Britannia Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We had booked a balcony cabin for us and our two children (aged 4 and 20 months). On booking, and pre-embarkation I checked that the cabin would fit the cot and a sofa bed, to which I was assured it would. On embarking and arriving in our cabin, it became immediately apparent that this wasn't going to be the case. After much debate with reception (who really weren't helpful) and housekeeping our bed was pushed up against the wall of the cabin, to make space for the cot inbetween the bed and the sofa bed (to say that we couldn't swing a cat would be an understatement!). Anyway, it was only like this for bedtime, so not the end of the world! But if you are looking at booking for a family, please be aware that you won't have much space.
The ship is extremely spacious as you would expect, however, the lifts are a nightmare!!! We had a pushchair with us, and at times we were waiting for over 10 minutes to get into a lift. When it was like this, we opted to carry our son and the pushchair, but unfortunately for those in wheelchairs, this isn't an option. The back and front of the ship have stairs to all floors, but even those that are able to use the stairs would rather not, and are quite happy to queue jump in front of those that actually need the lifts. Even worse are those that get in the lift in the opposite direction of the direction they wish to travel, just so that they have a lift.
Aside from these two negative points, the ship has an awful lot to offer to people of all ages. The children's clubs are amazing. Our daughter absolutely loved the clubs and the various activities. The staff on the ship were fantastic with children, and constantly spoke to them and made them feel very welcome. They even offer a children's tea at 17:00 each evening, which has a variety of food for the fussiest of eaters (I should know my daughter is one of them!).
Cabin Review
Our cabin was close enough to the lift, but also far enough way (last time we had one right by the lift, and the late night revelers woke us up). The cabin would have been very spacious, but as we had a sofa bed and a cot, it did make it a very tight squeeze, and after the room had been turned down, we had to crawl across the sofa bed to get to the balcony!! The bathroom is quite tight (shower, toilet and sink), but it has everything you need, and I don't think you need any more space. If you were travelling with friends and wanted to get changed in the bathroom, I think you would find it quite tight.
Port Reviews
Vigo
Beautiful port
Barcelona
Very busy, but very enjoyable
Monaco (Monte Carlo)
Travelled up to the Exotic Gardens - stunning views!
Genoa
We were really looking forward to visiting this port, but what a disappointment. From the ship, you have to walk along the equivalent of a motorway for quite some distance. Once into the centre, the buildings are beautiful, but it had been tarnished by the trip in.
Rome (Civitavecchia)
We didn't visit Rome, and instead stayed in the port. There isn't much at the port, but what there is is pretty.