Britannia - Refurb? And Cocktails? 😃

[Cruise enquirer]

Hello Folks

 

We have had one successful cruise with Britannia, one of our best, and we are considering one next year. But I have a couple of questions i thought i would share with you wise bunch…

 

1] Refurb/dry dock

 

i think she is due one in April, there is a gap in her itinerary, but i cant find anything about this. Anybody got any intel on this?

 

i dont know why, but i fear she will drop the fix dining time, which suits my family (ps. i have no evidence for this), so am interested in what’s proposed. With the changes that Iona and Arvia have brought, i do wonder whether the style of cruise she offers may change.

 

2] Cocktails

 

one of the issues we had last time was the poor drinks package, and generally limited cocktails list, well compared to most cruise lines. It’s a holiday pleasure for us.

 

The drinks list on P&O website is underwhelming, re cocktails etc, but i think it could be better in the Blue Bar or Andersons. Anybody recall what these were like? Were they different to other bars. Would they do a classic thats  not on the menu?

 

ok, first world questions, but it would appreciate any thoughts.

 

many thanks 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[molecrochip]

Refub - you are correct re April. I’ve heard nothing to suggest that Club (fixed) dining is being removed on Britannia.

[Selbourne]

I doubt that Club (fixed) dining will be removed on Britannia, as there is still a strong demand for it. In fact, some of the current problems with Freedom dining on one or two of the larger ships are partly caused by people still wishing to dine at the same time and on the same table every night. P&O are allowing this in order to try to pull more people into earlier dining times, which suits some, but it’s causing knock on issues later for others.
 

We were on Britannia in July and they were clearly struggling with Freedom Dining at peak times. If the one third of passengers who are currently on fixed dining are suddenly thrown into the mix of Freedom dining, my prediction would be that this would get even worse, even with all three main dining rooms adopting Freedom. Many of these passengers would be endeavouring to secure the equivalent of Club dining, the result of which being that Freedom dining doesn’t end up working properly for those who actually wish to use Freedom dining as it’s intended!

 

The powers that be at P&O haven’t been terribly smart in considering the second order effects of some of the changes that they have made with dining, even though many experienced customers could have predicted it. As an example, the concept of an app to book dining is great, but it falls over when they still allow walk ups, pre booked tables and pagers - all operating at the same time. The restaurant staff can’t cope, so switch the app to ‘Queue Full’ and prioritise walk ups, which makes a mockery of the whole thing. However, I think that even these P&O staffers would be able to predict that until they can sort the existing issues out, scrapping Club dining on ships where it’s established and popular would open up a whole new can of worms 😂 

[david63]

11 hours ago, Cruise enquirer said:

one of the issues we had last time was the poor drinks package, and generally limited cocktails list,

That was an issue last year due to the Covid restart - it may have improved as things have got back to more normality.

 

10 hours ago, Selbourne said:

The powers that be at P&O haven’t been terribly smart in considering the second order effects of some of the changes that they have made with dining, even though many experienced customers could have predicted it. As an example, the concept of an app to book dining is great, but it falls over when they still allow walk ups, pre booked tables and pagers - all operating at the same time. The restaurant staff can’t cope, so switch the app to ‘Queue Full’ and prioritise walk ups, which makes a mockery of the whole thing. However, I think that even these P&O staffers would be able to predict that until they can sort the existing issues out, scrapping Club dining on ships where it’s established and popular would open up a whole new can of worms

Other cruise lines, even within the Carnival group, can manage this without any major problems so I see no reason why P&O cannot.

 

One thing that baffles me is that Carnival group do not seem to use "best practice methods" like most other multi site companies.

[Megabear2]

All cruise lines have introduced apps for dining, all cruise lines let you ignore them - there's a lovely thread on RC at the moment where someone returning for their first cruise since 2019 is being reassured they can ignore it.  There are some pretty pictures over there of queues for the MDRs too.  In other words this isn't a P&O problem it's a returning to sailing problem for all lines.

 

P&O's problem appears to have been the way it's tried to adopt the new ways, a bit cackhanded on occasion and trying to tell the passengers you will do it this way, tough.  However they have learned you have to be flexible.

 

All the recent reviews, bar one from Arvia, are good and indicate the authoritarian approach has relaxed with the effect the 'important people' - the passengers - are now having great experiences.

 

There will inevitably be hard core groups who want what they've always had and the club dining will remain to give everyone a choice.  That is as it should be.  Trying to run before you could walk (not having the full technology for a proper app) inevitably upset a lot of people but even the RC, Celebrity and Princesses of this world who do have the technology have realised the cruising world simply isn't ready to accept a full remake of what a cruise is.

[Selbourne]

15 minutes ago, david63 said:

One thing that baffles me is that Carnival group do not seem to use "best practice methods" like most other multi site companies.

I agree David, and the biggest oddity is that they don’t even adopt better policies that they have within their own group! We did our first Cunard cruise on QM2 last year and could not believe how much better their disembarkation process was. Chalk and cheese compared to P&O and removed all of the hassle. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

15 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

All cruise lines have introduced apps for dining, all cruise lines let you ignore them - there's a lovely thread on RC at the moment where someone returning for their first cruise since 2019 is being reassured they can ignore it.  There are some pretty pictures over there of queues for the MDRs too.  In other words this isn't a P&O problem it's a returning to sailing problem for all lines.

 

P&O's problem appears to have been the way it's tried to adopt the new ways, a bit cackhanded on occasion and trying to tell the passengers you will do it this way, tough.  However they have learned you have to be flexible.

 

All the recent reviews, bar one from Arvia, are good and indicate the authoritarian approach has relaxed with the effect the 'important people' - the passengers - are now having great experiences.

 

There will inevitably be hard core groups who want what they've always had and the club dining will remain to give everyone a choice.  That is as it should be.  Trying to run before you could walk (not having the full technology for a proper app) inevitably upset a lot of people but even the RC, Celebrity and Princesses of this world who do have the technology have realised the cruising world simply isn't ready to accept a full remake of what a cruise is.

I guess that's another reason why P and O are putting a lot of efforts into attracting new cruisers who will have no pre-conceived ideas of how to book and more likely to embrace the apps and technology on board

 

I'm sure there will come a time when it's all done with technology (on some ships at least)

 

I also imagine Japanese cruise liners might be the place to see what's possible in that respect as well

 

 

Edited October 12, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Megabear2]

15 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I agree David, and the biggest oddity is that they don’t even adopt better policies that they have within their own group! We did our first Cunard cruise on QM2 last year and could not believe how much better their disembarkation process was. Chalk and cheese compared to P&O and removed all of the hassle. 

In fairness that embarkation process was only introduced at the restart by Cunard and they have continued it.  Prior to 2020 it was identical to P&Os.

[david63]

25 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

We did our first Cunard cruise on QM2 last year and could not believe how much better their disembarkation process was

We did a Princess cruise earlier this year and their disembarkation procedure was 100 times better than P&O's chaos!

[Selbourne]

10 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

In fairness that embarkation process was only introduced at the restart by Cunard and they have continued it.  Prior to 2020 it was identical to P&Os.

That’s interesting. Let’s hope that with Paul Ludlow now looking after both brands he experiences the better Cunard system and questions why P&O doesn’t adopt it. But then again……😂

[terrierjohn]

39 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

All cruise lines have introduced apps for dining, all cruise lines let you ignore them - there's a lovely thread on RC at the moment where someone returning for their first cruise since 2019 is being reassured they can ignore it.  There are some pretty pictures over there of queues for the MDRs too.  In other words this isn't a P&O problem it's a returning to sailing problem for all lines.

 

P&O's problem appears to have been the way it's tried to adopt the new ways, a bit cackhanded on occasion and trying to tell the passengers you will do it this way, tough.  However they have learned you have to be flexible.

 

All the recent reviews, bar one from Arvia, are good and indicate the authoritarian approach has relaxed with the effect the 'important people' - the passengers - are now having great experiences.

 

There will inevitably be hard core groups who want what they've always had and the club dining will remain to give everyone a choice.  That is as it should be.  Trying to run before you could walk (not having the full technology for a proper app) inevitably upset a lot of people but even the RC, Celebrity and Princesses of this world who do have the technology have realised the cruising world simply isn't ready to accept a full remake of what a cruise is.

Yes P&O's responses to the app issues does sort of remind me of the swamp draining story, with the restaurant staff frantically dodging alligators.

[GSPG]

11 hours ago, molecrochip said:

Refub - you are correct re April. I’ve heard nothing to suggest that Club (fixed) dining is being removed on Britannia.

Would you know if this meant the ship will have to go into dry dock to do the refurb?

Thanks

[david63]

42 minutes ago, GSPG said:

Would you know if this meant the ship will have to go into dry dock to do the refurb?

Thanks

If it follows the normal procedure then she will be going into dry dock for her "MOT" and other work will be being done at the same time

[Cruise enquirer]

Many thanks everyone.

 

the fixed dining is so much better for my family, so i am heartened to hear that opinion suggests it is likely to remain.

 

i hope they do something exciting in the refurb rather than add 100 rooms by taking things away, as cruise lines have done before

 

As a side note I’ve often wondered if they could do of a more staggered fixed dining, ie 4 times rather than two slots to even out the work load - but they dont so i assume its an operational reason.

 

Finally, it sounds silly to base a whole cruise on what cocktails are available (i wont do their drinks package ever again) but as other lines have so much more choice, it is off putting. If anyone can recall more about the choice in the Blue Bar or Andersons that would be appreciated. I have found one from the Crows bar but that wasn’t extensive.

 

Ta

[david63]

1 hour ago, Cruise enquirer said:

i hope they do something exciting in the refurb rather than add 100 rooms by taking things away, as cruise lines have done before

That would be a major refurbishment - this type of refit will probably be more cosmetic than anything else and probably you won't even notice the difference - that is if it follows the same pattern as other ships recently.

 

1 hour ago, Cruise enquirer said:

more about the choice in the Blue Bar or Andersons

There is no Andersons on Britannia (unfortunately)

Edited October 12, 2023 by david63

[AndyMichelle]

19 hours ago, Cruise enquirer said:

 

 

Finally, it sounds silly to base a whole cruise on what cocktails are available (i wont do their drinks package ever again) but as other lines have so much more choice, it is off putting. If anyone can recall more about the choice in the Blue Bar or Andersons that would be appreciated. I have found one from the Crows bar but that wasn’t extensive.

 

Ta

'Hunt the cocktail' is a game you have to play on Britannia unfortunately... 

There is an OK selection on board, but different ones are offered in different bars. 

If feasible, the bar staff will make you what you want, for example, we were having mojitos, mai tai etc all over the ship even though they were not on the menu, but couldn't track down the ever elusive 'raspberry creme brulee'...

Overall, not a great selection, but better than we first thought. 

Let's hope in the refurb, they introduce an 'Andersons'... Wishful thinking. 

Andy 

[Cruise enquirer]

Thank you both

 

glad it’s not just me on the cocktail front, but heartened to hear that asking around can help. Seems an easy fix and in today’s world an obvious one to enhance.

 

P&O are you listening? 😃

 

the dry dock doesn’t sound long enough for anything material but should provide a chance to freshen up, or maybe change a venue to two, as i understand they did last time with the atrium etc

 

ta

[Selbourne]

23 minutes ago, Cruise enquirer said:

Thank you both

 

glad it’s not just me on the cocktail front, but heartened to hear that asking around can help. Seems an easy fix and in today’s world an obvious one to enhance.

 

P&O are you listening? 😃

 

the dry dock doesn’t sound long enough for anything material but should provide a chance to freshen up, or maybe change a venue to two, as i understand they did last time with the atrium etc

 

ta

As Andy says, when we were on Britannia we discovered in our last week that whilst there were only a tiny few cocktails on each menu, if they had the ingredients they would make a different one for you. Seems daft that they don’t just put them in the menu to start with, as it must cost them sales. Conversely, when we were on Iona we found that they were more rigid about it. My daughter wanted a cocktail in the Crows Nest and they wouldn’t do it, even though they had all the ingredients available 🙄

 

Manage your expectations when it comes to what P&O terms a refit. These are almost always confined to mechanical running repairs to meet maritime regulations (which are invisible to passengers) and things like replacing worn carpets and seating. They can be a bit ‘blink and you miss them’. They are often trumpeted as “multi million £ refresh” but on something the size of a cruise ship, just changing carpets and other furnishings easily runs into millions!

[Guest]

The cocktail issue really bugs me on P&O. I love a martini, margarita, mojito etc. Other cruise lines let you order anything and they will make it, even if it’s not on the menu.

 

I tried this on Iona and they wouldn’t budge. I asked for a Miami Vice around the pool one day. For those who don’t know, it’s a frozen cocktail- half strawberry daiquiri, half Pina Colada. They wouldn’t do it. So I had to order a strawberry daiquiri, a pina colada and 2 cups. Absolutely ridiculous. And the frozen drinks are never made properly. I don’t know if the machine just doesn’t work or they don’t use enough ice? Never had a good frozen drink on P&O.

 

Pre Covid, they did a ‘Patron Palmoa’- one of my all time favourite cocktails. Post Covid, it’s gone from the menu and they won’t make it. It’s just tequila, grapefruit juice and soda water. 
 

The only drinks they seem to get right is a Gin and Tonic. Good range of gins and they use fevertree. Celebrity take note 😂

 

[david63]

I think that there three possible problems with cocktails:

 

1. Does the bartender know how to make one that is not on the list? If he is relatively new to P&O then he may not.

2. If it is not on the list then what price do they charge?

3. If it is not on the list and they charge for something similar then when there is a bar audit (yes they do audit the bar stocks) there will be discrepancies. I don't know the ramifications of being short on an audit but I guess that it does not bode well for the bartenders and/or bar manager.

[Interestedcruisefan]

On Arvia last Feb there were a great selection of special spiced cocktails in the bar menu at Sindhu. However when we went on Iona they weren't showing on their drinks menu for Sindhu. But might be worth taking a look in Sindhu when you are on Brittania in case they are offering them on their menu?

 

Mainly rum cocktails in Anderson's bar on Arvia and iona but also a big choice of gin and tonics

 

I love the negroni cocktails in 710 club maybe brittania will get one of those in due course?

 

Again I've said it many times that the extra bar options on the bigger ships do make the cruises more fun and special for us

[Selbourne]

15 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Again I've said it many times that the extra bar options on the bigger ships do make the cruises more fun and special for us

Yet, as several of us are saying, on Iona they wouldn’t make it if it wasn’t on the restricted list of what was shown per bar. On Britannia they would. 
 

@david63 I think on Iona it was option 1 on your list. The other options don’t apply when the drinks are available in other bars, as there is a price for them and they are on their system. 

[Britboys]

On 10/12/2023 at 9:27 AM, david63 said:

We did a Princess cruise earlier this year and their disembarkation procedure was 100 times better than P&O's chaos!

I don't know how the other lines differ from P&O but I must say that my disembarkation from Aurora in August was superb. Calm, quiet, ordered and efficient.

[Britboys]

23 hours ago, Cruise enquirer said:

Many thanks everyone.

 

the fixed dining is so much better for my family, so i am heartened to hear that opinion suggests it is likely to remain.

 

i hope they do something exciting in the refurb rather than add 100 rooms by taking things away, as cruise lines have done before

 

As a side note I’ve often wondered if they could do of a more staggered fixed dining, ie 4 times rather than two slots to even out the work load - but they dont so i assume its an operational reason.

 

Finally, it sounds silly to base a whole cruise on what cocktails are available (i wont do their drinks package ever again) but as other lines have so much more choice, it is off putting. If anyone can recall more about the choice in the Blue Bar or Andersons that would be appreciated. I have found one from the Crows bar but that wasn’t extensive.

 

Ta

Don't think I've ever seen an "exciting" P&O refurb... 🙂

[Megabear2]

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

things like replacing worn carpets and seating.

These seem to be two things featuring very much in the "negative" points people are currently mentioning along with staining.  It may remove a lot of these minor issues if they are indeed replaced. Fingers crossed.