Britannia Aft Suites & Cabins

Hi Cruise Puss, I was interested in your comments about the butler unpacking for you. We have had a suite quite a few times and have always found the butler extremely good, doing all the things you mention. However, I've never asked them to unpack. How do you find it, I mean how do you know where everything is? I can understand about unpacking clothes - I always pack things on hangers so they can go straight into the wardrobe but how about all the little things - chargers, costume jewellery, underwear(some of mine not the most elegant!) cosmetics, etc. etc. I've always thought it would be too difficult for them to know where to put things but I must admit it would be good not to have to do it, particularly in the Caribbean after a long flight. I would be interested to know how you organise things.

One thing one of the butlers told us was that if passengers decline the services of the butler then they can't order breakfast/lunch or dinner from the main restaurant menu, they can only order from room service. So no cooked breakfast in the suite or on the balcony. None of the food service that the butler provides will be available. I'm not sure that's generally known. We've always found the butler an invaluable source of information and really eager to see that we have a great cruise.

Hi Cruise Puss, I was interested in your comments about the butler unpacking for you. We have had a suite quite a few times and have always found the butler extremely good, doing all the things you mention. However, I've never asked them to unpack. How do you find it, I mean how do you know where everything is? I can understand about unpacking clothes - I always pack things on hangers so they can go straight into the wardrobe but how about all the little things - chargers, costume jewellery, underwear(some of mine not the most elegant!) cosmetics, etc. etc. I've always thought it would be too difficult for them to know where to put things but I must admit it would be good not to have to do it, particularly in the Caribbean after a long flight. I would be interested to know how you organise things.

 

One thing one of the butlers told us was that if passengers decline the services of the butler then they can't order breakfast/lunch or dinner from the main restaurant menu, they can only order from room service. So no cooked breakfast in the suite or on the balcony. None of the food service that the butler provides will be available. I'm not sure that's generally known. We've always found the butler an invaluable source of information and really eager to see that we have a great cruise.

Hi annieuk!

Re unpacking - I have to be honest, we unpack the 'things' ourselves, as well as shoes. I put a lot of my stuff, like jewellery, make-up and skincare stuff, in to separate bags and put them in an easy to get at place so we can easily retrieve them from the suitcases. I leave a note on top of the case/s letting the Butler know what to do (if I think it's necessary to do so) like not unpacking the zipped compartments in the cases, etc. etc.

Like you, I tend to keep some of the clothes on hangers, like my dresses, so they are easy to hang. We had a Butler on Oceana in March who hung everything in categories - daywear and eveningwear - he was exceptionally good!

We did have one funny episode a few years back when my husband couldn't find his underpants on the first morning. After about 15 mins of searching he eventually found them in a drawer under the TV with the Playstation!! Very amusing, but ever since then we have unpacked our own undies!

We do have a list of things that we ask the Butler to do when we first get on board, and once, when my husband left it on the side while we popped out, the Butler came in, read it, and had done everything on the list before we returned!! Amazingly good service.

We love having a Butler, but not everyone wants to use one at first. Our last Butler (July on Britannia) said that they are quite often quiet at the beginning of cruises, but get really busy as the cruise goes on as passengers start to get used to having them. They do have to deal with more cabins than they used to years ago. They used to have just 4 cabins to look after, now they can have up to 10(!) which is far too many.

Very interesting what you say about not being able to have the meals from the Restaurant menus if you decline the Butler - we didn't know that. Not something we would ever suffer from.:rolleyes:

Hi again,

 

Interesting about being overlooked if you have a lower front Suite. A difficult decision between either being overlooked if you're too low,or having an over-shadowed balcony if you're too high. Decisions, decisions! :)

 

A shame you felt the Butler isn't worth it. We use one all the time. He unpacks, packs, brings a bit of breakfast (before we go up to the Epicurean of course!) lunch and dinner, brings drinks during the day, sorts out restaurants and excursions, and deals with any problems we may have. We would hate not to have him - you don't get one at home! :D

We have found the Butlers to be a huge disappointment, but have only experienced them on Britannia. The first time (2015) the Butler didn't even show until the end of day 2 (he claimed he kept missing us - not convinced he tried very hard). He made a huge thing about breakfast in the Epicurean, which we do love, but was clearly code for 'so you won't need me to get any breakfast for you'. In fact, not one of the Butlers has ever offered in suite dining for any meals whatsoever. He seemed to be unable (unwilling) to do anything we asked and gave us a long lecture on how overworked he was. We complained and got him changed.

The other 2 butlers we have had were more pleasant, but other than delivering appalling canapés and (most times) the next days menus, they have been pretty pointless.

I get the distinct impression that if you have had butlers for years (when they had 4 suites each) then they sense it and you get the Rolls Royce service you describe so that you won't question / complain. Conversely, if they sense you haven't been used to that level of attention then they don't offer it. I left the last Butler £20 gratuity last time, which I felt was about four times what he'd earned!

Hi Selbourne,

That is a terrible shame, and certainly not what you should expect from a Butler. You have, after all, paid for him by having a Suite and he should perform as Butlers across the World do.

You may well be correct in saying that they know if you have had Suites before. We have certainly got the impression that they know us. I would imagine that the Butlers do get together and discuss their passengers, it's only human nature, and, therefore, get to know repeat passengers.

I hope you're next one is better! :)

PS. The 'bad' one you had wasn't called Anoop by any chance? We had him last July for the 1st half of a back to back on Arcadia and he was the worst we had ever had and certainly complained about being overworked.

Hi Selbourne,

 

That is a terrible shame, and certainly not what you should expect from a Butler. You have, after all, paid for him by having a Suite and he should perform as Butlers across the World do.

 

You may well be correct in saying that they know if you have had Suites before. We have certainly got the impression that they know us. I would imagine that the Butlers do get together and discuss their passengers, it's only human nature, and, therefore, get to know repeat passengers.

 

I hope you're next one is better! :)

 

PS. The 'bad' one you had wasn't called Anoop by any chance? We had him last July for the 1st half of a back to back on Arcadia and he was the worst we had ever had and certainly complained about being overworked.

No it wasn't him, so there are clearly a number of bad ones! The others we have had were perfectly pleasant, but every time we asked for anything it seemed to be too much difficulty. For example, when asking about meals we were were directed to room service or enquiring about select dining told which number to phone. We were frankly left with the impression that they are fundamentally lazy and we just stopped asking for anything. Cabin stewards, in comparison, work like slaves and probably get paid far less. In contrast to the £20 gratuity we left for the butler on our last 7 day cruise, we left £120 for the steward, who had earned every penny. Perhaps we fell for the hard luck story - she said she has worked so hard since joining Britannia she has lost 2 stone in weight (and she was small) and that the 'management' on Britannia were very unpleasant to work for compared to other P&O ships she had worked on.

No it wasn't him, so there are clearly a number of bad ones! The others we have had were perfectly pleasant, but every time we asked for anything it seemed to be too much difficulty. For example, when asking about meals we were were directed to room service or enquiring about select dining told which number to phone. We were frankly left with the impression that they are fundamentally lazy and we just stopped asking for anything. Cabin stewards, in comparison, work like slaves and probably get paid far less. In contrast to the £20 gratuity we left for the butler on our last 7 day cruise, we left £120 for the steward, who had earned every penny. Perhaps we fell for the hard luck story - she said she has worked so hard since joining Britannia she has lost 2 stone in weight (and she was small) and that the 'management' on Britannia were very unpleasant to work for compared to other P&O ships she had worked on.

That really is appalling and certainly not what a Butler should be doing.

The room stewards do indeed work hard and deserve every penny they earn (or get tipped!).

Good Luck with the next Butler! :rolleyes:

we had our worst butler last janurary on britannia aswell selbourne this was not the first time we had a suite nor the last we are booked next jan 17 (B726) this time it will be diffrent i want breakfast on the balcony by him not room service like he wanted us to have

We have never had poor service from a Butler, what a shame. It does sound as though they have far too many suites to cover. We usually mention that we have been in a suite before and mention which Butlers we have had - not really to say - look we have had a suite before and we know what you should be offering - but just in the general conversation. I would be most disappointed if we were directed to room service for any food requirements. The first thing that a Butler usually says is that he is there to cover all our food and drink requirements. I must admit the canapes can be less than wonderful. We have been on Fred Olsen a couple of times and their canapes are incredible - not that I'm really moaning, there are times when they are really good. I often lose out as I don't eat cheese and many of the canapes are cheese based. We did have one Butler who on hearing this made sure the canapes we got never had any cheese in them.

I would say we have only ever had one Butler who was not as good as the others and that was the first time we had a suite about 8 years ago so maybe it does make a difference if you are new to the experience.

He was pleasant enough and asked if there was anything he could do for us but we got the impression that he was perhaps busy running around after other passengers or perhaps lazy? He did say he was new to the butler job. We did see other people on the back suites having breakfast on their balconies but we liked the Epicurean. We did deliberate if we should have removed his gratuities but we left them as usual. However, we have brought to the attention of P and O that the role of the butler needs outling and explaining to suite passengers especially those new to a suite.

Sadly no. We got the last aft corner suite that was available for that cruise and only realised afterwards (from a photo) that the smoking area was below it, as the deck plans don't show that it extends that far (which is naughty if that sort of thing matters, which it does to us).

Hi Selbourne, please can you let me know how you get on with the aft-wrap on Britannia? I have just booked E742 which is port side so I'm wondering about the smoke issue. Our friends had one of the G deck aft wraps earlier this year and were very pleased with it and said there was no disturbance from the live lounge after 11.30pm (ish). I had a choice of most decks apart from B which have been sold (I'm guessing those balconies are the reason!). If you are interested there is s video of the G deck suite on You Tube.

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Hi Selbourne, please can you let me know how you get on with the aft-wrap on Britannia? I have just booked E742 which is port side so I'm wondering about the smoke issue. Our friends had one of the G deck aft wraps earlier this year and were very pleased with it and said there was no disturbance from the live lounge after 11.30pm (ish). I had a choice of most decks apart from B which have been sold (I'm guessing those balconies are the reason!). If you are interested there is s video of the G deck suite on You Tube.

 

 

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Will do. I am extremely sensitive to cigarette smells (not just smoke - I can smell them from at least 50 yards!) and noise disturbance, both of which I dislike intensely. Amazed that your friends on G deck didn't get noise trouble as the Live Lounge becomes a nightclub until around 2am. I have a feeling that it may be cabin dependent in relation to speaker positions and/or ventilations shafts carrying noise as I have read conflicting reviews from all levels of the aft suites. Some say they heard nothing, others that it was a major problem, even on the same deck. Very confusing.

Hi Selbourne, please can you let me know how you get on with the aft-wrap on Britannia? I have just booked E742 which is port side so I'm wondering about the smoke issue. Our friends had one of the G deck aft wraps earlier this year and were very pleased with it and said there was no disturbance from the live lounge after 11.30pm (ish). I had a choice of most decks apart from B which have been sold (I'm guessing those balconies are the reason!). If you are interested there is s video of the G deck suite on You Tube.

 

 

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Hi Florry

We were in E743 starboard so we wouldn't have noticed any smoke issues. You could smell it coming out of the buffet area and in the sunset bar on deck 16[emoji31]

We occasionally heard some base from live lounge when making our way back to the cabin - but nothing inside or enough to disturb you.

Lots of vibration (compared to aft on Azura) it kept me awake a couple of times.

A bit of soot but not as bad as I was expecting after reading comments and not a problem.

Great butler and cabin steward.

You are overlooked by D deck above but A and B deck are completely overlooked by the sunset bar so I wouldn't want either A or B deck [emoji85]

We loved it and would book again without a doubt [emoji7]

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Great thank you! I should probably have booked Starboard, but never mind!

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Great thank you! I should probably have booked Starboard, but never mind!

 

 

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Likewise. What irritates me is that the deck plans for Britannia imply that the area outside the Live Lounge (which is a smoking area Port side) stops short of the aft suites. After booking I then saw a close up photo of the aft (just google Britannia aft images) which shows that it goes right under them to the corner. I think it's highly likely that we will smell cigarettes on our balcony, especially when in port and there's no wind to clear it away. Sadly, by the time I picked this up all other aft corner suites had been sold, so we couldn't swap to starboard.

Roll on the day when someone brings out a cruise ship that is 100% non smoking and we don't have to worry about this issue. Yes it would cause a riot amongst the addicts, but I'm sure I wouldn't be alone in booking more cruises on a ship that you could enjoy every inch of without the dreadful stench. And before someone claims that's discrimination, we already have child free ships. I predict that one day it will happen, but sadly not in a hurry and I doubt that P&O will be the trail blazer on this one, but we can live in hope :)

Quite agree. We have had balcony smokers near us - what can you do?

They don't allow smoking in other public places like bars and hotels - come on P&O - ban smoking entirely.

I do not smoke and never have. If my, now, husband had smoked when I met him I would never have gone out with him. I hate it and always have.

HOWEVER, to discriminate against anything or anyone is appalling and not something I would ever condone.

Once you discriminate against smoking, what will it be next - drinking, nightclubs, pubs! There are a large number of people who hate cruise ships so do we allow those people to win and ban cruising, of course not, it would be ridiculous.

I do think that society nowadays does seem too willing to 'ban' things at the drop of a hat before thinking about where it might lead.

You are on a cruise at least once a year, so if you get a 'bad' cabin on one there is always the next cruise to get over it. :)

I do not smoke and never have. If my, now, husband had smoked when I met him I would never have gone out with him. I hate it and always have.

 

HOWEVER, to discriminate against anything or anyone is appalling and not something I would ever condone.

 

Once you discriminate against smoking, what will it be next - drinking, nightclubs, pubs! There are a large number of people who hate cruise ships so do we allow those people to win and ban cruising, of course not, it would be ridiculous.

 

I do think that society nowadays does seem too willing to 'ban' things at the drop of a hat before thinking about where it might lead.

 

You are on a cruise at least once a year, so if you get a 'bad' cabin on one there is always the next cruise to get over it. :)

Hmmm Not sure that's a terribly robust argument! I hope that you boycott Child Free ships as that's no less discriminatory? Some people wish to have a holiday free of children and that's catered for, yet those of us who hate the smell of cigarettes (never mind the health issues) are not. In all honesty, the current compromise of having relatively few smoking areas is probably a reasonable one, but it does still cause some issues for those of us who are non-smokers and just don't want to smell it anywhere. Having an entire ship free from the stench would, in my view, be a fabulous idea, especially as the vast majority of people don't smoke. Thankfully smoking is in decline and now considered anti-social. If it wasn't an addiction, I'm sure that the cost of it alone would have almost eradicated it, as I do wonder how most people can afford to blow (literally) that sort of money up in smoke. So a sensible debate on the concept is worthy of merit, unlike comparing it with banning cruises altogether just because some people don't like them which is, of course, just silly :)

We had aft cabin f729 and loved it. Just a little soot one sea day and alittle noise from the lounge .... but just the distant bass beat.

 

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I've just come across this thread for some reason and wonder if you could tell me a bit more about the balcony of F729 Presto2 as we have booked the cabin next door for June. My questions are: 1. Is the balcony overlooked and 2. how big is it?

TIA

Hi tartan exile. Are you going the the Baltic on 4 June by any chance? We'll be in F729 so will be interested if Preston2 replies to your query. We may be neighbours then!?

Hi tartan exile. Are you going the the Baltic on 4 June by any chance? We'll be in F729 so will be interested if Preston2 replies to your query. We may be neighbours then!?

We are neighbours!! What a coincidence. Maybe we'll have a toast together for sailaway. And yes, hope Presto answers.

I've got a booklet for this cruise that Peter Dagnall produces - he's on another social media site. If you'd like a copy message me on tartanexile81 at outlook dot com (without the spaces and change words for symbols)

Thanks Tartan neighbour! I'm on the Britannia Facebook group too (I'm the one that started the recent Limelight topic on there, so you can see my name) but I don't understand the techie bit you mention about emailing you, so I'll have to pass on that. Showing my age...! Look forward to a catch up at some stage on board.

Tartan exile - forgot to say I've had the booklet from Peter already which is absolutely great info on the ports, bless him! Really kind to offer his help too.

Hi Florry

We were in E743 starboard so we wouldn't have noticed any smoke issues. You could smell it coming out of the buffet area and in the sunset bar on deck 16[emoji31]

We occasionally heard some base from live lounge when making our way back to the cabin - but nothing inside or enough to disturb you.

Lots of vibration (compared to aft on Azura) it kept me awake a couple of times.

A bit of soot but not as bad as I was expecting after reading comments and not a problem.

Great butler and cabin steward.

You are overlooked by D deck above but A and B deck are completely overlooked by the sunset bar so I wouldn't want either A or B deck [emoji85]

 

We loved it and would book again without a doubt [emoji7]

 

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I swapped to E743 :)

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You are overlooked by D deck above but A and B deck are completely overlooked by the sunset bar so I wouldn't want either A or B deck [emoji85]

 

We loved it and would book again without a doubt [emoji7]

 

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I was told by a P&O customer service advisor to book B deck for my honeymoon as it wouldn't be overlooked. Is he wrong?

I was told by a P&O customer service advisor to book B deck for my honeymoon as it wouldn't be overlooked. Is he wrong?

Well, he is wrong. Unfortunately P&O land side staff don't always know the ships that well.

However, we have had B724 which is a middle Suite overlooking the wake. It is indeed overlooked by the Sunset Bar, but I will say it never bothered us. People do not go to the Sunset Bar to sit and look down at other people's balconies, they go there to look out, either at the view in port, or the sea. Whenever I was out on the balcony I would actually take a look up to see if anyone was actually looking down, and to be honest I only saw it about 4 times on the whole of the two week cruise, and then only for seconds.

The balconies on B deck are, bar none, the best on the ship. You will get a settee to sit on, as well as a table, two chairs and two loungers. It is a stunning balcony and a stunning view.

Go enjoy your honeymoon and don't worry! :)