Britannia – family friendly my aft!

At 143,000 tonnes Britannia, P&O’s latest family friendly ship,  dwarfs even Azura and Ventura. Much has already been said about her stunning interiors, choice of dining options, the brand new Cookery Club etc but P&O aren’t really promoting the family cruising experience. Now this is a huge ship with lots of berths to fill added to which she is going to be competing with the likes of Royal Caribbean’s Anthem and Explorer whose facilities are, in my opinion, far superior, so how are they going to fill her if not with families?

Something which I had not previously been aware of came to my attention this week and to be honest I was quite taken aback. The good news is that if you are a family of four all will be well. Britannia can accommodate you. Any families of more than four, it gets less family friendly!

I had an enquiry for a family of five this week. Nothing unusual about that! Anyway, I was scouring the deck plans and couldn’t see any interconnecting cabins so I called P&O thinking it was just an omission on the plans because of course they would have them, wouldn’t they? Actually no they don’t. I have to say I was lost for words – not like me at all. I forged ahead none the less, “not a problem, I will offer the client neighbouring cabins and they can open up the balcony” I said to the girl in the call centre, although I knew that this wouldn’t be ideal for people with younger children due to safety on the balcony, but it would be the best that I could offer. Her reply, ” that won’t be possible I’m afraid as on Britannia the balconies can only be opened up for cleaning purposes. It would be at the discretion of the cabin steward whether they would be able to have it open so we cannot guarantee it”. What? Nor do they have the family suites that can be found on Azura and Ventura which will accommodate up to six people – I was told. As an aside, single passengers are well catered for, there are even single balconies on this ship.

I really and truly can’t believe that P&O have built this wonderful new flagship, taking heed of passenger feedback regarding their other ships, and have completely overlooked family accommodation beyond 2.4 children. It beggars belief, it really does.

I bet Royal Caribbean and Celebrity are rubbing their hands with glee as they have plenty of interconnecting cabins on offer and are far more family friendly!

For more information on family cruises please feel free to give me a call on 0330 303 8184 – anytime!