Britannia – Here we go again

So the time had come and we were about to board P&O’s newest addition Britannia, as we drove from the airport we could see the ship immediately and too be honest it looks like any other ship, however the big union jack on the front gave us a hint that this was a P&O ship.

Big and looking very much like a huge floating block of flats, let’s hope she has the WOW factor when stepping on board. We were greeted at the gangway by a couple of smiling crew members who asked us if we needed any help finding the cabin, of course we did this was a brand new ship and none of us had seen the inside before!

My cabin was a standard balcony and looked very much like most other cabins but too be fair had some great extras that I had not seen before in a standard balcony cabin. The tv was massive and the sofa area was comfortable very much like the beds, there was plenty of wardrobe space and this was tucked away hidden from the main cabin. The bathroom was adequate and no different to most other cruise lines. The cabin was a nice size but was very disappointed with the balcony size, you would be pushed to get even 2 people on it comfortably. That said very nicely decorated, and would be fine to travel in for 2 weeks.

As for the ship itself, I think it was trying too hard at being a boutique hotel, I was looking for glitz, glamour and some WOW factor and as always felt very under whelmed, seems to be the case when I step onto a new P&O ship. I know this ship is being aimed at the British market but come on we are not as conservative as we once was and we British want to see some bright lights and glitz, something that gets us to go WOW WOW WOW. We are now well into the 2,000’s and have left the 90’s behind.

I guess If you were a first time cruiser or had never seen any other product, the ship would probably impress but this day and age people are cruising much more often and are experimenting with other cruise lines, if this was the case they would be somewhat disappointed. P&O no longer have the monopoly at Southampton and many other cruise lines are competing for business and too be fair, Royal Caribbean have well and truly got the market tucked up. There are no comparison between the 2 cruise lines.

I would love to mention the food but again I felt underwhelmed, however we only had the 1 menu and it would be unkind to comment too much, what I did have to eat in the main dining room was sufficient, not amazing but not average either. The service was slow and a little unorganized but that is too be expected for the first time and have experienced this with other brand new ships, so I’m sure all will get better.

The rooms are nice and safe in design, nothing WOW but again would go back to my previous point, if you had never seen a ship before you would be pleasantly impressed.

I noticed that the drinks prices were looking a little more expensive than previous and too be honest on par with other American cruise lines, that did surprise me, I guess they need to find the money to pay for this ship somehow!

This may all sound a little negative, I don’t mean it to, but I have been lucky to see many many ships and I have much to compare and these are my honest views.

If you have never been on a cruise before go for Britannia if the price is right, if you want glitz, glamour and some truly WOW moments try a Royal Caribbean ship, unfortunately there are no comparisons.

I would be more than happy to recommend Britannia, if you are looking for a British environment, enjoy the standard shows and entertainment then go on give Britannia a try.

First time cruisers will not be disappointed.

Click below for everything you need to know

http://www.cruise.co.uk/news/an-introduction-to-the-po-britannia/?affref=nikb