Brittania refit

[terrierjohn]

11 minutes ago, Precioussmeagol said:

 

From everything I’ve seen since I posted about the email I’ve received yesterday I honestly can’t see how it will not impact the amount of sun, yes the canopy is glass but if you’ve been on any kind of balcony before and had the shade of the glass of the balcony come over you as the sun sets, then I imagine this will be similar and to me that isn’t full sun. 
 

I just think this situation has been handled appallingly by p&o 

It will make a difference to what it was like previously, with part shaded and part in the sun, but it will be no different to all the side balconies which all have shade from the balcony above.

[daiB]

19 minutes ago, Precioussmeagol said:

I am of the same mind opinion as you, id prefer the soot and being overlooked. We have been in the corner suite on a Deck before, soot was minimal and pretty much everyone above had the decency not to look over. I saw being overlooked as a small price to pay for the experience of that huge wide open space to ourselves. 
 

I think it’s a massive shame 

I am not concerned at all about being overlooked. However we have had the B Deck corner suite and for most of the cruise it was unusable. If these canopies stop the soot then we can book them again. Without we can not.

[Suebiker]

4 minutes ago, Precioussmeagol said:

 

From everything I’ve seen since I posted about the email I’ve received yesterday I honestly can’t see how it will not impact the amount of sun, yes the canopy is glass but if you’ve been on any kind of balcony before and had the shade of the glass of the balcony come over you as the sun sets, then I imagine this will be similar and to me that isn’t full sun. 
 

I just think this situation has been handled appallingly by p&o 

 

We are in the same position as you.  Not sure how I feel about it tbh.  I am a bit disappointed and worried as to how it affect the sun and also if it will make the cabin dark.  However my husband is happy as we are traveling in the summer and he thinks we will be able to use the balcony more because it will be shaded . He also likes the extra privacy it will give us.  

 

You are right about the way it has been handled - we didn't find out till after we booked  either - not good.

 

I am trying to tell myself it will be fine -  we have treated ourselves to a suite for a one off special occasion and it does make me feel slightly disappointed and let down as I won't be getting what I booked.  Trying to stay positive

 

[Suebiker]

3 minutes ago, daiB said:

I am not concerned at all about being overlooked. However we have had the B Deck corner suite and for most of the cruise it was unusable. If these canopies stop the soot then we can book them again. Without we can not.

 

Thanks for posting this - it does make me feel a lot better.  Maybe the canopy will be a good thing then. Finger crossed.

[Precioussmeagol]

6 minutes ago, daiB said:

I am not concerned at all about being overlooked. However we have had the B Deck corner suite and for most of the cruise it was unusable. If these canopies stop the soot then we can book them again. Without we can not.

I’m sorry to hear that it was unusable for you, that wasn’t our experience but I have heard that the levels of soot can vary greatly. However as you say if the canopy was not added you would not have booked the rooms again and there in lies my biggest problem with this situation, you would’ve had the choice not to book as you would’ve been aware the soot situation would’ve occurred. Had I known the canopies were to be added, I wouldn’t have booked this room. I would’ve booked a corner suite on the lower decks, which were all available at the time but have slightly smaller balconies. It’s about choice, about people being able to choose what is best for them and that’s something I feel that has been taken away. 

[Precioussmeagol]

21 minutes ago, Suebiker said:

 

We are in the same position as you.  Not sure how I feel about it tbh.  I am a bit disappointed and worried as to how it affect the sun and also if it will make the cabin dark.  However my husband is happy as we are traveling in the summer and he thinks we will be able to use the balcony more because it will be shaded . He also likes the extra privacy it will give us.  

 

You are right about the way it has been handled - we didn't find out till after we booked  either - not good.

 

I am trying to tell myself it will be fine -  we have treated ourselves to a suite for a one off special occasion and it does make me feel slightly disappointed and let down as I won't be getting what I booked.  Trying to stay positive

 

Same here, trying to look for the positives, hence why I’m trying to find images and stories of people’s experiences that have sailed since the refit. 
 

We used our corner suite balcony all day long and ate out there in the evenings, watched the wake at night time and found the soot to be very minimal, perhaps that’s why I’m so concerned, because we used our balcony more than most. 
 

Even if it turns out to be better than I am anticipating, the fact is that we are spending close to £25000 with p&o over 2 cruises for 2 suites. It’s not a small amount of money. And the way they’ve emailed us as though they have simply changed the carpet is appalling. We wouldve simply booked different suites had we been told. And to add insult to injury they don’t seem to be willing to acknowledge what a big issue this is for some people. It just leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. 
 

I will try to make the best of the cruise we have booked in 2020 but if it is as bad as it appears in images, I will not be going ahead with the cruise in 2021, even if it means I lose my deposit. 
 

I love p&o and I do not fly so cruising is my own holiday outside of the uk, they had a customer for life in me, but the way this has been done has made me reassess the way I feel about them 

[Big Foot]

30 minutes ago, Precioussmeagol said:

Same here, trying to look for the positives, hence why I’m trying to find images and stories of people’s experiences that have sailed since the refit. 
 

We used our corner suite balcony all day long and ate out there in the evenings, watched the wake at night time and found the soot to be very minimal, perhaps that’s why I’m so concerned, because we used our balcony more than most. 
 

Even if it turns out to be better than I am anticipating, the fact is that we are spending close to £25000 with p&o over 2 cruises for 2 suites. It’s not a small amount of money. And the way they’ve emailed us as though they have simply changed the carpet is appalling. We wouldve simply booked different suites had we been told. And to add insult to injury they don’t seem to be willing to acknowledge what a big issue this is for some people. It just leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. 
 

I will try to make the best of the cruise we have booked in 2020 but if it is as bad as it appears in images, I will not be going ahead with the cruise in 2021, even if it means I lose my deposit. 
 

I love p&o and I do not fly so cruising is my own holiday outside of the uk, they had a customer for life in me, but the way this has been done has made me reassess the way I feel about them 

 

 

Totally agree with you. 

 

We too used our balcony all day long &  occasionally nipped upstairs just to use the pools & Jacuzzi's.  It was our own private oasis, hence why we were prepared to pay the extra for the suite. Hubby isn't so much of a sun lover so he could nip in & out of the suite as & when the sun got too much, opposed to us sitting in different places on deck, me in the sun & him huddled undercover somewhere.

 

The only thing I won't miss is the midday washing of the balconies, especially when the stewards first started doing it without warning!!

[chrisg1uk]

I have been talking to P&O about this as we have booked a big holiday in a cabin that is affected.  We booked with full knowledge of soot risk and being overlooked.   One of the main problems with this is that it appears that the Southampton based customer facing staff were not aware of the canopy installation right up the the refit itself and were therefore selling these cabins and suites as sun traps until very recently.  I am trying to be positive but am waiting for feedback from those who are using them before me before deciding what to do.   At the moment (from the photos),  I believe these canopies materially change the cabin I booked and therefore my holiday and consequently may well reluctantly cancel which will then obviously free the cabin up for someone else.  P&O certainly don't seem overly concerned about their effect (or my booking).   They do however accept at least verbally that they should have communicated this change better.         

[Rupert2251]

1 hour ago, Precioussmeagol said:

We never experienced being gawped at whilst in the corner suite on our previous trip, the majority of people have the decency not to do it, in the same way people don’t tend to stare when you sunbathe on the open decks. 

Im sure there are many people who will see the addition of the canopies as a positive as you do because everyone has different preferences. My biggest issue is that I haven’t been able to make an informed choice when booking. That is where I think p&o have let us down massively. And I’m sure I’m not the only one who will feel that way 

Like I said it's just my opinion! Don't forget that the photos which have been posted on here were taken on a cloudy dreary day in Southampton so they will look dull. They will look quite different in the Med when the sun is beaming down 🌞

[Rupert2251]

7 minutes ago, chrisg1uk said:

One of the main problems with this is that it appears that the Southampton based customer facing staff were not aware of the canopy installation right up the the refit itself and were therefore selling these cabins and suites as sun traps until very recently

I find this very hard to believe as we have been aware of the situation since April so I would have thought (?) that the reservation staff would have known or should have known.

[Precioussmeagol]

14 minutes ago, chrisg1uk said:

I have been talking to P&O about this as we have booked a big holiday in a cabin that is affected.  We booked with full knowledge of soot risk and being overlooked.   One of the main problems with this is that it appears that the Southampton based customer facing staff were not aware of the canopy installation right up the the refit itself and were therefore selling these cabins and suites as sun traps until very recently.  I am trying to be positive but am waiting for feedback from those who are using them before me before deciding what to do.   At the moment (from the photos),  I believe these canopies materially change the cabin I booked and therefore my holiday and consequently may well reluctantly cancel which will then obviously free the cabin up for someone else.  P&O certainly don't seem overly concerned about their effect (or my booking).   They do however accept at least verbally that they should have communicated this change better

2 minutes ago, Rupert2251 said:

I find this very hard to believe as we have been aware of the situation since April so I would have thought (?) that the reservation staff would have known or should have known.

I also find this hard to believe, personally I wasn’t aware of any of this until the email I received yesterday. But as I found out, there are people on this forum that have been aware of it for months, there is a Britannia Facebook group that have also been aware of the issue for a while, so it screams incompetence if people on an Internet forum know what is going on onboard a p&o cruise ship better than p&o staff themselves. 
According the Facebook group there was a meeting taking place on November 1st with the sole focus of dealing with the deluge of complaints from both people onboard and people with future cruises booked in these rooms. It seems that the decision taken in that meeting was to send the email I received yesterday to people with cruises booked in these rooms, claiming they are a doing them a favour by giving them privacy. The response that we have had from p&o is that it’s a positive addition so we shouldn’t be complaining and they will be doing nothing to try and help us resolve the issue. We can cancel and lose our deposit or move our booking to another more expensive holiday within 1 year of sailing. Quite frankly I’m appalled by the whole situation. If this is a privacy issue then perhaps they show throw a canopy across every single balcony in the fleet that is overlooked because there are quite frankly hundreds upon hundreds of balconies that are overlooked, and that is the official line that they are using, that this is about privacy. 
 

Sorry to rant on I’m  just disgusted at the way it has been handled

[Precioussmeagol]

Just to add as well that their response to this has been different to almost every person that I’ve seen that has complained about it. 
Some have been told it won’t affect the sun, some have been compensated £50pp, others have been told it’s a communication issue and I have been lucky enough to be told that I shouldn’t be complaining at all. 
Surely there should be a standard response to this? 

[Harry Peterson]

6 minutes ago, Precioussmeagol said:

Just to add as well that their response to this has been different to almost every person that I’ve seen that has complained about it. 
Some have been told it won’t affect the sun, some have been compensated £50pp, others have been told it’s a communication issue and I have been lucky enough to be told that I shouldn’t be complaining at all. 
Surely there should be a standard response to this? 

That's just the way P&O do business.  They pick off individual customers who don't understand their rights and exploit their weakness.  Those who understand the legal position,  and the potential impact of the Consumer Rights Act on terms and conditions built into P&O contracts,  get an entirely different outcome.  But only if they pursue it confidently,  knowledgably and, if necessarily,  aggressively.  The latter shouldn't be necessary, but sometimes it's the only way, with references to the small claims procedure, to get them to back off from the party line.

[Precioussmeagol]

3 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

That's just the way P&O do business.  They pick off individual customers who don't understand their rights and exploit their weakness.  Those who understand the legal position,  and the potential impact of the Consumer Rights Act on terms and conditions built into P&O contracts,  get an entirely different outcome.  But only if they pursue it confidently,  knowledgably and, if necessarily,  aggressively.  The latter shouldn't be necessary, but sometimes it's the only way, with references to the small claims procedure, to get them to back off from the party line.

Thank you for that information, I assumed it would be a blanket standard response in this situation so it’s good to know that that’s not how p&o operate. 
 

I will be pursuing this matter, for the simple reason of whether you like the canopy or you don’t, it’s not ok for them to make drastic changes like this without making people aware. We should be able to make informed choices of what type of cabin we would like or why let people choose cabins at all, why not just allocate each grade of cabin randomly. 
 

Thank you again 

[Precioussmeagol]

1 hour ago, Rupert2251 said:

Like I said it's just my opinion! Don't forget that the photos which have been posted on here were taken on a cloudy dreary day in Southampton so they will look dull. They will look quite different in the Med when the sun is beaming down 🌞

And I fully respect your opinion, apologies if it didn’t come across that way. Trust me I’m trying to look for any positive I can find so that has crossed my mind. However, people that have been onboard since the refit have compared them to sitting in a greenhouse or conservatory 🥵

[Precioussmeagol]

4 hours ago, Big Foot said:

 

 

Totally agree with you. 

 

We too used our balcony all day long &  occasionally nipped upstairs just to use the pools & Jacuzzi's.  It was our own private oasis, hence why we were prepared to pay the extra for the suite. Hubby isn't so much of a sun lover so he could nip in & out of the suite as & when the sun got too much, opposed to us sitting in different places on deck, me in the sun & him huddled undercover somewhere.

 

The only thing I won't miss is the midday washing of the balconies, especially when the stewards first started doing it without warning!!

I’ve found a couple more images of the canopies that may interest you.

 

the 2nd image is of the suite we had last year and the suite we have for 2021 and it’s dramatically different not just in terms of sun but in terms of the view of the horizon 

 

 

[Big Foot]

5 minutes ago, Precioussmeagol said:

I’ve found a couple more images of the canopies that may interest you.

 

the 2nd image is of the suite we had last year and the suite we have for 2021 and it’s dramatically different not just in terms of sun but in terms of the view of the horizon 

 

 

 

Thank you for these; I see what you mean!

 

Whilst I don't think I'm going to be overly happy about the canopy, I still love the suite itself so will stick with it.  At the end of the day, I will just have to sunbathe up on deck; assuming of course we get the weather!

 

Also, we don't go until Sept 2021 so a lot can change between now & then.

 

We spent 19 nights on a aft suite on Azura where the balcony is totally covered, so at least this isn't quite a bad, but agree we should have known before we booked it.  As like many others, we booked based on the fact we'd had the suite previously. 

[Precioussmeagol]

In all honesty myself and my family can have a great time wherever we go. But we are certainly not thrilled about this new addition. But the thing I’m most angry about is the lack of information and the blase attitude of p&o when people have expressed anger about it. 
 

I think I’m living in the vain hope that if everyone who is unhappy complains they’ll take the damn thing down 🤞

[majortom10]

20 minutes ago, Precioussmeagol said:

In all honesty myself and my family can have a great time wherever we go. But we are certainly not thrilled about this new addition. But the thing I’m most angry about is the lack of information and the blase attitude of p&o when people have expressed anger about it. 
 

I think I’m living in the vain hope that if everyone who is unhappy complains they’ll take the damn thing down 🤞

I do not think there is any chance of that as there has been many complaints on this forum and P&Os Facebook about soot on Aft cabin balconies and they have tried to rectify it and now getting complaints about canopies. I do not think that P&O are in a no win situation tried to please some and upsetting others. We didnt have much problem with soot on our aft cabin on the maiden cruise but if it was bad and I had a choice I would be happy with canopies being in place.

[daiB]

13 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

I do not think there is any chance of that as there has been many complaints on this forum and P&Os Facebook about soot on Aft cabin balconies and they have tried to rectify it and now getting complaints about canopies. I do not think that P&O are in a no win situation tried to please some and upsetting others. We didnt have much problem with soot on our aft cabin on the maiden cruise but if it was bad and I had a choice I would be happy with canopies being in place.

I agree with you fully, I suspect that there will be more people who will like these screens  as they will be able to use their balconies, especially if they have had a bad experience with the soot, as we did. As Big Foot says the suites at the back of Azura / Ventura are fully covered so it’s little difference in being in one of them. 

[Precioussmeagol]

I don’t believe that will happen either it was more of a lighthearted wishful thinking comment tbh. 

What i will add is that in the official email we have had from p&o there is no mention of the soot issue they have said they have fitted the canopies for privacy. 
Canopies or no canopies I would just have liked to have had all the info before I booked 2 cruises in these rooms. That’s a fair thing to ask for is it not? 

[Precioussmeagol]

18 minutes ago, daiB said:

I agree with you fully, I suspect that there will be more people who will like these screens  as they will be able to use their balconies, especially if they have had a bad experience with the soot, as we did. As Big Foot says the suites at the back of Azura / Ventura are fully covered so it’s little difference in being in one of them. 

From what I feel myself and what I have read from others it’s not so much an issue of liking or not liking, it’s that we haven’t been informed of the changes. 
For me I would’ve booked a suite on the lower decks and problem solved, no complaint from me. I can’t do that now because I only got the email informing me yesterday and the lower deck suites on the cruises I am on are sold 

[Denarius]

One man's meat as they say, is another man's poison.

I do not sunbathe. I have a fair skin and do not do brown, I do red and freckles. So I prefer to sit in open shade, and the new canopies would suit me to a tee. I am sure that I am not alone in this. So whilst sun lovers may in future avoid these cabins, shade lovers will seek them out. It's a matter of horses for courses. I can understand however, the dissappointment of those who booked these cabins for the open aspect; I would have been similarly dissappointed had I booked one for the shade and found that the canopy had been removed!

[Precioussmeagol]

11 minutes ago, Denarius said:

I can understand however, the dissappointment of those who booked these cabins for the open aspect; I would have been similarly dissappointed had I booked one for the shade and found that the canopy had been removed!

Thank you that’s precisely my point but you explained it better!!! 

[smokey01]

On 11/20/2019 at 11:16 AM, Big Foot said:

We too used our balcony all day long &  occasionally nipped upstairs just to use the pools & Jacuzzi's. 

 

I go on Britannia at the end of April next year. My one concern is that there are only 2 Jacuzzi's free to use and they are quite exposed to the elements, both full sun and maybe not so good weather.

 

How did you find using them in terms of warmth? I have to say I like my Jacuzzi to be hot, but I sometimes find myself in one and it is to cool for me but someone else in the tub finds it to hot.

 

I also remember my last Azura cruise when someone got out of the main pool into the jacuzzi to cool down! That cruise they really were not hot tubs!

 

Also did you use the free to use steam room as I've heard this is patchy in terms of whether it works or not?