Britannia onboard

Debating going with britannia next year is there plenty to do for 2 guys in their 20s we dont mind chilling round pool but like lots of sreas to walk and bars etc, i did ventura years ago but since have done two royal caribbean cruises and well im very reluctant to go back becuase we just love rci, however the itineries there doing isnt as good as britannia so im really torn, just want to know what it is like we do love big ships, we did freedom of the seas and oasis of the seas, just a bit worried as p and o is so british but it wont be as big or as fun, it seems contenpory iv watched some videos but still unsure uet the itinery is fab , caribbean from barbados next november, any tips will help, plus why is there no oceanview its either inside or balcony?

There is never going to be the rock climbing, dodgem cars etc. on P&O and transatlantic they will put entertainment on. There are lots of different venues and shows which are aimed at the British market. I have done a Ventura transatlantic coming home and really enjoyed it.

The lack of outside, ocean view cabins is a design trend coming with modern ships by moving infrastructure decks and higher lifeboats. You cannot have a balcony situated too low because the sea would be too near in the vertical sense. People pay more for a balcony than an outside or to put it another way the price of balcony cabins can be reduced to that of a missing ocean view cabin if you build a bigger ship. When comparing P&O to RCI remember RCI have a lot of subtle charges and higher gratuities. So think more of an overall budget and book a Balcony, transatlantic these are well worth it as nobody is off the ship on excursions, they are all out on decks in the sun.

Regards John

Its not a transatlantic one i wouldnt do that too many sea days 5 missing out i prefer to fly be there then get the caribbean islands done and its smoother, its between this and celebrity eclipse but thats smaller still and i feel celebrity would be older people and maybe more snobby? I know about the balconies but between 2 its £800 more, for just a balcany and a few sea days, hardly worth anywhere near that always had outsides but think would have to do inside :( i know rci have gratuties but we take them off and tip who we saw and liked the most lol then bar prices is ok in a week i spent £160

If you are considering a Caribbean cruise in November 2016 then I would hold off booking until the saver fares kick in next year. November early Dec is traditionally the lowest price period and obstruced balcony cabins should be available then at lower prices than current insides.

Check out the current prices for this year to give you an idea of possible savings.

Yeah normally we book january with all the sales etc when do the savers normally come out? The price now i think is good so if it came down more and we got a oceanview even obstructed id defently be booking

But all the cruises nov and dec next year all seem extremly expensive

I'd stick with RCI as you'll be disappointed aboard Britannia.

It has a great sports court with a bar that overlooks it but apart from that you will really miss the flow rider, ice rink and deck parties that RCI have.

You think? But rci is doing the same itineries that we have done the last 2 years where as these are the best itineries i can find :(

It's the Caribbean so it's port intensive. You'll get fabulous weather, great beaches with snorkelling and lively beach bars. Britannia's a new ship, with lots of bars, dining venues etc. There's a night club and much younger crowd in Caribbean that other destinations. Do you need climbing walls and the like on a cruise like that?

I agree if you wait a few months for a saver fare you'll get balcony cabin for less than the prices for an outside at present and there's always lots of bargains for the first few weeks a ship's in the Caribbean.

Well i like the royal promenade on rci and plenty to do etc, when should saver fares come out january?

I loved Britannia, more contemporary and more going on. However just because I like it doesn't mean you will, it still has a similar culture to the rest of the fleet. I think the destination makes a difference but I wouldn't say it was particularly lively on the cruise I was on (just the regular P&O style but more modern)

Hmm may look at celebrity eclipse but thats smaller again

Well i like the royal promenade on rci and plenty to do etc, when should saver fares come out january?

Well we're very different then because the Royal Promenade is what we didn't like about IOTS.

Early savers will come out first but not sure if they'll be as early as January.

We've been on Celebrity Eclipse's sister ship Celebrity Equinox and honestly it's the most BORING cruise we've ever done. It's OK if you like classical or Jazz music and Barber Shop singers, but otherwise zzzzzzzzz....apart from the Martini Bar :D. I would definitely choose Britannia over Eclipse.

Ok really, hmm shame but if u dont like rci i may love celebrity :p no doesent sound my thing may be britannia then or anthem of the seas if their price comes down!

certainly swaying towards britannia more it seems lovely very modern of course as its new and its still a bigger ship, im sure there would be plenty to do and a younger age group aswell as older

We love Celebrity, Eclipse and Equinox, both ships have a great martini bar with great staff that you can interact with in full cocktail bar activity. They also have a dedicated nightclub. Food, service and plenty of glitz. No rough types on board and no snobs to be found on any of our Celebrity outings. We have found plenty of both ends of the spectrum on P&O. No day time activity like RCI though.

Word of caution - you would need to select the right cruise in the hope of getting a bit younger crowd - not sure how you do that other than avoid sailing from Southampton and if you get it wrong you could be disappointed. We have seen packed nightclubs and empty ones! Martini Bar - FAB!

At your age and all things considered I would go with Britannia. We have heard from many die hard P&O cruisers that its not like the P&O that they are used to - a bit too modern and glitzy approach for them and some have said its a bit like Celebrity in terms of the approach.

We have booked on Britannia to the Caribbean in January - its a great transfer and port intensive which makes it a good selection for us. Hope to have a great cruise whatever you decide.

Yeah think ill be sticking with britannia its a caribbean cruise 2 week in november may be a mix of ages

Ive been on P and O Ventura and RCI Liberty of the seas. Loved both, but I think there will be a lot less action for you on the P and O cruise BUT you could get so much of your action at the ports and direct flights to Barbados and no US customs to contend with might help sway you over to P and O.

Yeah ports are a huge draw the new ones id be visiting are st vincent, dominica and antigua, i know antigua be lovly what are the other two like

My family were on the Britannia from the 6th till the 20th November and were not impressed with the Ship, we thought that being the newest flagship it would be something special, sadly in our opinion it wasn't. We last sailed with P & O 5 years ago on the Azura which was a far better experience, standards have gone downhill and what with people being removed from the ship for brawling on more than one occasion I thought that if this is what P & O is all about now I will probably not be sailing with P & O again. Some aspects of the ship were fine but there were a lot more negatives and having experienced Celebrity for the last few years I think we will be going back to them again as no such problems with them at all. We booked this cruise as there were some Islands that we hadn't visited before and liked the idea of the Barbados set up which really worked well, we made the most of our holiday but sorry that we chose this particular ship.

Oh dear doesent sound good, was there many rough folks ha, was tnat a caribbean cruise

Dont shoot me down. Brits at sea seems to happen on the p and o nov cruises as they are always the cheapest. Yes family got kicked off for bad behaviour.

We experienced that on sea princess 6 yrs ago on all brits cruise.

Most cruise lines have made many cutbacks and continue to do so.

Cunard had passengers kicked off last nov and dec...ooh brits

Thankfully were not all made the same.

3, 600 persons are never going to be the same but hopefully 3, 400 of them will be normal average

Again, a view on ships is pretty much subjective so their is no point in just contradicting what someone else says suffice to say we love Azura and thought Britannia was a fantastic ship.

The "Brits at Sea" comment is a different proposition. I would stretch this to "Brits Abroad". There is no doubt that some British people just don't know how to behave on holiday. Their mentality comes down to consuming massive amounts of alcohol starting in the airport and continuing throughout their holiday. However, I have been on many cruises and have seen one example of bad behaviour from what was a large group. I don't think that they were bad enough to be removed from the ship. As far as I know there is no way passengers would know that passengers have been removed. It isn't announced. I have no doubt it happens but unless you actually saw someone being removed or saw passengers brawling then its all just cruise folklore. Just like the two ladies brawling in the launderette or the guy that through a chair through the window etc etc. Two friends of mine told me that two passengers were "fined" £2000 for arriving back at the ship as the gangway was being pulled up. People love a good story.

There are posts on the PO Britannia Facebook page that say a family of thirty got kicked off in Antigua. Apparently they were cheered off the ship and the police took them away, this was from people who were there.

Hopefully when we get on Britannia on Saturday all will be plain sailing, cruise number 21 and never seen any trouble.

There are posts on the PO Britannia Facebook page that say a family of thirty got kicked off in Antigua. Apparently they were cheered off the ship and the police took them away, this was from people who were there.

 

 

 

Hopefully when we get on Britannia on Saturday all will be plain sailing, cruise number 21 and never seen any trouble.

Sorry but this is a myth. There was some problems and it would appear that some people were put off the ship. But it was no where near 30. I read many FB pages and there were a number of people posted who were on the cruise and only one I could find actually saw people being taken off. And they talked of 3/4.

Clearly 30 is a vast exaggeration.

As always happens in cases like this.