After our first P&O debacle where our room was double booked and the service lacked ...well, service! We were quite hesitant to rebook, but we were assured by P&O that our experience was a once off, and then we haggled between the P&O sales rep and our travel agent, and decided to give them a second go. They were told numerous times that this was a special occasion and my fiancé attempted to call ahead to organise a romance package. He was told that he would need to call back within 3 weeks of our departure. When he did as instructed by the P&O sales rep, he was told he should've arranged it earlier and there was nothing they could do to organise anything as it was too late. He asked if he could at least arrange balloons for the door, and was asked how he intended to get the ballons to the ship on the day. He asked them if they could provide balloons, as we'd seen them on cabin doors on a past cruise, and the lady 'suddenly' recalled that she was able to do that. However when we arrived on the ship there were no balloons in sight, and my husband had to bring this to their attention twice throughout the day before something was done. There was also no fruit basket supplied (as advertised for our mini-suite room rate). The Salt Grill lobster was dry and overcooked, and the only part of the meal worth mentioning was the amazing truffled mashed potato, which was one of the side orders. The Captains Table was worth the extra $$$ as the food was sensational (we'd experienced that quality previously at Salt Grill, which is why we were so 'underwhelmed' this time around. The manager knew nothing about the pillow menu advertised on the website, so my fiancé had to take him to the internet area to show him (after trying to see him for 3 days, then eventually stalking the main office til he appeared.) As with our previous P&O experience, this left us feeling like just another number, and as P&O charge for EVERYTHING on board, we were down about $2000. As there is just the 2 of us, we were trying to figure out how this would blow a family's budget. P&O looks like a cheap cruise option, but they truly make up for it by fleecing you for every last cent possible while on board. Happiest moments- seeing flying fish, getting back to our cabin in the afternoon to find a new towel animal each day (this time round we took a long time cruiser's advice and left $5 each day. This was a bit of a novelty for us, because it's something very clever that the cabin attendants can do. We'll definitely think long and hard before booking P&O again. The boats are old and tired, and very rusty (the lady in the suite just down from us said her room flooded so badly when it rained they had to replace the carpet twice.) and the extra costs make it just as expensive as the other cruise lines anyway. We're looking forward to our first trip on the Celebrity Solstice in December. We've been told we will surely notice the difference.