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Britannia B017 Fantasy Blog

DamianG

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DamianG

DamianG

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Saturday 18th July 2020

 

Today we should have been embarking Britannia for a 2-week Mediterranean cruise. Instead of a “live onboard” blog I’m going to write a fantasy blog with a combination of thoughts on what we were planning interspersed with a few memories from our previous cruises.

 

As this is pure fantasy, I’ll start by saying that we (myself, wife and son) all got out of bed at 6:30am in fine spirits and were ready to go with a minimum of fuss. There was no driving, travel or long journey anxiety for any of us. We loaded the car then drove to pick up the in-laws and their luggage which took no time at all and we are on the road South by 7:30am. We had an easy journey down the M1 to Donnington where we stopped for a lovely breakfast. From there we had a dream run with no fall-outs in the car or lunatic drivers on the road as we made our way down the M1/A43/A34 towards our next stop at Chieveley. There may be better services on our route but these have become our traditional stops.

 

We only had a brief stop at Chieveley before completing the short but tricky run into Southampton. Around about this time I asked my wife to find Radio Solent on the car radio and for once we tuned in straight away. The DJ played music that we all like and we eagerly listened out for the tiniest reference to cruise ships in the port today, shouting out “Yayy! when Britannia got a mention. The sat nav behaved itself as we picked our way through the busy A34/M3/M27 intersections. My usual preference is to come off the motorway early and drive in to Southampton from the East side of the port, and for once we navigated it perfectly with no missed turns. I know there are probably quicker or more efficient ways to get to the port but I like to see a bit of Southampton on our way in.

 

Once in port we were directed to the drop-off area where we unloaded our son, the in-laws and the suitcases. We then drove to the Parking4Cruises point where the key handover was seamless. As soon as that was done, I breathed a huge sigh of relief and instantly felt the weight drop off my shoulders. From this point I was on holiday.

 

My wife and I strolled back to the port, collected our son and then said a temporary goodbye to the in-laws as we have priority embarkation whilst they used the assisted service. Before parting we reminded them of our cabin number for the umpteenth time. We breezed through the check-in process and were onboard within 20 minutes of driving into the port.

 

Once onboard we were immediately directed to the Meridian restaurant for the Peninsular club upper tier welcome onboard reception. We were immediately offered sparkling wine which we gratefully accepted and that first glass is probably the best one we will taste on the entire cruise. We enjoyed the buffet food and our glasses were regularly refilled. Our son was looked after by the friendly waiters with plentiful supplies of coca cola and he even found something that he likes to eat in the buffet. He was settled and happy throughout and we stayed a good hour while waiting for the cabin to be made available. May I remind you that this is a fantasy blog after all!

 

We’ve created our own home-made welcome onboard lunch (picture below).

 

For this cruise we had treated ourselves to a suite and after much guidance on Cruise Critic (in particular from Selbourne – thanks again) we chose D102. We’ve never been in a suite on Britannia before so at this point research and imagination come into play so I’ll just say that we were all delighted with everything about it. More on the suite tomorrow.

 

We enjoyed exploring the suite then I set about unpacking (I don’t think asking the butler to unpack would be my sort of thing). We met the cabin steward and butler who were both super friendly and they readily engaged with our son as well. After a while we were called to muster which would have been in the Epicurean restaurant so we had a sneak preview of where we will be taking breakfast in the morning. We got there easily, were soon seated, the instruction was brief and we were out in no time. For once our son didn’t grumble about having to go to the “stupid muster drill.” Again, I’ll remind you that this is a pure fantasy blog.

 

One of the attractions of D102 is the forward-facing windows in the main bedroom which Selbourne suggested to me can be made into your own “mini Crow’s Nest” by placing seats there (in front of the windows). I love the sail out of Southampton down the Solent and was so looking forward to a new view from the front. I would have been alternating between the seats and the balcony every few minutes.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the suite and the cruise down the Solent, before getting ready to go out for dinner at 7pm. As usual we would have met the in-laws then requested a table for 5 under our freedom dining arrangement. For fun we’re picking out old menus each day so readers can have a look and make their choices accordingly. You can make your own mind up whether the food was better in the past or now. We took our first P&O cruise in 2004 so that is where the menus start with this Saturday menu (see below).

 

I’ll choose Prawn & Scallop cocktail, Turkey then Cheese & Biscuits. My wife will have Prawn & Scallop cocktail, Wild Mushroom Risotto and Peaches. None of the wines quoted appeal to me so we’ll just go for an old favourite Stoneburn Pinot Noir. What are you having?

 

After dinner we headed to the Crow’s Nest where there was a duet playing. I absolutely love live music onboard even when the music is not always something that I would choose to listen to at home so I really enjoyed the performance while the others in our group were happy chatting or playing games either with cards or gadgets. It was a long day so we didn’t stay too late and it was a short journey "home" down 2 flights of stairs. Once we were back in the suite our son enjoyed a bit of movie time on “his” TV (2 in the suite) before lights out.

 

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Edited by DamianG
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mercury7289

mercury7289

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, DamianG said:

Saturday 18th July 2020

 

Today we should have been embarking Britannia for a 2-week Mediterranean cruise. Instead of a “live onboard” blog I’m going to write a fantasy blog with a combination of thoughts on what we were planning interspersed with a few memories from our previous cruises.

 

As this is pure fantasy, I’ll start by saying that we (myself, wife and son) all got out of bed at 6:30am in fine spirits and were ready to go with a minimum of fuss. There was no driving, travel or long journey anxiety for any of us. We loaded the car then drove to pick up the in-laws and their luggage which took no time at all and we are on the road South by 7:30am. We had an easy down the M1 to Donnington where we stopped for a lovely breakfast. From there we had a dream run with no fall-outs in the car or lunatic drivers on the road as we made our way down the M1/A43/A34 towards our next stop at Chieveley. There may be better services on our route but these have become our traditional stops.

 

We only had a brief stop at Chieveley before completing the short but tricky run into Southampton. Around about this time I asked my wife to find Radio Solent on the car radio and for once we tuned in straight away. The DJ played music that we all like and we eagerly listened out for the tiniest mention of cruise ships in the port today, shouting out “Yayy! when Britannia got a mention. The sat nav behaved itself as we picked our way through the busy A34/M3/M27 intersections. My usual preference is to come off the motorway early and drive in to Southampton from the East side of the port, and for once we navigated it perfectly with no missed turns. I know there are probably quicker or more efficient ways to get to the port but I like to see a bit of Southampton on our way in.

 

Once in port we were directed to the drop-off area where we unloaded our son, the in-laws and the suitcases. We then drove to the Parking4Cruises point where the key handover was seamless. As soon as that was done, I breathed a huge sigh of relief and instantly felt the weight drop off my shoulders. From this point I was on holiday.

 

My wife and I strolled back to the port, collected our son and then said a temporary goodbye to the in-laws as we have priority embarkation whilst they used the assisted service. Before parting we reminded them of our cabin number for the umpteenth time. We breezed through the check-in process and were onboard within 20 minutes of driving into the port.

 

Once onboard we were immediately directed to the Meridian restaurant for the Peninsular club upper tier welcome onboard reception. We were immediately offered sparkling wine which we gratefully accepted and that first glass is probably the best one we will taste on the entire cruise. We enjoyed the buffet food and our glasses were regularly refilled. Our son was looked after by the friendly waiters with plentiful supplies of coca cola and he even found something that he likes to eat in the buffet. He was settled and happy throughout and we stayed a good hour while waiting for the cabin to be made available. May I remind you that this is a fantasy blog after all!

We’ve created our own home-made welcome onboard lunch (picture below).

 

For this cruise we had treated ourselves to a suite and after much guidance on Cruise Critic (in particular from Selbourne – thanks again) we chose D102. We’ve never been in a suite on Britannia before so at this point research and imagination come into play so I’ll just say that we were all delighted with everything about it. More on the suite tomorrow.

 

We enjoyed exploring the suite then I set about unpacking (I don’t think asking the butler to unpack would be my sort of thing). We met the cabin steward and butler who were both super friendly and they readily engaged with our son as well. After a while we were called to muster which would have been in the Epicurean restaurant so we had a sneak preview of where we will be taking breakfast in the morning. We got there easily, were soon seated, the instruction was brief and we were out in no time. For once our son didn’t grumble about having to go to the “stupid muster drill.” Again, I’ll remind you that this is a pure fantasy blog.

 

One of the attractions of D102 is the forward-facing windows in the main bedroom which Selbourne suggested to me can be made into your own “mini Crow’s Nest” by placing seats there (in front of the windows). I love the sail out of Southampton down the Solent and was so looking forward to a new view from the front. I would have been alternating between the seats and the balcony every few minutes.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the suite and the cruise down the Solent, before getting ready to go out for dinner at 7pm. As usual we would have met the in-laws then requested a table for 5 under our freedom dining arrangement. For fun we’re picking out old menus each day so readers can have a look and make their choices accordingly. You can make your own mind up whether the food was better in the past or now. We took our first P&O cruise in 2004 so that is where the menus start with this Saturday menu (see below).

 

I’ll choose Prawn & Scallop cocktail, Turkey then Cheese & Biscuits. My wife will have Prawn & Scallop cocktail, Wild Mushroom Risotto and Peaches. None of the wines quoted appeal to me so we’ll just go for an old favourite Stoneburn Pinot Noir. What are you having?

 

After dinner we headed to the Crow’s Nest where there was a duet playing. I absolutely love live music onboard even when the music is not always something that I would choose to listen to at home so I really enjoyed the performance while the others in our group were happy chatting or playing games either with cards or gadgets. It was a long day so we didn’t stay too late and it was a short journey "home" down 2 flights of stairs. Once we were back in the suite our son enjoyed a bit of movie time on “his” TV (2 in the suite) before lights out.

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IMG_1243.JPG

😄

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SarahHben "Live from...." Rare

SarahHben

Posted
Posted
Saturday 18th July 2020
 
Today we should have been embarking Britannia for a 2-week Mediterranean cruise. Instead of a “live onboard” blog I’m going to write a fantasy blog with a combination of thoughts on what we were planning interspersed with a few memories from our previous cruises.
 
As this is pure fantasy, I’ll start by saying that we (myself, wife and son) all got out of bed at 6:30am in fine spirits and were ready to go with a minimum of fuss. There was no driving, travel or long journey anxiety for any of us. We loaded the car then drove to pick up the in-laws and their luggage which took no time at all and we are on the road South by 7:30am. We had an easy journey down the M1 to Donnington where we stopped for a lovely breakfast. From there we had a dream run with no fall-outs in the car or lunatic drivers on the road as we made our way down the M1/A43/A34 towards our next stop at Chieveley. There may be better services on our route but these have become our traditional stops.
 
We only had a brief stop at Chieveley before completing the short but tricky run into Southampton. Around about this time I asked my wife to find Radio Solent on the car radio and for once we tuned in straight away. The DJ played music that we all like and we eagerly listened out for the tiniest reference to cruise ships in the port today, shouting out “Yayy! when Britannia got a mention. The sat nav behaved itself as we picked our way through the busy A34/M3/M27 intersections. My usual preference is to come off the motorway early and drive in to Southampton from the East side of the port, and for once we navigated it perfectly with no missed turns. I know there are probably quicker or more efficient ways to get to the port but I like to see a bit of Southampton on our way in.
 
Once in port we were directed to the drop-off area where we unloaded our son, the in-laws and the suitcases. We then drove to the Parking4Cruises point where the key handover was seamless. As soon as that was done, I breathed a huge sigh of relief and instantly felt the weight drop off my shoulders. From this point I was on holiday.
 
My wife and I strolled back to the port, collected our son and then said a temporary goodbye to the in-laws as we have priority embarkation whilst they used the assisted service. Before parting we reminded them of our cabin number for the umpteenth time. We breezed through the check-in process and were onboard within 20 minutes of driving into the port.
 
Once onboard we were immediately directed to the Meridian restaurant for the Peninsular club upper tier welcome onboard reception. We were immediately offered sparkling wine which we gratefully accepted and that first glass is probably the best one we will taste on the entire cruise. We enjoyed the buffet food and our glasses were regularly refilled. Our son was looked after by the friendly waiters with plentiful supplies of coca cola and he even found something that he likes to eat in the buffet. He was settled and happy throughout and we stayed a good hour while waiting for the cabin to be made available. May I remind you that this is a fantasy blog after all!
 
We’ve created our own home-made welcome onboard lunch (picture below).
 
For this cruise we had treated ourselves to a suite and after much guidance on Cruise Critic (in particular from Selbourne – thanks again) we chose D102. We’ve never been in a suite on Britannia before so at this point research and imagination come into play so I’ll just say that we were all delighted with everything about it. More on the suite tomorrow.
 
We enjoyed exploring the suite then I set about unpacking (I don’t think asking the butler to unpack would be my sort of thing). We met the cabin steward and butler who were both super friendly and they readily engaged with our son as well. After a while we were called to muster which would have been in the Epicurean restaurant so we had a sneak preview of where we will be taking breakfast in the morning. We got there easily, were soon seated, the instruction was brief and we were out in no time. For once our son didn’t grumble about having to go to the “stupid muster drill.” Again, I’ll remind you that this is a pure fantasy blog.
 
One of the attractions of D102 is the forward-facing windows in the main bedroom which Selbourne suggested to me can be made into your own “mini Crow’s Nest” by placing seats there (in front of the windows). I love the sail out of Southampton down the Solent and was so looking forward to a new view from the front. I would have been alternating between the seats and the balcony every few minutes.
 
We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the suite and the cruise down the Solent, before getting ready to go out for dinner at 7pm. As usual we would have met the in-laws then requested a table for 5 under our freedom dining arrangement. For fun we’re picking out old menus each day so readers can have a look and make their choices accordingly. You can make your own mind up whether the food was better in the past or now. We took our first P&O cruise in 2004 so that is where the menus start with this Saturday menu (see below).
 
I’ll choose Prawn & Scallop cocktail, Turkey then Cheese & Biscuits. My wife will have Prawn & Scallop cocktail, Wild Mushroom Risotto and Peaches. None of the wines quoted appeal to me so we’ll just go for an old favourite Stoneburn Pinot Noir. What are you having?
 
After dinner we headed to the Crow’s Nest where there was a duet playing. I absolutely love live music onboard even when the music is not always something that I would choose to listen to at home so I really enjoyed the performance while the others in our group were happy chatting or playing games either with cards or gadgets. It was a long day so we didn’t stay too late and it was a short journey "home" down 2 flights of stairs. Once we were back in the suite our son enjoyed a bit of movie time on “his” TV (2 in the suite) before lights out.
 
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[emoji4] brilliant! I’m very much looking forward to reading about your virtual cruise.
Your lunch looks like it includes my favourite, M&S spiced lamb pastries, delicious!


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DamianG

DamianG

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6 minutes ago, SarahHben said:


emoji4.png brilliant! I’m very much looking forward to reading about your virtual cruise.
Your lunch looks like it includes my favourite, M&S spiced lamb pastries, delicious!


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Good spot, I raided M&S early this morning for the goodies.

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DamianG

DamianG

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6 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Love it Damian...😊 

Have a virtually great time, I will buy you a pint in the Crows Nest before dinner. 

Andy 

 

Thanks Andy, I'll get ready early then!

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Selbourne "Live from...." Rare

Selbourne

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Excellent post and thanks for the name check! I was fully taken in with it all until the point when you referred to the lovely sparkling wine in the priority boarders lunch. At that point I was reminded that it was a fantasy blog, as I know from personal experience that it is pure paint stripper 😂 

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DamianG

DamianG

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Sunday 19th July 2020

 

Sea Day

 

One of the big attractions of booking a suite for this cruise was being able to have breakfast in the Epicurean. We were so looking forward to the experience for the first time today but instead we’ve just made do with a full breakfast at home (see below). It was nice of Andy to save seats for us in the MDR and under normal circumstances we would definitely have been there but there’s no way we are not going to take full advantage of our suite benefits!

 

After a fantastic breakfast dining experience in the Epicurean (full breakfast for us, Rice Krispies and 2 chocolate muffins for our son) we went back to the cabin to freshen up then I made my way to the Headliners Theatre for the Church Service at Sea. I’m no Saint by any means but I do go to mass at home and appreciate the opportunity to go to a Sunday service while on board. This multi denominational service is loosely based around the Church of England faith and whilst that is not something that I am used to I appreciate the opportunity to take part and spend a bit of time reflecting on things.

 

After the Church service we dragged our son out of the cabin so that we could all get a bit of fresh air and catch up with the in-laws. We met them at the Terrace Pool which is aft on the Sun Deck so that we could enjoy the view of the wake and our son could take a dip in the freezing cold plunge pool. Naturally he wanted some company so of course I ended up in there with him for 15 minutes or so then spent the same amount of time trying to catch my breath and warm back up. As this is a fantasy blog it is smooth sailing all the way, even as we skirted around the edge of the Bay of Biscay. Naturally, it’s also going to be warm and sunny every day so the coldness of the pool was soon forgotten.

 

We spent around 90 minutes outdoors before returning to our suite to order room service (might as well as there is no service charge for suites). We ordered 2 club sandwiches and made sure that they could send us some ketchup so that our son could enjoy the accompanying fries. I then settled down in our “Crows Nest” area to enjoy the sea view and watch the F1 Grand Prix on TV. (My wife said that as it is a fantasy cruise why aren’t you watching Derby v Leeds Utd but they’d never show that whereas I have watched a GP on Britannia previously. Got to keep it realistic).

 

Inevitably the in-laws came knocking on our door to have a nosey around the suite but as the forward-facing windows are in the bedroom area there was plenty of room for me to leave the rest of them to it in the lounge area. (Typically, my father-in-law decided to do the same and plonked himself down next to me to watch TV). Given that on our last few cruises we’ve spent more time than ever in our cabin I think that the suite life with its extra space is going to suit us all just fine. Here’s a review of a comparable suite C102 on Britannia:

 

 

 

Around 5pm the butler called to deliver canapes. Usually the anticipation of these exceeds what you are presented with but as this is the perfect cruise, they were all delicious. We decided to take them out on to the balcony leaving our son to enjoy a movie in peace. We had a leisurely hour or so outside and the breeze wasn’t too bad considering the location of our cabin. We then got ready earlier than usual so that we could attend the Captain’s Welcome Onboard Reception.

 

We met the in-laws and easily got seated in the Atrium. A waiter soon arrived with sparkling wine and as is often the case, she took a real shine to our son. She quickly got him a coca cola then kept returning to us to ensure we were regularly topped up. Captain Derek Gray was in fine form and gave a very entertaining speech, much funnier than the usual tired old jokes.

 

After the reception we made our way to the Meridian restaurant and once inside were allocated a lovely table in a secluded corner by a window (honestly, they do exist if you are lucky enough to get one!). We were greeted by our lovely table waiters Sachin and Virat who ensured a great dining experience and naturally made a fuss of our son. We also have a wine steward Virender who is helpful and attentive, unobtrusively refilling our glasses whenever necessary.

 

Today’s menu is below. None of the mains really appealed to me but for the first time on this cruise I’m all-in (i.e. going for 4 courses) with Gravadlax of Salmon, Asparagus Soup, Sirloin Steak then Tiramisu. My wife had Caesar Salad, Asparagus Soup, Liver followed by Apple and Cherry Strudel. Our son had a starter of green beans and carrots followed by pasta with tomato sauce. I love studying the wine list so after much deliberation chose Bodega Catena Zapata Malbec, Mendoza. What would you have?

 

After dinner we went to the Live Lounge to watch Karl Lewis perform “as Olly Murs”. (My wife said why don’t you say that we went to see a Bruce Springsteen tribute but as I said, got to keep it real). I’m not particularly a fan of Olly Murs but it was a great show which got even better after a break when Karl just performed as himself. We stayed right to the end so eventually we retired to the cabin around 11pm and once again we allowed our son a little TV time before lights out. It had been a really pleasant sea day all round.

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Edited by DamianG
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Selbourne "Live from...." Rare

Selbourne

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Another excellent instalment Damian. I know it’s a perfect fantasy cruise, but some drama at some stage during the cruise would be a nice addition. I find that they add a bit of spice to dinner conversations! Nice to see the video and reminisce about the couple of cruises that we have had in forward suites on Britannia, although a couple of things kept distracting me! At least I now know who bought that Liz Hurley dress at the charity auction 😉

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DamianG

DamianG

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26 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Another excellent instalment Damian. I know it’s a perfect fantasy cruise, but some drama at some stage during the cruise would be a nice addition....

 

Keep reading!

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