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

[Megabear2]

Very little to report from yesterday's call at St Vincent.  Most people who did not take an excursion were back onboard long before lunch.  The general consensus seemed to be why do P&O choose this port as UK unless you go to the beach, climb a volcano or are a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean you will be disappointed.  Those who managed to book the Mustique and Bequia excursions seemed pleased but having considered them we felt the prices were way too high for us.

 

I have noticed that excursion prices onboard are considerably higher than when they launched and I'm very glad I booked in advance.

 

An example is the Nevis trip from St Kitts which is now over £30 more than we paid before we departed.

 

  Limelight club for Chesney Hawkes last night was good but I'm unsure if he was really worth the extra £10pp more than Eric & Ern.

 

Today we are on St Lucia. Weather currently good but we are warned of a heavy rain risk later.  We are going on an evening catamaran trip having visited St Lucia many times before.  Could be a wet one!  Santa arriving at 5.00pm but his elves visited early ... A sighting of a very rare item ...

 

 

 

[paulatsea]

Megabear2 - what’s the plan for Xmas day ?

Does everyone get a Christmas present from p&o ?

Captain does Santa ?

 

[Megabear2]

3 hours ago, paulatsea said:

Megabear2 - what’s the plan for Xmas day ?

Does everyone get a Christmas present from p&o ?

Captain does Santa ?

 

Santa comes this evening at 5.00pm. Traditionally arrives at the funnel with his bag of gifts and then makes his way down to the open decks to.join the party - Sailaways are back big time. We will track Santa on his journey. Normally there's a link to Azura but as we're alone in the Caribbean this year not sure what will happen about that.

 

Christmas gifts for all will be delivered this evening I'm told.

 

Christmas day everyone has fixed dining. You chose before departure or if a late booking allocated.  It's a 2 hour extravaganza.  Christmas carols tomorrow morning with the choir, panto at 1.15 and a special Christmas themed headliners show.  Various events around the ship.such as ice carving etc.

 

We personally are dining in the Epicurean with a special Christmas menu with matched wines.  Not cheap at £50 each.but the price has remained the same as last year so.we are happy.

 

Everyone in Christmas garb today, formal dress tomorrow and then wear a Christmas jumper(!!) On Boxing Day.

 

[Mollag]

5 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Very little to report from yesterday's call at St Vincent.  Most people who did not take an excursion were back onboard long before lunch.  The general consensus seemed to be why do P&O choose this port as UK unless you go to the beach, climb a volcano or are a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean you will be disappointed.  Those who managed to book the Mustique and Bequia excursions seemed pleased but having considered them we felt the prices were way too high for us.

 

I have noticed that excursion prices onboard are considerably higher than when they launched and I'm very glad I booked in advance.

 

An example is the Nevis trip from St Kitts which is now over £30 more than we paid before we departed.

 

  Limelight club for Chesney Hawkes last night was good but I'm unsure if he was really worth the extra £10pp more than Eric & Ern.

 

Today we are on St Lucia. Weather currently good but we are warned of a heavy rain risk later.  We are going on an evening catamaran trip having visited St Lucia many times before.  Could be a wet one!  Santa arriving at 5.00pm but his elves visited early ... A sighting of a very rare item ...

 

 

 

Getting them every night here on SAGA😉. Do you know if the water taxi is running in St Lucia we’re in on New Year’s Eve but I think we’re betting on the tow side TIA

[paulatsea]

2 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Santa comes this evening at 5.00pm. Traditionally arrives at the funnel with his bag of gifts and then makes his way down to the open decks to.join the party - Sailaways are back big time. We will track Santa on his journey. Normally there's a link to Azura but as we're alone in the Caribbean this year not sure what will happen about that.

 

Christmas gifts for all will be delivered this evening I'm told.

 

Christmas day everyone has fixed dining. You chose before departure or if a late booking allocated.  It's a 2 hour extravaganza.  Christmas carols tomorrow morning with the choir, panto at 1.15 and a special Christmas themed headliners show.  Various events around the ship.such as ice carving etc.

 

We personally are dining in the Epicurean with a special Christmas menu with matched wines.  Not cheap at £50 each.but the price has remained the same as last year so.we are happy.

 

Everyone in Christmas garb today, formal dress tomorrow and then wear a Christmas jumper(!!) On Boxing Day.

 

Superb !! 

[wowzz]

4 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Christmas gifts for all will be delivered this evening I'm told.

Only if you are wearing clean pyjamas, according to my parents some 65 years ago !

[zap99]

9 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Very little to report from yesterday's call at St Vincent.  Most people who did not take an excursion were back onboard long before lunch.  The general consensus seemed to be why do P&O choose this port as UK unless you go to the beach, climb a volcano or are a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean you will be disappointed.  Those who managed to book the Mustique and Bequia excursions seemed pleased but having considered them we felt the prices were way too high for us.

 

I have noticed that excursion prices onboard are considerably higher than when they launched and I'm very glad I booked in advance.

 

An example is the Nevis trip from St Kitts which is now over £30 more than we paid before we departed.

 

  Limelight club for Chesney Hawkes last night was good but I'm unsure if he was really worth the extra £10pp more than Eric & Ern.

 

Today we are on St Lucia. Weather currently good but we are warned of a heavy rain risk later.  We are going on an evening catamaran trip having visited St Lucia many times before.  Could be a wet one!  Santa arriving at 5.00pm but his elves visited early ... A sighting of a very rare item ...

 

 

 

To us, every Island in the Caribbean has its own magical charm, Trinidad not so much, but every Island we have visited, about 30 was enchanting. 

[Ardennais]

The Botanical Gardens are worth a visit on St Vincent. It was our first Caribbean island and we thought it was lovely. 

[zap99]

10 hours ago, Ardennais said:

The Botanical Gardens are worth a visit on St Vincent. It was our first Caribbean island and we thought it was lovely. 

Our tour guide was just like Nelson Mandela,  about 80 with the same voice. We visited the Botanical Gardens and stopped for drinks at a small hotel overlooking an Island. One of the places we would go back to in a heartbeat.

 

[Megabear2]

21 hours ago, Mollag said:

Getting them every night here on SAGA😉. Do you know if the water taxi is running in St Lucia we’re in on New Year’s Eve but I think we’re betting on the tow side TIA

Water taxi was running yesterday.  My money won't stretch to Saga so I'll do without the chocolate!  

 

Can confirm Santa visited and left gifts for all.  The new P&O rum is very nice I can confirm!  Nice touch at breakfast as even in the buffet free Bucks Fizz and extra vouchers for free drinks.

 

Very windy today blowing force 8 and just passing through a deep rain shower.  It looked like the film The Fog for 10 minutes or so.

 

Great party on deck last night with Pulse returning - they haven't been performing so far.  Everyone enjoyed several great sets catering to all.  We also had the evening cruise out of St Lucia so continued the party after a swift bite in the buffet.  That was our first visit there and it was noticeable far less choice than on previous cruises, not a complaint just an observation that compared with other years and my cruises on Celebrity and Princess earlier this year far inferior.

 

We were late risers this morning after our 2.00am stumble to bed and have spent the day wandering and socializing.  The ship has a nice happy vibe today after the service this morning and many are enjoying coffee and cake. We are trying for take two of the panto shortly.

 

 

 

[paulatsea]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

Water taxi was running yesterday.  My money won't stretch to Saga so I'll do without the chocolate!  

 

Can confirm Santa visited and left gifts for all.  The new P&O rum is very nice I can confirm!  Nice touch at breakfast as even in the buffet free Bucks Fizz and extra vouchers for free drinks.

 

Very windy today blowing force 8 and just passing through a deep rain shower.  It looked like the film The Fog for 10 minutes or so.

 

Great party on deck last night with Pulse returning - they haven't been performing so far.  Everyone enjoyed several great sets catering to all.  We also had the evening cruise out of St Lucia so continued the party after a swift bite in the buffet.  That was our first visit there and it was noticeable far less choice than on previous cruises, not a complaint just an observation that compared with other years and my cruises on Celebrity and Princess earlier this year far inferior.

 

We were late risers this morning after our 2.00am stumble to bed and have spent the day wandering and socializing.  The ship has a nice happy vibe today after the service this morning and many are enjoying coffee and cake. We are trying for take two of the panto shortly.

 

 

 

What did Santa give you ?

[Mollag]

Thanks MB enjoy the rest of your cruise 

[Megabear2]

Christmas day was spent on board enjoying the fun and games in the atrium and up on deck.  It was quite windy so many took part. Santa's was in his den meeting and greeting and a special egg nog cocktail was served all day. Dinner in the Epicurean was excellent with great food matched with good wines. We.then enjoyed the Military Magician in the theatre before retiring to bed at a relatively early 11.30.

 

Today it's St Kitts. Weather hot with showers and squally gusts so we wandered into the old town and then back to the port shops. Back onboard at 1.30 we enjoyed lunch and a bottle of wine before retiring to the balcony to read and catch up email, WhatsApp and other communications.

 

Interestingly our phones are connecting to Medallion Wi-Fi from Enchanted Princess next door rather than Britannia. Just goes to show how good modern internet could be if you bother...

 

Happy Boxing Day to all.  Tomorrow Antigua.

 

[Ardennais]

Glad to hear that you had a great Christmas day onboard.
 

As a matter of interest, do you have to have the matched wines in the Epicurian? And if not, is the meal cheaper? 

[pennib]

A few updates as we are also on this cruise…… horrendous outward flight from Manchester on the Friday and passengers were basically stuck to their seats for 12 hours. I could hardly walk when we got off. Luggage arrived pdq though. Ship sailed at 02.30 local time on the Saturday/Sunday morning. (I know because I was up to see us leave as my body clock was still on UK time). Having visited this region many times and also with P&O Christmas cruises we can confirm that there are a lot of cutbacks. Water in silly tins, no dressing gowns (sure we had them last year on Azura), no turn down services etc but we have found the crew to be excellent. DH went down to reception as soon as we arrived and booked all the meals we wanted including the Epicurean for Christmas dinner. Actually this venue was a lot quieter than our previous visit a few days earlier. However they were still claiming the restaurant was booked out. People very spooked out about possible delays going home so much so that the queue to book day cabins was the longest I have ever seen (I of course was the first down there at 07.30). 
Caribbean lunch was very nice we thought except that the ship broke down afterwards!!!we are in the Bh again tonight. MDR has been fine for food but service a bit patchy. We have discovered the delight of having breakfast served in the Oriental restaurant so no more buffet for us. 
the official line is that the ship is full but we know for a fact that is not true as people have no neighbours in some decks.  Can confirm that the on board internet is pretty rubbish and fortunately we did not take the advice of a staff member in reception that we really needed to upgrade to simply do emails and download the Daily Telegraph. The basic plan works fine for these activities. Also the My Holiday app has fits and starts but we are getting there!

We are booked on Britannia again for next Christmas but are keeping an open mind on whether to stick with it or look elsewhere. Happy new year to you all🥂🥂

 

 

 

[Megabear2]

3 hours ago, pennib said:

A few updates as we are also on this cruise…… horrendous outward flight from Manchester on the Friday and passengers were basically stuck to their seats for 12 hours. I could hardly walk when we got off. Luggage arrived pdq though. Ship sailed at 02.30 local time on the Saturday/Sunday morning. (I know because I was up to see us leave as my body clock was still on UK time). Having visited this region many times and also with P&O Christmas cruises we can confirm that there are a lot of cutbacks. Water in silly tins, no dressing gowns (sure we had them last year on Azura), no turn down services etc but we have found the crew to be excellent. DH went down to reception as soon as we arrived and booked all the meals we wanted including the Epicurean for Christmas dinner. Actually this venue was a lot quieter than our previous visit a few days earlier. However they were still claiming the restaurant was booked out. People very spooked out about possible delays going home so much so that the queue to book day cabins was the longest I have ever seen (I of course was the first down there at 07.30). 
Caribbean lunch was very nice we thought except that the ship broke down afterwards!!!we are in the Bh again tonight. MDR has been fine for food but service a bit patchy. We have discovered the delight of having breakfast served in the Oriental restaurant so no more buffet for us. 
the official line is that the ship is full but we know for a fact that is not true as people have no neighbours in some decks.  Can confirm that the on board internet is pretty rubbish and fortunately we did not take the advice of a staff member in reception that we really needed to upgrade to simply do emails and download the Daily Telegraph. The basic plan works fine for these activities. Also the My Holiday app has fits and starts but we are getting there!

We are booked on Britannia again for next Christmas but are keeping an open mind on whether to stick with it or look elsewhere. Happy new year to you all🥂🥂

 

 

 

Hello neighbour. A lot of your comments are correct.  Not sure which cabin type you have but can confirm I have never had a dressing gown on Britannia apart from a deluxe balcony.  Water was also in tins from restart over COVID so this is also not new to us.

 

We have the premium internet purchased prior to departure and it has worked well from day 2 - good enough for my husband to work and complete everything for year end.

 

We too are considering our Arvia booking for December 2023.

[wowzz]

5 hours ago, pennib said:

Water in silly tins

A good thing, surely ?

[Megabear2]

What idiot decided it would be a good idea to bring Britannia, Wonder of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas and Norwegian Gem into St Maarten together?????

 

Going to be interesting I think!

[Fionboard]

3 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

What idiot decided it would be a good idea to bring Britannia, Wonder of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas and Norwegian Gem into St Maarten together?????

 

Going to be interesting I think!

Have seen 6 ships there once. Think they are going to limit number of pax sometime. It is just too small for such an invasion.

[Fionboard]

14 hours ago, wowzz said:

A good thing, surely ?

Tap water tastes better than the tins (as long as you chill it)!

[Mollag]

15 hours ago, wowzz said:

A good thing, surely ?

Great till you take a slice out of your hand trying to open one

[Fionboard]

9 minutes ago, Mollag said:

Great till you take a slice out of your hand trying to open one

And expensive!

[yorkshirephil]

58 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Have seen 6 ships there once. Think they are going to limit number of pax sometime. It is just too small for such an invasion.

We have had six ships in at St Maarten before, however just two of us in December, it was still quite busy especially the port  shopping area.

[Windsurfboy]

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

 

 

[Camberley]

On 12/26/2022 at 10:53 AM, pete14 said:

 

On 12/26/2022 at 7:57 PM, Megabear2 said:

Christmas day was spent on board enjoying the fun and games in the atrium and up on deck.  It was quite windy so many took part. Santa's was in his den meeting and greeting and a special egg nog cocktail was served all day. Dinner in the Epicurean was excellent with great food matched with good wines. We.then enjoyed the Military Magician in the theatre before retiring to bed at a relatively early 11.30.

 

Today it's St Kitts. Weather hot with showers and squally gusts so we wandered into the old town and then back to the port shops. Back onboard at 1.30 we enjoyed lunch and a bottle of wine before retiring to the balcony to read and catch up email, WhatsApp and other communications.

 

Interestingly our phones are connecting to Medallion Wi-Fi from Enchanted Princess next door rather than Britannia. Just goes to show how good modern internet could be if you bother...

 

Happy Boxing Day to all.  Tomorrow Antigua.

 

That is such a lovely festive menu. Can’t wait to dine in there again soon

Edited December 28, 2022 by Camberley