New Ship Name: Britannia

[gstewart]

Its official, she will be called Britannia:

 

http://www.pocruises.com/britannia/

[gstewart]

From the video it looks like she will have an outside seating area on the Promenade deck. This is different to Royal and Regal Princess I think.

[KenC]

Like the name but how more 'British' do P&O want to become, it's hardly a niche market??? Obviously she's going to be sailing from Southampton year round - good luck filling her from October to March, there should be some pretty good bargains after the maiden season!!

 

Wouldn't be surprised if P&O doesn't offload some of their older tonnage after 2015 - there can't be sufficient extra capacity to fill Britannia (and maybe a sister 'Olympia' in 2017???).

[littlesteelo]

From the video it looks like she will have an outside seating area on the Promenade deck. This is different to Royal and Regal Princess I think.

 

Royal has the outdoor seating. What is different is that there are two full size pools in the main area as opposed to one and a splash pool on Royal. Additionally the aft upper decks are extended and modified, with stairs between them, kind of like a little terrace area, and what looks to be a small pool. It seems P&O have seen the few pools Royal has and decided it isn't enough.

 

What intrigues me is the area with sloped windows on the deck above the bridge. This is just balconies on Royal. It could something to do with the spa, but perhaps this may be a forward facing observation lounge? The size of the area would be ideal for this.

[tom_uk]

From the video it looks like she will have an outside seating area on the Promenade deck. This is different to Royal and Regal Princess I think.

 

No, it's the same. Here are a couple of links to images of Royal Princess on my blog that were taken by Andrew Sassoli-Walker. This one is from outside the ship, and this shows the seating area from the Skywalk.

[gstewart]

No, it's the same. Here are a couple of links to images of Royal Princess on my blog that were taken by Andrew Sassoli-Walker. This one is from outside the ship, and this shows the seating area from the Skywalk.

 

Apologies you are correct.

 

The large movie screen (What does P&O call it - SeaScreen or something like that) looks to be in a more discreet area away from the main pool.

[davecttr]

Royal has the outdoor seating. What is different is that there are two full size pools in the main area as opposed to one and a splash pool on Royal. Additionally the aft upper decks are extended and modified, with stairs between them, kind of like a little terrace area, and what looks to be a small pool. It seems P&O have seen the few pools Royal has and decided it isn't enough.

 

What intrigues me is the area with sloped windows on the deck above the bridge. This is just balconies on Royal. It could something to do with the spa, but perhaps this may be a forward facing observation lounge? The size of the area would be ideal for this.

Crows Nest?

 

They did say the ship would have one and it is almost a signature P&O item.

[simonpjd]

A hideous monstrosity.

Not for me thank you.

[cruisefan2012]

Will Britannia have single traveller cabins like Azura Ventura does?!

[davecttr]

Will Britannia have single traveller cabins like Azura Ventura does?!

 

It might do but the Azura/Ventura inside ones are only a few pounds cheaper than double occupancy in a normal inside.

 

I don't think the Princess ships do but hopefully P&O will not try to gain more revenue by substituting cabins for public areas in ships which are already more overcrowded than the equivalent ships on other cruiselines.

[gstewart]

Will Britannia have single traveller cabins like Azura Ventura does?!

 

From Captain Greybeard's blog:

 

Following travelling trends and customer research it will also have more single cabins than any other cruise ship, many of them with balconies.

"At the same time, the ship will be our greenest yet and will be designed to deliver much greater levels of operational and environmental efficiency. A new hull form will reduce unit fuel consumption by up to 20%.

Dingle continued: "Whilst the name Britannia has great historical resonance with P&O Cruises, most importantly, the ship will celebrate the forward-looking Britain of today and the future."

 

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/captain-greybeard/

[Dorset Cruiser]

She looks nice in the animation but with nearly 4400 passengers, she is definitely too big for me. Last big ship we went on, Independence of the Seas, cost me hundreds in physio fees when my knee went kaput with all the walking on the ship to get to the different venues. I really like the 800 passenger ships best!

[davecttr]

Crows Nest?

 

They did say the ship would have one and it is almost a signature P&O item.

I looked at the Royal Princess deck plans and above the bridge it is just cabins and balconies until you get to the retreat. There is that enclosed area though on the artists impression so if that is the Crows Nest they will have to forego quite a few cabins to make room for it.

 

Maybe they are thinking of swopping public space for cabins to compensate, a bad idea IMO.

[davecttr]

From Captain Greybeard's blog:

 

Following travelling trends and customer research it will also have more single cabins than any other cruise ship, many of them with balconies.

"At the same time, the ship will be our greenest yet and will be designed to deliver much greater levels of operational and environmental efficiency. A new hull form will reduce unit fuel consumption by up to 20%.

Dingle continued: "Whilst the name Britannia has great historical resonance with P&O Cruises, most importantly, the ship will celebrate the forward-looking Britain of today and the future."

 

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/captain-greybeard/

 

Interesting!. Norwegian Epic has 128 which were originally designed as bijou studios for 2 but were just too small at 100 sq ft. Norwegian Breakaway has 59 which appears to indicate that NCL are not wildly enthusiastic about the idea. They are marketed as singles though.

 

So is Brittania going to have 128 or 60 or is it just marketing hype and they will eventually say those NCL cabins were originally designed for couples so don't count :rolleyes:

[gstewart]

Interesting!. Norwegian Epic has 128 which were originally designed as bijou studios for 2 but were just too small at 100 sq ft. Norwegian Breakaway has 59 which appears to indicate that NCL are not wildly enthusiastic about the idea. They are marketed as singles though.

 

So is Brittania going to have 128 or 60 or is it just marketing hype and they will eventually say those NCL cabins were originally designed for couples so don't count :rolleyes:

 

Be nice to have singles with balconies though.

 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Forums mobile app

[gstewart]

I looked at the Royal Princess deck plans and above the bridge it is just cabins and balconies until you get to the retreat. There is that enclosed area though on the artists impression so if that is the Crows Nest they will have to forego quite a few cabins to make room for it.

 

Maybe they are thinking of swopping public space for cabins to compensate, a bad idea IMO.

 

According to the Cruise Critic article there will indeed be a forward facing Crows Nest Bar as well as

• Purpose-built single cabins with balconies;
  
• An 'enhanced' Glasshouse Bar -- which has proven very popular on other ships in the P&O fleet; and
  
• The largest spa on the fleet.
  

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5542

[littlesteelo]

According to P&O's Pinterest page, the ship definitely will have 4 pools, which means that must be an aft facing pool. Good move on their part changing that from the Royal Princess design.

[kersh]

I am looking forward to more info about the new ship. Yes it's large but that means more choices. Does anyone know when it is due to be ready to join the fleet.

 

Sue

[davecttr]

She looks nice in the animation but with nearly 4400 passengers, she is definitely too big for me. Last big ship we went on, Independence of the Seas, cost me hundreds in physio fees when my knee went kaput with all the walking on the ship to get to the different venues. I really like the 800 passenger ships best!

 

I thought it was 3611 passengers:confused:

[littlesteelo]

I thought it was 3611 passengers:confused:

 

That is double occupancy. When completely full, the ship carries a lot more passengers.

[Denarius]

According to the Cruise Critic article there will indeed be a forward facing Crows Nest Bar as well as

• Purpose-built single cabins with balconies;
  
• An 'enhanced' Glasshouse Bar -- which has proven very popular on other ships in the P&O fleet; and
  
• The largest spa on the fleet.
  

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5542

Still think that P&O are behind the curve on this. Wine bars are yesterdays trend, most are now café bars focussing mainly on world/craft beers. Celebrity have a world beer bar on Silhouette. As we British (like our US cousins) are more likely to drink beer than wine, and most customers seemed to be drinking it in Ramblas (sorry, the Glasshouse) on my recent cruise on Ventura I had hoped that P&O might follow suit.

[davecttr]

Still think that P&O are behind the curve on this. Wine bars are yesterdays trend, most are now café bars focussing mainly on world/craft beers. Celebrity have a world beer bar on Silhouette. As we British (like our US cousins) are more likely to drink beer than wine, and most customers seemed to be drinking it in Ramblas (sorry, the Glasshouse) on my recent cruise on Ventura I had hoped that P&O might follow suit.

It will be interesting when I ask for beer in 'Ramblas' on my next Ventura cruise. Will they refuse to serve me? Will it irritate them and they only give a grudging service? Will i be able to sit at the bar and quaff my pre dinner pints?

 

Is there any evening entertainment? I liked the live spanish guitarist.

[Barbadosbelle]

.

 

 

We were on Arcadia when the announcement about the new name was made.

 

The Captain said that the capacity would be 3,500 (or maybe 3,600 - but certainly 3,000-something!!) not 4k+. He also said that there would be more single cabins than on any other ship - some outside, some balconied.

 

It looks lovely and perhaps the interior will follow on the 'Country House Hotel' ambiance of Oriana and Aurora - BUT how can they expect to fill all the berths when they can't fill the ones they already have????

 

I also very much agree with others about the mid-size ships being more popular - and certainly more beautiful (the 'block of flats'; 'tower block' etc comments are accurate comparisons).

 

In the past few years if one compared like for like for:- time-of-year-departures; same accommodation; same destination (i.e. all the ships departing for the Fjords or the Canaries); same duration etc etc etc

one found that Aurora and Oriana were quite a lot more expensive than the larger ships (Ventura/Azura) BUT they were generally all sold out quite quickly whereas one was getting 'Sale Bargain' e-mails for the larger ships right up to sailing time. One would think that that would have given P&O a message.

 

On a pre-launch day visit to Ventura I asked the Captain (Alistair Clarke) about the size of the ships and he was quite adamant that the mid-size ships would NEVER be commissioned by P&O again.

 

I was disappointed that P&O didn't concentrate on the 70,000-90,000 ton ships and so strive to be THE ABSOLUTE BEST IN THEIR CLASS - but instead, under Carnival instructions, they are striving to be all things to all people and just not succeeding.

 

Shame. The money spent on Britannia would have created a fantastic 70,000-90,000 ship (maybe even two!!).

 

Anyway, the proof of the pudding remains to be seen!

 

 

.

[gstewart]

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Shame. The money spent on Britannia would have created a fantastic 70,000-90,000 ship (maybe even two!!).

 

 

.

 

 

I'm not sure about that. Britannia is based on an existing design which will save P&O money rather than going out and designing a completely new class of ship around the 70,000-90,000 size.

 

They could of course have added a couple more Arcadia's to the fleet at a cheaper cost.

[Denarius]

It will be interesting when I ask for beer in 'Ramblas' on my next Ventura cruise. Will they refuse to serve me? Will it irritate them and they only give a grudging service? Will i be able to sit at the bar and quaff my pre dinner pints?

 

Is there any evening entertainment? I liked the live spanish guitarist.

The Glasshouse is unchanged from Ramblas apart from the wine list and menu. The wine list is different from that available in the restaurant and other bars, more expensive. Saw very little of it drunk, most customers appeared to drink beer. There are both draft and bottled beers available, but no beer menu. The drinks menu just lists wines but the bar staff will tell you what is available. The Spanish guitarist has gone, just piped music now.