As consumers we believe in
the dream or product that a corporation or company are selling us. No matter what media platform we use we are
bombarded with images both visual and verbal and often they are hard to ignore.
I consider myself a loyal customer
of P&O for a considerable time. They
first appealed to me because they sold themselves as being a British tradition
in cruising that catered for all the family and in the main they do, I had up
until 2016 been satisfied with the service I had received.
Their advertising slogan “This Is the life” is inviting and
before you know it you have been drawn in to the dream. In August 2016, I was looking for a cruise
that ticked all my boxes and I found one on Ventura (N729). The cruise was only twelve nights and I was
looking to extend it to a fortnight. The
previous cruise (N728) was described as a two-night mini break and I thought
this was perfect, I booked the back to back cruises and thought no more of it. As the months and weeks past my excitement
grew. These two cruises were extra
special because it was my best friend’s birthday while on board ship and I had
planned a variety of surprises for her to celebrate her day.
I am an infrequent visitor
to several cruise forums and I saw nothing to alert me that something might be
amiss. The only comments I found were
that Ventura looked dated and in need of a refit.
Embarkation was efficient
and quick taking around thirty minutes from car to ship. Lunch was fine, and our cabin was clean. I saw no issues with the décor. We spent the next couple of hours unpacking
and settling in and did not leave the cabin until the muster drill. It was at this drill that my friend and I noticed
passengers bringing alcohol and filled glasses into muster station along with
their life jackets; I was horrified! I
know many passengers find the drill boring, but it is important as it could one
day save your life. It was after the
drill that I realised what N728 was, it was full of hen and stag parties. The lifts smelt like a brewery and I was
verbally abused in the lift, being called a spastic.
Back in my cabin my friend
and I prepared for sail away and tried to make the best of a bad situation,
looking forward to N729. Dinner that
night was smart casual, but you would never have thought that with the variety
of novelty sailor costumes and bride’s veils worn in the restaurants. Their behaviour was not only loud but extremely
rude to the waiting staff; this was not the P&O that I had come to love and
respect. That evening we went to the
Headliners show “Paradise City” after dinner and then to bed. This is unusual behaviour for us as we like a
cocktail before heading to the casino.
The next day we were in
Zeebrugge and for a while some normality on board. That night was worse with large groups of
people moving from one bar to another and all inebriated and swearing if you
didn’t move out of their way. That was a
formal night and again many were inappropriately dressed, but no one refused them
entry into the restaurants, regular cruisers will know that after 6pm the ship
reverts to a dress code. After dinner we
went and saw an Adele tribute act and she was fantastic. Shame a group of drunk hens got up and left
half way through her act; they must have needed a top up of alcohol.
The following morning thankfully,
they all disembarked, and piece rained once more. Being only a handful of transition passengers
left on board I took my chance and spoke with reception about the two-day mini
break. The officers referred to it as a “party
cruise”, while other crew refer to them as a “booze cruise” and that explains
why no duty-free alcohol was sold on board.
For other passengers like myself and the young families on board I felt
sorry, this is not the standard we expect from P&O. But when they offer a suite at only £329 what
do you expect.
I was young once and like
everyone to have fun but many of the under 25’s were binge drinking and had no
consideration for their fellow passengers.
I am just thankful that an emergency never happened, many couldn’t walk
straight so how would they find their muster station. The people who really suffered were the bar
staff, waiters and reception they seemed to work double hard and were often spoken
to rudely.
A few days after we returned
I contacted P&O to discuss N728 and several other issues that had arisen
during N729. The lady I spoke with was
very helpful and let me off load. From
the conversation it appears they have had many complaints about two and three-night
mini breaks and in response P&O have a new code of conduct which comes into
being on 1st January 2018. I
was offered £50pp on board spend on my next cruise, which I excepted.
I was not looking for any compensation,
but it was a gesture of good will from them.
People have said I should have pushed for more, but it wasn’t about the
money. P&O have lost far more than
me in reputation alone. This is their
180th year in service and I personally thought they would never have
stooped so low as to want to be associated with hens and stags. I knew of several couples who were using it
as a taster to cruise and from their own experience vowed never to return. Back on dry land I have a couple of friends
who were considering booking a two-night mini break as a taster but have
decided not to book after hearing our experience. I hope that P&O do in force their new
code of conduct for everyone sake.
