Honest Britannia reviews please?

[MellyMoo1989]

Hello all 🙂 My name is Melanie, I'm new here to the forum so apologies if this isn't ok to ask, but I was hoping to get some reviews on Britannia please? Due to go on the 10th Anniversary sailing (B514) in June 2025 and it'll be my first time on a P&O ship. (I have previously cruised with Marella). I've seen a lot of people comparing it to Benidorm/Butlins which I am taking with a very large pinch of salt but wondered if anyone could please shed some light on what to expect? For those that have cruised with both Marella and P&O, what was it like in comparison?

 

Thanking you in advance. 🙂

[TigerB]

Welcome to the boards Melanie 👋🏻

 

Firstly, have you read the reviews on this site? There are a lot of favourable ones, and several very unfavourable ones. You need to read quite a few to get a good grasp, with salt at the ready. In my opinion, some folk like to moan for the sake of moaning.

You will also need to search the P&O boards for live or post-cruise reports; some contributors (and I'm guilty of this) will post reports but not get around to adapting them to an actual review in the designated location for them.

@Selbourne is just one contributor that always provides balanced reporting of life onboard. His live reporting from a cruise on Britannia in 2023 can be found here...

His 'post-mortem' after returning can be found here... 

 

I've never heard Britannia being compared to Benidorm or Butlins; I'm aware of folk comparing Arvia or Iona to those two destinations, but not Britannia.

 

We have sailed on her twice; as a couple on a Caribbean cruise in 2018 to celebrate my 50th birthday, and with our children and their partners on a Baltic cruise in 2022 to celebrate my retirement.  We had a great time on both cruises.

More recently we have sailed on Arvia and Iona, which for my wife offer more advanced accessible features, but we would definitely cruise again on Britannia, subject to the right itinerary.

 

When we last sailed on her they weren't using the (not always popular) My Holiday app/non-app, so getting into dining locations was a breeze. Like with other ships, the introduction of My Holiday as the preferred method of booking dining reservations and theatre shows has not been without problems on Britannia.

We're not really into the 'in-house' theatre shows, so gave them a wide berth. There was plenty of other things available to entertain us. We found the house band Pulse on Britannia to be the best of all the other versions. Our kids and their partners loved the silent disco.

 

We found the food (buffet excluded) to go be of good enough quality for us. Our eldest daughter had sailed on one of the Marella ships the year before; she said there were more GF options in the buffet on that ship, but the options and quality of food for her in the MDRs was better on Britannia.

 

 

There's plenty of time before your cruise, so you should be able to glean a wealth of information on here.  Enjoy your planning. 🙂

[queeniemi]

Another newbie to Britannia here. I’m curious about alcohol, does it mean liquor not just wine? Also is there a spot to get coffee really, really early?

Thank you in advance, Stacy

[Pine Man]

Honest Britannia reviews please?

 

An unfortunate title for your first forum post!

 

You only want honest reviews, suggesting that you consider some or many of them are dishonest?

[Cathygh]

4 hours ago, queeniemi said:

Another newbie to Britannia here. I’m curious about alcohol, does it mean liquor not just wine? Also is there a spot to get coffee really, really early?

Thank you in advance, Stacy

it means liqour/spirits/beer/wine etc. You can make coffee in your cabin, kettle etc is provided, or from the buffet from 6am

[Cathygh]

I was on Britannia in November, everything was fine. My main dislike was thst someof he Headliners' (in house singers/dancers) singers screech. The food was better than our cruise on Arcadia in August. If I had a complaint it would be that some of the towels and linen have seen better days  but they might have been replace by June. I can't comment on the Butlins comparison as it's 30 years since I've been to one.

[purplesea]

We (an extended family of 7) were on Birtannia in September and had a really enjoyable cruise, no problems at all.

[MellyMoo1989]

1 hour ago, Pine Man said:

Honest Britannia reviews please?

 

An unfortunate title for your first forum post!

 

You only want honest reviews, suggesting that you consider some or many of them are dishonest?

when I say “honest reviews” I mean something that is a little bit more detailed than “Floating Butlins, don’t waste your money” with no further context or information which I’ve seen more than a few times on trip advisor/google. If someone has a negative cruise experience than that’s fine it’s not for everyone, I get that, however Fraudulent reviews can be found anywhere but I’d like to think somewhere like here may be a little more accurate. 

[9265359]

12 hours ago, RebelWithoutAClue said:

I've seen a lot of people comparing it to Benidorm/Butlins which I am taking with a very large pinch of salt but wondered if anyone could please shed some light on what to expect?

 

Well the last time I went to Butlins was in the 1970's and I am sure much has changed since then, but it certainly isn't like Benidorm, and despite what some people here suggest, neither are Arvia or Iona.

 

What you will be picking up from here is that over the last decade P&O (as a brand within Carnival Corporation) has changed pretty dramatically. Go back a decade and it was more elderly and far more 'middle England'.

 

The changes to the P&O brand were starting to happen before 2020 but the events of 2020 accelerated them, and with a lot of cabins to fill and debts to pay P&O has cut prices and has cut services - much to the dislike of some because now those who could not previously afford a cruise now can with P&O and are doing so - I was recently on Azura and there were plenty of people on board commenting on how they had paid £500 each for a 7 day fly cruise to the Canary Islands - now that is Benidorm money.

 

Britannia as a ship is fine, although personally I find it is slightly dated, but not as much as Azura / Ventura, and I prefer the more modern styling of Iona / Arvia.

 

Food on P&O ships seems to have retreated over the last few years, not so much in quality but in choice, with it retreating back to the rather safe / dull offerings that might have been found in provincial UK restaurants in the 1980s - it certainly isn't anywhere close to the range and variety of food available on any high street in the UK or offered on the other Carnival brand ships such as Costa.

 

Entertainment has also changed, with a higher proportion of X Factor or other TV show singers - but they seem to popular with the people on board.

 

In summary, it isn't Butlins / Benidorm, but it has become a product priced down to a cost aimed to attract a mass market consumer base.

 

[Interestedcruisefan]

In June you won't be in school holidays

 

You will enjoy a quality cruise 

 

Nothing like Butlins

 

The closest thing to Butlins on Arvia and Iona would be Brodies bar or the Clubhouse bar at busy times 

 

Both places are very easy to avoid if you don't like busy atmospheres 

 

(Can't remember if Britannia has those exact bars or has equivalents) we went on her on a staycation cruise for 3 days

 

You have got absolutely nothing to worry about

 

And you will always be able to find some good food to enjoy 

Edited January 6 by Interestedcruisefan

[Presto2]

2 hours ago, Pine Man said:

Honest Britannia reviews please?

 

An unfortunate title for your first forum post!

 

You only want honest reviews, suggesting that you consider some or many of them are dishonest?

And a snide remark for your 4th post sadly. I totally get the phrase as I sometimes say .. "Be really honest and tell me...."

 

Welcome Rebel. I wrote a long review for Britannia in June. Off to find it for you.

Lovely ship so no worries :-)

[TigerB]

I missed this one, I don't know why. I have just read it👍

 

@RebelWithoutAClue, check out the review by @Presto2; another good read and well balanced report.

[Camberley]

I love Britannia as it feels warm, inviting, elegant without being stuffy/snooty but without coming across as cheap and tacky. I like its internal layout and it not being too large. It is hard to describe but for me it has a lovely “feel” and atmosphere without being quite the “pack em all in and be damned” mentality of some of the larger ships/some other cruise - but some folk like that and fair enough!

 

Even in school holidays Britannia never feels quite as “holiday camp like” that I find Iona and Arvia can almost feel like (just a personal opinion - and I do like a holiday camp from time to time!). But as indeed can ships on other cruise lines. Besides, you get to know where onboard to avoid if you don’t want to be amid families/kids activities - and they are hardly a dominating presence on Britannia. Mind you, I’ve been on ships/with other lines that have been supposedly more upmarket and some of the adult behaviour has been appalling and created a very naff experience.

 

At the end of the day, P&0 is at the “budget” end of the cruise lines. But that’s fine: it is what it is and it does offer value for money and some excellent experiences - especially if going with a mindset of wanting to enjoy the cruise. And for us Britannia is a lovely ship, with so much to do and enjoy: our favourite in the fleet.

Edited January 6 by Camberley

[zap99]

15 hours ago, RebelWithoutAClue said:

Hello all 🙂 My name is Melanie, I'm new here to the forum so apologies if this isn't ok to ask, but I was hoping to get some reviews on Britannia please? Due to go on the 10th Anniversary sailing (B514) in June 2025 and it'll be my first time on a P&O ship. (I have previously cruised with Marella). I've seen a lot of people comparing it to Benidorm/Butlins which I am taking with a very large pinch of salt but wondered if anyone could please shed some light on what to expect? For those that have cruised with both Marella and P&O, what was it like in comparison?

 

Thanking you in advance. 🙂

We have been on Britannia half a dozen times. We have enjoyed every one of them. I'm sure some of the Butlins references are from posh folk who think ordinary folk shouldn't be allowed on P&O. I also believe they haven't cruised for years and have never been to Butlins. I went in 1969 and had a brilliant time, but me and my friends were 19. There is a very honest blog on these boards from Selbourne...About Britannia,  not Butlins. 🤣

[Presto2]

Hello Rebel (hope its ok to shorten your name 🙂 )

 

Here is our review from May / June 2023.

 

To be fair I think that some things have improved since - e.g. the ability to book select dining before you sail. 

 

We are off on Britannia again very soon, so will be posting another review when we get back and picking up on things that we were negative about to see if things have changed.

 

 

 

[Bazrat]

We have been on Britannia a few times twice doing a TA, we enjoyed the experience on all occasions, the food as always been good in our opinion plus the entertainment as been a bit mixed depending on the team who was on that particular cruise, the cabins and general appearance of the ship was good last time we was on.

[Harryjacobs]

Having had the misfortune of visiting Butlins last year for a break, let me reasure you that despite the histrionics of others, P&O are nothing like Butlins, in fact not even close.

[Technoman2]

We have been on both Marella (Spirit,Celebration, Majesty and Discovery) and P&O , (Ventura , Azura, Britannia, Iona and Arvia) . In my opinion there is not a lot of difference between the two apart from the newer P&O ships. I found the Entertainment as good on Marella as it is on P&O. I also found that some over indulged in the all inclusive on Marella and became rowdy and drunk even in the shows on Spirit.

That said we also had a recent experience of that on Britannia but only an isolated incident. I have left a full review in the reviews section and have a look at it if you want and it is a fair and Honest report of our experience. I guess if its a 10th anniversary sailing you are going on they will try to make the trip more special.