P&O Ferries Hull — Local services in Great Britain

P&O Ferries Hull, Day trip to Amsterdam. (22/08/2022) Out of Hull was fine with crew members friendly and accommodating, initial room was like sleeping in a box with no air so upgraded for the return trip. The return trip: 23/08/2022 - Check in at Rotterdam was a damningly unique experience with a blonde haired female staff member so condescending and rude that it warranted a mention. She kept demanding a document that we weren't carrying and when explained that it had been left aboard in other luggage she acted as if it were beneath her to do anything about it. She asked for a bus boarding ticket which we had already disembarked from and as this wasn't provided on our way out, (as booking was originally done online, we were only provided a reference number) This sort of attitude from a front line staff member towards an elderly couple in their 70's doesn't bode well for P&O marketing and shows staff attitude and approach towards elderly travellers leaves a lot to be desired (Due to her attitude, my parents have stated they would never return to Rotterdam, such was the attitude and treatment from this blonde haired ground checkin female staff member on the evening of the 23rd August 2022) As there were only two female ground staff on duty at the Rotterdam terminal on this particular day and shift its not impossible to discern her identity.

Fortunately, customs staff were friendly and accommodating and on board staff went above and beyond to assist. A special thank you to Anna on reception who went above and beyond to assist, it is duly noted and you are an asset to your organisation.

The remainder of the trip was smooth sailing and we arrived well fed and rested. The Ferry will get a four star rating but P&O ground staff in Rotterdam will get a 1 star for the rude and abrupt and condescending attitude clearly self evident when dealing with customers. A word of advice, get rid of people who look down on others because of their age or disability as this is not the image your company...

Just returned from a mini cruise to the Netherlands. Previously, I had only been on a cross-channel ferry and I wasn't sure what to expect from the "mini-cruise" experience. It's safe to say that it excelled all expectations. The boarding experience was very swift - having been used to the dragged out procedure at most airports, the difference between that and ferry travel was night and day. The passenger bridge which usually services the ferry is currently out of action at Hull, so foot passenger boarding is via a bus which loads you on in the car deck. Compared to Rotterdam which has no such restrictions, this made loading (and disembarkation coming back) longer, but we didn't feel it was too much of an imposition. On board the ship is super clean and the staff were all very friendly and helpful, they really couldn't do enough for us. We had the premium double cabin which includes an on-suite bathroom, tea and coffee facilities and a slightly larger overall area. The room, like the rest of the ship, was immaculately clean and although perhaps small by hotel room standards was still more than adequate for the short amount of time you are in there. We ate at the kitchen for dinner and breakfast and we're genuinely surprised by the quality and choice of food which we felt was better than a lot of hotels we have stayed at. We found the food marginally better on the way out (Pride of Hull) than the way back (Pride of Rotterdam), though I would be hard-pressed to say either was anything other than excellent. Overall I can't recommend travelling with P & O enough and we are already looking forward to our next...

We sailed on the Pride of Hull for the first time since P&O's "employment shenanigans" a few years ago.

The economy cabins were smaller than I recall, and they don't have TVs and secondary seating like those with Stena at Harwich. That said, they are perfectly usable, and if you don't want to use them for anything other than sleeping, things are OK.

The note on the mirror about being quiet at night was amusing, as the person making the most noise in our room wasn't us, but the resident band two floors below.

The food was excellent, and while you need to pay for it, it certainly seemed to be better than Stena, which always seems to be a ripoff. I would describe this as a decent carvery with other options, whereas Stena would be motorway services at best.

We had very good service in the restaurant when we realised we had made some mistakes with our booking, and Philip, the manager, was very helpful throughout.

The beer prices were "less than London pub prices" or equivalent to Leeds, and the resident band was OK—they need to stop using backing tracks and actually just play the instruments they have. They seem to be good musically, but are spoiled by their use of backing tracks.

Disembarkation seemed slow, but in part, this was due to immigration. I'm sure a bit more "customer journey mapping" could have been done to try to reduce waiting and increase flow.

Our experience was good overall, and we would consider using P&O again, but the prices at Harwich are, in general, around 2/3rds, so even with the extra drive, it is financially...