OFF Britannia now

[sandancer]

Hope my posts from the ship were of interest and now my thoughts from off the ship. 
First thing I have to say is that this cruise surpassed all our expectations. You see I was one of the “I’m not paying to bob about in the English Channel and I’m definitely not wearing a mask on a cruise” crowd. Thank goodness common sense kicked in.

 

We really enjoyed the cruise despite the rubbish weather. The food was good, especially in Sindhu, Glass House and Epicurean. However the selection of food in the buffet was not as good as we’ve had previously.  I should say though that we don’t eat lunch so our experience is purely breakfast and afternoon tea. Both were adequate but nothing special. 

 

We loved the entertainment, some of the best we’ve had on a ship. The Beatles shows were great and we went to both as they were different sets. I would say the the Trawlermen were definitely the best we’ve had on a ship. We loved their performances. 

 

Cabin was good with plenty of storage. The miniature bathroom was tolerable. We felt our cabin could do with some TLC as the fittings were verging on shabby, especially the sofa and they definitely need to invest in some new bedding. Balcony very narrow and just about room for 2 chairs. 
We found the waiting and cabin staff to be friendly and helpful. The reception staff could be a little frosty but nothing overwhelming. Didn’t do any shopping and didn’t use the spa so no comment there. 

 

So there you have it. Only our second P&O cruise but as we have decided to cruise more from Southampton it will not be our last. Only on the big ships though. Iona and Arvia are both there on the wish list. 

[AndyMichelle]

Welcome back and thank you for your updates. 

I'm sure they are a great help to newbies, but we still enjoy knowing what is going on, especially as we currently can't cruise. 

Very jealous, 

Andy & Michelle 

[grapau27]

48 minutes ago, sandancer said:

Hope my posts from the ship were of interest and now my thoughts from off the ship. 
First thing I have to say is that this cruise surpassed all our expectations. You see I was one of the “I’m not paying to bob about in the English Channel and I’m definitely not wearing a mask on a cruise” crowd. Thank goodness common sense kicked in.

 

We really enjoyed the cruise despite the rubbish weather. The food was good, especially in Sindhu, Glass House and Epicurean. However the selection of food in the buffet was not as good as we’ve had previously.  I should say though that we don’t eat lunch so our experience is purely breakfast and afternoon tea. Both were adequate but nothing special. 

 

We loved the entertainment, some of the best we’ve had on a ship. The Beatles shows were great and we went to both as they were different sets. I would say the the Trawlermen were definitely the best we’ve had on a ship. We loved their performances. 

 

Cabin was good with plenty of storage. The miniature bathroom was tolerable. We felt our cabin could do with some TLC as the fittings were verging on shabby, especially the sofa and they definitely need to invest in some new bedding. Balcony very narrow and just about room for 2 chairs. 
We found the waiting and cabin staff to be friendly and helpful. The reception staff could be a little frosty but nothing overwhelming. Didn’t do any shopping and didn’t use the spa so no comment there. 

 

So there you have it. Only our second P&O cruise but as we have decided to cruise more from Southampton it will not be our last. Only on the big ships though. Iona and Arvia are both there on the wish list. 

Pleased you had a great time Sandancer.

Graham.

[P&O SUE]

1 hour ago, sandancer said:

Hope my posts from the ship were of interest and now my thoughts from off the ship. 
First thing I have to say is that this cruise surpassed all our expectations. You see I was one of the “I’m not paying to bob about in the English Channel and I’m definitely not wearing a mask on a cruise” crowd. Thank goodness common sense kicked in.

 

We really enjoyed the cruise despite the rubbish weather. The food was good, especially in Sindhu, Glass House and Epicurean. However the selection of food in the buffet was not as good as we’ve had previously.  I should say though that we don’t eat lunch so our experience is purely breakfast and afternoon tea. Both were adequate but nothing special. 

 

We loved the entertainment, some of the best we’ve had on a ship. The Beatles shows were great and we went to both as they were different sets. I would say the the Trawlermen were definitely the best we’ve had on a ship. We loved their performances. 

 

Cabin was good with plenty of storage. The miniature bathroom was tolerable. We felt our cabin could do with some TLC as the fittings were verging on shabby, especially the sofa and they definitely need to invest in some new bedding. Balcony very narrow and just about room for 2 chairs. 
We found the waiting and cabin staff to be friendly and helpful. The reception staff could be a little frosty but nothing overwhelming. Didn’t do any shopping and didn’t use the spa so no comment there. 

 

So there you have it. Only our second P&O cruise but as we have decided to cruise more from Southampton it will not be our last. Only on the big ships though. Iona and Arvia are both there on the wish list. 

Thanks for your review, glad you enjoyed yourselves. As Andy said it’s good to hear about these cruises. I wish I’d booked one now!

[wowzz]

4 hours ago, sandancer said:

Only on the big ships though

Out of interest, why not Arcadia and Aurora. We prefer the smaller ships.

[sandancer]

We have tried smaller ships (and much bigger ones) but the Britannia was just right for us. However, we have to factor in the occupancy. Maybe if the ship had been full it might be a different outcome. 

[terrierjohn]

11 hours ago, wowzz said:

Out of interest, why not Arcadia and Aurora. We prefer the smaller ships.

It is possible for people to prefer bigger ships wowzz, and for all sorts of reasons.

[picsa]

3 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

It is possible for people to prefer bigger ships wowzz, and for all sorts of reasons.

Smaller ships have fewer facilities, less choice of entertainment, and frequently has a significantly older passenger demographic.

[davecttr]

1 hour ago, picsa said:

Smaller ships have fewer facilities, less choice of entertainment, and frequently has a significantly older passenger demographic.

An older passenger demographic is a good thing to some. Best to keep well away from the little germ/virus factories. This is why many cruisers prefer to avoid school holidays.

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, picsa said:

Smaller ships have fewer facilities, less choice of entertainment, and frequently has a significantly older passenger demographic.

And fewer passengers, and probably a better space/passenger ratio.

[picsa]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

And fewer passengers, and probably a better space/passenger ratio.

Of course fewer passengers, but I can’t see why the space ratio would be any better with the reduced number and size of the facilities on a smaller ship.

[picsa]

8 minutes ago, davecttr said:

An older passenger demographic is a good thing to some. Best to keep well away from the little germ/virus factories. This is why many cruisers prefer to avoid school holidays.

But there is a world of difference between a non-school holiday ‘adults only’ cruise on a large ship and a cruise filled with ‘God’s waiting room’ on a small ship.

[wowzz]

8 minutes ago, picsa said:

Of course fewer passengers, but I can’t see why the space ratio would be any better with the reduced number and size of the facilities on a smaller ship.

Arcadia has by far the best passenger space ratio of any P&O ship. And if you look at the Saga figures, the ratio for their ships is even greater. 

https://www.cruisemapper.com/wiki/761-cruise-ship-passenger-capacity-ratings

[P&O SUE]

I went on a cruise on Ventura with my friend in 2018. She’d cruised a lot as a child ( one ship being the original Oriana) but never as an adult as her husband wouldn’t go. At the end of the cruise she said she didn’t want to go on anything smaller than Ventura in future as she liked the choice of bars, entertainment etc.

[wowzz]

10 minutes ago, picsa said:

But there is a world of difference between a non-school holiday ‘adults only’ cruise on a large ship and a cruise filled with ‘God’s waiting room’ on a small ship.

Not sure what small ships you have been on? Certainly not my experience.

[picsa]

5 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Arcadia has by far the best passenger space ratio of any P&O ship. And if you look at the Saga figures, the ratio for their ships is even greater. 

https://www.cruisemapper.com/wiki/761-cruise-ship-passenger-capacity-ratings

 

That website is dividing the gross tonnage of the vessel by the number of passengers to come up with a “passengers to space” ratio.

 

It isn’t a passenger space ratio because they are not dividing passenger space by the number of passengers!
 

It is highly likely that the engine room on Iona is not twice the size of the engine room on Arcadia, so including that space in the ratio means you end up with figures that are strictly ‘passengers to space’ but utterly irrelevant if considering how much space those passengers have to use.

 

 

[terrierjohn]

54 minutes ago, wowzz said:

And fewer passengers, and probably a better space/passenger ratio.

Passenger space ratio can be a very inaccurate way of determining how much room you have. I prefer the bigger ships with a multiplicity of varied indoor and outdoor spaces.

I found the limited number of venues on Aurora made it feel very claustrophobic, far more so than Azura/Ventura, Emerald and Sapphire Princess, Britannia, Navigator & Indepenence OTS and Celebrity Eclipse, which all felt spacious and roomy, but of course only my opinion.

 

Edited September 6, 2021 by terrierjohn

[Ardennais]

2 hours ago, picsa said:

But there is a world of difference between a non-school holiday ‘adults only’ cruise on a large ship and a cruise filled with ‘God’s waiting room’ on a small ship.

And I would say that there’s very little difference. For me, the main difference is between adult only and family and I’m one of those who actually likes seeing children onboard. 

[picsa]

15 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

And I would say that there’s very little difference. For me, the main difference is between adult only and family and I’m one of those who actually likes seeing children onboard. 

I suppose it depends on how close you are in age to the ‘God’s waiting room’ group.

[HalifaxYorksCruiser]

Anyone on the current Britannia cruise has struck lucky with the weather.

[Sir Cumference]

I'm just entering "God's waiting room" (70 tomorrow) and have always preferred smaller ships. Aurora is my favourite and Azura/Ventura are the largest I would consider - if I was really forced to do so.

 

As far as children are concerned, I prefer "adult only" ships - except for Christmas as  I think that children make Christmas 🙂

[sandancer]

8 minutes ago, HalifaxYorksCruiser said:

Anyone on the current Britannia cruise has struck lucky with the weather.

Grrrrrr!

[HalifaxYorksCruiser]

We were quite lucky with our Britannia cruise 1st to 5 th August when we had two very good mornings and the last day full sun with the sea very smooth throughout.

 

[Ardennais]

2 hours ago, picsa said:

I suppose it depends on how close you are in age to the ‘God’s waiting room’ group.

Not close at all. We cruise with my parents and our children!

Edited September 6, 2021 by Ardennais

[Glide]

59 next month, but we really enjoy being around youngere families and their children. Perish the thought that we end up not valuing that children are our future. They stop us being miserable old gits.