Regular Celebrity Cruiser tries P&O!

We have been regular Celebrity cruisers since 2002 and although we have also tried Royal Caribbean we consider Celebrity to be our cruise line of choice. We have just returned from our first P&O cruise aboard Britannia for Christmas and New Year and I thought it might be helpful to share our thoughts and comparisons. I have posted this on both the Celebrity and P&O boards.

Why did we choose P&O on this occasion?

We decided 12 months ago to have a change and go away for Christmas for the first time. We have been on many cruises and enjoyed them all so started looking at options. P&O had not really appealed previously but their new ship, Britannia, caught our interest. There were several benefits over the Celebrity offering. Both cruises were in the Caribbean as we wanted some better weather and to see some blue skies! The P&O trip was 14 nights and covered Christmas and New Year’s Eve, compared to the Celebrity trip which was 12 nights and only covered Christmas. The P&O trip was £2,000 cheaper in total. P&O charter planes direct to Barbados and handle your luggage once checked in at the airport. This makes things very easy as we exited the plane and walked straight across the tarmac to buses ready to take us to the ship – no going through the airport, collecting bags etc. Similarly, on the return journey once you put your bags outside your cabin the night before departure you don’t see them again until collecting them from the airport carousel in the UK. We were able to stay on the ship all day on the last day and use the facilities, although we did have to vacate our cabin by 8 am. On the last day it took just 2hr 45mins from leaving the ship to being on the plane ready for take-off, including a 45 min journey from the ship to the airport. With a mobility impaired family member this made the whole process much easier. Finally, our youngest son, aged 19 would not have been able to drink alcohol on the Celebrity ship because of the ship operating under US laws and sailing in US waters, but with P&O he was able to drink as it operates under UK laws and does not sail in US waters (at least that is my understanding). He is not a heavy drinker, but given that this was a Christmas cruise (and being a student in the UK he is used to being allowed to drink) we would not have felt it fair to book a cruise where he couldn’t have the occasional beer. All of the above factors meant that, on this occasion, we decided to give P&O a try.

Our thoughts….

We enjoyed the trip and found there were many more similarities than differences. I am not going to write a detailed review of the trip but simply pick out the things that we liked and the things that we missed, when comparing this cruise to our many experiences on Celebrity.

The things that we liked…..

• The Britannia has a free launderette which, although I only used it a couple of times, was very handy. It was an excellent facility with 4 washing machines, 4 dryers and 4 ironing boards and irons and was open from 8 am to 10 pm. It happened to be close to our cabin (which I didn’t realise when booking) which made it even handier. There are no launderettes on Celebrity ships.

• Entertainment is subjective, but overall I would say the entertainment is better on P&O. In fairness, it is probably easier for P&O because they are not trying to cater to an international audience, as is the case on Celebrity, and can therefore tailor the entertainment to British tastes. There were several venues with live music every day/night (‘Pulse’ rock/pop 8 piece live band in the Live Lounge, ‘The James Murrum Band’ in the Crystal Room for more traditional dancing, The Anderson Sealy steel band by the pool etc.). In addition there were nightly performances in the theatre ranging from the usual production shows, a comedian, a ventriloquist, tribute bands and a violinist – something for everyone. On our more recent Celebrity experiences I would say the amount of live music has been paired back but this was not the case on Britannia.

• We hoped that by travelling on a British ship we would still experience something of a British Christmas and this proved to be the case. The whole team went out of their way to put on a range of festive activities – decorations put on every cabin door, a Christmas Eve deck party looking for sightings of Santa (with help from the officers on the bridge) was magical and great fun, midnight mass, a service of nine lessons and carols conducted by the Captain on Christmas morning, the nativity story performed by the children from the kids club, a passenger choir singing carols in the atrium, a Christmas Fete on the pool deck in the afternoon with a huge range of traditional games and prizes, Santa’s grotto with gifts for all the children, a gift for every cabin (P&O limited edition Monopoly), a Christmas themed production show etc. All that we had hoped for and more – you won’t feel as if you have missed Christmas on P&O.

• Room service - we used room service to deliver fresh orange juice every morning and found the service to be extremely prompt. On Celebrity we have found there can be a long wait, irrespective of how little you order.

• We found the Horizon buffet to be relatively civilised, particularly when compared to the Windjammer on Royal Caribbean which we found to be an awful experience. We never struggled to find a table at any time of day and generally the tables were cleared promptly.

• P&O are very relaxed about taking your own alcohol on board for use in your cabin. We bought bottles of gin and rum in the duty free shop in Barbados and took them on board with no problem. They also sell bottles of wine, spirits and mixers (for consumption in your cabin) on the room service menu at very reasonable prices. On Celebrity you are only allowed to take 2 bottles of wine and if you purchase alcohol along the way it will be confiscated and only returned to you on the last day.

• The gratuities are cheaper on P&O as are the drinks, although on Celebrity they offer an all-inclusive drinks package (often offered as a free incentive to book), free drinks at the evening drinks party for their Elite members (part of their loyalty scheme) and ‘free pour’ measures making their drinks much stronger.

• Freedom dining – our last couple of trips on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean have been with flexible dining, rather than fixed time dining. We found P&O had the best of all the flexible/freedom style dining experiences. If there is a queue they give you a pager, allowing you to remain in a bar until your table is ready, but this was rarely needed. Very efficient and no need to stand in a queue.

• Fun – this was a Christmas cruise and therefore the demographic was probably younger than the typical P&O cruise. We enjoyed the sail away parties (I know they are not for everyone) and the New Year’s Eve deck party. It was generally livelier than we have experienced on our Celebrity cruises – they certainly know how to party!

The things we missed…

• On P&O there are no towel stations by the pool. You are given one pool towel in your cabin and that is it. We really missed the Celebrity system where there are piles of fresh towels by the pool (no need to carry them around) available all day. If your towel gets wet you simply place it in the used bin and collect some more. On this trip, we would often visit the beach in the morning returning to the ship for a late lunch and pool swim. Our towels were wet and sandy so we put them in the used towel bin on the way back on the ship but there was nowhere to pick up any fresh towels. We ended up collecting towels from cabin attendant’s trolleys and hiding them under our bed to build up a store for future use. We spoke to others who did the same so we were not alone. Completely ridiculous and a definite negative for us.

• Soft drinks – on Celebrity there are free drinks stations by the pool and in the buffet with a choice of water, fruit punch, lemon drink, iced tea, coffee, tea etc. whereas on P&O there is a jug of iced water on the bar by the pool and that is it. In the Horizon buffet they don’t even have an ice machine so if the glasses have just come out of the dishwasher your only option is warm water, coffee or tea - or put your hand in your pocket and pay for a drink. We really missed this facility.

• Ice cream – on P&O the only ice cream available has to be paid for (apart from in the dining room) whereas on Celebrity there is a free ice cream counter in the buffet supplying a range of ice creams, sweets and toppings. On Royal Caribbean there are soft serve ice cream machines by the pool, again free of charge.

• It has been reported many times that the balconies on Britannia are very narrow and we found them to be disappointingly small. We had 3 cabins and opened up the dividers to create a large space, but the space was so narrow it was impossible for us to sit around on the balcony together. Disappointing but not unexpected since I was aware of the issue before booking.

• We found the food to be of good quality but a bit limited in choice when comparing to Celebrity, both in the dining room and the buffet. No signs of any smoked salmon at breakfast, no streaky bacon at breakfast, no olives in the buffet, no pasta on the evening dinner menu – typically there would be 3 meat with veg options, two fish options, plus one vegetarian option. The desserts were better on P&O and were ‘proper’ desserts rather than the air filled mousse type desserts often seen on Celebrity.

• We found there was a lack of visible security around the ship. We hadn’t realised this until one of the sail away parties during which a member of the crew was targeted and in our view treated very badly by some passengers. We felt very uneasy and could not believe there appeared to be no security around to help. At such a gathering on Celebrity or Royal Caribbean there would be visible security stationed around the pool with walkie talkies to call for back up if needed. This needs addressing urgently for the safety and security of the crew. The sail away parties are attended by large numbers of people, most of whom have been drinking to a greater or lesser extent, and it is easy for things to get ‘out of hand’. A visible security presence would help prevent this and is desperately needed at these events.

• TV – there is no facility to check your on board account or order room service via the TV on Britannia, as is the case on Celebrity, although I understand this is going to change (certainly with regard to the on board account anyway).

In conclusion…

Well done if you have made it to the end of this! I hope it has been of some use for anyone considering either cruise line. We would consider P&O cruises again but probably only on their newer, larger ships and only if the itinerary and price were favourable. Celebrity is probably still our line of choice but for Christmas we enjoyed the British feel provided by Britannia. If you are on a cruise in the Caribbean in the depths of winter, when the UK is covered in grey skies and rain, you can’t go wrong. Just wish we were still there!

Thanks!!

A good comparison. Glad you enjoyed your trip with another cruise line.

Thanks for your review and comparisons.

Excellent.

I had forgotten the flight to Barbados when luggage was taken care of ( Ocean Village, a subsidiary of P&O, 2002)

Very interested that your total cost was £2000 cheaper than Celebrity. The reason we choose Celebrity was because we could book a balcony cabin on Celebrity (2008) but only an outside with obstructed views on P&O (2009)

Obviously the inclusion of beverage packages on Celebrity has changed pricing.

I was aware that the drinks on P&O were more akin to UK pub prices, but hadn't realised that you were allowed to take purchased bottles of alcohol on board.

I have heard and read many negative comments about Britannia, so it's good to read a positive review- many thanks.

A very fair comparison, and glad you focus see on the advantages of each line and didn't just have a whine as many people do.

Like you, we have been on Celebrity for the last few years but tried Britannia in 2015. If I was rating them I would give Celebrity a 9 and Britannia close behind on 8 ( although the other P&O ships would only rate 7)

I thought the cabin was a little better on Britannia (deluxe balcony v Aqua) and wasn't too bothered by the smaller balcony.

Enjoyed the Limelight on Britannia and would like to see this concept on other ships.

Embarkation (Uk only) is much better on Celebrity and I can't figure out why they can get me on the ship in 20 minutes whereas it takes 2 hours+ on P&O.

Anyway, it's back to Celebrity for 2016, but wouldn't rule out Britannia in the future.

Thanks for the review.

David

Thanks for your review.

We have remained fairly loyal to X in recent years but are looking to do more Southampton cruises in the future and would consider P&O. Do you know if they have suite restaurants, conceirge lounges? We have enjoyed these on X and would probably look for something similar on another line...

Thanks for posting a really balanced review. We have only sailed P&O Azura once in 2011 and apart from the speciality restaurant and glass house bistro being much better than Celebrity offerings we didn't like it and vowed not to use them again. However after reading this we are tempted to try Britannia. We are elite on Celebrity so get some perks but this is not enough to retain our loyalty now that prices have increased so much.

Great review. Informative and balanced.

Never thought of P&O but love the sound of the English Christmas missed that for the last 20 years since moving to Florida. Perhaps we will give this a try next year.

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments.

I suspect that the difference in price on this occasion was because of the flights. With Celebrity we would have been on a normal (maybe British Airways?) flight whereas with P&O we were on a completely chartered plane which I suspect keeps the costs under control. We were on the Thomson Dreamliner and it was the best transatlantic flight I have ever been on, and that is saying something as I hate flying!

Not only are P&O relaxed about you taking drinks on board but they will sell you litre bottles to your cabin at reasonable prices - Gordon's gin £20, Smirnoff vodka £20, 12 mixers £10 etc. We were surprised about that having only been on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean previously. It didn't really work so well for us as we hoped to sit together on the balcony for a pre dinner drink but it was too narrow and we would have ended up sitting as if we were on a bus! Had it just been 2 of us it would have been okay, but with 5 people it didn't work and we ended up not really getting through the duty free but bringing it home in our suitcase instead.

I have not heard of any concierge lounges or suite lounges on P&O but I am not an expert on that. I am sure someone on the P&O board would help.

One other thing I should have said is that it was quite 'dressy' with the majority of men in dinner jackets and dress codes adhered to. If you like that sort of thing you would enjoy P&O. Our most recent cruise on Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas was an absolute joke in this respect - shorts in the dining room on 'formal night'. Celebrity have obviously moved away from formal nights as well, but if you enjoy them P&O cruisers are still fans of dressing smartly!

Love the thought of no airport nightmare like Miami. We have an Eclipse booked for next month and November. Too late to cancel next month but will change to Britannia for November. Thanks for review.

Try and get a Thomson flight rather than Thomas Cook if you can...it was such a good flight. We were originally booked Thomas Cook from Manchester as that was all that was available but we kept looking and managed to switch to Birmingham with Thomson which was nearer home and a new plane.

I found this from P &O web site, regarding their alcohol policy.

CAN I BRING ALCOHOL ON BOARD TO CONSUME IN MY CABIN OR IN RESTAURANTS?

We will generally allow a small, reasonable amount to be taken on board for you to enjoy in your cabin, however taking bottles of alcohol into restaurants or lounges will incur a corkage fee of £15 (prices are subject to change) per item (any size) per occasion.

Should you wish to take alcohol on board to celebrate an event, the number of bottles you may take on will be at the port authorities’ discretion and you will be charged a corkage fee.

We reserve the right to confiscate alcohol at the gangway, which will be returned to you at the end of your cruise. It is not our intention to invoke this policy as a matter of course and we will implement it only when we consider it is likely that the health, comfort, safety and enjoyment of passengers may otherwise be compromised.

There are a variety of bars on board each of our ships offering a range of beverages at competitive prices. Beverages can also be purchased in our restaurants and your cabin.

P&O are very relaxed about taking your own alcohol on board for use in your cabin. We bought bottles of gin and rum in the duty free shop in Barbados and took them on board with no problem. They also sell bottles of wine, spirits and mixers (for consumption in your cabin) on the room service menu at very reasonable prices. On Celebrity you are only allowed to take 2 bottles of wine and if you purchase alcohol along the way it will be confiscated and only returned to you on the last day.

Correct....the bottles you can take on board are for in cabin consumption only. We took on 4 litres (2 litres of branded gin and 2 of branded rum - £8 a bottle in Barbados duty free outside the ship) with no problem at all. We didn't drink it all and ended up bringing some home. We also bought a bottle of rum on a distillery tour and again brought it on board no problem, something you would not be allowed to do on Celebrity.

I have yet to understand the logic X uses to allow a couple of bottles of wine, and all the water you can tote aboard, but denies the ability to bring any spirits or beer aboard (for use in your own cabin).

Correct....the bottles you can take on board are for in cabin consumption only. We took on 4 litres (2 litres of branded gin and 2 of branded rum - £8 a bottle in Barbados duty free outside the ship) with no problem at all. We didn't drink it all and ended up bringing some home. We also bought a bottle of rum on a distillery tour and again brought it on board no problem, something you would not be allowed to do on Celebrity.

Thank you for taking the time to right your comparison. It's nice to know there are other options available.

Kruzgal, thank you very much for a great comparison! :)

Thanks for this. We've just booked our first P and O trip on Britannia this afternoon and although we'd seen mixed reviews decided to give it a try because it has an itinerary we liked.

We also travel with my son now aged 21, but the Celebrity / HAL drinks policy has been a real pain.

The drinks policy with Celebrity has been fine in the Mediterranean as we have been able to sign a waiver but is no good for trips to the Caribbean.

Thanks for a very candid comparison.

A really great and well considered post, thank you!

We've been thinking of taking a P&O Transatlantic, so your report is super helpful

Christmas sounds absolutely charming; we'll need to keep it in mind for the future.

Many thanks for this. So pleased to hear a factual review and a good comparison of the 2 lines.

We too favour X but have booked to try Britannia at the end of this month to try P&O yet again.

We have tried P&O before but have always returned with 2 main issues keeping us with X, namely food and service.

We feel that X staff 'go the extra mile'

We also prefer the very varied menus offered by X

Yes the transfer to Barbados is superb we agree which is one of the main reasons we keep trying P&O if we are planning Caribbean.

We are hoping that this new ship suits us better than the others we have tried, however we always cruise without our children and Grandchildren and I would imagine we would take them on P&O for the facilities for them.

I have been concerned about some of the reports we have heard about Britannia but encouraged that your report seems mainly positive.

We have spent much more on this cruise for a balcony than our usual X cruise.

Just booked Connie for 2017 :)

It is difficult as we haven't been on any other P&O ships to compare.

We didn't have any issues with service, although we did notice there seemed to be fewer 'cloakroom attendants' in the public toilets than on Celebrity and as a result these areas weren't quite as spotless as we are used to.

I would agree with you about the food being a bit 'safe' and limited compared to Celebrity. It just came across as more 'British' which I guess is to be expected - meat & veg, fish and chips etc. As I said previously I love pasta but my husband isn't a fan so I often choose this when away, but there was hardly any on the menu. I also love vegetarian food but the was only one choice and sometimes it was very odd. The Horizon also seemed more limited in choice than the buffet on Celebrity but everything I did eat tasted very nice.

You can't beat P&O when going to the Caribbean as it is just so easy compared to Miami. I'm sure you will have a good time.

It's interesting you say your trip was more expensive as we also paid more for our cruise than we have ever done before, although that was because it was Christmas and we didn't book straight away after the itineraries were released. I think that was why some of the small things that we were missing did niggle, but overall we enjoyed the trip.

It's interesting you say your trip was more expensive as we also paid more for our cruise than we have ever done before, although that was because it was Christmas and we didn't book straight away after the itineraries were released. I think that was why some of the small things that we were missing did niggle, but overall we enjoyed the trip.

For exactly the same price as our cruise on Britannia this month we went to the far east last year on Millie and had the drinks package included! This year our balcony/cabin will be smaller as well as we have booked HC grade.

Yes we find the P&O food a bit 'meat and 2 veg' and too many potatoes and chips going on.

Lack of cloakroom staff is disappointing yes.

We too get very frustrated at the lack of towels on deck!

Great sail away fun though and a great transfer to Barbados.

Just hope this trip doesn't disappoint.

Back to X next year - far east again. We always dress well for dinner so we will pay no attention to the change in formal wear. My long dresses and cocktail dresses will still be worn and DH will take his white DJ