1st time on Britannia.

[emam]

First week over. We left Washington services at 6.00 am last Saturday. One stop to pick up passengers at Wetherby and a 45 minute break for breakfast. We arrived in Southampton and got a glimpse of Britannia as we drove past to drop off 4 passengers for Princess. This is the first time we have done that.

 

At the terminal it was 1.58 as we were going up the esculator. We were directed straight to check in. After a quick toilet stop, check in and security we were onboard by 2.15. That was the quickest boarding we have had so far and none have been very long.

 

The first few days we spent a lot of time trying to find our way round. Constantly going the wrong way. There is lots of little shelves and cubby holes around the ship. So we have never had a problem in finding somewhere to sit. 

 

By the time we got up on Wednesday we had some extra visitors onboard nora n(v) iris. I knew as soon as I heard a waiter asking people to wash there hands (something we always do) the reason why. An announcement was made later by the captain and a letter to our cabin. 

 

The poor waiters are still getting grief from some of the passengers about washing their hands. 

 

People have mentioned no work going on around the ship. However we have seen banisters being removed for varnishing, painting of the holders and late night painting around the pool. 

 

Our only criticisms of the ship are the missing promenade and access to the front of the ship. Also hubby not keen on the glass above the rails. Those are just our opinions. 

 

It took us a few days to find the library and crows nest. We are still finding little places after a week.  We haven't managed to get to see a show yet. We just can't get the timing right. 

 

So far a lovely holiday just doing whatever we fancy. We are off to see Pisa a bit later on. 

 

 

[AndyMichelle]

1 hour ago, emam said:

First week over. We left Washington services at 6.00 am last Saturday. One stop to pick up passengers at Wetherby and a 45 minute break for breakfast. We arrived in Southampton and got a glimpse of Britannia as we drove past to drop off 4 passengers for Princess. This is the first time we have done that.

 

At the terminal it was 1.58 as we were going up the esculator. We were directed straight to check in. After a quick toilet stop, check in and security we were onboard by 2.15. That was the quickest boarding we have had so far and none have been very long.

 

The first few days we spent a lot of time trying to find our way round. Constantly going the wrong way. There is lots of little shelves and cubby holes around the ship. So we have never had a problem in finding somewhere to sit. 

 

By the time we got up on Wednesday we had some extra visitors onboard nora n(v) iris. I knew as soon as I heard a waiter asking people to wash there hands (something we always do) the reason why. An announcement was made later by the captain and a letter to our cabin. 

 

The poor waiters are still getting grief from some of the passengers about washing their hands. 

 

People have mentioned no work going on around the ship. However we have seen banisters being removed for varnishing, painting of the holders and late night painting around the pool. 

 

Our only criticisms of the ship are the missing promenade and access to the front of the ship. Also hubby not keen on the glass above the rails. Those are just our opinions. 

 

It took us a few days to find the library and crows nest. We are still finding little places after a week.  We haven't managed to get to see a show yet. We just can't get the timing right. 

 

So far a lovely holiday just doing whatever we fancy. We are off to see Pisa a bit later on. 

 

 

Thank you for posting, I enjoy hearing people's experiences as they happen.

Show timing on Aurora recently was poor so I understand your issues.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday,

Andy

[berlingo]

Thanks for posting.

My parents are on the same cruise so I am very interested to see how it is going.

It is also their first time on Britannia. They love the ship but have said they are finding it “ a little loud”. Are you finding this as well?

Julia 

[emam]

1 hour ago, berlingo said:

Thanks for posting.

My parents are on the same cruise so I am very interested to see how it is going.

It is also their first time on Britannia. They love the ship but have said they are finding it “ a little loud”. Are you finding this as well?

Julia 

 

Yes the music around the pool is, but they aren't there for long. They seem to spend more time testing very loudly 1-2   1-2. Not noticed anywhere else but haven't really been to entertainment.

Edited June 23, 2019 by emam

[emam]

Added wrong photo. Pisa is where we are now. This is the band/headliners I think round the pool 

[wowzz]

The lack of a proper prom deck, plus the minute balconies,  are 2 of the  reasons I will never sail on Brittania.  However, I hope you continue to to have a good cruise.

[Rupert2251]

6 minutes ago, wowzz said:

The lack of a proper prom deck, plus the minute balconies,  are 2 of the  reasons I will never sail on Brittania.  However, I hope you continue to to have a good cruise.

That is your choice but if you never do then you won't know what you are missing!!

[wowzz]

I am in the fortunate position of having cruised on many ships on various cruise lines,  so am quite happy to avoid Brittania , and will continue to cruise on ships that I enjoy.

[Rupert2251]

8 hours ago, wowzz said:

I am in the fortunate position of having cruised on many ships on various cruise lines,  so am quite happy to avoid Brittania , and will continue to cruise on ships that I enjoy.

I am also in the fortunate position of having cruised on many ships etc. If having no prom deck is the be all and end all then that is just sad, you have plenty of outside space. If it's the small balconies that bother you then book one of her large suites!

[wowzz]

22 minutes ago, Rupert2251 said:

I am also in the fortunate position of having cruised on many ships etc. If having no prom deck is the be all and end all then that is just sad, you have plenty of outside space. If it's the small balconies that bother you then book one of her large suites!

The lack of a prom deck is often brought up as a negative feature, so I am not the only "sad" person out there!

Plenty of other ships have decent sized balconies without the  need to upgrade to suites.

I'll just happily choose from the dozens of other ships that offer a prom and decent balconies.  I'm sure Britannia will manage without my custom!

[terrierjohn]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

The lack of a prom deck is often brought up as a negative feature, so I am not the only "sad" person out there!

Plenty of other ships have decent sized balconies without the  need to upgrade to suites.

I'll just happily choose from the dozens of other ships that offer a prom and decent balconies.  I'm sure Britannia will manage without my custom!

It's interesting that P&O have decided that Iona will have a full wrap round promenade deck, although it will be used extensively for alfresco dining and drinking it should still be usable for traditional "Promenading".

[Rupert2251]

15 minutes ago, wowzz said:

The lack of a prom deck is often brought up as a negative feature, so I am not the only "sad" person out there!

Plenty of other ships have decent sized balconies without the  need to upgrade to suites.

I'll just happily choose from the dozens of other ships that offer a prom and decent balconies.  I'm sure Britannia will manage without my custom!

She will indeed!!

[vitrocmax]

Currently passing Majorca on the way to Cartagena and found Movistar 4G is available; enjoying the cruise and having regular walks on the prom deck, 7 laps is a mile uninterrupted apart from a few ignorant people placing sun loungers over the walkway. Only gripe is that I left my ‘tropical’ shirt at home because the personaliser said 80s for the themed night; it’s been changed to tropical!

In Barcelona we walked to the Sagrada Família and back from the shuttle drop off.  Walked the F1 circuit in Monte-Carlo on our own and found a posh shopping centre (in pic), did the boat/trolley trip to Pisa (enough time to see the field of miracles, which was all we wanted to do there ) and not decided what to do in Cartagena yet. Probably just going to walk down the high street in Gibraltar to have a look in M&S.

The hand wash thing is normal for us and we had noticed there was no enforcement until the outbreak, we don’t know how bad it is but the restaurant Manager said they might keep the procedure in place until the end of the week. 

[emam]

We had a nice visit to Pisa. Glad though that we took the easy Pisa tour, as the walk from the coach park and back in the heat would have been unbearable. 

 

This cruise has been more of a relaxing one. We have enjoyed sitting on deck 17 on a night with only a few people about. 

 

We have been onshore at Caratgena and done some shopping. Now enjoying a cuppa and a pint sitting in the sunset bar. 

 

Though we have missed the promenade, we have also enjoyed the other places that Britannia offers. Ventura doesn't have the places to sit that Britannia does. So I would say give it a go. 

 

 

[HopingForFun333]

Hi there emam,

 

just wondered how the ‘ norovirus ‘ problem is going?.. hope it hasn’t caused you any problems on your holiday... We are due on Britannia on Saturday so a bit concerned if it is still an issue...would appreciate you updating us plus any comments.

 

It will be our first time on Britannia ( and P&O also ) so have been watching your posts with interest. 

 

Thanks

[AndyMichelle]

9 hours ago, HopingForFun333 said:

Hi there emam,

 

just wondered how the ‘ norovirus ‘ problem is going?.. hope it hasn’t caused you any problems on your holiday... We are due on Britannia on Saturday so a bit concerned if it is still an issue...would appreciate you updating us plus any comments.

 

It will be our first time on Britannia ( and P&O also ) so have been watching your posts with interest. 

 

Thanks

Have a fantastic time.

I am sure you are aware of the road closure in Southampton, so allow plenty of time and don't get stressed.

Andy

[HopingForFun333]

Hi AndyMichelle,

Thanks for the good thoughts.. yes we were aware of the traffic issues but we are going with Eavesway coaches so hopefully they will have factored that into the timing... 

We are being picked up at 7:30am so let’s hope so anyway. ouch!!.

thanks again

[AndyMichelle]

8 hours ago, HopingForFun333 said:

Hi AndyMichelle,

Thanks for the good thoughts.. yes we were aware of the traffic issues but we are going with Eavesway coaches so hopefully they will have factored that into the timing... 

We are being picked up at 7:30am so let’s hope so anyway. ouch!!.

thanks again

Have a safe journey and great time.

Andy

[vitrocmax]

All back to normal now, virus procedures have been relaxed, although we still have handwash monitors on the restaurant entrances. In my opinion they should have been there from the start, maybe P&O take a risk on that. New cruisers don’t always appreciate the need for cleanliness and some just can’t be bothered.

For all of you next week, have a great time and wash your hands! 

[Harry Peterson]

Thanks for the update. I’m puzzled - how does the handwashing thing work in practice?

[vitrocmax]

Every time you pass through the restaurant entrance (or deck food service areas) there’s a handwash station, and a notice to advise you to wash your hands. Then you need to use the sanitiser. There’s plenty of sanitiser dispensers around. Only the MDRs don’t have the handwash because they serve the food, but you still need to sanitise. 

[Harry Peterson]

Thanks for that. I found it difficult to visualise how it could be done without huge queues and banks of washbasins.

 

Staggers me that so many people refuse to take basic precautions, though the gel isn’t apparently effective against norovirus. Handwashing is though if you can get people to do it.

 

We always try to avoid the public toilets altogether and likewise commonly touched things like doors and lift buttons - can be done, with a little ingenuity!

[vitrocmax]

It’s not been a problem with queuing, there’s 4 entrances to Horizon with 3 taps at each one. Because it’s self service the randomness of arrivals at the wash stations means there’s not much wait for a tap. I do think 4 taps would be better because most people are couples but it works OK. Never more than a few seconds waiting time. 

We are waiting for our disembarkation (at 8.15) and despite the number of people leaving the ship it doesn’t seem busy. A great holiday, second  2 weeks cruise we’ve been on (first was on Fred’s Black Prince 14 years ago) and we’ve enjoyed it more than we thought we would. 

[stocktonmackem]

We have just been on Britannia, lovely to meet you EMAM. I actually love the ship and still found new things this time. I used deck 18 a lot and found it nicer than the usual promenade deck as it is more open. As for the norovirus I was told it was gastroenteritus. Someone said that it is the same thing but I am not a nurse so took their word for it. All I can say is that even though there were people asking you to wash your hands some people still walked on by and ignored them. One lady who did this then complained because she went to use a chair and table which had just been sanitised and she complained because it was wet. I also had to stop someone filling his water bottle at the water urns on deck. Some people shouldn't be allowed out of the house. haha. 

Despite this I had a fabulous time and can't wait to return to Britannia again. It may not be for a while as I have other ships booked. 

[Monorail Orange]

I was on the same cruise. I have to agree with what others have said about the health precuations. The crew worked tirelessly to keep everything clean. Thier job it not made any easier by people who ignore the rules and recommendations.

 

Still surprises me the amount of people you see picking their teeth after eating.... an no doubt touching banisters or buttons after.

 

Another, more general issue, is people walking around with food and drink. OK, poolside, but not from one indoor venue to the next. Not only that, but they then leave glassware in random places. Better yet, leaving full trays - I saw one tray of dirty plates and napkins left on one of those decorative tables in the centre lift lobby.

 

Moving on from that..

 

Britannia is a lovely ship decor wise. The layout is ok (thankfully I didn't get lost past the first day) - although I still prefer the way Arcadia and Oceana have a more linear layout. However moving around the ship was fine. I did however miss a proper prom deck. Which leads me to my next point...

 

My main issue was with the number of people. It was very crowded at times - especially on those chilly early sea days. I guess domed pools do help with this (Iona and her sister will be fine).

Causually walking into a day time venue and getting a seat (as on other ships) was not always an option. A couple of times I couldn't get into the Live Lounge of an evening.

 

They'll never change the guest capacity, so I'm shouting into the wind with that.

 

And.. those lifts. Not only usually busy, but also sems like they have a mind of their own. Eventually I took the motto of: "should we walk, or do we have time to take a lift?"

 

The weather and the destinations were great though.

Edited June 30, 2019 by Monorail Orange