Britannia Butler

[jamiebarnzy]

Good afternoon.

 

We booked a suite for the first time in October and see that it has a butler with it. What’s are people’s experience of the butlers on the Britannia.
 

Furthermore we would like to have breakfast in the suite on a few of the days, do we book this with the butler the day before or just call up on the day say half an hour before we want it. (as I understand this can be very popular) 

 

Also will they bring us pre dinner drinks if we ask with our evening canapés. Do they also book spa and dining venues and how do you contact your butler to ask for this things, Do you just leave a note or is there a phone number you can ring? 

 

We are also wondering what time do those who have traveled in suite before get to the terminal and what time will there check you in from. We staying at the Hilton ages bowl and need to know what time to booked the trip to the docks. 

 

Lastly as we travelling in October out of season, what age groups will be on board we our in are mid 20’s and when we have cruised in the past in we always met overs in our age range to have a few drinks with at night. (As well as many much older and wiser and shared some great stories over dinner) We this be the same on October or are we likely to be the youngest on the ship by far. 
 

Thank you for taking the time to read and answer my questions in advance.

 

kind Regards 

 

 

Edited March 2, 2021 by jamiebarnzy

[wowzz]

14 minutes ago, jamiebarnzy said:

Good afternoon.

 

We booked a suite for the first time in October and see that it has a butler with it. What’s are people’s experience of the butlers on the Britannia.
 

Furthermore we would like to have breakfast in the suite on a few of the days, do we book this with the butler the day before or just call up on the day say half an hour before we want it. (as I understand this can be very popular) 

 

Also will they bring us pre dinner drinks if we ask with our evening canapés. Do they also book spa and dining venues and how do you contact your butler to ask for this things, Do you just leave a note or is there a phone number you can ring? 

 

We are also wondering what time do those who have traveled in suite before get to the terminal and what time will there check you in from. We staying at the Hilton ages bowl and need to know what time to booked the trip to the docks. 

 

Lastly as we travelling in October out of season, what age groups will be on board we our in are mid 20’s and when we have cruised in the past in we always met overs in our age range to have a few drinks with at night. (As well as many much older and wiser and shared some great stories over dinner) We this be the same on October or are we likely to be the youngest on the ship by far. 
 

Thank you for taking the time to read and answer my questions in advance.

 

kind Regards 

 

 

If your cruise coincides with half term, then it is likely that there will be some young parents on board. 

Otherwise, I think your age group will be in a very small minority.   

Edited March 2, 2021 by wowzz

[poorer]

Hi 

 

The butler will at hand for all your request and can pretty much arrange what you would like if he/she is not around there is a number for you to call.

 

We have stayed in a suite on Britannia before and fingers crossed this August also.

 

As you are staying in a suite you are normally the first to board at 11.30 am with a champagne lunch supplied.

 

As with suite benefits,breakfast can be taken in the Epicurian.

 

Also we  arranged to have dinner on our balcony when we had a long excursion out .

 

Enjoy

[Windsurfboy]

Better always to give butler as much notice as you can. 

 

They will book things for you

 

Butlers carry a pager, you dial their number, they ring you back as soon as they are free.

 

As a suite passenger you are first on, it's better to be early and wait a few minutes.  They often start boarding before they say they will , suite passengers get on first. If you arrive on time but they've started boarding early and suite passengers are already on board, you cannot just go to front of queue you just join queue for which ever group is boarding it could be quite long

[Guest]

Just jumping on this thread as we are booked in a suite on Britannia (hopefully!) for the end of August/September. We are local so will get a mini bus to the terminal. I wonder if the boarding times will change to allow distancing in the terminal. 
 

Does anyone know what the evening canapés consist of? We had them on Celebrity and most nights they were left! 

[lindylooellalouise]

The canapés we had were awful so we asked could we have crisps nuts or  cheese and olives instead and the butler obliged 👍

[SeaJane]

We have never been on Britannia, but have booked suites on other P&O ships. The canapés are generally not great, but as with everything it’s down to personal taste. There are a lot of small pastry tartlets with strange fillings! We do however enjoy the smoked salmon on rye and the chocolate dipped strawberries  - the nicer ones are usually on formal nights! 
Being able to have a peaceful unhurried breakfast in a separate restaurant for us is one of the best suite perks! 

[Beckett]

For anyone who has watched the early editions of The Vicar of Dibley and can remember Mrs Cropley, who used to make the most awful cakes and sandwiches (like taramasalata with chocolate spread) - well the canapes are a bit like that - pastry tartlets with indecipherable fillings!  J.x

[Beckett]

Ok, I exaggerated a bit! J.x

[pete14]

38 minutes ago, Beckett said:

Ok, I exaggerated a bit! J.x

Not in my experience you didn’t. 
 

The breakfast reserved for suite passengers in the Epicurian restaurant gets the day off to a great start. However, if your suite is at the back of the ship, it is quite a long walk to the Epicurian at the front, but well worth it.

[sueandphil]

Just asking, are you on the TA in October?  We have done this many times (4 on Britannia) and have always found there is a great mix of young and old and you will get on with everyone especially if you join in with the  social events.  Have to agree that breakfast in the Epicurean  is an excellent perk with the suites.  Your Butler will also do as much or as little as you want serving you breakfast or evening meal on your balcony, arranging restaurant and spa bookings or even gatherings in your cabin.  We draw the line at getting them to unpack for you as it takes days to find where they have put things

 

[Cathygh]

The breakfast is definitely the best bit. Just having that (almost)1 to 1 attention!  Also eating in the suite is quite nice as the tables are of a size you can sit at. It's best to book in suite breakfast the day before as the butler can be very busy in the mornings. I am sure they will still bring pre dinner drinks at a prearranged time. We only had a suite once and all this talk is making me think of having one again. DH's big birthday in 2 years time maybe?

The food at the welcome lunch was a bit of a let down. but worth going for the fizz. 

When we arrived we were first in the ship. It was a great feeling. Enjoy your cruise

Cathy

 

[Guest]

16 hours ago, lindylooellalouise said:

The canapés we had were awful so we asked could we have crisps nuts or  cheese and olives instead and the butler obliged 👍

Ooh that’s a good idea! Thanks for the tip! 

[vitrocmax]

22 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

As a suite passenger you are first on, it's better to be early and wait a few minutes.  They often start boarding before they say they will , suite passengers get on first. If you arrive on time but they've started boarding early and suite passengers are already on board, you cannot just go to front of queue you just join queue for which ever group is boarding it could be quite long

When we arrived at the terminal on the coach we advised one of the staff in attendance of our suite number and they took us directly to the front of a separate line, no queue. Didn't have to wait. Just let someone know you're a suite guest and you benefit immediately. 

[Windsurfboy]

2 hours ago, vitrocmax said:

When we arrived at the terminal on the coach we advised one of the staff in attendance of our suite number and they took us directly to the front of a separate line, no queue. Didn't have to wait. Just let someone know you're a suite guest and you benefit immediately. 

 

Luckier than we were, did the arrived by car when told, did the same but no special line. Complained when we got back got an appology and nice hamper, but didn't make up for bad star to holiday.

 

23 hours ago, lindylooellalouise said:

The canapés we had were awful so we asked could we have crisps nuts or  cheese and olives instead and the butler obliged 👍

 

We asked  for strawberries in chocolate to go with our bubbly on the balcony. 

[jamiebarnzy]

Thank You all for your help and advise, we will very much look forward to the breakfast and being 1st on. 

[NaomiW]

When we got married on Ventura kn 2013 we had a suite and we were in our late 20s.. Whilst most people were older there were still plenty people our age, and young families, and it was great getting to know all ages. We were a bit naive and didnt get all the suite benefits as P&O didnt tell us, so we turned up as normal.. There was a lady calling for suite passengers and directing them to a specific priority queue but when we got there she just waved us into a normal queue (presume because we looked too young to possibly afford a suite and I was too embarrased to say anything), so we didnt get on early, had to queue for ages and also noone during the process told us about the priority lunch for suite passengers so we missed that. It was fabulous from here on however-we had meals in our cabin a few times which the butler arranged, you get an exclusive venue for breakfast for suite passengers only so we mainly did this as it felt a bit more special. The butler can do all those things you mentioned, but we really only used him for meals, drinks and helping with the wedding preparations.. canapes were ok but a biy variable. The best part was the space, the big balcony and the gorgeous bathroom and free bottle of champagne! We did have a suite on one subsequent occasion and knowing what we had missed out on, turned up at 11.30am and we went straight through within about 5 minutes, and got our free bubbles at the welcome lunch. It was an absolute breeze!!

[NaomiW]

I should say aswell, the second time we had a suite it was on Britannia, and I got the impression the butlers were stretched a bit because there were quite a few more suites.. For example, when we had a meal in the cabin he would just bring the meals in and leave them with us, covered, for us to serve ourselves. All the courses at once, whereas on our wedding cruise on Ventura he would just bring one or two courses at a time and serve us and top up our drinks etc as if we were in the restaurant. Im not sure which of these is the normal experience but I was a tiny bit disappointed with the in cabin dining experience the second time compared with the first-perhaps I was expecting too much?

[Son of Anarchy]

7 hours ago, NaomiW said:

I should say aswell, the second time we had a suite it was on Britannia, and I got the impression the butlers were stretched a bit because there were quite a few more suites.. For example, when we had a meal in the cabin he would just bring the meals in and leave them with us, covered, for us to serve ourselves. All the courses at once, whereas on our wedding cruise on Ventura he would just bring one or two courses at a time and serve us and top up our drinks etc as if we were in the restaurant. Im not sure which of these is the normal experience but I was a tiny bit disappointed with the in cabin dining experience the second time compared with the first-perhaps I was expecting too much?

Never had a suite before, so not aware of how the butler should or should not serve a meal in the cabin.

Must admit, I would not be pleased if all the courses were brought in at the same time.  Main course would end up cold, and dessert would be melted (I usually go for sorbet).

 

I wouldn't expect dinner to be served in exactly the same way as in the MDR, but I would not find it acceptable to have all courses brought to the cabin at the same time.

[wowzz]

13 hours ago, NaomiW said:

I should say aswell, the second time we had a suite it was on Britannia, and I got the impression the butlers were stretched a bit because there were quite a few more suites.. For example, when we had a meal in the cabin he would just bring the meals in and leave them with us, covered, for us to serve ourselves. All the courses at once, whereas on our wedding cruise on Ventura he would just bring one or two courses at a time and serve us and top up our drinks etc as if we were in the restaurant. Im not sure which of these is the normal experience but I was a tiny bit disappointed with the in cabin dining experience the second time compared with the first-perhaps I was expecting too much?

You need to try the Ultimate Balcony Dinner on Princess. Two waiters, drinks poured for you, each course served separately,  canapes, linen table cloth and napkins,   - sounds somewhat more like the service you  should have received.

[reef112]

We have our first suite booked for our honeymoon next year on Britannia - Can't wait!
I don't suppose anyone knows what the deal would be if we have the unlimited drinks package, if asking the butler to bring us drinks to the cabin occasionally? 

For example, does the butler bring bar drinks (which would be 'free' because of the drinks package). Or would all drinks be classed as room service, and chargeable on top of the drinks package?

Just wondering really - but could be nice for the odd cocktail in the cabin!

[snaefell]

We had an aft corner suite on Britannia's repo from the Caribbean a few years back,boarding was brilliant,the suite was roomy,the balcony amazing,the butler we had limited use for,we like our privacy but he was useful when we needed a new bottle of Jamesons brought to the cabin,the canapes yes do vary to put it kindly!

We did have breakfast in the Epicurian on the first morning,very nice,very civilized but after that we used the buffet,we like wandering around seeing what is available & 'pick & mixing'.