Responsible is NOT having a drinks package that allow 15 drinks per day and pricing it so that you have to drink almost that much to make it worth the price! More money grabbing in my opinion. Prices go up yet service and quality goes down. Long time loyal passenger looking elsewhere.

As my dad would say, don’t in my ear and tell me it’s raining. Just say you need to make more money. Don’t insult my intelligence.

We did ten cruises in in ten years all with P&O , not any more they have no loyalty any more , year by year they have eroded the service that at best is 3 star plus, it’s such a shame for this once great British cruise line.

We’re off in Jan 25 and to be honest This was something that swayed me to book for a big family trip in 2026 ….. tbh I don’t want to drink the value of a drinks package… just enjoy a nice tipple or 2 while getting ready in my cabin….. so disappointing as it’s another erosion of its uniqueness 😮

Will be looking for another cruise line now as P & O seems to be making cuts to quality for more profit.

Hey Jamie, it was lovely to meet yourself and Matthew on Arcadia, we loved our cruise and have cruised with P&O for 3 years running now, it's still our favourite cruise line.

This is nothing more than P&O wanting to increase their bar sales . Nothing to do with responsible drinking . As you say they turn a blind eye to excessive alcohol consumption of their provided alcohol . Doesn’t really bother me frankly , but just another reason for not cruising on penny pinching P&O .

I can confidently tell you that if a governmental body or corporation tell you it is for your safety or security …………..IT ISN’T.

Goodbye P&O it was nice knowing you. You totally ckufed up ! All about the money AS ALWAYS !

We are boarding Britannia on May 10. Seeing this post just in time as we were going to buy a bottle of vodka and some mixer tomorrow. I guess now we will buy 2 bottles of wine instead. I think there are going to be a lot of unhappy passengers in smelly old Southampton on Friday!

Oh no! We're off on Saturday on Iona in the cabin you had 😮. We purchased two bottles of spirits only the other day, which I wouldn't have bothered with otherwise 😢. Properly hacked off I've got to say. My first Pando cruise too so not starting with the best impression! They've not informed me of any changes, and I checked their rules just before buying. Enough ranting from me. I love your blogs, keep up the great work 😊

Ha, ha. Some of the comments on here are class! 18 years with P&O (also with RC, HAL, Marella, Cunard) and I have no issue with this. Love a bottle of wine with dinner plus maybe three or four drinks afterwards. Definitely more very drunk people on our recent P&O cruise than back in 2006 and I suspect that's a root cause, as well as competition in the market. I agree that extremely drunk passengers causing disturbance needs to be addressed more by the crew. But people never using P&O again because of this change!!! (Used to have the wine package when it was available but never a full drinks package, as we can't drink that much for that many days!)

Cheers for the video. This is no doubt in response to their previously absurdly overpriced and over complicated drinks packages not selling. So they squeeze from a different angle.

I’ll be taking some very STRONG wine on board then in a twisty cap bottle 🤫

I was on Iona April 2023 and a pint of lager was around £4.50. Just came from Ventura last month (I was also on her 18 months ago) and the amount of pump drinks from what I remember has been reduced and if you order a can (Budweiser), then you will pay over £5 for it. That means that a pint (2 X 330ml cans) will now cost over £10! The last 3 cruises have been with P&O but after this policy change I will be using other cruise lines from now on.

P & O are like most cruise lines just a bunch of crooks, and hypocrites. Responsible is NOT having a drinks package that allow 15 drinks per day. Pricing it so that you have to drink almost that much to make it worth the price, this is all about screwing the customers as much as possible.

Hi Jamie , it’s Percy ,, I’m not surprised at this announcement to be honest ,, there has been so many changes over the last few years with the whole cruise industry,, it’s just about money these days ,, hope you and maffoo are well ,, keep up the good work P

Thanks Jamie for clarifying the alcohol allowance we can bring on board on embarkation. As in the past we have usually flown to board the ship so we haven’t really taken alcohol on board. I understand their reasons but it is definitely still in the small print and I won’t have noticed if i had not seen someone mentioning it online. I wonder if you can take non alcoholic gin! 😂

Forgot to put Marella on my list. The so called expensive cruise lines can be quite good value when you consider what is included in the price eg flights, transfers, WiFi , gratuities,drinks, speciality dining and shore excursions. Yes they are still more expensive but the service and quality is so much better.

We saw you on MSC virtuosa at the weekend talking to the ladies on deck at back of the ship taking a video of us sailing out of southampton. Fun cruise and our first

Hi Jamie, thank you for your honest blog. Like other commenters on here, one of the unique benefits of booking with P & O was the initial allowance for a bottle of spirits/per person , because grown adult offspring with us, this would have helped with the cost of the bar bills. I'm miffed that we have not had any official notification from P & O; we sail in early July. My husband and I are not going to buy a drinks package, but the others in our party might. What I don't understand, maybe you can clarify this ... if 2 people share a cabin and I person pays for a drinks package, does the other person also have to have a drinks package? The P & O website seems to imply this. If this is genuinely the case then I'm not happy at all.

We booked a year ago, sailing Sunday and P&O have not advised us of this change. Thank you for telling me, there are going to be so many caught out by this on Sunday. I wonder if they will return or keep as now a prohibited item. Free bar stock if they keep !

Just come off a P and O ship and I enjoy a drink on the balcony. I tried to buy from room service and they kept putting obstacles in my way, trying to tell me that a brand wasn't available when every bar sells it. I got what I wanted to buy because I made a big fuss but you shouldn't have to. They'd way underestimated the number of guests who would want to buy bottles and ran out. I have written to P and O to demand that they stock properly in future. Or it will be another line for me.

The only surprise is that it took Carnival 20 years to bring in P&O Cruises drink allowances in line with the rest of the carnival corporation.

They have taken a unique selling point of theirs, that the British really liked (Cheeky Prink whilst getting ready) and ruined it. Call it like it is, Responsible consumption of *OUR* Alcohol.

This has put me off trying P&O I feel. It’s not that I drink a lot, far from it, but I do enjoy a nice wee dram or gin on the balcony as I relax and read/enjoy the view. It’s a lovely part of the holiday for me. I am getting the feeling that they are really cost cutting what with this and the flights. A little off putting.

. We gave up P&O a decade ago (after taking nofly Caribbean cruises with them annually - sometimes twice a year - for 12-years). We usually had mini-suite, sometimes a suite and spent money on excursions and the occasional fine dining. We also liked a cocktail or two each evening. We became friends with many many people over the years who we met on board each year but who have also stopped sailing with P&O. Between us all we spent (c) approaching £100k a year with P&O. But then the joke became that the ship was full of earrings and tattoos - but the earrings were on the men and the tattoos on the women!! Then the Formal Nights became a disappointment as the staff were afraid to question those not adhering to the Dress Code. Doubt that there even is one now!! We all now meet up on Cunard (Princess Grill) but sadly not the Caribbean. I doubt that Carnival could care a toss though - as they also own Cunard - but at least standards are being maintained. .

Was expected to happen for cruise business reasons which becoming more tighter on customers . First class blog for several reasons . If you on travels again soon have great time 🍕🍹☀️

It's a shame but not entirely surprising, I think another thing that's potentially led to the change is that it will likely end bucket of ice deliveries on an evening which will mean less work for cabin stewards

just read all the reviews p and o have been cutting and putting up prices . there are plenty other cruise lines so look around .

It's a money making exercise. Remember ALL booze on a ship is duty and vat free so, a bottle of gin that costs £26 in your local supermarket should only be about £15 on a ship.

That’s a BIG disappointment in my opinion…..thanks for clarifying 😢

I used to cruise with P&O as they were very good and reflected British standards. Now they have went way down on any good list so I won’t be cruising with them. Around 25 years ago we went on a P&O cruise which first port stop was Gibraltar. Everyone onboard rushed off the ship but it wasn’t just to feel solid ground beneath their feet. It was the off licence shops was the target. Reason? Tax free alcohol. We had to go about 3/4 of a mile along the street before we could get into one. It was funny as all you could hear for several hours was the clink clink of bottles as passengers returned lol… no one got drunk that I saw and no one had booze littering their cabins. It was drunk responsibly and enjoyed. I hate lies and this new directive is obviously a huge one… it’s being done because P&O is now owned by a huge money making company in the US

Going on our first cruise this weekend on arvia and tbh doesn't really change how we feel. We are not drinkers so I guess it's not a issue but the short notice is out of order. There should have definitely been a grace period for anyone already booked.

Less than 30 days to my first P&O cruise. As you said, it is in line with out CCL brands. Going on Cunard in 2 weeks and hopefully they don't do a similar thing.

Hi Jamie i can imagine that this isnt going to go down well with some im not a great drinker and wine is ok with me thank you for the update 😊

We are done with P&O after last Seasons fiasco with Maleth Aero, P&O have become expensive compared to other cruise lines that have the add on package of excursions, speciality meals, extra on board credit, WIFI and drinks package not to mention gratuities included in their add on package.

I quite liked that you could bring a litre of spirits onboard for the cabin, however I usually end up bringing some home with me as hubby only drinks beer or the occasional cocktail. I’ve taken a bottle regardless of whether I’ve had the drinks package or not. However, with the drinks package price hike I will rethink whether to take it or not going forward, especially as my daughter is now 18 so doesn’t benefit from the free refresh package. It won’t stop me from choosing P&O though as they still represent good value for money for the cruise.

travelled to malta on the 9th and bought alot of spirits at the port's duty free before we got on Azura - never stopped once from taking on board as the security bag scan is before the duty free shop. everyone had white bags from duty free so P&O could clearly see but never stopped a single person

To be honest yes it’s all about the bottom line 🚢 but personally for us it would not bother us for the cost of 2 bottles of spirits. There’s so much more to a cruise 😊 great post keeping people updated though 👍

We’re going on Iona on 18th and the bottle of Baileys we were going to bring is only £1 dearer onboard, although I expect a price rise as the drinks packages have gone up , as the drinks and packages do every May. I’m going to enjoy my holiday on pay as I go for drinks using our OBC as planned.

For existing customers who booked before the drinks package prices increase should get another 10% off the price as I contacted p&o on the 6/5/24 and was told there would be no increase so I added the £566 to the basket. The next day I logged back in the see the price in my basket had gone up to £610 which is unacceptable the increase was the classic package and if p&o are fair as I had already booked should go back to the lower price . Very poor P&O 😂

So don't cruise on ANY P&O ships. Then watch them go into full reverse in the blink of an eye.

As have 2 cruises next year with P&O this will be interesting to see what changes have been made

Well that's about right, our first P&O cruise in a few weeks and they decide to change the policy. The cruise is now going to cost us more, maybe we will stick with Marella in future !!!

Someone on a Facebook group I'm in rang and was told categorically by their staff that there were no changes in policy and it was a scam. Within two hours of posting that, p and o had changed their website. Go figure.

We have booked a "taster" cruise with P&O for September. Just 4 nights to see if we enjoy it. I was going to take a bottle of vodka with us. We will now take a bottle of wine each. It is clearly a money driven policy but it will not change our approach to spending on board.

Thanks for this Jamie. I was surprised when I heard about this, and a bit disappointed initially - it was a unique perk that P&O offered which we always made use of. But they have finally followed the market and are finding new ways to make more money… As long as their overall cruise prices stayed competitive, I’m ok with it.

Thanks for the information

Oh dear - the decline continues!! We have been on many P&O cruises and since 2019 it's been declining service and increasing cost - We have one more cruise with them booked, then maybe we need to look elsewhere. They are definitely targeting the family holiday market and that's not us!!!

Here’s me looking to take on a nice whisky from my collection next month- just going to have to save it for the Scottish mountain trips- just for them to make money!

Great blog as always glad to have met you in Hythe today 👍

Thanks Jamie, so long as P & O continue to offer a broadly well priced product these tweeks are of little consequence to me.

I do enjoy a G&T in my cabin, so I will have to buy a bottle on board. Such a nuisance but Princess have used these rules for years so I suppose this was to be expected. I think doing it without any warning is rather poor though.

Have been on p & o several time over the last 12 years, have been on Queen Mary one way with 6 weeks coming home & Queen Elizabeth. My husband can't drink for health reasons, i agree i like a drink, but feel guilty if i have to buy at full price. The staff are not happy if you enjoy a drink, i think they need to rethink their policy's and make sure you have different bands, one for me and soft drinks for partner. There is a huge difference now, as what it was, especially with the food and snack's, not picking on P & O, have travelled with different companies and the standard is not the same. In the last 20 years we have travelled most of Europe with our kids & my paid for the family to go on a weekend trip and really enjoyed it and also had a fantastic time. So going on my father passed away and she still wanted to travel, but the price for a single cabin was really over the top, my son is recently registered blind and living in supported living, so we paid for twin beds & a single & he went on his first cruise & loved it! So a lot of positive & a little negative. We are now enjoying plane trips, sorry.

There reason is absolutely rubbish...just want to make more money....i wont be using them, apart from this they have gone way way down hill,all to make more money 😡

This is really sad, we love a cruise and have had many over the years, quite a few with Pand O. The drinks policy was a big part of our decision, mainly because I hate feeling ripped off and the drinks prices on board are exactly that. P and O prices were among the most reasonable so it was less of an issue but I always enjoyed having a bottle of something in the cabin for a night cap or whatever. We first cruised on Ventura when she was a year old, we got silver service, great food, bed turn down service, chocolates on the pillows, the ability to take a drink on board. All that has gone now, we switched to Princess for the last cruise, it was a much better all round experience. Given that in this statement P and O have decided to bullshit their valued customers I doubt we will go back.

We are leaving Saturday. I’ve received the final checklist e mail and there is no mention of the change. If we weren’t on social media we would have absolutely no clue. My friend and I bought a 75cl bottle of gin to have a glass when getting ready for the evening. It’s a little annoying that we have not been informed officially. I suspect there will be many turning up Friday and Saturday with no idea.

Hi Jamie, thanks for letting me know. I am going on Aurora next Wednesday and had no clue. It's a shame but i can neck the sambuca when i return from my 3 day jaunt!

Very disappointed, might have to drink water as we are getting ready for dinner, certainly won't drink anymore in the evening 8:28 8:28

While myself and my wife are by no means big drinkers, we enjoyed a nice Grey Goose and mixer in the cabin whilst getting ready to go out. Shame its now off the menu (unless you buy it off them for twice the price). Code of conduct, yeah right....

Have been cruising with p and o for 10 yrs and have never taken any alcohol on boarding so won’t worry me at all.

Outrageous! Just price gouging! Let them bring alcohol………😳😳😳

Jamie - Do you think P&O will retain the full bottles of Spirits on the Room Service drinks options? I've always previously opted to simply purchase a litre of Grey Goose Vodka for only £35 onboard using this method as this is cheaper than the cost of the same bottle from a supermarket! If so, there's not really much of a difference with this new announcement from P&O. Simply buy when onboard!

Being a cruiser since 1974 I have seen many changes taking place over the years, many of them not that great. This all accelerated once Carnival's influence over many brands started to take a foothold on a lot of the cruise industry. Sadly I no longer feel that I can cruise because of this. I have though perhaps enjoyed the best years of cruising when commercial exploitation was not more important than the loyalty of the passengers......

I’m a bit pissed off as we go on Saturday but, As we are first time cruisers I remembered being surprised that they let people take alcohol in the first place. No big deal really

I hope P&O will support crew, check in staff that have to face the poo end of the stick having to enforce code of conduct change.

Didn’t have drinks package on cruise in January , taking litre bottle on was great for other half , I’m not much of a drinker with alcohol, on Ventura in feb mini cruise and Iona in September won’t have drinks package on Iona hoping still allowed take soft drinks on board , @TravelBlogJamie thanks for update ❤

We need to talk about this! Everyone else is 😂

Noticed on our last cruise how weak the cocktails were and bar staff using pre-mixes. All pina and no colada ,That being said, should put off the booze cruisers. Only hope passengers do not take new policy out on the crew.

Why do you feel you aren’t the target audience? I would think you would be exactly their target. I’ve only cruised with P&O so interested to hear which line/s you feel better suited to. Thanks👌

P&O isn’t for me but when I did sail with them last summer people were taking containers with alcohol in and mixing it into their drinks. It didn’t bother me. So make sure you drink from your water bottle now or you could get a surprise 😂

Oh no have to tell hubby he can’t bring his Talisker with him on Saturday

Under old rules you could have 4 people in a cabin with 1 litre of spirits each..but only 2 of them drink so 2 people go off to see shows without a drink package and the other 2 join them a little typsy because they have 4 litres to drink so they dont need alcohol package either...this policy change would stamp those senarios out

It’s greed. Pure and simple. They want to make more money.

Like other's this is the final straw, I am done with P&O. We went on a short cruise to Rotterdam recently and the boat felt dated, the food was poor and it all felt a bit like Butlins at sea. I would have gone again as we had a good time and it was reasonably cheap, but if I have to pay for Alcohol as well then it is no longer worth it. I get the impression they are cutting costs to the bone and trying to squeeze every penny out of their guests.

Am I the only person who has realised that I don’t see a 1 litre size bottle of wine but they are normally 75cl. I suppose you can make it up almost a litre with a couple of small individual bottles.

I am not loyal to p&o and sailed on quite a few different lines now (although got 2 booked with P&O this year 🙈). This is pretty standard across most other lines now and they all make little extras as best they can. The thing is cruise prices themselves have come down in price from years ago and now appeal to most budgets. They have to either up their general prices or make changes to bring in more money.

Just been on Arvia and to be fair the prices for a litre of gin or whisky from the room service menu seem quite reasonable.

Years ago in the 1990s I'd take on a box of Carling to drink in our cabin on the Canberra, then the same on the Aurora in the 2000s along with a box of soft drinks for the kids. No one cared. Packed lunches available for all of us if we were out at lunch time. I love classical music, and they'd have some of the finest classical musicians on board. The funniest comedians, the best singers, the best entertainment in the theatre, the most interesting talks in the afternoon. A friendly Ship's officer on almost every table at dinner. The captain always visible to passengers, greeting everyone with a warm smile as he walked around the ship. On one trip on the Oriana in 1999, we even got into the ward room party with free drinks because the lady officer on our table was the deputy purser. I've recently returned from an week long trip to Norway on the Iona, and what a miserable impersonal low quality (in comparison) experience that has been. The friendliest, kindest face of that trip by far was Dennis our cabin steward, to whom we left a tip as he deserved it. Elsewhere the glummest of faces everywhere from the staff and I didn't see a single officer with gold stripes all week. The singer/piano player they had on in the Iona Crow's nest bar one night couldn't even sing in tune, he was in my opinion abysmal. We get better entertainment in the local karaoke venues near our home! Even the bread rolls at dinner are now almost half the diameter of those in the nineties, served with miniscule five ounce steaks (if that) which might suit a ten year old. They were much bigger in the old Canberra days when Felim McGuinness was the executive chef. Just expressing my own opinions to which I am entitled.

Just a thought about holiday booking conditions/contract with P & O....for all passengers who had booked and even fully paid up for a cruise prior to May 7th. By issuing this directive is P & O breaking the terms of those holiday contracts? Is this legal? Just wondering?

Watched it thank you for this video this will be my 2nd cruise this year I am ok with this change cos I like my wine.

P&O could sadly be yet another case where a business has accidentally (or not) ventured into shareholder first customer second. Additionally in this case customer health and wellbeing not even on the list. It appears that excessive drinking is being encouraged?

Definately going with TUI on the next cruise then!

One could buy a glass of wine in any bar and take it to the Horizon buffet to drink with the meal presumably, cant see how anyone would know if it had been purchased in a bar or brought from the cabin?

Hi Jamie, love the blogs! This is diverting a little from the topic... Please correct me if I'm wrong but from what I understand P&Os policy on bringing alcohol on board when purchased at a port was you had to hand it over when getting back on the ship, there was always a table out at the top of the gangway for you to declare it (we've not been inboard since before the pandemic). We have often bought a top up of wine or beer to have in the cabin mid cruise and never declared it, never been challenged. So it will be interesting to see if they challenge anyone bring a sneeky bottle of vodka onboard and how they deal with it. Finally sailing in June on iona and can't wait! 😆.

Just put it in your hand luggage! Pre departure screening are looking for different prohibited items. I'm type 1 diabetic and always take a new unopened bag of glucose powder through security, never once been questioned. On x-ray must look like coke. Worst case, they store it until you return, it's not a felony 😂

What a load of rubbish we have always taken a bottle of gin board. This last is the 3 of us for the 2 week cruise. We do buy the very odd beer or a bottle of wine on formal night. This is all about money. The kettle tea and coffee will go soon. Thanks for the video Jamie.

We have been sailing with P&O for 4 decades and to be honest this isnt a big change from what has been the norm over the last 10 years, we do however remember years ago seeing many passengers in the terminal with literally cases of wine to drink on the cruise !... lets be honest you really wouldnt walk into a top hotel with a bottle of vodka to drink with your dinner !....some will hate this small change but for us its just not important.

We look at where we want to go, the itineray, the cabins available, then price and what is included. As long as the ship is ok we are not bothered about roller coasters, flow riders etc. That is what happens when you get old!

Can't blame them, to be honest. They have to maximise profit. Got the email and then looked at KZfaq, and you had already done a video about it, spot on as always, Jamie.

They are also practicing disability discrimination now with their policy on mobility scooters. There’s plenty of other cruise lines out there P&O.

£20 corkage. That's just a rip off. And a game changer. I don't like being taken for a fool.

For me not a problem, but the drinks package is not worth the money, i only drink soft drinks and coffee , yet m😂y husband likes a drink, yet i have to purchase the oackage also.

It always surprised me that P&O actually let you bring spirits onboard, no one else did. Their room service prices for bottles of spirits are still (Currently) very cheap, £26 for gin ain’t bad, so it’s not the end of the world.

As long as they don't ban teabags in the cabins I'll be fine

We quite often buy bottles of spirits from the room service menu and not much dearer than tesco . That wont put us off . We have only cruisef with p&o but thats all change , we have booked 3 cunard cruises and looking at azamara as well , need to move crusing back to the old p&o 😁 happy cruising and boozing ❤️

We have got back today from another p and o and if up to me our last arcadia is a shithole and needs scrapping

There's ways round it. Unless P&O plan to taste test every water bottle and flask being taken on board!!

So I can't bring on board my bottle of pink gin as drinking it would be irresponsible, but I can have one delivered to my room and that's perfectly safe? I'm betting they now increase the cost of those room service spirits...