shot2bits

Just to finally draw a line under this topic: I thank you all for you comments both good and bad (none taken)! I finally tested negative today, some 10 days after the initial sickness and diarrhoea. I never realised the latter were symptoms of Covid, but stand corrected. I stand by my appraisal of the food and I do think there is room for improvement regarding the general hygiene standards just my opinion. Anyway that’s me finished with cruising, I no longer consider it a value for money option. So, Bon voyage 

Update: I managed to get an audience with a GP earlier. He thinks it was most unlikely that I suffered from food poisoning, it was more likely to have been the early symptoms of Covid. Therefore I apologise for misleading anyone on this forum. I tested positive again today so feeling rough still. I hope everyone else who left Britannia are feeling ok.

Just out of interest, I have not said P&O we’re responsible for the food poisoning symptoms I suffered and maybe it was down to covid, which I am suffering from now. Maybe it was a dirty coffee cup in Cadiz! I guess food is subjective, I thought it was poor on board but if others enjoyed it I respect their view. 

Just out of interest, I have not said P&O we’re responsible for the food poisoning symptoms I suffered and maybe it was down to covid, which I am suffering from now. Maybe it was a dirty coffee cup in Cadiz! I guess food is subjective, I thought it was poor on board but if others enjoyed it I respect their view. 

No I didn’t report it. I really didn’t fancy being interrogated by the on board medical people. I probably should have done. I’m feeling better now, just the Covid to fight. The experience has terminated my cruising for good sadly

I have written a review which goes into a bit more detail but the ship is run down and grubby, stains all over the carpets in the corridor and especially in the cabin. The food in the peninsula restaurant was bland and tasteless, featuring mostly vegetarian and vegan options. They loved serving lamb and if you didn’t fancy that there was the chicken or 5oz steak to fall back on, which was like leather! Very little information was given, certainly not in the horizon news sheet which featured mainly stuff to relieve you of you hard earned. I made the mistake of having a shrimp dish followed by clam chowder. This led to the four days of food poisoning. I could go on but fear the hard liners are going to roast me! That was the final cruise for us. Positive, the ship is very stable and the crossing over the bay of Biscay down to Madeira was very smooth.

Yes, forgot to mention four days of food poisoning that I am still getting over!

Two weeks of flat out air conditioning and bland, tasteless, repetitive food and now I’ve tested positive for Covid! Perfect end to a dreadful cruise..

Where there any outbreaks of Covid? We sail Friday and that’s our only worry! Great reviews

I bought a Tesco PAYG sim, 5000 texts, 5000 calls and 10 gb of data. £10 and it will last 30 days. Ok so I will be using the phone number it came with but I’ve let everyone know that number. Sky charge £2 for every 24 hours roaming so I had a potential bill of £30 using them. Simply change the sim back when we get home.

We are on Britannia at the weekend. We chose freedom dining. Any issues with this, queuing etc? Thanks

Thanks everyone. Looks like I’ll be taking chargers!

Do they have USB outlets for charging mobiles etc?

thanks

Phew!!!

Oh dear, we are off to the canaries on the 22nd. Doesn’t sound like there is much to look forward to. I do agree with much of what was written though. We have done probably 15 cruises and never had a complaint about food or especially cleanliness.

Thanks for all your help!

Ron

I’m sure this will have been asked before somewhere: going to the Canaries and Cadiz, will we be paying extra for drinks when in port or Spanish waters? We don’t have a drinks package.

Has anyone experienced the coach from norwich down to Southampton. I just wondered how many stops en route there are? The company are very short on information. Thanks

Just a bit of extra info: Mrs S2B read some horror stories on FB about people having hassle at boarding, so I decided to take no chances. I am with Barclays and Aviva supply the travel insurance. I phoned them but got stuck in a loop, press 1, press 2 which takes you back to the main menu. Anyway, a visit to the website and I now have the full policy document, also proof of specific cruise insurance and specific Covid cover. Flushed with success, I then went on the NHS website and downloaded our proof of vaccination records. All on my phone and hard copy just in case. I have checked in on line and received the coach travel tickets and luggage labels. If I had some ducks, they would all be in a line. Looking forward to sailing on the 22nd.

Ron

Thanks everyone. The Barclays insurance document is a generic thing and doesn’t show our names, but I have the policy number and proof of the cover we have so hopefully that will suffice.

Hi, we are insured through our Barclays account with Aviva. Does anyone know what P&O will want to see regarding the insurance document? The document runs to 68 pages! Have any of you had experience of producing a Barclays insurance policy at check in? Sorry if this question is a bit vague!

cheers, Ron 

Glad it will be repaired and safely in service again. We are doing the canary island cruse in 3 weeks, at one point I thought it might be in doubt. Getting very bad press on FB about food and cleanliness.

Sorry Molcochip, deck 15 was our original, A255

Hi thanks everyone. We were originally in a cat HC on deck 12. Relieved that we are not obstructed, Mrs S2B would have gone ballistic, also I was a bit worried about the noise from the theatre but Megabear2 has put my mind at rest, so thanks. I still don’t think it’s a major upgrade but as per the rules, we have to accept it.

Hi, long time since I posted on here as haven’t cruised since pre Covid. We are sailing on Britannia on 22 nd September: we have been given an ‘upgrade’ from deck 12 down to deck 8 , room G221. Grade GC.  As this is a lifeboat deck apparently, are we likely to have an obscured view? If so, can I do anything about it? I can’t tell from the deck layout plan. Thanks in advance, Ron