A Nottinghamshire couple left frustrated and angry with P&O Cruises said their experience on a European holiday had been 'awful'. Linda and David Cobby, aged 57 and 59, were both looking forward to spending some of their retirement money on a getaway, but have been left disappointed after a number of alleged issues disrupted their trip, including dirty cabins, mislabelled food, and smells of sewage.
The pair, from Harworth, had previously holidayed with P&O Cruises in March 2023 on a trip to the Caribbean and had been so impressed, they decided to book two back-to-back cruises which would both take place on the same P&O ship just two months later from May 5 to May 26 - costing a total of £3,400.
But they were unimpressed after their trip around the Norwegian Fjords, and then northern Europe and Scandinavia. Lynda said: "I think the whole theme is that it was just shambolic and farcical. It's just left us feeling really frustrated, angry and stressed."
The couple also said they had been left with 'awful' memories. The couple's problems started when they boarded the ship and were given a cabin over a smoking area. Lynda said that she had previously called and asked P&O to ensure they were not near any smoke as David had problems with his lungs since having coronavirus.
They claim they were told by P&O that this was marked down and that if they were given one onboard, they could go to reception and switch. The couple, who had paid to upgrade their cabin following an email offer a few weeks before boarding, said on May 5 they were given a cabin above a smoking area and live lounge venue.
When the couple asked to switch after boarding, the couple said they were told the staff could not do anything until head office confirmed how many cabins were still available.
The couple were then moved to a second cabin on May 6, but said both were "dirty", adding they had to clean them with their own wipes and spray. Lynda and David also added that they were unimpressed by the variety of the food on board the ship.
But the pair say this extended outside their room. David added: "We had to wipe everything down before we sat down. If you picked up any cutlery or glasses, you had to check they were clean because we've got pictures of glasses with lipstick stains on them."
The pair also alleged the food on board the ship was poor, and items were continuously mislabelled as vegetarian when they included meat products, they alleged.
When Lynda and David remained on the ship for the second cruise, they were moved to a third cabin, which they claimed was noisy and occasionally smelt like sewage. While P&O maintenance staff attended, the couple say they felt dismissed.
Lynda added: "We'd taken early retirement, that's one of the reasons we did the cruise, because these were places we always wanted to go, and the opportunity came up and we took it.
"It was supposed to be something that we could really enjoy, you know, we have got some nice memories but that's when we got off the boat, but most the memories that we've got are really awful."
Lynda and David have since filed a formal complaint to P&O Cruises.
Nottinghamshire Live has contacted P&O Cruises for comment.
