BALCONIES on BRITTANIA

[jeanlyon]

I can't imagine anyone trying to sunbathe nude or otherwise on that tiny balcony?

[yorvik]

Even the standard Azura/Ventura balcony is twice the depth of Brittania side balconies

[tom_uk]

Even the standard Azura/Ventura balcony is twice the depth of Brittania side balconies

 

I haven't been able to find the exact size. I know that standard balconies on Azura/Ventura are just under 5ft deep; C-deck balconies are just about twice that; and D/E-deck balconies are between the two, say 6'-something. (1.45m; 2.95m; 2m, in metric measurements.)

 

Looking at the pictures I don't think the Royal Princess balconies are deeper than 3', so perhaps 2/3 of the depth of the standard balconies on Azura/Ventura. Not good.

[cruisebore]

I think that as Britannia is so tall, it needs to be kept quite slim. If the balconies did jut out, there would be the propensity for it rolling over if loads of people on the higher decks were hanging over their balcony rail.

 

Cb

[SwissDave]

Even though Britannia is based on the same hull as Royal and Regal Princess there does seem to be a major difference.

 

Royal and Regal have extended balconies mid ship where there is a 'bump in' under the sky walk that 'bumps out'. so on those ships you can have extended balcony, if those rooms are available.

 

It seems Britannia is flat sided, so no option for any extended balcony at all.

 

And yes, on Royal P I could very easily sit on the balcony (standard size), turn the chair facing directly outwards and be comfortable. So please do not say that something cannot be done until you have tried it.

[camick]

I have booked a single balcony cabin on Britannia.

 

I think they are exclusive to the Britannia and are on lido deck just behind the Crow's Nest Bar.

I wonder how big they will be?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Lucky you travelling on the new p&o ship.

[gadabout60]

Although the balcony may be small, for me the main reason to have a balcony is fresh air. I find the thought of an inside cabin stifling and will therefore pay more for the balcony.

I know a lot of people say that they only sleep in the cabin so the balcony is not worth paying extra - but I disagree. I like spending some afternoon time in my cabin, perhaps sitting on the balcony enjoying watching the sea, perhaps napping with the balcony doors open enjoying the fresh sea air.

I also love leaning over the balcony as we come into a new port in the morning.

I can live with a small balcony

[Presto2]

Although the balcony may be small, for me the main reason to have a balcony is fresh air. I find the thought of an inside cabin stifling and will therefore pay more for the balcony.

I know a lot of people say that they only sleep in the cabin so the balcony is not worth paying extra - but I disagree. I like spending some afternoon time in my cabin, perhaps sitting on the balcony enjoying watching the sea, perhaps napping with the balcony doors open enjoying the fresh sea air.

I also love leaning over the balcony as we come into a new port in the morning.

I can live with a small balcony

 

My thoughts exactly - any balcony is a good one for us. :)

[Sealoveragain]

P&O are obviously trying to appeal to a new market of people. It seems they really are becoming the 'Easy Jet' of the cruising world. A HUGE ship with small cabins and tiny balconies so that people think they are getting something special because they have a balcony. It's a shame really. Personally I would never book a cruise on what really is ( and I know it's been said but it really does apply here) a floating Butlins or worse a 3* Benidorm hotel.

[pete14]

P&O are obviously trying to appeal to a new market of people. It seems they really are becoming the 'Easy Jet' of the cruising world. A HUGE ship with small cabins and tiny balconies so that people think they are getting something special because they have a balcony. It's a shame really. Personally I would never book a cruise on what really is ( and I know it's been said but it really does apply here) a floating Butlins or worse a 3* Benidorm hotel.

 

All these judgements about a ship that hasn't even been finished yet and which no cruiser has set foot on. Yes it is a huge ship but it is not the only huge ship sailing or scheduled to sail. Are they all Butlins or a Benidorm Hotel? As others who have posted here, I love having my own private space, fresh air and views and noise of the sea. We are booked on her maiden cruise and thoroughly looking forward to it. Nobody made us book it, we chose to do so.

[Sealoveragain]

All these judgements about a ship that hasn't even been finished yet and which no cruiser has set foot on. Yes it is a huge ship but it is not the only huge ship sailing or scheduled to sail. Are they all Butlins or a Benidorm Hotel? As others who have posted here, I love having my own private space, fresh air and views and noise of the sea. We are booked on her maiden cruise and thoroughly looking forward to it. Nobody made us book it, we chose to do so.

 

I sincerely hope you enjoy it. I'm afraid it doesn't appeal to me. Each to their own.

[dgs1956]

Deleted

Edited October 1, 2014 by dgs1956

[cruisebore]

P&O are obviously trying to appeal to a new market of people. It seems they really are becoming the 'Easy Jet' of the cruising world. A HUGE ship with small cabins and tiny balconies so that people think they are getting something special because they have a balcony. It's a shame really. Personally I would never book a cruise on what really is ( and I know it's been said but it really does apply here) a floating Butlins or worse a 3* Benidorm hotel.

 

I think your allusion to Butlin's is perhaps missing the point. A reference to Jack Cohen's, the founder of Tesco, business motto would be more appropriate;)

 

Cb

[Presto2]

All these judgements about a ship that hasn't even been finished yet and which no cruiser has set foot on. Yes it is a huge ship but it is not the only huge ship sailing or scheduled to sail. Are they all Butlins or a Benidorm Hotel? As others who have posted here, I love having my own private space, fresh air and views and noise of the sea. We are booked on her maiden cruise and thoroughly looking forward to it. Nobody made us book it, we chose to do so.

 

Totally agree - I do wish people would stop making comments about Butlins and Benidorm hotels. I often wonder if they have been to either recently so have first hand experience.....

[Sealoveragain]

All these judgements about a ship that hasn't even been finished yet and which no cruiser has set foot on. Yes it is a huge ship but it is not the only huge ship sailing or scheduled to sail. Are they all Butlins or a Benidorm Hotel? As others who have posted here, I love having my own private space, fresh air and views and noise of the sea. We are booked on her maiden cruise and thoroughly looking forward to it. Nobody made us book it, we chose to do so.

 

No doubt you mean me. No, I haven't been on the Britannia obviously. Yes it's a huge ship and yes there are other huge ships. None of them appeal to me. I suppose they are more cost effective because they can squeeze in a lot more passengers and that's why cruise companies build them. I haven't actually been to Butlins but some of the American huge ships remind me of Butlins and why I wouldn't cruise on them. They all remind me of Benidorm hotels that we've all seen if not experienced. I'm sure lots of people will be very excited to cruise on this sort of ship. I simply think it's disappointing that ships are becoming bigger and bigger and are not really my idea of a cruise ship. As I've already said I hope you enjoy your cruise. I'm just giving my opinion if you are happy with your choice, why should it bother you.

[pete14]

No doubt you mean me. No, I haven't been on the Britannia obviously. Yes it's a huge ship and yes there are other huge ships. None of them appeal to me. I suppose they are more cost effective because they can squeeze in a lot more passengers and that's why cruise companies build them. I haven't actually been to Butlins but some of the American huge ships remind me of Butlins and why I wouldn't cruise on them. They all remind me of Benidorm hotels that we've all seen if not experienced. I'm sure lots of people will be very excited to cruise on this sort of ship. I simply think it's disappointing that ships are becoming bigger and bigger and are not really my idea of a cruise ship. As I've already said I hope you enjoy your cruise. I'm just giving my opinion if you are happy with your choice, why should it bother you.

 

I am not bothered with my choice and I am perfectly happy for you and others to express your opinion. I share your disappointment that cruise ships seem to be getting bigger and bigger because there is obviously a place for smaller ships. I am cruising on Adonia next month because I think she is a lovely relaxing ship. It would be good if ships that size were still being built rather than being passed around different cruise lines, refurbished and repackaged.

 

However, I do think comparing Britannia and other large ships to Butlins and Benidorm hotels is wide of the mark even though in terms of cost, especially on saver fares, the difference in price is not that great. Pound for pound, cruising wins hands down in my opinion regardless of ship size.

[Presto2]

I haven't actually been to Butlins but some of the American huge ships remind me of Butlins and why I wouldn't cruise on them. They all remind me of Benidorm hotels that we've all seen if not experienced.

 

As I said in my last post ---- unless we have experience of Butlins or 3star Benidorm how can we comment on the new ship being like this???:confused:

[jeanlyon]

My experience on Azura was enough to put me off the bigger ships for ever. We queued for everything, getting on and off, once waited over 45 minutes in 90 degrees to get back on board. The pool areas were unuseable due to the seascreen blaring out very loudly all day. even the library was noisy because they had a dance class outside in the atrium! On sea days with inclement weather the inside was so crowded, I went to my inside cabin (which was very nice) and read a book. On the night of the Captains cocktail party,l it was held in the atrium on about 3 floors and two people dropped their glasses over the balcony! never again.

[richleeds]

It's quite ironic how two quintessentially British holidays - Butlins and package holidays to the Costa Blanca are been used to describe American cruise lines.

 

The closest I have come to a floating Butlins would be P&O and none of the U.S. Lines we have sailed could be described as such.

[pete14]

It's quite ironic how two quintessentially British holidays - Butlins and package holidays to the Costa Blanca are been used to describe American cruise lines.

 

The closest I have come to a floating Butlins would be P&O and none of the U.S. Lines we have sailed could be described as such.

 

I did not describe American lines as being akin to Butlins and Benidorm. I just raised the point that if size of ship leads to a Butlins experience, presumably this applies to all lines with large ships? How you can now differentiate by saying the large American ones (including Disney?) do not, but a ship nobody has travelled on does defeats me. When a number of people have sailed on Britannia, comparisons of all sorts can be made. Until that day, it is grossly unfair to use speculation and expectation as fact.

 

If P&O are the closest to a floating Butlins, perhaps I need to revisit Butlins because they have obviously had a spectacular improvement since I last holidayed there with the kids 20+ years ago.

[richleeds]

I just raised the point that if size of ship leads to a Butlins experience, presumably this applies to all lines with large ships?

 

I'm not sure why you think a bigger ship would lead to a Butlins experience?

 

All the new mega ships from RCCL are very cleverly designed, the amount of and choice of entertainment venues increases, the amount of free and paid for dining venues increase, on port days they open many more doors for disembarkation so there are no queues, more lifts, more staircases, more bars, bigger gyms, bigger casinos, bigger nightclubs - everything increases in line with passenger numbers.

 

They are very good at managing people numbers without making passengers feel managed. So they would not have a theatre show start or finish at the same time as a movie in that area. They would not have a street parade at a time when people are leaving a dining room.

 

They might have an ice sculpt demo at the same time as a cocktail class and a cookery class but all in different parts of the ship to keep things flowing etc.

 

Yes you might struggle for a lounger on a sea day but that is common on smaller ships as well due to limited deck space.

[richleeds]

If P&O are the closest to a floating Butlins, perhaps I need to revisit Butlins because they have obviously had a spectacular improvement since I last holidayed there with the kids 20+ years ago.

 

 

Lets take 3 of the main features of a cruise - entertainment and dining and sunbathing...

 

If you go to Butlins for a weekend they are quite often themed with 60/70's or 80/90's tribute acts (or sometimes the real thing if they are cheap enough) and who did we see on Ventura? Tom Jones and Phil Collins! Then the red coats with a couple of lead vocals and backing dancers will do their show - Headliners anyone?

 

If you go to Benidorm you can be assured that every cafe will have a full English breakfast with English bacon, you will get a Sunday roast with "proper" gravy, you will get tomato soup and you will get English puddings, there will be a plain chicken option for the oldies, all this even though you are in Spain.

 

If you stay at a 3* hotel in Benidorm you will probably find many Brits reserving their sun loungers with a towel - look at the Ventura sunbed thread!

[pete14]

I'm not sure why you think a bigger ship would lead to a Butlins experience?

 

All the new mega ships from RCCL are very cleverly designed, the amount of and choice of entertainment venues increases, the amount of free and paid for dining venues increase, on port days they open many more doors for disembarkation so there are no queues, more lifts, more staircases, more bars, bigger gyms, bigger casinos, bigger nightclubs - everything increases in line with passenger numbers.

 

They are very good at managing people numbers without making passengers feel managed. So they would not have a theatre show start or finish at the same time as a movie in that area. They would not have a street parade at a time when people are leaving a dining room.

 

They might have an ice sculpt demo at the same time as a cocktail class and a cookery class but all in different parts of the ship to keep things flowing etc.

 

Yes you might struggle for a lounger on a sea day but that is common on smaller ships as well due to limited deck space.

 

I don't think a bigger ship leads to a Butlins experience. This was first mentioned by sealoveragain yesterday. If I was expecting a Butlins experience, I would not have booked onto Britannia. I am just curious why some feel that a large P&O ship which no one has yet sailed on is akin to Butlins or Benidorm by virtue of it's size when equally large ships from other companies and countries are not.

[richleeds]

I don't think a bigger ship leads to a Butlins experience. This was first mentioned by sealoveragain yesterday. If I was expecting a Butlins experience, I would not have booked onto Britannia. I am just curious why some feel that a large P&O ship which no one has yet sailed on is akin to Butlins or Benidorm by virtue of it's size when equally large ships from other companies and countries are not.

 

 

Indeed.

 

There was probably a time when the first couple of large liners came out that they didn't plan them correctly and the lines had $$ signs in their eyes thinking more cabins.

 

But the new ones are very well executed.

[Sealoveragain]

As I said in my last post ---- unless we have experience of Butlins or 3star Benidorm how can we comment on the new ship being like this???:confused:

 

I didn't have to go to Butlins to know it wasn't for me. I have been to Benidorm, just for the day while staying in Spain. The hotels were like blocks of flats with tiny balconies, hence my analogy. I don't see why you are confused.

I agree sometimes on P&O I feel as if I've wandered accidentally into Butlins.

Anyhow as I've said Britannia will probably appeal to many people, it's just not my idea of a cruise ship. We all have our own likes and dislikes, which is understandable we are all different people.