"Live from" Britannia, 10th February 2017

[wowzz]

Will be interested to also hear your observations as to the differences between Princess and P&O passengers.

 

Sent from my SM-T700 using Forums mobile app

[FluffyFiFi]

Really enjoying your trip report, thank you for giving so much information on the islands. I really like the look of Holland House but can you tell me if the included drinks have to be beer as I am not really a beer drinker? Also, how easy is it to get the water taxi and how much does it cost?

Fiona

[jake 26]

What an excellent review. Very articulate.

 

It brought back some excellent memories, and we also found the rum punch quite destabilising on similar trips.

 

We are doing a similar itinerary in early April on TUI Discovery (ex Splendour of the Seas) having thoroughly enjoying her last October after many years with P&O. You really have set the scene for us, and given us some extra ideas.

 

Have a good flight home.

[silkworms]

Have loved your posts, we are in St Maarten next month and really fancy the Holland House package, do we need to book online or just get there early? Is the water taxi the best way to reach Holland House or is it as easy to walk? Hope you have a good flight back, look forward to your final input.

[soobs]

really enjoyed your journey and experience thank you for taking your precious holiday time to keep us entertained

[Frflatt]

Thursday 23rd February 2017 - Sea Day

 

Our final sea day and the last day of our cruise today; sad, but all good things must come to an end!

 

After our usual morning coffee and a light breakfast of bacon and eggs we ascended to our usual spot on the starboard side of deck 18 - we love this spot with its sheltered position and gentle breeze, I find being in direct Caribbean sunlight too much. We settled down for a day of reading, writing and relaxation. There wasn't much to see on this side of the ship today as we were passing all the islands on the port side - when we did take a turn round the deck we could monitor our progress towards Barbados.

 

At lunch time we popped down to Horizon Buffett where I had a lovely salad - I must say that P&O do some really good salad options in the buffet - but the hot offering was very poor; perhaps they're running out of food?! Post lunch we returned to our spot; this is the place that fills up last and there are always empty loungers through the day. The sun lounger situation is not fun; the loungers are packed in with no space between them and in the more popular areas most loungers are reserved by 8am! Also, there seems to be no policing of the reserved loungers and they can remain empty for hours with no one monitoring. The other things is the lack of tables - on Princess there is a table between every two chairs and this provides space to move round the loungers; on P&O tables seem to be at a premium and one has to climb up the loungers to get on with no space between (not good for older people).

 

At about 3pm, as we were passing Martinique, we returned to our stateroom to begin packing and get ready for the evening. Geoff filled in our Bajan immigration paperwork and I went to get another blank copy of the form (because it always takes more than one go to get it right). I also picked up a copy of our account which was a pleasant surprise - it's nice to have paid for excursions etc in advance. Whilst it is lovely not having to worry about our luggage once we put it out we did notice a problem - normally we would leave things out like deodorant, cologne, change of clothes to use at the airport and then transfer into our hold luggage before we check it but because we didn't see it again until Gatwick we ended up with lots of things in our carry on and having to put colognes out the night before in the hold luggage. We finished packing by 6.30pm and having changed we went for a drink in the Blue Bar - gin martini for me and a Peroni for Geoff.

 

Dinner tonight was in the Peninsular dining room - it seems like it's either feast or famine; last night it was difficult to choose between all the options but tonight we struggled to find things that we liked. Having said that we still think the variety, quality and range of foods on P&O is the best we've had on a cruise ship. Following dinner we returned to the Blue Bar to try their salted caramel martini; since the first day of the cruise we said we wanted to try it but it really wasn't that good, more like toffee apple but not in a good way!

 

The show tonight was 'Sound of the Underground'. The graphics, costumes and singers and dancers were all good as usual but the show was disappointing. There was no story to it and the songs didn't really hang together. I think it was meant to be showcasing British music but I can think of a lot better songs that would do this. Also, even though I am proud of my heritage I'm not really into nationalistic songs and would have preferred to have seen something celebrating the cultures of the part of the world we were in - just personal preference because I could see that others really enjoyed the show.

 

After the show we returned to our stateroom to get a good nights sleep to prepare for a long day of travelling tomorrow.

[Frflatt]

Friday 24th February 2017 - Barbados and Disembarkation

 

We woke this morning at about 6.45 and began the final preparation to leave our lovely stateroom - we have really enjoyed this room and love the modern fittings/decor. By 7.40 we were showered, packed and heading to the Live Lounge to complete the immigration process. I was in and out within 2 minutes and with all our paperwork in order we headed to the Market Cafe for our usual morning coffee. First we stowed our hand luggage in the Headliners theatre and then headed to the atrium. After coffee we went for our final breakfast in Horizon buffet and enjoyed our bacon and eggs for the last time on this cruise. After breakfast we went up to deck 18 starboard side to enjoy a morning of relaxation.

 

I had been very excited to glimpse the beautiful Royal Princess berthed opposite us and from our usual vantage point on deck 18 was able to spend the morning admiring her in her lovely new livery; she really does look 'handsome'! Whilst admiring the view, we talked about our next cruise on her sister, the Majestic Princess. Only seven weeks until we set sail.

 

We stayed on deck until about midday and then went inside to get ready for our departure. Having changed into our travelling clothes we first waited in Sindhu and then, following the flight before us being called, we moved to the Crystal Room to wait our turn. At about 1.10pm we were invited to disembark and join our coach to the airport - everything was on time. The journey to the airport was slow due to traffic but we eventually got there after about an hour and joined the line for cruise passengers. Security was a breeze and we were very soon waiting in the departure lounge for our flight to be called. We boarded our flight at about 4pm - there was a bit of waiting round in line but nothing that could be considered excessive. The flight was uneventful and quick - we arrived in Gatwick 30 minutes early at 4.45am. After going through passport control, collecting our luggage (30 minute wait) and collecting our car from Purple Parking we were home by 7.20am. On the whole a pretty smooth and painless disembarkation and journey home - painless except for the uncomfortable seats on Thomas Cook, like sitting on a concrete slab! The food though is okay and the service, whilst a little slow, is friendly and good.

 

It feels good to be home - though the piles of washing are not so good - but the holiday was lovely and I will do a round up and comparison with the Princess experience in the next 24 hours. Thank you for following along with us and I will review and answer any questions presently.

[Frflatt]

Very interested to hear what you think of your chocolate balls. We also purchased some and tried making the chocolate when we got home. We followed the instructions carefully but the end result was undrinkable - basically hot water with gritty brown bits floating in it and very bitter. The balls didn't dissolve - heating a saucepan, whizzing in a blender, adding sugar - all made no difference. The coffee we purchased in the shop at the terminal, though, was great.

 

 

Thank you - yes, it will be interesting to see if they 'work', will let you know once we've tried them!

[Frflatt]

Nnnooooo,,,you can't come home yet!! We want more:(

 

2 questions though,,1, does the Tui Discovery look nice?

And 2,, just how big is Harmony? On a scale of 1 to 1000000!! ;)

 

 

Thank you for following - it's been fun. :)

 

Tui Discovery looks very nice, I believe it used to be Splendour of the Seas before Thomson brought it but you wouldn't know now. They seem to have done a really smart job of refitting and what we could see - outside areas, pools etc. looked lovely (including the llamas - pink and blue!).

 

Harmony is ginormous - it looked to be double the width and much taller than all the other ship. I love big ships but it's size makes it look a little ugly - I would try it just for the experience but I love the royal class ships (Regal, Royal, Britannia and in a few weeks time the Majestic). Will be doing a live from the Majestic in 7 weeks time.:cool:

[mrsgoggins]

Do I assume that you are working on your review to stop yourself nodding off 😉. I suffer terribly from jet-lag; doesn't stop me from flying across the Atlantic though :D

 

I really enjoyed your review. I have no P&O cruises planned (only Celebrity and Princess) but never say never!

 

I'll keep my eye on the Princess board in case you do a review of your time on the Majestic Princess.

 

Thanks very much for taking the time to do this.

[Frflatt]

Really enjoying your trip report, thank you for giving so much information on the islands. I really like the look of Holland House but can you tell me if the included drinks have to be beer as I am not really a beer drinker? Also, how easy is it to get the water taxi and how much does it cost?

Fiona

 

 

We visited Holland House on a previous cruise, really liked the place and said that next time - which we did. The included drinks are beer, soda or water. The cocktails - which are very good and very strong - vary between 8-12$ each but they are worth it.

 

The water taxi is really easy - it's well signposted at the pier and costs $7 for all day (you get a wrist band at the kiosk) or $5 for a single journey. It's an easy walk into town/beaches from the cruise pier but not nice and alongside a busy road so I would recommend the water taxi which is very frequent.

[Frflatt]

What an excellent review. Very articulate.

 

It brought back some excellent memories, and we also found the rum punch quite destabilising on similar trips.

 

We are doing a similar itinerary in early April on TUI Discovery (ex Splendour of the Seas) having thoroughly enjoying her last October after many years with P&O. You really have set the scene for us, and given us some extra ideas.

 

Have a good flight home.

 

 

Thank you.

 

Tui Discovery looks really nice - we especially liked the llamas! Would consider going on her - what's Tui like as a cruise company, how do they compare with P&O/Celebrity/Princess?

[Frflatt]

Have loved your posts, we are in St Maarten next month and really fancy the Holland House package, do we need to book online or just get there early? Is the water taxi the best way to reach Holland House or is it as easy to walk? Hope you have a good flight back, look forward to your final input.

 

 

Holland House is really good - lovely clean facilities, friendly staff, great drinks and service. You don't need to book in advance - even with 6 ships in port we were able to easily get a place by getting there for about 9am; it did fill up later.

 

It is an easy walk from the pier but I would recommend the water taxi - its only $7 to use all day and is very frequent. Holland House is to the right of the the water taxi landing - facing the boardwalk - about 4 or 5 building down. Hope you have a great trip.

[Frflatt]

Do I assume that you are working on your review to stop yourself nodding off 😉. I suffer terribly from jet-lag; doesn't stop me from flying across the Atlantic though :D

 

I really enjoyed your review. I have no P&O cruises planned (only Celebrity and Princess) but never say never!

 

I'll keep my eye on the Princess board in case you do a review of your time on the Majestic Princess.

 

Thanks very much for taking the time to do this.

 

 

 

Thank you for following. We've been home since 7.20 this morning and have been to bed until lunchtime and are now back up for the rest of the day - this seems to work best for us.

 

We love Princess and have mainly sailed with them - I think that sometimes your first cruise experience shapes your way of viewing cruising and you compare all other lines with them; Princess seems to be the best fit for us.

 

Will definitely be doing a 'live from' when we go on the Majestic in 7 weeks time - very excited about this. Somewhere on the Princess boards is another live from that I did of our trip on the Emerald Princess in August last year when we went to Norway - wish I knew how to link things in my signature!

 

Thank you again.

[jake 26]

Thank you.

 

Tui Discovery looks really nice - we especially liked the llamas! Would consider going on her - what's Tui like as a cruise company, how do they compare with P&O/Celebrity/Princess?

 

We have only been on the Discovery because we have had previous positive experience of Vision class ships which she is.

We found we enjoyed the Tui experience, a good range of accommodation and restaurants, excellent entertainment, and, because it's a mid sized ship the staff interaction was what we had enjoyed on the other main lines before the introduction of the megaships.

Somehow we found that we enjoyed the social company of our fellow passengers more, perhaps it was because it was less populated, but there was a good cross section of nice friendly people without pretentiousness. It was, for us, how cruising used to be.

Edited February 26, 2017 by jake 26
Typo

[Purdey16]

I really enjoyed your trip report and all the information on the islands you visited, we are doing our first Caribbean cruise October 2918 on Arcadia and are looking out for any information about the islands and Holland house seems very inviting , looking forward to your round up and your next live forum on the Majestic

Tank you again :cool:

[MONTYJENBAG]

I really enjoyed your trip report and all the information on the islands you visited, we are doing our first Caribbean cruise October 2918 on Arcadia and are looking out for any information about the islands and Holland house seems very inviting , looking forward to your round up and your next live forum on the Majestic

Tank you again :cool:

....2918??? That'll be a long wait then :o

[Purdey16]

Sorry I'm not only new to this forum but new to computers and got a bit addicted to reading all these tips, it gives me something to look forward too :cool:

[Purdey16]

Should of been 2018

[Roland123]

We were on the same cruise as you and even in Sindhu the same night!

 

Both my wife and I came back with terrible chesty coughs as did quite a lot of people I think.

 

We enjoyed the cruise but think Britannia is too big, not very well designed (too many dead ends, no promenade deck) and P&O are trying to cater for too many different types of people from Butlins on Sea on the Lido deck to ball room dancing in the Crystal Room and it doesn't work

 

We felt the entertainment (when we could get a seat to watch it) was average, we are used to Thomsons entertainment which is excellent with a West End style show five days a week! We watched the 'Once Upon A Star' show and thought we had gate crashed an afternoon matinee for 10 year olds!

 

Food on the whole was good the Epicurean was superb, Sindhu dreadful and the Beach House very good.

 

Cabins were good and the balcony was big enough unless you both want to lie flat out in which case go and get a sunbed.

 

Why we need two days at sea I don't know as we were literally going round in circles to waste time, two more islands would be better (Thomsons last year only had one day at sea a week)

 

Don't think I will bother taking my DJ next time as it was nothing special not even a better menu in the restaurant, bit of a waste of time really.

 

All in all a good couple of weeks!

[Roland123]

Forgot to mention that our experience of cruising was limited to Thomsons and P&O Oceana before this cruise.

 

We prefer the Oceana and love it's atrium compared to a rather boring atrium on Britannia.

 

Add the Crows Nest and Britannia's balconies to Oceana and it would be perfect.

[JimJam39]

It feels good to be home - though the piles of washing are not so good - but the holiday was lovely and I will do a round up and comparison with the Princess experience in the next 24 hours. Thank you for following along with us and I will review and answer any questions presently.

Hi there, just finished reading your blog and its been brilliant. Is there any chance you can add your Princess/Britannia comparison to round off the blog, I'd be most interested to read it :)