2nd Amazing Caribbean Cruise on Britannia
Britannia Cruise Review to Caribbean
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 59
Caribbean
Sail date: February 14, 2020
Ship: Britannia
Cabin number: C202
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 4 years ago
Review summary
We’re back after another fantastic Caribbean cruise on Britannia. We did same cruise 14 months ago so knew what to expect but this time we did tours through P&O and Cosol tours in St Lucia rather than our own thing. Ship looks amazing after refit. 🚢All areas easily accessible even without midship stairs. We thoroughly enjoyed walking from one end to the other visiting every public space (we’re very lucky we are able to). It was a great way to familiarise ourselves again where everything was. 🚢 The Headliner shows we saw were just excellent. Sound of the Underground is a must see. The acts were great too. The entire crew work endlessly to ensure you are well cared for from cabin stewards, waiting staff, bar staff to chefs. 🚢 We did the ships galley tour which was so informative and fantastic to see what goes on behind the scenes. Over 16000 meals prepared EACH DAY‼️ if you can get on it it’s well worth the money. Champagne and canapés included and informative talks from chefs. 🚢 We loved dressing up each evening and there are some stunning outfits out there. It was so lovely to see people so happy. Plenty of venues to sit and relax both pre & after meals. Atrium, Brodie’s, Java, Blue Bar to name a few. All very comfortable too. If you don’t want to dress up there are venues you can choose which are less formal. Horizon, glass house. Limelight club. 🚢 The restaurants have a very efficient way of allocating tables at your request. We were freedom dining so ate at different times but never waited for more that 20 minutes. Just enough time to get a cheeky G&T. Food was excellent both in presentation and amount. We were spoilt for choice. On a couple of occasions we ate in The Horizon which again was magnificent in choices. We also ate in The Glass House and Sindhu. Excellent choices. 🚢 The Lido deck is a hive of activity all day. Great music, quizzes, crew competitions. You can get involved or not totally upto you. Also has costa coffee, and eateries if you choose not to eat inside. The serenity pool was lovely too. Adults only and waiter service available. Yes the sun beds are all covered in towels first thing and this is an ongoing issue that P&O really should manage better but there didn’t seem to be anyone monitoring it and there are definitely some selfish, and privileged feeling guests out there. However I personally always managed to secure a bed on deck mainly I think because I only needed one as hubby sat in the shaded areas, and I was never on deck that early so a few beds were always available. 🚢 we did 4 P&O trips. Swimming with Turtles Barbados. Catamaran to underwater statues followed by lobster lunch on Hog Island in Grenada. Railway in St Kitts and Swimming with stingrays in Antigua. We also did a private tour in St Lucia with Cosol Tours (2nd time). Every trip without exception was excellent. Other days we did our own thing in ports. 🚢 If I have one gripe it has to be The Live Lounge. It’s a lovely venue that hosts good acts. However having been on 2 cruises on Britannia we have encountered issues with the seating in there. First time we chose seats just behind the barrier by the entrance. We were there very early as we wanted to see a specific act. however when the theatre emptied at 8:30 pm the crowd streamed in and over 100 people stood directly in front of the barrier rending our view of the stage to zero. This offended a lot of guests who had been waiting patiently to see the act. Unfortunately there was a lot of unpleasantness between those seated and standing. Exactly the same thing happened last week even though we sat in different seats. I feel the way the Live Lounge is set up with various levels cordoned with barriers it automatically lends itself for guests to stand there when no seats are available. As I say that is honestly the only issue I have with this beautiful ship and we addressed it by choosing other venues of which there are plenty. That’s it folks. If you’re lucky enough to be going on Britannia anytime soon I sincerely hope you bring back some precious memories as we have. Happy Cruising 🚢Embarkation
Very quick and smooth process
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Ate in Horizon, Meridian, Peninsular, Glass House Sindhu. Grab & Go and Lido Deck. All faultless. Professional service. Amazing waiters. Stunning food. Horizon selection something for everyone all of the time.
Onboard Activities
Enjoyed the lido pools and daily competitions.
Lido Pool
Lovely area. Great music. However P&O really do need someone to manage the reserving of sun beds that are not used for hours on end. Other cruise lines leave a note on a bed empty for over an hour. It caused unnecessary animosity amongst guests. A dedicated sunbed employee is required.
Entertainment
Headliners shows were brilliant. Very professional. Live bands also excellent. Theatre acts very enjoyable. DJs played some excellent music. Sailsways good fun.
Children's Programs
No children with us.
Service and Staff
Waiters, cabin crew, reception, bar staff. Everyone without exception made us feel very welcome and special. They work tirelessly and are a credit to the fleet.
Ship Quality
Cannot fault design or cleanliness of all areas with the exception of The Live Lounge. Second time on Britannia. Both occasions have visited Live Lounge numerous times. WITHOUT EXCEPTION there have been issues with theatre goers streaming in and standing in front of sitting guests. I complained on earlier cruise re this but nothing has changed. Live Lounge layout dies not cater for the amount of guests that use it for live acts. Very unpleasant experiences in there. Also experienced toilet blockages which took over 24 hours to sort. All toilets outside Headliner Theatre blocked for over 24 hours. Had to have a good track towards Sindhu to reach working order ones.
Cabin / Stateroom
Excellent no complaints.
Ship tip
Enjoy your experience and make the most of your time.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Only went as far as port shops first day. Second day P&O trip swimming with turtles. 6 hr. trip. Lunch and drink included. Fabulous.
Loved it here. Sat beside the river with coffee and cake and watched the swinging bridge in action. We saw the biggest container ship ever going past whilst the bridge was open.
Went on catamaran lobster & champagne lunch on Hog Island. Never got to see the underwater statues as sea too rough. Lunch & trip very enjoyable.
Found the french people we spoke too quite rude. Ordered a latte from hut by park. Served an expresso then argued with me it was a latte. Also told to move very abruptly to different table. Tried to use McDonalds toilets. All out of order. Not a great experience.
We went in a Cosol tours trip (2nd time). Enjoyed it as much again. Saw lots of the island. Ate, drank, snorkelled, banana plantation, speed boat. Most excellent day. Aldi it was their Independence Day. Carnival atmosphere electric.
Disembarkation
Seamless and professional.
Traveler Photos
