Bamboozled newbie please help!

hi everyone, my parents & husband and I want to book our first ever cruise for apr/may 19 but are totally confused by all the conflicting info! We’re definitely set on a 7 night p&o from ston as Dad won’t fly but can’t decide on ship or deck etc! Dad set on Britannia but from some reviews I’m not sure. We want a suite for m&d & we’re happy with a balcony room on the same deck. I think Azura looks nice. Should we do an aft suite which is bigger but which apparently gets soot? I thought I’d nailed it with a suite and lux balcony in c deck of Azura but some reviews say the balcony’s blocked with a beam? I know I’m asking a lot but dads been v poorly this is his first holiday for 20 years and I want to get it right! Thank you all xx

hi everyone, my parents & husband and I want to book our first ever cruise for apr/may 19 but are totally confused by all the conflicting info! We’re definitely set on a 7 night p&o from ston as Dad won’t fly but can’t decide on ship or deck etc! Dad set on Britannia but from some reviews I’m not sure. We want a suite for m&d & we’re happy with a balcony room on the same deck. I think Azura looks nice. Should we do an aft suite which is bigger but which apparently gets soot? I thought I’d nailed it with a suite and lux balcony in c deck of Azura but some reviews say the balcony’s blocked with a beam? I know I’m asking a lot but dads been v poorly this is his first holiday for 20 years and I want to get it right! Thank you all xx

The best place for questions specific to P&O is in the P&O forum at

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=38

I agree. Best to post on the Cruise Line Board.

Keith

Whist you must be in the UK most readers are in the US "Ston" wont mean much to them and you could at least put UK in your profile.

As NMLady says the P&O boards would be the place to ask

Most people start off with where they want to cruise to then look for the line/ship.

P&O https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=38

Thanks all, it’s very hard to know where to post or start threads when you’re totally new at this sort of thing! Yes I do mean Southampton sorry

Whist you must be in the UK most readers are in the US "Ston" wont mean much to them and you could at least put UK in your profile.

As NMLady says the P&O boards would be the place to ask

Most people start off with where they want to cruise to then look for the line/ship.

 

 

 

 

:) I thought the 'Ston' was a typo for Boston and was going to ask when P &O strarted sailing from U.S. ports.

 

P&O https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=38

.....

Keep in mind that reviews are the author's opinion. Don't get hung up on a few negative comments. Every ship gets some bad ones.

Look at your ship's deck plans...while not "to scale" they are very representative of what you'll get. When a ship notes that something is, say, 25% obstructed, that rarely means that 25% of the view is totally blocked. Sometimes, it's a small beam or ladder....doesn't really block anything....it's just there. Not a big deal.

Thanks all, it’s very hard to know where to post or start threads when you’re totally new at this sort of thing! Yes I do mean Southampton sorry

And no matter where you start t there’s sure to be someone tell you it should be elsewhere.

hi everyone, my parents & husband and I want to book our first ever cruise for apr/may 19 but are totally confused by all the conflicting info! We’re definitely set on a 7 night p&o from ston as Dad won’t fly but can’t decide on ship or deck etc! Dad set on Britannia but from some reviews I’m not sure. We want a suite for m&d & we’re happy with a balcony room on the same deck. I think Azura looks nice. Should we do an aft suite which is bigger but which apparently gets soot? I thought I’d nailed it with a suite and lux balcony in c deck of Azura but some reviews say the balcony’s blocked with a beam? I know I’m asking a lot but dads been v poorly this is his first holiday for 20 years and I want to get it right! Thank you all xx

Do keep in mind that there are ways to leave Britain without flying. A ferry or train to France followed by a train to Barcelona or one of the Italian ports and you might be able to find a lovely cruise in the Med. If you leave out of Southampton and are headed for the Med, you have quite a bit of transit time as well. Oh, and we are booked on a cruise out of Amsterdam in 2019, another departure port to think about.

Whatever you find, do enjoy the family vacation! Sounds lovely!

Stan

Cabin selection:

Look at what is above and below your choice. Usually being sandwiched between decks of all cabins in the best! Being directly under the buffet or pool deck can be noisy, with chairs being dragged around [think cleaning the deck at 4am or cleaning the buffet area at midnight!] Being over the theater or nightclub means music into the wee hours.

Look on Azura's site for the cabin mentioned- Google Azura obstructed cabin. They are all mentioned- as far as I remember it's a metal column going up the middle of the balcony, but C deck balconies are larger than other decks (people on the Grand class of Princess ships may know this feature too)

There's a mass of Britannia lovers on forums, but they're not always the ones who write reviews... Azura is the same. We were on her for her naming ceremony, and she's a very beautiful ship.

Ask on the P&O page on here.