Selbourne

Yes that is factually correct.

I make no judgement on whether the policy is right or wrong, nor on those who choose to pack a bottle or two within their luggage. As I have said, it makes no odds to me as we have never taken alcohol with us and don’t intend to start. My point was simply that this policy is unenforceable, as suitcases generally aren’t opened, passengers wouldn’t be with them if they were, and even if they can see a bottle via a scanner it could be anything. Port security aren’t looking for bottles, they are looking for terrorist related threats. I stress, I am not advocating rule breaking, merely pointing out that it’s very easy to do so.

but, again, impossible to enforce.

My wife is a full time wheelchair user. The issue that you are referring to is that Britannia doesn’t have stairs midships, so everyone has to use the lifts, even if they would normally use the stairs, so this puts added pressure on the midships lifts. We don’t find it to be a major problem, other than disembarkation morning (which is a challenge on most P&O ships for those with mobility aids). The way to cope with the lifts is to try to use the forward and aft lifts. If your cabin is midships the trick is to use the lifts nearest to where you end your day (which is often forward or aft, as that’s where most entertainment is), travel up to your deck and then walk along the corridor to your cabin. Quicker and easier than walking to the midships lifts on a busy deck. Hope that helps. You shouldn’t have any major issues though. The only ship we really struggled on with lifts was Iona, as they are tiny, everyone uses them and lift etiquette was poor.

We found the MDR food to be generally fine on Iona, Britannia and Ventura last year, but Aurora this year was below par. Seems to vary not just by ship, but by cruise as well!

In order to settle a very minor argument between my good lady wife and me, we brainstormed all the ‘cutbacks’ that we noticed and got to about 30. I did a thread on it at the time. In reality we don’t miss 75% of them and for many we found work arounds. MDR food isn’t as good as it was (choice etc) but, other than on Aurora, was still OK and the prices reflect it. So will we still cruise with P&O? Yes. But we have lowered the maximum price per night that we are prepared to pay. We have 2 Cunard cruises next and will be very interested to compare. My expectations will be much higher given the price we are paying.

So the space on just one passenger deck could be the top of the lift shaft (motors etc)?

There is space for it to be a service lift from that deck down, as there is white space at every level below it, but why a service lift would just go up as far as that deck is beyond me! I always avoid white spaces on the assumption that they will be a source of noise of some sort or other, but the bigger balcony is obviously tempting.

I’ve deliberately not engaged much with this debate as it doesn’t affect us. We never take alcohol on board (either at embarkation or in port), we don’t drink in our cabin or on our balcony and we feel that on board drinks prices are reasonable. They are certainly no more expensive than any pubs we use and to complain that you can buy them cheaper in supermarkets is daft IMHO. The only fair comparison is against pubs and hotels. The choice of drinks can be quite limited in some of the bars, and indeed from room service so, even though prices are reasonable, I do have sympathy with those who enjoy a particular tipple and the only way to achieve that is to take a bottle with them. As for the motivation for this change, I’m inclined to fall on the side of trying to drive up on board spend rather than to deter drunkenness. If it was the latter, then offering drinks packages runs contrary to that objective. Whilst many of us feel that the drinks packages are over priced (even before the possible increase) and wouldn’t drink anywhere near enough in any given day (especially on port days) to make them even remotely viable, those whose prime motivation is to get drunk every day will certainly buy them and won’t be taking bottles on board when they are getting their booze ‘free’ with their drinks packages. O.K. they might have pre-dinner drinks in their cabin but one bottle, out of their entire holiday consumption with a drinks package, will be a minimal contributor. Those who are motivated by drinking to excess won’t be remotely deterred by the policy change. As well as access to drinks packages, the new policy would be dead easy to dodge by ‘smuggling’ bottles on board within suitcases. Let’s be realistic, they won’t be caught by doing this and there’s no consequence if they were. The sole risk is a bottle smashing if it wasn’t wrapped adequately. Whilst it’s not something I would do (for reasons stated) if a bottle of something special that you can’t buy on board was a deal breaker, even for moderate to light drinkers, then I’m sure that most people would do the same rather than ditch the cruise line.

Thanks. You posted that info as I posted my question about that! On the basis that we avoid buffets we will aim for the Golden Lion (assuming that it will be open). I just hope that we can get in, as I should imagine that it’s where those ‘in the know’ head! Am I correct in thinking that the food in the Golden Lion is included in the fare (free)?

Thanks. Does the Britannia restaurant open for lunch on embarkation day, or is everyone other than grills passengers expected to use the buffet?

I very much doubt that they can and strongly suspect that if a passenger does this they smile appreciatively and put the bottle back into stock. Even if they wanted the bottle (unlikely I should imagine) I doubt they would risk taking it back to their cabin. They would be terrified that it could be perceived that they had stolen it from the stocks that they distribute, which would result in instant dismissal. They would have no receipt for it or definitive proof that it had been gifted to them.

Indeed. We could still hear it when we got back to our cabin 2 decks above!

Thanks. As long as it’s a sit down restaurant lunch that will be fine. We avoid buffets like the plague! We have a 12.45pm embarkation so hopefully will be on board in time.

It was in the atrium when we were on Iona and it rather spoilt the show in the 710 club, as we could hear all the ‘silent’ disco participants singing at full pelt over the performers we were watching.

Delighted to hear that you had a great cruise and yes, those late breakfast times in the MDR are fantastic. I wish they’d do that on the other P&O ships (or at least some way towards it). 9am cut off on port days and 9.30am on sea days still seems to prevail on most ships, which we find a rush. Interesting that you ignored the app and just walked up and were seated immediately. Makes a mockery of the app!

When we were in PG on QM2 we had embarkation lunch in the PG restaurant. We are BC on QA and were rather hoping to have lunch in the BC restaurant as soon as we embark. Do you think that’s unlikely?

Thank you for taking us along with you. I enjoyed reading your first instalment. Have a fabulous cruise. We like Ventura.

We disliked the promenade deck on P&Os Iona, as it felt disconnected from the ocean being surrounded by a tall glass screen (as you usually get on the top decks) and was mostly uncovered so could only be used in dry weather, but I’d swap the Iona promenade deck for what I’ve seen so far of the version on Queen Anne! I’m relieved that we have a balcony!

I’d be very interested to see the a’la carte additions for Britannia Club and whether they remain the same for the entire cruise (as they did when we tried PG on QM2) or vary by day. If the food is as good in the standard Britannia restaurant as it sounds on the menus then we have a lot to look forward to.

Do I take it from this comment that you are dining in Britannia Club? If so, aside from the restaurant size, how are you finding the food and service (we are booked in BC on QA for two cruises). Thanks.

We shall reserve judgement until we board QA in a few weeks time, but I can’t say that I’ve been overly impressed from the few videos I’ve seen so far. P&O U.K. have done the same thing. We really didn’t like the public areas on Iona and felt that they were like a conference hotel, and the atrium like a shopping mall or airport. I wonder if the same interior designers were used for Queen Anne? I was also shocked at how poor the promenade deck looked. It may be how the camera has captured it, but it seems very narrow and very large portions of it have no view out as they are obscured by lifeboats. On many other cruise ships the lifeboats are suspended above the promenade deck and you walk underneath them, so that the view isn’t compromised. I guess that the approach on QA allows for more unobstructed balcony cabins or public rooms?

@Solent Richard (or any others onboard) How are you finding the included dining experience and which dining room are you using? There were reports of excessive delays earlier in the cruise in (I think) the Britannia Dining room. We have booked Britannia Club and I haven’t seen any comments regarding that yet. Also, nobody has mentioned the food yet (other than the pay extra venues), which I am guessing is a good sign! Thanks.

Yikes 😂 No wonder those who go on Iona and Arvia outside of school holidays say the ship didn’t feel that busy! To be fair, the schoolchildren in themselves weren’t a problem at all when we were on Iona in August. It was irritating that almost every restaurant that we went to had a screaming baby or unruly toddler near to us, but I guess that can happen outside school holidays as well on any family ship.

We have been surprised to see how restrictive the drinks menus have become, in particular the choice of cocktails with some bars only offering a tiny number. When we were on Britannia, during our second week a drinks waiter said that he could get us other drinks, but that seemed to be a one-off. When we were on Iona shortly afterwards they were adamant that they could only supply drinks from the specific menus for each bar. My daughter wanted a particular cocktail in the Crows Nest and whilst it wasn’t on the menu, all of the component ingredients were present in other drinks offered in that bar, so they could have made one - but refused to.