Britannia Balcony cabins- with or without sofa?

[scarlet o'hara]

We've not sailed on Britannia yet but are considering her for our next cruise. Is there much of a difference between the balcony cabins with sofa's compared to those with a chair only. There will only be 2 of us in the cabin which will be made up as a double. I've looked at various posts and threads but can't really see any comments. I'm not a very good sailor so prefer low down cabins midship where possible. We were looking at E424 and wonder if anyone who has stayed around there has any comments. Thanks in advance.

[Teddy123]

The main difference is that one has a sofa! To achieve this, it is slightly bigger. Whether the presence of a sofa matters depends on one's habits. We spend quite a lot of time in our cabin, one way or another, and consider having a sofa to sit on, rather than one on the chair and one on the bed, is essential - others will have different priorities.

[john watson]

E424 seems a reasonable choice midships deck 10. You could go 1 o 2 decks lower if you get seasick. Two people in a cabin you are not pushed for space but as Teddy says you could both sit down on a seat.

 

Regards John

[ann141]

I would be happy with either but if the price difference isn t that great I would opt for the sofa as the cabins are slightly larger and even for one person sitting on the sofa is more comfortable than a chair.

[Selbourne]

I would also opt for a cabin with a sofa. In addition to the slightly extra space and ability to sit in (reasonable) comfort (I say that because they aren't very comfortable and, if sofa beds, tilt forward slightly when folded), Britannia cabins have an excellent, good size interactive flat screen TV that actually works well and, if like us, you find that the evening entertainment is often not up to much, you can watch some excellent movies free of charge. TV's on the other ships are pathetic in comparison. Top tip for all P&O interactive TV's - they have a habit of going very slow and the interactive menus becoming almost unusable. When this happens, unplug the data point from the wall, leave it for a few seconds and plug it back in. The TV goes through a reset procedure and then works much quicker. People with Sky TV boxes will be aware of this technique!

[Roland123]

A chair was fine for us, my wife usually sat on the balcony in the sun while I sat on the chair with the door closed and the air con on full blast!

 

If the price difference isn't much then go for it otherwise a chair is just fine.

[Ginb56]

My vote is for a sofa too - more comfy to get your feet up reading while hubby still in bed snoring...!

[bobstheboy]

It just seems to be another money making issue. My recent booking wanted over 250 pounds more per person just for the use of a sofa !!!! Must be the most expensive sofa out there. I didn't pay it.

[davenew]

We've not sailed on Britannia yet but are considering her for our next cruise. Is there much of a difference between the balcony cabins with sofa's compared to those with a chair only. There will only be 2 of us in the cabin which will be made up as a double. I've looked at various posts and threads but can't really see any comments. I'm not a very good sailor so prefer low down cabins midship where possible. We were looking at E424 and wonder if anyone who has stayed around there has any comments. Thanks in advance.

 

 

In November, we were allocated G303 with a chair, and in 2015 we had a sofa. I would certainly choose the room with a sofa every time, as the difference did appear to matter. However the price difference was a reasonable factor in going for the chair room last time.

[CCFC]

You get two bedside tables with the sofa, its one with a sofa-less balcony. I have stayed in both,

Edited March 2, 2017 by CCFC

[CCFC]

 

[Presto2]

My vote is for a sofa. We loved our cabin and I could sit on the balcony in the sun and hubby loved being on the sofa in the shade. We had an aft cabin though with a really large balcony :)

[Florry]

You get two bedside tables with the sofa, its one with a sofa-less balcony. I have stayed in both,

 

 

That is such a big plus, we had one without a sofa and I really didn't like only having one bedside cabinet - I had to keep my undies in a bag [emoji53]

 

 

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[Selbourne]

It just seems to be another money making issue. My recent booking wanted over 250 pounds more per person just for the use of a sofa !!!! Must be the most expensive sofa out there. I didn't pay it.

 

 

You aren't just paying for a sofa. The cabin is bigger as well, as you can clearly see from the photos above. In my view, if you can afford it, it's worth the extra - even if it's ?250 each. More space + More comfort = More enjoyable holiday.

[CCFC]

I have to say that I originally booked JE grade obstructed balconies on both cruises and ended up with these on a saver fare, luck of the draw sometimes though it was early December when they seem to have a hard time selling cruises.

[scarlet o'hara]

Thanks everyone, especially Mike (CCFC) for the photos. The photos on P&O's website don't really show any difference. There's only ?100 total price difference between the sofa/no sofa cabins, so sofa it is Looking at E or F507 instead. There seems to be plenty availability. Thanks for all your help.

[sapphire4]

Id take the sofa anytime. There's slightly more room which is critical in such a confined space. The cabins are modern and quite nicely set out as are the bathrooms which although compact have a reasonably sized shower with a glass screen as opposed to the awful shower curtains found on other ships. The TV system is very good as previous posters have mentioned and there are some watchable items.We have found the Britannia sails well and is reasonably stable .We usually opt for an aft cabin as the balcony is deeper on the back.

[bobstheboy]

If money was no object I would agree that the addition of a sofa is better. However, we like more than one holiday, including a month in Lanzarote in the winter, so an additional ?500 is too much for me.