I have previously sailed with Royal Carribean (RCI) & so have reasonable expectations of service & style. Unfortunately my cruise last year on Pacific Dawn was a bit of a let down by comparrison.I sailed with my elderly mother & teenage daughter during the school holidays. & overall I just could not help but compare the two lines. P&O was left wanting in almost every capacity.
I felt the food on the Dawn in the cafe was on par with a very average club bistro, was consistently at a 'just' warm enough temperature, lacked continuity (ie bolognaise sauce, but then no spaghetti etc)& limited choice that would appeal to kids considering it was a school holiday cruise. The pool side set up for lunch was reasonable but limited again in choice for kids(IE not to many kids enjoyed the choice between prawn croissants or turkey & blue cheese wraps) nice by my standards but not theirs... so chips 'again' it was for many of them!
The dinning room, if you could manage to get in every night, had some good points but always either felt rushed or drawn out never a happy medium. Choices for a teenager were scarce. Meal sizes were inconsistent, at times poorly cooked & only just warm. In comparison to RCI, where every meal was an adventure served up by the most attentive of waiters, there is just no comparison. For the most part, with difficulty at times getting into the dinning room , & lack of variety in the bistro for dinner,I just always felt that I was being forced into paying the additional money at one of the 'exclusive' restaurants.
In general, I felt the cabin was exactly what I was expecting.