Her Maj and My Mom – What a week!

My Mom and I

What a whirlwind this last week has been, but what a special one. The launch of a new ship is always exciting but when the Queen is the person who will be naming it then it becomes even more so, and I for one was really looking forward to heading down to Southampton on Tuesday for the event. To be one of the first people on board and also get the chance to get (reasonably) up close to the Queen would be a real honour. However, rewind to last weekend and we had an even more important event taking place in our family that overshadowed the forthcoming P&O event by a mile – my Mom’s 80th birthday.

Unbeknownst  to my Mom, my Dad and I had invited family and friends to a secret party at their house, Mom knew nothing about this, she thought she was going out for a meal until I arrived with ‘the party’ in the boot of my car last Saturday evening which I had spent almost two days preparing,  followed by the arrival of all her guests. Mom was rendered speechless, something that doesn’t happen very often and we had a wonderful evening catching up with everyone and celebrating this special occasion.

Mom and Dad

I had barely recovered from Saturday evening before it was time to throw a few things in a case and head for Southampton for the launch 0f Britannia. I have to say the weather was beautiful, sunshine and blue skies all the way. The perfect day for a ship launch.

Our time on board was quite brief as the Queen was on board for lunch so this delayed our embarkation until about 3.30. Time for some celebrity spotting as they were disembarking! Look who I found!

Me with Linda Robson of Birds of a Feather fame!

I also found James Martin in the Cookery Club but he took one look at the gaggle of female agents and took his leave very quickly! My first impressions were good. Britannia, at 141,000 tonnes, is by far the biggest ship ever in the P&O fleet, possibly too big for the older P&O die-hards who love the mid-sized ships in the fleet? She is stunning, with really classy decor and the feel of a really upmarket boutique hotel rather than a cruise ship. P&O have really ‘pushed the boat out’ on her interiors, and the cabins are great too.

GE grade Balcony Cabin F205

This is a family-friendly ship and all generations are well catered for. That said, this ship does not aim to push the boundaries of technology or blow your mind with out of this world new features. This is a ship that will appeal to passengers who love traditional British cruising at its best. This is P&O doing what they do best – after all, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? If you are someone who has a horror of cruise ships that are ‘like Butlins at sea’then this is the ship for you because nothing could be further removed.

The Atrium with the stunning Cascade

A highlight that I must mention is the beautiful atrium with the magnificent centre piece, The Cascade. Nobody could possibly fail to be impressed by it. I covered as much of the ship as time would allow – I certainly wasn’t going to miss out on the Champagne reception in the name of research! Naturally top of my list was the carpets followed swiftly by dining venues and food – how very me!

                                                                                                                    The Crow’s Nest

You will notice that while I got several photos of my Mom I didn’t manage to get one of the Queen. She was hustled away before any of us agents could get close! And as for my Mom, how else is she celebrating her milestone birthday? Her and my Dad are going on a cruise of course!

Overall I loved Britannia and will go into more detail in my next few blogs but if you have any questions about her please give me a call on 0330 303 8184 or email me at [email protected]

Carpets to follow………………..