Just off Britannia, my thoughts and happy to try and answer questions

[debsjc]

We just got back from the Britannia this morning. It was great to be back at sea, and we made the most of the trip. However, there are some aspects of P&O that we were not impressed by. In the last few years we have mainly been cruising with HAL and Oceania, with a 28 day on Princess in Feb last year. 

 

Happy to answer any questions I can, to assist others with upcoming cruises.

 

Highlights

 

* The entertainment was very good. We saw 2 headline shows and the Elton John tribute act, in the main theatre (pre booked from home online)  Also enjoyed the pianist in the Crow's Nest, and some of the live music in the atrium 

 

* Really lovely fellow passengers, most people very polite and friendly. Although what other people wear doesn't especially bother me, it was nice to see so many people dressed up 

* The Retreat was very relaxing. Not as good service as in Princess Sanctuary, but nice to have hot tubs in the Retreat.

 

* Lovely meal in The Glasshouse (once we actually got a table)

 

* Covid testing at the port was quick, just 25 min wait.

Lowlights!

* Dining - In general the food was not great. 

Breakfast in Horizons was fine, lunch in the buffet was okay at best. Did have a decent burger from the place by the pool, but it did take 4 chefs 15 mins to realise at 12.30pm there would be a demand for burgers!
Horizons for evening dinner, not impressed, nothing like the tasty offerings on Oceania or Princess. The main dining room, the food was passable, but some of it did not match menu descriptions (we had to laugh at the teaspoon of goats cheese mousse on a starter), and it took forever to order. 

 

* Mask inconsistency - I don't mind wearing a mask, but in makes no sense to make people wear them in the theatre (which has seats blocked out for distancing) then not wear them in the Live lounge, where P&O staff are showing people to share a table with others without asking them, and everyone is really close. 
 

* The App - Luckily,  I am pretty handy with a smartphone! I actually think this app could be good, but at the moment it's a shambles.
The main problem is the restaurant managers are not using it properly. Also it is unreliable, especially if you come off the ships wi-fi at any point. 

-- 1 night I watched & refreshed the app like a hawk to get in the Virtual queue for one of the main dining rooms, but they were not on there. Then they popped up with over 30 people in the queue for each, So the restaurant managers had been giving out pagers to those people, before giving others the option to 'virtual queue' online
That queue of 30 people took over an hour to clear

-- Another night noticed 5 people in the 'virtual queue' for the Glasshouse, decided to wait 5 mins then add us, but it dropped off the app. Waited for ages for it come back on, thinking there were tables available as no virtual queue to join. Walked down there, and the manager had decided to take it off the app, and had been taking a wait list in person, and there was an hour wait.

 

Come on P&O get it together, either use the app and do it fairly, or scrap it, because currently it's a mess. That, combined with not having enough tables for people to eat dinner from 7pm onwards, makes the evenings stressful. 

Spoke to lots of people who waited 2 hours for a table in the dining room. 
 

I do understand Covid restrictions are effecting services, but with the ship 50% full the dining experience needs to be better. 

[grapau27]

4 minutes ago, debsjc said:

We just got back from the Britannia this morning. It was great to be back at sea, and we made the most of the trip. However, there are some aspects of P&O that we were not impressed by. In the last few years we have mainly been cruising with HAL and Oceania, with a 28 day on Princess in Feb last year. 

 

Happy to answer any questions I can, to assist others with upcoming cruises.

 

Highlights

 

* The entertainment was very good. We saw 2 headline shows and the Elton John tribute act, in the main theatre (pre booked from home online)  Also enjoyed the pianist in the Crow's Nest, and some of the live music in the atrium 

 

* Really lovely fellow passengers, most people very polite and friendly. Although what other people wear doesn't especially bother me, it was nice to see so many people dressed up 

* The Retreat was very relaxing. Not as good service as in Princess Sanctuary, but nice to have hot tubs in the Retreat.

 

* Lovely meal in The Glasshouse (once we actually got a table)

 

* Covid testing at the port was quick, just 25 min wait.

Lowlights!

* Dining - In general the food was not great. 

Breakfast in Horizons was fine, lunch in the buffet was okay at best. Did have a decent burger from the place by the pool, but it did take 4 chefs 15 mins to realise at 12.30pm there would be a demand for burgers!
Horizons for evening dinner, not impressed, nothing like the tasty offerings on Oceania or Princess. The main dining room, the food was passable, but some of it did not match menu descriptions (we had to laugh at the teaspoon of goats cheese mousse on a starter), and it took forever to order. 

 

* Mask inconsistency - I don't mind wearing a mask, but in makes no sense to make people wear them in the theatre (which has seats blocked out for distancing) then not wear them in the Live lounge, where P&O staff are showing people to share a table with others without asking them, and everyone is really close. 
 

* The App - Luckily,  I am pretty handy with a smartphone! I actually think this app could be good, but at the moment it's a shambles.
The main problem is the restaurant managers are not using it properly. Also it is unreliable, especially if you come off the ships wi-fi at any point. 

-- 1 night I watched & refreshed the app like a hawk to get in the Virtual queue for one of the main dining rooms, but they were not on there. Then they popped up with over 30 people in the queue for each, So the restaurant managers had been giving out pagers to those people, before giving others the option to 'virtual queue' online
That queue of 30 people took over an hour to clear

-- Another night noticed 5 people in the 'virtual queue' for the Glasshouse, decided to wait 5 mins then add us, but it dropped off the app. Waited for ages for it come back on, thinking there were tables available as no virtual queue to join. Walked down there, and the manager had decided to take it off the app, and had been taking a wait list in person, and there was an hour wait.

 

Come on P&O get it together, either use the app and do it fairly, or scrap it, because currently it's a mess. That, combined with not having enough tables for people to eat dinner from 7pm onwards, makes the evenings stressful. 

Spoke to lots of people who waited 2 hours for a table in the dining room. 
 

I do understand Covid restrictions are effecting services, but with the ship 50% full the dining experience needs to be better. 

Thank you for your feedback.

Graham.

[NoFlyGuy]

We also just got off Britannia today.

Was a bit different having to wear a mask indoors when walking around until we sat down.

We had a noon check in time and were using CPS - arrived at the testing centre via dock gate 20 at about 11:25. Some cars were being held back as they must have a later check in time and were not allowed through. We joined the line (there were 4 of them) and we were about 7 cars back, luckily we were the only ship departing on Sunday. The ushers said it was mayhem on the Saturday with so many departures!

 

Testing started just before noon and then it was on to the Ocean terminal to dump the car and await our results. If you want to book the Limelight I would advise doing it from the terminal - yes you can access the app, use the last 6 digits from your boarding pass. I believe all days got booked out within hours. We got on by 1.10pm and had our Loyalty lunch which was 3 courses rather the usual buffet.

 

We didn't use the main theatre at all so can't comment on that but there was no real social distancing that I could notice elsewhere - all sun loungers seemed to be out as was the indoor seating.

 

We enjoyed the 'silent disco' last night and my new right hip held out! 

 

Different but still enjoyable, glad we did it.

[zap99]

28 minutes ago, NoFlyGuy said:

We also just got off Britannia today.

Was a bit different having to wear a mask indoors when walking around until we sat down.

We had a noon check in time and were using CPS - arrived at the testing centre via dock gate 20 at about 11:25. Some cars were being held back as they must have a later check in time and were not allowed through. We joined the line (there were 4 of them) and we were about 7 cars back, luckily we were the only ship departing on Sunday. The ushers said it was mayhem on the Saturday with so many departures!

 

Testing started just before noon and then it was on to the Ocean terminal to dump the car and await our results. If you want to book the Limelight I would advise doing it from the terminal - yes you can access the app, use the last 6 digits from your boarding pass. I believe all days got booked out within hours. We got on by 1.10pm and had our Loyalty lunch which was 3 courses rather the usual buffet.

 

We didn't use the main theatre at all so can't comment on that but there was no real social distancing that I could notice elsewhere - all sun loungers seemed to be out as was the indoor seating.

 

We enjoyed the 'silent disco' last night and my new right hip held out! 

 

Different but still enjoyable, glad we did it.

We got off today. The only time that we felt it was a bit crowded was in the 10.30 show in the late lounge. Staff were moving chairs to fit folk in. Still as we are now out of lockdown and all passengers were double Jabbed, I guess we will need to get used to it. Is this the new normal?. Didn't seem to frightening. On board we booked for Iona in three weeks time. 15% off and booked in a few minutes by real people. That's our third staycation cruise, this time for a whole week and popping down towards Northern Spain. That seems a bit foreign. When we get back I need to renew my passport. Tempting fate?.🤔

[sandancer]

“If you want to book the Limelight I wouldadvise doing it from the terminal - yes you can access the app, use the last 6 digits from your boarding pass. I believe all days got booked out within hours.”
 

Thanks for that tip. P&O newbies. We’ve only ever taken one cruise on Azura  and a P&O app was way into the future. Hoping to book some speciality restaurants. Was the Celebration Night on the second night of the cruise?  Would want to eat in MDR on that night. Was it a 7 night cruise?  

Edited August 12, 2021 by sandancer

[sam49]

I'm going on my first P & O cruise on Sunday.

I thought that the main dining room had 'sittings' but I don't have any information on my booking and everyone keeps talking about booking on the app which doesn't appear to be working properly.

 

Any advice?

 

Thanks

[NoFlyGuy]

3 minutes ago, sandancer said:

“If you want to book the Limelight I wouldadvise doing it from the terminal - yes you can access the app, use the last 6 digits from your boarding pass. I believe all days got booked out within hours.”
 

Thanks for that tip. P&O newbies. We’ve only ever taken one cruise on Azura  and a P&O app was way into the future. Hoping to book some speciality restaurants. Was the Celebration Night on the second night of the cruise?  Would want to eat in MDR on that night. Was it a 7 night cruise?  

 

Yes it was 7 nights. Celebration night was Tuesday (night 3). Totally different - no Captain and senior officers appearing just a voucher for a free Prosecco from any bar and a brief talk from the captain 'from the bridge'. We laughed and decided it was a virtual cruise and the captain was really at Carnival offices in Southampton and everything was on auto pilot!

[NoFlyGuy]

3 minutes ago, NoFlyGuy said:

 

Yes it was 7 nights. Celebration night was Tuesday (night 3). Totally different - no Captain and senior officers appearing just a voucher for a free Prosecco from any bar and a brief talk from the captain 'from the bridge'. We laughed and decided it was a virtual cruise and the captain was really at Carnival offices in Southampton and everything was on auto pilot!

Oops , sorry it was 4 nights. Too many glasses of wine me thinks!

[cruisenewbie1976]

2 hours ago, debsjc said:

We just got back from the Britannia this morning. It was great to be back at sea, and we made the most of the trip. However, there are some aspects of P&O that we were not impressed by. In the last few years we have mainly been cruising with HAL and Oceania, with a 28 day on Princess in Feb last year. 

 

Happy to answer any questions I can, to assist others with upcoming cruises.

 

Highlights

 

* The entertainment was very good. We saw 2 headline shows and the Elton John tribute act, in the main theatre (pre booked from home online)  Also enjoyed the pianist in the Crow's Nest, and some of the live music in the atrium 

 

* Really lovely fellow passengers, most people very polite and friendly. Although what other people wear doesn't especially bother me, it was nice to see so many people dressed up 

* The Retreat was very relaxing. Not as good service as in Princess Sanctuary, but nice to have hot tubs in the Retreat.

 

* Lovely meal in The Glasshouse (once we actually got a table)

 

* Covid testing at the port was quick, just 25 min wait.

Lowlights!

* Dining - In general the food was not great. 

Breakfast in Horizons was fine, lunch in the buffet was okay at best. Did have a decent burger from the place by the pool, but it did take 4 chefs 15 mins to realise at 12.30pm there would be a demand for burgers!
Horizons for evening dinner, not impressed, nothing like the tasty offerings on Oceania or Princess. The main dining room, the food was passable, but some of it did not match menu descriptions (we had to laugh at the teaspoon of goats cheese mousse on a starter), and it took forever to order. 

 

* Mask inconsistency - I don't mind wearing a mask, but in makes no sense to make people wear them in the theatre (which has seats blocked out for distancing) then not wear them in the Live lounge, where P&O staff are showing people to share a table with others without asking them, and everyone is really close. 
 

* The App - Luckily,  I am pretty handy with a smartphone! I actually think this app could be good, but at the moment it's a shambles.
The main problem is the restaurant managers are not using it properly. Also it is unreliable, especially if you come off the ships wi-fi at any point. 

-- 1 night I watched & refreshed the app like a hawk to get in the Virtual queue for one of the main dining rooms, but they were not on there. Then they popped up with over 30 people in the queue for each, So the restaurant managers had been giving out pagers to those people, before giving others the option to 'virtual queue' online
That queue of 30 people took over an hour to clear

-- Another night noticed 5 people in the 'virtual queue' for the Glasshouse, decided to wait 5 mins then add us, but it dropped off the app. Waited for ages for it come back on, thinking there were tables available as no virtual queue to join. Walked down there, and the manager had decided to take it off the app, and had been taking a wait list in person, and there was an hour wait.

 

Come on P&O get it together, either use the app and do it fairly, or scrap it, because currently it's a mess. That, combined with not having enough tables for people to eat dinner from 7pm onwards, makes the evenings stressful. 

Spoke to lots of people who waited 2 hours for a table in the dining room. 
 

I do understand Covid restrictions are effecting services, but with the ship 50% full the dining experience needs to be better. 

Interesting that you mention Princess, as we'd heard how good the food was on their ships. But we were on Regal Princess last weekend and found the options in the buffet and the main dining room to be really limited. I'm not a fussy eater but it was a struggle to make a meal out of the things on offer in the buffet. And I ended up having the "always available" roast chicken in the dining room 2 out of the 3 nights due to the lack of choice (what we did have was lovely though). I've never had this problem on P&O. So I'm wondering if the selections are more limited with both lines at the moment? 

[Britboys]

I had thought of booking one of the short cruises just to see Britannia as I'm unlikely to ever book a longer cruise on her.

Seeing feedback here and elsewhere, I'm glad I didn't. Totally accept that many people are happy to accept the current processes & restrictions and still have a good time. For me however, it would all just be too much hassle.

[debsjc]

43 minutes ago, Britboys said:

I had thought of booking one of the short cruises just to see Britannia as I'm unlikely to ever book a longer cruise on her.

Seeing feedback here and elsewhere, I'm glad I didn't. Totally accept that many people are happy to accept the current processes & restrictions and still have a good time. For me however, it would all just be too much hassle.

I'm glad we did it, but if we book another in September I'm going to try and book another line (just my personal taste) The dining situation was a pain

[debsjc]

49 minutes ago, cruisenewbie1976 said:

Interesting that you mention Princess, as we'd heard how good the food was on their ships. But we were on Regal Princess last weekend and found the options in the buffet and the main dining room to be really limited. I'm not a fussy eater but it was a struggle to make a meal out of the things on offer in the buffet. And I ended up having the "always available" roast chicken in the dining room 2 out of the 3 nights due to the lack of choice (what we did have was lovely though). I've never had this problem on P&O. So I'm wondering if the selections are more limited with both lines at the moment? 

 

That may well be the case, I am guessing all the lines are cost cutting at the moment. Our 28 day Princess last year we ate 1 meal a day in the buffet, and even for that long we never got bored. 

We hadn't cruised P&O pre pandemic, so I can't comment on if their food has changed. 

 

 

[debsjc]

1 hour ago, sam49 said:

I'm going on my first P & O cruise on Sunday.

I thought that the main dining room had 'sittings' but I don't have any information on my booking and everyone keeps talking about booking on the app which doesn't appear to be working properly.

 

Any advice?

 

Thanks

 

I am fairly sure there are no sittings, certainly did not hear them mentioned.
Some times in the 5pm and 6pm hours are available to book via the app when you board. I think generally it's much easier to get a table up to about 6pm or maybe even 6.30pm, then it gets busy.
I would say if you want to eat later make sure you get in a queue early, either by going to the dining room and getting a pager, or if the app lets you by joining the virtual queue. 

[debsjc]

1 hour ago, sandancer said:

“If you want to book the Limelight I wouldadvise doing it from the terminal - yes you can access the app, use the last 6 digits from your boarding pass. I believe all days got booked out within hours.”
 

Thanks for that tip. P&O newbies. We’ve only ever taken one cruise on Azura  and a P&O app was way into the future. Hoping to book some speciality restaurants. Was the Celebration Night on the second night of the cruise?  Would want to eat in MDR on that night. Was it a 7 night cruise?  

 

Ours was a 4 night, and Celebration night was night 3. If you want to eat in the MDR that night, get in the queue early. We waited over an hour for a table, but heard of several people waiting 2 hours. 
You can book Epicurean on the app when you board, The Glasshouse is just the virtual queuing system, no bookings. 

[sandancer]

17 minutes ago, debsjc said:

I'm glad we did it, but if we book another in September I'm going to try and book another line (just my personal taste) The dining situation was a pain

We did a 3 night Marella cruise (mainly because the port is 20 mins from home) and found the same thing. Food in MDR just about edible. We ate in the speciality restaurants on the other 2 nights and that was much better but still not amazing. In these strange times we accept that cruising is not going to be what we are used to and just be happy to be on a ship. 

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

I had thought of booking one of the short cruises just to see Britannia as I'm unlikely to ever book a longer cruise on her.

Seeing feedback here and elsewhere, I'm glad I didn't. Totally accept that many people are happy to accept the current processes & restrictions and still have a good time. For me however, it would all just be too much hassle.

We decided at the outset that the staycation cruises weren’t for us and I’ve read absolutely nothing so far to convince me that we made a bad decision. I’m pleased to hear that people are enjoying them in spite of the reported issues, but it just doesn’t sound like an experience that we would enjoy and the restrictions, rules, procedures and resultant hassle would irritate the hell out of us. We are considering booking a summer 2023 cruise when they are released, in the hope that by then things have returned to the experience that we used to enjoy. 

Edited August 12, 2021 by Selbourne

[wowzz]

4 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

We decided at the outset that the staycation cruises weren’t for us and I’ve read absolutely nothing so far to convince me that we made a bad decision. It just doesn’t sound like an experience that we would enjoy and the restrictions, rules, procedures and resultant hassle would irritate the hell out of us. We are considering booking a summer 2023 cruise when they are released, in the hope that by then things have returned to the experience that we used to enjoy. 

I agree with you about not taking Seacations,  but are more bullish about "traditional" cruises, with one booked for October,  and three next year.  

We are getting to the age that we don't have enough time left to delay the pleasures of life!

Edited August 12, 2021 by wowzz

[Selbourne]

13 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I agree with you about not taking Seacations,  but are more bullish about "traditional" cruises, with one booked for October,  and three next year.  

I know it’s crystal ball stuff Wowzz, but assuming that we continue as we are, with hospitalisations and deaths at very low levels and life (in the UK at least) gradually returning to normal (masks aside), how soon do you see the on board experience getting back to normality? I appreciate that overseas port calls may have some disruption into next year, but I am at a loss as to why some of the things that I am reading about are still deemed necessary, given that all passengers are double jabbed.

[Britboys]

16 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

We decided at the outset that the staycation cruises weren’t for us and I’ve read absolutely nothing so far to convince me that we made a bad decision. I’m pleased to hear that people are enjoying them in spite of the reported issues, but it just doesn’t sound like an experience that we would enjoy and the restrictions, rules, procedures and resultant hassle would irritate the hell out of us. We are considering booking a summer 2023 cruise when they are released, in the hope that by then things have returned to the experience that we used to enjoy. 

My next one is booked for next Summer so I am keeping my fingers crossed that we are without restrictions by then. Also keeping my fingers crossed that they haven't sold Aurora off by then too...🤞🏻

[ann141]

1 minute ago, Selbourne said:

I know it’s crystal ball stuff Wowzz, but assuming that we continue as we are, with hospitalisations and deaths at very low levels and life (in the UK at least) gradually returning to normal (masks aside), how soon do you see the on board experience getting back to normality? I appreciate that overseas port calls may have some disruption into next year, but I am at a loss as to why some of the things that I am reading about are still deemed necessary, given that all passengers are double jabbed.

I know quite a few people who have caught covid despite being double jabbed though they have only had mild symptoms.We have a seacation booked in a few weeks time visiting 2  UK ports and another cruise in October visiting European ports(hopefully!) I don't mind P and O and Princess taking a cautious approach and will feel ok if restrictions are still in place for both my cruises.After October I think there will have been a lot of cruises from the UK and I would feel happy with things getting back to normal as long as there isn't a huge jump in case numbers

(Nice to see you posting again)

[wowzz]

16 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I know it’s crystal ball stuff Wowzz, but assuming that we continue as we are, with hospitalisations and deaths at very low levels and life (in the UK at least) gradually returning to normal (masks aside), how soon do you see the on board experience getting back to normality? I appreciate that overseas port calls may have some disruption into next year, but I am at a loss as to why some of the things that I am reading about are still deemed necessary, given that all passengers are double jabbed.

I have no idea about when things will get back to normal (if ever) but I do think that by next year the onboard experience will be far better than it is now.

[Camberley]

A good review to read.. Pity the app is still poor in terms of its effectiveness and reliability etc. Such potential but……….
 

Yes, we also found some of the menu descriptions in the MDR to be “intriguing”……..and then reality hit us like limp lollo rosso slapped around our cheeks. Such a shame the MDR food is so very basic: shades of holiday camp food circa the early 90s with delusions of grandeur. “Hello, P and O, some of us actually enjoy food!”

Hoping things will pick up in the coming months 

[Selbourne]

9 hours ago, wowzz said:

 

We are getting to the age that we don't have enough time left to delay the pleasures of life!

I absolutely get that Wowzz and can fully understand why many people are happy to go on these cruises in spite of all the differences from what we had all become used to. However, the current cruise experience wouldn’t be at all pleasurable for us, so it’s an easy decision to delay in our case. 

[Harry Peterson]

10 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I absolutely get that Wowzz and can fully understand why many people are happy to go on these cruises in spite of all the differences from what we had all become used to. However, the current cruise experience wouldn’t be at all pleasurable for us, so it’s an easy decision to delay in our case. 

Far too many restrictions for us to enjoy these cruises, but I do very much like the concept.

 

Tresco, Falmouth, Lerwick, Belfast, Dublin etc……..great!  There are so many places around the British Isles I’d happily visit over a fortnight or so from a comfortable cruise ship.

[Selbourne]

8 hours ago, ann141 said:

I know quite a few people who have caught covid despite being double jabbed though they have only had mild symptoms.We have a seacation booked in a few weeks time visiting 2  UK ports and another cruise in October visiting European ports(hopefully!) I don't mind P and O and Princess taking a cautious approach and will feel ok if restrictions are still in place for both my cruises.After October I think there will have been a lot of cruises from the UK and I would feel happy with things getting back to normal as long as there isn't a huge jump in case numbers

(Nice to see you posting again)

Thanks Ann and I hope that you enjoy your upcoming cruises. I fully appreciate that many people remain very concerned, but we are in the camp that some of the remaining control measures (not just on P&O but here as well) are now disproportionate to the actual risk. Things like one way systems and mask wearing whilst walking around are just two examples. 
 

The partner of one of our daughters has had Covid over the past 10 days in spite of being double jabbed months ago and has heavy cold like symptoms. Although they live together, our daughter (also double jabbed) has been doing PCR tests every few days and continues to test negative. Whether it makes any difference I don’t know, but our daughter had the Phizer jab and her partner the AZ one.

 

I agree with you that once there has been a few months of incident free cruising things could (and should) be relaxed. Infection rates will continue to be high through the winter months but, in itself, this won’t be an issue if hospitalisations and deaths remain at such low levels, just as we don’t have a load of restrictions in place during the annual flu season which, following all the lockdowns,  could end up being just as problematic this winter as Covid will be.