Britannia review B612 02-05-16

Britannia B612 – Iberia 2nd May – 9th May 2016

We booked on the select fare around 10 weeks before departure. We had our 2-year-old son with us and booked a twin room with pull down bunk beds. We knew these wouldn’t be suitable so took a blow up ready bed with us.

Embarkation

We stayed in Southampton the night before so killed some time in the West Quay and went to the cinema before heading to the terminal. We got to the terminal about 2pm (we were scheduled for 3pm but we ran out of things to do). We queued with CPS parking for about 20 minutes before dropping of the car and having the bags whisked away. We went into the terminal, took a number and proceeded to wait around 40 more minutes before boarding the ship. All in all fairly painless and not a particularly long wait. Once on the ship we proceeded to our cabin…

Cabin

We had an inside twin cabin which was at the back of the ship on D deck. This was ideal for us as the lifts at the back weren’t too busy and it was easy to get to kids club. The cabin was a good size for the 3 of us. We liked the lay out with the walk in wardrobe and found the on demand TV system to be good. The TV also included information on the cruise, current location and weather all of which we found useful.

Kids club

Our son loved the kids club. There were lots of activities for him to do and the staff kept them entertained. In the evenings we were able to drop him off and go for dinner and then pick him up later in the evening. They were generally cuddled up on bean bags and watching a film after 8. He did lots of artwork through the week which we got to take home at the end of the week

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Dining – Buffet

We used the buffet for breakfast, lunch and the kids tea (between 5 and 6). We found the food to be hot and generally never had an issue finding a table. Some mornings were pretty busy but we were still able to find somewhere to sit and getting food didn’t take long. Lunches were good but we sometimes would have a poolside snack (either a burger or some fries) from the Lido Grill. Overall the food was good, not an amazing standard but good enough for all of us and we could all find something we liked to eat.

Dining – Main Dining Room – Meridian Restaurant

We ate here twice we were on freedom dining as requested. The first night was very good and we sat at a lovely table with two other couples. The food was good, nice and hot and tasty. We ate here another night and again requested a table of 6 but upon turning up at a table, a lady at the table declared that we could not sit there as they were expecting some friends. That is fair enough but the tone and the manner she came across with was not welcoming (not P & O’s fault but more of a general observation of the rudeness of some of the guests). We ended up getting a table for two very quickly and an awkward few minutes and the staff were quick to resolve the issue for us. Both times we ate here we found the food nice but we didn’t eat here more often as we found the menu a bit repetitive and not particularly inspiring.

Dining – Epicurean Restaurant

We really enjoyed our meal in the Epicurean. The standard was very good and there was very little to fault to be honest. The desserts were delicious.

Dining – Sindhu

This was our favourite meal of the cruise. The food was delicious and the we enjoyed the atmosphere in the restaurant. Atuls signature dish was delicious.

Dining – The Glass House

We ate here twice. We tried the rib eye steak, slider trio, tempura prawns, chicken and caprese salad. All were delicious and worth the additional supplement. We enjoyed eating here when we weren’t looking for a three course meal and could sit over the Atrium watching the world go by.

Dining – Beach House

This was another good meal. The portions were huge and we left rather stuffed. It also had the best view of any of the restaurants looking out onto the Ocean and Spanish coast. The ribs and lava rock steak were fab.

Dining – Market Café

This isn’t where we ate a main meal but we had some snacks here. This was also the only place where we encountered a grumpy staff member but we never saw him again on the cruise! The cakes were delicious (apart from the Red Velvet which was not the best). The crepes were also very good and good value for money (would cost £5 or £6 in the UK as a dessert somewhere).

Activities

As our son settled in the kids club we were able to do a cookery course together. The teacher was very good and we really enjoyed the experience and actually made something quite nice (Thai Food). The only issue was the timings. The course went on longer than the kids club was open so my husband had to leave early. We knew this before we booked so it wasn’t an issue but seems silly when they could start the cooking courses a bit earlier to avoid this clash. In general we found the activities on the ship a bit lacking compared to previous cruises. There were lots of film showings but again these overran the kids club so it wasn’t worth us watching half a film. There were very few activities whereas on previous cruises with P & O we have been offered things such as jewelry making and flower arranging. It appears these no longer appeal. We didn’t really think the sail away parties were as good as on previous ships which we think was down to the venue being in the centre of the ship rather than being able to look over the port you are sailing away from as on previous ships. I went to the Spa for a massage deal but found them very heavy on selling items rather than allowing me to relax and enjoy the experience.

Bars

We drank in most of the bars at one stage or another. We particularly enjoyed the wines in the Glass House and the Crows Nest for the views.

Other facilities

The pools are good and weren’t too busy on our cruise. We didn’t have a big issue with getting around but did see some queues for lifts and a lot of rude people not allowing people in wheel chairs to use lifts when they could have walked down the one floor they were actually planning to travel. People also rushed to get in the lifts in front of other people who weren’t as quick. Again this isn’t P & O’s fault but reflect poorly on the population of the cruise ship in general. We didn’t make it too any shows as we liked to pick up our son fairly early and go back to the cabin with him to watch a film and let him fall asleep.

Ports

We enjoyed La Rochelle and made it the Aquariam which was very good. We also went on the Ferris wheel which the little guy enjoyed. P & O laid on plenty of shuttle buses and we only waited about 20 minutes at most to get into the town centre. We didn’t get of the ship in Bilbao as the complimentary shuttle buses took about 30 minutes to get into town. We didn’t think this would be fun with a 2 year old in the heat so made the most of the ship being quiet and played in the pool with him. It was raining when we got to La Coruna which dampened the day a bit but got a taxi to another Aquariam (which wasn’t as good as the first) and then explored the town a bit. St Peter’s port was a very nice port. There was only a short wait for a tender to the shore and then we went to the Castle which the little guy enjoyed before wandering around the town.

Summary

We really enjoyed this holiday and feel we got great value for money. It was nice to not have to fly with a two year old and visit some different places but also get some time to ourselves. The ship was great and overall P & O seemed to try to combine the best bits of the other ships into one ship. There are a few faults but nothing that spoilt out holiday. We will no doubt be back again soon!

A great review. Interesting and full of useful information, particularly for people with young children thinking of trying a cruise. Thank you for taking the time to post it.:)

Thanks for your balanced review. Glad you enjoyed your cruise, I still haven't been on Britannia, so enjoy reading the reviews.

Thank you for writing a good balanced review, made enjoyable reading. I havent been on Britannia ( and have no plans to do so at the moment! ) but was still useful information to read.

Great review with some good tips. We go on Britannia in 6 weeks and have also booked Sindhu, which most people seem to recommend.

I really enjoyed reading your review as well. It is a pleasure to read such a balanced review and because I haven't been on Britannia and we don't travel with a little one, it was very informative and was good to see how well children are accommodated on board, giving their parents a much needed break as well. I am pleased you had such a lovely holiday. :)

I was disheartened however by your encounters with some other rude and unpleasant fellow guests and accounts of the lifts behaviour. Is it just me, or are we hearing tales like this more and more about P&O guests? I do hope it isn't becoming a trend. Apart from the odd one or two, we have been very lucky so far.

Thank you for posting this. People often just comment about the bad things at the end of a cruise and it's so much more useful when it's nicely balanced like this.

Thanks very much for your detailed review. Lovely to hear how your son enjoyed his time with the nursery staff and you enjoyed some adult time. We're also a young family and will be on Britannia in a few weeks time so your account was particularly relevant and helpful to me. P&O do seem to be the best line for small children.

I just wanted to ask which pool did you take your little boy into? I can't see a kiddie pool on the deck plan. Was it warm enough for him?

Thanks for the replies, we took him into the Lido pool it was warmer than we thought it would be but was a very warm day but it was still quite chilly for him so played around to keep him warm. Most guests seemed happy to see him on the ship and we kept him occupied so he wasnt running around and disrupting others but there were the odd few that we heard complaining about there being children on the ship but as this was advertised as a family friendly ship we chose to just get on with our holiday.The staff in the buffet always said hello to him and made a bit of a fuss of him which he seemed to really enjoy.

We were on the same cruise and after some trepidation had a very enjoyable cruise.

The worse thing on the whole cruise was the embarkation, yes it is as bad as others have said but apart from that there was nothing else really to complain about. It was not perfect but then no cruise ever is.

Our main worry was the food, contrary to what others have said we did not find the buffet to bad at all, there was lots of choice and we always found a seat really easily. It was far better than we expected. The food in the MDR was not the best quality we have had but it was nothing to complain about, portions were a bit small but that was soon rectified after the first night.

Evening entertainment was good for us and the Headliners did 3 shows per night which made getting a seat really easy. Went to Epicurean and Limelight and enjoyed both. Eric Lanlard afternoon tea was OK but a bit too sweet for us.

Cabin was a bit small but we only booked an inside to 'test out' the ship so that was fine.

We have rebooked on Britannia for the Caribbean in Feb in a Balcony which we missed this time. We rebooked on the ship - Our first ever Select fare !! - the deal was too good to miss for us, when taking the generous OBC into account it is only £50pp more than the early saver and only £50 deposit.

Great, balanced review, glad you all enjoyed it.

I found myself agreeing with some of your observations as per our first experience of Britannia last year (my review was published as follows):

https://tomtotley.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/britannia-b515-review.pdf

Sadly I do think that poor behaviour, lack of etiquette or whatever you want to call it is more common on cruises than in the past. Maybe it's just down to the sheer numbers of passengers on the bigger ships that operate these days?

Still, best to focus on the positive and overall we both enjoyed the cruises which is (of course) the most important thing!

All the best.

Damian

 

I was disheartened however by your encounters with some other rude and unpleasant fellow guests and accounts of the lifts behaviour. Is it just me, or are we hearing tales like this more and more about P&O guests? I do hope it isn't becoming a trend. Apart from the odd one or two, we have been very lucky so far.

I think the lift issue on Britannia places stress on some passengers who get fed up always waiting for lifts. We took our two Mums in wheelchairs and could not believe the behaviour we saw. People would push in front of a wheelchair to get in a lift. Also if we were in a lift and it stopped at a floor someone wanted to get off at they were rude and said we shouldn't be blocking the lift doors.

Have to say we've encountered far more rude passengers on P&O than on Celebrity when we've also travelled with a Mum in a wheelchair. Partly their lifts are plentiful and not as busy but the clientele seem more chilled.

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Interesting that the rude passenger you encountered was on Freedom Dining. I've only done Freedom once and I'll NEVER do it again because of the breathtaking rudeness and cruelty of one passenger in particular, and milder rudeness from a few others. I have only ever had one passenger be mildly rude to me in 16 cruises with Club dining; I thought of moving tables but as the rest of the table mates were great company I just ensured for the last 5 nights that i did not sit near to the gentleman concerned as he clearly thought that being over 80 gave him carte blanche to be rude to everyone.

I think the rude passengers are still in a minority but it seems to be an increasing one; I wonder if it's the same on other lines?

Lifts, sunbeds and Freedom dining seem to be the flashpoints.