely expensive, and they are far less wheelchair friendly, and since we want to sail south it adds at least a full day's extra sailing, so 2 days less time in the sun.
As for dining, the new menus on P&O are a much improved quality and far tastier than the old bland menus.
Finally P&Os pricing is far more competitive than most others, so the other cruise lines really do need to offer a higher quality service to justify their price premium.

[oldbluefox]

I understand why towny would choose the newer P&O ships, even Azura which I likened to a submarine due to its lack of natural light!!!
Since Covid I have been very disappointed with P&O which is sad because they were my preferred cruise line. However the product has changed so much, cuts have been made and standards allowed to drop to the extent we have decided to literally jump ship. P&O is no longer worth the long trek down to Southampton. The experience of our last couple of cruises onboard Arvia were the final straw. It's a beautiful ship but P&O are now catering for a different clientele and the ambience has changed - arguments over sun beds, disgraceful (and embarrassing) messes left by families in the buffet, drunken behaviour by those determined to get their money's worth from their drinks package whilst their little ones created mayhem at 9.00 at night etc etc. And I'm not a fan of having my evening meal on Freedom dining with all and sundry coming and going, waiters clearing tables and relaying tables, not the long wait between courses by waiters who look totally stressed. I suppose that is 'progress' although I always maintain progress should be for the better otherwise it is regress but I have left with many happy memories of what P&O was.

[Cheshire Cruiser]

Between July 2023 and June 2025 we took cruises on 4 different P&O ships (58 nights in total). Whilst some of the post covid issues such as supply chain problems and staff shortages were clearly behind them we could not help noticing on each of these cruises yet more things which used to be included were no longer provided. Some were minor such as the lack of sewing set or bowl of sweets in the cabin, other were significant to us such as no port lectures nor printed port guides, the latter replaced by on line versions more targeted at marketing local businesses than providing useful informtion about the port town or city. After two 2023 cruises, and in part inspired by fellow passengers recommending other lines, we started to look elsewhere and found between May 2024 and May 2025 each of Princess, Cunard and Fred Olsen gave us a good experience and whilst they may not provide all of the things P&O no longer gave, each did for example still provide useful port lectures so we knew for example where in the city the shuttle bus would drop us off, useful for planning the day. We still however had our 2024 and 2025 cruises with P&O already booked and decided rather than lose the deposits we would go with these in the hope things might improve but no improvements were visible to us and we found although now fully staffed many of the waiters had now not been properly trained and were giving very sloppy service. We decided what we had found elsewhere provided a better cruise experience and sometimes even at a similar price or not that much more expensive and consequently we see our cruising future with these lines.

That is not to say P&O are completely awful, entertainment and guest speakers whilst subjective are generally of a very high standard and they have the widest choice of ex UK itineraries. Prices are always competitive and sometimes downright cheap but we are not looking for a cheap holiday, we are looking for a memorable holiday and the enjoyment we have had on recent P&O cruises has mainly been in spite of P&O rather than (as used to be the case) because of what they provide. In 2024 the reply to comments passed to customer services contradicted our experience, telling us what always happens rather than acknowledging on this occasion in several cases what should happen did not, that plus being blatantly lied to by a waiter in the Epicurean who told us 'this is the last bottle on the ship' when it continued to be widely available in the other restaurants - and we overheard him try (and get away with) the same line with another passenger some days later, did not help either, it was more profitable for them to not properly manage (or more accurately deliberately mis-manage) their wine stocks so that passengers would have to buy the higher priced wines presumably with a personal advantage to the staff.

So our decision to leave P&O is based on our own experiences and preferences and we are aware whilst some others are of the same view, acknowledge that others are content to stay with P&O for often very valid reasons such as those outlined by Towny44 above, and many new passengers will be attrected to P&O and be blissfully unaware the experience they enjoy has been considerably diluted compare to recent years.

We are all guided by our own preferences and experiences and for us it is no more P&O whilst for others P&O continues to fit the bill.

[oldbluefox]

I concur with everything you say about the lack of port talks and the lack of information online. It seemed P&O were only interested in promoting their own excursions.
I'm afraid if you have become accustomed to a band on the quayside and drinks on the promenade deck at sailaway a few drinks with the ents team around the pool doesn't cut the mustard. P&O not only provided a very enjoyable cruise experience at a competitive price but included little niceties which just added that extra bit of sparkle which made it special. We are no longer P&O's target market.

[Mervyn and Trish]

We have a family cruise booked on Arvia this summer - we couldn't afford to take them all on any other line. But for the two of us I doubt we'll be back. And I'm sorry if this sounds snobbish but it's the clientele they're now attracting that puts us off. Too many loud drunks.

[Onelife]

We have a family cruise booked on Arvia this summer - we couldn't afford to take them all on any other line. But for the two of us I doubt we'll be back. And I'm sorry if this sounds snobbish but it's the clientele they're now attracting that puts us off. Too many loud drunks.

Hi Sir Merv, regarding the booze brigade, do you think this happens more on shorter cruises than on the longer cruises such as a 19 day cruise?

[Cheshire Cruiser]

I concur with everything you say about the lack of port talks and the lack of information online. It seemed P&O were only interested in promoting their own excursions.

I'm afraid if you have become accustomed to a band on the quayside .........

We are no longer P&O's target market.

The port talks were of course very much an opportunity for P&O to promote their own excursions, so an own goal by losing that opportunity, and a further won goal by discontinuing the distribution of listings of available tours to all cabins early in the cruise (I'd guess to save print costs) which might well have swayed more to book tours. On our most recent cruise the biggest queues at the tours desk tended to be after the tours returned with people queueing to complain about tours being at variance with what was advertised - which we did twice but they just were not interested.

The band on the quayside disappeared many years ago - and in fairness with today's bigger fleet would probably not be practical - but it was part of what made the cruise and the cruiser feel special.

Very much a case of we, the long standing and previously loyal P&O repeat cruiser, being no longer P&Os target market but there would be a niche market there still worth targetting in parallel with the others but they proably don't even realise it.

.

And re Onelife's point, the new market seemed to us very much in the minority on our many 19 night cruises hence very little of the boozy culture in evidence.

[towny44]

Whilst I accept that the little touches that have been dropped, did indeed add to the pleasure of cruising, however we never had bands on the quayside or streamers to throw, so we dont miss those, and because of age and infirmity we no longer do shore excursions, and we find Google maps and info are more than enough to navigate around the ports we visit.
As for the drunken yobs and feral children, we never see these, maybe we are less observant, or more tolerant than others, although more likely the cruises we choose are not popular with the low life families, or it could be that Yorlshire folk are just more stoic than others.

[Ray B]

But for the two of us I doubt we'll be back. And I'm sorry if this sounds snobbish but it's the clientele they're now attracting that puts us off. Too many loud drunks.

I understand that Stephen said he will no longer cruise with P&O.

[oldbluefox]

As for the drunken yobs and feral children, we never see these, maybe we are less observant, or more tolerant than others, although more likely the cruises we choose are not popular with the low life families, or it could be that Yorlshire folk are just more stoic than others.

..............................or they're just too drunk to notice

[Mervyn and Trish]

We have a family cruise booked on Arvia this summer - we couldn't afford to take them all on any other line. But for the two of us I doubt we'll be back. And I'm sorry if this sounds snobbish but it's the clientele they're now attracting that puts us off. Too many loud drunks.

Hi Sir Merv, regarding the booze brigade, do you think this happens more on shorter cruises than on the longer cruises such as a 19 day cruise?

That may well be true. The worst we saw was on a 7 nighter on Azura. We did 12 on Aurora and it was much better.

[Mervyn and Trish]

But for the two of us I doubt we'll be back. And I'm sorry if this sounds snobbish but it's the clientele they're now attracting that puts us off. Too many loud drunks.

I understand that Stephen said he will no longer cruise with P&O.

But can we trust him? Have you seen him in his string vest on formal nights?

[Stephen]

I like to go posh.

[CaroleF]

I have to agree with Foxy and Merv. I think I've probably had my final cruise with P&O. I remember the days of the band on the dockside in Southampton. I remember a three night cruise on Aurora, my first experience of Aurora, when in my Mini Suite there was a huge arrangement of fresh flowers, with tropical ones included, a large pack of White Company Toiletries, the usual chocolates and a bottle of Champagne ready in an ice bucket. Did this make my cruise better, not necessarily but it did make us feel special. Would I pay more than the current prices to have these extras included again, yes. As has already been mentioned it's things like the Port Lectures, I remember just before Covid, being on a cruise where for the second time we had a Port Lecturer called Sam, possible Whitehouse, not sure, who was the best Port Lecturer we'd hear, and we'd done over 30 cruises with P&O. He not only told us about the different ports and excursions, without any notes, but also included advice for passengers who wanted to travel independently. I didn't expect him to stay with P&O very long, he was too good. At about this time the guy in charge of P&O's excursions who lives in my village was suddenly made redundant. I think that said a lot for the way P&O were heading. He told me that they were only interested in young families, lose the frills and provide a basic holiday as cheaply as possible
The other problem is that now I need a scooter or power chair because of arthritis. Trying to get a booking with P&O means I have to have an evac chair etc and trying to get that would probably mean I have to book a couple of years in advance. The last cruise I had I made a list of 9 cruises I would have happily booked and of those I eventually had a choice of 2. P&O have made the decision to make it as difficult as possible for people to take scooters or power chairs. I understand they must limit the numbers on board but it's much easier to book a cruise with other lines. So yes I think, for me, my P&O days are over. Such a shame.
I'm not sure what happened to this posting, half of it disappeared while I was still typing so hopefully it will all appear!

Carole

[Cheshire Cruiser]

I have to agree with Foxy and Merv. I think I've probably had my final cruise with P&O. I remember the days of the band on the dockside in Southampton. I remember a three night cruise on Aurora, my first experience of Aurora, when in my Mini Suite there was a huge arrangement of fresh flowers, with tropical ones included, a large pack of White Company Toiletries, the usual chocolates and a bottle of Champagne ready in an ice bucket. Did this make my cruise better, not necessarily but it did make us feel special. Would I pay more than the current prices to have these extras included again, yes. As has already been mentioned it's things like the Port Lectures, I remember just before Covid, being on a cruise where for the second time we had a Port Lecturer called Sam, possible Whitehouse, not sure, who was the best Port Lecturer we'd hear, and we'd done over 30 cruises with P&O. He not only told us about the different ports and excursions, without any notes, but also included advice for passengers who wanted to travel independently. I didn't expect him to stay with P&O very long, he was too good. At about this time the guy in charge of P&O's excursions who lives in my village was suddenly made redundant. I think that said a lot for the way P&O were heading. He told me that they were only interested in young families, lose the frills and provide a basic holiday as cheaply as possible
The other problem is that now I need a scooter or power chair because of arthritis. Trying to get a booking with P&O means I have to have an evac chair etc and trying to get that would probably mean I have to book a couple of years in advance. The last cruise I had I made a list of 9 cruises I would have happily booked and of those I eventually had a choice of 2. P&O have made the decision to make it as difficult as possible for people to take scooters or power chairs. I understand they must limit the numbers on board but it's much easier to book a cruise with other lines. So yes I think, for me, my P&O days are over. Such a shame.
I'm not sure what happened to this posting, half of it disappeared while I was still typing so hopefully it will all appear!

Carole

I have highlighted several points from CaroleF's post which tell the story so well.

[Onelife]

When most of our generation are pushing up daisies the new generation cruiser won’t be any the wiser to what we once enjoyed, so is it reasonable to suggest that the more up market cruise lines might have to become more competitive in order that they keep pace with the likes of P&O who seemingly keep drawing in customers due to their competitive pricing structures?

What goes around comes around and there will, I believe, come a time when there will be noticeable cut backs even on your more up market cruise lines.

Oh! and I’ve just been informed that due to the amount of sucking up I do P&O have said I will get the VIP + treatment on our next cruise