Having cruised with both NCL and Royal Caribbean on numerous occasions we decided to try P&O bringing my mother and partner, both of whom are in their eighties and have never cruised before. We ate in the self service restaurant on the first night while our meal sitting was changed from late to early. The meal was awful so for breakfast the following morning we ate in the main dining room. Ham and eggs ordered - piece of ham hiding under the egg served on a huge white plate not even some parsley to cheer it up! Omelette ordered by Mum was no bigger than her palm again served on a huge white plate. My mother is diabetic and to be fair they looked after Mum really well and her adapted diabetic menus were excellent Her blood sugar levels stayed low even though she had far more to eat than she normally would including puddings. She ordered the night before and they prepared her what we ate without sugar or too many carbs. Last night she even had baked alaska ( no sugar in meringue and diabetic ice cream ) Meals in The Oriental were variable with Starters and Puddings being better than Mains. Portion sizes were small - 5 chips with steak, 4 very small slices of duck( 1 breast probably served 3 guests) and meat tasteless and tough.

We ate breakfast and lunch in the self service where seating was always a problem.There was no variation in the food at breakfast with no one cooking omelettes and eggs to order as we are used to. Lunch was ok although one day I had a chocolate eclair filled with sour cream. These were removed quickly after I pointed it out and was brought a fresh one. We ate in the Italian one night and had a lovely meal with generous portions.

Embarkation was efficient with cabin available immediately. Disembarkation was another issue. Cabins have to be vacated by 8 and breakfast finished at 8:30. However first passengers were not called until almost 9. The queues were horrendous and after being called at 9:45 we waited in line until nearly 10:30 only then to be told that the air bridge was unsafe and we would now have to dis embark on Deck 6 not 7. At no point was an announcement made or apology given just an officer walking among us and shouting instructions. Read more