Britannia and Norway

I am considering booking this cruise in June 2018, but it depends on how long the Stavanger stop is -- on the itinerary, it says arrival in the "morning" and departure in the "afternoon" -- but I need more clarity here. Anyone been on this cruise recently that can comment on Stavanger port arrival and departure times?

CruiseTT is showing 0800-1700 for 19th June 2018.

http://ships.cruisett.com/schedule/PO_Cruises/Britannia/June_2018/

To be sure I'd ask P&O.

Thank you for the quick response. I'm debating Britannia vs. Princess Sapphire for a week Norway fjord cruise in June 2018 -- any thoughts on comparing the two cruise lines for this purpose? Probably balcony cabins, and both seniors and kids coming.

Don't know how the Princess ship compares in size to Britannia, but perhaps be aware that over the last year or so Britannia (and other P&O ships) seem to get bumped a lot from the smaller berths and more spectacular fjords, such as Flam, Olden, Geiranger fjord, etc.

In the case of Britannia it may be due to her size and the practicality of docking.

Thank you, groovechick. That is a good call out. The Princess Sapphire is about 40m shorter. Both ships visit Stavanger, Bergen, and Olden, but the fjords are as follows:

Princess Sapphire: Hellesylt (2 hour stop), Geiranger (stop)

Britannia: Innvikfjorden (sail by) - Nordfjord (sail by) - Romsdalsfjord (sail by) - Andalsnes (stop)

Now I have to figure out if the Princess itinerary is worth about $500 per cabin. Thoughts welcomed.

Sadly I can't comment on which is the better itinerary - our one and only fjords cruise (on P&O Aurora) covered Stavanger, Olden, Bergen and Alesund. The Britannia itinerary does sound good, and if she's only sailing by, being bumped from berths won't be an issue.

Depends if you want to see Gerainger, amazing fjord, or Andalsnes, little more than a single street place with a petrol station, but with trips to Trollstigen and Troll Road, both stunning.

We did Norway on the Crown Princess for my 50th and really enjoyed it. The Hellesylt stop is just to let those on the tours off the ship. The ship then sails onto Geiranger. We did a tour that took us overland and the scenery was stunning. That trip was a highlight of the cruise for me.

Have also been on Britannia and going on her again in few weeks. Not been on Sapphire Princess but did her sister ship Diamond Princess not long after she came out. Really enjoyed that cruise and the ship too. Britannia is much newer but I agree with a previous comment where the Britannia has been “bumped” from some ports. You could also think about weighing up the additional costs such as drinks and gratuities (cheaper on P&O) and also whether you’d prefer a newer ship or whether that’s not a consideration for you, if the ports are similar.

Whichever you choose I’m sure you’ll have a great cruise.

Depends if you want to see Gerainger, amazing fjord, or Andalsnes, little more than a single street place with a petrol station, but with trips to Trollstigen and Troll Road, both stunning.

Thanks Thejuggler and HomelessBear! This is exactly what I'm debating -- Geiranger vs. a visit to the troll wall from Trollstigen. My main concern would to avoid being bumped at Stavanger, because we have family we are visiting there.

I earn American dollars so I don't know if that would make P&O drinks and gratuities any cheaper in the long run. I would like the covered pool on the Princess but would also like the newer Britannia ship. Marco Pierre White will be on the Britannia as well, for some reason.

Famous last words, but I think Britannia is highly unlikely to get bumped from Stavanger as it's a bigger port. As I said, when the P&O ships get bumped, it's usually from smaller ports/berths (there's one where they use a pontoon?), but according to previous posts the issue seems to be as much about P&O saving money on port fees as ship size.

Bear in mind the Troll Wall and Trollstigen are very much weather dependent. We went in August and couldn't see a thing due to rain and very low cloud. I'd go back again on the chance of seeing them properly.

If Marco Pierre White is on board it will be for one of the Food Heroes cruises - there should be some info on the website about talks by him, special events, etc.

Whichever you choose, have a wonderful time.

The main problem with missing Stavanger would be strong winds, neither Britannia nor Sapphire Princess have azipods so manoeuvrability is limited so it would be down to the seamanship of the captain as to whether you would dock.

In 2015 on Celebrity Eclipse we were the only ship out of 3 to dock that day, due entirely to its superior maneuverability.

Thanks for the feedback. Given what you've said, I think I'd rather go to Geiranger, so I guess we'll choose the older Sapphire. I've heard the Britannia's service may not be as good as Sapphire, so at least we would have that going for us.

Thanks for the feedback. Given what you've said, I think I'd rather go to Geiranger, so I guess we'll choose the older Sapphire. I've heard the Britannia's service may not be as good as Sapphire, so at least we would have that going for us.

Gerainger is not a problem for a ship the size of Britannia because like Sapphire they will both drop anchor in the fjord and tender into the village.

Thank you, groovechick. That is a good call out. The Princess Sapphire is about 40m shorter. Both ships visit Stavanger, Bergen, and Olden, but the fjords are as follows:

 

Princess Sapphire: Hellesylt (2 hour stop), Geiranger (stop)

Britannia: Innvikfjorden (sail by) - Nordfjord (sail by) - Romsdalsfjord (sail by) - Andalsnes (stop)

 

Now I have to figure out if the Princess itinerary is worth about $500 per cabin. Thoughts welcomed.

Britannia can call at all the ports mentioned size is not a problem at all.

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I am new to Fjords and Britannia, so we are also looking at booking Britannia, probably July. No need need to worry about Gerainger because Britannia is not scheduled to go there at all, June,July or August. But what does concern me are reports on another thread that the Britannia got bumped at least 6 times this year. Mainly from the longer Fjord such as Flam and Olden. As the person reporting this put it, they booked a Fjords cruise but got a Norway Coastal cruise

Can only speak for last year in July, but on our cruise Britannia made every planned stop and we had a great time in them all despite some mixed weather. Scenery was wonderful and the ship was great as well! The itinerary for Britannia is always going to be limited by its size but whilst it often looked more in scale with the mountains than the ports, it delivered as advertised if not better.

We did a fjord cruise on RCI's Independence of the Seas, which is a big ship, a few years ago. It had no problem docking at Flam, Olden and Skjolden.

I am new to Fjords and Britannia, so we are also looking at booking Britannia, probably July. No need need to worry about Gerainger because Britannia is not scheduled to go there at all, June,July or August. But what does concern me are reports on another thread that the Britannia got bumped at least 6 times this year. Mainly from the longer Fjord such as Flam and Olden. As the person reporting this put it, they booked a Fjords cruise but got a Norway Coastal cruise

I think there were some concerns the year before with too many ships in port but this was in July 17 and here we have Britannia in Flam.

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And Olden

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Britannia is a lovely ship and as it's relatively new it's in lovely condition. PS is about 14 years old. There's also plenty to do on board for all ages on Britannia so I think it would be a perfect choice for a multi-generation group.