Final Thoughts on our Britannia cruise & ‘the cutbacks’

[jeanlyon]

As we both drink wine mostly, it would make far more sense to buy a bottle in Andersons or Crows Nest and take it to dinner.  Can you do that.  I've never bought a bottle in the bar before.

[Britboys]

Like you @Selbourne, I was a bit anxious about post-Covid cruising before I sailed on Aurora last summer. Yes, there were definitely things that I missed - and will continue to miss - but by and large I was pleasantly surprised.

The only thing that really let it down to a significant extent for me was the dining experience in the mdr and Horizon buffet. I came across a number of poor dishes and a lot of repetition. Fortunately I am on board for 7 nights fewer this year so maybe it will not be as noticeable...

[Britboys]

3 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

As we both drink wine mostly, it would make far more sense to buy a bottle in Andersons or Crows Nest and take it to dinner.  Can you do that.  I've never bought a bottle in the bar before.

No idea Jean. I prefer to buy wine in the restaurant. I usually have either a g&t, a glass of bubbly or a dry vermouth over ice for my pre-dinner tipple.

[Winifred 22]

59 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

I took a box of Heroes and did my own turndown ...... made hubby laugh but it was nice to come back to 😉

I took a box of chocolates too and allowed myself two each night. 

[Selbourne]

Speciality Restaurants, Bars & Entertainment

 

SPECIALITY RESTAURANTS 

 

We dined in Epicurean four times, Sindhu & the Beach House twice each and Limelight Club once. We enjoyed most of our meals, and service was generally very good, but there was probably more inconsistency in these restaurants than the MDR. I’ve covered the detail in my review but, in summary, the first of our four meals in Epicurean was below par, as was the second one in Sindhu. There was evidence of cost cutting in speciality restaurants as well, which I was particularly disappointed with given that you pay extra to use these restaurants. This was most evident in Epicurean where the table side prep has yet to return, in spite of being advertised (I believe that this may be unique to Britannia and they told me this will return in August - let’s see). This isn’t just about theatre - the crepe’s Suzette, which used to be excellent, was pre-prepped in the kitchen and was very poor. The lovely choice of petit fours has gone and all you get now are the same ones that you get in the MDR. In Sindhu the petit fours have disappeared completely and you don’t get offered tea or coffee, but it’s available if you request it. No hot drinks offered in the Beach House either, but that might always have been the case - we couldn’t remember. Oddly, some tables in the Limelight Club were offered tea or coffee but others, including ours, weren’t. The waiters seemed to vanish once the act had finished (worth noting that the performances are shorter now than they used to be). Any amuse bouche, whether in the MDR or speciality restaurants, are no longer food, but little drinks served in tiny glasses. Bit of a waste of time IMHO. 

 

BARS

 

There are no pre dinner canapés in the posh bars any more and even the nibbles have disappeared. In all honesty, with the amount that we eat on cruises they aren’t necessary, but it’s another nice little touch that’s gone. One thing that threw us was that there was a much reduced choice of drinks in the bars (e.g. non-alcoholic cocktails down from about 6 to 2). However, a few days from the end of our cruise we discovered that you can order drinks that aren’t listed. Strange policy not to list them. Some drinks aren’t available due to shortages of ingredients though 🤔

 

ENTERTAINMENT

Evening entertainment seemed to be similar to pre-Covid. Daytime entertainment has always been weak IMHO and remains so, but we really noticed the cut back in the one thing that usually does appeal to us - guest lecturers. On 14 night cruises there used to be at least 2 guest lecturers on sea days, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, covering very different subjects. That had been cut to one for the whole cruise and unfortunately the subjects of his talks did not appeal to us. We really missed that and our saviour was the interactive TV that the newer ships have, as we caught up on some films. On the older ship, we would have been bored rigid on the sea days as the TVs are almost unwatchable and don’t have films on demand (unless that’s changed). 

 

[Gettingwarmer]

1 hour ago, AndyMichelle said:

I know, but we got it. 

We wouldn't have minded sharing if we had to, at least we would know when we were eating... 

Fortunately, it seemed on our cruise that the majority had requested freedom as half the fixed dining restaurant was closed off on the first night, with plenty of tables for 2 available. After the shambles of the first evening with the app, loads of them had switched to club dining. 

Andy 

 

If this is a future cruise you will not know that you have got a table for two until the first night. It is only a request. Are you taking about a past cruise?

[Presto2]

2 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

If this is a future cruise you will not know that you have got a table for two until the first night. It is only a request. Are you taking about a past cruise?

Am guessing Andy is talking about a very recent cruise that he has done. He changed to fixed dining and second seating. 

[AndyMichelle]

3 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

If this is a future cruise you will not know that you have got a table for two until the first night. It is only a request. Are you taking about a past cruise?

Yes, we returned from Britannia 2 weeks ago. 

Are you bothering to read the posts before responding? 

The fact that I mentioned half the restaurant being closed and the shambles on the first night might have been a clue!!! 

 

[Gettingwarmer]

3 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Yes, we returned from Britannia 2 weeks ago. 

Are you bothering to read the posts before responding? 

The fact that I mentioned half the restaurant being closed and the shambles on the first night might have been a clue!!! 

 

Yes I do read the posts. 

I called P&O, after fighting through the automated nonsense and waiting 45 minutes, the nice lady swapped it with no issues. 

Andy 

 

The above post confused me. I was just pointing out to other people that just because you request a table for two doesn’t automatically mean you will get one. If you are happy to share that’s fine. 

[Selbourne]

AND FINALLY….

 

A few final bits and bobs that are worth mentioning. 
 

Passenger Profile - concern has been expressed on this forum that the cheaper prices will change the demographic of P&O customers beyond all recognition. Even though this was a keenly priced cruise, we found the profile to be very similar to our past cruises and we had a lot of enjoyable chats with fellow passengers.

 

Maintenance - absolutely no evidence of any cost cutting here. Everything was in excellent order (apart from some persistent lift issues). 
 

Cleaning - again, excellent. Every toilet that we used around the ship was always spotless. Let’s be honest, that doesn’t always happen elsewhere. 
 

Air Conditioning - One cost cutting measure that is probably resulting in massive savings but nobody had mentioned previously, is that the thermostats appear to have been cranked up a few degrees. In the past, my wife used to often comment that certain areas of the ship felt very cool and in the evenings she would often put on an extra layer. Both of us commented that this wasn’t the case this time and, if anything, there were a few areas that were a bit too warm, where a tad more air con would have been appreciated. 

 

Service - If P&O are going to persevere with the app, they need more staff in the MDRs to clear tables and re-lay for the next guests. This was taking too long, especially when you then have to factor in the 15 minutes that people are allowed before turning up at the restaurant. This was another factor that contributed to the long wait times. However, that aside, the service that we received throughout the ship was very good and didn’t feel any different to pre-Covid.

 

FINALLY FINALLY!

 

I am conscious that I have mentioned all the things that we noticed were missing or had changed but I will end where I started and say that, in totality, we still had an enjoyable cruise and have certainly not been put off from using P&O. Having read countless reviews over the last year or so, we were fearful that our days with P&O might be coming to an end. This is not the case based on this cruise. Those who are new to cruising will not notice all these things and those of us who miss some of them have the consolation that we are paying less for our cruises now than we were before. Admittedly, we have booked a few more Cunard cruises because their dining arrangements suit us far better, but for what we paid for this cruise it was excellent value. 
 

Over the next few months we have cruises on Iona and Ventura. It will be very interesting to see how they compare.

[AndyMichelle]

11 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

 

 

Edited July 23, 2023 by AndyMichelle

[Selbourne]

5 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

You have to do what suits you, but what is the sense of the app then? 

This was also our experience, walk ups being given priority. 

Surely either use the app or don't... 

Andy 

This was the biggest issue for me Andy. We used the app religiously, yet those that didn’t were often getting seated quicker, which makes a mockery of the whole thing. Given that there are people who can’t or won’t use the app, they have to have two systems running and the app becomes the casualty, as it’s easier to press the ‘Queue Full’ button than manage disgruntled passengers face to face. That’s why I think that the previous sole system of first come, first served worked so much better for both passengers and staff. We have used Freedom Dining since it first started and loved it. Now you need a logistics strategy to dine when you want to 😂. If people don’t want to deal with these challenges the two options are Club dining or if using Freedom, dine early. 

[Selbourne]

2 hours ago, Gettingwarmer said:

You have asked for a table for two. It does not mean one will be allocated to you. It depends on demand. 

This is the sole reason why we are reluctant to change to Club dining. If we could 100% guarantee a table for 2 we would change in a heartbeat. 

[Selbourne]

2 hours ago, miniyorkie said:

 I am surprised at the MDR wine not kept with cabin number for the following evening. This  was available on Britannia in February.  We did note that we could take the wine out of MDR in the  glasses provided  whereas  previously we had to decant into generic wine glasses to take out. 

It may be that they still offer this service in Club dining? Perhaps someone who has been in Club dining recently can confirm?

[AndyMichelle]

8 hours ago, Selbourne said:

This was the biggest issue for me Andy. We used the app religiously, yet those that didn’t were often getting seated quicker, which makes a mockery of the whole thing. Given that there are people who can’t or won’t use the app, they have to have two systems running and the app becomes the casualty, as it’s easier to press the ‘Queue Full’ button than manage disgruntled passengers face to face. That’s why I think that the previous sole system of first come, first served worked so much better for both passengers and staff. We have used Freedom Dining since it first started and loved it. Now you need a logistics strategy to dine when you want to 😂. If people don’t want to deal with these challenges the two options are Club dining or if using Freedom, dine early. 

As you would expect, the app for freedom dining was the constant conversation around the ship. 

On the shared tables in the mornings, the 'breakfast braggers' were very quick to tell the app users who had waited ages to be called or couldn't join a virtual queue that they 'just walked up' and got in no problem. 

I bet that made them feel much better😂

Andy 

[seapals2]

It would make sense to store opened bottles for passengers with a fixed table.  We often ate at different restaurants and it made finding the bottle more hassle.  Taking a bottle of wine back to the cabin of course gives passengers the opportunity to add their own wine to the same bottle to take back to the dining room. There will be a lot less wine purchased and a lot more carried onboard.  
For us P&O never grasped freedom dining like other lines.  Eventually they will train passengers back to two seatings.  😊  or like ourselves only cruise with them when we can get a good deal on a suite.  Then you get all the ‘extras’ that are now missing as standard.  However even in a suite evening dining was not easy with no dedicated dining room or even a separate area where you had a table allocated.  This was something they said might be addressed .. has anyone got recent experience?   We have no future cruises booked with P&O .. two with Princess .. that kind of tells its own story!  

[Fionboard]

12 hours ago, Britboys said:

It will be interesting to see whether there are some small differences on Aurora or Arcadia Jean. Iirc, people had said last summer that you couldn't leave part of a bottle of wine on the table to be brought out the next night but on Club Dining that wasn't the case. I had a wine package and my opened bottles were always kept for the next night.

On Arcadia in June you had to take the bottle away with you on club dining. Cut my alcohol intake down as I only had one glass with dinner! 

[laslomas]

Just a little query - with no evening turndown service, when is the Daily programme delivered? Is it just in the post box?

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, Fionboard said:

On Arcadia in June you had to take the bottle away with you on club dining. Cut my alcohol intake down as I only had one glass with dinner! 

Well they will definitely lose out with me if that's the case on Aurora too. I normally have a wine package and have a couple of glasses with dinner. I'll only have one like you if they won't keep the bottles.

Another little nail in P&O's coffin for me.

[purplesea]

23 minutes ago, laslomas said:

Just a little query - with no evening turndown service, when is the Daily programme delivered? Is it just in the post box?

Yes, it's left in the post box, along with any other information, leaflets etc,

[Fionboard]

12 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Well they will definitely lose out with me if that's the case on Aurora too. I normally have a wine package and have a couple of glasses with dinner. I'll only have one like you if they won't keep the bottles.

Another little nail in P&O's coffin for me.

Same on Aurora in May. Boarding her again tomorrow so I'll let you know! 

[Angel57]

3 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Same on Aurora in May. Boarding her again tomorrow so I'll let you know! 

Am envious! Loved my cruise on her a few weeks ago.

Have a lovely holiday.

[Selbourne]

5 minutes ago, laslomas said:

Just a little query - with no evening turndown service, when is the Daily programme delivered? Is it just in the post box?

Yep. 

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, laslomas said:

Just a little query - with no evening turndown service, when is the Daily programme delivered? Is it just in the post box?

Horizon is In your post box.

We saw a member of housekeeping walking down the corridor putting a copy in everyone's post box.

[indiana123]

13 hours ago, Winifred 22 said:

I took a box of chocolates too and allowed myself two each night. 

 

 

Would that be two layers!!🤣

 

If I had the box in front of me I couldn't stop at two chocs.... you must have great willpower and probably a small waist.  You have my admiration!😊🤣