What do P&O Cruises need to do with their new ships to get back on top?

[harley1 152]

What do P&O Cruises need to include on their new ships to get them back in the good graces of many that feel they have lost touch with modern day cruising?

Will they make both new ships the same design just subtle differences like Ventura and Azura or will they make them completely different and try to cater to multiple audiences, what everyone's views on this?

[afcandrew 369]

I'm not going to give an opinion on what they need to do as I have no desire to go a ship that large.  Not knocking it however as lots of others will.  I do however think they will only evolve the new ships rather than make any huge innovations.  I also think the 2022 ship will be pretty much the same as the 2020 one.

[Mayway 98]

I agree with the post above - I too have no desire to go on a ship that large.   However, I will give an opinion in that P&O fit in exactly with most people's idea of modern cruising - glitzy ships with no soul.  Only my opinion of course.

 

[towny44 229]

1 hour ago, Mayway said:

I agree with the post above - I too have no desire to go on a ship that large.   However, I will give an opinion in that P&O fit in exactly with most people's idea of modern cruising - glitzy ships with no soul.  Only my opinion of course.

 

If only that were true, I find them bland and very non glitzy, and anyway the soul of the ship comes from the crew and the passengers.

[Davybe 529]

P&O need to learn from other cruise lines, pick a popular design and use that as a basis for the ship,.

Get the food up to a decent and more importantly constant standard, the same could be said of the bar service as well.

As much as I liked Britannia it looks like it was designed by a committee , ,why put full size chairs on a small balcony? no centre star case, lots of small details that make a difference.....Davybe

[HthrEdmndsn 88]

Fully staff the ship. Past few cruises I've been told by Ents team, cabin steward, waiting staff, bar staff that they are operating under-staffed. The front facing crew make much more difference to the cruise experience than the ship itself.

[*Dancing Queen* 394]

7 hours ago, HthrEdmndsn said:

Fully staff the ship. Past few cruises I've been told by Ents team, cabin steward, waiting staff, bar staff that they are operating under-staffed. The front facing crew make much more difference to the cruise experience than the ship itself.

No disrespect but that isn't going to happen, passengers want cheap fares and with cheap fares come cut backs .. if we want the service then we have to be prepared to pay for it, I agree the front facing crew do make much more of a difference to the cruise experience than the ship itself but sadly unless we are all of the same mindset nothing will change.

[Davybe 529]

15 hours ago, *Dancing Queen* said:

No disrespect but that isn't going to happen, passengers want cheap fares and with cheap fares come cut backs .. if we want the service then we have to be prepared to pay for it, I agree the front facing crew do make much more of a difference to the cruise experience than the ship itself but sadly unless we are all of the same mindset nothing will change.

Some cruise lines have come to realise that front line staff make or break our cruise experience ,and they get paid accordingly , but people do complain at the cost, as you rightly say.....Davybe

[sammy sun 1084]

On 11 May 2018 at 8:01 PM, *Dancing Queen* said:

No disrespect but that isn't going to happen, passengers want cheap fares and with cheap fares come cut backs .. if we want the service then we have to be prepared to pay for it, I agree the front facing crew do make much more of a difference to the cruise experience than the ship itself but sadly unless we are all of the same mindset nothing will change.

I think it's a classic case of "you cannot please everyone." There's always going to be things that some people love and that some people hate. I completely agree with you on this though, they're in a catch 22 situation. If they do what it takes to fully staff the ships and improve the frontline service then inevitably, it will be reflected in the pricing. If they don't do this then people will complain but the prices will be cheaper on the whole. So which one would you prefer? Individual answers will vary so it leaves them stuck between a rock and a hard place. It's almost impossible to please an entire audience.

P&O do need to pick a direction going forward though. Decide what type of cruise line they want to be and commit to it. No more half hearted approaches or edging their bets just in case someone disapproves. Decide and go for it.

[*Dancing Queen* 394]

1 hour ago, sammy sun said:

I think it's a classic case of "you cannot please everyone." There's always going to be things that some people love and that some people hate. I completely agree with you on this though, they're in a catch 22 situation. If they do what it takes to fully staff the ships and improve the frontline service then inevitably, it will be reflected in the pricing. If they don't do this then people will complain but the prices will be cheaper on the whole. So which one would you prefer? Individual answers will vary so it leaves them stuck between a rock and a hard place. It's almost impossible to please an entire audience.

P&O do need to pick a direction going forward though. Decide what type of cruise line they want to be and commit to it. No more half hearted approaches or edging their bets just in case someone disapproves. Decide and go for it.

Indeed they are in a catch 22 situation but one of their own making imo 

 

[Tally 392]

5 hours ago, sammy sun said:

I think it's a classic case of "you cannot please everyone." There's always going to be things that some people love and that some people hate. I completely agree with you on this though, they're in a catch 22 situation. If they do what it takes to fully staff the ships and improve the frontline service then inevitably, it will be reflected in the pricing. If they don't do this then people will complain but the prices will be cheaper on the whole. So which one would you prefer? Individual answers will vary so it leaves them stuck between a rock and a hard place. It's almost impossible to please an entire audience.

P&O do need to pick a direction going forward though. Decide what type of cruise line they want to be and commit to it. No more half hearted approaches or edging their bets just in case someone disapproves. Decide and go for it.

I know what I'd prefer. I would rather pay more to have better service. Before anyone tells me I should be cruising with 6* lines I have said many times on here I'd love to if only they would do roundtrips from the UK. We do have one more cruise booked with P&O but it's solely for the itinerary. As far as their new large ships are concerned I'm another who won't be cruising on them.

[towny44 229]

11 hours ago, Tally said:

I know what I'd prefer. I would rather pay more to have better service. Before anyone tells me I should be cruising with 6* lines I have said many times on here I'd love to if only they would do roundtrips from the UK. We do have one more cruise booked with P&O but it's solely for the itinerary. As far as their new large ships are concerned I'm another who won't be cruising on them.

I always think that service standards are set by the senior staff, on Celebrity the head waiters and Assistant Maitre D's lead by example and are never frightened to get their hands dirty clearing tables and setting them up if needed.  As a result the waiters are always more pro-active than on P&O where very few of the senior staff help the waiters, but prefer to motivate by pointing out their failings.  Not the best form of man management at all.

[Oldworldtraveller 2225]

28 minutes ago, towny44 said:

I always think that service standards are set by the senior staff, on Celebrity the head waiters and Assistant Maitre D's lead by example and are never frightened to get their hands dirty clearing tables and setting them up if needed.  As a result the waiters are always more pro-active than on P&O where very few of the senior staff help the waiters, but prefer to motivate by pointing out their failings.  Not the best form of man management at all.

Couldn't agree more towny44. I remember being on a P&O ship when I asked one of the head waiters to clear our table. His reply 'I will find someone to do it'. He looked shocked when I said 'Why can't you do it'. Always abided by 'Lead by example', its the best form of management.

[Countrygirl 237]

21 minutes ago, Oldworldtraveller said:

Couldn't agree more towny44. I remember being on a P&O ship when I asked one of the head waiters to clear our table. His reply 'I will find someone to do it'. He looked shocked when I said 'Why can't you do it'. Always abided by 'Lead by example', its the best form of management.

My approach when working in the hotels as a manager, was that , I would not ask somebody to do anything that I was not prepared to do myself. It always worked for me.

[Davybe 529]

14 minutes ago, Countrygirl said:

My approach when working in the hotels as a manager, was that , I would not ask somebody to do anything that I was not prepared to do myself. It always worked for me.

It works in any business,a  lazy boss leads to a lazy work force....Davybe

[Tally 392]

2 hours ago, towny44 said:

I always think that service standards are set by the senior staff, on Celebrity the head waiters and Assistant Maitre D's lead by example and are never frightened to get their hands dirty clearing tables and setting them up if needed.  As a result the waiters are always more pro-active than on P&O where very few of the senior staff help the waiters, but prefer to motivate by pointing out their failings.  Not the best form of man management at all.

We did have a lovely head waiter on our world cruise in 2015. I'm not sure if It's the right spelling but his name was Hemmy. He would always help the waiting staff out. He's the only one I've ever known actually do that. When another one took over part way through the cruise there was a noticeable difference with some of the waiters.