Britannia during School Holidays - advice needed

[reece.twigg-white]

Hi All

 

We are going on our first cruise that could potentially be hit with an abundance of kids on school holidays. Britannia Med cruise on the 18^th July.

 

It’s not that we hate children, we just hate screaming noise whilst we are trying to relax, I am just wondering on peoples opinions who have gone through this, would you recommend booking into the Retreat? Or is not as bad I am anticipating it will be?

 

Many Thanks as always

[Eglesbrech]

We tend to avoid the school holidays but picked up a Brittania cruise at around the same time you are going.  Yes it was a bit noisy around the main pools, depending on what’s going on at the time but if you wanted some quiet there were other areas where you could find it.

 

Keep in mind that you could pay for the Retreat and get noisy adults.

 

Have a great cruise.

[Rupert2251]

We never sail in school hols unless on an adults only ship. My advice would be to avoid the pool areas, there are plenty of nooks and crannies on Britannia where you can find peace and quiet. The retreat would cost a fortune if you did it every day. Whatever you decide...enjoy 😎

[terrierjohn]

We have sailed Britannia in school holidays to the Fjords and Indepedence OTS to the Med and thoroughly enjoyed each cruise. However we did cruise with our son and his family each time, but I would like to think we would have enjoyed them equally if we had been on our own. 

Anyway we will find out in July 2021 when we sail on Britannia to the Med in school holidays, we made this decision because the itinerary was so much better than the cruises outside school holidays, so if not it will be our own fault.

[Tom Baker]

All depends on how you want to relax. As others have said If you want to laze by the main pool quietly relaxing you've no chance. Alternatively if you don't mind sitting around the adult only pool then you're fine. The retreat will give you all the privacy and quiet you want, at a price, but can also be too quiet (if you know what I mean)

 

Don't sunbathe outside the kids club, near the sports deck, the games area or by the jacuzzi and then complain that it's full of noisy kids. You'll find lots of beds down each side of the ship which have very quiet areas or alternatively sun chairs on the promenade decks.

 

The main pools and the jacuzzis will be full of kids/youths most of the day on sea days but if you do a bit of planning there are lots of opportunities while the ship is in port. Don't fret, you'll have a great cruise and be back next year.

[reece.twigg-white]

Thanks everyone for your advice! Much appreciated!

 

[AndyMichelle]

The joy of a larger ship, there is always somewhere to hide... 

Most of the kids will be well behaved, just excitable. 

It's the parents you have to look out for... 

Have a great time, 

Andy 

[Tilly20]

Don’t forget the serenity pool is free and adults only. 

[Vampiress88]

7 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

We have sailed Britannia in school holidays to the Fjords and Indepedence OTS to the Med and thoroughly enjoyed each cruise. However we did cruise with our son and his family each time, but I would like to think we would have enjoyed them equally if we had been on our own. 

Anyway we will find out in July 2021 when we sail on Britannia to the Med in school holidays, we made this decision because the itinerary was so much better than the cruises outside school holidays, so if not it will be our own fault.

oh John after this cruise together in April I thought you might have followed us in 2021 too. We’re going in July also but the opposite way! 

[Presto2]

9 hours ago, reece.twigg-white said:

Hi All

 

We are going on our first cruise that could potentially be hit with an abundance of kids on school holidays. Britannia Med cruise on the 18^th July.

 

It’s not that we hate children, we just hate screaming noise whilst we are trying to relax, I am just wondering on peoples opinions who have gone through this, would you recommend booking into the Retreat? Or is not as bad I am anticipating it will be?

 

Many Thanks as always

 

We have to sail in the school holidays and have sailed on Britannia twice - once in August and once in May half term. We had a brilliant time. There is a quiet pool zone and we found that the mix of 'adults only' couples and families was a nice one. The children were well behaved and looking back we never even noticed them - other than to have a laugh as they enjoyed the Great British Sailaway. Britannia is a lovely ship, family friendly but a good choice for couples too

[Clodia]

I went on Britannia last Easter. The Serenity Pool was always quiet and only the area known as "The Zoo" where the 2 main pools are side by side was noisy and full of screaming children having fun. There are plenty of quieter areas on Britannia without having to book the Retreat.

[Suebiker]

Hi - we went last August and were pleasantly surprised. We wondered if it would be really rowdy but we were pleasantly surprised .  Yes lots of kids onboard - but  you would often wonder where they all were!  I think it attracts quite a lot of teenagers as particularly in the area I live, it is much easier to take your kids out of school in term time when they are in Primary School than it is in Secondary school.   Yes around the pool is rowdy but as other posters have said there are lot's of quiet areas to be found.  Adult only area at front of ship,   Bar area at the aft has lots of tables and chairs and sofa's but only has a small plunge pool so we found this area didn't attract many kids.  We tended to sunbathe on the upper decks again much quieter.

As a previous poster has said their was a really nice mixture of ages onboard and  I would actually choose to sail that time of year again because I enjoyed the atmosphere so much. So I would not worry - I'm sure you will have a great time.

[DamianG]

We went on Britannia in it's maiden season 2015 and though in our pre-parenting days we wouldn't choose to sit around the pool on the Lido deck we found ourselves there a lot as our son wanted to go swimming. There were the inevitable towel reservations but we usually found somewhere to sit and though it can be noisy I found it okay (and I am quite sensitive to over noisy environments, even to the point of carrying ear plugs with me to certain places such as the cinema). My review of that cruise is attached below.

 

We went back on Britannia in 2017 and are booked for the next 2 years as well. On that cruise our son was happy to use the plunge pool aft and as I love to sit at the stern watching the wake everyone was happy!

 

Overall I fully endorse others' comments that you will be able to find quiet places on board quite readily without going to the daily expense of using the retreat.

 

Britannia B515 Review.pdf

[Presto2]

Just remembered - a quite spot is up about 2 decks from the pool area to a nice spot overlooking the pool. Far enough away to be quiet but close enough to enjoy the atmosphere