P&O Cruises...what are they playing at?!

jamie1973

We are deeply dissatisfied with what P&O are subjected their customers to for what amounts to a Carnival/P&O Operational failure to recruit appropriate staff or cruise offering to maintain their level of services, rather than grab every ones money and offer an inferior service at the risk of bad PR:

After several full starts trying to cruise on IONA due to Covid (no ones fault) and P&O's 2021 policy to allow "everyone" to cruise, as long as they where double vaccinated..which excluded all children as at the time no UK Child Vaccination was approved (why not just be honest and say children excluded).

Anyway...to our issues now..

As has been the case for several years, we booked a suite with interconnecting cabin for us and our two children (called a Family Suite on Azura and Ventura). However, the problems on IONA are numerous:

1. Having completed the online check-in process and printed the embarkation passes, it appears that our family have been split into two check-in times as the interconnected cabin is not being treated as a suite as was always the case on Ventura/Azura and was confirmed at time of booking back in 2019

2. The Interconnected room is not shown as “priority”

3. As instructed, we registered our children for the children's club yesterday and am appalled that we are unable to book our chosen sessions. It is entirely unsatisfactory that the children will be allocated sessions…so its not pre-book is it?! Our elder son is autistic, has very set daily routines and would not be able to cope with random sessions.

3. While on the phone to P+O today, it was disclosed that the Epicurean restaurant will be closed during our cruise; despite the verbose “glossy” emails from P&O not have mentioned the Epicurean is closed. We rely on the Epicurean for suite guests' breakfasts and for calm dinners. The phone agent could not say if any other speciality restaurants would be available

4. The pre-embarkation lounge will not be available which is another significant disappointment as it offers a calm sanctuary for our autistic son in the hussle and bussle of the ship's terminal.

We feel we are not being offered what we booked and paid for, more an more of the suite perks we have been paid for our being taken away from us and are our choices. Trying to call P&O always takes over an hour and just serves to frustrate and I am not offere to speak to anyone with any clout.

Does anyone else have similar concerns?

Lavendyr

Can you cancel and find an alternative holiday? I can appreciate that a cruise would normally be a well structured holiday for your son in particular. It sounds as though it might be difficult but it also sounds as though there isn't anything that will change about this trip - so maybe the best answer is to find something else and pursue P&O for a refund in the meantime.

Westin

I also think you should cancel. P&O are not going to be able to meet your needs and you are clearly not going to enjoy the cruise. Best all round.

jamie1973

Thanks guys; this it what we are looking at but P&O left it so late to tell us (or not to tell us) that any other cruise thats suits our needs is way more expensive and long flights are a no no :-(

plus kids are v excited about cruising