Strawberry field

We have done the Fjords the last two years on Aurora and Britannia both in April. It's chilly and it's snowy but at the same time spectacular. We are on the Britannia again next April and again it's the Fjords. We can't get enough of the place. In April it's sunrise at 06.20 and sunset is 21.00 hours so lots of daylight hours and sunsets are spectacular while sailing through the Fjords.

Not sure about ciggies but Golden Virginia tobacco was £6.30 for 50g last April. That was to Norway which is outside the eu.

I live three miles from the Southampton outskirts and the night before a cruise we go to a hotel in Southampton within fifteen minutes walk of the ships just in case. The hotel cost is worth it for peace of mind meaning at worse we have a small walk with suitcases and at best a cooked breakfast and a leisurely morning.

No there were no cruises out today which was lucky for two reasons. One because of the M3 closure but we also have the boat show on and Saints at home to Man U.

To be honest the traffic in Southampton wasn't as bad as I thought it would be today but that was probably because most of it was parked on the M3 ;)

I am very tempted to try Britannia but the only thing that puts me off is that there is no promenade deck to sit or walk on....I just love to be on that deck at sail-away more than up on the top and if it is raining it is a covered area to walk outside around the ship

That's the only thing I preferred with Aurora over Britannia. The upper deck just isn't the same is it especially as it's not covered. Overall though I am happy to give that up for the much better cabins and larger ship.

Thanks for all the positive comments, feel better now:)

Glad you are feeling better now :) We were forward on B deck and never felt any movement at all. You will love Britannia you really will.

We will be going on our very first cruise in September 2018 and I'm really beginning to regret choosing Britannia. The initial excitement is being eroded by the negative comments of a lot of experienced cruisers including two people I go to the gym with, they screwed their faces up when I told them which ship we were going on. I certainly wouldn't put up with being in a stinky cabin even if you don't spend much time in there. That really isn't the point, you've paid your money and you should receive a wonderful experience and not have to put up with anything so disgusting. I really feel for the OP.

I went on Britannia last year and Aurora this year and I have booked again for next year on Britannia. After I booked on Britannia last year I read some very bad reviews about her and was nearly put off going. In the end it was the best holiday I've ever had and the ship was spotless and the staff were excellent. The food was absolutely fine and entertainment was also very good.

These are my personal views of course but as a yardstick I'm the type of person if I had a problem I would most certainly want something done about it. I didn't have a problem on Britannia and I don't expect to have one next year either. It's a lovely ship and we will be booking it again in 2019 for our 50th anniversary.

Oh by the way I also had people who said to me 'why are you going on that ship' and turned their noses up. Since then two of them have booked, sailed and loved it.

Don't worry you will have a great time :)

We did the Fjords on Aurora in April and there were very few younger people on board. We are in our 60s and even we sometimes felt it was a little quiet. Having said that we enjoyed it but for a youngster I'm not sure. We travelled on Britannia last year and there were quite a few younger people on her and it had more of a fun type feel.

Only cruised twice on Britannia and Aurora and freedom dining worked well on both. Only had a pager a couple of times which was a twenty minute wait for a table for two.

Not sure about ciggies as I smoke rolling tobacco which at home is £19 a packet but on a Fjords cruise last April it was £6.30 a packet. I did have a look at ciggies and noticed they were very cheap compared to at home.

Have a good time you will love it :)

You can also use the crews shuttle bus into town

Before retirement I was a crew shuttle bus driver and it's firmly in the lap of the driver. Most of us did it but not all drivers did I'm afraid. This was seven years ago and may have changed and hopefully has. The reason given to drivers at the time was before going into town it went to the seamans mission first to drop off but I could never understand why that made a difference. Anyway I took many a passenger up into town and then took them back to the ship as I saw no problem in doing it :)

It,s a mini bus eight seater a cruise parking company at marchwood park and ride,as for going through dock gate 20 many Evesway and Coliseum use this route for the mayflower 106 berth and 101 city cruise terminal.

I used to use it with a coach but not with a bus as they have a designated route. I hope the traffic isn't too bad this weekend in Southampton for those getting on the ships. Any passengers reading this leave plenty of time to get to your terminals just in case.

I know what you mean Strawberry field it can be a nightmare myself and other driver,s bring our passengers through 20 gate and as long as there is a ship in the city cruise terminal run straight through to 46 berth by coming out at dock gate 8 doing the trip in 20 min,s from marchwood.

Would that be a cab or coach? Many a time I would be sat on Millbrook road going into town wishing I could just go through 20 gate but bus companies tend not to like that sort of thing:o :D

OMG! We will be getting on Azura on Saturday for our mini cruise. 😱

Mostly it's just fine but when it goes wrong it goes wrong big time. I did the crew bus duty over a hundred times and it was chaos about three or four days of that hundred. That's why I always stay in a hotel the night before, peace of mind for the next day and if it's bad walk which only takes 10-30 minutes depending on which terminal it is.

Ten cruise ships arriving saturday and sunday also Saint,s at home Saturday thirty thousand fan,s in and around southampton and happy hammer,s coming down M3 :D

A few years ago I drove the crew bus from the cruise terminal up to West Quay and then back again. We used to run from 9am to 4.30pm. As you probably know it's just a five minute trip one way if no traffic about. One day we had the boat show, Saints and three or four ships in. Instead of a one way trip being five minutes it took way over two hours just to get to No 10 gate. The crew had long since got off and walked back to the ship! Passengers for the ship were walking with their luggage from the coach and railway stations. It was chaos in Southampton. Even though I live very close to Southampton I always stay the night before a cruise in the Dolphin just because of the traffic possibilities.

Where possible we used to mention it the night before, as the message doesn't always reach the table.

Years ago it seemed more important to the restaurant staff to know whereas now they seemed less concerned. On occasions I've gone to tell them and they've just said it doesn't matter, even though I've tried to point out people may wait. Other times the table have said there was no message despite leaving one.

If I was to go on fixed again I think I would say never wait more than 5 mins, especially as I am rarely late.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thank you I'm just pleased we go freedom much easier and no chance of accidentally upsetting anyone.

Love it!!! :) :) :) In fixed dining, they usually wait until the whole table has arrived before they take your order unless they know you aren't coming.

Good job I've never done fixed dining as I didn't know that! We would have always been labelled "oh there's that couple" ;)

If it is just for one evening, it would be polite for them to tell their table mates and their waiters so that they are not waiting for them to turn up.... but if it is for the whole cruise, then it would be polite to tell the Restaurant Manager right at the start, one reason being so that he could re allocate your friends' table to someone else.

Thanks for such a quick reply. We were thinking about the politeness aspect. That's answered my question so I can now look intelligent when I tell them :)

Hi

We always have freedom dining but I have been asked a question about Early Savers bookings. If it happens that a couple who has booked ES is allotted 6.30 dining but wants to do something else at 6.30 and just ate later in the buffet do they need to tell someone they won't be in the restaurant at 6.30? I have no idea myself so hoping you can help

Hope that makes sense.:)

Thanks

Just as I thought then. Oh well it was worth asking. Thanks for the replies :)

I haven't booked yet but I phoned P&O today asking the price of a possible extra cruise this year. They are only giving £30 OBC on an inside cabin at the moment but last year I got more than double that. Is there any way to work out when extra OBC goes on offer? I suspect not and it's in the lap of the Gods but thought I would ask.

How about considering the middle option of an outside cabin without balcony? I did this on Aurora to Norway & loved waking up very early & watching the fjord go by as the day began to get light. Once it was getting exciting, then I went up to a high deck for photography & a 360 degree view.

 

I'd recommend a full large window, rather than just porthole.

There isn't a middle option on Britannia just inside or balcony apart from suites of course.

We did an inside cabin on Britannia to the Fjords last year and the cabin was just fine. However we have just booked for next year and booked a balcony cabin. If it's the money then the inside is great but if the view is important then not. Last year we only used the inside cabin to sleep, shower and change as there was so much to do on board. We had an inside cabin this year on Aurora and will never have one on there again and will always go balcony. The Aurora inside cabin was small and not well lit unlike the Britannia cabin which was large, bright and welcoming.

Thanks everyone for your replies. We have decided and booked P&O again. We know we enjoy P&O so it seems silly to try something else when there's a chance it won't suit us especially now there is another person joining us.

Thanks for all your help :)

Just too busy for him really. Not relaxing, too many kids. It definitely sounded as though it would be great for young families, but not for a couple of a certain age. He has cruised with me on Norwegian Spirit, and done a few cruises on a couple of Fred Olsen ships, and loved them all.

Thanks Trevor that's very helpful