sammybonny

Oh no .... I’m going to the fjords on Britannia next month. First time cruiser.

Dont worry Britannia may not be everyones favourite ship in the fleet but I am sure as a first time cruiser you will be very impressed, she is a lovely ship. Be prepared for a lot of walking she is large!

 

Britannia has the best designed (imo) self service buffet restaurant of all the ships most of them are too small with not enough seating area.

The Crows Nest bar is our favourite bar of all the ships.

 

The ships decor is a little bland especially compared to american ships but the cabins are very nice but a little smaller than other ships and the balconies smaller but still useable.

 

If your budget allows look at the superior deluxe balcony they are very nice with a seating area and full bathroom.

 

The main negatives for me are the Live lounge isnt big enough to accomodate the larger number of passengers and you are lucky to get a seat and the sun loungers are crammed in like sardines (but you probably wont use much in Norway anyway).

 

Hope you have a lovely cruise and be careful you might get hooked!

 

We will be on 20th May cruise so looks like we get on when you get off[emoji41]

 

 

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Pre boarding, it’s more a holding area than a lounge with free tea and coffee, biscuits and cakes. The last few occasions that we had a suite we found that boarding commenced before the stated 12.30pm time. The earliest was on Ventura where we were on board at 11.45am. On Britannia we have boarded between midday and 12.30pm.

 

We go straight to our suite to drop our hand luggage. Sometimes they are serviced and ready for us, but we don’t expect them to be so just drop our bags and head for the buffet - the one time during the cruise that we use it.

 

We find the priority boarders lunch to be underwhelming and it often doesn’t commence until some time after we have boarded. You don’t get a proper meal, just hot and cold snacks that aren’t up to much. We do pop in after we have had a proper lunch in the buffet for a freebie drink, but be warned that it’s cheap plonk. They say it’s Champagne but it isn’t. It’s a horrible cheap and nasty sparkling wine that leaves an acrid taste in your mouth, as does the white wine (I’m no wine snob, but it’s horrible). The red wine is OK.

 

The best part of having a suite on Britannia (other than the extra space) is the ability to have breakfast in the superb Epicurean restaurant. A very civilised way to start the day - unless there are noisy children in there!

Thanks for that.[emoji4]

 

We are looking forward to breakfast in Epicurean. We were in a suite on Azura a few years ago and breakfast was in Seventeen as it was then and we also thought it very civilised and the best part of having a suite.

 

We missed the priority boarders lunch because it was a Caribbean fly cruise.

 

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We will be on Britannia next month departing from Southampton. We have recently only done fly cruises and cabins have always been ready when we arrived so I was wondering what time the cabins will be ready. We are in a suite with priority boarding and have an embarktion time of 12.30pm. Will there be a lounge for suite passengers to wait?

 

Thanks

 

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We also have a seven night aboard Britannia planned and have never done P&O before. Will hubby need a different outfit for the second formal night? He is only just sorted with the black tie not sure this will go down well!:eek:

No men dont really wear anything different for black and white night just us ladies, but my husband sometimes wears a black bowtie with white spots.[emoji6]

 

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We will be on Britannia next month and this will be our first 7 night cruise. Will one of the 2 formal nights be black and white does anyone know?

 

The cruise personaliser just says 2 black tie nights 5 casual.

 

Thanks

 

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The Royal and Regal (and Majestic?) have this "feature."

 

 

 

We did not have to bring an old cruise card to use on our Royal cruise. The cabin steward already had an old cruise card in the slot when we first embarked.

I think any credit card sized card will work doesnt need to be a cruise card.

 

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However you are lucky if you can find a lounge chair. You must get up early on sea days to reserve.

 

Sounds like every cruiseline we have sailed with and every land based holiday too dont suppose it will change.

 

One holiday company in the UK is starting a new way to book a package holiday where as an extra you can pay a fee to reserve a sunbed for the entire holiday. We will wait and see if it is popular but I cant really see it working on a ship. What would the passengers who like two each one in the sun and one in the shade do!

 

I never really understand why everyone seems to want the loungers around the pool when most dont even go in. Its always a bit too noisy for me.

I've booked a saver fare with a guaranteed cabin on Britannia so I'm expecting a late check in time (3pm) for our cruise in June. If folk want to pay the select fare and choose their cabin/dining options up front they should also be given the privilege of getting on the ship before steerage customers like me.:D

No axe to grind on this at all.

Having a saver fare doesnt necessarily mean you will have a late check in. Because check in is done by decks it will depend on which deck your cabin is located.

 

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I would go with the connecting room being a higher chance of noise issues. Now you might like the noise you hear; they might inspire you.

 

But... a blaring TV can be heard in the adjoining stateroom and in the hallway. :hearteyes:

 

We had a connecting cabin on Royal Princess and could hear the passengers next door talking if you were close to the door but it wasn't loud and not really a problem for us.

There was probably more noise heard from the hallway.

For a fly cruise your details need to match your passport and we were told it is important to include all names.

 

The full name doesnt appear on the booking details on cruise personaliser and I queried it once but they said that was normal but full details needed to be put in the passport info section.

 

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Princess do not kick you off early either.

 

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Thats right and the cabins are usually ready when they start boarding or soon after, much earlier than other cruiselines!

 

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We will be on Magnifica in September and it will be our first MSC cruise. We have cruised many times with other lines but thought we would give them a go as the cruise is from Southampton. Reading this I am wondering if I have made a mistake.

 

I hope they have had time by then to get their act together!

 

I think I will keep a close eye on what people are saying and consider my options if things dont improve.[emoji848]

 

 

 

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We did the Titanic museum on our own from memory I think we arrived late morning and it wasnt too busy (we were there in July).We took a taxi direct from the ship and shared with another couple. I think it cost less than £10 so with the entrance fee was considerably less than the ship excursion would have been.

 

Whilst there make sure when you buy your tickets to also book to see the tender boat that was used by Titanic which has been refurbished back to how it was then. It is called SS Nomadic and is really worth seeing. It is outside the museum building.

Yup - morning cuppa on the balcony, reading after lunch, pre-dinner drink, room service meal, watching a film from the sofa. Sometimes it's nice to get away from it all, but we still met and socialised with lots of other cruisers.

 

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Same for us! We spend quite a lot of time in the cabin especially on a sea day. Its nice to be able to get some fresh air in private and put my slippers on and feet up whilst having my afternoon tipple. I dont think it would be the same in an inside cabin and anyway I am a bit claustrophobic so it wouldnt suit me.

 

Also I dont have to worry about husband snoring when he nods off if he is in the cabin.[emoji42]

 

 

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Thanks- I think we would opt for C Deck to the balcony size.Would we be advised to book now or wait until later in the year?

We've narrowed it down to Azura but Celebrity cruises from Florida caught my eye so just trying to decide between the two now!

Your advice has been really helpful- thanks again all.

Eve

We also like Celebrity but prefer to do Caribbean cruises with P&O because of the direct flight straight to Barbados (missing US immigration) which means you get more ports of call and less sea days.

 

Also P&O have a great system where you dont see your luggage after check in at the airport until it arrives in your cabin and the same going home.

 

When you arrive at Barbados airport you get off the plane onto a bus and go to the ship without going through immigration and your luggage follows in a van.

 

On the final day you stay on the ship until later in the day depending when your flight home is. On Celebrity you have to disembark early in the morning.

 

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Can you please clarify for myself and others.

 

Are you saying that the half in shade is not overlooked but the the half in sun is?

 

As said that's fine if your not bothered about that but we chose not to be overlooked.

 

We could look down and see people that had obviously forgot that they could be seen from above.:o

The part of the balcony nearest the door is directly underneath the balcony of the deck above (b deck) and will be shaded some of the time depending on the position of the sun but this also applies to the balconies that are not overlooked.The rest of the balcony is uncovered as the structure of the ship is tiered from C deck.

 

I feel the larger balcony makes the inside of the cabin seem bigger during the day. I dont mind people looking at me but I have never noticed anyone doing so.

 

The balconies on D deck (superior deluxe balcony) protrude further and are also mostly uncovered/overlooked and are a bit smaller.

 

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Kettle crisps to complement my G&T.

Yes crisps for me too! and some chocolate. We need to make sure we dont go hungry🤣

 

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It appears that certain ships are determining for them selves if it's profitable or not.

When was your trip?

Perhaps they do it occasionally when bar takings are down to encourage people to buy drinks and they will still be making a profit.

 

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Hi all

We are thinking of doing a Caribbean cruise next January. We have never cruised before and we're just wondering what the pros and cons of each ship were. We would definitely want a balcony cabin and I think I read here that balconies on Azura were wider than the Britannia, which would be a big consideration for us.

I would really welcome any feedback and advice.

Regards

Eve

We have done Caribbean cruises on both ships and enjoyed both. Re the balconies you are right that on Britannia they are not as deep but we found ok for 2 of us. If you choose Azura try to get a balcony cabin on C deck as they are much larger some of which is covered and some uncovered which is good in the Caribbean.

 

The buffet on Britannia is much larger with more seating and laid out better than Azura which is very cramped.

 

If you like ballroom dancing there is the Crystal Room on Britannia ..Azura doesnt have one but I think they use the atrium , dont dance myself so not sure.

 

The Crows Nest bar on Britannia is our favourite bar of both ships . Azura doesnt have a bar at the front of the ship.

 

The restaurants are much the same on both.

 

Most of the sunbeds on Britannia are crammed in like sardines.

 

There isnt a passenger staircase above deck 7 midship on Britannia so the lifts can get busy , perhaps think about where you choose a cabin.

 

We found that the show lounge at the back of the ship on Britannia(cant remember name) isnt really large enough and gets very busy so not able to get a seat unless you get there very early.

 

In all I would be happy with either . We are on Britannia again in May.

 

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That's just petty. The airlines are random and very difficult to second guess. On a flight from Dublin to Stansted we were charged 5E excess baggage, the same case with the same airline on the connection from Stansted to Genoa, nothing...

 

That said, people with vastly oversized cabin baggage on low cost airlines do annoy me, they are in room 101 with people who have ipads/laptops still in the bottom of their bags and coats on half way through security. They usually have a litre bottle of shampoo packed away in there too. And they are always in front of me :mad: Oh the joys of travel ;)

Quote -"That said, people with vastly oversized cabin baggage on low cost airlines do annoy me, they are in room 101 with people who have ipads/laptops still in the bottom of their bags and coats on half way through security."

 

Couldn't agree more! Then of course these same people get on the plane stand blocking the aisle whilst they take stuff out and rearrange the case, then try to put it in the overhead lockers when there is not enough space.[emoji36]

 

 

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We were asked to put our bags out the night before departure and before retiring. I took that to mean midnight. We got our last bag out around 11.45.

 

Our last cruise with Cunard was before 11pm. Very inconvenient as late show finished at 11.15pm.

 

P&O seems quite sensible with such things.

 

 

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We thought that was very inconvenient too. We were rushing to put the final stuff in the case when we returned and only realised just in time husband had left his cruise card in his jacket pocket. We managed to retrieve the case just as it was being wheeled away!

 

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Yes, POSH - port out starboard home.

 

David

Yes but that was for the opposite reason and refers to early cruises travelling to the east. It meant that you would not get the sun in your cabin and would remain cooler. It was before air conditioning!

 

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It does apply to UK customers, it doesn't kick in until you are on your 21st cruise so 6 cruises past reaching elite.

Thanks for that info. I'm not sure I will ever reach 21 cruises though so looks like I wont get it[emoji53]

 

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You say 'children' so will there be four of you in the cabin? If so I think a standard balcony cabin would be very cramped. A suite would give you a lot more space with a sitting area and much larger bathroom and longer balcony. Breakfast is in Epicurean for suite guests.

 

Have you looked at the superior deluxe balcony? (called mini suites on some ships) Price inbetween standard and suite but much larger also with sitting area and 2 tvs. Very nice on Britannia.

 

Whether your children would enjoy Britannia I couldnt say but there are childrens clubs.

 

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Does anyone know if the loyalty obc is available for British guests please ? It has never been mentioned to us and we are Platinum. Should I be chasing it ?

 

Thanks.

We are from the UK too and don't get any loyalty obc either, we are also Platinum.

 

Looks like we are missing out on another extra that only US passengers get!

 

So we dont get offers that include drinks packages, free gratuities etc and also cant have cruises refared when prices drop or cancel without losing deposit.[emoji36]

 

 

 

 

 

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