P&O Forum

[Silver_Shiney]

Shiney, the other alternative is to use your laptop to write your blog in a word document, then access this forum from your lappy with some free wi-fi in port. Just copy the word document into the reply box... and Robert is your father's brother!

Thanks, Romig, I was planning on doing the actual typing in Word and doing a "copy and paste", but I'm not really planning on taking the laptop off the ship (I don't think the Lady C would be too impressed if I spent our excursion time looking for a hotspot!!)

[CaroleF]

Posters have talked about negativity on the P&O Community Forum but I have been amazed at the amount of negativity and complaints that appear on the P&O Facebook page - a page highly promoted by P&O. This is the best Cruise Forum I have ever been on and long may it continue. It seems to get better all the time with extra facilities being added. As has been said the only thing about the P&O forum I will miss is the ability to post reports from a ship while on a cruise - well to do it without it costing anything. Maybe the time has really come for me to invest in an ipad - my laptop is rather heavy to take as part of my hand luggage and too large to want to take ashore in a port in order to discover free WiFi. I'll see what I can do with the 3G on my Kindle but don't hold out much hope.

Carole

[Mervyn and Trish]

Very much agree with your point about Facebook Carole. I wonder if it's that anything directly associated with a company attracts two distinct sets of posters - those who have a genuine interest in the product and either want to use the forum to gain information or help others to pass it on, and those who see it as an opportunity to knock the product. Maybe the nature of this forum means it will attract fewer of the latter - it certainly seems a much more friendly place so far and the criticisms of P&O which are posted are generally couched in much more measured and reasonable terms.

[paultheeagle]

If P & O ain't going to bring back the forum why don't they simply say so?....Which makes me think that maybe it will come back, though a watered down version.

I ain't bothered either way..as long as this one stays.

[Silver_Shiney]

If P & O ain't going to bring back the forum why don't they simply say so?....Which makes me think that maybe it will come back, though a watered down version.

I ain't bothered either way..as long as this one stays.

I, for one, prefer this one

[Dancing Queen]

So do I SS, I can't imagine P&O giving us anything even half as good as this

[Sealion]

I also agree Jo.
Cannot see the P&O site returning because it was taken down due to the continual problems it caused with the main site and this would still happen unless it was very much abridged.
Even so the main site is still iffy. Would not accept our loyalty numbers when trying to book online recently and ended up having to phone them as did four friends booking on the same cruise.
I would think this site will be monitored so P&O still have the feedback.

[lioness]

I still think it was taken down due to the number of people using it to bypass paying for internet. I mean there was no need to buy a package when you could email all your friends for free. I don't believe it was anything to do with problems with the main site.

[mrsbsw]

As someone who did use the community site to keep in touch with family members whilst onboard (gratis) then I will miss the opportunity to do so if the P&O site does not return.
However as a place to communicate with like minded cruisers this site is fabulous.

Ann

[Dancing Queen]

I still think it was taken down due to the number of people using it to bypass paying for internet. I mean there was no need to buy a package when you could email all your friends for free. I don't believe it was anything to do with problems with the main site.

I would have to disagree Lioness although it is something we will never know because P&O are not likely to tell us

I very much doubt it was anything to do with people using the internet via the forum for free, I would imagine ( and this is only my opinion ) that it was only a very small minority that used it to mail friends ... goodness I don't have time to spend e-mailing people when I'm on a cruise I'm far too busy enjoying myself, I do appreciate the value of the live blogs that some did though and I would have thought so did P&O.

[Jan Rosser]

I also agree Jo.
Cannot see the P&O site returning because it was taken down due to the continual problems it caused with the main site and this would still happen unless it was very much abridged.
Even so the main site is still iffy. Would not accept our loyalty numbers when trying to book online recently and ended up having to phone them as did four friends booking on the same cruise.
I would think this site will be monitored so P&O still have the feedback.

I agree the site is still playing up - I've just booked for a cruise in April and had an acknowledgement email from P&O giving me a link to the cruise personaliser to look at excursions etc. well you wouldn't believe the problems getting in - I had all sorts of peculiar messages and when I did get on I wasn't very keen on the layout but perhaps that's just me. I have two cruises booked and tried accessing the one for July - same problem - the site then let me in - very temperamental.

[JenniC]

As someone who did use the community site to keep in touch with family members whilst onboard (gratis) then I will miss the opportunity to do so if the P&O site does not return.
However as a place to communicate with like minded cruisers this site is fabulous.

Ann

I used it too, but with a lot of people now having email enabled phones and Internet access from tablets etc. you can keep in contact for free ( or for the price of a drink ) at the many cafes, bars and hot spots in port. I typed my recent cruise reports on my iPad each day and then used copy and paste to this site when in port.. Just follow the crew - of course I do realise that some may not have email phones and tablets in which case it is a pain in the a***e!!

[Dancing Queen]

We took our i-pad on our last two cruises thinking we would use it and didn't ( we also had lot's of free internet time so that wasn't the reason ) maybe we just like to be anti social when on holiday no actually I think it just goes back to when we both worked and our phones/computers were turned off when we had holidays and it has just continued from that.

[JenniC]

Hey Jo I can understand that, to be honest I only used mine for cruise reports, FaceTime'ing the kids and had 16 books on it

[oldbluefox]

I actually think the P&O forum provided a useful service to P&O. As far as I know P&O were the only ones who had such a facility. Where better to get information and advice about your product than from the passengers themselves, totally unbiased, unpaid and unsolicited? Whereas P&O would be restricted by company policies in what they could publish, the information from the forum members would be totally honest and upfront. Whilst it did leave them open to the moaners and grumblers there were always plenty of others who would provide balance or strongly disagree if the criticism was unwarranted. P&O already have their Customer Satisfaction questionnaires. By monitoring what was being said, the forum should have been invaluable to them in getting grassroots opinion.
It must have also saved them some degree of work when members gave tips and advice on a variety of topics, all based on their own practical experiences and, of course, the cruise reports gave potential clients a good idea of what a cruise represents and what to expect.
I'd be surprised if they didn't resurrect the forum but at the moment it seems highly unlikely as they seem to be using Facebook more and more.

[mrsbsw]

JenniC
Although I do have an ipad I found that it was a little 'hit and miss' last year in getting a decent signal.
In Cadiz I had a good signal and wrote an email to all my offspring ( same message) but it wouldn't send the message.
Then in Pireaus I only went as far as the Port buildings because my husband wasn't feeling well on the day, and I had great difficulty getting a connection so I gave up. However on my return home it appeared that both of my daughters, and my son, had received the email which I had written in Cadiz but they received it on the day we were in Pireaus.???
At least if I go on the P&O cruise community site I can send and receive PM's without waiting around or working out what time it is in England.
Having said all that I shall be trying again next month when we are off to the Canaries.
Thanks for the info
Ann

[JenniC]

The wonders of technology eh? I got really good access on most of the Caribbean islands we visited a couple of weeks ago.... not tried in European ports yet!

[Dancing Queen]

Posted on the P&O FB page a couple of hours ago.


P&O Cruises Hello everyone. We have been keeping an eye on discussions on this page and updating when we can. Unfortunately we have no official updates. As mentioned previously, the management team are considering the options available to us. Unfortunately this is not a quick or easy process, but rest assured as soon as we have some solid news it will be shared with everyone on here. Thank you.

2 hours ago · Like

[baggiedad]

I think with all the stick they will get from the people who have booked Vantage Fares in the next few months it might be best to keep their heads down and have no forum. BTW they have done us again with a Getaway Fare with 14 weeks to go.

[Silver_Shiney]

Even if P&O do reinstate the forum, unless David pulls the plug on this site, would we all migrate back to it? It would have to be a heck of a lot better than this one for me to even consider it.

[mrsbsw]

I for one would still visit this site but I would have to be honest and say I would also return to the P&O forum to see what is going on.
I would also use it whilst onboard to keep in touch with family and to post and read cruise reports.

As to Getaway Deals has anyone noticed that the levels of discount do not seem to be as substantial as in previous years. (Of course there are always going to be exceptions to this statement)
I have been watching a number of cruises and whilst they have in some cases been offered as Getaway Deals the discounts are not as large as they have been in the past, or is that just my perception.

Ann

[melsea]

Forum

Interesting. One thing though and I am assuming its just a miss use of terminology, is it not that you can PM your family and friends and not email them from the original forum as being suggested on here as you would have had to pay to actually send an email and with the advent of Internet cafes and free wifi in a number of terminals these days this makes being able to be in touch easier.
I too liked the aspect of reading people's ideas and thoughts and the ability to write blogs/reports and to read others.
Even with the forum taken down there still seems to be issues with accessing the website for other things so I am wondering if their web maker has created too many windows and routes for it to be easy and flowing because it has a great many accesses to different ways to view the site. Of course they can only goby the brief they have been given. If you look at other cruise company websites they have no where near as many options open to you. I can't give an example but when I have tried to do the same thing on another website as I can do on P&O I find they do not have the ability to do so. To which I get frustrated when I cannot do something. So many websites are very basic and many are not even updated regularly.
So as much as it is annoying when P&O's site is not going to plan I feel they need to scale it down for it to be efficient.

Anyway after all that, I will be doing a blog of sorts for you when we go on our cruise in 18 days time and as it covers Spain, France and Italy I will see if I notice any wifi hotspots.

As to the the getaway deals I find they cannot really be called getaways as we find the prices are no enticing enough for us.A. Getaway means to us being able to sail for less that £60 pppn. The lowest we had and unfortunately we had to cancel due to illness was at £36 pppn and this was on Azura last November. The most recent have ones we have seen had been £50 pppn, so they are there it depends where they are going and when. There are certain cruises they will be less likely to be reduced ie the ones going to St Petersburg. They are there but they are changing all the time. So watch the P&O space and sign up to as many email alerts as possible of TA,so you don't miss out.

[Admiral of the Humber]

Even if P&O do reinstate the forum, unless David pulls the plug on this site, would we all migrate back to it? It would have to be a heck of a lot better than this one for me to even consider it.

Dear Silver,

I would certainly migrate back for the meeting place threads. Prior to my last two cruises I "met" a lot of nice people online and then in person on the cruises.

Regards
Rob

[Silver_Shiney]

Even if P&O do reinstate the forum, unless David pulls the plug on this site, would we all migrate back to it? It would have to be a heck of a lot better than this one for me to even consider it.

Dear Silver,

I would certainly migrate back for the meeting place threads. Prior to my last two cruises I "met" a lot of nice people online and then in person on the cruises.

Regards
Rob

But there are meeting threads here.....

[Ray B]

I used the link Malsea posted in Q&A from C Marlow on twitter and lifted the following-
@pandocruises @Xmaslisa78 @CaptGreybeard Does anyone know when the forum on @pandocruises website will be running again, I am missing it!
Expand
5 hrs P&O Cruises ‏@pandocruises
@champagneALI @Xmaslisa78 @CaptGreybeard realistically it's going to be a while. But we are hoping to have some news very soon. Thank you.
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7:17 a.m. - Feb 28, 2013 · Details

News is coming soon, how long is a P&O soon

Ray