scifimonkey

If we were excluded from the best restaurants on P&O because we could not eat as a family then we would stop sailing with them. We have made sure that our son knows how to behave in such surroundings and we all enjoy the experience of good food in good surroundings. We also do not wish to eat before 7pm thanks very much!!

P&O already have adults only ships and there are a number of lines that are adults only or have no facilities for children and therefore do not attract many. Might I suggest that those with a desire to be segregated from kids make use of those rather than try to deny the existence of kids on ships that are clearly marketed as 'family friendly'

As always it depends entirely on the kids and in this respect their parents know best as to whether the restaurant will suit them or not and will generally act accordingly. If you would not take your kids to a high quality restaurant on land because either they would not like the food or would not have the patience to sit through the meal without requiring secondary entertainment beyond the food and the conversation then do not take them to epicurean or sindhu. If they will be comfortable with the food (example menus are published on the web site) and the surroundings then go for it, why should they and you miss out on the quality of what is on offer if you want to eat as a family. I don't think you can define food as ' unsuitable for children' unless perhaps it is heavily laden with booze. Kids like lobster, pensioners like fish fingers there are and should be no hard and fast rules. You will have to pay full price for them however and there is no kids menu.( though they may tweak dishes a little for them just as they would for picky adults).

Make sure that you ask for a table to yourselves when you arrive as the standard practice at breakfast on the P&O cruises we have been on has been to fill up the larger tables as people arrive. We generally travel as a three and have occasionally been sat as a family but it has not been the norm. I suspect that it will be down to how many small tables Britannia's restaurants have. Celebrity tends to have a lot of small tables in rows (although even a table for two is often hemmed in between others so does not always feel that separate).P&O has generally had a lot of circular or elliptical tables for larger numbers related to the majority traditional evening dining strategy. Perhaps Britannia ,with its emphasis on freedom dining, will have more smaller tables? Anyone who has been on it already able to shed any light on this?

The problem they will have is that installing new or larger lifts at this stage is a huge deal. The best they are likely to be able to do outside of a major refit which is highly unlikely for at least 10years is find a way of opening up the centre stairs which as far as I know has not been done on the princess ships which received similar criticism so it is likely there is a crew circulation, security or fire reason preventing it.

Improving the the maintenance regime on the lifts that they have may help but if one or more of the lifts that has been installed is a 'lemon' it is unlikely to be sorted until the first dry dock which again is unlikely to be for some time.

Only other option might be changing the software to destination control with a single call button which is usually more efficient at managing the lifts but for those unused to big London office buildings, having no call buttons in the lifts might cause panic and confusion amongst the guests. It is also no small deal and I doubt if it could be done outside of dry dock.

Hope the maintenance issues are just teething problems and can be resolved during the early cruises, as it seems like this is about all that can be sorted in the short term.

We have always preferred a central cabin location and had assumed that in acknowledging the previous issues raised with the princess ships the one thing that they would have done would have been to get the lifting right to compensate, clearly unless it is down to lifts being out of action they have not learned the lessons of the earlier ships. Am bracing myself for some long walks.

Hello,

 

I have finally (I think!) managed to sort the 300+ photos I took on Saturday into some form of order (I did tell you I'd take a photo or two :rolleyes:)

 

As requested there are lots of photos of Britannia's aft.

 

 

Cruisefan2012

 

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see your stateroom L203 however, we did see another one just along the corridor; hope this gives you a idea of what to expect.

 

We thought the ship was lovely, albeit quite dark in places i.e. certain corridors etc.

 

They were replacing the carpet on the spiral staircase in the atrium due to complaints about people being unable to see the edge of the steps.

 

If anyone has any specific questions please ask & I will endeavour to answer them now or if I am unable will try to respond after my cruise on 23rd May.

 

Here's the link to the album

 

https://flic.kr/s/aHskaMpBD2

 

Hope it gives you an idea of what Britannia is like.

 

Joan

Great set of photos, really comprehensive. Is the headroom at the front of the crows nest as low as it looks?

Looking forward to checking out the new menu of drinks, we loved the molecular bar and are delighted that X have chosen to stick with a similar speciality cocktail based concept. The variety of bars both in ambiance and offer is a major attraction to us, providing the potential for a variety of experiences each evening which when you are confined to a ship for 14 days is pretty essential in our view and removes one of the competitive advantages of a land based vacation.

Counting very slowly to ten.

 

Michaels is no longer a craft beer bar.

 

Michaels is a private club for some suite guests, zenith and VIPs. (Elite plus? Not all suite guests get access who cares about some johnny sail somewhat frequently.)

 

It's all about not having to breathe the same air as the great unwashed, should they poke their nose in the concierge has them swiftly tipped out.

 

Check out the price of a celebrity suite and a standard balcony cabin, calculate how many beers that is and you will feel so much better.:)

Hi. We've sailed with p&o for the last 6 years or so but a bit underwhelmed by next year's itineraries as we've done most of the ports and have seen a great one on Celebrity Eclipse that we are considering. Have any of you p&o regulars sailed with Celebrity and could give me some pointers on plus and minus features compared to p&o?

 

Many thanks for your help.

 

I did a comparison a while back based on Ventura/Azura and Celebrity Silhouette. There have been a few changes since this review inc upgrades on Ventura and suite class introduction on celebrity but I would still stand by most of my observations. Hope it helps.

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=42255438&postcount=101

 

We still enjoy both lines and have future cruises booked with both.

[quote name='Seatbelt_Bag_LOVE']I think the location of the Molecular is one of the biggest problems. It's too bad it can't be in a more happening spot. It is just not a very fun atmosphere at all. I was totally expecting to love it prior to my cruise on the Equinox, but it just didn't measure up to all the hype here on cruise critic. Hopeful whatever they change also livens up the atmosphere.[/QUOTE]

Maybe they could take out the last shop in the row and allow a space for a piano or a band defending on how lively you want it to be. if it was the former then perhaps they would have to turn the volume down on the activities in the atrium so as the two did not compete then perhaps the party goers would gravitate more toward the night club or the sky lounge which would then be better used than they seem to be at the moment. Just a thought X.

It's not on the schematic of the deck plans on the website and there is no signage promoting it at all on board. It's like a private bar for those "in the know". Because of the limitations of the menu, many are turned off by the concept, but that is what makes the place so great. The only other bar I have found afloat that comes close to the concept is the Alchemy Bar on some of the Carnival ships.

 

Spot on, this is a bar for people who like cocktails! I understand the frustrations of those that don't and cannot get a beer there but there are plenty of other bars which cater for more general tastes. It is the fact that celebrity had such a variety of specialist bar venues that was attractive to us from the outset. An evening in a different bar was a completely different experience due to the offer as well as the decor. When you are limited by the confines of a ship such differences are essential if you are to compete with the competition of high quality land based offers where freedom of movement allows much more choice. I am already bemoaning the loss of Micheals club as a specialist beer bar and the watering down of cellar masters as a wine venue, but it seems that celebrity have caught the race to the bottom bug and very soon every bar will serve a limited playlist of broad appeal brand names that they can procure at discounted prices and enable them to deliver mass appeal vanilla to the middle ground. Very lucrative but they may need to reconsider the modern luxury tag line as Luxury is about quality, individuality and choice, not being all things to all people!!

That's terrible! It's my favorite!!! Unique, like no other place onboard.

 

Hope this is just an ugly rumour. If not then it's a serious own goal by celebrity. X CC monitors please take note.:mad:

You all bring up great points about the attractiveness of some of the west coast ports however everyone has missed the most important reason why very few ships sail these itineraries--most of these ports are just as easy to visit by land than by sea. I too love most of these west coast cities, but I've regularly visited them all and I've always done them by driving due to many advantages--airfare is cheap to any starting point, car rentals are cheap, gas is cheap, driving offers more scheduling flexibility, a land trip allows more time in any or each city, and it's all a beautiful drive to boot!

 

Please remember that cruise itineraries sell best where there is no cheap and easy air and land transportation options available. Alaska, Caribbean, Baltic and Mediterranean itineraries are the most popular and profitable routes not because their ports are inherently better or more popular than west coast cities but because travellers cannot easily fly, drive or take train to or between the majority of their podrts. They are all ideally visited by sea. This cannot be said for any west coast itinerary and explains why they are limited sellers and a low-priority market.

I don't think this fully stacks up as it's pretty easy to drive around Europe but people still choose to cruise. In my younger years I did 3 separate fly drives to the west coast and covered most of it from the Mexican border to NW Canada and enjoyed them all, but I no longer want to live out of a suitcase for my two or three week vacation each year or to do 1000's of miles of driving and a cruise is the best way of touring without having to do that. Despite the fact that I have visited most of the west coast before I for one would jump at the chance to bring my family over and do it all again by sea.

Good to see some actual pictures and not digital renderings! She looks great!

 

But credit to the designers, contractors and those who produced the digital images as they have proved to be very accurate representations of the realised spaces. Cannot wait to experience them first hand.

Two years ago we did a special "America's Cup" cruise on Solstice, which left from Seattle, spent 2 days in San Francisco to coincide with the yacht races, then stopped in Monterrey, Santa Barbara, Catalina, Los Angeles and San Diego before ending in Ensenada. Out of 40+ cruises, it was one of our favorite itineraries--so much to see at every port.

 

I'll admit the uncomfortable bus ride from Ensenada back to San Diego at the end wasn't enjoyable. But now that Solstice has been modified to sail out on Vancouver, I think starting there and ending in San Diego would be a popular itinerary. Seems like Celebrity could easily add a few cruises up and down the West Coast before and after the Alaska season. We would definitely book that itinerary again.

 

Vancouver to San Diego would be brilliant. I am sure that they would fill the ships with Europeans even if it was not popular with the U.S. market. A back to back with an Alaskan itinerary would be a trip of a lifetime although it might represent a challenge with the packing unless it was mid summer.

I don't think that you will go too far wrong with Ventura. We did our first ever cruise on Ventura with our nine year old and all three of us enjoyed it so much we have become addicts to this kind of vacation. I really hope that you have a great a time as we did.

Found this link to who will be on what cruise.

https://loveitbookit.wordpress.com/2015/02/11/celebrity-chefs-revealed-for-po-cookery-school/

With the success of master chef and bake off I think that some of you are underestimating the appeal of this facility, particularly on sea days. It would appear to be quite expensive on the face of it and I would like to know how long a session will be to get some idea as to what might be achieved in the lesson but if you compare it to some of the longer excursion costs which consist of sitting on a large bus and being talked at all day by someone you definitely will not have heard of and who will definately not have world class credentials it begins to look more reasonable. You need to put it in the context that someone will also shell out £125 for aroma stone therapy on the cruise!! Everyone puts their own value on things and there will enough people on Brittannia to cover every possible preference!

 

As for the comments about it only encouraging more paid services, what on earth do you think would have been put in its place. It would at the very least have been another speciality restaurant. Not only that but the more money they raise from these paid facilities the slower the cost of a basic inside cabin is to rise for those who want to cruise on the cheap.

I think we should all wait until we get the first reports back from those who have done it before we write it off or say it's not worth it.

Could someone post the full range of prices as I cannot seem to access the bookings yet as my cruise is not till the end of August.

Starboard would mean you were almost always facing the British mainland however as stated earlier I doubt if you will see land that often between ports. It rains more in the west and the wind is predominantly from the west so on balance I would go for starboard for this reason west facing on the east side of the country may be marginally calmer. Pretty marginal however and totally theoretical.

Too late for me I've already booked with celebrity.

I can tell you Celebrity Excursions have stepped it up in a great way. We were in Australia/New Zealand and were so pleased on the quality and depth of the on board excursion.

 

We are one to go on our way and were blown away and amazed with Celebrity on the quality and depth on their ship board excursions.

 

In October last we finally had a tour with the sticker people that had a decent lunch ( Syracuse from Catania) so you may be right. It still seems difficult though to marry the quality for cost of many of celebrities tours to those that are available independently. I think that they still have some way to go before the roll calls are not full of people arranging their own tours.

First incident is inexcusable. Absolutely disgusting.

 

The second seems like someone who meant well but had no class. I would tell my friends and family that their kids would love Disney more than a Celebrity cruise. But I would tell them only because they are my friends and family. I would never tell a complete stranger that, because I don't know them and it's really none of my business. I might say it here on these boards only if someone asks for an opinion, but that's about it.

 

You would also, based on our experience with our son, be wrong. Maybe because he was over 10 before cruising and had been to Disney world a couple of times before cruising with Disney which perhaps made the nautical version seem somewhat second rate but he preferred celebrity. Is your view based on the response of your kids or on what you personally think would be the case?

Well said.

And I agree... what happens on the ship should stay on the ship. ;)

 

If what happened on the ship stayed on the ship then these boards would be a quiet and dreary place to be! Surely the answer is for the answer to be no unless as in our case Celebrity themselves in the form of the MC concierge suggests it. You have to at least allow X to manage things as they choose and with whatever discretion they choose to apply. I see no problem with reporting the fact of what happened on these boards and frankly anyone who abuses their MC privalage by putting pressure on the concierge on a 'well it was done for someone on another ship at another time so do it for me ' basis should have their own privalage revoked.

If you are not likely to be seduced by the lure of the martini bar or molecular bar cocktails and are only likely to drink a couple of glasses of wine or beer a day then pay as you go is probably best.

The classic package is a bit of a No mans land in my view as it is quite limited in its scope and too easy in my view to get stuck paying full price for drink outside its limits. If you can afford the premium package then it starts to be of more benefit but I would only go with this via the 123 Go offer for the classic and upgrade for circa $12 per day to he premium. But then again we are cocktailaholics.

Not sure on the wine packages but the figures you quote cannot be correct. Wine by the bottle on Celebrity is expensive but not that expensive.

i'm not an experienced cruise person, having only gone on one before with RC 7-8 yrs ago..

Just booked with Celebrity yesterday to depart FL on 15 Mar on the Silhouette.

I should have a zillion questions, but am reading much on this forum and learning lots--and am very grateful for all the info.

One issue that I haven' found an answer to - is exactly what restos will I not have to pay an extra fee for?

Any snack bars ?

I have a voracious teenager who needs constant feeding, but don't have unlimited funds!! :)

Tks for info !! :)

 

Don't worry they won't go hungry

MDR, mast grille and buffet are all included and some of the room service menu( but note I think there is a service charge on the latter even for those included options) buffet is open almost every waking hour.

Not sure if this helps or is relevant but there WERE ipad docks in our alcove on reflection. It was the "old style" apple connector, the wide one, not the current lightning connector.

We used their ipad to play music as ours was the lightning connector.

 

Suite docks are also the old style connector. Given all the suite class stuff that is going on it would be a small but useful benefit to get them replaced with up to date kit. Oh and while you are at it X what chance an Apple TV device for the TV so that we could make use of Air play.