sueandphil

14 hours ago, red zebra said:

Thank you all for taking the time to reply, appreciate it. I might take my life in my hands and attempt an email to P&O to see about the Epicurian breakfasts, thanks again

When we were on Arvia TA in January , they were doing a trial in Epicurean whereby you could pay for breakfast in Epicurean for about £7.50pp. It was not widely advertised but as there are only 24 full suites and I think 2 family suites it was pretty quiet in there of a morning

Been in a suite but not a Conservatory Mini Suite. As I understand it you don't get many of the perks of a full suite as in no Butler service and no breakfast in Epicurean, but you do get robe and slippers, priority boarding, fruit bowl and the wonderful canapes (not every evening now apparently) and a bottle of bubbly on arrival.  You also have to pay for room service as well I believe 

There was an option to have breakfast in Epicurean on Arvia TA in January for around £8 pp. I was told it was something they were trialing.  With only 26 suites it was never full in there but on Britannia for instance there are 64 suites I think so it can be quite busy at breakfast.  If you then factor in the top tiers as well it could be busier than the Buffet

25 minutes ago, mudlark said:

Just returned from the Caribbean cabin F727. I had not seen these posts but all true the noise from the Live lounge up until 2am is unbearable. We suffered for too long before being moved.

DO NOT BOOK F727 or any aft cabins below D deck.

Music around the ship including some shows tended to be very loud, too loud.

Strange, we had F731 on the TA this year and never heard a thing from the Live Lounge and we were always tucked up in bed before it closed

5 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Yes, I agree. Enjoy your lunch and your cruise. I can recommend Peller Ice Cuvée in the Glass house. We always have a bottle to kick the holiday off 🍾 

Definitely,  Prospective DIL has purchased a bottle for our Christmas day lunch after we recommended it to her on their first cruise

Just looked and there are return flights on BA on the Sunday for $699pp.  Saturday return is more expensive.  Might have an extra night in Antigua but I don't expect that P&O will give us a flight refund, probably just cancel our 22 night cruise

On 1/17/2022 at 3:56 PM, Pencil62 said:

 We booked a balcony cabin for a Caribbean cruise on Britannia in December 23 at launch. At the weekend we decided to upgrade to an aft suite using our remaining fcc. Unfortunately all the corner suites were taken but we managed to book one of the suites at the back on B deck. Our TA then rang back about 30 minutes later just to say there had been a complaint about that suite from 2017 that she could see on the system and did we still want to go ahead with the booking?  From following these threads for a year or two I assumed it was something to do with soot from the chimneys or vents or suchlike and remember someone saying canopies have been added to stop the problem. She confirmed this was the case and I thanked her for ringing back and told her to go ahead with the booking.   I am so glad I have used this TA since we started cruising in 2013. I'm not sure P@O or some other TA's would have been so honest.

I'll guess that this is cabin B723.   We had B724 on the TA just after the canopies were added.  The occupants of B723 were sun lovers and she complained constantly but we were glad to have the option of a little bit of shade and also we could lie out on our loungers when it was raining stair rods Enjoy your suite, we did

Do you mean A723?

There are only 24 suites on Arvia (and Iona) and the forward ones, I believe, are steel fronted and are prone to strong winds and some movement on some cruises. If you call and book a Select fare you may get a better choice of suite but I realise this will cost more. I notice that, on the TA in January,  the suites are already sold out so if you have the chance of booking a cheaper saver fare I would not leave it too long to book

On 11/12/2021 at 8:14 AM, Port out said:

For interest, which ship was this on .. joining Iona tomorrow

Sorry, don't go on here too often.  This was Britannia TA

22 hours ago, sueandphil said:

There are no Cocktail parties at the moment (well there wasn't last week) Just a voucher for a drink.  The Peninsular lunch did go ahead though and was split between Baltic and Ligurian one one day and Caribbean on another with different menus, both very nice

 

Just to add, at the peninsular lunch,  The Captain walked amongst the tables whilst giving a speech  and we had an officer, in our case the F&B Manager, talk to us personally at our table, but did not dine with us

There are no Cocktail parties at the moment (well there wasn't last week) Just a voucher for a drink.  The Peninsular lunch did go ahead though and was split between Baltic and Ligurian one one day and Caribbean on another with different menus, both very nice

Can't wait for the Epicurean breakfasts again, a great way to start the day

There are only 24 full suites on Iona according to our Butler when we were on Britannia in 2019.  Not sure how many Butlers there are but there are only 4 on Britannia and you do not get the services of a Butler in the Conservatory suites

When we booked the 22 night TA, flying back from St Lucia we hadn't even heard or Corona Virus.  Now 22 months and 7 cancelled cruises later we were lucky to be able to book the 15 night TA returning from Barbados which our two sons were already booked on. At least this looks more hopeful that it will sail, even with restrictions in place

If the staycation cruises are carrying the same beers as usual I can thoroughly recommend the Grimbergen Double Dark, beautiful.  I see you are taking the drinks package, it's excellent value, even though the bar prices are reasonable.  Cocktails round the pool are a must do.

We didn't know about the status match until after we had booked.  we have applied and it came through really quickly,  in fact they even phoned me because they couldn't match my details.  Gave a Gold Status to match our Caribbean tier on P&O.  They seemed to think the 5% discount could be added retrospectively.  I must chase that up just in case our cruise sails in July.

Just asking, are you on the TA in October?  We have done this many times (4 on Britannia) and have always found there is a great mix of young and old and you will get on with everyone especially if you join in with the  social events.  Have to agree that breakfast in the Epicurean  is an excellent perk with the suites.  Your Butler will also do as much or as little as you want serving you breakfast or evening meal on your balcony, arranging restaurant and spa bookings or even gatherings in your cabin.  We draw the line at getting them to unpack for you as it takes days to find where they have put things

21 hours ago, pete14 said:

After breakfast in there, a long walk is to be welcomed.

Sets you up nicely for the day ahead

2 hours ago, majortom10 said:

Epicurean is high up at front of Britannia near to Crows Nest on port side.

And the walk there and back is great for keeping the weight down

We did get the sun in the morning but were protected from the midday sun when it was high in the sky.

Having had A722 in the past, which is an aft balcony, before the canopies were fitted, the Balcony was large but we found that at midday in the Caribbean it was too hot to sit out.

With regards to the canopy wrapping right round on the corner suites, I cannot remember as it was out of our sight but I have a feeling that they did

10 hours ago, Glitterati said:

Sorry to dig this thread back up, but does anyone know whether the soot issue has been resolved slightly with the addition of the canopies over A and B deck suites? 
 

Looking to book a suite for Caribbean next winter. We have a B deck suite booked for this September but it has a small balcony. Would love to book an aft suite but not sure which one!

We had B724 on the TA in 2019.  First cruise after the canopies fitted.  While not to everyones taste it did cure the soot problem and gave us some seclusion from the Sunset bar and A deck.  It also enabled us to sit out on wet days and was great for an evening cabin party.  Would definitely book again

I asked the Question when phoning about an unrelated matter last week.  I was told by a very nice lady that they had been told to expect a busy time with bookings in March 

Going under the road bridge towards the sea

5 hours ago, Sir Cumference said:

Hello everyone. I am booking a suite on Britannia to celebrate a "special" birthday. My question is - has anyone stayed in cabin B723 or B724?

If so, how did you find it? Is there a completely separate sleeping area and does it have direct access to the balcony?

Any pictures that anyone can supply would be appreciated. Many thanks in advance for your help

We were in B724  in October 2019 for the TA.  This was the first cruise after the canopies were fitted.  We were booked in again for the TA last October, I think that tells you all you need to Know