Priorities with baby and toddler on Britannia?

First post and first cruise, so go easy with me.

We're going on Britannia in September from Southampton and wondered whether anyone has any tips on avoiding mishaps, tantrums and disturbances with very little children. I want to have a great holiday, but I also want those around us to have one too, and not be disturbed by our little ones.

The children will be 7 months and just turned 2 years old.

On valet parking and check in, can we use a priority queue?

Are the balconies safe (i.e. difficult to climb)?

Are there hazards in the cabins to watch out for?

Is there much space to store pushchairs? We can't decide whether to take 2 single pushchairs or a double one. Bit worried the double won't fit through many doors.

Can the night nursery be booked before the cruise date?

Thanks

On pushchairs I would take two. More hassle but the corridors may not be wide enough for a double buggy.

You can take the children about separately. If one's niggly you can take a walk and leave the other asleep undisturbed in theirs. The two year old may spend time at the children's club then you'd only need a single buggy.

They have an early tea if you wish for the children so when they go to night nursery you can have a nice relaxed evening meal.

I didn't have children with me but the outside play area for the children looks brilliant.

Have a great first cruise. :)

First post and first cruise, so go easy with me.

 

We're going on Britannia in September from Southampton and wondered whether anyone has any tips on avoiding mishaps, tantrums and disturbances with very little children. I want to have a great holiday, but I also want those around us to have one too, and not be disturbed by our little ones.

 

The children will be 7 months and just turned 2 years old.

 

On valet parking and check in, can we use a priority queue?

Are the balconies safe (i.e. difficult to climb)?

Are there hazards in the cabins to watch out for?

Is there much space to store pushchairs? We can't decide whether to take 2 single pushchairs or a double one. Bit worried the double won't fit through many doors.

Can the night nursery be booked before the cruise date?

 

Thanks

Hi ukoyster,

My children are much older so haven't had the same concerns as you, but I don't recall there being any priority check-in arrangements for families with young children and buggies.

Agree with Scorpio41 re the buggies, two would be better than one.

In cabin hazards: kettle/mugs/glasses may be within 2-year old's reach. Cabin door and bathroom door are HEAVY, so a risk for little fingers. Corner of desk/vanity unit may be at 2 year-old's head height. None of these are major issues though - I'm sure your children will be fine.

The children's clubs are brilliant.

The clothes storage area in the cabin is open - one long hanging rail with space underneath, so you should have room to put buggies there. Suitcases that you might put under the clothes rail will often fit under the beds.

Hope this helps, that you have a lovely relaxing holiday and the cruising bug doesn't bite you too hard!

I have not yet been on Britannia but many things are the same or very similar across the fleet.

Assuming you have booked the CPS Cruise Parking Services parking facility. You drive to back of queue and one guy will take all your bag tagged, hold luggage and you will not see that until it reappears outside your cabin couple of hours later. You retain your hand luggage (including passports and ticket documentation) and equipment, pushchairs etc. They will give you a receipt for your car which they will drive off to park. You keep the receipt safe until last day when you exchange it back for your car keys on your return. You will need to walk into terminal. This needs pre-planning to make sure you can manage it with children and hand baggage plus pushchair/s.

Once in the terminal priority is given to parents and toddlers. Check in normally starts at noon so not a good idea to arrive before then as a wait will be involved.

Balconies are safe if you have a set of rules. I should never allow a child alone on a balcony unless I would allow them to cross a fairly busy road alone. I have the same rule for promenade deck by the way. Children should not climb or stand on anything on the balcony. There feet should be on the floor unless they are sitting in a seat. The balcony doors are secured with a handle that needs quite a bit of force. On other ships I have noticed a high up supplementary bolt which should be kept locked up when nobody is on the balcony to prevent unwanted access.

Night Nursery is within the children's club. Registration is done at start of cruise and I believe they are colour tagging children at the moment with plastic straps coding them to different muster stations. Cant remember if this happens at kids club registration or cruise line check in shore side. Places in the nursery are on a first come first served basis but my experience is that there is usually sufficient. It is limited by number of cots or flimsy mattresses they roll out onto floor. If one is asleep in a push chair you might be ok there or need transferring into a cot. They will give you a pager to get you back there if an awakening occurs. Basically they like children asleep or well sleepy on arrival and you might need to wait for them to nod off.

Regards John

We have taken the children twice the first cruise for them they were 3 and 18 months.

Ventura had glass balconies and were safe, we just didn't leave the kids out there alone and watch the table for climbing. I think when we were on ocean someone mentioned nets but we didn't get them

We took two buggies and stored them under the beds.

You can't book the night nursery before hand it is first come first serve, but children have to be asleep or settled to go in.

We have never been given priority boarding and my eldest daughter is disabled

We are going in September with an adventurous 2yr old too so I'm interested in this thread! I'm getting quite anxious about him and us going on the cruise! I've read the children's info pack on the cruise personaliser and it really feels like it's not as family friendly as we first thought! (Like the children's soft play area being in the kids club so as a couple and our sons parents we can't both take him in the play area, only one can go and only if the club isn't full-I could understand if he's older but at 2 years old we want to spend the time playing with him, not leaving him with strangers) We holiday as a family and our 2yr old will not want to be left in a children's club so will be in the MDR with us, the info pack infers that although they are allowed they must not cause nuisance to other passengers (which I understand) however he is 2yrs old so is likely to make noise but he is well behaved (he won't be running round the restaurant and if he caused a scene we would take him out) but he is also still 2yrs old! I'm worried we'll get looks (you know the sort you get when you sit down on a long haul flight with a 2yr old next to an older couple! Yes this happened to us in May and our son was actually quieter than the teenagers that were sat in front of said couple!) but this is why we chose a family friendly ship! Can anyone offer reassurance that my 2yr old will be allowed to be a child and we won't be subjected to 'tutting' for the week!?

Well Vicktoria,

It is tricky writing a rule book without giving out bad vibes. They have probably experienced a wide range of children and have to make sure they have got something written down for the worst case scenario.

Things on board are not exactly like what people perceive on reading the brochure or website. You might find that when on board they let two parents in with a toddler. There seemed to be a clause about "if the club isn't full"; firstly you are cruising outside school holiday times in September so fewer families. I know your son is not of school age but other families with a wider range of children will likely be absent therefore fewer pre-schoolers too. Did you know you can ask the age demographics of the children in the club if you wish? Phone and tell them your cruise number and ask for a children total in your age range or email if you prefer. It is amazing that sometimes children get carried away and play with other children who suddenly take their attention away and it is good for them to make social contact with other little ones. Things like this vary a lot if interesting playmates are not there sometimes they are.

Dining in the MDR. This needs thinking through. Do you want a fixed time or flexible time? The bigger question is shared table or not? I always go for a big shared table at a first sitting even with my daughter aged 24 months when she started cruising and have had no problems with her or people about us she is now 12 and cruised a lot. I find people expect children to be like children and as parents we used to sit either side to keep her away from mishaps. If you are on a table as a family on your own it might be less stressful. The waiters are good with children and typically they are missing their own and fuss little ones and sort out the high chair situation. I like the same table same waiters on a fixed sitting but you need to be ready to eat at the set time. Youngsters will recognise "their" waiters and be more comfortable.

Overall I suspect you are over worrying about the cruise, people think there are so many rules to this type of holiday when really it is a lot more laid back than people think. You can get a lot of help and information on board. Ask the cabin steward questions and reception desk by phone or go down there.

Have a lovely cruise,

John

We are going in September with an adventurous 2yr old too so I'm interested in this thread! I'm getting quite anxious about him and us going on the cruise! I've read the children's info pack on the cruise personaliser and it really feels like it's not as family friendly as we first thought! (Like the children's soft play area being in the kids club so as a couple and our sons parents we can't both take him in the play area, only one can go and only if the club isn't full-I could understand if he's older but at 2 years old we want to spend the time playing with him, not leaving him with strangers) We holiday as a family and our 2yr old will not want to be left in a children's club so will be in the MDR with us, the info pack infers that although they are allowed they must not cause nuisance to other passengers (which I understand) however he is 2yrs old so is likely to make noise but he is well behaved (he won't be running round the restaurant and if he caused a scene we would take him out) but he is also still 2yrs old! I'm worried we'll get looks (you know the sort you get when you sit down on a long haul flight with a 2yr old next to an older couple! Yes this happened to us in May and our son was actually quieter than the teenagers that were sat in front of said couple!) but this is why we chose a family friendly ship! Can anyone offer reassurance that my 2yr old will be allowed to be a child and we won't be subjected to 'tutting' for the week!?

Our 18month old and 3 year old ate with us in MDR no problems, we would take them to kids tea for a snack at 5 as we were on 8.30 sitting. we didn't do this every night and we used the night nursery so we could have some couple time. The kids love being up in kids club at movie time rather than being with us ha ha

Well Vicktoria,

 

It is tricky writing a rule book without giving out bad vibes. They have probably experienced a wide range of children and have to make sure they have got something written down for the worst case scenario.

 

 

 

Things on board are not exactly like what people perceive on reading the brochure or website. You might find that when on board they let two parents in with a toddler. There seemed to be a clause about "if the club isn't full"; firstly you are cruising outside school holiday times in September so fewer families. I know your son is not of school age but other families with a wider range of children will likely be absent therefore fewer pre-schoolers too. Did you know you can ask the age demographics of the children in the club if you wish? Phone and tell them your cruise number and ask for a children total in your age range or email if you prefer. It is amazing that sometimes children get carried away and play with other children who suddenly take their attention away and it is good for them to make social contact with other little ones. Things like this vary a lot if interesting playmates are not there sometimes they are.

 

 

 

Dining in the MDR. This needs thinking through. Do you want a fixed time or flexible time? The bigger question is shared table or not? I always go for a big shared table at a first sitting even with my daughter aged 24 months when she started cruising and have had no problems with her or people about us she is now 12 and cruised a lot. I find people expect children to be like children and as parents we used to sit either side to keep her away from mishaps. If you are on a table as a family on your own it might be less stressful. The waiters are good with children and typically they are missing their own and fuss little ones and sort out the high chair situation. I like the same table same waiters on a fixed sitting but you need to be ready to eat at the set time. Youngsters will recognise "their" waiters and be more comfortable.

 

 

 

Overall I suspect you are over worrying about the cruise, people think there are so many rules to this type of holiday when really it is a lot more laid back than people think. You can get a lot of help and information on board. Ask the cabin steward questions and reception desk by phone or go down there.

 

 

 

Have a lovely cruise,

 

John

Thanks so much, this has reassured me. We are a family of 7 and have requested a table to ourselves at the first sitting which fits in perfectly with our sons tea time at home. I'm pleased to hear that once on board we may find a bit of flexibility! I can understand rules etc it just makes it quite daunting! Thanks for the tip re phoning about the number of children on board, that will give us a better idea of facilities.

Thanks again

Our 18month old and 3 year old ate with us in MDR no problems, we would take them to kids tea for a snack at 5 as we were on 8.30 sitting. we didn't do this every night and we used the night nursery so we could have some couple time. The kids love being up in kids club at movie time rather than being with us ha ha

That's reassuring about the MDR, we are on the 6.30 sitting as this is our sons meal time at home so hopefully it goes okay, if not we will be armed with an iPhone and his apps! That normally keeps him quiet! :)

I've never had priority when checking in with baby & toddler grandchildren. Given many oldies travel Sept onwards those in wheelchairs will get priority. Double buggy could be a challenge as corridors will not be wide enough. You'll be fine in the MDR as long as the kids don't throw a strop, but if that happens you just remove them. Think someone's mentioned they do a children's tea in the buffet at 5pm. You will get some old and not so old buggers give you the evil eye and tut as they don't like kids, but don't stress out as they are the exception, most passengers will be fine and the staff usually love children. The same people tut and moan at us adults as well[emoji1]. Never apologise for a child wanting to be a child. Just don't let the 2 year old run about daft on decks unsupervised as bumping into chairs, stairs and tables and old people with walking sticks is not a good combination for the child or elderly person. One old lady on my last cruise in April broke her arm when a toddler tripped her up.! Children will love the cruise. Also as long as they're toilet trained you can take them in the pool (no swimmer nappies allowed and I've seen that enforced a few times now when passengers have complained). What I have seen a few times is someone take a small blow-up paddling pool to let their baby and toddler sit and splash in water. Not as daft as it sounds! Chill, it will be fine. People will love your babies and those that don't, well that's their loss.

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In the info book it states paddling pools must not be taken on board as if already had that thought! Unfortunately he's not potty trained yet and unlikely to be before the cruise, I've read he can use the children's splash area and the lido pool according to the p&o website. He hasn't got swim nappies anyway, it's all integrated in to his shorts do we'll see what happens. He's water mad and can actually swim so will have a hard time keeping him out the water!!

I am sorry but I am almost sure he won't be able to use the lido pool. On Ventura in May the pools had to be closed down twice because of little accidents.:eek:

We are going in September with an adventurous 2yr old too so I'm interested in this thread! I'm getting quite anxious about him and us going on the cruise! I've read the children's info pack on the cruise personaliser and it really feels like it's not as family friendly as we first thought! (Like the children's soft play area being in the kids club so as a couple and our sons parents we can't both take him in the play area, only one can go and only if the club isn't full-I could understand if he's older but at 2 years old we want to spend the time playing with him, not leaving him with strangers) We holiday as a family and our 2yr old will not want to be left in a children's club so will be in the MDR with us, the info pack infers that although they are allowed they must not cause nuisance to other passengers (which I understand) however he is 2yrs old so is likely to make noise but he is well behaved (he won't be running round the restaurant and if he caused a scene we would take him out) but he is also still 2yrs old! I'm worried we'll get looks (you know the sort you get when you sit down on a long haul flight with a 2yr old next to an older couple! Yes this happened to us in May and our son was actually quieter than the teenagers that were sat in front of said couple!) but this is why we chose a family friendly ship! Can anyone offer reassurance that my 2yr old will be allowed to be a child and we won't be subjected to 'tutting' for the week!?

Can I ask where did you find the children's info book? I can't see it on my cruise personaliser[emoji53]

I am sorry but I am almost sure he won't be able to use the lido pool. On Ventura in May the pools had to be closed down twice because of little accidents.:eek:

This is from the P&O advice centre-

"Children are welcome to use the friendly family pools. Due to public health regulations, children in nappies, swim nappies, pull ups, or who are not completely toilet trained are only permitted to use designated pools, which are:

Aurora - Children’s Splash Pool (Deck 8 Aft) and the Terrace Pool (Deck 8 Aft)

Azura - Children’s pools (Aft) and the Coral Pool

Britannia - The Reef Adventure Zone and the Lido Pool

Oceana - Forward paddling pool

Ventura - Children’s pool (Aft) and the Beach comber Pool"

This is from the P&O advice centre-

 

"Children are welcome to use the friendly family pools. Due to public health regulations, children in nappies, swim nappies, pull ups, or who are not completely toilet trained are only permitted to use designated pools, which are:

 

Aurora - Children’s Splash Pool (Deck 8 Aft) and the Terrace Pool (Deck 8 Aft)

Azura - Children’s pools (Aft) and the Coral Pool

Britannia - The Reef Adventure Zone and the Lido Pool

Oceana - Forward paddling pool

Ventura - Children’s pool (Aft) and the Beach comber Pool"

Yeah this is where I got my info from! :)

I think the children's info book was under life on board? It was at the side I think, it was a pdf that you download, it says you get it on the ship. I've only just seen it so I don't know if it comes on a certain time before a cruise.

Can I ask where did you find the children's info book? I can't see it on my cruise personaliser[emoji53]

It's under 'life on board' then entertainment and there's a link to guidelines and then one to the registration form in case you want to fill it in prior to getting on board. I found the guidelines a bit off putting to be honest for a family friendly ship.

It's under 'life on board' then entertainment and there's a link to guidelines and then one to the registration form in case you want to fill it in prior to getting on board. I found the guidelines a bit off putting to be honest for a family friendly ship.

Thanks