I should start by saying something about P&Os pricing policy and the manner in which they attempt to (and often succeed) in encouraging passengers to book early with the lure of discounts. Do not be fooled in to booking early!! We have 2 youngish teenagers and therefore need to have adjacent rooms. As a consequence we booked on release of the cruise 18 months ago. We discovered a month before sailing that the getaway fare (as opposed to the advantage fare) we would have saved us as a family around £6,200. We were given a price promise at the time we booked that we would receive on board credit if the cruise was discounted. When I contacted p&o about this they informed me this did not apply to the getaway fare. So in effect no price promise at all!!!

On board the quality of the food is not what it once was. Whilst still very edible it doesn't excite - at dinner one night we order in the main restaurant turkey. It was from a factory produced condensed turkey roll. It was not recognisable as turkey. When we ordered lamb chops they were very good but with very little meat on them one would have expected 3 or 4 chops to a serving. There were 2 on my plate and one on my wives. Generally there are less waiting staff than in the past but they still work extremely hard, are very pleasant and nothing is too much trouble for them.

The evening entertainment on board is reminiscent of holidays 15 years ago, superfamily holiday style in Ibiza. The comedian from Wales was a particular low light. He told the one about Mr Fog and mist.....and the Geordie policeman. Need I say more? Read more