Baltic on Britannia?

[joeecco]

We are considering booking the 14 night Baltic itinerary for May 2022 on Britannia. We have looked at this itinerary many times but we aren’t fans of Ventura and so we booked other things, but now Britannia is going north we are very interested. What’s everyone’s opinion on Britannia, especially for this type of itinerary? We think the price is good for 2 of us in a select price balcony at around £3150 total. 

 

Also, we have not yet cruised with Princess or Celebrity but would like to in the future, is either of these companies a better choice for the Baltic for price/standards/entertainment etc. The only thing that we are nervous about is whether Celebrity and Princess sailings have lots of American passengers as we find them, generally speaking, a little overwhelming onboard.. 

 

many advice would be appreciated! 

Edited November 6, 2020 by joeecco

[Cathygh]

Hi

I did the Baltics on Britannia,  and prefer it to Ventura. The itinerary  was great and of all the places I have been to, St Petersberg is the  best.

I can't comment on the other lines as I haven't sailed on them. Celebrity do 2 night stop in SPB so you would get 3 days. 

HTH

Cathy

[ann141]

1 hour ago, joeecco said:

We are considering booking the 14 night Baltic itinerary for May 2022 on Britannia. We have looked at this itinerary many times but we aren’t fans of Ventura and so we booked other things, but now Britannia is going north we are very interested. What’s everyone’s opinion on Britannia, especially for this type of itinerary? We think the price is good for 2 of us in a select price balcony at around £3150 total. 

 

Also, we have not yet cruised with Princess or Celebrity but would like to in the future, is either of these companies a better choice for the Baltic for price/standards/entertainment etc. The only thing that we are nervous about is whether Celebrity and Princess sailings have lots of American passengers as we find them, generally speaking, a little overwhelming onboard.. 

 

many advice would be appreciated! 

I prefer Britannia over Ventura.We did the Baltics on a Princess ship and loved it.The majority of passengers were British with about 25% being other nationalities.Prices for drinks and excursions are dearer on Princess than P and O and shuttle charges are particularly dear but if Princess and P and O were exactly the same price I would probably opt for the Princess cruise.However Britannia is my favourite P and O ship so it would be a difficult choice

[joeecco]

Just now, ann141 said:

I prefer Britannia over Ventura.We did the Baltics on a Princess ship and loved it.The majority of passengers were British with about 25% being other nationalities.Prices for drinks and excursions are dearer on Princess than P and O and shuttle charges are particularly dear but if Princess and P and O were exactly the same price I would probably opt for the Princess cruise.However Britannia is my favourite P and O ship so it would be a difficult choice

Hasn’t even thought about difference in prices of excursions and drinks so that’s a brilliant

point! Surprised to hear most were British, my guess was wrong it seems haha. We’ve not done Britannia yet but do really like the look of her.

[ann141]

Just now, joeecco said:

Hasn’t even thought about difference in prices of excursions and drinks so that’s a brilliant

point! Surprised to hear most were British, my guess was wrong it seems haha. We’ve not done Britannia yet but do really like the look of her.

I think for Princess cruises it depends where you sail.We did a Round the British Isles cruise last year on Crown Princess and the British were probably in the minority but that may have been because the dates co incided with a USA holiday so there were some fairly large groups of Americans.

[joeecco]

1 minute ago, ann141 said:

I think for Princess cruises it depends where you sail.We did a Round the British Isles cruise last year on Crown Princess and the British were probably in the minority but that may have been because the dates co incided with a USA holiday so there were some fairly large groups of Americans.

Ah yes that would make sense. We think often about trying Royal Caribbean too but we talk ourselves out of it because we sail as a couple and we don’t like big rowdy groups and my friends that have done RCI talk about how lively the ships are and that’s not quite us. So the idea of restarting at reduced capacity next year is music to our ears haha!

[ann141]

Just now, joeecco said:

Ah yes that would make sense. We think often about trying Royal Caribbean too but we talk ourselves out of it because we sail as a couple and we don’t like big rowdy groups and my friends that have done RCI talk about how lively the ships are and that’s not quite us. So the idea of restarting at reduced capacity next year is music to our ears haha!

We sailed Royal Caribbean but made the mistake of sailing during the school holidays to the Med! I would happily sail with them again but would avoid the school holidays.Its probably the best cruise line to sail with if you have older children!

[majortom10]

Generally majority of Princess cruises sailing from Southampton will be British with the exception of the British Isles cruise and having done 5 at varying times in the summer is very popular with Americans who like to pre or post cruise have time in London or Paris.

[wowzz]

5 hours ago, joeecco said:

American passengers as we find them, generally speaking, a little overwhelming onboard.. 

We much prefer to have lots of Americans on board.  Makes for much more interesting conversations at dinner and in the bar.

[Thejuggler]

We've done two two week trips on Celebrity Eclipse, including one to the Baltics.  Being their UK based ship the vast majority of passengers were from the UK, but there were passengers from all over the world on board.

Our trip was a mid ships balcony for three and was a similar price to your P&O quote, but we also had a classic drinks package and OBC.

 

The  OBC paid for a drinks upgrade and tips, so it became an all inclusive cruise.  The only downside was as a late booking we had to have fixed dining, early sitting, which we didn't appreciate as first sitting was too early and you do get rushed through.

 

[terrierjohn]

48 minutes ago, wowzz said:

We much prefer to have lots of Americans on board.  Makes for much more interesting conversations at dinner and in the bar.

Are you bored with life in the sun wowzz?

[joeecco]

52 minutes ago, wowzz said:

We much prefer to have lots of Americans on board.  Makes for much more interesting conversations at dinner and in the bar.

Not for us thank you, haha! 

[terrierjohn]

Just now, joeecco said:

Not for us thank you, haha! 

You must be choosing the wrong Americans!  I am with wowzz on this topic.

[joeecco]

29 minutes ago, Thejuggler said:

We've done two two week trips on Celebrity Eclipse, including one to the Baltics.  Being their UK based ship the vast majority of passengers were from the UK, but there were passengers from all over the world on board.

Our trip was a mid ships balcony for three and was a similar price to your P&O quote, but we also had a classic drinks package and OBC.

 

The  OBC paid for a drinks upgrade and tips, so it became an all inclusive cruise.  The only downside was as a late booking we had to have fixed dining, early sitting, which we didn't appreciate as first sitting was too early and you do get rushed through.

 

Thats interesting to know it was a similar price but with drinks etc.. Does make us question P&O but our downside is that I have my leave dictated to me so last minute bookings arent an option for us hence why we're considering booking so far in advance to try to catch the lower prices. Its a balancing act isnt it. 

[joeecco]

Just now, terrierjohn said:

You must be choosing the wrong Americans!  I am with wowzz on this topic.

This is precisely our point, we don't pick any but they somehow always seem to pick us out and just when we think we have escaped them, we end up bumping into them over and over aha

[joeecco]

Just now, joeecco said:

This is precisely our point, we don't pick any but they somehow always seem to pick us out and just when we think we have escaped them, we end up bumping into them over and over aha

And when I say they, I'm referring to the small group that like to talk about 'me, me and me' 😄

[terrierjohn]

1 minute ago, joeecco said:

Thats interesting to know it was a similar price but with drinks etc.. Does make us question P&O but our downside is that I have my leave dictated to me so last minute bookings arent an option for us hence why we're considering booking so far in advance to try to catch the lower prices. Its a balancing act isnt it. 

Unless things have changed Celebrities prices will now be far higher than P&O.

Our last Celebrity cruise was 2016 and the brexit vote took place while we were on board, at that time their prices were comparable to P&O  but since then they have risen in line with Sterlings devaluation, and apart from some cheap recent offers during the pandemic, none of which have actually taken place, their prices have been way too high.

It will be interesting to see if their summer 2022 prices are competitive, but I somehow doubt it.

[joeecco]

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

Unless things have changed Celebrities prices will now be far higher than P&O.

Our last Celebrity cruise was 2016 and the brexit vote took place while we were on board, at that time their prices were comparable to P&O  but since then they have risen in line with Sterlings devaluation, and apart from some cheap recent offers during the pandemic, none of which have actually taken place, their prices have been way too high.

It will be interesting to see if their summer 2022 prices are competitive, but I somehow doubt it.

That's a shame, we will try them someday on the Edge class in the US though hopefully. Lots of rumours about them becoming all inclusive too which i'm sure in turn would add even more to the price. 

 

I have to say on a sidenote, P&O have pleasantly surprised us with the 2022 prices so far, Aurora has always been out of our budget when we have looked to book but a northern lights cruise for October is well within our budget now. I was convinced prices would be sky-high to match current 2021 prices - luckily we booked our 2021 in advance of this pandemic. 

[Bloodaxe]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

We much prefer to have lots of Americans on board.  Makes for much more interesting conversations at dinner and in the bar.

I agree, we have met and made friends with many over the years, that's why we prefer the more international ships.

[Bloodaxe]

7 minutes ago, Bloodaxe said:

I agree, we have met and made friends with many over the years, that's why we prefer the more international ships.

We met a guy who was in the army with Elvis, just one example of many interesting people.

[AnnieC]

10 minutes ago, Bloodaxe said:

I agree, we have met and made friends with many over the years, that's why we prefer the more international ships.

I agree too; we all seem very agreeable this afternoon.🙂 Good and bad in every nationality, even ours.🤣😊

[poorer]

Hi 

 

We have just booked the Baltics on Britannia for August 2022.

 

Love this ship.

Completely different to Ventura which we have previously sailed on.

Lots to do Limelight Club - nice intimate dinner with show.

Cookery Club this is quite fun cook then eat.

The Crow's Nest love this bar chill out and listen to the pianist.

Hydrotherapy suite great for relaxation.

The Sunset Bar at the back of the ship great view when you are doing a sail away.

The kids club my son enjoyed but by 2022 he will be too old but he is looking forward to experiencing the cruise as an adult.

We have stayed in various rooms on Britannia balcony, superior deluxe balcony and suite all were great.

 

We are on Britannia in August 2021 going around the Med staying in a suite so have that added bonus of large balcony with sunbeds although have never had any problems getting one on deck.

 

Although we have travelled for school holidays have never felt overwhelmed by people and you can always find your place.

 

As I have said love this ship looking forward to sailing on Iona and seeing the comparison, if you have any specific questions please ask.🛳️😀

 

[joeecco]

39 minutes ago, poorer said:

Hi 

 

We have just booked the Baltics on Britannia for August 2022.

 

Love this ship.

Completely different to Ventura which we have previously sailed on.

Lots to do Limelight Club - nice intimate dinner with show.

Cookery Club this is quite fun cook then eat.

The Crow's Nest love this bar chill out and listen to the pianist.

Hydrotherapy suite great for relaxation.

The Sunset Bar at the back of the ship great view when you are doing a sail away.

The kids club my son enjoyed but by 2022 he will be too old but he is looking forward to experiencing the cruise as an adult.

We have stayed in various rooms on Britannia balcony, superior deluxe balcony and suite all were great.

 

We are on Britannia in August 2021 going around the Med staying in a suite so have that added bonus of large balcony with sunbeds although have never had any problems getting one on deck.

 

Although we have travelled for school holidays have never felt overwhelmed by people and you can always find your place.

 

As I have said love this ship looking forward to sailing on Iona and seeing the comparison, if you have any specific questions please ask.🛳️😀

 

That’s fantastic thank you! We were worried about it feeling very busy considering the passenger load compared to tonnage but from what you’ve said that doesn’t sound like an issue! 
we are just going for a standard balcony, I take it that’s a nice cabin? 
what sort of price is the limelight club and do you have to book before you board? 

[AndyMichelle]

10 minutes ago, joeecco said:

That’s fantastic thank you! We were worried about it feeling very busy considering the passenger load compared to tonnage but from what you’ve said that doesn’t sound like an issue! 
we are just going for a standard balcony, I take it that’s a nice cabin? 
what sort of price is the limelight club and do you have to book before you board? 

Depends who is in the Limelight, but around £35pp.

The earlier you book, the better seats you get, but all the seats are OK. 

It's a beautiful ship that has never felt crowded to us. 

Andy 

[joeecco]

8 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Depends who is in the Limelight, but around £35pp.

The earlier you book, the better seats you get, but all the seats are OK. 

It's a beautiful ship that has never felt crowded to us. 

Andy 

Oh that’s brilliant! I think you’re confirming that we should book!