Orianna Standards

[Trevski 0]

Just returned from a 4 day cruise on the Orianna, not having cruised for a few years. We felt that the standard of service had dropped slightly. Very hard to put your finger on it but it seemed that the crew were busier than we remember and had less time to make any personal contact. This was especially true at Dinner and I wonder if the staff are more stretched these days. 

Ordering a drink in a bar took careful planning! It was often 10 minutes before someone took our order and it was then easily 15 minutes on average before anything arrived. Could be tricky when you were thinking of only spending half an hour somewhere.... Or are we just being picky?

[afcandrew 369]

Maybe the fact that it was only a short-break cruise had something to do with it?  I spent a week aboard Oriana last month and was very impressed.  Dining waiters were absolutely fine and never waited long to be approached for a drink in any of the bars.  I found all crew to be really friendly, always saying Good Morning etc.

[Pesky Pirate 172]

It shouldn't matter if you are on a 4 day or a 4 week cruise the service should be the same either way.

[afcandrew 369]

You are quite right.  Having been on a few short cruises however, it does seem to.  I don't know if some of the crew get given time off or whether it is the general 'pace' of a short cruise but it does seem different to me.

[Captain Kidd II 798]

There has been a reduction in staffing levels on all P&O ships over the last few years with Cabin Stewards covering more cabins, Waiters serving on more tables as do wine waiters which also means fewer bar staff. All part of cost teductions to keep pricing low. 🤔

[Sea View 2]

We had no issue on standards. The staff on our recent Oriana cruise looked after us really well but it was the ship itself that I was dissapointed in. Not anything specific, more just the range of facilities on board. I've raised this elsewhere on the forum. I found the ship to be too small for my liking and much prefer bigger ships with more restaurants, entertainment and overall options to choose from each day. I just found Oriana quite boring when compared to previous ships we've sailed on.