New to P&O

[wowzz]

6 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

There's a lot thats improved

Agreed. 

The past was not always as great as some people seem to think. Memories can become clouded over time. 

[terrierjohn]

34 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Agreed. 

The past was not always as great as some people seem to think. Memories can become clouded over time. 

....and very often rose tinted.

[Interestedcruisefan]

Back on topic

 

To the OP

 

I think you will have a great time with your teenage daughter and her friend on the trip

 

Plenty of things to do on the ship and plenty of food and entertainment options 

 

And if you can't book something you want online go and see the restaurant or venue manager and ask if they can help

 

The staff are great and want to impress you if they can

Edited March 14, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Britboys]

21 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Isn't the British traditional idea of a sail away party not much more than drinking a glass of champagne and waving to people as you leave!

 

(With a brass band playing if there's the budget for one?)

Sadly the days of the Brass Band playing and Streamers being thrown over the side of the ship are long gone. Lucky if you get a DJ playing music on the aft decks now...

Whilst I understand that things need to change, there is no sense of occasion any more when P&O ships leave their home port for a cruise.

[zap99]

26 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Sadly the days of the Brass Band playing and Streamers being thrown over the side of the ship are long gone. Lucky if you get a DJ playing music on the aft decks now...

Whilst I understand that things need to change, there is no sense of occasion any more when P&O ships leave their home port for a cruise.

When we had a sailaway from Cadiz in October on Britannia,  George Micheal did a sing song. No streamers to float around the harbour.

[daiB]

14 minutes ago, Britboys said:

 

Yes, I do realise that the streamers were not good for the seas but together with the band playing, departure from Southampton felt special in those days. Yes, I generally do have a glass of Champagne in hand but believe me, a "Toff" I'm not...

Correct, I have met you 🙂

 

[Britboys]

9 minutes ago, daiB said:

Correct, I have met you 🙂

 

Thanks Dai.......I think..🤔😄

[CruiseTee]

Thanks so much for all the comments! I am guessing that since it's the holiday week (we sail on April 12th-16th) that there will be a lot of families with children on board. I am just happy to be on the cruise and discover the two ports in Belgium and France. I'm going to book at Epicurean on the last night of the cruise, since it will be my daughter's 21st Birthday. 

 

Any ideas on the best way to get to the cruise port in Southampton from London? We will be staying there prior to the cruise. Private car? It's only about an hour away, right? 

 

I will definitely post a review here when I return. Thanks so much! 

[swjumbo]

Depends where you are in London.

Plenty of people will give you good advice here but if you can tell where you’re staying it’ll make a difference.

It’s also at least 2 hours on a good day between the two.

[swjumbo]

Sorry for hijacking this thread but if you’re going to Belgium have a look at tours to Ypres and First World War cemeteries.

We did one last year (on a Cunard cruise) and it has made a lasting impression.

[Britboys]

2 hours ago, CruiseTee said:

Thanks so much for all the comments! I am guessing that since it's the holiday week (we sail on April 12th-16th) that there will be a lot of families with children on board. I am just happy to be on the cruise and discover the two ports in Belgium and France. I'm going to book at Epicurean on the last night of the cruise, since it will be my daughter's 21st Birthday. 

 

Any ideas on the best way to get to the cruise port in Southampton from London? We will be staying there prior to the cruise. Private car? It's only about an hour away, right? 

 

I will definitely post a review here when I return. Thanks so much! 

There is a regular rail service from London Waterloo Station (in Central London) to Southampton. Averages about 90 minutes journey time but can be faster. That would be cheaper than going by private car.

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, CruiseTee said:

Any ideas on the best way to get to the cruise port in Southampton from London? We will be staying there prior to the cruise. Private car? It's only about an hour away, right

National Express coach from Victoria Coach station is the answer. And the money you will save will allow you to buy champagne for your daughter's birthday, and have change 

[Cpt Pugwash]

On 3/13/2023 at 2:27 PM, Interestedcruisefan said:

Isn't the British traditional idea of a sail away party not much more than drinking a glass of champagne and waving to people as you leave!

 

(With a brass band playing if there's the budget for one?)

You forgot the silly little flags. 😄

[Jonem2001]

On 3/11/2023 at 4:16 AM, CruiseTee said:

 Will there even be a formal night on such a short cruise, I'm wondering?

Hi @CruiseTee, my partner and I will be on this cruise with you. We booked it on the strength of having been on the equivalent cruise last year - although that was a three-nighter, and omitted Cherbourg. I think you’ll enjoy it! 

 

We absolutely LOVED Britannia, and having been on an equivalent Princess ship of the class (Regal), I think I’d even say I that I think the outside space works better on Britannia. We had a lovely sailaway in the sun from Zeebrugge with no issues with sun lounger availability at all, and lots of quieter nooks and crannies.

 

We do indeed have a Celebration Night on this one; it’s Friday 14th (the sea day between the two ports). If you log on to ‘My P&O’, you’ll be able to see the port schedule and dress codes under ‘My Itinerary’ in the menu at top right: 

 

 

[zap99]

9 hours ago, Britboys said:

There is a regular rail service from London Waterloo Station (in Central London) to Southampton. Averages about 90 minutes journey time but can be faster. That would be cheaper than going by private car.

A regular rail service that is regularly affected by strikes.

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Cpt Pugwash said:

You forgot the silly little flags. 😄

Silly flags ?. Folk have died for that flag and I bet a few folk will be waving them at the coronation.

[Josy1953]

6 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Silly flags ?. Folk have died for that flag and I bet a few folk will be waving them at the coronation.

When my niece's children were young they used to be more interested in getting the flags that we brought home for them than the presents that we bought.  I am sure that lots of other small children were the same.  I doubt that they would be  interested  in the flags now that they are teenagers.

[Britboys]

4 hours ago, zap99 said:

A regular rail service that is regularly affected by strikes.

At the moment, yes...

[zap99]

17 minutes ago, Britboys said:

At the moment, yes...

As I don't use trains, I bow to your expert knowledge on the subject.

[amajaa]

On 3/13/2023 at 3:09 PM, Leomins said:

There used to be some awful sail away parties where songs like Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory were sung along with the waving of plastic Union Jacks. It used to make me cringe, especially when sailing in the Caribbean, it felt to me as if we were rejecting the locals’ hospitality.

They stopped due to Covid and now the flags have gone due to single use plastics.

There were more modern songs played as well and the entertainment crew used to dance by the pools, did they not have any sail away parties on your cruise?

On Ventura in November they had sailaways still. No Union Flags etc but modern songs and the entertainment crew dancing and the entertainment manager going round the top decks asking if anyone’s birthdays, anniversaries etc

[zap99]

4 hours ago, amajaa said:

On Ventura in November they had sailaways still. No Union Flags etc but modern songs and the entertainment crew dancing and the entertainment manager going round the top decks asking if anyone’s birthdays, anniversaries etc

We quite enjoy sailaways and prefer DJ's or a band like pulse to Brass bands.

[amajaa]

2 hours ago, zap99 said:

We quite enjoy sailaways and prefer DJ's or a band like pulse to Brass bands.

yes pulse were playing 

[janieb1962]

On 3/10/2023 at 9:50 AM, Selbourne said:

Good point. I think that whilst people are generally allocated one of the two freedom dining MDRs you can technically use either. Worth pointing out for the OPs benefit that the menus are identical in all 3 MDRs. 

Hi Selbourne, we were freedom dining on Britannia last week and not allocated a dining room at all and could book either of the freedom dining venues .  Although for some reason we always dined in peninsular 😂

 

[CruiseTee]

On 3/15/2023 at 3:19 AM, Jonem2001 said:

Hi @CruiseTee, my partner and I will be on this cruise with you. We booked it on the strength of having been on the equivalent cruise last year - although that was a three-nighter, and omitted Cherbourg. I think you’ll enjoy it! 

 

We absolutely LOVED Britannia, and having been on an equivalent Princess ship of the class (Regal), I think I’d even say I that I think the outside space works better on Britannia. We had a lovely sailaway in the sun from Zeebrugge with no issues with sun lounger availability at all, and lots of quieter nooks and crannies.

 

We do indeed have a Celebration Night on this one; it’s Friday 14th (the sea day between the two ports). If you log on to ‘My P&O’, you’ll be able to see the port schedule and dress codes under ‘My Itinerary’ in the menu at top right: 

 

 

Thank you so much for the above information! I have yet to log into my P&O account, but will do so today!

Looking forward to seeing you on board...I will be the one with the two college-aged girls in tow (and probably the only American!) LOL. 

 

Thanks for the wonderful advice everyone! I am pricing out private cars to get us to Southampton, but it's really expensive. Looking into the train option!

[Gettingwarmer]

12 minutes ago, CruiseTee said:

 

Thanks for the wonderful advice everyone! I am pricing out private cars to get us to Southampton, but it's really expensive. Looking into the train option!

Look at the National Express coach service from Victoria as previously suggested.