Britannia Christmas 2022 Goes Live!!!!!!!

[carlanthony24]

27 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Maybe these other people have lower expectations or paid considerably less than I did for their cruise.  Having given P&O nearly £8000 for a second grade balcony- admittedly with PE flights at £800 for that cost I would have hoped to have been able to access things like grapefruit juice, tomato juice and cream cheese.  There is no draft beer in 95% of the bars, advertised sauvignon blanc wines are.no.more in the bars with most being offered P&O plonk as an alternative.   I visited the buffet at 2.00pm for a cup of tea as I was wandering around deck 16 when a heavy rain downpour occurred.  I found an irate guest with the officer in charge demanding to know why soggy sad tomatoes were offered which when I looked st them myself I wouldn't even have considered using for a fry up, never mind a supposedly fresh salad.

 

Incidentally I mentioned the number of cruises in an attempt to show I was objective and had experienced good and bad on lines including P&O.  No idea what you mean about the way it comes across. I've tried to be factual and have given up time on my holiday to post of my personal experience. Others will as you say have had different outcomes to their holiday.

 

For my part reading back over the past two weeks, we started with great hopes and enthusiasm and sadly it has waned as  time has moved on.

 

I cannot change my personal experience and sadly if asked I can rate things okay, but okay is not what I signed up for or paid a very hefty premium for by booking early and select.

 

By the way, for those who are interested a Peninsular Club party was held in the Live Lounge for top tier members, the remainder of us got a free drink voucher. I'm told parties are coming back.for all.very soon.

 

Britannia has always been my favourite P&O ship and I'm just sorry this cruise hasn't worked out for us.

 

That’s good to hear that she will always be your favourite ship and when ever we get a chance to go on I hope we don’t get the experience you got.

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, carlanthony24 said:

think some people have forgotten we have lived in a pandemic for 2-3 years been locked to our houses so to speak and now people are going away again they may be forgetting where they actually are which may explain so of the crazy behaviour people are mentioning

Drunken football fans manhandling fellow guests is just indefensible, nothing to do with Covid.

If I was MB I would have called security and got the lout thrown off the ship. 

Trying to defend drunken behaviour of this type is wrong. 

I admit to being slightly inebriated at odd times, but all I do is tell my one joke (involves an elephant and a mouse ) and do my bird impressions.  

[carlanthony24]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

Drunken football fans manhandling fellow guests is just indefensible, nothing to do with Covid.

If I was MB I would have called security and got the lout thrown off the ship. 

Trying to defend drunken behaviour of this type is wrong. 

I admit to being slightly inebriated at odd times, but all I do is tell my one joke (involves an elephant and a mouse ) and do my bird impressions.  

Didn’t say I was defending I just said there is people whose first holiday it might be since lockdown or what ever and people forget where they actually are. Yep totally agree I would have done something about it. 

[carlanthony24]

Not defending I just said there is people whose first holiday it might be since lockdown or what ever and people forget where they actually are. Yep totally agree I would have done something about it. 
 

Stock is a big problem for all companies even we are suffering. We had to return to Barbados once because of low stock that was coming from the US and the weather had halted things.

[Megabear2]

3 hours ago, carlanthony24 said:

Didn’t say I was defending I just said there is people whose first holiday it might be since lockdown or what ever and people forget where they actually are. Yep totally agree I would have done something about it. 

You'll note security were called and had a word on behalf of the two dozen or so of us who complained.  They would do no more just asked them to tone it down. The group were large, around 15 in total ranging from a youngish lad and women to men on their 50s.  Two security people were I think a little worried it might escalate.

 

We and most others within their vicinity left the area and they were allowed to continue.  This is not the first time I've encountered this handling by security I've mentioned before the Azura cruise when a hen party got out of control. P&O answer is the same this time: we are not responsible for individuals behaviour.

 

It's a holiday we aren't prepared to get deeply embroiled in an argument while on board and I will.take it up again on return.

[carlanthony24]

20 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

You'll note security were called and had a word on behalf of the two dozen or so of us who complained.  They would do no more just asked them to tone it down. The group were large, around 15 in total ranging from a youngish lad and women to men on their 50s.  Two security people were I think a little worried it might escalate.

 

We and most others within their vicinity left the area and they were allowed to continue.  This is not the first time I've encountered this handling by security I've mentioned before the Azura cruise when a hen party got out of control. P&O answer is the same this time: we are not responsible for individuals behaviour.

 

It's a holiday we aren't prepared to get deeply embroiled in an argument while on board and I will.take it up again on return.

Fair enough I didn't see that part Just going by what wowzz had said. At least head office will have a list of complaints to see ready.

Edited December 30, 2022 by carlanthony24

[paulatsea]

5 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

You'll note security were called and had a word on behalf of the two dozen or so of us who complained.  They would do no more just asked them to tone it down. The group were large, around 15 in total ranging from a youngish lad and women to men on their 50s.  Two security people were I think a little worried it might escalate.

 

We and most others within their vicinity left the area and they were allowed to continue.  This is not the first time I've encountered this handling by security I've mentioned before the Azura cruise when a hen party got out of control. P&O answer is the same this time: we are not responsible for individuals behaviour.

 

It's a holiday we aren't prepared to get deeply embroiled in an argument while on board and I will.take it up again on return.

Pathetic response from security and officers I/C  - people who behave like this should be offloaded without fail - consistently. 

[Windsurfboy]

I hadn't realised they charged such a premium for  Christmas. Even knocking off airfare, megabears cabin is dearer than our June suite.

[TigerB]

On 12/27/2022 at 10:00 PM, Megabear2 said:

Not sure which cabin type you have but can confirm I have never had a dressing gown on Britannia apart from a deluxe balcony.  

 

I learned recently that, even if you are in steerage, if you ask your cabin steward for a robe you will get one. We're in steerage on our next cruise, so I will try that and report back.

[Megabear2]

17 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

I hadn't realised they charged such a premium for  Christmas. Even knocking off airfare, megabears cabin is dearer than our June suite.

This is the most I've ever paid for Christmas and it was sneaky. Price remained stable to end September which was after final payment. Then dropped from October with massive OBC offered.  Month before departure they offered savers at £2000 and 2400 for select.  Seems the late bookers got the upgrades too, lots complaining days 1,2 and 3. I didn't get the cabin I booked as the Aircon broken so got an even worse one on deck 9 with lifeboat below and station outside view. Nice for the money ha ha .....

[TigerB]

 

On 12/28/2022 at 4:25 PM, Windsurfboy said:

By water in tins do people mean cans like coke , if not Can someone post a picture of the water in tins

 

Edited December 30, 2022 by TigerB

[zap99]

13 hours ago, wowzz said:

Drunken football fans manhandling fellow guests is just indefensible, nothing to do with Covid.

If I was MB I would have called security and got the lout thrown off the ship. 

Trying to defend drunken behaviour of this type is wrong. 

I admit to being slightly inebriated at odd times, but all I do is tell my one joke (involves an elephant and a mouse ) and do my bird impressions.  

Not the one eared elephant?🤔

 

[wowzz]

2 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Not the one eared elephant?🤔

 

No, not that one. I would get thrown out of the MDR if I told that one !

[Windsurfboy]

Given this premium for Christmas  they should have gone the extra mile to give premium service and food.

 

No excuse for drunken louts at any price.  First holiday since lockdown is no excuse for bad behaviour 

[Rupert2251]

23 hours ago, TigerB said:

 

 

I take it you can still buy water in resort and take it back onboard?

[TigerB]

1 hour ago, Rupert2251 said:

I take it you can still buy water in resort and take it back onboard?

 

Yes, you can. Infact, you can take unlimited water and soft drinks onboard, which is especially good if you're sailing from Southampton.

[Bazrat]

On 12/29/2022 at 11:41 AM, Megabear2 said:

This is my 10th Christmas Cruise and sadly by far the worst.  Over the years there are in my experience always some "difficult" customers on P,&O ships in particular but unfortunately this cruise has rather more than normal.  I'm not the type to be fazed by these people but as the cruise continues you can't help but notice them.

 

We dined with a nice couple last night who told us their Christmas dinner was ruined by being sat on a table with a family dressed in track trousers with a shirt and tie.  Apparently the miscreant was heavily inebriated as well.  Despite complaining and asking to be seated elsewhere they were told no other seats were available as it was a full seating due to everyone being issued a dining time. Subsequent complaint on leaving the restaurant early left to the maitre de informing them that "not everyone owns a suit and as it's Christmas they should live and let love!  An official complaint has now been made.

 

The problem appears to not be the fact it's Christmas more the lack of a wish to stop these people and the love and let live theme is definitely running through the ship.  Latest problem was at 2.00am this morning when an announcement called staff to attend an incident on Deck 15.  It was described as an "incident" rather than coded or a medical emergency so we are guessing a guest problem.

 

It's not helping the ship has run out of draft beers in all bars except Crows Nest as many are turning to spirits rather than bottled beers.  

 

I know I get told not to judge people's drinking by my OH but the mixture of sun, heavy drinking and some dubious individuals is very bad news.  Even my OH is finding these people a strain to deal with. Don't get me wrong we've met some very nice first time cruisers too.  Incidentally the average price for a balcony late booking seems to have been £2000 each and the insides £800

 

My OH has asked me to cancel our Arvia cruise next year and find something else. Speaks volumes unfortunately...

 

They ran out of draught beer that takes incompetence to the highest lvl, surely with all the ports you visit they could restock, did they all run out of bottle beer as well.

[Megabear2]

13 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

They ran out of draught beer that takes incompetence to the highest lvl, surely with all the ports you visit they could restock, did they all run out of bottle beer as well.

Three days from end no bottled cider, there were bottles of Peroni in the Atrium and Crows Nest actually had some draught Fosters they'd found from somewhere. There were a few cans of Guinness at a couple of bars..  On our last sea day we sat on bar stools on deck 17 watching them shuffle odd bottles on shelves to try to make a display.  Those enquiring about the shortages were reportedly told they were taken by surprise by the amount of beer being drunk.  Remember this was a cruise which took in the World Cup final, Christmas and two days of Premier League games (3 a day in Brodies). Couldn't help laughing as they ran the race night in Brodies where most of the younger men were drinking cocktails.

[alpha whiskey]

44 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Couldn't help laughing as they ran the race night in Brodies where most of the younger men were drinking cocktails.

If it's good enough for Del Boy......🍸

Tia Maria and lucozade, anyone? 

[Ardennais]

44 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Three days from end no bottled cider, there were bottles of Peroni in the Atrium and Crows Nest actually had some draught Fosters they'd found from somewhere. There were a few cans of Guinness at a couple of bars..  On our last sea day we sat on bar stools on deck 17 watching them shuffle odd bottles on shelves to try to make a display.  Those enquiring about the shortages were reportedly told they were taken by surprise by the amount of beer being drunk.  Remember this was a cruise which took in the World Cup final, Christmas and two days of Premier League games (3 a day in Brodies). Couldn't help laughing as they ran the race night in Brodies where most of the younger men were drinking cocktails.

Thank you for your reporting of this cruise. I am unlikely ever to be cruising over Christmas but it’s always interesting to hear your views as you report the facts fairly. 

 

However, the above post illustrates an important point to consider when reading reviews etc. If we had been on this cruise, the shortages would not have affected us one bit. We wouldn’t even be aware of them. For others, it would have had a detrimental on their enjoyment. We never use the speciality restaurants either (apart from the Glass House on a few occasions) so don’t miss them if they’re closed. There must be plenty of others who just use the buffet and MDR like us. So it’s really important that they get the core product right and manage flow through the MDRs. 

[pennib]

We were also on this Christmas cruise on Britannia. Putting aside the diabolical journey on 16 December from Manchester (which I will be dealing with in due course) our cabin was what we had paid for and was nicely cleaned each day. Our steward even supplied us with a bucket of ice each day which we have had to order on previous cruises. Can’t pass any comment about availability of drinks in any of the bars as we drank only in the GH before dinner and with a couple of friends. The boys knew what we all liked to drink and always had it available and they got us in for meals when it looked impossible to do so. Needless to say their dedication to service was suitably rewarded at the end of the trip…….

We thought the Epicurean was very disappointing this trip and couldn’t hold a candle to its equivalent (the dining club) on Marella Explorer.  We thought the beach house and Gh food was better than on previous cruises. MDR was OK. Oriental for breakfast was excellent and so civilised rather than having to fight your corner in the buffet which I find more difficult now that I use a walking stick.

Going back briefly to the horrendous delays of 16 December, a fellow PE passenger on the way back to Manchester yesterday said that no one would be able to claim compensation for the 16 December delays at Manchester because they had put us all on the plane (where we all sat for 4 hours on the tarmac). In his view if you are put on the plane rather than just left in the terminal then you are deemed to be taking the journey and tarmac delays don’t count. In his words “that is why they put you on the plane so they don’t have to pay out any compensation”.

we shall see………

 

Going back to the supply of water in tins, I don’t have a picture of one but if you know what a can of beer looks like, then the cans of water are the same size. 
finally, for this post, I was speaking to a fellow passenger at Manchester airport when we were waiting for our luggage and he and his wife had intended to go to Benidorm for Christmas but something went wrong with trip and they saw an advert for Britannia’s Christmas cruise and couldn’t believe the price. Usually they have an inside on a low deck but the cabin they got on Britannia was a huge inside with a double bed on a high deck for£2300 for the 2 of them. They were well happy (except for the flight delays).

 

Apart from the fact that we have already booked Britannia for Christmas 2023, we have decided to bin the Christmas cruise and go for something else so we booked Ventura leaving 3 January 2025 35 nights Soton to Soton round trip whilst we were on board Britannia. Good price plus £1400 obc. 
Happy New Year. 

[carlanthony24]

18 minutes ago, pennib said:

Going back briefly to the horrendous delays of 16 December, a fellow PE passenger on the way back to Manchester yesterday said that no one would be able to claim compensation for the 16 December delays at Manchester because they had put us all on the plane (where we all sat for 4 hours on the tarmac). In his view if you are put on the plane rather than just left in the terminal then you are deemed to be taking the journey and tarmac delays don’t count. In his words “that is why they put you on the plane so they don’t have to pay out any compensation”.

we shall see………

That is indeed true. Can't remember if the delay was due to weather or another extraordinary circumstance if so then you won't get anything. The way airlines tend to get away with it. Is they get you onboard and shut the doors then the pilots will release the parking brake that way in the system it counts as departed then they don't have to pay in hindsight. Sometimes a loop hole can be found but you need to find what that would be. 

 

In October the plane we should of been on was diverted to Stansted because of a bomb threat the night before. We was delayed over 3hrs. Jet2 managed to find a replacement aircraft within the fleet but we didn't have a crew since they all had to be called off standby or did not have the minimum amount of rest. We could potentially put in a claim but the airline would argue well this happened its out of our control etc.

Edited December 31, 2022 by carlanthony24

[wowzz]

14 minutes ago, pennib said:

In his view if you are put on the plane rather than just left in the terminal then you are deemed to be taking the journey and tarmac delays don’t count. In his words “that is why they put you on the plane so they don’t have to pay out any compensation”.

That is completely wrong. All that counts is when you actually get off the aircraft compared to the scheduled arrival time.

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, carlanthony24 said:

That is indeed true

I don't think so.

[carlanthony24]

2 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I don't think so.

It does. In the system it counts as off which means they have pushed back even though they may not have. Of course it depends on what time you arrive but they will take into account what happened the other end. 

 

We use to do this all the time. We have a bad delay. We board the passengers on the aircraft, shut the doors and release the brakes or even we push back and park somewhere near the runway. Delay timer effectively stops since it thinks you departed. Their is so many ways they can get you.