New to Cruising? 5 Reasons to Choose P&O for Your First Cruise

Now I’m sure some of you may disagree as we all have our favourite hotels, airlines and cruise companies – but I’m convinced that P&O are not only one of the best in their fields, but the best cruise company for first time cruisers. Especially more so as this is my first time cruising with them. Something about P&O feels familiar, like a home from home and that for me is so important – especially when you’re in the middle of the ocean for a fortnight. Carry on reading and find out my top 5 reasons on why you should spend your first cruise with P&O!

No Fly Cruises From The UK

Now I love flying, but some people – like my mother for example absolutely hates it. So forget getting stuck in terminals, sleeping overnight due to cancellations or having to spend hours travelling through endless airport corridors. P&O offer a huge range of no-fly cruises direct from Southampton and so if you wish, you can cut the flying out altogether. As soon as you arrive into Southampton, your bags are taken away from you instantly and loaded at a specific bag terminal and by the time you’re room is ready – your bags are waiting outside.

Organisation of Your Cruise Experience

If there was one thing I really love about P&O, it’s the ease of just about everything when it comes to cruising with this group. We never found ourselves heading to reception (apart from to peek at our drinks bill) which only tells you that everything was so organised and self-explanatory. A smooth embarkation and disembarkation process to get you on and off the ship at every stop. Electronic room cards which don’t stop working or wear out and act as your payment card. Aero gratuities on your final bill (as of May 2019) and staff who can’t do enough for you. Expect all of this and more.

When we arrived at Southampton, we were sipping a cocktail on Britannia 35 minutes later and on our last day we were back in our taxi home within the hour after leaving our room. Even when it comes to the tours, there were never big crowds of people pushing and everything we needed was already delivered to our room beforehand or showing on our TV’s. Fancy a drink around the pool or in the bar? Expect it to be served within minutes of sitting down and have that important drink in your hand just minutes later. When it comes to organisation P&O seem to have thought of everything to make you really feel like you’re on holiday.

You Don’t Have to Eat with Strangers

The one thing you’ll spend most of your time doing on the ship, is eating! Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, poolside snacks. Bring your elasticated trousers because you will need them. In fact we didn’t put on as much weight as we expected, but things did get a little tight towards the end – so get your photographs taken early on! When it came to dinner, our main reservation wasn’t actually about where we should eat, but instead who we would be eating with. We didn’t really want to share a table with other sand were unsure if we’d have to. The answer is we didn’t have to share with anyone and neither will you if you don’t want to.

At breakfast time you can always find a table and the same during lunch almost anywhere. It’s dinner time when you’ll need to plan better. We found that instead of pre-selecting your allocated dining times, usually 6:30 or 8:30pm – freedom dining allows you to not only eat with your cruise companions, but at any time. Head to your allocated restaurant, ask for a table for 2 (that was our party size) and if it’s not available they’ll give you a buzzer which beeps when ready. This is when we’d go for our pre-cocktail or browse the shops. We never waited any longer than 20 minutes for our table size during the 14 nights we were on Britannia meaning we got the privacy we always wanted.

Flexible Dress Code

Cruise ships can differ hugely and so can their dress codes. Ships such as Cunard (part of the same group) is more formal on a daily occurrence, MSC tends to be more casual (so I’ve heard) – but P&O has the perfect balance meaning you won’t need as much luggage as you think. Especially as the laundry facilities are excellent. During the day around the pool you can wear what you wish, the main buffet dining rooms are equally as casual (just no swimwear or sports shorts) and come the evening a pair of chinos and shirt will suffice for men or Summer dresses equivalent for ladies. Just no shorts.

In my opinion, P&O has its dress code spot on because when you’re on holiday, you sometimes don’t want to make too much of an effort and simply be comfortable. Still, we all like to dress up now again which is where the gala evenings come in to effect. On a 14 night cruise you can expect around four gala evenings, with a strict dress code of black tie in certain areas of the ship. It’s alot of fun and it certainly gives the ships a different atmosphere. You can read more about their dress codes HERE.

The Pride of Britain

Now this may either put some people off (sorry), or convince you that P&O is your perfect first time cruise experience. Cruise ships are now becoming much more international in terms of guests onboard and each country has their only traits and way of expressing themselves – but P&O is all about celebrating Britain. Everyone working on the ship is fluent in English, almost all of the guests are British, all of the shows are in English and the food is predominantly British in the main dining rooms. My favourite part? The Great British Sail Aways. Grab a flag, a classic Pimm’s cocktail and have the best time of your life.

If you’re still unsure if cruising is for you, then have a read of my full ship review of P&O’s Britannia HERE!