Britannia – Rules The Waves?

Britannia – Rules The Waves?

She‘s certainly created an impression!

As you know I was lucky to have the opportunity to spend a night on board Britannia recently before her maiden voyage today, to see if she was able to live up to all the hype and marketing frenzy of recent months.

I must say she certainly made a grand entrance in Southampton,  she’s absolutely huge! Majestic even!

The entrance to the Ocean Terminal decorated in readiness for the Queen

So after a bit of a delay with the embarkation, I was gagging to get on board to see what all the fuss was about .  Well!  I wasn’t disappointed!  As soon as you step on to Deck 5 and catch a glimpse of the Starburst Chandelier which takes centre stage in the Atrium you just know you are in for a treat.

This magnificent centrepiece is a jaw-dropping showstopper, and it’s hard to take your eyes off of the intricacy of the design.  Surrounded by stunning pieces of art and beautiful floral displays, the Atrium gives a mouth-watering glimpse of what this ship has to offer in the way of opulence, elegance, modern contemporary design, coupled with P&O’s traditional British charm. The ship is designed in the style of a 5* Boutique Hotel  with muted classy colour schemes throughout.

I was particularly impressed with the spacious cabins. I was in a Balcony Cabin on Deck 15  A509 and was struck by how much thought  had gone into the design. With the large flat screen TV on the wall, beautiful comfy sofa and big cushions, the subdued lighting and artwork, and of course the wonderfully comfortable bed,  all contributed to give you the feeling of a hotel room, and a very plush one at that!, rather than a cabin.

Huge flat screen TV – a bit too close to the beds I think.

The comfy sofa and designer cushions.  A nice touch, although I’m not sure what the ‘pepper pot’ ornament thingy is for??

A spacious room beautifully designed and furnished

No individual bedside lighting though – might be a problem if one wants to read and the other sleep?

Checking out the size of the bathroom – and yes room to swing a small furry animal – but only just!

The bathroom was spacious and well equipped, with plenty of shelving around the vanity unit as well as in the shower cubicle which, by the way sports a real shower door as you would expect in a 5* Hotel, and not those flimsy curtains, which turn to cling wrap at the first sign of water!,

I was also impressed with the amount of storage space, not only do you have the open wardrobe area, but again, you have plenty of shelving space as well.

Even on the vanity unit, I liked that you have 2 big mugs for your tea and coffee, instead of the small ‘2 mouthfuls and its gone’ little cups.  The only small criticism I would have is that in order to plug the kettle into the wall you have to rearrange the unit and move the tray of tea/coffee etc as there’s limited space.

I must say I was very disappointed in the size of the balcony.  I expected bigger.  Once you have the 2 chairs and table taking up space, there’s very little room for manoeuvre.  Having said that, I would rather have the space inside the cabin, as personally I don’t use the balcony for a great length of time.  Just to sit out in the morning with a hot steaming cup/mug of tea!

So after unpacking it was time to explore the ship.  Which is some feat as its so huge! And with little time, I headed to the Oasis Spa (my absolute favourite part of any ship!)But that’s another blog…..

Gina

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