We were kept waiting in the Mayflower Terminal for over 1 hour before we could board the vessel.
When we finally arrived on board, as usual with P & O, the cabins were not ready, When finally we reached our balcony cabin we found it to be quite roomy, but rather dated and in need of some maintenance. The balcony was small and not very clean, there were biscuit crumbs in the floor covering, the chairs had old wooden frames and the cushions were faded & grubby.
The ship seemed to be showing it's age, two public toilets were not in use throughout the cruise,in the theatre some seats were broken there was constant painting going on around the ship.
The food was the biggest problem, we dined in the Alexandra Restaurant and at times the food was reminiscent of school dinners, Baked Rice Pudding with Jam, Baked Apple, Stuffed Marrow were on the menu and there was Shoulder of "Lamb" which was so fatty that most people could not eat it. The food itself was poorly cooked, Chicken Breast was chewy and the steak was almost too tough to cut.
The Orangerie was shabby and there Semolina Pudding was one of the desserts on offer!, the choice of cold dishes was very limited and altogether the food was inferior to food we have had on any cruise ship.
The staff were all brilliant,especially the Table Waiters who were always willing to change dishes when they were not very good.
The entertainment in the theatre was the usual cruise
standard, the one bright spot was the singer Will Martin, he was the best entertainer we have seen on any cruise
We would not sail on this ship again.
We had been booked for a year and had paid the full priceof over £6000 for our 3 week cruise, and we felt we did not receive value for money.
We were told that some of the passengers had come on "special offer deals" two for the price of one etc.if this was the case then I suppose they would not grumble
Travel operator:
Booked direct with P & O
Recommended