Review of Britannia as promised

[Presto2]

Here is the promised review of Britannia from our Norwegian Fjord cruise. I tried to cover some areas that folk had been asking about before we went.

 

An questions please ask and we will do what we can to help ---- other than explain the rationale behind the new system for booking freedom dining!

 

Britannia Cruise Ship: Review, Photos & Departure Ports on Cruise Critic

 

[Angel57]

@Presto2 great review. Thank you.

[AndyMichelle]

Fantastic, balanced review, thank you. 

We are on Britannia at the end of the month and it's nice to know what to expect. 

Glad we have booked fixed dining, freedom sounds like a right faff... 

Just hope we can get the Epicurean booked as doesn't sound like it's an option before we go. 

Thanks again, 

Andy 

[Presto2]

2 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Fantastic, balanced review, thank you. 

We are on Britannia at the end of the month and it's nice to know what to expect. 

Glad we have booked fixed dining, freedom sounds like a right faff... 

Just hope we can get the Epicurean booked as doesn't sound like it's an option before we go. 

Thanks again, 

Andy 

You will have a great time and I imagine that it will be quieter than when we sailed.

We booked as soon as we walked on board. It wasn't very obvious so as soon as you are in the atrium ask someone if you can't see who is taking bookings. We booked 3 there and then so all done and dusted in the first 5 minutes ! 

Have to admit, we were toying with moving our freedom dining to fixed for our cruise in January to save the stress! Are there many tables for two on this option do you know?

[AndyMichelle]

2 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

 

Have to admit, we were toying with moving our freedom dining to fixed for our cruise in January to save the stress! Are there many tables for two on this option do you know?

We have requested a table for 2 this time but they don't confirm until on board. 

I haven't heard of anybody not getting their request and hope we will be OK on late sitting, which we prefer. 

If we had to share, it wouldn't be the end of the world for us as we have met fantastic fellow diners previously, but this time we just would prefer a bit of  'us' time. 

Andy 

[showingdiva]

Great review.  Thanks for taking the time to post it.

 

Having recently returned from the Fjords on a non-P&O cruise, I concur about the two ports I also visited - Flam is lovely, the railway a real highlight and the sail into / out of the fjord is breathtaking.  And Haugesund, we were there on a Sunday.  Completely closed.   Did the Hop on/off, which stops right at the ship.   I absolutely agree that anyone visiting this port needs to consider either it or an excursion.

[Eglesbrech]

Thanks for taking the time to write a fair and balanced review. Much appreciated.

[Cathygh]

A great review. I am glad to hear that it's not only Iona that has problems with virtual queuing. Msc and Princess have a similar system which works well, but on both of those ships we were able to walk in to dinner at a time to suit ourselves. At least there is still some fixed dining on Britannia, unlike Iona, which is a mistake IMHO

[Presto2]

57 minutes ago, Cathygh said:

A great review. I am glad to hear that it's not only Iona that has problems with virtual queuing. Msc and Princess have a similar system which works well, but on both of those ships we were able to walk in to dinner at a time to suit ourselves. At least there is still some fixed dining on Britannia, unlike Iona, which is a mistake IMHO

I am not trying to be a Celebrity Cheerleader, but on the EDGE class ships they have an app which means you can book any of the 4 freedom dining restaurants at the time you want (before you go) and can change it on board quite easily. So much more relaxing and a fabulous system. I have no idea why P&O and the other lines don't use this sort of a system ... or just go back to the old one that worked.

I really think it is a big mistake and certainly spoiled our formal nights, our relaxation and the service in one area in particular was affected badly by it all.  We are positive P&O supporters, who are pretty easy going and make 'stuff work' so I think that if people like us are mortified by it all, then there must be a lot more cruisers.

 

Come on P&O - do what any company does with a new idea. Review and evaluate and if it needs tweaking - tweak it !

[Cathygh]

10 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

I am not trying to be a Celebrity Cheerleader, but on the EDGE class ships they have an app which means you can book any of the 4 freedom dining restaurants at the time you want (before you go) and can change it on board quite easily. So much more relaxing and a fabulous system. I have no idea why P&O and the other lines don't use this sort of a system ... or just go back to the old one that worked.

I really think it is a big mistake and certainly spoiled our formal nights, our relaxation and the service in one area in particular was affected badly by it all.  We are positive P&O supporters, who are pretty easy going and make 'stuff work' so I think that if people like us are mortified by it all, then there must be a lot more cruisers.

 

Come on P&O - do what any company does with a new idea. Review and evaluate and if it needs tweaking - tweak it !

Totally agree. P&O have had this app for nearly 2 years and it hasn't got much better. 

[Selbourne]

16 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Come on P&O - do what any company does with a new idea. Review and evaluate and if it needs tweaking - tweak it !

or if you can’t make it work, ditch it!

 

Thank you for your review. I have ‘known’ you long enough on this forum to know that if you say that the new Freedom Dining system isn’t fit for purpose, then it isn’t. I make no apologies for repeating myself yet again, but P&O have fixed a problem that never existed in the first place and, as a result, have turned what always used to be a great dining system into something that is so poor that it is verging on spoiling people’s cruises. I was also disappointed to hear that you concur with the many other posters who have said that the whole MDR experience (when you eventually get there) is disappointing. “Worse than Fawlty Towers” must take some doing!

 

I was surprised to hear that soot is still an issue at the aft as I was under the impression that they had found a solution to it. Clearly not. 
 

On a more positive note, I was delighted to hear that Epicurean is still up to scratch. We shall try it a few times on our cruise next month (if we can get the bookings). We shall use Sindhu and the Beach House as well, but as it’s a 14 night cruise we don’t want to use speciality restaurants every night, so the MDR beckons 😱 If it’s bad I might ask if we can get a table for 2 on 2nd sitting fixed dining. 

 

I might have missed it in your review, but what was the entertainment like? Also, do you have to book theatre shows or is it still first come, first served?

[Dermotsgirl]

Thank you for such an informative review, which was very interesting.

 

It seems like the dining is such hard work now. It really shouldn’t be like this for people who are on holiday when things should happen without a struggle 

[NewWestwardbound]

Really good detailed review. Just a personal opinion, but. for me, given the overall content of your review  4 out of 5 might seem a generous mark. 

[Ardennais]

Very interesting review, many thanks. We would agree that the Britannia of old was better. Our cruise on her was slightly ‘off’, mainly the food. Shame. 

[Presto2]

11 minutes ago, NewWestwardbound said:

Really good detailed review. Just a personal opinion, but. for me, given the overall content of your review  4 out of 5 might seem a generous mark. 

I was trying to be kind -- some parts of the ship and service were fabulous and some a 3. It was an average .. 3.5 would be more like it I suppose .. or even 3.75 ! To give it a 3 would not be fair.

[NewWestwardbound]

Understood. I know Cruse Critic follows the Trio Adviser x/5 model, but I sometimes think a y/10 or % score would give reviewers more latitude. Wouldn’t be as quick or easy though I guess. 

[grapau27]

9 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

I was trying to be kind -- some parts of the ship and service were fabulous and some a 3. It was an average .. 3.5 would be more like it I suppose .. or even 3.75 ! To give it a 3 would not be fair.

Excellent review @Presto2.

[Presto2]

24 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

or if you can’t make it work, ditch it!

 

Thank you for your review. I have ‘known’ you long enough on this forum to know that if you say that the new Freedom Dining system isn’t fit for purpose, then it isn’t. I make no apologies for repeating myself yet again, but P&O have fixed a problem that never existed in the first place and, as a result, have turned what always used to be a great dining system into something that is so poor that it is verging on spoiling people’s cruises. I was also disappointed to hear that you concur with the many other posters who have said that the whole MDR experience (when you eventually get there) is disappointing. “Worse than Fawlty Towers” must take some doing!

 

I was surprised to hear that soot is still an issue at the aft as I was under the impression that they had found a solution to it. Clearly not. 
 

On a more positive note, I was delighted to hear that Epicurean is still up to scratch. We shall try it a few times on our cruise next month (if we can get the bookings). We shall use Sindhu and the Beach House as well, but as it’s a 14 night cruise we don’t want to use speciality restaurants every night, so the MDR beckons 😱 If it’s bad I might ask if we can get a table for 2 on 2nd sitting fixed dining. 

 

I might have missed it in your review, but what was the entertainment like? Also, do you have to book theatre shows or is it still first come, first served?

Thanks for this reply - really appreciated your comments as I 'know you well enough' to know you say it as it is !

 

If I had a choice now I would head for club dining and second sitting. Those 3 nights really were not good and we got quite stressed about it. What I haven't posted is that when I asked one of the main waiters in the Meridian restaurant if it was 'always this busy' (The service had been dire) his answer was that it was busy and the school holidays. I asked how it compared to when it is not the school holidays. His answer was a stunner ...

"That is when the real cruisers come who know what they want". I asked if this was because they were more demanding. He just kept saying that it was busy that week with lots of new cruisers and the school holidays and the ship being full. I said that we were regular cruisers that had to sail school holidays, but are regular cruisers. He then said "Next week it is not school holidays, so we will have to pull our socks up." (for the real cruisers)

He himself knew it wasn't good enough, but what the stuff about needing to be better for 'real cruisers' meant I can only guess. 

 

Not sure what you take from that. I didn't put it in my review, but am sharing on here. 

 

The next night we went to the Peninsular. It is FAR better and the staff fabulous and more of what we expect. Good luck to Jeff and his team and thanks for restoring our faith 🙂

 

Re the entertainment. Sorry, we don't do the shows and enjoy a quiet drink. The vocalists seemed ok (ish) and the sailaway was ok. Other than that, sorry can't help.

 

 

[Ardennais]

3 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Thanks for this reply - really appreciated your comments as I 'know you well enough' to know you say it as it is !

 

If I had a choice now I would head for club dining and second sitting. Those 3 nights really were not good and we got quite stressed about it. What I haven't posted is that when I asked one of the main waiters in the Meridian restaurant if it was 'always this busy' (The service had been dire) his answer was that it was busy and the school holidays. I asked how it compared to when it is not the school holidays. His answer was a stunner ...

"That is when the real cruisers come who know what they want". I asked if this was because they were more demanding. He just kept saying that it was busy that week with lots of new cruisers and the school holidays and the ship being full. I said that we were regular cruisers that had to sail school holidays, but are regular cruisers. He then said "Next week it is not school holidays, so we will have to pull our socks up." (for the real cruisers)

He himself knew it wasn't good enough, but what the stuff about needing to be better for 'real cruisers' meant I can only guess. 

 

Not sure what you take from that. I didn't put it in my review, but am sharing on here. 

 

The next night we went to the Peninsular. It is FAR better and the staff fabulous and more of what we expect. Good luck to Jeff and his team and thanks for restoring our faith 🙂

 

Re the entertainment. Sorry, we don't do the shows and enjoy a quiet drink. The vocalists seemed ok (ish) and the sailaway was ok. Other than that, sorry can't help.

 

 

It really isn’t fair on folk who have to sail during school holidays. Service levels should not dip drastically. 

[Presto2]

Just now, Ardennais said:

It really isn’t fair on folk who have to sail during school holidays. Service levels should not dip drastically. 

The term 'real cruisers' was an eye opener ! My friend, on her first cruise, looked stunned.

 

[Presto2]

8 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Excellent review @Presto2.

Not sure if this posted Graham. We had F728 which made us think of you as you mentioned this cabin in the past.

[Presto2]

7 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

It really isn’t fair on folk who have to sail during school holidays. Service levels should not dip drastically. 

I nearly reminded him that there was a 6 week holiday looming so they needed to get their act together.

Good luck in the main holidays ......

 

[AndyMichelle]

4 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

The term 'real cruisers' was an eye opener ! My friend, on her first cruise, looked stunned.

 

I guess he was meaning that they wouldn't get away with that level of service with people who know what to expect... 

They must know when it is not up to standard and probably feel embarrassed. 

It's not good enough, but if it was your first time, you possibly don't know any better. 

Andy 

[grapau27]

2 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Not sure if this posted Graham. We had F728 which made us think of you as you mentioned this cabin in the past.

Thank you @Presto2.

We have stayed in that cabin twice last year but fortunately did not experience soot but on a night time the smoke from the funnel seemed much worse than during the day.

Your review was excellent and described Britannia perfectly especially the cabins.

When Royal Caribbean did ship refurbishment on Independence of the sea's they also did no upgrade to the cabins.

Your freedom dining review was eye opening and I'm sorry you experienced what you did.

[grapau27]

9 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

I guess he was meaning that they wouldn't get away with that level of service with people who know what to expect... 

They must know when it is not up to standard and probably feel embarrassed. 

It's not good enough, but if it was your first time, you possibly don't know any better. 

Andy 

Perfect answer Andy.