Brilliant Britannia But Beaten By Better

So I’m back off a flying trip to see P&O’s brand new ship, Britannia, thought it best to give you my honest verdict.

There is no getting away from the fact that Britannia is without doubt the best thing P&O have ever built, she is stunning from the top down, a wonderful piece of design and I just know she is going to sell fantastically well this year.

She is boosted by the food heroes idea, bringing together some of the worlds most famous culinary masters such as Marco Pierre White & James Martin among others. This will suit our foodie culture and will appeal to cruisers in a big way.

You sense a but……. and you are right to.

To me, the ship was missing something. To be perfectly honest I’m not quite sure what.

What they have put together with Britannia is an amalgamation of the classic P&O design which has served them so well over the years, bars such as the Crows Nest, and signature restaurants like the White Room etc etc, and blended it with a new, more modern flavour. So for example the crows next now specialises in serving various different gins from around Britain, a stroke of genius I think, being a gin drinker – really excellent I thought. There are several other ‘old with new’ touches on the ship as well, noticeably with the design of the ship which you will see as you walk round.

There is no doubt that the ship is very very good in many ways, but there was a thought rattling around in my head the entire time I was aboard.

What was the thought?

Well, I’ve been lucky enough over the years to be among the first to see more than a handful of new ships, and the one thing you want when walking aboard is the ‘Wow Factor’

Generally the first thing that grabs you when you board is the main atrium, the heart of the ship, the centre of everything, where it all happens, a vast open space that the ship is proud to show you as you walk on.

Although the ship has a classy look to her with all the right lines, the Wow Factor just wasn’t there for me.

I’ll give you an example, my first ship years and years ago was Freedom of the Seas, and when I walked aboard that ship, I was literally blown away with how amazing it was around every corner – but I’ll put this down to first ship awe.

Some time later I went down to celebrate the naming of Queen Victoria, and again as I walked aboard, I was bowled over by the design, the camera was instantly out taking pictures. But OK in the name of fair play, Cunard is perhaps a cut above.

Years later I walk aboard Celebrity Reflection, part of the Solstice family of ships, of which I have now seen two, and to be frank, they are streets ahead of P&O when it comes to that initial, slap you in the face beauty of the ship. The difference to me is massive.

I always measure a ship in memory.

Celebrity Solstice will stay with me forever, walking around that ship brand new was like walking onto another planet. Britannia, as nice as she is, did not have the same impact, and after a couple of hours walking round I hate to say that the decor becomes slightly forgettable. The sports bar, Brodies, which is supposed to be a traditional British pub, reminds me of the local Weatherspoons round the corner – maybe that’s the idea, but it doesn’t work for me. The restaurants too look all very familiar, indeed when I asked the staff member outside one of the specialty restaurants what made it special she couldn’t really tell me. The only outstanding one for me was Sindhu, Atul Kochars signature restaurant, that for me was genuinely different and really had the Wow Factor.

I can’t really comment on how she will fair on a full cruise as I simply didn’t have enough time to judge.

However, the design aside, I still think Britannia is a wonderful ship, make no mistake, she will do very well for P&O and would I cruise on her myself? Yes in a heartbeat.

I think die hard P&Oers will love her. Perhaps I am being a little picky. But hey, I’ll let you decide.

Should you book Britannia, yes you should. Should you be excited if you are booked on her? Definitely.

Will Britannia rule the waves? We shall see!

If I am lucky enough to get on board Anthem of the Seas this year I will certainly be putting them head to head, so watch out for that!

Thanks for reading and as ever, until next time……………