Which Britannia Deck?

We are booked on the Britannia cruise from Barbados on 11th Feb 2017 and booked an HF grade cabin (Deck A Forward) but have been allocated an HD grade cabin (Deck F Aft Port Side).

Our main concern is that this is only two decks above the smoking area outside of the Live Lounge and we are both very sensitive to smoke.

The other concern is that we are only one deck above the balconies with obstructed views, would this impact on our view at all?

Apart from these two concerns is Deck A Forward and better or worse than Deck F Aft?

Two last general questions do the partitions between the balconies open as we are travelling with friends and do Pullman upper beds impact on space in the cabin?

Any help would be appreciated.

We are booked on the Britannia cruise from Barbados on 11th Feb 2017 and booked an HF grade cabin (Deck A Forward) but have been allocated an HD grade cabin (Deck F Aft Port Side).

 

Our main concern is that this is only two decks above the smoking area outside of the Live Lounge and we are both very sensitive to smoke.

 

The other concern is that we are only one deck above the balconies with obstructed views, would this impact on our view at all?

 

Apart from these two concerns is Deck A Forward and better or worse than Deck F Aft?

 

Two last general questions do the partitions between the balconies open as we are travelling with friends and do Pullman upper beds impact on space in the cabin?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

Afraid I can't really help regarding your cabin location. If the Pullman beds are not in use they do not impact on cabin space as they completely fold away into the ceiling and the ladder is tucked away in the wardrobe area. If the Pullman berths are being used then yes, they affect the cabin space - reduced headroom over the bed area.

I would have thought that if you are two decks above the smokers' area you should not be unduly affected by smoke - hopefully any breeze will carry it away, especially if the ship is travelling, but I understand your concern. I hadn't realised how used I am to being in a smoke-free environment most of the time until I walked through the smokers' area on Britannia's Lido deck.

Personally we haven't been on A deck but have noticed there is a large overhang and doubt if there would be any sun up there. We have been right at the front ( F deck ) and did notice more movement than the two aft cabins we had on the back (c deck and F deck).

I have just spoken to P&O and they tell me that we have been upgraded although why it is considered an upgrade they couldn't tell me.

They said that the H denotes the type of cabin and the second letter A-F is ranked according to desirability so our cabin HD is considered better than our booked grade of HF.

Thanks Groovechick for letting me know about the Pullman beds folding into the ceiling, the P&O rep didn't know that!

Thanks Sapphire4 for letting us know there is less movement at the aft end of the ship it's not something I have noticed but useful to know.

It would have been a good idea for P&O to have made a big thing about upgrading us, a message saying 'Congratulations You Have Been Upgraded' and an explanation of what was better would have made us feel good not feel like we had been done!

Never ever choose A Deck. It is the worst deck of all, the sun bed Hoggers will wake you up early and it is often an entertainment venue in the late evenings.

Thanks Groovechick for letting me know about the Pullman beds folding into the ceiling, the P&O rep didn't know that!

 

It would have been a good idea for P&O to have made a big thing about upgrading us, a message saying 'Congratulations You Have Been Upgraded' and an explanation of what was better would have made us feel good not feel like we had been done!

I can't believe the P&O rep didn't know how the Pullman beds work!!!!

We didn't use them on Britannia - the children (teens) had a separate cabin - but I am assuming they are the same as on every other ship.

They don't seem to notify you of upgrades - the one time it happened to us we thought it was a mistake on the TA's part. As far as P&O is concerned, anything that takes you above the grade of cabin you originally booked is an upgrade, even if you were originally midships and they move you to well fore or aft, you were originally at the top of the ship and they move you low down, your original cabin location was an inside surrounded by other cabins and they move you to a balcony underneath the nightclub!

Re the smoking issue, we've been in a balcony cabin right above a smoking area on a ship and never smelled smoke at all. I suppose the smoke is usually blown away horizontally rather than vertically.

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We had a HF grade cabin(A215) this year. If you pick one below the single cabins, you don't get any overhand whatsoever. You also miss out on noise from sun loungers.

Was a nice cabin. Only issue was being woken up by the fog horn on one morning/

I can't believe the P&O rep didn't know how the Pullman beds work!!!!

We didn't use them on Britannia - the children (teens) had a separate cabin - but I am assuming they are the same as on every other ship.

The Pullman beds on every other ship we have been on have hinged down off the wall not from the ceiling, they stick out quite a way from the wall even when not in use thus impacting quite a lot on cabin space.

The Britannia beds seem to go up flush with the ceiling and will therefore not even be noticeable unless used.

We were in cabin F518 on Britannia last September and had no problems with the lifeboats one deck below

Experience tells me that mid-ship lower decks are best for minimising ship movement. Decks up high (anywhere on the ship) are more akin to sideways (starboard -port) movement (law of physics) and decks that are forward or aft (any deck level) are more akin to the front and back movement (again, law of physics). So, depending on the cruise location and what the sea conditions are likely to be like, i would recommend a cabin on a lower deck, mid-ship.

Just got back from our cruise and thought I would report on our cabin.

We stayed in F630 which is on the ,port side and towards the rear of the ship, and were pleased with cabin and balcony, I have seen complaints about balcony size but it was fine for us, what do they want to do swing a cat?

We were worried about smoke from the smoking area two decks below but it wasn't a problem nor was noise although we could still hear the 'entertainment' from the Lido deck sometimes, do they really need it that loud?

We didn't use the Lido pool once because of the excessively loud music, calling it Butlins on Sea would be an insult to Butlins!

We were just to the rear of the lifeboats so our view wasn't obstructed much but I would not have been happy if we had been over the life boats even though deck F does not count as obstructed view. If you are over the life boats you need to be at least 2-3 decks above them.

As confirmed by Roland123, I think you should be OK as the HD grades are a little forward of where people smoke. We have the aft Corner Suite on F deck booked for later this year (also Port side) and didn't realise until after we had booked that the smoking area wraps under our balcony, albeit two levels below. The deck plans don't show this to be the case. By the time we realised, all other aft suites had sold out, other than G deck, which we wouldn't consider as it's directly over the Live Lounge. I can smell cigarettes from 50 yards away and dislike it intensely so am very concerned about this. I would have seriously considered cancelling had I not been outnumbered

Personally, I think that the issue of ship movement varying by location is vastly over stated. We have twice stayed in a Suite right at the front of Britannia and have never felt anything other than the very slightest movement on one or two occasions when the sea was a bit rough, but mostly nothing at all. Britannia is an incredibly stable ship with almost imperceptible movement sensation. Even if there was a bit more movement on the odd occasion, I would far rather have that than the noise you get outside your cabin if you are midships, with cabin doors slamming, people talking late at night as they walk past to get to their cabins and kids running past (which sounds like thunder). I would pay more to be right at the front or right at the back, so am glad that P&O consider the midships cabins to be worthy of the highest fares!