The Retreat (Britannia)

[voyagerL]

Good evening fellow CC'ers! 🙂 

 

I've just booked my parents onto a 2 week Caribbean on Britannia and as we often sail Yacht Club, they were keen to know more about The Retreat. I've seen some posts stating that on Arvia there is now a selection of alcoholic drinks in The Retreat, is this the case across the fleet? It seems odd that they would offer this on one ship but not on another? 

 

Thanks in advance for your insights! :-) 

[BertieRulesOK]

Just got off of the Britannia today and I had booked the Retreat all week.  We had some gorgeous weather and so it was worth it to escape from the scrum on the main deck.  The Retreat also has 50% of the hot tubs on the ship - 2 of 4.  The two on main deck were always very busy.  So, if good weather it is 100% the best investment you can make with a panoramic view from the front of the ship.  Wet weather = unusable.

 

They served healthy lunch and breakfast consisting of prepared salads - a meat and veg option. Also an afternoon scone!

 

There was essentially a butler service for drinks from the bar (paid for) and an endless supply of tea, coffee and ice water (included).

 

I LOVED it.  Much assisted by the fact it was located by the adult pool for a swim and tge adult pool is actually a decent size.  Meaning it was possible to have a good swim!  No postage stamps here!

[voyagerL]

17 minutes ago, BertieRulesOK said:

Just got off of the Britannia today and I had booked the Retreat all week.  We had some gorgeous weather and so it was worth it to escape from the scrum on the main deck.  The Retreat also has 50% of the hot tubs on the ship - 2 of 4.  The two on main deck were always very busy.  So, if good weather it is 100% the best investment you can make with a panoramic view from the front of the ship.  Wet weather = unusable.

 

They served healthy lunch and breakfast consisting of prepared salads - a meat and veg option. Also an afternoon scone!

 

There was essentially a butler service for drinks from the bar (paid for) and an endless supply of tea, coffee and ice water (included).

 

I LOVED it.  Much assisted by the fact it was located by the adult pool for a swim and tge adult pool is actually a decent size.  Meaning it was possible to have a good swim!  No postage stamps here!

 

Thanks for the insight, that's really useful. Could I also ask... is it true that even if you have a drinks package, this can't  be used for drinks from The Retreat? 

 

Is there a nearby bar that you could acquire drinks from and just take them back into the Retreat (if you can't use your drinks package inside it)? 

[BertieRulesOK]

No idea I'm afraid as I didn't feel the drinks package was value for money.  But as the staff just go to the adult pool bar to get drinks and take your card for payment, I imagine the drinks package would operate as normal.

 

But seriously, think twice about the drinks package.  Very restrictive and not good value, especially as you can take 1ltr alcohol per person on board to drink in the cabin.

[soulstar]

We're on the Britannia in 6wks time & considering booking the Retreat.  Could I ask if you can book it in advance, or only when we're on board? Also, what is the current cost per day? I've tried to find the answers in my cruise personaliser,  but to no avail!

[purplesea]

I am due to sail on Britannia next week and The Retreat has been bookable through My P&O for quite a while.

As a guideline, our cruise is for 7 nights and the cost is showing as £140 per person for a 7 day pass.

 

[Presto2]

It was showing up for our cruise but we could not complete the booking. We were told it was an IT issue when I phoned. That was weeks ago and now it says pleas enquire onboard. I really have no idea what is happening anymore ...

[Megabear2]

52 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

It was showing up for our cruise but we could not complete the booking. We were told it was an IT issue when I phoned. That was weeks ago and now it says pleas enquire onboard. I really have no idea what is happening anymore ...

I got an email asking me to book it - had 2 now - enquire on board! Maybe the wonder why they aren't selling it!

[Mike Senior]

I'm on the Feb 24 2024 Britannia sailing and have booked the retreat for the full 2 weeks (£245) via the personaliser. It appeared to glitch out on first attempt but then completed. Confirmation email received and shows in my orders.

 

Mike

[uk338]

Still getting the 'enquire on board' message, very frustrating. 

[Mike Senior]

4 hours ago, uk338 said:

Still getting the 'enquire on board' message, very frustrating. 

perhaps try clearing your browser cache and cookies, you might just be loading an old stored version of the webpages

 

Mike

[uk338]

Thank you for replying with that suggestion, I've tried before and just tried again, no luck unfortunately. Checked With all kinds of devices and browsers, cleared all cache, cookies etc.

 

It doesn't seem to be an issue just for me, e've booked it in advance for previous cruises, and clearly it's available for some cruises as people mention above. 

 

My best guess is either a data fill issue for specific cruises or an intentional block on it (for some unknown reason). 

[soulstar]

Thank you for all your comments. I'm guessing we'll just have to try & book on embarkation. Just wondering why P&O can't  be more forthcoming with information. After  all, we're trying to 'give' them money!! 🤔

[Presto2]

10 hours ago, soulstar said:

Thank you for all your comments. I'm guessing we'll just have to try & book on embarkation. Just wondering why P&O can't  be more forthcoming with information. After  all, we're trying to 'give' them money!! 🤔

Well they owe me a fortune in cocodamol for my headaches and antacids for the anxiety their new systems for booking things are causing. At the moment am checking out a land holiday in Pafos Cyprus for 2024 rather than a cruise. There used to be no comparison so we always went with the cruise. It has all flipped on its head now and the cruise ships PO don't seem to compare with what the hotel is offering that makes the Retreat look 3 star .......

[uk338]

I got a response from P&O support. If you see 'enquire on board' it's 'likely sold out'. 

 

Infuriating that they are so vague, we could have made alternative plans. 

 

[Interestedcruisefan]

49 minutes ago, uk338 said:

I got a response from P&O support. If you see 'enquire on board' it's 'likely sold out'. 

 

Infuriating that they are so vague, we could have made alternative plans. 

 

That's the message you get when Epicurean is fully booked for sure

 

 

[Megabear2]

5 hours ago, uk338 said:

I got a response from P&O support. If you see 'enquire on board' it's 'likely sold out'. 

 

Infuriating that they are so vague, we could have made alternative plans. 

 

They keep emailing me inviting me to book though!  

[Megabear2]

5 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

That's the message you get when Epicurean is fully booked for sure

 

 

Not necessarily.  With some ships and cruises they aren't allowing advanced bookings. Whilst you have been off having a nice time on your travels Presto2 and I have been in deep conversations with Executive Office as to which of the very many misleading answers customer service are dishing out is actually the correct one.

 

We've been told that for restaurant bookings it simply means that ship is not accepting bookings before departure.  I posted the Executive office reply elsewhere.

[Presto2]

6 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Not necessarily.  With some ships and cruises they aren't allowing advanced bookings. Whilst you have been off having a nice time on your travels Presto2 and I have been in deep conversations with Executive Office as to which of the very many misleading answers customer service are dishing out is actually the correct one.

 

We've been told that for restaurant bookings it simply means that ship is not accepting bookings before departure.  I posted the Executive office reply elsewhere.

Yip it also means no advanced bookings at the moment.

Have not heard from Executive Office yet re my lengthy e-mail but to be fair they have a few weeks left yet to respond.

I was told by P&O on the phone that there had only been one cruise in July for Britannia where they had trialled being able to book speciality restaurants before you embarked. 

Where is the Exec Office reply Megabear? Am not sure if I've seen it

[Ilovemygarden]

3 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Yip it also means no advanced bookings at the moment.

Have not heard from Executive Office yet re my lengthy e-mail but to be fair they have a few weeks left yet to respond.

I was told by P&O on the phone that there had only been one cruise in July for Britannia where they had trialled being able to book speciality restaurants before you embarked. 

Where is the Exec Office reply Megabear? Am not sure if I've seen it

I am due to board Britannia next week and can book the Limelight Club,  the Beach House,Epicurian and Sindhu now.  

[Presto2]

17 minutes ago, Ilovemygarden said:

I am due to board Britannia next week and can book the Limelight Club,  the Beach House,Epicurian and Sindhu now.  

That's really encouraging to hear. Thank you as it has and continues to be a concern. 

[Woolmull]

If you’re having glitches on the P&O site when trying to add things like The Retreat, I’d suggest using the ‘private’ mode of your browser. I use an iPad and the ‘privacy’ setting on Safari never glitches - this was recommended by P&O through a twitter message when I asked them about a similar problem.

 

For The Retreat, I’d definitely recommend booking as soon as you can. From our recent cruises, it does get sold out on certain cruises but they don’t seem to overfill it so that guests have the option of a sunbed or a chair at all times. 
 

If it is sold out, you can enquire at the spa onboard and they will notify you if a day-pass is available. 

[Presto2]

12 hours ago, Woolmull said:

If you’re having glitches on the P&O site when trying to add things like The Retreat, I’d suggest using the ‘private’ mode of your browser. I use an iPad and the ‘privacy’ setting on Safari never glitches - this was recommended by P&O through a twitter message when I asked them about a similar problem.

 

For The Retreat, I’d definitely recommend booking as soon as you can. From our recent cruises, it does get sold out on certain cruises but they don’t seem to overfill it so that guests have the option of a sunbed or a chair at all times. 
 

If it is sold out, you can enquire at the spa onboard and they will notify you if a day-pass is available. 

Thanks. They told me it was a general issue for everyone trying to book the Retreat for Britannia and we would not be disadvantaged at all...... Read into that what you will.

[Megabear2]

13 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Thanks. They told me it was a general issue for everyone trying to book the Retreat for Britannia and we would not be disadvantaged at all...... Read into that what you will.

I got the book email again yesterday. Went in, clicked saw a flash of read and then Enquire on Board.  Getting more fed up by the day, what with the new pricing that I was offered yesterday, excursions and things not bookable we are seriously considering writing off the cruise as the deposit is only small.  

[Presto2]

13 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I got the book email again yesterday. Went in, clicked saw a flash of read and then Enquire on Board.  Getting more fed up by the day, what with the new pricing that I was offered yesterday, excursions and things not bookable we are seriously considering writing off the cruise as the deposit is only small.  

Same here re the email. New pricing?