So HAPPY! Going on a cruise. Tell me all about Britannia.

[Vampiress88]

Omg! 
Booked and only a few weeks to go. 
need to know anything about the ship Britannia or ports, Cadiz, Lisbon, Malaga, Cartagena, and Gibraltar 

 

although we are seeing the monkey at Gibraltar so I know that for now. 
 

all of my dresses fit. Hubby is on cereal now till he fits in his suit and youngest has hand me downs so only need to buy for eldest. 
 

I am so excited it’s unreal. 
 

if the kids get covid I’m leaving them with the grandma. 😂 joke

[P&O SUE]

Oh bless you! So glad you’ve booked and a great itinerary, I’m doing a similar one on Britannia but not until oct 2023 😞

 

I liked the ship, she doesn’t have a proper prom deck which is a downside for us but the buffet is much better than Ventura and Azura, more spaced out. 
 

We really liked the Limelight club but that’s probably not an option for you with your girls.

 

Balconies are much more affordable on this ship as there are so many of them. We really enjoyed our balcony when we went in 2017. We did find the pool areas noisy and busy but we were happy on our balcony! I’m on the 3 nighter to Belgium so I think you get on when we get off!

[Vampiress88]

22 minutes ago, P&O SUE said:

Oh bless you! So glad you’ve booked and a great itinerary, I’m doing a similar one on Britannia but not until oct 2023 😞

 

I liked the ship, she doesn’t have a proper prom deck which is a downside for us but the buffet is much better than Ventura and Azura, more spaced out. 
 

We really liked the Limelight club but that’s probably not an option for you with your girls.

 

Balconies are much more affordable on this ship as there are so many of them. We really enjoyed our balcony when we went in 2017. We did find the pool areas noisy and busy but we were happy on our balcony! I’m on the 3 nighter to Belgium so I think you get on when we get off!

we’ve gone for an inside. £1236 for 4 of us for 11 nights I thought was a great deal. We have balcony ones booking in November and next April so we will just have to suffer inside 😂 

 

the kids will go to kids club so will look at limelight. 

[Denarius]

I have visited all the ports you mention. Brief thoughts:

 

Cadiz. A wonderful little city, compact and easily walkable. Ship docks next to city centre, no shuttle bus needed.

 

Lisbon. Ship docks at new cruise terminal a quarter of a mile or so along the riverside from "black horse square".  From there you can directly access the city centre. St George's Castle worth the steep climb. I recall that there was a shuttle bus but that it dropped off at the far end of the city centre, so if that is the case you are better off walking if you can.

 

Malaga. Ship docks close to city ventre, no shuttle bus needed. Centre compact and easily walkable.

 

Cartagena. Ship again docks right next to compact easily walkable city centre.

 

Gibraltar. Ship docks about a 20 minutes walk from city centre. Many passengers walk in and out but for those who don't want to or can't the local taxi drivers provide a charged shuttle service. No shuttle bus, the local drivers have a monopoly. Not sure what the fare is nowadays.

 

Hope this helps

Edited March 28, 2022 by Denarius

[Ranchi]

We are well & truly in the ‘we prefer smaller ships’ group. We booked a week on Britannia in 2018 ( we needed to be down south for other reasons at that time. There was a good offer on & so we booked on a whim) and we really enjoyed it. Decor fine.  Rooms a bit monochrome for our taste but fine. If I remember correctly there is a problem with the socket in the bathroom not taking electric toothbrushes ( so take an adapter for shaver/toothbrush if you need it). It has a good dance floor. One big plus is due to its size there are quiet areas on the sun deck away from loud music or seascreen (told you we were old grumpies!) The MDR is really well designed with alcoves and line of sight breaks so you don’t feel it’s a huge space. The big downside is the lack of a prom deck. The buffet was well set out. Bars & show lounges were fine. We have been a few times on Azura & I think Britannia wins on points. 

[P&O SUE]

7 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

we’ve gone for an inside. £1236 for 4 of us for 11 nights I thought was a great deal. We have balcony ones booking in November and next April so we will just have to suffer inside 😂 

 

the kids will go to kids club so will look at limelight. 

Im eagerly waiting the 31st when I can book entertainment apparently so then I’ll hopefully find out who’s in the Limelight club.

Did all my paperwork at the weekend, printed out half a tree 🙄 Quite straight forward when you get into it just a faff! 
 

There are great prices at the moment as so many have cancelled, I can only cope with my short one for now! 

[P&O SUE]

10 minutes ago, Denarius said:

I have visited all the ports you mention. Brief thoughts:

 

Cadiz. A wonderful little city, compact and easily walkable. Ship docks next to city centre, no shuttle bus needed.

 

Lisbon. Ship docks at new cruise terminal a quarter of a mile or so along the riverside from "black horse square".  From there you can directly access the city centre. St George's Castle worth the steep climb. I recall that there was a shuttle bus but that it dropped off at the far end of the city centre, so if that is the case you are better off walking if you can.

 

Malaga. Ship docks close to city ventre, no shuttle bus needed. Centre compact and easily walkable.

 

Cartagena. Ship again docks right next to compact easily walkable city centre.

 

Gibraltar. Ship docks about a 20 minutes walk from city centre. Many passengers walk in and out but for those who don't want to or can't the local taxi drivers provide a charged shuttle service. No shuttle bus, the local drivers have a monopoly. Not sure what the fare is nowadays.

 

Hope this helps

That’s helped me thanks! I really want to go to the Alhambra and I know it’s a long day but that’s my plan for Malaga!

[Vampiress88]

15 minutes ago, Denarius said:

I have visited all the ports you mention. Brief thoughts:

 

Cadiz. A wonderful little city, compact and easily walkable. Ship docks next to city centre, no shuttle bus needed.

 

Lisbon. Ship docks at new cruise terminal a quarter of a mile or so along the riverside from "black horse square".  From there you can directly access the city centre. St George's Castle worth the steep climb. I recall that there was a shuttle bus but that it dropped off at the far end of the city centre, so if that is the case you are better off walking if you can.

 

Malaga. Ship docks close to city ventre, no shuttle bus needed. Centre compact and easily walkable.

 

Cartagena. Ship again docks right next to compact easily walkable city centre.

 

Gibraltar. Ship docks about a 20 minutes walk from city centre. Many passengers walk in and out but for those who don't want to or can't the local taxi drivers provide a charged shuttle service. No shuttle bus, the local drivers have a monopoly. Not sure what the fare is nowadays.

 

Hope this helps

 Brill thanks. 
yes we walked into Gibraltar last time. I enjoyed walking through that city. Only reason we booked this one. Plus the price 

[Vampiress88]

6 minutes ago, P&O SUE said:

Im eagerly waiting the 31st when I can book entertainment apparently so then I’ll hopefully find out who’s in the Limelight club.

Did all my paperwork at the weekend, printed out half a tree 🙄 Quite straight forward when you get into it just a faff! 
 

There are great prices at the moment as so many have cancelled, I can only cope with my short one for now! 

how far out do you book entertainment etc? Think we are going to print stuff out tonight and get sorted

[P&O SUE]

8 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

how far out do you book entertainment etc? Think we are going to print stuff out tonight and get sorted

 
Two weeks. The boarding passes etc are 3 weeks and then you get your embarkation time - we’ve got 1-15 which I’m very happy with!

[Ardennais]

We’ve always had a shuttle bus in Malaga. The HOHO bus is good there too. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

We really enjoyed our trips on Britannia

 

We've done Caribbean holidays and a staycation on there

 

I think it will have more than you need for a great holiday

 

The bit about not having a promenade deck

 

What do you guys mean by that? 

 

We used to walk every morning on a running track deck which was decent size albeit not entire length of the boat

 

Does promenade deck mean something else?

 

 

Edited March 28, 2022 by Interestedcruisefan

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

We really enjoyed our trips on Britannia

 

We've done Caribbean holidays and a staycation on there

 

I think it will have more than you need for a great holiday

 

The bit about not having a promenade deck

 

What do you guys mean by that? 

 

We used to walk every morning on a running track deck which was decent size albeit not entire length of the boat

 

Does promenade deck mean something else?

 

 

The promenade deck is normally where the lifeboats would be launched and generally provides a covered area great for sheltered sunbathing and people watching. Britannia is the only ship in the fleet that does not have one.

[Son of Anarchy]

There's a park in Cadiz which has life size plastic dinosaurs.  Probably about 20 minutes walk through town to the other side of the peninsula.  Might be a fun visit for your kids.

[Denarius]

4 hours ago, Ranchi said:

We are well & truly in the ‘we prefer smaller ships’ group. We booked a week on Britannia in 2018 ( we needed to be down south for other reasons at that time. There was a good offer on & so we booked on a whim) and we really enjoyed it. Decor fine.  Rooms a bit monochrome for our taste but fine. If I remember correctly there is a problem with the socket in the bathroom not taking electric toothbrushes ( so take an adapter for shaver/toothbrush if you need it). It has a good dance floor. One big plus is due to its size there are quiet areas on the sun deck away from loud music or seascreen (told you we were old grumpies!) The MDR is really well designed with alcoves and line of sight breaks so you don’t feel it’s a huge space. The big downside is the lack of a prom deck. The buffet was well set out. Bars & show lounges were fine. We have been a few times on Azura & I think Britannia wins on points. 

Don't recall Britannia having a seascreen when I last sailed on her in April 2019. Indeed, I recall being pleased that she did not. Is this a recent addition?

[Denarius]

4 hours ago, P&O SUE said:

That’s helped me thanks! I really want to go to the Alhambra and I know it’s a long day but that’s my plan for Malaga!

The Alambra is marvellous and well worth visiting, but when I went a few years ago it was virtually essential to book in advance to be sure of getting in at a particular  time. I was on a land tour with Saga and our group visit was pre booked; if you are going on a P&O tour yours will be too. But if you intend to go under your own steam I suggest that you try to book in advance to be sure of getting in, as it's a long way to go to find that you can't.

 

https://www.alhambradegranada.org/en/info/ticketsale.asp

[Jennizor]

We were on Britannia twice last year and I also don’t remember a seascreen. Azura does though. We have sailed on Britannia quite a few times now and I really like her but Azura is my favourite (not because of the sea screen which I don’t personally like).

[Britboys]

40 minutes ago, Denarius said:

The Alambra is marvellous and well worth visiting, but when I went a few years ago it was virtually essential to book in advance to be sure of getting in at a particular  time. I was on a land tour with Saga and our group visit was pre booked; if you are going on a P&O tour yours will be too. But if you intend to go under your own steam I suggest that you try to book in advance to be sure of getting in, as it's a long way to go to find that you can't.

 

https://www.alhambradegranada.org/en/info/ticketsale.asp

Personally, I wouldn't risk an independent trip to the Alhambra. It's a good 90 minutes plus away, possibly more if traffic is bad. At least if a ship's tour is delayed the ship will wait for you.

[P&O SUE]

1 hour ago, Denarius said:

The Alambra is marvellous and well worth visiting, but when I went a few years ago it was virtually essential to book in advance to be sure of getting in at a particular  time. I was on a land tour with Saga and our group visit was pre booked; if you are going on a P&O tour yours will be too. But if you intend to go under your own steam I suggest that you try to book in advance to be sure of getting in, as it's a long way to go to find that you can't.

 

https://www.alhambradegranada.org/en/info/ticketsale.asp

 

29 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Personally, I wouldn't risk an independent trip to the Alhambra. It's a good 90 minutes plus away, possibly more if traffic is bad. At least if a ship's tour is delayed the ship will wait for you.

 
Don’t worry, I know it’s not cheap but I will definitely book a P&O tour! 

[Vampiress88]

Someone mentioned the plug sockets being different? 
 

also is the cake free in the cafe etc? I remember getting free cookies for the kids on azura when I had a tea. 
do they do karaoke anywhere?

[Ranchi]

Hi Denarius,

‘Don't recall Britannia having a seascreen when I last sailed on her in April 2019. Indeed, I recall being pleased that she did not. Is this a recent addition?’

 

You are correct. It’s my sloppy use of English & failure to re-read what I have written. I intended to compare the upper deck of Britannia to  ships that have a seascreen eg Azura. 

[Selbourne]

We really like Britannia. The absence of a promenade deck is a pain, but Epicurean on Britannia is our favourite restaurant at sea. The cabins are a lot more up to date than the other ships as well (excluding Iona, of course). 

[grapau27]

11 hours ago, Denarius said:

I have visited all the ports you mention. Brief thoughts:

 

Cadiz. A wonderful little city, compact and easily walkable. Ship docks next to city centre, no shuttle bus needed.

 

Lisbon. Ship docks at new cruise terminal a quarter of a mile or so along the riverside from "black horse square".  From there you can directly access the city centre. St George's Castle worth the steep climb. I recall that there was a shuttle bus but that it dropped off at the far end of the city centre, so if that is the case you are better off walking if you can.

 

Malaga. Ship docks close to city ventre, no shuttle bus needed. Centre compact and easily walkable.

 

Cartagena. Ship again docks right next to compact easily walkable city centre.

 

Gibraltar. Ship docks about a 20 minutes walk from city centre. Many passengers walk in and out but for those who don't want to or can't the local taxi drivers provide a charged shuttle service. No shuttle bus, the local drivers have a monopoly. Not sure what the fare is nowadays.

 

Hope this helps

Good description of these ports Denarius.

Shuttle taxis in Gibraltar was £6pp return.

[Vampiress88]

13 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Good description of these ports Denarius.

Shuttle taxis in Gibraltar was £6pp return.

we’re ok for walking in Gibraltar I think. 
 

it’s just finding stuff to do with the kids now at the ports