First timer with toddler on Britannia review

[tacticalbanjo]

I've just had my first cruise with P&O after 12 with Cunard and 1 with Princess. I have a one year old so my cruising priorities have changed somewhat and I was excited to try P&O because the kids facilities looked very good. So off I went to Norway on the 23rd June on Britannia with my mum and my toddler. 

 

Overall:

You always find things you do like and things you don't like but overall we had a good time and the good bits far outweigh the niggles. We will definitely be back to P&O. Holidays are easier with grandparents in tow and the Britannia was absolutely perfect for a multigenerational cruise.

 

Kids facilities:

As we hoped for, the kids facilities were really good. We knew the staff were shared with Cunard so knew what to expect from staff but not the actual rooms. The stay and play for under 2s was basic but they had a good range of toys which were rotated all day. My little one is a crayon connoisseur so was happy to see the tub of crayolas out most days. Very tasty!

 

We were very excited to try the water facilities and my toddler loved the splash area. The Lido pool was slightly less successful. Who on earth decided that the one pool open to kids in swim nappies should have a shallow end of 5'5"? It would have been much nicer to be able to touch the bottom of the pool instead of trying to float while supporting a non-swimmer.

 

The night nursery was absolutely fabulous and my little one was out like a light each night. It was so good to be able to leave her for a few hours in the evening knowing that she was being looked after by properly qualified staff. I know some people like to keep their kids with them in the evening but I much prefer to know that my little one is having a nice deep sleep in a dark quiet room. The night nursery will be a big factor in booking P&O in the future.

 

Food:

We had first sitting club dining and found the food in Meridian to be of a good standard. The service was a little lacking compared to what I've experienced in the past. Plates left in front of us until the next course was ready to be served instead of being taken away when we were done but that's just a small thing and clearly the way it's done on P&O.

 

The buffet was fairly disappointing. It felt like there was very little choice especially in terms of vegetables. I will admit that the buffet I experienced on the Sky Princess last month was incredible and spoiled me for other buffets but I found myself missing certain items like mushrooms and peaches at breakfast and a wider bread selection. I also found it strange that there appeared to be just one ice machine and fruit juices weren't available outside breakfast. But the standard of the food in the MDR meant we were happy enough.

 

We had a night out at The Glass House and really enjoyed it. Because we weren't sure what time I'd get my toddler up to bed we didn't join the virtual queue and just rocked up at 8pm to see if we could get in. There was a queue of 8 and we were told to expect about an hour but there must have been some no shows because as soon as I'd got a drink at the Sunset Bar I had a message to say our table was ready. The food was excellent and at a very reasonable price.

 

Entertainment:

My mum loves hosted games so she was pleased to be back on P&O with all the shuffleboard and deck quoits competitions. We also liked listening to live music in the evening. We went to the silent disco twice and had so much fun. There's a lot to do for everyone including the kids. We didn't go because they were either a bit old for my child or at nap time but I saw magician shows and workshops and there was some interactive Wallace and Gromit things like a make your own plasticine Gromit and a Shaun the Sheep dance session. We did go to Shaun the Sheep story time and my little one was absolutely made up to meet Shaun. 

 

Room:

We had a standard balcony cabin. I'm used to having a sofa instead of a chair and worried about finding somewhere to store the buggy but the room was plenty big enough. The beds were very comfy. The pillows were a lot better than the ones I had on Princess last month. One slight downside was that the shower tray was worn enough to look constantly dirty. Especially when combined with the stray hair we found on embarkation. But the room was kept very clean.

 

A baby bath was no problem and there were plenty of high chairs in the buffet. When asked what he wanted us to do with dirty nappies, our steward provided a weeks worth of red biohazard binbags.

[Britboys]

Glad to hear you had a good cruise. Thanks for posting.

[Dobbers]

Great balanced review, glad you had a good holiday