The pool hoist on board P & O's 'Britannia' - a minimum of 24-hours notice has to be given to reception if you fancy a dip. Hardly a spontaneous decision!

We Need 24 Hours Notice if You Wish to Swim!

Yes, and it is not the first time we have heard this, and had personal experiences of this too. A recent cruise on P & O's family friendly ship 'Britannia' highlighted some areas of service which are really quite annoying. One of our members enquired about using the swimming pool hoist so that they could take a dip in the pool, only to be informed that a minimum notice of 24 hours was required. Sadly P & O are not the only ship operator that should really improve service in this area. We have heard of a situation whereby a travel agent called a cruise line to enquire about access into the pool onboard by means of a hoist. The customer service agent apparently did not know what this was. On 'Island Princess' less than a year ago, passengers enquired about pool hoist access and the reception staff did not know what this was, or even that it existed. When the message finally got through the hoist did not function both batteries for the hoist were faulty. It is not only ships that fail in this area; hotels do it too - a crew of staff at a Best Western Hotel in Miami  attempted to  the put the hoist together only to find out that both sets of rubber pipes to operate it were faulty. It makes you wonder how often these are checked and maintained.

Island Princess - The pool hoist comes out of the cupboard	Island Princess - battery pack in place - ready for action!
Island Princess - 'We'll just test it...'	Island Princes - 'Oh dear - it won't lift any weight. Both of the  batteries are faulty....'
Best Western in Miami: 'I think that bit goes in there...?	Best Western in Miami: 'Oh well, we did try... shame about the perished rubber hoses...'