Britannia or Azura for a 14 night Caribbean Cruise ?

[billsat]

Hi everyone
Like lots of others, my family P&O Med cruise has been cancelled and so I am looking at booking a cruise for 2022 using my FCC !

I have been looking at 2 cruises that need to include the February half term in 2022 and there are 2 cruises to choose from.
These being on the Britannia and Azura both are 14 night Caribbean Cruises.
If I choose a Superior Deluxe Balcony ( for the 4 of us ) the price difference is approx £1500 in total more for the Britannia cruise compared to the Azura one.

I have been on the Ventura ( sister ship to Azura ) and I enjoyed that ship, but I have not been on the Britannia hence the question !

Please can anyone who has sailed on both the Azura and Britannia advise me if you think the extra £1500 is worth it to go on the Britannia !

 

I hope that makes sense  
 

[bee-ess]

I would choose Britannia over Azura but not if the difference is £1500. Britannia has more Dining choices and a Crows Nest and nicer Cabin fittings but the physical size of the Balcony is smaller. In your situation at the price I would probably choose Azura.

Don't know where you are planning to fly to but I would not fly to and from St Lucia again, it is a long journey from the airport to the ship. I would choose flights to Bridgetown, Barbados,

Edited May 20, 2020 by bee-ess

[Denarius]

The answer is no.

I may be biased because I much prefer Azura to Britannia. She feels much more like a ship rather than a floating hotel with a rooftop swimming pool. But even if I prefered Britannia I would hesitate to pay the premium of £1500.

[Son of Anarchy]

Mmmm a difficult choice.  Cabin wise I can't really comment on Britannia as haven't had a balcony on there.

 

Although as a ship Britannia has more to offer ie Crows Nest, a better buffet, more Freedom Dining MDRs, The Crystal Room etc, these sort of things are as ever subjective.  Price wise, though, I think I would go for Azura.  For me, Britannia's good points over Azura's aren't worth that amount.

[wowzz]

Sorry, not going to comment on the differences between the 2 ships, but a saving of £1500 would go a long way towards allowing you all to upgrade to PE for the flights. 

[ann141]

 I agree with the majority.I prefer Britannia to Azura (though the balconies are smaller) but I would not pay extra to sail on her and I agree with wowzz I would use the saving to fly Premium Economy for the flights

[AndyMichelle]

Yep, as above... 

I much prefer Britannia but not 1500 quids worth... 

If you were happy with Ventura, you will have a great cruise on Azura. 

Andy 

[groovechick]

I would choose Azura every time. We were on the Britannia Christmas cruise in her maiden season and whilst we had an amazing cruise, family opinion was divided on the ship - son loved it, husband thought it was ok, me and daughter not so keen. Speaking personally I was underwhelmed by the decor, thought the cabin (we had an inside) was dingy and depressing and the ship generally lacked soul. In her favour her buffet is better laid out and easier to circulate in than Azura's, the adult only area is nice, the in-cabin TV service is better, but I didn't like the positioning of the Glasshouse. I don't think the extra £1500 is worth it. 

[DamianG]

Having been on both my first thought was that the superior deluxe balcony cabins on Azura are bigger. I wasn't sure if that was just what it felt like to us or if it is actually true so I looked online and according to one well known TA website the minimum size of a superior deluxe balcony cabin on Britannia is 281 square foot whereas on Azura the minimum size of a superior deluxe balcony cabin is 314 square foot. With 4 of you that extra little bit of space may be important over 2 weeks?

Personally we would choose Azura at the cheaper price for a slightly bigger cabin. That said, we'd also happily go on Britannia if the prices were reversed. For us there are positives and negatives about both ships so it would come down to cost, itinerary and timing.

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, billsat said:

Hi everyone
Like lots of others, my family P&O Med cruise has been cancelled and so I am looking at booking a cruise for 2022 using my FCC !

I have been looking at 2 cruises that need to include the February half term in 2022 and there are 2 cruises to choose from.
These being on the Britannia and Azura both are 14 night Caribbean Cruises.
If I choose a Superior Deluxe Balcony ( for the 4 of us ) the price difference is approx £1500 in total more for the Britannia cruise compared to the Azura one.

I have been on the Ventura ( sister ship to Azura ) and I enjoyed that ship, but I have not been on the Britannia hence the question !

Please can anyone who has sailed on both the Azura and Britannia advise me if you think the extra £1500 is worth it to go on the Britannia !

 

I hope that makes sense  
 

Britannia does have a third balcony grade between the standard and de luxe which has a sofa which I assume converts into a sofa bed. It might be worth checking out the dimensions of this compared with the super de luxe grade. I suppose it depends on the ages of your children as to whether the extra space in a deluxe cabin is worth the premium.

[Gettingwarmer]

4 minutes ago, DamianG said:

Having been on both my first thought was that the superior deluxe balcony cabins on Azura are bigger. I wasn't sure if that was just what it felt like to us or if it is actually true so I looked online and according to one well known TA website the minimum size of a superior deluxe balcony cabin on Britannia is 281 square foot whereas on Azura the minimum size of a superior deluxe balcony cabin is 314 square foot. With 4 of you that extra little bit of space may be important over 2 weeks?

Personally we would choose Azura at the cheaper price for a slightly bigger cabin. That said, we'd also happily go on Britannia if the prices were reversed. For us there are positives and negatives about both ships so it would come down to cost, itinerary and timing.

You will also have a much larger balcony on Azura which will be much better for your family. 

[amfc_lenny]

Personally if you’re in the carribean I’d go for Azura and see if you can get a balcony cabin on c deck for a much larger balcony, rather than the bigger cabin you’d get with a superior deluxe.

[Gettingwarmer]

For four you need the bigger cabin that the op is going for. Azura balcony bigger than Britannia. 

[Gettingwarmer]

Or you have a balcony cabin on C deck on Azura and an inside opposite. Then you have two bathrooms and share the extra large balcony. 

Edited May 20, 2020 by Gettingwarmer

[dgs1956]

We have been on both ships several times and we would value them the same. The Britannia is definitely not worth a£1500 more.

[wowzz]

The general feeling seems to be that Britannia is not worth the extra. Why, therefore,  do P&O try and position it as a premium product? 

A rhetorical question I suppose. Some people just automatically think that a higher price implies a better product,  and P&O happily support that assumption. 

Edited May 20, 2020 by wowzz

[AndyMichelle]

8 hours ago, wowzz said:

The general feeling seems to be that Britannia is not worth the extra. Why, therefore,  do P&O try and position it as a premium product? 

A rhetorical question I suppose. Some people just automatically think that a higher price implies a better product,  and P&O happily support that assumption. 

I think many of us feel Britannia is better, just not that much better... 

I would happily pay a bit of a premium, but not to the extent that what I saved could pay for another cruise... 

Andy 

[terrierjohn]

10 hours ago, wowzz said:

The general feeling seems to be that Britannia is not worth the extra. Why, therefore,  do P&O try and position it as a premium product? 

A rhetorical question I suppose. Some people just automatically think that a higher price implies a better product,  and P&O happily support that assumption. 

Even more strange because Britannia pricing has progressively eased since it was first launched, and we booked 2 cruises at launch for summer 2021 which were very competitive indeed.  On a price per day basis they were quite a bit lower than similarly timed cruises on all the other 5 ships sailing in Europe next year. 

[ScotchBoy]

13 hours ago, Gettingwarmer said:

Or you have a balcony cabin on C deck on Azura and an inside opposite. Then you have two bathrooms and share the extra large balcony. 

This is a brilliant idea. If it's works out cost-wise, I would go for this option.

 

I presume the OP is talking of 4 people in a family, i.e. 2 adults, 2 children. Adults have the balcony cabin on C Deck; perfect. In our previous life as parents of teenagers, we always booked them the same grade room as ourselves, but they never even opened the curtains, let alone sit on a balcony!!

 

We always choose Azura over Britannia now. The 'balconies' on Britannia are tight for 2 people; more like ledges as you cannot comfortably sit facing the water. Four people could not use them at the same time; unlike C Deck balconies on Azura, which have loads of space for a family of 4. If the children are too young to have their own cabin, then I would choose Azura D Deck Superior Deluxe, as they are roomier than C Deck cabins. These balconies are smaller than C Deck but much better than Britannia. I also don't like all the extra money-grabbing 'opportunities' on Britannia. And I agree that it doesn't feel like a ship; more like a glitzy hotel. 

 

Can't wait to cruise again. 

[ScotchBoy]

22 hours ago, bee-ess said:

I would choose Britannia over Azura but not if the difference is £1500. Britannia has more Dining choices and a Crows Nest and nicer Cabin fittings but the physical size of the Balcony is smaller. In your situation at the price I would probably choose Azura.

Don't know where you are planning to fly to but I would not fly to and from St Lucia again, it is a long journey from the airport to the ship. I would choose flights to Bridgetown, Barbados,

I concur about St Lucia. We flew out of St Lucia once, and I felt so nauseous by the time we got to the airport. Such a long way, and so many twists-and-turns, and ups-and-downs in the roads (the surfaces of which, in part, are Not Good). Bridgetown every time for us.  

[Pine Man]

I have cruised on Azura, Britannia, Aurora and Ventura recently.

 

Given my experiences on each I would put Britannia top of my preferences followed by Ventura/Aurora equal second and Azura bottom of the list - even lower if it were possible!

 

My experiences on Azura reflected in it being poorly maintained and grubby, crowded on sea days with nowhere to sit, large queues for Costa in the atrium, and badly organised shore days and excursions. Absolutely awful.

Edited May 21, 2020 by Pine Man

[wowzz]

29 minutes ago, Pine Man said:

badly organised shore days and excursions

Although to be fair, that is nothing to with the ship per se.

[bee-ess]

29 minutes ago, Pine Man said:

I have cruised on Azura, Britannia, Aurora and Ventura recently.

 

Given my experiences on each I would put Britannia top of my preferences followed by Ventura/Aurora equal second and Azura bottom of the list - even lower if it were possible!

 

My experiences on Azura reflected in it being poorly maintained and grubby, crowded on sea days with nowhere to sit, large queues for Costa in the atrium, and badly organised shore days and excursions. Absolutely awful.

Was the smell on Azura still there or has it been fixed

Edited May 21, 2020 by bee-ess

[Pine Man]

4 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Although to be fair, that is nothing to with the ship per se.

 

I am not sure who else I could blame really.

 

Badly organised use of tenders to get ashore, badly organised passengers leaving the ship and the excursion coaches were ready at the ports but passengers badly organised getting to the correct ones.

 

5 minutes ago, bee-ess said:

Was the smell on Azura still there or has it been fixed

 

Don't remember the ship smelling but I do remember queuing outside the toilets one evening and was pushed to one side by a passenger who insisted on showing everybody in the queue his leaking colostomy bag!

[bee-ess]

1 minute ago, Pine Man said:

 

 

 

 

Don't remember the ship smelling but I do remember queuing outside the toilets one evening and was pushed to one side by a passenger who insisted on showing everybody in the queue his leaking colostomy bag!

 

Thanks, It didn't smell when we last went but others in various threads have mentioned a sewage like smell indoors on the prom deck and on the outside decks. We are due on her in February 2021 and wondered if that was still the case.