Live from Britannia

[grapau27]

10 hours ago, Selbourne said:

DAY 10 (2nd day in Copenhagen)

 

Brace yourself for a long update as this post covers 3 days!

 

I have mentioned a couple of times that we have noisy cabin neighbours one side of us whose kids thud around the cabin continuously. Furthermore, I have come to the conclusion that we are about the only people in our zone who don’t just let the cabin door slam shut every time we come and go, whatever the time of day or night it is. However, it could be worse. 3 or 4 cabins away from us is a suite occupied by a young family, and the youngest has a hell of a set of lungs and screams blue murder for prolonged periods every day. I feel so sorry for those who splashed out on Suites and ended up either side of this family!

 

When we returned to our starboard side cabin the previous night, I mentioned to my wife that I thought that I could hear

music, but thought no more of it. However, when we were in the lift going down to breakfast a lady mentioned that she’d barely had an hours sleep due to a noisy party on the quayside (port side). I said that I shouldn’t imagine that this was anything to do with the ships crew, as they wouldn’t be allowed, but she claimed that a steady stream of them had rejoined the ship at 4.30am when it eventually finished. She didn’t seem like the sort of person who would exaggerate or make things up, but this really surprised me. 

 

Then finally at breakfast, the couple on the next table mentioned that they had been disturbed in the early hours a few nights earlier by noise near their cabin that went on for some considerable time. I guess that all of this puts our noisy cabin neighbours into perspective, as we are at least sleeping OK! 

 

We didn’t feel the need to get off a second day running in the same port, so we had a relaxing day on the ship whilst it was quiet. The sun was on our balcony all day, so my wife was quite content sitting out there reading. Ships would pass occasionally and it was also interesting watching the sea plane landing. 

 

Yet another very pleasant lunch in the Peninsular restaurant (we haven’t had a bad one yet) and a nice chat with a couple on the next table who are doing a back to back with the next cruise to the Med. As usual, none of daytime entertainment even remotely appealed, so we watched another film on the cabin TV prior to our sail-away. The Captain announced that due to predicted high winds, our departure from Skagen the next day could be challenging at our scheduled departure time so, as a result, we were going to arrive an hour earlier in the morning and only do a half day visit, leaving at 12.30pm. Not a problem for us as we’ve been before and it’s a small place that is just a 10 minute walk from the berth. 

 

In the evening we enjoyed pre-dinner drinks in the Crows Nest, prior to our 3rd dinner in Epicurean, which was our first visit with the new menu. I’m delighted to report that this was another first class experience. I didn’t particularly enjoy my pulled duck leg and caviar starter, but that was personal choice rather than poor cooking. My wife had the King Prawn and Octopus starter, which she enjoyed. For the main we both had fillet of beef with ox cheek. The ox cheek was a bit like stewing steak but the actual steaks were great. Following @rollingwheels feedback from Epicurean on Iona, I asked if the chef could cut my wife’s steak up for her in order to save me having to do it at the table and they obliged without hesitation. The pre-dessert was the famous blackcurrant and white chocolate lolly, so we now realise why we didn’t have it last week as it’s a different pre-dessert for each menu. Gorgeous. We praised it so much we got a second one each 👍 As for the actual dessert, there was no debate whatsoever. Graham’s photo of the white chocolate sphere with popcorn, candy floss and other sweet treats was firmly in my mind. Wow! That was fabulous. I will happily have that again on our final night 😂 

 

We haven’t attended that many evening shows, but there’s a new group of 3 male singers called Remixed who have joined today, so we went to the first of their 2 shows. It was OK, but as with all these performers, their act would be enhanced considerably if they just sang songs and didn’t attempt the chatter between songs. One day, when the “are you having a good time? I didn’t hear you - are you having a good time?” nonsense comes out, I’m going to shout out “Hi-di-Hi” 😂 

 

 

DAY 11 (Unscheduled Sea Day)

 

The captain had said that we would be docking in Skagen at 7am, but when I looked outside at around this time were nowhere near land. A check of the navigational map on the TV revealed that we had passed Skagen. An hour or so later the Captain came on the tannoy to say that the Skagen pilot had come on board but they had both taken the view that we wouldn’t stop there today. I suspect that it’s one of those scenarios where a smaller ship would have berthed no problem, but a ship as large as this struggles with a bit of wind due to the high sides acting as a sail. The irony was that it turned out to be a reasonably nice day and the sea conditions were nothing to write home about, but we have to accept that these guys know what they are doing and, of course, safety is always the number 1 priority. 

 

We were told that there would be an announcement of ‘enhancements’ to the daytime entertainment schedule, but when this finally came I was in the busy atrium and the reaction from passengers was as you would expect when it is entirely underwhelming 😂. There will be no replacement port of call tomorrow, so speed has been slowed to 6 or 7 knots in order to keep us on schedule for an arrival in Hamburg Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, as we didn’t get off the ship yesterday, that is effectively going to feel like 3 sea days in a row for us now, which is bad news as we find them quite boring and one of the major reasons that we chose this particular cruise was because there was due to be no more than one sea day at a time 🙄 

 

There were problems in the MDR at lunch again (as seems to happen on sea days). The App closes to bookings after just 20-30 mins and never re-opens again. The only way to get in is to do a walk-up and get a pager. When I questioned why this was, I was told that there were 200 in the queue, yet there were loads of empty tables. Two very obvious issues were noticeable. Firstly, there aren’t enough staff dedicated to clearing tables and re-setting them. Secondly, when the tables are re-set they can sit empty for 20 minutes or more until they are occupied again, in spite of the large numbers of people waiting. I’m afraid that my theory that the app system isn’t fit for purpose at busy times has now been validated quite a few times. It was never as inefficient as this when the only option was ‘first come, first served’. 

 

During the afternoon we watched a film in our cabin again, as the sole speaker was the same chap as before giving another dull sounding talk. I’m sure that those who were interested in it would have been distinctly unimpressed that it was scheduled for 1pm, smack bang in the middle of lunch! One passenger commented to us that this was probably deliberate to try to take some pressure off the MDR if they know that they struggle to cope on sea days. He may well have been right!

 

At 8pm we went to the Peninsular drinks party. I’m very impressed with Captain Martin Allen. He delivers clear and informative announcements, and whilst his prime function is to be master of the vessel, he also has the personality that IMO is essential for the most senior representative of the company whose role also includes engaging with passengers. 

 

Afterwards we went for our second and final dinner in Sindhu. I didn’t particularly enjoy my meal. The scallops starter didn’t taste right to me with the seasoning and even if you cut the 3 small scallops in half it was well over £1 per mouthful for the pleasure 😂. My tenderloin of beef was over cooked and only had a tiny bit of masala sauce, which was flavourless. Thankfully the service was first class and when the waiter asked if I was enjoying it and I explained why I wasn’t, I was immediately offered the option to change it, which I did. My alternative dish arrived very quickly, for which I was most grateful. Chatting to the restaurant manager I also managed to solve the East India Punch mystery from last week. Apparently several of the ingredients are consistently unavailable at Southampton so they cannot make it, in spite of it featuring prominently on both the bar and food menu 🙄

 

At 9pm a family arrived and I overheard the gent say to the waiter that they had tried to make a booking for much earlier but had been unsuccessful, yet they had walked past a few times to see the restaurant half empty. We have noticed this in almost all Specialty restaurants on various P&O ships over the years - showing as full yet having loads of spaces. I should imagine that P&O could make a heck of a lot more money out of these restaurants if they could resolve that conundrum. 

 

To end the evening we went to the Headliners show ‘Centre Stage’. It’s a job to keep up with what is happening when on this cruise as things keep changing. As well as the formal nights having been incorrect on the cruise personaliser until a few days before the cruise (which caused people to have to rearrange plans), some of the show dates are in a permanent state of flux. As an example, we booked the Headliners show ‘Centre Stage’ for 20th before we sailed. When we boarded it had changed to 18th. Yesterday it changed yet again to 17th. Thankfully bookings update on the app, but you don’t get any notification of the changes. Anyway, I’m pleased to say that it was a much better show than the one that we saw on the first night. Even the singing was far better this time, especially the girls. We both enjoyed it. Word of warning for those who attempt to film any of the performances, as one lady did. If you are spotted by the person in the sound and lighting control box, they shine a green laser beam on you and if you don’t stop immediately a staff member approaches you to tell you to cease. You have been warned 😂 Shame they don’t do the same on those who feel the need to talk during the shows!

 

 

DAY 12 (Sea Day)

 

With yet another sea day to contend with, my wife wasn’t keen on getting up to go for breakfast and suggested that I went on my own. I eventually managed to persuade her otherwise, as the restaurant was open marginally later until 9.30am (note - even though the preceding day had been an unscheduled sea day, they still stuck with the early 9am shut off). 

 

As per usual, the Peninsular restaurant went ‘Queue Full’ at 9.10am so we had two options. Do a walk-up or join the queue for the Oriental restaurant in the few minutes before that changed to ‘Queue Full’ as well. We went for the latter and were glad that we did. Even though this is our 4th cruise on Britannia, we have always been on Freedom Dining, so this may have been the first time that we’ve dined there. We liked the ambiance as it is more compartmentalised than the very open plan Peninsular restaurant. Breakfast was just as good as it always has been in Peninsular. 

 

A quick visit to the library and a swing by reception to pick up ‘Britain Today’ before killing time until lunch! Knowing that the MDR gives priority to walk-ups once the restaurant has had the app open for just around 30 minutes, we played the system by joining the queue just before it switched to the inevitable ‘Queue Full’. The virtual

queue moved at glacial speed, no doubt due to the walk-ups getting seated, but we persevered as much out of curiosity than anything, so that my feedback to the food and beverage manager (should he call me again) is accurate and based upon our personal experiences. In all fairness, unlike the day before, when we eventually went in for lunch the restaurant seemed full. 

 

At 2pm there was a talk in the theatre about the bridge and how it operates by one of the officers. We attended but it was a bit of a rush to get there with it taking so long to get into lunch. This turned out to be a great talk and well done to the second officer who gave it, as theatre presentations aren’t a key requirement of his role! Yet again, the theatre was full which must demonstrate that there is a keen demand for more daytime talks than P&O are currently offering. There were some amusing questions from the audience at the end. One about ‘’what does the Captain do, seeing as none of the examples you gave of who was ‘driving’ the ship at any one time included him”, another about pirates and the perhaps inevitable “as we couldn’t stop in Skagen, why couldn’t we have had an extra day in Hamburg” 😂 

 

Afterwards we returned to the cabin for another afternoon movie via the interactive TV, which has been a godsend over the last few days. This time a bit of a tear jerker with “Last Bus” with the excellent Timothy Spall. I always enjoy any film that he stars in.  

 

It’s the final black tie night so we repeated our previous routine of pre dinner drinks in the atrium whilst listening to the fabulous Angelika Eckland. Having mentioned previously that there are only 2 alcoholic cocktails available in many of the bars, we have now discovered that you can pretty much get any drink in any bar, whether it’s on the menu or not. Seems daft that the menus only show a selection, but it’s good that we now know that, even though it’s taken most of the cruise to work it out 🙄. I was keeping an eye on the app to see how the virtual queues were going with the hope of getting in the queue before the inevitable ‘Queue Full’ messages. I joined the queue at  7.25pm when Peninsular restaurant was at 68 in the queue. 20 minutes later we were still 65 in the queue (probably confirming that walk-ups were getting priority, as I can’t imagine that only 3 people had entered an MDR of that size in 20 minutes) but we weren’t in a rush so we decanted to the Glass House for a nice glass of wine whilst waiting. Having finally used up all our OBC last night we are now into 10% loyalty discount territory. Every little helps 😂 The queue started moving quickly all of a sudden and we were called at 8.10pm which was about when we wanted to dine anyway, so all good. 

 

As the Marco Pierre White meal on the first formal night had been the most disappointing dinner that we have had in the MDR so far, I avoided it tonight. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it, but in all the restaurants now, even speciality ones, any Amuse Bouche is a tiny drink and not food. Tonight’s was a tomato and gin concoction that was actually the best so far. Our lovely waiter gave me a second one 👍. My wife had a starter and main from the Marco Pierre White menu. She wasn’t too keen on the Crab and Scallop Ceviche but she really

enjoyed the King Prawn and Lobster main course. I had the fried goats cheese starter from the normal menu, which was delicious and the tenderloin of beef. Whilst this was completely missing the advertised mushroom crust (not so much as a millimetre of it) it was far better than the one I’d had the night before in Sindhu. My wife had cheese and biscuits for dessert whereas I had Apple Tarte Tartin, which was much nicer than the now pre-prepared Crepes Suzette in Epicurean. So that my wife didn’t feel awkward, I also had cheese to follow my dessert 😂 

 

We decided agains the second ‘Remixed’ performance in the theatre, so cancelled our spaces on the app. Instead we returned to the Glass House as we had noticed earlier a rose’ port that we’d never tried before. Not sure that we’d get it again but it was nice to try something different.  Landfall at long last tomorrow with our final port, Hamburg. 

Another very interesting read @Selbourne.

When we were on Britannia first week of June a customs man came on board and a lot of passengers including us gave him our receipts filled in a form with our name/ address and bank details and 2 weeks later we got the tax back on purchases we made in Norway into our bank account.

[Presto2]

13 hours ago, Selbourne said:

DAY 10 (2nd day in C 🙄 

 

There were problems in the MDR at lunch again (as seems to happen on sea days). The App closes to bookings after just 20-30 mins and never re-opens again. The only way to get in is to do a walk-up and get a pager. When I questioned why this was, I was told that there were 200 in the queue, yet there were loads of empty tables. Two very obvious issues were noticeable. Firstly, there aren’t enough staff dedicated to clearing tables and re-setting them. Secondly, when the tables are re-set they can sit empty for 20 minutes or more until they are occupied again, in spite of the large numbers of people waiting. I’m afraid that my theory that the app system isn’t fit for purpose at busy times has now been validated quite a few times. It was never as inefficient as this when the only option was ‘first come, first served’.

 

 

 

 

Have been reading your excellent review Selbourne - thanks so much for taking the time to keep us all posted amidst your travels 🙂

Have to say, I can't agree more re this app. In some ways it makes me feel better reading this from someone else's review as it means it wasn't just us being miserable and picky. (If you get me). 

I do so hope that they change the system before we sail on her again in January.

 

We had considered going to fixed dining but am guessing there are very few tables for two in there.

(Late sitting)

[Selbourne]

4 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

 

Have been reading your excellent review Selbourne - thanks so much for taking the time to keep us all posted amidst your travels 🙂

Have to say, I can't agree more re this app. In some ways it makes me feel better reading this from someone else's review as it means it wasn't just us being miserable and picky. (If you get me). 

I do so hope that they change the system before we sail on her again in January.

 

We had considered going to fixed dining but am guessing there are very few tables for two in there.

(Late sitting)

Thanks. Glad you are enjoying it. 
 

The app is a difficult one. IMO the only way they can improve it is to make it compulsory. Having virtual bookings, walk-ups and those waiting with pagers all competing with one another is when it goes wrong, especially when they turn off the virtual queue the minute that the pressure starts to build, so by doing what they are encouraging us to do puts you at the bottom of the queue. Of course, they won’t make it compulsory as there are large groups of people who either can’t cope with the App or refuse to use it. Therein lies the problem. 
 

For those who dine early, the app will work fine for them. It’s those of us who prefer to dine later (for breakfast, lunch and dinner) where the problems start. 
 

We have used it 100% of the time (where we could) so have now learned to find work arounds, as we can almost predict when the dreaded ‘Queue Full’ messages will appear, but it adds a level of complexity that wasn’t there before and with all the down time of tables that we have witnessed (due to the 15 minute

time you get after being notified that it’s ready) the system is inherently inefficient. It would be a difficult call for P&O, but if they really studied it and looked at customer throughput before and after the app was introduced, I’m sure that they would scrap it and go back to ‘first come first served’. I suspect that they don’t have the ‘before’ data or, cynically, they are trying to reduce MDR usage in order to reduce costs.  

[Presto2]

1 minute ago, Selbourne said:

Thanks. Glad you are enjoying it. 
 

The app is a difficult one. IMO the only way they can improve it is to make it compulsory. Having virtual bookings, walk-ups and those waiting with pagers all competing with one another is when it goes wrong, especially when they turn off the virtual queue the minute that the pressure starts to build, so by doing what they are encouraging us to do puts you at the bottom of the queue. Of course, they won’t make it compulsory as there are large groups of people who either can’t cope with the App or refuse to use it. Therein lies the problem. 
 

For those who dine early, the app will work fine for them. It’s those of us who prefer to dine later (for breakfast, lunch and dinner) where the problems start. 
 

We have used it 100% of the time (where we could) so have now learned to find work arounds, as we can almost predict when the dreaded ‘Queue Full’ messages will appear, but it adds a level of complexity that wasn’t there before and with all the down time of tables that we have witnessed (due to the 15 minute

time you get after being notified that it’s ready) the system is inherently inefficient. It would be a difficult call for P&O, but if they really studied it and looked at customer throughput before and after the app was introduced, I’m sure that they would scrap it and go back to ‘first come first served’. I suspect that they don’t have the ‘before’ data or, cynically, they are trying to reduce MDR usage in order to reduce costs.  

And for some reason they won't allow you to pre book your speciality restaurants on line before you sail either. I find it all mind boggling. How to annoy your passengers .. with the poor crew on the front line ! The poor guy trying to help us told us he had his whisky ready for when he got back to his cabin .... really felt sorry for him.

[Windsurfboy]

Selbourne,  although I agree that logically if there was only one way of booking then it should be easier to manage. To make app compulsory they would have to hand out free smart phones and two week lessons to those without smart phone.

 

Pre covid , pre app, the just turn up method, seemed to work well. Perhaps a step back to go forward.

 

PS your blog has been very informative. 

[Selbourne]

19 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

Selbourne,  although I agree that logically if there was only one way of booking then it should be easier to manage. To make app compulsory they would have to hand out free smart phones and two week lessons to those without smart phone.

 

Pre covid , pre app, the just turn up method, seemed to work well. Perhaps a step back to go forward.

 

PS your blog has been very informative. 

As I say, it’s difficult. One way they could get around that is to have podiums for bookings which are dead easy to use and also a manned one for those who can’t even cope with that. However that requires capital investment in a climate where they are cutting costs, so I can’t see them doing it. I fear they have rather boxed themselves into a corner with this one! 

[Cathygh]

My workaround was to get a pager at 6 and tell the staff I wanted to eat at 8. We got seated at 8 every night. We found this out from another passenger who heard us moaning about the 2 hour wait for dinner for the first 3 nights of our cruise.

 

[Selbourne]

7 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

As I say, it’s difficult. One way they could get around that is to have podiums for bookings which are dead easy to use and also a manned one for those who can’t even cope with that. However that requires capital investment in a climate where they are cutting costs, so I can’t see them doing it. I fear they have rather boxed themselves into a corner with this one! 

As I posted that I realised that I hadn’t thought it through. How would they notify people when the table is ready? As the app can’t work in isolation, if it was down to me I would bin it and go back to first come first served. Easier for the staff and, most importantly, easier for the passengers!

[Selbourne]

40 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

And for some reason they won't allow you to pre book your speciality restaurants on line before you sail either..

I believe that you can on Iona and Arvia. As you know, with Britannia the only restaurant you can pre book is the Limelight Club. Those of us who get priority boarding have a distinct advantage in being able to grab the best slots when we board, but that’s not entirely fair for everyone else. 

[Presto2]

4 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I believe that you can on Iona and Arvia. As you know, with Britannia the only restaurant you can pre book is the Limelight Club. Those of us who get priority boarding have a distinct advantage in being able to grab the best slots when we board, but that’s not entirely fair for everyone else. 

That's what makes it even more annoying re the other ships allowing it and they have more choice. Just ridiculous. We've always been able to do it in the past before we cruised so why not now?

I don't get that one at all.

[Megabear2]

6 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I believe that you can on Iona and Arvia. As you know, with Britannia the only restaurant you can pre book is the Limelight Club. Those of us who get priority boarding have a distinct advantage in being able to grab the best slots when we board, but that’s not entirely fair for everyone else. 

Indeed that is my major gripe, particularly on cruises with two day embarkation when virtually every speciality dining slot has been taken.

[Presto2]

3 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Indeed that is my major gripe, particularly on cruises with two day embarkation when virtually every speciality dining slot has been taken.

Ohhhh that's making me twitch .... 

[Megabear2]

19 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Ohhhh that's making me twitch .... 

Sorry! It's a huge bugbear for me.  We can fight each other in the queue...

[Presto2]

Am reflecting on this situation and to be honest if we thought we had to suffer the Freedom Dining app system for 2 weeks with no chance of being able to book a speciality restaurant we will seriously consider moving the cruise to another ship or another date to get there earlier and be able to book. (Which doesn't suit us at all). Really edgy now and worried that my dream cruise to the Caribbean is going to be ruined by this fiasco. (Sorry if it sounds dramatic, but you had to be on our cruise to know how bad it was and how stressed we got).

[Presto2]

4 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Sorry! It's a huge bugbear for me.  We can fight each other in the queue...

May be moving it at this rate. I want to look forward to a cruise not be stressed worrying about it.

 

[Selbourne]

6 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Am reflecting on this situation and to be honest if we thought we had to suffer the Freedom Dining app system for 2 weeks with no chance of being able to book a speciality restaurant we will seriously consider moving the cruise to another ship or another date to get there earlier and be able to book. (Which doesn't suit us at all). Really edgy now and worried that my dream cruise to the Caribbean is going to be ruined by this fiasco. (Sorry if it sounds dramatic, but you had to be on our cruise to know how bad it was and how stressed we got).

What are your biggest concerns? I’m wondering if I can allay any of your fears? Whilst the app is a pain, we have coped with it by knowing where the pressure points are and working around them and we have still enjoyed the cruise. The MDR food has been excellent and, if anything, more consistent than the speciality restaurants. If that had been the only

dining option we would have coped with it quite comfortably and still enjoyed the cruise. 

[Megabear2]

2 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

May be moving it at this rate. I want to look forward to a cruise not be stressed worrying about it.

 

That would be a shame.  As you know my OH and I sailed Britannia Caribbean at Christmas last year.  The app was operating then as well and we never found it a problem for most meals. Admittedly we do eat dinner earlier but the ship was full due to the low prices offered and there were no queues of any length.  The walk ups and buzzer queues were no worse than they'd been in the five previous Christmas Caribbean cruises we had done on Britannia.

 

Arvia, well that is a whole different ballgame and that is the reason we cancelled our P&O Christmas and moved to Celebrity.  However my OH loves Britannia so we are going back to her for the January cruise. 

 

I really don't think there is any comparison between the two megaships and Britannia availability and the speciality dining situation is the same on all the fleet with the early boarders getting first choice.

[Presto2]

Just now, Selbourne said:

What are your biggest concerns? I’m wondering if I can allay any of your fears? Whilst the app is a pain, we have coped with it by knowing where the pressure points are and working around them and we have still enjoyed the cruise. The MDR food has been excellent and, if anything, more consistent than the speciality restaurants. If that had been the only

dining option we would have coped with it quite comfortably and still enjoyed the cruise. 

Think I've mentioned before many moons ago. 

We prefer to go down to eat at about 7.30pm expecting to eat at about 8.15pm. (Old system)

 

In May it was ridiculous. It was hit and miss. Book on the app at 6.45pm and it told you to go straight away (even though you aren't dressed). Book at 7pm and it was full. Wait until about 9pm each evening. Service in the MDR was terrible 2 nights and ok 3rd night. (Though we still ate at 9pm).

Even considered cabin service to be able to stay in ! 

 

We like to eat in the speciality restaurants on every ship we've been on. In May we wished we'd booked every night to avoid the stress of trying to get a meal. I don't really want to go on a special cruise and not have the chance to experience the other restaurants to be honest. 

 

In May they suggested the buffet as a last resort for us. We tried that one night. Never again

 

Perhaps we had a bad experience as it was school holidays so the whole experience was magnified and made worse.

 

The more I think back and reflect, we were too generous with our 4 out of 5 review 

[Presto2]

8 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

That would be a shame.  As you know my OH and I sailed Britannia Caribbean at Christmas last year.  The app was operating then as well and we never found it a problem for most meals. Admittedly we do eat dinner earlier but the ship was full due to the low prices offered and there were no queues of any length.  The walk ups and buzzer queues were no worse than they'd been in the five previous Christmas Caribbean cruises we had done on Britannia.

 

Arvia, well that is a whole different ballgame and that is the reason we cancelled our P&O Christmas and moved to Celebrity.  However my OH loves Britannia so we are going back to her for the January cruise. 

 

I really don't think there is any comparison between the two megaships and Britannia availability and the speciality dining situation is the same on all the fleet with the early boarders getting first choice.

Perhaps hubby just needs to book a lot of excursions with rum included and I may not care.

I suppose I am an organiser and like to be organised and sorted for my holiday. All this hit and miss does my head in. 

I felt twitchy about a cruise once before on Ventura and didn't swap it and have always regretted it......

PS Before May our last cruise was Celebrity EDGE - think we were spoiled. Just can't afford to do that all the time !!!!!!!

Edited July 19, 2023 by Presto2

[Presto2]

PS Sorry. I thought on the bigger ships you can book before you sail, which is how it used to be?

[Megabear2]

7 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

PS Sorry. I thought on the bigger ships you can book before you sail, which is how it used to be?

I haven't been able to book anything speciality on Britannia since December 2019 apart from the Limelight.  Yes, you can book Iona and Arvia in advance.

 

I too loved Celebrity Edge but in reality you still needed to book a slot for your dinner in the speciality restaurants when we sailed on her last June and those with speciality dining packages had to make their reservations onboard much the same as on P&O.   That meant no guarantee you'd get the time you wanted or even the restaurant despite having paid up front.

 

To circumnavigate that uncertainty I have actually paid the premium for making single dining reservations with confirmed times on my next Edge and Apex cruises.

 

In the world of cruising now all lines seem to be pursuing this booking to dine fantasy.  On Cunard I encountered the app but most seemed to ignore it, current reports from Terrierjohn on his Princess cruise seem to indicate the system over there is unpopular with guests and staff but it is what we all have to live with on the major lines unfortunately.

 

In the case of Britannia the speciality dining venues which fill up completely are Sindhu and Epicurean but reception at the restaurants is usually very good in helping with reservations and also main reception.  Ironically my problem with these two restaurants was only 8.00pm plus dining available a lot of the time.

 

I appreciate it's very easy to imagine problems as these boards in recent times have tended to dwell on them, but Selbourne's reports are in my opinion very positive and sound greatly improved on my last experience with the app on Britannia. 

 

If however it's the speciality restaurants which are your bugbear perhaps you should consider moving a day forward to the first day departure if that is a possibility?

[Presto2]

18 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I haven't been able to book anything speciality on Britannia since December 2019 apart from the Limelight.  Yes, you can book Iona and Arvia in advance.

 

I too loved Celebrity Edge but in reality you still needed to book a slot for your dinner in the speciality restaurants when we sailed on her last June and those with speciality dining packages had to make their reservations onboard much the same as on P&O.   That meant no guarantee you'd get the time you wanted or even the restaurant despite having paid up front.

 

To circumnavigate that uncertainty I have actually paid the premium for making single dining reservations with confirmed times on my next Edge and Apex cruises.

 

In the world of cruising now all lines seem to be pursuing this booking to dine fantasy.  On Cunard I encountered the app but most seemed to ignore it, current reports from Terrierjohn on his Princess cruise seem to indicate the system over there is unpopular with guests and staff but it is what we all have to live with on the major lines unfortunately.

 

In the case of Britannia the speciality dining venues which fill up completely are Sindhu and Epicurean but reception at the restaurants is usually very good in helping with reservations and also main reception.  Ironically my problem with these two restaurants was only 8.00pm plus dining available a lot of the time.

 

I appreciate it's very easy to imagine problems as these boards in recent times have tended to dwell on them, but Selbourne's reports are in my opinion very positive and sound greatly improved on my last experience with the app on Britannia. 

 

If however it's the speciality restaurants which are your bugbear perhaps you should consider moving a day forward to the first day departure if that is a possibility?

I suppose we will have to weigh it all up and go knowing what to expect if we don't change. It can only be better than what we are imagining it will be !

I don't mind eating late (within reason) but when it gets to 9.45pm before you go in it is getting silly. 

Perhaps its all changed then on lots of cruise lines. On Celebrity we had booked specific restaurants for the whole cruise (the MDR options and speciality) and were able to swap using their phone app. It worked brilliantly. I imagine, if a booking system works it works well. If it doesn't it doesn't work at all !

If we go ahead you will at least know who we are as we hurtle past the crew when embarking the ship in the atrium and rugby tackle anyone in our way to book some 'special meals'. 

One day we will look back and wonder why I was stressing .... having a day off work doesn't suit me !!!!!

Edited July 19, 2023 by Presto2

[Ranchi]

On 7/16/2023 at 10:27 PM, zap99 said:

Butter, them cream, then jam

 

Or perhaps…

[9265359]

16 hours ago, Selbourne said:

There were problems in the MDR at lunch again (as seems to happen on sea days). The App closes to bookings after just 20-30 mins and never re-opens again.

My experience with the ‘app’ at lunchtime on seadays is to open it around 12pm, when there are usually 30 to 40 people already queuing, that queue drops quickly to about 20 in the following ten minutes or so, and then I usually get called around 12.30, with orders taken by 12.45 and food at 1pm - that’s for a table for two.

 

16 hours ago, Selbourne said:

As the Marco Pierre White meal on the first formal night had been the most disappointing dinner that we have had in the MDR so far, I avoided it tonight. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it, but in all the restaurants now, even speciality ones, any Amuse Bouche is a tiny drink and not food. Tonight’s was a tomato and gin concoction that was actually the best so far. Our lovely waiter gave me a second one 👍. My wife had a starter and main from the Marco Pierre White menu. She wasn’t too keen on the Crab and Scallop Ceviche but she really enjoyed the King Prawn and Lobster main course. I had the fried goats cheese starter from the normal menu, which was delicious and the tenderloin of beef. Whilst this was completely missing the advertised mushroom crust (not so much as a millimetre of it) it was far better than the one I’d had the night before in Sindhu. My wife had cheese and biscuits for dessert whereas I had Apple Tarte Tartin, which was much nicer than the now pre-prepared Crepes Suzette in Epicurean. So that my wife didn’t feel awkward, I also had cheese to follow my dessert 😂 

Either people were not impressed when they saw the menu, didn’t want to dress up again, or preferred the Indian buffet in Horizon, but the 8.30pm fixed sitting in Oriental was virtually empty.

 

Of the seven tables surrounding mine, two tables for eight, one of six, one four, and three twos, only eight people were eating - a table for eight that had decided themselves to consolidate the two tables for eight and the table for six, that only had one couple on each, plus a random couple who had just strolled in - they had done the same thing the previous night but had been told ‘no’ by the staff.

 

16 hours ago, Selbourne said:

We haven’t attended that many evening shows, but there’s a new group of 3 male singers called Remixed who have joined today, so we went to the first of their 2 shows. It was OK, but as with all these performers, their act would be enhanced considerably if they just sang songs and didn’t attempt the chatter between songs.

They would have also got a better reception on the first show if they had actually performed the songs advertised, which was Drifters, etc. rather than songs from X Factor and similar that most of the audience had never heard of and didn’t care about.

Edited July 19, 2023 by 9265359

[smokey01]

3 hours ago, Presto2 said:

(Sorry if it sounds dramatic, but you had to be on our cruise to know how bad it was and how stressed we got).

Doesn’t feel dramatic to me, I also got stressed and frustrated on Arvia in April. Selbourne is coping with the App but it does not make for a relaxing holiday. We are on Britannia next July with late sitting confirmed and October 2024 on Iona, so back to the app for evening meal but at least with 4 MDRs. We cancelled 2 P&O cruises this year and instead are trying MSC and then Princess which we have been on before but we will have club class dining so that really is turn up when you want. We plan to cancel our Arvia next April to be replaced by an MSC, Princess, or Ventura cruise.