Bad Behaviour Onvboard (P&O)

[pspercy]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/tra...cle5489227.ece










From The Sunday Times
January 11, 2009


Ocean cruise ends in almighty brawl

Passengers got that sinking feeling after ‘chavs’ boarded a P&O liner

Helen Brooks and Maurice Chittenden


div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited {color:#06c;} WHEN it set sail for its latest tour of the Caribbean, the liner Ventura was brimming with festive cheer. This weekend, however, it is awash with claims that “chav” holidaymakers had turned it into the cruise ship from hell.
P&O is bracing itself for a flood of complaints from returning passengers about a “them and us” divide which saw guests who had paid up to £7,500 a cabin taking refuge from fighting families and underage drinkers. Some claim that youths were caught trying to set fire to a Christmas tree.
It may be the first of many holiday cruises to suffer from the credit crunch. Would-be passengers who had placed a 10% deposit decided they could not afford the full cost of the cruise and cancelled.
Instead, P&O filled the rest of the 3,300 places aboard ship with holidaymakers who were seeking a last-minute sunshine bargain.
Cruising etiquette went overboard with the new breed of cut-price passengers, who tried to reserve sun beds all day by draping towels over them and allegedly sent their underage children to the ship’s 12 bars to stock up on alcohol.
A brawl between two families from Manchester apparently broke out over who was drinking the better champagne.
Children threw food at stewards and abused the ship’s officers when asked to stop. Even the captain was booed when he tried to count down to midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Bad weather meant that the £330m ship, which was launched in Southampton last year, missed three of the six islands on its itinerary. Instead, it made an unsched-uled stop at another port to put ashore two youths who were behaving badly.
Barbara Stone, 69, from Old Windsor, Berkshire, said: “I booked months in advance and paid £8,000 for four people. I then heard on board that people had picked up tickets for £900 per person a few weeks before the cruise started.
“I’ve been on 14 cruises now and this one was definitely the worst. My friend saw a 14-year-old boy who was blind drunk in the lift. We also heard that a fight took place because a waiter wouldn’t serve alcohol to a 14-year-old and the boy’s father became aggressive.”
Richard Rawlings, 20, a student from Wilmslow, Cheshire, who was on the boat with his father Nigel, 52, an accountant, his mother Joy and his 17-year-old sister, said: “We paid £15,000 for two cabins. When we got on board we heard people had got it much cheaper. It was full of chavs. Kids were trying to torch the Tamarind lounge and there was a big fight between two Manchester families.
“Someone was cut with a broken glass on New Year’s Eve. I was threatened when I tried to sit on a sun lounger - somebody had tried to reserve it all day by leaving a towel on it.”
Alan Osborn, of Berkham-sted, Hertfordshire, a retired company director who was on board with his wife Joyce, has sent a six-page letter of complaint to his cruise agent. “We have been on many cruises but were very disappointed with this one. It was the first cruise where I have heard people boo the captain,” he said.
“Two men spent the night in Ventura’s cells and were put ashore, while two young men who tried to set fire to a Christmas tree were apprehended by a criminal lawyer who was among the passengers.” Osborn, who paid more than £4,000 for his cabin, added: “There was an atmosphere on the ship which I likened to the worst days of Benidorm and the lager louts.”
Heather Pearce, another passenger, said: “Large aggressive groups of people were drinking lots. To get away from the mobs we went down to the Havana bar. In the bar I just felt like it was going to boil over.
“This huge family were throwing cigarette butts overboard and we were stood watching the butts land on the cabins underneath. Usually on a cruise boat there is a lot of security around, but on this one we just didn’t feel safe.”
Crew members aboard the Ventura - launched by Dame Helen Mirren in April and now in Barbados awaiting its next cruise – said only four security staff were on duty at night.
They confirmed that one incident on New Year’s Eve escalated into a fight in the Havana bar between two youths and two adults. An entertainments officer tried to break it up until security guards could arrive. One of the youths was cut in the face with a broken glass.
Officers said they were unaware of an attempt to set fire to a Christmas tree and insisted the “torching” incident in the Tamarind lounge involved a young passenger popping balloons with a cigarette lighter.
They claimed that under18s could get alcohol on board only through their parents or by bringing it onto the ship.
The officers admitted, however, that two youths, together with an adult guardian, were put ashore at St Vincent for contravening rules on bad conduct.
A P&O spokesman said: “Should anyone wish to contact us formally in writing then we will respond to them immediately and thoroughly investigate the concerns.”
The spokesman said only 4% of passengers had cancelled in the two months prior to departure and cabins had been filled without “undue discounting” - although he admitted that reducing ticket prices by up to 50% was not unusual.

[NSWP]

Crikey, what a nightmare of a cruise, don't blame the decent pax complaining bigtime. Compensation is due!

Makes the party ships on P&O Australia - Pacific Dawn and Pacific Sun look like kindergartens in comparison.

This sort of nightmare will put even more people off cruising, well on P&O UK anyway.

Feel sorry for them.

[5waldos]

Sounds really dreadful. And this other thread (Where were their parents) thinks a couple of sober kids attempting a scale up the funnel was bad!

[themarm]

Originally Posted by 5waldos

Sounds really dreadful. And this other thread (Where were their parents) thinks a couple of sober kids attempting a scale up the funnel was bad!

some thought it was heroic. i think someone earlier in that thread suggested that they could not give specifics, but alcohol was involved.

i would guess no christmas tree was set on fire, as none was present on the funnel climb cruise? maybe those kids are misunderstood, and are merely trying to honour ancient pagan winter rituals?

[MsRed318]

Originally Posted by 5waldos

Sounds really dreadful. And this other thread (Where were their parents) thinks a couple of sober kids attempting a scale up the funnel was bad!

Who said they were sober? Even the one kid who was a part of the group of funnel climbers admitted there was alcohol going around (remember her comment on liver damage?) But I agree...that's nothing compared to this nightmare.

[bongaree]

Gee Les the Poms have been bagging us Colonials for years for having a foursie in the cabin. By the look of this maybe we aren't so bad after all.
Will be interesting when we board Dawn to see if we can take bundie on board.

Regards Richard and Janet

[NSWP]

Originally Posted by bongaree

Gee Les the Poms have been bagging us Colonials for years for having a foursie in the cabin. By the look of this maybe we aren't so bad after all.
Will be interesting when we board Dawn to see if we can take bundie on board.

Regards Richard and Janet

Bongaree, Richard and Janet, too true mateys. Those poms on Ventura were not even drinking Qlds finest..Bundaberg Rum ! BUNDY, maybe a little Myers and certainly gallons of Stella Artois. Mate, the Pacific Dawn and Pacific Sun might have some Colonial party animals on board at times, but no Aussie would burn the Chrissie tree or boo the Captain.

To our English cruising friends, hope P&O sorts out the problems and does not allow such animalistic conduct again on board those fine British Ships. We back you to the hilt.

Bongaree as for taking Bundy on board Dawn Princess, you had better be clever old son, vino ok on Princess but the Alcohol Police at the gangway watch out for ye olde spirits. Tell them it is mouthwash or something !

[Elaine0138]

Strange that there have been no reports of this before now. There has been nothing in the tabloid press about any of this and boy would we have heard about it.

[balf]

Originally Posted by NSWP

This sort of nightmare will put even more people off cruising, well on P&O UK anyway.

.

It will put some off cruising!!. But £900 for a Christmas cruise to the sunshine? P&O will finish up with ships full of chavs on a floating Benidorm.

Bet they weren't complaining about the bar takings though.

David.

[balf]

Originally Posted by Elaine0138

Strange that there have been no reports of this before now. There has been nothing in the tabloid press about any of this and boy would we have heard about it.

The Sunday Times got there first, read the Red tops in the morning.

David.

[Beckyfaye-2008]

If you really want to know what it was like on this cruise, then read the various reports on P&O CC forum. From what I can gather it was the Pax and not P&O who were at fault.

[balf]

Originally Posted by Becky Faye-2008

From what I can gather it was the Pax and not P&O who were at fault.

I don't think anyone is saying that it was.. P&O were in the position of having a part empty ship sailing, and no cruise line likes that. Whether it was good policy for them to sell off the empty cabins at prices that attracted the Costa del Booze class is debatable though.

The publicity will certainly not have done them any favours.

[feebee_71]

At least 2 of the people named in the Times article had previously posted their comments and reviews about the cruise on the P&O Community site - one of them was even a friend with the Lawyer who prevented 2, 20 something, young men who were trying to set fire to the decorations in the Tamarind Club in the early hours of New Years Day!!

It seems there were some serious problems on this cruise and not all of them were preventable - the weather could not be changed by anyone - but it also seems that P&O did little to occupy the passengers during their enforced time onboard due to lack of ports, nor did they try to change ports around or dock at new ports.

Only P&O know the reasons for this and we customers are unlikely to find out the answers.

It will now make other papers but don't assume that, because today is the first time it has made the papers, it hasn't been reported on by those who were onboard.

Feebee_71

[cruisebore]

P&O had better nip this in the bud, it only takes a few reports such as this to dramatically effect perception and subsequently bookings.
Perhaps on some sailings they should consider employing 'professional security' such as as sadly at lot of leisure establishment have been forced to.
It is bad enough to get a slating over the Internet, but once it hits the Dailys' then that's another matter all together.

Cb
a concerned shareholder

[stopgo]

Originally Posted by balf

It will put some off cruising!!. But £900 for a Christmas cruise to the sunshine? P&O will finish up with ships full of chavs on a floating Benidorm.

Bet they weren't complaining about the bar takings though.

David.

Bad baviour happens in every section of society. I think we have to be careful of labeling people on lower income as chavs louts and troublemakers. To me £900 is a lot of money and for many people I know, but none of us are chavs or troublemakers.

[cruisebore]

Originally Posted by stopgo

Bad baviour happens in every section of society. I think we have to be careful of labeling people on lower income as chavs louts and troublemakers. To me £900 is a lot of money and for many people I know, but none of us are chavs or troublemakers.

Stopgo
We are fortunate enough to live in a relatively affluent area. However the behaviour and attitude of some of the nouvo riche and their offspring is deplorable
Cb

[daiB]

What a lot of hot air!!

There were 2 incidents in a cruise. There have been incidents before on most cruise lines. The whole thing has been blown out of all proportion.

The problem started because the cruise filled up very quickly and a number of cruisers did not get the type of dining they wanted. They got stuck with freedom dining, which is not that popular in the UK. This got everything off to a bad start and so everything that was not perfect was 'a disaster'. They had bad weather and missed some ports. The entertainment put on was not appreciated by those who were ***** off already and so P&O were blamed.

I quote from the times:-

"Bad weather meant that the £330m ship, which was launched in Southampton last year, missed three of the six islands on its itinerary. Instead, it made an unsched-uled stop at another port to put ashore two youths who were behaving badly."

These were the idiots on New Years Eve, but reading this the ship only put into a port to put them off. Cob*******.

&

"Cruising etiquette went overboard with the new breed of cut-price passengers, who tried to reserve sun beds all day by draping towels over them and allegedly sent their underage children to the ship’s 12 bars to stock up on alcohol."

Which cruising etiquette would that be then.???? There is not a major cruise line or ship which has not had this problem of sun bed hogging.


&

"Barbara Stone, 69, from Old Windsor, Berkshire, said: “I booked months in advance and paid £8,000 for four people. I then heard on board that people had picked up tickets for £900 per person a few weeks before the cruise started."

So the Times now prints rumor as fact!!

& the title.

"Passengers got that sinking feeling after ‘chavs’ boarded a P&O liner"

How do they know the culprits chavs did they have labels? Have not very respectable people on Rugby tours behaved in a far more destructive manner?


Clearly there were problems with the dining arrangements and missed ports the second not the fault of P&O and the first, well P&O did introduce this silly system.

From the same cruise there have been posted on a number of boards just as many very favourable reports. But they did not seem to get a mention.



Happy Cruising




Dai

[ecallaghan]

Having been on board I can only in the most part concur with most aspects of the cruise. There were loads of 'chavs' and the petty bickering and towel bagging of sun loungers did upset people. We had an unexpected detour for a medical evacuation to Martinique but this was an airlift using the equivalent of the RNLI so I am not sure about the truth in the detour to eject unruly passengers. Yes it was disappointing that 3 islands were missed and no compensation offered, but the weather is unpredictable and it happens. P&O didn't choose the weather and I'm sure the captain and crew wanted to dock as much as the passengers did, having said that we did call at a further 6 islands and not 4 as it says in the paper. We didn't celebrate NYE on deck because we knew it would in the most part be spent with people who thought "Vindaloo" by Fat Les was a national anthem (you get the picture) but I'm sure they enjoyed themselves...until the fighting started anyway. For a holiday booked and dreamt about by our 4 yr old for 18months it was a shame to be spoilt in part by the passengers but the staff were brilliant and the kids club was exceptional. The food in Saffron wasn't as good as silver service on Orianna but when they are catering for 3300 passengers and 1800 staff I guess it might not be. Its a super liner and by definition it is massive and not everyone will behave as we would hope or do so ourselves. It was a a shame and as a result we wouldn't go back on Ventura but the islands that we did visit were super and I felt very sorry for those locals who are reliant on 3300 passengers stopping at their islands and supporting their economies. The staff are over worked - there are not enough of them but they couldn't do more for us and I have nothing but good things to say about the few that we were helped by.

[cruisebore]

Dai b

Have you reached the dizzy heights of Gold status within the Portunus club?
If not, I think Mr Esdale should immediately give you honorary status for your unfailing loyalty to the brand.

Regards
Cb

[daiB]

You going to put in a good word then


Happy Cruising





Dai