britannia condition

[philipsw285]

i have just returned from britannia's latest med cruise the ship doesn't have the wow factor that azura oriana and even adonia and this along with the vibration felt and herd in oriental restaurant and sunset bar on deck 16 when the ship is travelling at 18 knots or more which was at least 70% of our time at sea.

I work in carpets and flooring and always look at the floor which is very annoying to my family the ships carpets are showing signs of wear and holes and gaps which it shouldn't do at the age of the ship and as you walk round sunset bar all the speakers are rusting which then made me look else where and all they seem to be doing is varnishing and not painting white like they would normally. i wasn;t the only person on the cruise who had this opinion quite a lot of people i spoke to felt the same....

is this fleet wide as i had the same thing on adonia as far as maintenance painting and flooring but put it down to the fact that they announced adonia was leaving the fleet on our cruise last june.

[groovechick]

I'm glad it wasn't just me who thought there was a lot of vibration (and movement) in the Oriental. Our table was right at the stern and sometimes it was very noisy, with lots of vibration. We also had one night sailing between Aruba and Grand Cayman where it was pretty choppy and there was a lot of movement, so much so that DD, who doesn't normally get seasick, couldn't eat and had to retire early. In comparison felt virtually nothing on Aurora in a Force 9/10.

The sofas with the big squashy cushions around the pool areas are very nice, but were already badly stained and marked after 9 months. I did wonder at the time were they washable and if not, were they going to be replaced annually?

[jeanlyon]

I would agree. I have been on Oriana in a Force 10 and she took the seas very well. I have been on Azura in the Med in a Force 8 and she was rocking and rolling all over the place. It all depends on the depth of hull. On Azura only 4 months old, we had public loos out of order half the cruise. I get cross when people say that a 20 year old ship or more has a bit of her age showing when a brand new ship doesn't last a year?

[daiB]

I would agree. I have been on Oriana in a Force 10 and she took the seas very well. I have been on Azura in the Med in a Force 8 and she was rocking and rolling all over the place. It all depends on the depth of hull. On Azura only 4 months old, we had public loos out of order half the cruise. I get cross when people say that a 20 year old ship or more has a bit of her age showing when a brand new ship doesn't last a year?

 

 

There are a lot of factors in play with ships moving. Notably the way the wind is blowing in relation to the direction of travel.

 

Apart from QM2, all cruise ships are much the same shape. I have been in Ventura on deck 5 with the seas as high as the windows and the ship hardly moved.

 

You are right about age. Our worst toilet problem I've not working was on Aurora in 2001 within her first year.

 

 

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[Spike11]

I was also disappointed with the quality of the fittings on Britannia when we sailed on her July 2015. The balcony was rusting already, parts of the ship seemed a bit tatty and I even noticed wall paper peeling off the walls in a few places ( including the the dining room). I was also surprised at the vibration at the back of the ship ( we always go for an aft cabin and this was the worst we had experienced - including much older ships). There was also a serious problem with soot. We sailed on the Celebrity Eclipse this year and she looked like the ship that had been launched in 2015 rather than 2010 ( better design, standard of fittings, and technology etc.) whereas Brittania looked as though it had been launched in 2010 or earlier. We still enjoyed our cruise on Britannia, we we were just underwhelmed and felt P & O has missed the opportunity to create a good ship for the future.

[Saab4444]

One factor we learnt during several cruises is that ships built by Meyer Yards (Germany and Finland) are of much better quality than ships from Fincantieri.

 

 

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[kevinyork]

One factor we learnt during several cruises is that ships built by Meyer Yards (Germany and Finland) are of much better quality than ships from Fincantieri.

 

 

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Is the new 2020 ship being built at Meyer instead of Fincantieri? Maybe that will improve things.

 

 

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[CCFC]

Is the new 2020 ship being built at Meyer instead of Fincantieri? Maybe that will improve things.

 

 

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Yes it is.

[Esprit]

One factor we learnt during several cruises is that ships built by Meyer Yards (Germany and Finland) are of much better quality than ships from Fincantieri.

 

 

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Wasn't Aurora built there too?

 

Then it suffered a major engine failure before its world cruise necessitating a new engine which had to be put in through a hole cut in the side of the ship!

 

It broke down too on its maiden cruise prior to that.

Edited September 19, 2016 by Esprit
typo

[balf]

The quality is in the design. These days the builders have to follow the design and it is immaterial where the ship is built. Just like it doesn't matter where in the world VW cars are made, the build quality is the same.

 

Of course it may well be that Britannia was designed to a lower spec, which would tie in with the build em cheap and extract the maximum revenue modern way.

 

I should worry though, I've got Carnival shares.

 

David.

[Saab4444]

Wasn't Aurora built there too?

 

 

 

Then it suffered a major engine failure before its world cruise necessitating a new engine which had to be put in through a hole cut in the side of the ship!

 

 

 

It broke down too on its maiden cruise prior to that.

 

 

Yes but this are issues related to suppliers who supply all yards.

 

Similar technical failure has happened quiet often with azipots on many ships.

 

 

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[daiB]

Yes but this are issues related to suppliers who supply all yards.

 

Similar technical failure has happened quiet often with azipots on many ships.

 

 

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Only Arcadia of P&O has the pods.

 

 

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[philipsw285]

I wrote the original post on sunday and thought it must have been me as over 100 people looked and no one replied.

The comment about celebrity eclipse I saw it 3 times whilst away twice at Southampton and also in citevetchia where I had a good look she still seems in very good condition from the outside I sailed on her the last European cruise of 2010. she was built in meyer werft in Germany.

I spoke to a friend who had been on royal princess last year and asked him what its condition was like as it is the same ship but a different brand and he reckoned it was immaculate when he sailed at the end of the year.

I also said about the vibration and he said he hadn't notice anything and it very noticeable on Britannia.

So the question is is it p&o scrimping on maintenance and Italian ship builders poor workmanship?

[joe grumble]

are you by any chance a quality control expert in your job. maybe you should just enjoy the cruise instead of looking at minor faults.the amount of people traffic on all cruise ships is enormous and therefore some wear and tear is expected. but we are going on britannia in november and would not want the impression the ship is about to disintegrate. surprised you didnt mention rats and fleas as well.be more concerned if water was coming in and the ship was sinking. you have now ruined my very expensive holiday and i am off to a dark room for a good cry :)

[daiB]

I wrote the original post on sunday and thought it must have been me as over 100 people looked and no one replied.

 

The comment about celebrity eclipse I saw it 3 times whilst away twice at Southampton and also in citevetchia where I had a good look she still seems in very good condition from the outside I sailed on her the last European cruise of 2010. she was built in meyer werft in Germany.

 

I spoke to a friend who had been on royal princess last year and asked him what its condition was like as it is the same ship but a different brand and he reckoned it was immaculate when he sailed at the end of the year.

 

I also said about the vibration and he said he hadn't notice anything and it very noticeable on Britannia.

 

So the question is is it p&o scrimping on maintenance and Italian ship builders poor workmanship?

 

 

If you asked me about Britannia I would have said it was immaculate last year.

 

There were some brackets on the balconies which were showing rust. This clearly looked like the wrong material had been used on construction.

 

 

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[sapphire4]

Yes I would agree the Britannia was still looking as new October last year. the odd spot of rust but the paint teams were out in force. Hope it hasn't deteriorated too much as we are cruising on Tuesday.

[philipsw285]

I'm not quality control but a carpet and floor

[mandylennon]

I worked for a carpet contractor some years ago so I also tend to look at the carpets and although not having been on Britannia, on Ventura you could tell where the carpets had been replaced in the deck corridors because they were not replaced all the way through.

 

My husband installs bathrooms and always inspects the bathrooms and usually has a laugh about the tiling and always makes a comment about the water pressure in the showers.

 

So each to their own, wouldn't put me off cruising though.

 

Nothing in life is perfect and if it were wouldn't it be boring?

[philipsw285]

My phone went wrong posting the last message I didn't start looking at anything else until I'd heard and felt vibration at the back of the ship it has only put me of of sailing Britannia again I'm going on azura in 2018 and friends have told me this is being maintained and I've been on it before and enjoyed it. My problem is solely with Britannia build and maintenance. It didn't ruin the cruise but has made me think more before I book one and if I sail on the new ship it will be once I know from else where it's ok either through here or through friends travelling on it.

[terrierjohn]

There was noticeable vibration on Britannia in August, even around the Atrium, but probably only similar to that felt on Azura/Ventura.

It still looked and felt fairly new, but no longer pristine and our cabin carpet was stained in places.

Never sat out on the balcony, despite the hot weather in the fjords, although I stood by the rail a few times which is about all the space you have, so cannot comment on any rust.

[Spike11]

are you by any chance a quality control expert in your job. maybe you should just enjoy the cruise instead of looking at minor faults.the amount of people traffic on all cruise ships is enormous and therefore some wear and tear is expected. but we are going on britannia in november and would not want the impression the ship is about to disintegrate. surprised you didnt mention rats and fleas as well.be more concerned if water was coming in and the ship was sinking. you have now ruined my very expensive holiday and i am off to a dark room for a good cry :)

As I said above, I did enjoy my cruise on Britannia and I'm sure that you will too. However, it just didn't have the appearance of a new ship and they don't seem to have taken advantage of advances in design and technology in building it. Perhaps I was expecting too much!

[philipsw285]

As I said above, I did enjoy my cruise on Britannia and I'm sure that you will too. However, it just didn't have the appearance of a new ship and they don't seem to have taken advantage of advances in design and technology in building it. Perhaps I was expecting too much!

 

That's what I felt the only people that thought ship was ok were 1st time cruisers who don't know any difference all the people I spoke to who had cruised before felt the same as me in that they wouldn't sail Britannia again I spoke to about 50 tp 100 different people over the course of the cruise who felt the same as me as I'm a smoke you tend to speak to people as there is only a limited area for us to smoke in.

I did think at the start of the cruise it was me until I started talking to different people.

Something else that came to light is that a few inside cabins are having sound insulation problems they can hear everything that's going on in the middle of the ship at night one couple were move 4 times over this and kept getting the same issues until they moved them to nearer the front.

[danielundecided]

To be honest, no ship's going to be perfect. We sailed on Ventura in July 2013 two months after a full refit and there were numerous stains on carpets around the ship including our cabin but it didn't ruin our enjoyment of the holiday!

 

Nothing's going to be perfect and when I sail on Ventura next April I don't expect her to be in pristine condition. As ships get older it's to be expected anyway I guess because others may not be as careful with their surroundings.

 

Dan

 

 

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[Marmaliser]

are you by any chance a quality control expert in your job. maybe you should just enjoy the cruise instead of looking at minor faults.the amount of people traffic on all cruise ships is enormous and therefore some wear and tear is expected. but we are going on britannia in november and would not want the impression the ship is about to disintegrate. surprised you didnt mention rats and fleas as well.be more concerned if water was coming in and the ship was sinking. you have now ruined my very expensive holiday and i am off to a dark room for a good cry :)

 

My sentiments exactly ...it's a cruise ship sailing on salty water the only way to stop rust is to construct it from plastic...perhaps in the shape of a large yellow duck?:D

[Spike11]

My sentiments exactly ...it's a cruise ship sailing on salty water the only way to stop rust is to construct it from plastic...perhaps in the shape of a large yellow duck?:D

I think you've missed the point - which was that the wear and tear /rust etc. was significantly worse on Britannia than you would expect for a ship of her age. She was in worse condition than Eclipse which is 6 years old.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Spike11