Live from Britannia

[lincslady]

Is that raw garlic??  If so, does anyone eat it?

[AndyMichelle]

8 minutes ago, lincslady said:

Is that raw garlic??  If so, does anyone eat it?

It's roasted garlic. 

Michelle ate it, no vampires in our cabin... 

Andy 

[mercury7289]

20 minutes ago, lincslady said:

Is that raw garlic??  If so, does anyone eat it?

Yes,in a salad

[Son of Anarchy]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

Silly presentation in the Glass House.

Helluva portion of roast garlic!   Never tried Glass House, but that steak, prawns & a week's ration of garlic is tempting me for when we're on Aurora later this year.

Edited July 8, 2023 by Son of Anarchy

[Son of Anarchy]

Glad to hear that embarkation went well. 

 

Wishing a continuing wonderful cruise for you both Selbourne & Mrs Selbourne.

[Bill Y]

18 hours ago, smokey01 said:

but what does Ventura do now for the Caribbean and above embarkation lunch, buffet or served meal?

We embarked Ventura end of May and the embarkation lunch was waiter service unlike the one in 2018 on Aurora which was a mediocre buffet. We too were surprised, it was a very nice meal the only criticism was that the toast (sparkling wine) was served to one half of the table five minutes before returning to serve the other half, but the wine kept coming so they were forgiven. The meal was not rushed, we were still sitting there feeling mellow when it was announced that the cabins were ready

[zap99]

21 minutes ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Helluva portion of roast garlic!   Never tried Glass House, but that steak, prawns & a week's ration of garlic is tempting me for when we're on Aurora later this year.

I do wonder how many folk eat all that garlic. I eat a little bit, but then get that warning..You know..the one about sleeping on the balcony.🤣

 

[Angel57]

1 minute ago, zap99 said:

I do wonder how many folk eat all that garlic. I eat a little bit, but then get that warning..You know..the one about sleeping on the balcony.🤣

 

I eat all that garlic……. Keeps all sorts of nasties away!! 🤣🤣

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, AndyMichelle said:

We took money for tips for good service, unfortunately didn't get any so saved our money. 

Andy 

If we didn't get good service I wouldn't leave a tip either Andy.

[happy v]

55 minutes ago, Angel57 said:

I eat all that garlic……. Keeps all sorts of nasties away!! 🤣🤣

Me too 

[Selbourne]

Having said that I wouldn’t do a live blog, we had a sea day yesterday and none of the daytime entertainment appealed, so I had tons of free time, so here is some (hopefully balanced) feedback on our experiences since departure from Southampton on Friday. 

 

I forgot to say in my initial post that first impressions of the ship when we boarded were excellent. This is our 4th cruise on Britannia, but the last was in 2017. I can only assume that either the ship has had a minor refit since then or we have poor memories, as we both commented that some of the bars and public areas looked even nicer than we remembered them (particularly around the lower atrium). 

 

We took up residence in the Crows Nest for the sail away from Southampton and were pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t full. There were no noisy groups to spoil the experience either (which we had once on Aurora, surprisingly) and a very proficient pianist (unfortunately playing Jazz, which I hate, but you can’t win ‘em all 😂). Having made the most of the freebie booze at the loyalty lunch, we decided to pace ourselves for Epicurean and both fancied a non-alcoholic cocktail. We were surprised and disappointed to see that they now only offer  a choice of two in the Crows Nest (I’m sure that there used to be at least half a dozen?) but both were very nice and we would buy them again. 

 

Dinner was in Epicurean. Being the first night there were only around 4 other couples and a small group. Having said many times on this forum that this is our favourite restaurant at sea, I’m sorry to say that we were a bit disappointed. 

 

To start with the positives. The ambiance was lovely. Thankfully there was no sign of any noisy groups that had somewhat spoilt @AndyMichelle experience last week, so it was a relaxing way to spend the first evening. The waiting staff were all efficient, friendly and welcoming. 

 

The not so positive was, unfortunately, the quality of the food. My pea and crab starter looked lovely but surprisingly had very little flavour. My wife said that her scallops were over cooked. We both had the black cod and lobster tail main. I’m not a big fish fan but I quite liked it, especially the cod. My wife is a big fish lover and was less impressed (the cod was over cooked apparently - she would know). We ordered 3 of the 4 sides. The spinach with onion was delicious. Bizarrely (and exactly the same as Andy’s experience) the 4 or 5 chips were undercooked! 

 

The biggest disappointment however was the Crepes Suzette, which as Michael Winner would have said, used to be ‘historic’! Not only is it not prepared and flambé’d table-side, this wasn’t even done elsewhere in the restaurant, as others had reported (maybe that was another ship though). It was all prepared in the kitchen and completely lacked the quality and flavour of the previous incarnation. I summed it up as “here’s one I prepared earlier”. I mentioned this to the waitress who said that she completely agreed, that it wasn’t how it should be done in Epicurean (she had worked in other Epicurean restaurants across the fleet) and that many previous customers had said the same as me. Apparently they have all the kit, it’s a training issue and proper service should resume next month. I think others were given that same spiel a few months ago, so make of it what you will 🤔 Very kindly, she asked if I’d like another desert or cheese, so with @TigerB in mind, and rising to his challenge (even though I was quite full), I opted for the cheese. No photographic proof as my phone was out of puff by now and I have to admit that my wife helped me out and I did leave some! In summary, we were glad that we went, but did we feel that it was £60 well spent? In all honesty, no. We have 3 future bookings and the next isn’t until the end of the first week, so we will take a view then as to whether we go with the final 2 reservations. My concern would be that if they can’t cook things properly when there’s only a handful of guests, what will it be like when the restaurant is busy?

 

Further to a recent debate on this forum about non-suite guests taking breakfast in Epicurean for a fee, this is apparently not possible on Britannia (I asked the Epicurean manager). As @Molecrochip had stated, this is because they need all the tables for the number of suite passengers (something like 176 on this cruise apparently including, I presume, kids) whereas there is spare capacity on Iona and Arvia. 

 

There was a Headliners show called ‘On the Horizon’. Again, positives and negatives with this.  Positives - We got there quite early to get a wheelchair space and we were instantly reminded of how much better the seating provision is for wheelchair users and companions in the theatre on Britannia than it is on Aurora. Surprisingly the 1030 show ended up full. The Headliners were very enthusiastic and the quality of the dancing was excellent. Negatives- The first night show is usually not the best of the cruise and this one seemed to follow that pattern. Entertainment is entirely subjective and some others would have loved it, but we were underwhelmed. The music in the first segment just wasn’t to our taste and whilst the dancing was very good, the singing wasn’t the best that we’ve had from a Headliners troupe. The music got a lot better later in the show, with lots of James Bond themes but, in all honesty, the lead singers voices weren’t strong enough to do justice to the songs. As I say, 10/10 for effort, if not for content, and I suspect that the shows will get better as the cruise progresses. 

 

When we retired to the cabin we both agreed that in spite of the slight disappointment with Epicurean, the first day had gone well and we were very glad to be back on Britannia. 

 

DAY 2

 

I didn’t have the best nights sleep (note to self - don’t drink coffee after dinner) and I’d forgotten how much vibration you can get in aft cabins! Whilst the vibration itself doesn’t disturb us, it has a habit of finding anything remotely loose in the cabin and causing a rattle. Eventually I managed to stop the TV rattling by a bit of pushing and pulling 😂. At 0640 (or 0740 after allowing for the clock change) we were disturbed by the noise of outdoor chairs being dragged around. I thought it might be a thoughtless neighbour, but it went on and on for a good 10 minutes, so I came to the conclusion that it might have been the staff moving the tables and chairs around outside the Beach House / Buffet even though they are 2 decks above us. 

 

One thing we are delighted to find since our last P&O cruise is that last admission for MDR breakfast is now 30 minutes later on sea days (10am). We always felt that it ended far too early when you are on holiday. Unfortunately the extra 30 mins doesn’t extend to port days, where last entry is still way too early at 9am. I duly joined the virtual queue at position 18 and within 5-10 minutes our table was ready, even though it was a table for 2 with a wheelchair. Impressive. Worth noting that when we arrived at the restaurant at around 0950 they were telling people who were walking up with no booking that they had closed to new arrivals. As we had booked we were OK. The restaurant manager wasn’t happy because tables that had been assigned by the system for those in the virtual queue (including ours) were already occupied. However, after a couple of minutes we were shown to a different table, so they coped well with the glitches. 

 

Another positive about the MDR breakfast is that Eggs Benedict is now available every day, not just one day a week. They asked if I wanted 1 or 2, which was appreciated. My wife had the crushed avocado on toast. When it arrived I almost took a picture of it as it was so tiny it was absolutely lost on the plate. To be fair they had asked my wife if she wanted 1 or 2 and she said 1. Thankfully she isn’t as glutinous as me (which probably explains why she’s half my size 🤔) and my wife said that it was fine for her. I should add that she said that it was absolutely delicious. 

 

After breakfast we had a wander around the shops (the sole daytime presenter was giving a talk on Vikings, which didn’t appeal to either of us). There was very little of the tat that I recall from previous cruises. In fact, the new operators seem to have taken the shops far more upmarket and there was quite a bit of very expensive designer stuff, so keen shoppers will be impressed. When I picked up my Britain Today newspaper I commented that it was a good sign that there wasn’t a long queue at reception (first day cabin complaints etc). However, when we passed again 10 minutes later a long queue had appeared 😂

 

Having touched on the My Holiday ‘app that isn’t an app’ earlier, I have been determined to try to embrace it and I seem to be succeeding. It’s frustrating that you have to keep logging back in (although it does remember your login details) but, other than that, I’m getting on just fine with it. I mentioned previously that when we embarked I had secured all our speciality restaurants on it, and I used it ‘live’ for the first time for breakfast, both without difficulty. There was quite a queue of people waiting at the podium for support with it though, and there had been some mention that it had crashed at some point yesterday, but this had passed us by. When we were in Epicurean the first night I got a bit addicted to watching how the MDRs were faring, and I was surprised that the queues don’t get as long as I might have expected. I think 100 or so was the most I saw, but that seems to be because when the number gets too high it says “Queue Full”. However, by looking at it periodically I could see that MDRs that had stopped taking new bookings would suddenly open up again. Word of warning. 10 mins before last admission both freedom MDRs closed to new bookings (the same as happened at breakfast this morning) and didn’t open up again, so my advice is don’t leave it until the very last minute. 

 

We had a look at the MDR menus for lunch and Celebration night on the digital screens outside the MDR. Both seemed underwhelming.  No Marco Pierre White menu mentioned as I would have expected for a Celebration night (this was an error though - see later). I still don’t get the daft way that they present the confusing MDR lunch menu now. What’s wrong with having starters and mains? So Glasshouse for lunch. Once again, my feedback is entirely consistent with what Andy said about the preceding cruise. The food was excellent. We both had the 3 x small plates and, unlike Epicurean, the scallops were cooked exactly as they should be. The other food was excellent as well. Seems daft that they have the better chef in here rather than the fine dining restaurant. Best of all we had our long overdue bottle of Peller Ice Cuvée, which we didn’t manage to fit in yesterday 👍

 

My wife was booked in to the spa for some bizarre nail ritual during the afternoon, so a quiet chill for me before celebration night. 

 

Freebie drinks in the atrium at 8pm for the captains welcome but annoyingly he didn’t turn up until around 20 past, by which time both Freedom Dining restaurants had been showing as ‘Queue full’ for 40 minutes. We started worrying that we wouldn’t get dinner, so we booked a table in the Glasshouse (which had suddenly popped up with spaces) but within 5 minutes of doing so the Freedom Dining MDRs finally opened up again, so we joined the queue which automatically then cancelled our Glasshouse reservation. Phew. 

 

We didn’t get called in until 9.15pm, having been trying to join the queue unsuccessfully since 7.45pm, but at least we were in. Thankfully there was a Marco Pierre White menu that hadn’t been showing on the menu boards earlier. I had the full Marco menu, which we hadn’t seen before. In all honesty it didn’t feel a special menu in the slightest, and a couple of the courses were a bit weak, but at least it was free and didn’t leave me with a £60 bill as Epicurean had, so all good. 

 

Resident band Pulse were doing a 70s set in the Live Lounge. Mrs S was tired, so after taking her back to the cabin I went on my own for the 10.45pm ‘Thanks for the 70s’ performance, as others had said how good they were. My 70s music tastes are far less disco, but they are an excellent band and can certainly belt out a tune. Very good indeed. 

 

Finally (and with tongue in cheek) I am just thinking about a few random things that others have raised recently. There are no bars of soap in the cabin bathroom, just liquid soap (fine by us as we prefer it). The bars do have coasters for drinks but the issuing of them is patchy. Mercifully, no plastic ducks to be seen, even though there are kids on board! Some cabins have odd things hanging from their doors, but no pineapples spotted yet 🤣 

 

Whilst I can’t promise to provide this level of detail throughout the whole cruise (especially if I get snide remarks in response) if anyone has a future cruise on Britannia, or is considering one, and would like me to check anything out for you please just ask. 

 

I should conclude in summary by saying that whilst I will always give honest and balanced feedback, we are very much enjoying the ship and the cruise. Following feedback from others over the past year or so, we had wondered what the passenger profile might be like and I’m pleased to say that it feels no different to any other P&O cruise we have been on. Everyone is very pleasant and we haven’t had a single eyebrow raising moment 😂 We’ve no major concerns whatsoever so far and I’ve even fully embraced the ‘My Holiday’ app!

 

P.S. For those who like statistics, there are 3871 passengers on this cruise of which 1325 are newcomers to P&O. In addition there are 1348 crew from 50 nationalities. 

[DamianG]

Thanks @Selbourne, I thoroughly enjoyed reading that and am glad that the majority of your experiences so far have been positive. I hope that things remain the same for the rest of your cruise.

Edited July 9, 2023 by DamianG

[AndyMichelle]

Fantastic summary Selborne, thank you. 

Although we really enjoyed our cruise, we wish we had booked this one. 

Although we had slightly more passengers, the thing that stands out is we had nearly twice as many new cruisers and what sounds like a very different demographic, but ours was only 7 nights. 

Glad you are having a good time, try Pulse again on their 'Rock' night, it is fantastic and hilarious in equal measures, great entertainment. 

Things will settle down, I'm sure the niggles will soon disappear. 

Andy

 

Ps, Britannia did have a minor refit, i think it was 2019?

 

 

[Beckett]

@Selbourne. Thanks very much for a thoroughly well-balanced and very enjoyable read Selbourne. I'm glad you've had a good start to your trip and hope it continues for you both. I very much look forward to the next installment. Jane xx

[purplesea]

Thank you for your summary and it was an enjoyable read.  Hope you continue to have a good cruise.

 

I am counting down the weeks til we board.

 

Here are a couple of photos of the atrium - a before and after the refit.

[Selbourne]

50 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Fantastic summary Selborne, thank you. 

Although we really enjoyed our cruise, we wish we had booked this one. 

Although we had slightly more passengers, the thing that stands out is we had nearly twice as many new cruisers and what sounds like a very different demographic, but ours was only 7 nights. 

Glad you are having a good time, try Pulse again on their 'Rock' night, it is fantastic and hilarious in equal measures, great entertainment. 

Things will settle down, I'm sure the niggles will soon disappear. 

Andy

 

Ps, Britannia did have a minor refit, i think it was 2019?

 

 

Thanks Andy. Yes, the passenger profile does seem very different to your cruise. Clearly the difference, as you said, is most likely influenced by cruise length. I suspect it’s the same on Iona & Arvia as well. The Captain didn’t mention the average age of passengers this time, but the vast majority are middle aged or above. I presume that there must be a lot of kids on board but we haven’t seen as many as we’d expected. Those that we have seem to be mostly Scottish as their school holidays are earlier. Other than the kids in the cabin next to us thudding around a bit and letting the cabin door slam shut, we haven’t been bothered by them at all. 
 

One important thing that I forgot to mention is that the ship hasn’t felt overcrowded anywhere. I know that this is often mentioned by those who avoid the bigger ships. Always somewhere to sit quietly if you so wish. 

[gsmt47471015]

1 hour ago, AndyMichelle said:

Fantastic summary Selborne, thank you. 

Although we really enjoyed our cruise, we wish we had booked this one. 

Although we had slightly more passengers, the thing that stands out is we had nearly twice as many new cruisers and what sounds like a very different demographic, but ours was only 7 nights. 

Glad you are having a good time, try Pulse again on their 'Rock' night, it is fantastic and hilarious in equal measures, great entertainment. 

Things will settle down, I'm sure the niggles will soon disappear. 

Andy

 

Ps, Britannia did have a minor refit, i think it was 2019?

 

 

A common thread on these posts appears to be the amount of "new to cruising" passengers, certainly on the larger ships , suspect the pricing may have something to do with this ?

[Winifred 22]

New to cruising is the target market for most cruise lines where they envisage the most growth going forward. 

[Selbourne]

On 7/7/2023 at 7:28 PM, Peanut006 said:

Have a fantastic cruise and thank you for the information about the Bed Lever, I will look into that

 

Michelle

Here's a photo of the bed lever installed Michelle. As I say, a bit different to the one on the website but does the same job. My wife says that she cannot feel the bit that goes under the mattress when she’s in bed. 
 

The accessible bathroom is very good although my wife is struggling to get up from the shower seat. She has knocked the plastic cowling off the basin u-bend a few times with the wheelchair, so the steward has given up now and removed it 😂 All a lot more modern than Aurora though and the ship is far easier to move around as most doors are automated. Very accessible friendly. 

[TigerB]

Thanks for the thorough and informative update @Selbourne👍

 

Sorry to hear about your somewhat inferior meal in Epicurean. As you say, with the small number of covers in there, there should not have been an excuse for poorly cooked or prepared food. As a pescatarian, I generally have a fish course rather than a vegetarian or vegan course, and have had the scallop starter and black cod main several times. The scallops have always been perfectly cooked; mind you, the last time we were on Britannia was last September, and every other Epicurean visit since then has been on Arvia or Iona. Yes, we've had the training issue excuse, but not on Britannia.

All I can say is, if it doesn't improve and you decide to sack off your last two reservations, don't let that influence your decision to eat in there when you are on Iona next month. At least you should be able to pre-book on that cruise, so paying just under £44 for the two of you each time wouldn't leave such a bitter taste.

 

I get what you mean about the layout of the lunch menu, with it having the different sections for light options, large plates, and sharers (that aren't really), but we manage okay. You are as buffet averse as we are but, when you are on Iona next month, give the Quays a go.

 

Is the mocktail you had the cherry Bakewell one? That's the go-to one for the boss.

 

Haugesund today, then? Hopefully, you've managed okay with the wheelchair, be it on the shuttle or bouling into the town.

 

I look forward to hearing more about your trip.

[Kittyonions]

Selbourne, so pleased to hear that you are really enjoying your cruise, as I know that you had concerns prior to boarding.

Next time you use your bathroom, could you please confirm that there is a shaver socket available. They are no longer fitted on Iona or Arvia, and I know my toothbrush won’t last for a 14 night cruise without a recharge!Many thanks.

[Selbourne]

6 minutes ago, TigerB said:

Thanks for the thorough and informative update @Selbourne👍

 

Sorry to hear about your somewhat inferior meal in Epicurean. As you say, with the small number of covers in there, there should not have been an excuse for poorly cooked or prepared food. As a pescatarian, I generally have a fish course rather than a vegetarian or vegan course, and have had the scallop starter and black cod main several times. The scallops have always been perfectly cooked; mind you, the last time we were on Britannia was last September, and every other Epicurean visit since then has been on Arvia or Iona. Yes, we've had the training issue excuse, but not on Britannia.

All I can say is, if it doesn't improve and you decide to sack off your last two reservations, don't let that influence your decision to eat in there when you are on Iona next month. At least you should be able to pre-book on that cruise, so paying just under £44 for the two of you each time wouldn't leave such a bitter taste.

 

I get what you mean about the layout of the lunch menu, with it having the different sections for light options, large plates, and sharers (that aren't really), but we manage okay. You are as buffet averse as we are but, when you are on Iona next month, give the Quays a go.

 

Is the mocktail you had the cherry Bakewell one? That's the go-to one for the boss.

 

Haugesund today, then? Hopefully, you've managed okay with the wheelchair, be it on the shuttle or bouling into the town.

 

I look forward to hearing more about your trip.

Yes the Cherry Bakewell one was the nicest of the two 👍

 

We are definitely prepared to give Epicurean at least one more try. I certainly won’t bin it off based on one mediocre meal, but I felt a bit ripped off paying £60 for what we had. It just wasn’t good value, even with the great service and ambiance. Sindhu tonight so I hope that’s better. 
 

Yep, Haugesund today. It’s a glorious day here. 22 degrees and sunny. We are still on the ship and are going to attempt to get into town after lunch. I can see the Trolley Train and Hop on Hop Off Bus from our balcony and there seems to be a shuttle bus, even though most passengers are walking into town. Perhaps it’s a pay for one? I can’t see a wheelchair space on the road train but remember you saying that there was one, so we shall see what our options are when we get off later. I certainly don’t fancy pushing my wife over that bridge. It looks longer and steeper than I remember 😂 

[TigerB]

9 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Here's a photo of the bed lever installed Michelle. As I say, a bit different to the one on the website but does the same job. My wife says that she cannot feel the bit that goes under the mattress when she’s in bed. 
 

The accessible bathroom is very good although my wife is struggling to get up from the shower seat. She has knocked the plastic cowling off the basin u-bend a few times with the wheelchair, so the steward has given up now and removed it 😂 All a lot more modern than Aurora though and the ship is far easier to move around as most doors are automated. Very accessible friendly. 

 

Our lass sometimes has the same problem with getting up from the shower bench. Although they have the fixed rails in the shower area, they really need to have a pull down rail on the other side of the bench too. You will see from my previously posted photos that it is the same on Iona, and Arvia.  With it being electric, she doesn't leave her wheelchair in the bathroom while she showers, so when I take it back in, I can always help her up; however, not everyone has that option.

[Peanut006]

21 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Here's a photo of the bed lever installed Michelle. As I say, a bit different to the one on the website but does the same job. My wife says that she cannot feel the bit that goes under the mattress when she’s in bed. 
 

The accessible bathroom is very good although my wife is struggling to get up from the shower seat. She has knocked the plastic cowling off the basin u-bend a few times with the wheelchair, so the steward has given up now and removed it 😂 All a lot more modern than Aurora though and the ship is far easier to move around as most doors are automated. Very accessible friendly. 

Thank you for the photo and information. I may have to get one of these for our next cruise.

 

Michelle

[TigerB]

3 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Yes the Cherry Bakewell one was the nicest of the two 👍

 

We are definitely prepared to give Epicurean at least one more try. I certainly won’t bin it off based on one mediocre meal, but I felt a bit ripped off paying £60 for what we had. It just wasn’t good value, even with the great service and ambiance. Sindhu tonight so I hope that’s better. 
 

Yep, Haugesund today. It’s a glorious day here. 22 degrees and sunny. We are still on the ship and are going to attempt to get into town after lunch. I can see the Trolley Train and Hop on Hop Off Bus from our balcony and there seems to be a shuttle bus, even though most passengers are walking into town. Perhaps it’s a pay for one? I can’t see a wheelchair space on the road train but remember you saying that there was one, so we shall see what our options are when we get off later. I certainly don’t fancy pushing my wife over that bridge. It looks longer and steeper than I remember 😂 

 

Here's the link to my post for getting into town for Haugesund:

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2943400-not-quite-live-from-iona-g318-fjords-10th-june/page/8/#comment-65581293