scifimonkey

Today we cancelled our September 2019 cruise on Celebrity Silhouette and changed to the similar cruise on Britannia, an extra 3 days and considerably cheaper than we were due to pay on Celebrity (albeit in Aqua Class).

 

 

 

We have only ever sailed Celebrity, with our next cruise in August this year, which unless prices decrease might be our last.

 

 

 

Any comments or tips appreciated on what we can expect from anyone who has sailed on both.

We have sailed with both and on balance slightly prefer Celebrity but not by much. Its really the S class ships which are just brilliantly laid out and as we often have a suite ( there are three of us) the perks are better. But like you we are currently choking on the huge uplift in Celebrity prices and will be more than happily sailing with P&O at more sensible prices until the disparity in value is rectified.

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We have only been on two cruises one a Thomson when we where very young. The other the Queen Victoria. (Quite a contrast)

 

 

 

We want to go with the children and have looked at independence of the seas (IOS) and Britannia. On the Britannia we can have a suite for the same price as an ocean view on IOS. We are looking at the Norwegian fjords cruise, taking on board that a balcony is a must we will be paying even more on IOS.

 

 

 

With all this in mind I am concerned that the difference in price means that the IOS is so much better then P&O. Will my children enjoy P&O which seems to have less to offer in terms of the swimming pools (surf pools) and golf courses, to west end shows!

 

 

 

Obviously the price difference is swaying me towards a balcony/suite, is the suite worth the additional price?

 

 

 

My husband is swaying towards IOS, he has been taken in by the marketing. I am swayed towards the Britannia I am swayed by money :'). Any advice appreciated.

Have to declare that we have never been on IOS though we have often considered it and have friends who have and therefore our view may be a bit skewed as we have had had two great cruises on Britannia. One in side suite to the Med and one in a rear corner suite to the fiords.

If you can get a back corner suite on Britannia then the wrap around balcony is brilliant for a fiords cruise if still a little narrow at its ends. It is better though than the side suite balconies which are narrow along the whole length and offer a more limited prospect in just one direction.

The bedroom in the corner suite is also more disconnected from the living space compared to the suites on the sides which may suit you better if you have a child or children using the sofa bed in the living space.

We had a great time last summer on Britannia to the fiords in a corner suite with our 16 YO son. If it is a weeks cruise then there are only 2 sea days and therefore assuming you make the most of the opportunities on shore then the extent of kids entertainment options may not really be critical? The kids clubs on P&O have a great reputation and our son loved them when he was younger and made some great holiday friends. He is a bit old for them now and is more than happy to accompany us most of the time as long as he has WiFi available and the pretty good TV offering that Britannia has. The pools are good though in the fiords the weather may limit use for less hardy souls.

IOS has more obvious attractions such as climbing walls and surf riders but unless your kids are really keen on these specific activities then I doubt if the kids clubs or the pools will be much better than P&O - bear in mind the number of people that are likely to be in the queue.................

P&O are perhaps more fussy about dress codes but are unlikely to get het up about 12 year olds as long as they are reasonably dressed on formal nights of which there will only be 2.

Shows on Britannia are pretty good and the digital stage sets are state of the art. Need to allow to be there 15 mins early to ensure reasonable seats but have heard some horror stories from friends of never being able to get into the theatre on IOS so that may be no better.

If there is a good price difference and you can get a corner suite ( maybe with the exception of G deck where ther may be noise from the club below) I would say go for Britannia.

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I’m new to P&O so just have a question to a seasoned traveller.

 

 

 

I have just been into my “Cruise Personaliser” to look for a restaurant to book as a treat for our party for my husbands 50th Birthday. However in the select dining option only 3 restaurants appear for booking; Epicurean, Eric Lanlard afternoon tea and Sindhu.

 

 

 

I was looking for one of the other two; Glass House or Beach House but they aren’t on the list..... can you pre-book these restaurants or is the fact that they are omitted mean I have missed out and they’re booked up? [emoji849]

Pretty certain that Sindhu and Epicurian are the only restaurants you can reserve tables at.

Either would make a good location for a celebratory meal depending on your food tastes. Check out the example menus to figure out which would be best for your party. Sindhu is cheaper but no less of a special event unless the cuisine is not to your taste.

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I must admit I really really really wanted to do the Flam Railway. So before our cruise I booked a P and O excursion. I have not done that for more than ten years. It was expensive but it minimised the risk of not being able to do the Flam Railway. As long as we docked or tendered in Flam on time and the train was not cancelled I was going on the railway.

 

I did the railway up cycle part of the way down excursion. It was very enjoyable. We were a small group with a good knowledgeable local guide. We only filled half our allocated carriage on the train. So plenty of space to spread out and windows to look through. The train guard came and chatted. We were encouraged to get off to take photographs in the snow with our guide standing in the door I presume to make sure the train did not leave. All in all it was very enjoyable trip with a like minded group of various types cyclists. I never felt herded around which I hate.

 

If I go to Flam again (I am already looking for a suitable cruise) I would risk buying train tickets before departure or on the day. If I missed out on the train a second time I would be disappointed but it would not be the end of (my) the world.

 

Best wishes, Stephen

 

 

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I also did the train up, part cycle down excursion last year and loved it. Just a shame that they could not do the cycling from the top as it all seemed a bit too short. No need to worry about it being strenuous either....there is much more breaking than cycling! It still seemed good value for money though and much better than simply reversing the scenery on the way back down on the train. Bikes were good quality and you are left to come down at your own pace not in a huge peloton. Plenty of photo opportunities without the telephone poles and window reflections in the way.

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Hi all

 

 

 

We are going on a 14night cruise on Azura in July this year. This is our 4th cruise with P&O (2 on Ventura and one of Britannia) but it’s the first time we have booked two rooms as our daughter is now 17 and kinda needs her own space. We therefore booked two inside rooms on B deck next to each other through a TA. We were told as our daughter was only 17 that we needed to book one room in my name, and the other is my wife’s name with our daughter as the second passenger. We were told just to swap my wife to my room when we got there. I now know that is not quite the case and we could have put our daughter in her own room on her own, but what’s done is done. Question is will reception allow my wife a room card with my room on it just in case she want to go to our room without my card? Can we link the two bookings to aid booking trips and how will having two bookings affect our dining options? Will we be able to get a table for three? (We are on freedom dining). Thanks all.

I don’t quite understand this as we have booked for a canaries cruise in July on Ventura and the online booking allowed us to book a cabin for our 16Y/O son separately. I had expected to have to do what you described but was surprised that it was not necessary. Same issue in that he really needs his own space now.

In fact it has become a bit of a pain in terms of booking excursions now as the site wants us to book the excursions separately as well which clearly would have been easier if they could have been done as one order. If there is a way of linking the bookings on line so that we don’t have to do this I would appreciate a walk through of how to do it if anyone knows how.

The other problem of course is that the bills still all end up on the same credit card...................one day he can pay for himself.......one day....

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Can only speak for last year in July, but on our cruise Britannia made every planned stop and we had a great time in them all despite some mixed weather. Scenery was wonderful and the ship was great as well! The itinerary for Britannia is always going to be limited by its size but whilst it often looked more in scale with the mountains than the ports, it delivered as advertised if not better.

Sorry but there. Is soot. However it was worse in the Fjords possibly as we were sailing more slowly and there was little wind.

 

 

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We were on the same cruise and sadly have to confirm that there was quite a lot of soot both in th fiords and in the North Sea too.

Whilst it wasn't exactly floating down and landing in your drink it was pretty intrusive when we were on the move, visibly collecting on the screens of tablets left out for just a 1/2 hour or so.

If you do plan to dine out on the balcony make sure that it is given a really good clean by the steward immediately before, put clean towels or some protection over the furniture or be very selective about what you wear!

I hope that Dai and I were just really unlucky but the pin hole burns in the sun loungers tended to point to it being a more frequent problem.

It is not the be all and end all of the trip and both Dai and I have reported that we really enjoyed our cruise but having now experienced this issue first hand it goes into the category of things to plan around and if you are planning 'that special meal' I would book Epicurean rather than plan to have the meal on your balcony.

Get to know the Maitre D at breakfast and I am sure he will get you a nice window table for the evening!

My DW is insisting that we now try to get a similar suite for a summer trip to the Med or a winter trip to the Caribbean to test out the theory that the amount of soot is affected by the general air temperature........

Sounds scientific but she is really just angling for another cruise,,,,,,,,,,

Scifimonkey - thanks very much for this report 😎 seems pretty much as I thought.

I miss the outside dining in the Epicurean thats available on Azura and Ventura - being aft also makes it more accessible when in an aft suite too.

Although there was a bit soot was never much of a problem when we were on E deck so I wonder if the higher cabins get the worst of it?

Glad you had a great cruise. Looking forward to ours now ⛴

 

 

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Yes outside dining is not really catered for on britannia. The glass house could probably do it but it would be continually windy and the sunset bar area is mostly covered and very 'public'. I would suggest maybe making the sports court a bit more of an adaptable space with removable netting given that it cannot be used for its true purpose after 6pm as some numpty positioned it directly over the night nursery!! If not dining then maybe an outdoor cinema?

The soot is a conundrum. Some people have reported serious problems and others non at all.......

we wondered if it had something to do with air temperature with warmer cruises suffering less as the particles may fly further in warm air. Unfortunately I do not have the time or the inclination to track back the various threads to check the theory but I suspect the data is in the CC site somewhere.......

:):)

Yes from pics it looks a bit narrower than our E deck one. Look forward to seeing or hearing about the suite [emoji41]

 

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Ok D739.......

so the short answer is that D deck suites do not have the sofa as there is definitely not enough space. Nor E deck either from peering over the edge.

The suite itself grew on us over the trip, at first it seemed a bit messy design wise compared to the one we previously had midships which seemed much more logical and clean as a design. The size of the wrap around balcony however with sufficient depth for sun loungers was a clear winner even on a cruise where we were not blessed with the greatest of weather as the ability to take in the scenery across such a wide frontage was priceless. Over time the layout worked out better too than we initially thought it would.

This being cruise CRITIC though I need to flag some issues, though I preface them by saying we had a great cruise and would definitely book this suite again and provide them in the spirit of managing expectations.

The two main issues are soot, of which there was a lot and of which you need to be continually conscious and the distance from Epicurian. We are all pretty fit but the pre breakfast walk along D deck to the front stairs and up 4 decks would be challenging for some. Thankfully the front lifts are less well used than the centre bank but there are still longer than acceptable waits at all lifts on this ship. It would have been a more pleasant walk if you could have gone up and across the decks for a bit of fresh air on the way, however unless you want to walk through the zoo at feeding time, or the gym, the connectivity at high level is not very good.

Slightly more minor issues.

The bedroom is a bit soul less and really needs a picture on the side wall.

They have had problems with the venting of the fridge and the solution of removing it from the cabinetry and putting it in the knee space of the desk is FAR less than 5* ( sort it P&O it's rubbish).

We had to complain after DW got soaked for a second time by a cabin steward on C deck who thought throwing a bucket of water over the balcony was the best way to clean it! There is a gap under the balustrade with the inevitable results! be warned!

Shower pressure is pants but this seems fairly common on ships but the whirlpool bath is great once you get it filled and there is a good selection of movies to watch whilst you wait!

Canapés ………..inedible , frankly if that's the best they can do they may as well not bother.

One further word of warning is that D738 is above the smokers balcony at level 7 but I am pretty sure that you would not notice it at that height even when the ship is in port unless there was no wind at all. When the ship is underway I am sure there would definitely be no problem as there is a 20 knot breeze by default.

Sorry that became quite a list

So in the interests of balance

reports of bad vibrations - not noticed - maybe marginally more

reports of noise from the live lounge - nada

reports of overlooking - only if the people on C hang over the balcony and protection increases as you move toward the sides of the ship to full cover at the side.

Epicurean - brilliant

Glass House - superb

Atrium decor and public space furniture choices - excellent

Crows nest - amazing ( especially when the sun sets late and you are sailing out of the fiords).

Theatre - easy to get a seat in late show only 5 mins before start - the digital scenery is brilliant - the shows - well it depends on your tastes as always.

Drink prices - sensible

Service - pretty good throughout and excellent in places.

Sure you will have a brilliant time in D738 we certainly would book D739 again for any cruise with a scenic content. Maybe go back to the middle for more point to point cruises though due to the two main issues above.

Have a great time !

We have only been back a few days and are 'pining for the fiords':)

Most comments on here just show that people have stuck their heads in the sand, of course it is a major problem - talk to the residents that live near the Southampton cruise terminals. The law needs to change to prohibit 3.5% sulphur oils being burnt by cruise ships. Yes it has been reduced in European/US waters to 0.1% which is still 100 times what our cars are allowed to use but in the poorly Caribbean anything goes.

Chanel 4 Dispatches is still available on Catchup or just read http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/jul/03/air-on-board-cruise-ships-is-twice-as-bad-as-at-piccadilly-circus

Yup, trust Dispatches and the Guardian to keep taking any opportunity of kicking any aspect of life that they perceive to be the domain of 'rich people'............ It was not aimed at changing the minds of cruisers but entertaining those who are already of a mindset to wish to slag off the lifestyles of people they perceive to be well off.

Its all part of a trend toward journalism that preaches to the converted on both the left and right of the spectrum. Educated and balanced debate is apparently just too difficult.........

There are environmental issues particular to cruising for sure and the industry understands ( for the most part) that it needs to improve, but this kind of skewed journalism, which attempts to present everything in class terms, is not the way to get the message across let alone change behaviours as the responses on this forum clearly illustrate.

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The suites have balconies which curve around the side. Does the soot end up on all of the balcony or just the rear bit? If the former then are any of the rear side facing cabins affected?

Very very long though.

 

:)

 

 

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Oh yes,................ plenty long enough for me and DW to both enjoy the balcony when we have fallen out !

There are even his and hers doors if necessary;)

Not all aft suite balconies have the settee. We were in E743 at Xmas and no settee. [emoji22] Does anyone know if D deck have one - we have D738 this year[emoji41]

 

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We have D739 next week so will report back! I doubt if there is room for sofa though as the balconies are still quite narrow from what I can see on photos.

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Hello, brand new to cruising, my wife and I and two daughters are on the Britannia cruise in July (B721) I have looked at the excursions for each port, but are very expensive especially x 4! We would particularly like to visit Florence and Pisa, are their any other ways to visit these places, which are reliable (ie to get back in time!) and cheaper?

 

Thanks in advance :-)

There is generally a cheaper 'tour' which is essentially just a transfer. Its still possibly not as cheap as doing the transfer yourself but it takes virtually no organising and as long as you don't miss the bus back you are covered against any delays which can be a concern when visiting destinations remote from the ports.

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I would give a mention to Insider tours who we used this last summer. Fabulous guide and driver for just the three of us. Alla and SPB seem to get more US customers and therefore dominate sites like this one and trip advisor however Insider gave us a fabulous 2 day tour.

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The ship tour lengths will obviously depend on your hours in port and usually there will be a range from 8-9 hour marathons to 3-4 hour half day trips.

You can go ashore on your own but only if you have arranged a visa. Otherwise you will need to book with the ships tour or a recognized tour operator who should organize your visa waiver for you via your tour ticket.

I think the visa waiver only covers you for the period of the tour however, so there may be an issue if you did a part day tour but then did your own thing before returning to the ship.

Dare I say if you've cruised in a suite on Celebrity or Cunard (my only experience except for P&O thus far) or I suspect most other lines, you will be very disappointed with P&O. We left P&O a few years ago as we felt we got less and less for paying the extra to be in a suite and I'm afraid we would never return having discovered the grass is definitely greener on the other side.

 

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Cannot agree, we cruise with Celebrity in suites and whilst their perks are better and have ramped up significantly in the last 3-4 years (particularly Micheals Club), we preferred the Britannia Suite we had last year to the Celeb Suite we normally have on S class. (only pain was the narrowness of the balcony). As for the food, the MDR on P&O is obviously not a patch on Luminae however given the substantial price difference and the much cheaper drinks on P&O you could afford to eat every night in Epicurean which is!

Have not cruised Cunard but their prices are significantly higher as well so pound for pound, and if you manage your experiences, it may not be better either.

1 Epicurean

2 Crows Nest

3 The market cafe but for the Cheese and Meat platters not the ambience.

But I might easily have also chosen-

Sindhu

Blue Bar

Glass house wine flights

This is a much better ship than its ratings would indicate!:):):)

Perhaps they forgot to send the memo. I was in a. Restaurant in London recently and had to show the manager the email with the new promotion she was not even told about in advance. She of course honoured it but her frustration was visible. I am sure it is very frustrating for guest relations and indeed call centre staff is new messages are not aligned.

 

From reading these Boards, i t seems to me that when decisions are made it takes sometime for them to trickle down and then someone else makes another decision etc etc. It is good to have a business that is agile and can respond quickly but for me it is a management failing of the full business is not brought up to speed quickly. I have full sympathy with suite passengers who pay hard earned money for a product that they did not receive. There is a point of principle even though it is only 50 dollars. The aim should not be to just meet expectations but to exceed them. Failing for such a small amount damages the business.

 

I know it has been done to death but when I booked our forthcoming cruise in Aqua class the amenity for daily water was clearly stated. I know from reading here that that particular amenity which I believe I have paid for is now gone. For me I am ok with that as I have a beverage package. For others it is an issue - this could have been the final reason they went for that class over another. This is ultimately a management failing as are the frequent other issues that I see highlighted here. It is poor communication. But I have some sympathy, products change constantly yet people have booked 18 months out.

Yup, it's a big business and communication is not their strong suit. I am on Eclipse in a month in a CS and I am already geared up for the discussion and debate over the two speciality restaurant meals that I am supposed to be due because I booked before end of 2015 when the perk was removed. X have clearly stated in a number of locations that they will honour the perk but I fully expect the ship to be running to the new rules and to have to push to get it.

What they did on Anthem was to add the option of Dynamic Classic, which is similar to traditional dining, with early and late seating. Those with Classic rotate, on a schedule, between the 4 restaurants. Their wait staff and table mates also rotate and they keep the same table number as well.

Why not everyone sit in the same place at the same time with the same wait staff and just change the menu???? Not very exciting but it might actually work!!

Going by other recent ship designs they will have smaller cabins, very small balconies (don't want you spending too much time there) and tighter public circulation areas. The increased number of suites will also likely be of the sky suite variety which will in effect be at an old style room size ( but bigger than the new standard rooms) and at a new increased price for the up scaled service,

Sorry if that sounds cynical but it seems to be the way the wind is blowing.

Unfortunately for those who want smaller ships, as long as the big cruise companies can fill larger and larger ones, the bigger ships will always have economics on their side. Like many other areas of business the smaller versions will still be there but they will be run by smaller companies as a boutique offer often at a premium price.:(

Don't generally do much cooking and went along to accompany my DW who wanted to give it a go but was not up for pairing up with a stranger (you cook in pairs).

Thoroughly enjoyed it, great presentation, really entertaining as well as informative, and the end results were way more than edible. Make sure that you book early if you want to do it on a sea day. Also depending on what you are cooking you may wish to skip lunch first! Our James Martin dessert session produced a croissant based bread and butter pudding which weighed in at around 2600 calories a portion!!! It tasted amazing but needed a lot of laps of the deck and time on the exercise bike to work it off.

:)

We're on Britannia in a few months and our thoughts are turning to booking things - excursions, meals and other things. High on the list of things we're wondering about are the Cookery Club and the Limelight Club.

 

I did a Britannia visit last April so I understand how these two venues/attractions work. What I'm wondering is what passengers who have used them, thought about them. I read a couple of very positive reviews of the Limelight Club from the maiden voyage but I wonder if that was a typical experience. I don't recall reading much about the Cookery Club.

 

So, Cookery Club & Limelight Club veterans - how were they for you?

Did not go to limelight club as the acts were not to our taste however we spent a great afternoon in the cookery club. I am not a keen cook and primarily went as moral support to my DW who wanted to try it. I was surprised to find myself really enjoying it and even better the results were actually edible. Only downside was the additional exercise needed the following day to work off a 2500 calorie James Martin, Croissant and white chocolate bread and butter pudding . Tasted amazing though:D!

We always look at Celebrity first when planning a holiday but have noticed that P&O have some very good prices on an itinerary that Celebrity doesn't have. This of course is very tempting for holiday obsessed people who like an extra holiday if at all possibly :p

 

We've been in various different categories on various ships and have also sailed with other lines.

 

To be honest my main criteria is a larger than standard size balcony so that I can enjoy peace and quiet and watch the sea. My DP is generally just happy to cruise. Unfortunately, we're not able to go to "suite" level, the prices are good, but not quite good enough for that :(.

 

Any opinions would be appreciated, thanks.

Done 3 with P&O and 2 with Celebrity with one more booked with X so clearly we are not put off by either.

They are different in some ways but have a lot in common depending on the specific ships you choose, we have only been on the 3 larger P&O ships and S class on X so they are similar in scale.

P&O do adult only cruises on some ships should you wish them, Celebrity do not.

P&O is quite British and British people form the vast majority of the passengers (for good and Ill), it has cheaper drinks, better entertainment (in our view) but does tend toward the Butlins on deck on occasion. Cabins are a bit larger and balcony options are similar with the exception of Britannia which unless you are on the back has very narrow ones.

Celebrity is as you will know more cosmopolitan though with a US bias and has more options and variety for paid dining and bar ambience however we have found the quality of all the specialty offers on both lines are generally quite high and the MDR food quality is also similar if slightly differently slanted to UK tastes on P&O. On anytime dining P&O will ask if you want to share a table by default and they have more large circular and elliptical tables for 8/10. Celebrity will always try to position you in your group size but most of the MDR tables are 2 person pushed together in rows and even if you get a table for two you will be very close to the next table.

If you do not take a drinks package on X the continual 18% service charge addition can be irritating whereas with P&O the price you see is the price you pay. Whilst the Celebrity staff probably just edge it on service (that's not to say that the P&O service is bad its just slightly less attentive) they also tend to bombard you a lot more with special offers and upselling which can be annoying.

Celebrity has a larger casino but less secondary show lounges than P&O meaning that the theatre and cinema(if there is one) seem to come under greater pressure and getting a seat often requires an earlier arrival.

Not sure if any of that helps but we have had terrific cruises with both companies so go to P&O with an open mind, do your research on the destinations and the specific ship and I am sure you would have a great time.