Louise Pentland #16 £1000 on her charity project, £3000 on ugly xmas decorations that last a month

[Crazycatty]

This while they are stricter on formal nights, it basically comes down to please wear a suit for men and a dress/trouser suit type thing for women. It did used to be a lot stricter but have become a lot more relaxed over the years. It's not really any stricter than you'd see in a number of restaurants in London. While some areas of the ship won't have a dress code at all. It's a weird choice to focus on the dress code I think, as for those new to cruising it can be a worry if it's not explained properly!

I think one of the problems for Louise is that she has nothing to compare it to. Like I'd be spending some time highlighting that Iona is fully freedom dining, and showing how you about joining the 'virtual queue' or booking for the sit down restaurants. I'd maybe even show the app it can be done on while making it clear it is possible in person as well. I'd then even probably mention that some ships you've got the choice between freedom & set dining and the pros/cons of each.

Also the nearly all inclusive or however she described it. I'm guessing she's been given a drinks package as the first thing I'd be mentioning is that you have to pay for drinks (reasonably priced admittedly). If I were P&O I'd be really getting her to sell that they allow you to come with a 1l of alcohol each and soft drinks etc. (They're not that strict if you bring more but obviously P&O won't want that known). It's quite a big selling point for some as the American ships are super strict about it.

I'm actually a bit surprised P&O are doing this, this summer. Especially when things aren't back to normal fully on their ships yet. Such as the kids club, where it looks like you're still having to book. With the exception of the night nursery (I believe) this never used to be the case pre-covid. And in regards to provisions for kids they were arguably some of the best holidays around both for families and non families.

I'm just annoyed. There's so much stuff she's overlooking and it just shows why companies should try and go down the non-influencer route. Just pay for some ads or something on their content.

A fellow experienced cruiser!

Brands really need to research and choose carefully who to give brand jobs too - if I was looking at new holiday ideas I would much rather hear from someone with experience of going on a cruise than someone who is a complete novice and clearly doesn’t have a clue!

 

[Wormsneedeating]

I don't buy the bedroom thing, she just wanted the extra room. The privacy is a non issue as she doesn't give her privacy normally. She's got a balcony room, it's a spacious room. The beds only get pulled down/out at night time so during the day they don't loose space.
We've been on a cruise 4 to a room no issues at all, it's exactly the same as 4 to a hotel room.

 

[fidgetjo]

I don't buy the bedroom thing, she just wanted the extra room. The privacy is a non issue as she doesn't give her privacy normally. She's got a balcony room, it's a spacious room. The beds only get pulled down/out at night time so during the day they don't loose space.
We've been on a cruise 4 to a room no issues at all, it's exactly the same as 4 to a hotel room.

I agree. I could understand if she was in one of the budget small cabin rooms with hardly any space. But with the balcony room which even has a conservatory there’s absolutely no space issues for a week away. It’s not like they’re going to be in the room much only to sleep really!

 

[MsGilmore]

I kinda get the room thing, but find it hypocritical.
Louise talks about respecting Darcy but plasters her all over her Instagram in a leotard. As well as dressing her like a much younger child. Also if Darcy needs more space, why are Pearl and Darcy now sharing a room at home?!
Pick a story and stick to it Louise. Oh and discuss your trust issues with your therapist!

 

[TapToBoreMeRigid]

@SophJohns I wish that you'd gone on a paid trip and reported back because I've already learned more from you in one forum post.

 

[surreyeye]

Idk I kinda get where Louise is coming from with this one. Liam is part of her family yes but he isn’t her father, and Darcy isn’t a little girl anymore. It’s funny that Louise can acknowledge Darcy’s age here but has no qualms on the inappropriateness of sharing intimate details about her life to strangers or dressing her like a toddler??

I’m not sure where you are coming from on this as it stands he is her step father would be slightly odd if he had absolutely no responsibility or dealings with her on his own. Say for example she goes away overnight on a work trip or out for the evening does she not do these things unless it’s the fathers turn to have her ? I doubt that

A fellow experienced cruiser!

Brands really need to research and choose carefully who to give brand jobs too - if I was looking at new holiday ideas I would much rather hear from someone with experience of going on a cruise than someone who is a complete novice and clearly doesn’t have a clue!

But isn’t that the attraction to the brand when trying to attract new family customers that they find someone with a large demographic who is new to cruising and perhaps was doubtful and they post their wonderful experiences and how they had misconceptions that were not correct ?

 

[AliceInWanderLost]

okay, fair enough that the girls can't share unless they're 16 - in my mind, i pictured adjoining cabins kinda like adjoining hotel rooms, so they would all still be able to access each others rooms, but totally understand if that's not the case.

that said, if they had no intention of sharing a cabin as a family of four, why are Louise and Darcy sharing a conservatory mini suite - the most expensive option of cabin, with the potential to sleep four people. it's totally wasteful when they only ever intended on Louise and Darcy sleeping there - why not go with a smaller cabin that is actually aimed to sleep two people, and leave the mini suites for families who want to share a room. they could still have got a balcony cabin, just one that was aimed at sleeping two guests instead of four.

and the way Louise did a room tour of her and Darcy's fancy suite, which implies that Pearl and Liam have been shoved in a far smaller cabin, probably an internal one with no windows. the fact remains that there are family cabins with a separate bedroom and also cabins which do connect with adjoining rooms - which do allow kids to share a cabin. but even in a family suite, Darcy could have had privacy, rather she shared the bedroom with Louise or not, they would still have all been in the same cabin, just with different rooms. evidently, Louise didn't want to deal with Pearl, so she claimed the larger cabin for four people - worth over £3,000 - taking it away from a family who could have used it, with the balcony and sea view, and Pearl and Liam have been left to slum it in the depths of the ship.

 

[arty123]

But isn’t that the attraction to the brand when trying to attract new family customers that they find someone with a large demographic who is new to cruising and perhaps was doubtful and they post their wonderful experiences and how they had misconceptions that were not correct ?

If this is the case then Lady Louise is way off target with her #ad posts. She is now giving the impression that a 'normal' family couldn't even fit comfortably in the largest suite due to privacy issues! What the! She is more or less saying you need to book two cabins at least to get ang sort of space and comfort. She is possibly the worst mumfluencer on the market, never reads the room, always tries to be relatable and ends up looking the opposite etc etc. P&O failed miserably with her, must let them know!

 

[ellie_bell321]

Not a good advert for the cruise when she thinks one room isn't big enough for a family of 4... when the cruise sells them as big enough.
Also most families would have to save up for a long time to afford a cruise and wouldn't hve option of extra cabins.. she isn't a good advert for family holidays when she isn't nothing like a moral family. I shared rooms with family till I was 19 on last family holiday, you just use bathrooms to get ready, I'm sure that is normal.

 

[Emzykins]

I feel like she really doesn't like Liam? I get the whole privacy thing when it comes to Darcy but why on earth would you get 2 rooms for that? Talk about privilege!

 

[sangariana]

I think she’s messed up by not saying it’s because they can’t share because they’re under 16 that would be understandable. Attributing it to privacy and space makes it weird and as you say misleading for other potential customers.

 

[fidgetjo]

I think she’s messed up by not saying it’s because they can’t share because they’re under 16 that would be understandable. Attributing it to privacy and space makes it weird and as you say misleading for other potential customers.

But that’s a different issue that Pearl and Darcy can’t share alone (which makes sense). Not that the whole family can’t share the 4 person room. The 4 person room should be fine for 4 & it makes it seem like the rooms too small when clearly it’s not.

 

[flixy83]

So whenever Lady Louise was offered this FREE holiday, did she take a look at the cabins and decide they couldn't possibly all stay in one cabin (designed to sleep 4)? Did she then go back to P&O Cruises and ask for 2 cabins? And they gave her 2, are they that desperate to get influencers on board??!! I can't imagine they would automatically provide 2 cabins for 4 people.

i think I'm just extra pissed off because we've actually booked a P&O cruise for 2024 - it's going to take us that long to save and pay for it and while we won't go without in the next 2 years, it will definitely be a once in a lifetime holiday for us. Louise is actually really putting me off going - she can't even influence property, it's her one job!!

 

[surreyeye]

I doubt she could dictate the rooms , maybe her management company could. Am I right in thinking and I must admit not having checked that they still are not operating at 100% capacity ?

 

[arty123]

I may have dropped a little message to P&O cruises to mention that a certain mumfluencer is not doing a particularly good job...or maybe I haven't...

 

[NotTrollinJustScrollin]

I really hope the kids clubs on Iona are back to normal so Darcy and Pearl can spend as much time there as possible, maybe give them a chance of a somewhat normal holiday!

i went in May, kids club was rubbish 8-930 slot for a 2 year old?! My experience was cruise was not very family friendly at all and wouldn’t go again for a long time.

 

[Michi]

Maybe she and Liam split and just pretend to be still together, like she and Matt did for a while. That would explain the need for two separate cabins, I'm sure otherwise they would have got a family suite/two adjoining cabins?

 

[Helk]

I really don't get the need nowadays to desparately dress siblings exactly the same... What's so cool about it?! Also how do older siblings allow that! I had a sister 2 years younger and I already was annoyed when she was wearing just the same blouse as me. Darcy and Pearl seem to have exactly the same clothes every day...

 

[Crazycatty]

I doubt she could dictate the rooms , maybe her management company could. Am I right in thinking and I must admit not having checked that they still are not operating at 100% capacity ?

Currently on a cruise which is operating at around 71% capacity. So they are nearly full. Few cabins left aside for anyone needing to isolate.
Kids clubs are also back to normal, time slots have gone, so you can send the kids all day every day if you want

 

[fidgetjo]

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