Second cruise with RC, first one was on the Navigator (pre refurbishment) and that was so much better, as my wife is in a wheelchair there were many issues that we feel should be addressed:- -Lack of unisex accessible toilets, only one on deck 12, or its back to your room. - Great idea to put a piano in a lift at peak times which in effect made lift unusable, and yes they put a piano in a lift.....great idea that was - Sun beds rammed in side by side with no access from the sides unless you spend 30 mins dragging other ones out of the way - Apart from deck 4, there were no Sun lounges available - State rooms were shabby and need updating - The so called multi million pound refurbishment was obviously not spent on interior decoration - Windjammer menus seemed to repeated every other day and food was on many occasions cold - It was like a treasure hunt most days in the Windjammer to find the vegetables, which again were cold - On the other extreme you would get second degree burns from the utensils that were kept under the lamps In summary, RC seems to be focusing on quantity and not quality, can we please have the ship's back as they were..... Read Less

My husband and I celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary in August, 2019. Taking a look at our bucket list in 2018 it was decided to take a River Cruise and booked Emerald, mainly due to comments from reviews and chatting to others that have taken this type of a cruise. We absolutely loved it. Check in was incredibly stress free. We arrived several hours before departure, absolutely not a problem, checked in, our room was ready, went to the lounge area where they had food and beverages available. As other guests arrived, you felt really comfortable chatting and getting to know each other as we were going to be together for 7 days. The staff on our cruise we’re amazing. Always a hello, can I help you with something. Chatted with you for a few moments. If there was anything you required you just had to ask and they did there best to make you happy. The meals were delicious. Buffet for breakfast and lunch. Different choices everyday. Dinner, generally several options to choose from. If the items of the day were not something you desired, there were more choices on the menu to choose from. My husband and I received an awesome anniversary cake. Our room was beautiful. #307. Quiet, comfortable bed, lots of storage area to remove your clothes from the suitcase. We had a lovely balcony. Everyday there was a different excursion possibly two. Very well organized. Mostly mid morning. The river was very calm and quiet. Stunning views, castles, small towns. Michael, the cruise director, explained everything thoroughly the day before. We were so fortunate, no water level issues. Absolutely loved going through all the Locke’s. Thank you to the staff on the Emerald Sky for such a wonderful experience. It was sad to leave on the last day as you meet so many wonderful people. Read Less

Suberb,clean,modern,well organized ship.Armin, room steward and Michael cruise director were charming helpful and kind.Great staff, meals and itinerary.ThanksCaptain Stamen for great leadership! The included on shore trips were great. HOWEVER, those with canes, or disabilities don't have equal access to sites which require extensive walking,climbing .However, staff at the sites eg Vienna private show helped with special access to elevators and seating. The music shoe in Viea was outstandin and worth every penny. Loved the Hungarian band and dancers on board the Sky Glad to have all tips included in price.Easy! The buses to and from sites were well organized . Luggage handled by staff boarding and debarking. Weathe was great for the end of August on the Danube from Nuremberg to Budapest except a bit tpp warm om Aug 30 to Aug 31. I would recommend this trip and itinerary. Just add more otions for those with disabilities and perhaps seat these people first on buses. Read Less

Recommended. Sunbeds were reserved round all pools. Three small smoking areas with no sunbeds only chairs one under cover cold windy & dark with sunny tables that were no smoking? Hidden extras. Different prices in bars. Norovirus on ship advised use own toilets meaning having to wait for overcrowded lifts as no stairs run through middle of ship?? Penisular breakfast cold toast brought out 35min wait for breakfast hard poached eggs & cold coffee. Horizon buffet good breakfast but like a cafe tables not cleared and floor not hovered between sittings 1st & last cruise not relaxing ship too big too much walking. Butlins at sea but nor butlins prices. Wouldn't recommend to my friends. Drab tired decor. Different prices at bars for same drinks. Internet £7.75 a day free in all hotels we've stayed in. Complaint just done taking in to travel agent tomorrow. Costa/Java staff rude & deck 7 outside terrace dirty ashtrays full Read Less

Drinks were so expensive,small bottle of stella $7.75.glass wine $9.cheapest bottle wine $35 .small bottle water $2.Ship was to crowded,no seats at bar with entertainment unless you get there 1 1/2 hours before & same for the shows but the ships own shows were very poor ,people were walking out & the entertainment director was very unprofessional and never looked smart.The shows with guest performers were very good.{Photos taken by ships photograghers were $20.The tours are estortionate, just to go on trip too Rome was $369 Each.Meals in main resturant were ok but mainly only warm.One couple we met complained & were asked to come back the next night & it was excelant then following night cold plates again.The duty free shops were ajoke my perfume channel was $109 for 50ml yet i can buy that in uk £50.We have done 10 cruises before 1 with royal carabbean & p&o,Princess .Norwegean .thomson & never had complained before so sorry royal carabbean that will be our last with you.Service from the staff was excelant & our cabin attendant was great,we asked him about water & he told us he could bring us 6 wine glasses of water each day but if he bought it in bottles the ship would charge us $ 2 per bottle. Read Less

My son chose this Cruise as he had sailed with NCL and Royal Carribean and had nothing but praise for those two companies and the brilliant time I was going to have. He chose it as it seemed comparable with those two companies on price and Marketing jargon but did not live up to the hype. The entertainment was more Butlins than West End, although the theatre was very good and the last show was ok but according to my son, with RC & NCL that happens every night. The food at best was adequate and did not live up to my expectation. In fact, the conversation around our table and talking to other guests was that the standards were not as good as similarly priced competitors. Even the waiting staff agreed that it was a common observation by guests, although according to my son, when you mention this to Princess Customer Services, they deny it all (rather unsurprisingly) My son worked as a chef in top establisments for many years and is quite capable of making the distinction. The crew were very good, the ship was lovely, the public places clean and nice to be in but the whole thing was a bit of a let down for us, as my son felt guilty at encouraging me to come along at a cost well in excess of £1000, a lot for me on my pension ! The cabin was nice enough and served its purpose. I will go Cruising again, but not on Princess, I will take my sons advise and go with NCL next time, suggest you do the same. Read Less

We chose this cruise due to the interesting itinerary, as it was visiting a number of ports that were new to us. We had been on Aurora just 4 weeks before (see other review) so were interested to see the improvements. The ship did look refreshed but as regular cruisers on Aurora (7 times in 2 years) we had been really looking forward to the new large screen TV's so were deeply disappointed to find that all balcony cabins and above had received them, except the 8 accessible ones (of which we had one). Very poor show P&O, made worse by the fact that our questions on board as to why this was the case were ignored - 3 times. Aside from that, we enjoyed the cruise with, as always, some highs and lows (others will no doubt feel differently but these are just our opinions); Good points - The service in the Medina Restaurant (Freedom Dining) was first class. Food was very good. We did the Chef's Table private dining at £75 a head and it was the best thing we have done on a P&O ship for years and in the company of lovely fellow passengers who are prepared to fork out for top quality. Absolutely superb in every respect. Great initiative P&O - please repeat it. Tony Babb (guest lecturer) gave some fascinating talks. The Headliners show called Applause was superb. The new show 'Astonishing' previewed on Aurora during our cruise. It didn't live up to the hype, but was a welcome break from the usual dated offerings. Best two ports for us were Oporto and Ceuta, the latter being the unexpected highlight (it's a Spanish enclave cut out of Northern Morocco). What a fantastic place. P&O should go there far more often instead of the dump that is Gibraltar (the two are opposite sides of the Straits of Gibraltar). La Coruna, Lisbon and Alicante were all very nice, but only the last of them was new to us. Sorrento is lovely but was a tender port (my wife cannot get off at those as she is disabled) and it took a long time to get off the ship, even though I was booked on a tour. I did a trip to Herculaneum and unfortunately it rained all the time we were there. Our port call to Propriano (Corsica) was cancelled due to rough seas and replaced with Ajaccio. Although we hadn't been to the former but had been to the latter (12 years ago) we were delighted with this change, as my wife would have been stuck on the ship in Propriano but could get off in Ajaccio, which is lovely. Bad Points - As I have said, we were irritated with the fact that our accessible balcony cabin hadn't received the new large TV's that all other balcony cabins (and above) had benefited from in the refit and even more irritated that our complaint about this was ignored, even when I chased them several times. Whilst most people liked Malta, we were underwhelmed. We did a tour around the island and thought that the place looked terribly neglected. Yes it got savaged in the 2nd World War, but we are 70 years on from that now and were struck by the fact that all the private houses were in a poor state of repair (we were told afterwards it's due to their tax structure - you save money if you don't complete it fully!), all the roadsides have stone walls that are either badly built, incomplete or falling down and their 'countryside' looks more like wasteland. Valletta itself was much better, but it took us 45 minutes from being dropped off from the tour coach until we got back on the ship for lunch due to the very poor cruise terminal (just two security lines and massive queues) so we aborted our plan to see more of Valletta in the afternoon as we just couldn't face that queue to get back on again. Messina was the other disappointment. We should have taken a tour here but stayed in the town. This was a mistake. Very little to see and a nightmare to get around with a wheelchair. We were also plagued there by taxi drivers and dotto trian ticket touts, as well as street hawkers. The guest lecturers for the first half of the cruise were of no interest to us whatsoever (one was about football and the other Anne Frank which then morphed into talks on food. Very odd.) Actor Robert Daws was on board for the second half but was put in the Playhouse or Carmen's which had inadequate capacity for the numbers wanting to attend. He was very good but we only managed to see one of his three talks (which had been reduced from four) and the promised repeats of the 2nd and 3rd talks on the cabin TV never materialised. Other things - We had high drama in Civitavecchia . Just after the morning tours left the ship was blown very slightly off the berth by 70 knot winds. For the rest of the day we had to be pinned against the berth by three large tugs and nobody was allowed on or off the ship for 5 hours. As a result we didn't get to look around the town, but spent the day watching the most spectacular seas crashing over the breakwater and damaging a parked car, all from the comfort of the ship, whilst 500 passengers had to wait in the cruise terminal for hours until it was deemed safe to let them back on. The Captain (I won't name him) was a marmite character. We liked him and found his regular announcements interesting and amusing. A number of other passengers found him to be extremely irritating. There was a very good classical pianist and we enjoyed the Take That style group (Beautiful World) .The Runaround Kids were good, even if their humour is a bit infantile. The Adele tribute had a great voice but completely ruined her act when she spoke between songs. I think she was trying to impersonate Adele but it failed miserably. It was excruciating. Apart from the shows that I have mentioned that we liked, the rest of the 'entertainment' was the usual P&O 1970's style TV variety show / holiday camp fodder (which was great in the 1970's but woefully outdated now). Not for us I'm afraid. Fellow passengers were almost all lovely. I'd say that the average age of passengers was early 70's (as is usual on Aurora). Overall an enjoyable cruise with some real high points and a few niggles, but that's a balanced review of the cruise as we found it. Read Less

Short jaunt around the Bay of Biscay. Bipolar weather and last stop aborted so no guernsey sadly. I love Britannia. She’s a big ship and handles the rough and tumble of the Bay no problem. I met some lovely people on board who made my holiday very special indeed. Grateful to Pete and Clarke for this. I also met some horrors too. If people can be nasty bigots in a public venue, I’m the antidote. These creatures were summarily dealt with and I moved on. P&O should DNA check some of its passengers. Embarkation and disembarkation were a breeze. Very efficient and the staff were amazing. I simply couldn’t fault them. I love P&O for this. The ship is due for a refit this year and, although she’s a lovely vessel, she needs a bit of a makeover as my cabin bathroom stunk of urine! Not good when I’ve complained about the very same thing on Ventura before. I get that a few thousand people all using the bathroom is a monumental thing on a ship, but P&O must sort this out. Soon. In summary, I enjoyed my journey and Britannia is lovely, apart from her toilet habits!! Safe journeys y’all Read Less

This is our third Scenic Cruise both previous ones were in Asia and were outstanding in ALL RESPECTS. We were a little taken aback atvthe sizebof alm the ships on the Danube as ours and all others seemed to have over 150 passengers which to me was like a cruise line with 4000 plus passengers! Having said that the organisation of the cruise was outstanding and our every wish was accommodated! It was hard to understand why do few cruises go through to the Black Sea as the further north we went the demands of more and more tours became apparent and quality deteriorated! And we travelled in April! The staff in our ship were equivalent to the outstanding crew we had experienced in Myanmar and The Mekong! Our butler service by ATI and Stat made the journey so much more enjoyable and they are to be commended similarly the joviality of the senior butler Chris was appreciated by all! The Cruise Director was happy to meet our needs as because of a disability I cannot walk far and we had all our requests accommodated! The cruise on the Danube was relaxing and enjoyable the countries visited were historically interesting and we enjoyed the experience! I would not want to further up and suffer the issues of overwhelming Numbers! Each passenger has their own expectations we had ours met by the splendour of the Riger and countries the absolute attention to detail by our Bali butler ATI and the help of our support butler from Serbia Stat who was a source of great local information to us! Thank you staff we enjoyed The first night at The Marriot in Bucharest is best forgotten and the company should look for a better venue! Read Less

This was probably the least enjoyable of our 17 cruises with P&O (6th on Aurora), but I should stress that the majority of this was not down to P&O. We did the Northern Lights Cruise during the same 2 weeks last year (also on Aurora) and had a spectacular display of the Northern Lights over two nights, with a weaker display on a third night. This year we had almost permanent cloud cover and on the two ocassions that we saw the Northern Lights they were incredibly weak. If last year was a 9 out of 10 display, this year was 1 out of 10. We also had fog (with the dreaded fog horn disiturbing sleep a few nights) and rough seas, with a lot of sudden lurching, for 24 hours on the return which became tiresome. Other than the 24 hours mentioned, Aurora rode the seas very well. As a point of interest, Viking Sky (the ship that ran into difficulties) arrived in Alta on our second day there and followed us back down the Norwegian coast a few days later. Last year we stopped in Tromso on the way to Alta, which was a lovely place and we really enjoyed our visit there. This year we made a maiden call (for P&O) to Narvik, which was a very poor replacement. Nothing much to see in the town. I also had a bad experience with a P&O tour. I had booked a snowmobile tour at £310 and it was stressed that the price was per snowmobile, not per person, so if you went as a couple you shared the snowmobile and the driving (and paid £310 between you), whereas if you went alone, you paid £310 but had sole use. At the snowmobile centre they tried to force me to share a snowmobile with another passenger when we had both paid £310 each. Naturally I refused, but it was a battle and spoiled the experience. Also the Snowmobiling was supposed to be ‘in mountains and places inaccessible by foot’ but was back and forth across a frozen lake. This was the same as I had done the previous year in Alta for around £100 less. The tour was also advertised as providing the history of the Narvik to Sweden railway line and its role in the Second World War. This didn’t happen either. Worst of all, my complaint about these issues back on board was handled very badly. They preferred to believe the word of the tour agent (who was naturally covering their back) than a customer of some 23 years standing. Very naive and short sighted of them, as we have now decided to do far fewer P&O tours on future cruises as a result. The scenery along the Fjords and ashore is fantastic. We had seen much of it last year, so didn’t quite get the ‘wow factor’ that passengers seeing it for the first time would have experienced, but it was lovely none the less. Temperatures were fine. Just like a cold U.K. winter. Most of the time it was within a few degrees of freezing, with the coldest we had around minus 7 degrees. Last year it was minus 15 to 20 degrees, so much colder. In spite of it not being that cold, the staff decided to keep the very heavy fire doors to the cabin corridors closed on all decks. Whilst this was needed below deck 7 (which is all they did last year, even when it was MUCH colder), this year they decided to do it on ALL decks. This just wasn’t necessary as the areas around the lift areas between decks 8 and 11 were incredibly hot and there would have been far better temperature dissipation with the doors open. We fed this back on the ‘First Impressions’ form and, thankfully, they kept the door outside our cabin open thereafter (my wife is a wheelchair user and, in addition to the door not needing to be closed, it made access to and from our accessible cabin very difficult). Service in the Medina Restaurant was absolutely superb. Well, to clarify, it was superb as far as the waiters and managers were concerned. The wine waiters were poor. Difficult to get hold of and one was actually quite rude. Food was perfectly acceptable, but not quite as good as on our previous cruises on Aurora. One disappointment (noted by many) was the absence of lobster from the Marco Pierre White menu. The current chefs seem to think that us Brits are scared of anything remotely spicy, so tone everything down to mild, bordering on bland. Great shame, as we loved trying all the tasty curries at lunchtime years ago. The Glasshouse and Beach House were great (as always) and whilst the Sindhu Restaurant on Aurora is our least favourite Sindhu in the fleet, we enjoyed Tiffin lunch in there. We met some lovely fellow passengers (including some we had met on previous cruises, which was fantastic) and enjoyed some pleasant chats. The average age of passengers on Aurora is usually mid 70’s (they didn’t quote a figure this time but last year the Captain mentioned the average age was 73) and although we are a few decades younger, this suits us. We aren’t fans of P&O’s ‘1960’s holiday camp’ style of entertainment so tend to avoid much of it, but the Headliners troupe on this cruise were very good (we find that they vary enormously from very good to poor), but sadly left after this cruise. Electra (two female violinists) were absolutely superb. Jane Davey (presenter) was very confident and engaging, but we found that her desire to find a wise crack in almost every line became irritating and diluted the substance matter so much that we lost interest. Stuart St Paul (former stuntman and film director) gave some fairly interesting talks, but was rather full of himself. The Port Presenter (Sam) was very good, other than the Butlins style “if you have been to Norway before, shout ‘whoop whoop’ additions. Dear God, when will P&O wake up to the fact that it’s now the 21st Century! When we disembarked, there were 1,000 workmen waiting to embark to assist with Aurora’s refit in Brest, France. A total of 1,800 workmen will toil over the next fortnight to bring her a little more up to date. We are back on board next month, so will play ‘spot the difference’. Read Less

Care of the customer seems to have become secondary to profit. A92 yr old pensioner had to be admitted to hospital in Cherbourg but was released as fit a few hours later. We saw him at 1pm sitting in the drafty embarkation shed having been refused entry to the ship despite the fact the hospital had discharged him as fit to travel, he was 50 meters from the ship,and the ship was not due to sail until 7.30pm. Having made a noisy protest at customer services whose only response was 'we cannot tell you anything' he and partner were finally allowed back on board. All we could do was to mention the Press and hope for the best. They were 12 hrs from Southampton but were expected to get a taxi and three trains to get to the port in the UK to get their luggage which was still on the ship. A truly disgraceful way to treat anyone. Ports and excursions left a lot to be desired. We apparently did not always get our normal births so shuttle buses were used, these dropped you off where they felt like rather the centre of towns, lots of walking on rough pavements. Lisbon was cancelled due to the weather, whose bright idea was Cherburg as a replacement? Entertainment was very good, the new dancing troupe were excellent. Food was adequate but small portions and not as good as before. Restaurants appear to be understaffed. My wife was confined to the cabin for over 30 hours following something she ate, and received a letter saying how grateful they were that she obeyed the guidelines, and as a reward she was offered £71 - off the next cruise booking within the next 12 months. We are speechless. Needless to say, we will not be using their offer. Our disappointment at the whole episode, which should have been a happy break, is now a very miserable experience, not to be repeated. Read Less

Very poor entertainment, had a 10yr old with us that hated kids club (couldn’t blame her) same stuff on every night. The spa on the ship was appalling, still kicking myself for not walking out. Bar closed at midnight, nowhere else except room service to get a drink. Staff entertainment didn’t show up on numerous occasions. Was a complete waste of money, hated every moment of being on the ship. Luckily we managed to see some amazing places. Great thing was the room, always clean and tidy. Although they never topped up the mini bar. Found out towards the end that you had to ask and sign for anything after the first night. Plus only complimentary water on the first night! Just constantly felt like there was nothing to do, was definitely aimed at the older crowd. If you want to know how to get rid of fluid retention this is your ship *yawn* Read Less

We fancied an Xmas cruise so we would not need to cook this year, and also for a little chance of winter sunshine. I and my wife have now completed some 16 or so cruises, but this is our second one with P&O, the first being a year or two ago on the Ventura, which was just 'OK'. Our choice was based upon destination and price, and the Oceana fitted the bill, it was going to the Canaries and Madeira over the festive period. We had never visited the Canaries, so it was an opportunity to see if we liked them, and would go back and to get some sun. We had an evening at the Holiday Inn Southampton prior to the cruise with inclusive parking for up to 15 days and two-way ship transfers, which we booked ourselves. This turned out to be good value and close to the Mayflower Terminal. The morning of departure was a breeze. We were due to board at 1 pm, but arrived about 12 pm in an early taxi. No problem check in was very fast and we simply walked on the ship after depositing our cases. Our first cruise with P&O had a quick check in and this was no different, probably better and faster than any other company we have been with. This speed and efficiency on disembarking and boarding continued throughout our trip and at the destinations. Very easy and stress-free, and on our final disembark at Southampton. Wewll done P&O Our cabin was soon ready, within the hour in fact, and the buffet of course was open!. ( See points on cabin below ) First impressions were good, and overall the staff were attentive, and as my wife was diabetic they helped her with the diabetic meal choices. Food everywhere was of a good standard ( we did not each much in the buffet as we prefer the main dining room ). over the 12 days there were recurring 'favourites', ie steak, chicken etc but overall a good choice. Meals were well presented and hot which is vital for me. We heard someone moaning about the poor standard, but to be honest what do they want ?. There was a wide choice at every meal, so something for everyone. Again,service was good and we had no complaints. The restaurant staff work very hard as do the wine waiters. I had pre ordered a wine package of 6 bottles, and this suited us fine as we had about half a bottle per evening. We also had drinks in the bar, a gin, or Martini in the evenings and the odd beer. Prices are UK pub prices as I dont think they do a specific drinks package. However we both got £115 cabin credit as part of the deal and this was great, as we did not spend much in total. A bit of a moan though. More than once they did not have the advertised drink, particularly the selection of beers, and beware of the 'cocktails'. One guy asked for extra alcohol in his as to be fair, some taste very weak!. I think the bar managment need to get their act together, as it could be improved in the bars. We also found the ship busy,. but it was Xmas, but there was often a lack of a quiet space to have a drink. The Yacht and Compass Puib was always noisy with some activity going on, so no quiet drink in there. Most nights we opted for Magnums bar which was OK The voyage was fine, but for 24-36 Hrs we hit a force 9-10 in the Bay of Biscay on the outbound leg. No effect on myself and my wife who dont get seasick, but a massive shock to some first time cruisers and many of the passengers who wewre ill. In fact we heard a couple complain at reception about the weather !!!. I think folks need to realise that if they book a cruise, particularly in December, and it the Atlantic then this is a chance you take!. Its not P&O's fault. Once we got through it conditions were calm for the rest of the cruise and all the way back to the UK, although I think a few passengers got off at Madeira and flew home !. Ports of call were fine, as was the weather. We missed Lanzarote due to winds and tidal conditions so had two nights in Tenerife which was fine by us. We love Madeira, but we were not too impressed by the Canaries, but that is a personal thing and we would not go back, although we got the nice weather. We only had one excursion ( only as we had two days in Santa Cruz and I had not planned on another day ) to mount Tede, which was very good and we enjoyed it. Overpriced as always, but we did end up spending less than we thought. Lisbon was nice, but it was colder than the UK !! The entertainment overall was varied and quite good, we varied our shows each night which is something we like doing; so there was something for everyone. I did not like the magician, and normaly I do, but he did not impress me at all. The crew dancers were great and there was plenty to do all over the ship. Guest speakers ( one on planets and space, and the other on showbusiness ) were both entertaining. The ship, well, OK but I am not keen on the Fincantieri ships, dont know what it is, but just not my scene. That said we felt very safe with a first class crew. One issue though. we are not old yet, but I thought we had got on a Fred Olsen ship!!. The number of passengers with walkers, wheelchairs and chronic problems ( which they loved talking about ) must have kept the sick bay busy. Far from being a booze cruise at times I thought I was in a rest home...Well perhaps its Xmas, but we would prefer a somewhat younger crowd, but again maybee its the ship. Overall a nice cruise, better than our first P&O experioence, so we would probably book with them again on a different ship Read Less

We wanted some sunny weather and a Christmas cruise and had expected younger guests with families. 90% of the guests were 70 years old + and infirm in a multitude of ways. There were few children on board. Oceana is a relatively small ship. The lifts are very poor and the central group do not cover all the floors. The computer control of stopping was useless. The decor is dull and tired, mostly dull wood finish. Conversely the ship must be congratulated on their superb Christmas decorations all over the ship. The entertainment dancers and singers were superb and put on performances every other night. The two theatres - front and back of the ship made for a good choice of entertainers. Meals in the restaurant were good, but not excellent. Those in the 14th Floor plaza cafe were poor. The destinations were Madeira, 3 islands in the Canaries and Lisbon. We have visited them all before, and so did our own thing. We cannot comment on the ship excursions. We were unaware of any pre-port information talks - it could have been useful. Read Less

This was the first time on this ship having sailed previously many time on Breamar and Black Watch. My wife has limited mobility and we did not find the ship user friendly.b The steps onto the external deck are steep and the ramp placed over part of them is too steep. The disabled toilet being placed with the door on one side of a ‘porch’ like access does NOT have an electric door opener and hand button to actuate. Result is that access is not easy. Debarking is complicated by the fact that the waiting lounges are on deck 7 whilst gangway access is on deck 6 resulting for disabled people having to use only two local lifts resulting in congestion and delays. Overall the ship is good certainly brought up to a high level by the crew who are, as with other Fred ships, excelptional. Every member contacted was polite and very helpful indeed. The food was the usual Fred high standard but could have been presented on hotter plates. Overall and enjoyable holiday. Read Less

My wife had a specific diet entitled a "thick pureed diet" and we sent all relevant documentation before we booked and p & o customer services sent them direct to the azura who replied that this diet would be no problem so we booked. The first evening meal the soup was served with bits of leaves in it directly against directions in this diet and it then went from bad to worse! On two evenings she was served a bowl of water that stank of fish! The thick puree should stand in its place when served if you place a fork on top of it it should leave an imprint of the fork in the food and you should be able to eat the food with the fork without it falling through the tines of the fork. So how can a bowl of smelly water comply with those instructions? The instructions we sent showed how to make a thick puree diet how to thicken it up or thin it down if need be to get the right consistency. This was never done in all meals for 9 days! By this time my wife was starving so we went to the buffet each night to see if there was anything she could eat there like soft deserts with custard! The meals served were too thick one day or like water the next or had very large lumps in it or garnishes or leaves all against the instructions we sent! It was just as if the chefs on board could not be bothered or it was done out of spite! The only other conclusion is that it was incompetence or not one chef on board knows how to prepare a thick puree diet. Obviously we rate the dining as nil/zero absolutely awful. Entertainment was ok but its time jimmy james retired! I enjoyed the quizzes but I always do. The manahement were appalling re the food issues. They did nit help at all! Overall very poor and we will not travel with P & O again! Read Less

This was our second cruise on Britannia, chosen because we were disappointed with cruise on Ventura in 2017. We had a terrible journey via Intercruise from Durham to Southampton. Despite efforts of Hays Travel and ourselves to make P & O and Intercruise understand that because of my disability I am placed under extreme pain having to climb any more than 2 steps and, in fact descending stairs is even worse. When our coach arrived we realised the only downstairs seats was a cramped row of 3 seats which were behind driver and 2 of those seats were already occupied. There was no way I wanted to travel 7/8 hours in that cramped seat without my husband(also my full time carer). However, we decided that I would have to try to climb the stairs of coach, with help from my husband and fellow passengers. I was in a lot of pain at end of journey, but hopeful that the rest of holiday would be ok. Our cabin was very good (same as we'd had on previous cruise on Britannia). Weather was not too good for first few days of cruise but food in Peninsular restaurant was still very good . As weather improved we realised that immediately after breakfast everyone made a mad dash for pool area, as I'm disabled it takes me such a long time to walk, get myself ready etc. One morning my husband went upstairs placed our towels on sunbed and was immediately told by an Officer to remove them as it was against P & O policy. My husband pointed out a number of other sunbeds were reserved with towels, books etc., and pointed this out to the Officer, but did not receive any sensible answer. During the second week I was very pleased to find out that Jimmy James was on at the Theatre. My husband and I turned up in good time at the disabled section of the Theatre and took our seats. A young lady employee came over and said that my husband could not sit there, as she had promised the seat to someone else. We reminded her of the P & O policy and during the ensuing discussion she used the words reserved and promised again. By this time I was aching from having to now stand and very, very embarrassed by the situation and as the discussion was going nowhere I walked away and with the help of my husband and sympathetic fellow passengers we found seats. However I had to negotiate some ill lit stairs. I was so upset that we left after a short period of time and I went down to Reception to report the incident. We subsequently received two calls regarding the incident, neither of which provided any answers about what had happened. Britannia is a lovely ship with some great facilities but policies regarding disable need looking at. We'll probably not cruise with P & O again Read Less

I have a severely disabled child and booked this last minute ( June ) as it was the only cruise available these school hols with a disabled cabin. I booked 2 cabins the first for me and my 2 boys aged 13 and 14 one of whom is disabled and the second for my eldest girl age 18. Both were balcony cabins and lovely. They were well appointed and clean and up to date. The disabled cabin had automatic door opening which was great when exiting the room but a problem when entering as the door was shutting before I got the wheelchair in. THere are still no sockets near the bed which means having to have extension cords accross the floor at night when using a feeding pump. the accessto the balcony was great and a ramp provided. There was plenty of room for the wheelchair on the balcony. Dining- We ate in the main dining room and ocean view buffet every day bar one when we went in the Tuscan.The staff in the main dining room were wonderful In particular the waiters Hayden and Erik and the sommelier Rosa. The maitrre di Meno was also wonderful and they made a real effort to be nice and welcoming to my disabled son who ended up with us quite a few times due to problems with Kids club. They did little magic tricks and made it fun when bearing in mind he can't eat and is tube fed sitting through a meal can be boring.The food was fine and the choice ok so we didn't feel the need to eat at speciality restaurants. Entetainment- On the whole very good but absolutely nothing for children on most ships there is at least a kids early evening disco and some sort of child freindly act .On this ship there was nothing In addition the kids club was bad so much so that after a week Ihad a meeting with guest relations after which things improved, I judge this against P and O , Royal Caribean and Cunard where my disabled son has complained when he couldn't go in and had to come on shore or come out as staff were having breaks. My son cannot speak but even so it was obvious things were not good. I went twice in the first 2 days and found him sat alone in an empty kids room when I asked Why? I was told the other kids had gone on a scavenger hunt I asked why he hadn't and was told that wasn't something staff would do. So my child who is quadriplegic and can't speak or even move his chair himself was left sat alone! THe kids club shuts at 10pm and we were on second sitting for evening meal we were not getting entree's until 9.40pm and so on the third day I was by my watch 4 mins late though I was greeted by the demand 'Where have you been we shut at 10pm and it is now 9 mins past 10 . You will be charged and if you want us to look after your child after 10pm you must book 24hours in advance.' Needless to say he did not go for the next few days in the evening then He agreed to go in for 30mins one morning I took him up at 11.30am and was told they only had a couple of kids so they had sent them in to the teen section and I could go look for them or my son could stay with them for lunch and I could pay. Needless to say he didn't ( my son has delayed development so was in the 9-12 age group) It was after this I had a meeting with guest relations and it is fair to say tings did improve but from talking to other passengers my experience was not unusual. FRom the night I was late my son chose to stay with us and if he did go it was for about and hour then we would go and fetch him between starter and main course so we weren't late . ( no mean feat when you realise the dining room is the furthest point aft on deck 3 and kids club the furthest poit forward on deck 15 and 2 out of 4 lifts don't even go to deck 15.) So I say again DON'T GO WITH CELEBRITY IF YOU HAVE KIDS Excursions- Very poor to non existant if wheelchair freindly required Service- THroughout the ship with the exception of kids club the staf are freindly helpful and couteous at all times the best I have come accross so it is a great pity I could not cruise with them again but sorry guys the kids club is a deal breaker for me . Read Less

My mother in law who is a seasoned cruise traveler wanted to treat us all to a family holiday. I was very much looking forward to this as we were doing the Baltic cruise which I had wanted to do for a while. Boarding went smoothly and the room seemed comfortable and adequate for my family. My husband, me and twin 4 year olds. When we got back to our cabin after dinner to find the kids beds made up I was a little disappointed. The top bed was basically the sofa with a sheet on it. Trundle pull out bed was the second bed. The sofa was ok as just that, a sofa you would be spending very little time sitting on when in the cabin but as a bed it was terrible. it sloped down slightly which meant my twin girl fell off on to her brother a couple of times and it was very uncomfortable to sleep on. We ended up having the kids in the bed with us most nights. Thankfully the main bed was very comfortable and king sized. This was not a family room, it was a double room with a sofa and pull out trundle bed. For what we paid this was not acceptable. The main aim of the cruise seemed to be selling. Everything revolved around trying to get your to buy. Waiters outside the main dining room and buffet every meal with a menu and sign up register for the specialty restaurants, one even following my husband in to the bathroom on one occasion. The talks on each destination were basically a plug of their excursions with very little information outside of what they involved. Sail days in the shops were supposed to be open all day but were closed off until certain "sales" were set up and you got a raffle ticket. There was no shop selling essentials if you happened to forget something. Just overpriced items you could get elsewhere for half the price. Sail days were crowded too with very little seating in any of the areas except the pool, which could get very loud with the activities and a dj playing questionable music. Having two small kids and 5 sail days I was hoping for plenty of activities to keep them entertained. The pool could get crowded but my girl still enjoyed it. My son has a medical condition which meant he couldn't use the pool. He was also very clingy being in a strange place so refused to use the kids club too. My girl did use it and was very happy with the kids club. The staff were very friendly and it seemed to keep those who would attend entertained. That was pretty much it though for small kids. The activities were limited and not suitable for small kids. The movies in the small theatre were not shown on sale days or were on at a time not suitable to attend (too close to dining room booking times or too late at night). The entertainment was very bland and repetitive. Some of the acts being shown on more than one of the days so if you attended once, you were at a loss another night when they had the same show on. The main focus was getting people in to the casino. Drinks package was a waste of money. The kids ones allowed for juice and fountain sodas. We could only find one bar serving fountain sodas and that was drinks mixers only, soda and tonic water, not exactly for kids. We used our cards to buy kids some actual sodas in a can and were charged for them because we ordered them too close to ordering our own drinks, all of which were within the package. You couldn't get more than one drink at a time on each card or you were charged for it. Quality of the drinks was hit and miss too on cocktails, especially in the main theatre. Terrible and undrinkable mostly. My mother in law is a wheelchair user and could only use the bathroom facilities in her cabin. The other toilets in public areas did not suit her disability. She could not transfer herself from wheelchair to toilet because of the position of the support bars. When she brought this up with staff, she was met with an indifferent attitude and made to feel like she was being unreasonable. On the other hand, the food, in the main dining hall and the buffet was excellent. The majority of the staff were friendly and helpful (with the exception of bar staff who seemed like we were bothering them asking for them to bring us a drink). Our room was kept immaculate and the destinations were all brilliant. We only did one of the cruise shore excursions, in St. Petersburg, which I found a lot of fun, well organised and value for money (surprisingly as everything on the ship was overpriced) and the guide very informative. The staff made the kids feel very special which I also appreciated very much as it was their first holiday. I don't think I will be using Celebrity again as the cons far outweighed the pros. Read Less

school holidays. 2nd time on Ventura but the lack of coffee machines at the bars is no good for caffeine fans. There us one Costa on level 5 which is so busy one often left due to queues. There are machines in buffet restaurants but coffee is often weak I enjoy double shot lattes several times a day. The food is excellent, every restaurant every day but this is only ship I've been on where there id no all inc drinks package. Another deal breaker. Entertainment superb, friendly staff, super ship but lack of coffee machines at bar will not see me return. The breakers sun bar allows smoking outside but only on left hand side. You need to get up there early if you want an outside table. My best cruise by far was with AIDA prima the German cruise liner which is already re booked for next easter. Read Less

This was our 2nd cruise with p&o, the 1st on Azura. Brittania is a lovely ship, however very badly designed the lifts are an absoloute nightmare. We travel with our disabled son and spent most of our time waiting for lifts !! however wouldn;t have to wait so long if the able bodied people used the stairs!!!! ( they could walk off the food they ate !! ). The rooms are very modern and good sized but the balconys are much smaller then Azura. The cabin boy was excelent Josie and kept are room immaculate and was very friendly. The food in restaurants and buffets was excelent choice and quaity good. Cannot understand negative reviews !! what do people want ?? Evening entertainment good and a good variety.Price of drinks good and again good choice. Daytime sea days not enough going on really, could be improved on. The staff on this cruise ship work extremeley hard and go out of there way to be nice to people. However I spoke to several staff in great lenghs, most staff from Goa and the phillapines. It makes me ashmed to be british sometimes as they all said some british people are just miserable and down right rude and treat them really bad. They said people in Goa are always happy and appreciate what they have, yet english people are so miserable and always want more !!!!! a lesson to be learned there !!!!! Only downside was sharing the cruise with some very greedy, rude english people and the fact you had to pay extra for more on this cruise than Azura, Also when using the shuttle buses to get off at ports it was very disorganised and they expected by disabled son to travel alone on a bus without a companion totally unacceptable for a child in a wheelchair !! Driver didn't speak english however after a few goes at getting him to understand my son couln't travel alone he let me sit in back of bus on wheel hub !!! agaqin unnaceptable but had no choice Something P&o need to look into. Read Less

This was our first cruise and we loved it. Royal Caribbean staff were all very good and focused on ensuring we had a great time. We arranged our own travel to and from the ship which went well. The check in process was fairly seamless inc our bags being taken from back of taxi to our cabins so we could immediately enjoy and explore the ship. The cabins (spacious ocean views) did feel spacious. We were on deck 9 and right at the front of the ship which was great for seeing where we were. Dining experiences in the main dining room were on the whole superb. We didn’t see the value in paying for speciality restaurants. The ports were good with highlights being Lisbon ( the RC Land and Water excursion was superb), Cadiz ( we simply walked off the boat and had a lovely walk along the promenade and then through the narrow city streets - a beautiful city), Gibraltar ( don’t pre book - we simply paid a taxi driver for a 90 min tour of rock and caves and then were dropped back in town. Much cheaper) & Palma ( we did RC Drach Caves tour which was very good). The shuttle bus is a rip off! 20 euros each to get you out of the port!. We thought Sardinia was very shabby and wouldn’t return. Finally, we did RC tour to Guadalest in Alicante which was very pretty. The post booking info could be better and would be the main thing I would want improved. You get a link to log into cruise planner which has options to buy things like drinks package that we had already bought. The information for cruise virgins was poor, especially when you then watch information on tv on the ship that explains all the things you wanted to know before you left! Read Less

We chose this cruise to celebrate the 70th birthday of my wife's aunt. Staff was fantastic. Could not fault them one bit. Food at Windjammer was good. Food at other restaurants was average to good. The ship is starting to show clear signs of age and being tired. And cruises like ours that was full of teenagers and kids doesn't help. The behavior of most teenagers was disgusting. Some were even having sex after dark on sunbeds. And kids would scream, run riot and press all the buttons in the lifts. Drunken or smoking Mums were ignoring their kids. It's a cruise, not a bloody creche. Ports and Shore Excursions were good. I went out on every port. We felt let down by the Spa a bit. They tried to charge us gratuity despite us having paid gratuity upfront. The entertainment and activities were good. Generally, the ship is starting to show some signs of age. Carpets need replacing. Wood in lifts needs changing in a few lifts. There are some areas with minor rust. I feel like I need another holiday to get over that one. Read Less

I chose this cruise as the cabins are stylish, it is British in personality, and passengers are allowed to take their own alcohol onboard (1L each, although I did take a bit more onboard with no problems). My balcony cabin with sofa was not only nice to look at, but so well designed that it felt much larger. The bed was extremely comfortable, the TV had a lot of films to watch, the White Company products were excellent quality, and the towels were large and fluffy. The cabin was seen to by the steward twice a day, even though his cleaning and tidying skills were not always on par. There is a free laundry and iron as well, which is a helpful touch. The buffet for breakfast is fine in quality and has more than enough variety. The buffet for lunch and dinner is, however, awful. The food is worse than at a service station and how they "get away" with serving such slop is a mystery. I had freedom dining given for free (as I think everyone does, so don't pay extra for it) so ate when I liked in the restaurants the rest of the time. The food was sometimes very tasty, other times just okay. Imagine going to a restaurant in the 1970s and you'll have the right idea...prawn cocktail and well-done roast beef, anyone?!? The drinks onboard are the same as in a decent pub. The entertainment is not awful, but it's not very good either. I saw "Astonishing" and "The Sound of the Underground", which while billed a magic show/musical, are really a selection of dance routines and songs. The best thing about the shows is how attractive some of the dancers are (!) which says a lot about their dancing and singing talent. I saw Zoë Tyler as well, who was excellent on account of being a real performer and not just a hotty who can hold a note and twist a bit. The "Sail Away" things were as embarrassing as they were tacky, although it was interesting to experience what Butlins must be like. Also embarrassing/ irritating was when they paraded the chefs and waiters around to the bellows of Tina Turner while we were eating. The gala evenings were a non-event. I was stressed that my dinner jacket was too big for me and that I had to wear a dark suit, but I need not have worried as there were as many people in full black tie, as the were in just a suit. The reality is that it is not nearly as special as P&O make out: you dress up, you have a free drink (or three) listen to the captin's speech, the (also very good looking) photographers try to get you to have your photo taken, and then you go for dinner as normal. That's it! Nothing magical happens. The service was odd. The woman were all very friendly but a lot of the men had a chip in their shoulder and were very cold with me. One waiter, strangly, started off being very chummy and chatty, and then when I started eating my food (thus, signaling our chat was over) he became very rude by banging things on the table and ignoring my requests...it was like that for the rest of the cruise! I got on and off the boat very quickly and had no problems with the lifts. I did not take any P&O shore tours as they are a rip-off. Will I cruise agian? Yes! Will I cruise on Britannia again? Yes! Read Less

We really enjoyed our first river cruise. The main reason we picked this cruise was the Normandy destination and history lectures. They were excellent. We are experienced Ocean Cruise people and frankly the river cruise is little too laid back for me. However, if we do another we would choose Avalon. Great service, excellent food and really nice people. We loved our Royal Suite but have no way to compare to other lines. Except for the lectures we found the little bit of entertainment that was provided just average. Also since there is no gambling there is not much to do when you return from excursions. The people at the reception desk were very helpful and although I need A wheelchair to go off the ship, they made that experience seamless. Our Cruise Director was very helpful and did a nice job keeping people informed of activities. We were a little disappointed that many activities started late but that was not an issue with most people. Overall we had a really great time. Read Less