Britannia Review
Rating by category
Additional details
This was our first cruise with P&O, Our last was with Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the seas so I am writing this review in comparison with that in mind.
We started with a flight from Birmingham to Barbados with Thomson’s which was very well organised from beginning to end. Great flight with free newspaper upon boarding and nice meals and snacks throughout. On arrival in Barbados we were effortlessly transported by coach to the cruise terminal where all guests were presented with a flower garland upon boarding the ship. A nice touch I thought.
My first view of the ship was surprise at how plain she looked! When we boarded our last cruise on the independence her beauty took your breath away she was stunning, dazzling, beautiful etc. Britannia in comparison was a bit like an ugly sister, rather plain and dull in décor, there was no Wow factor. She was of course spotlessly clean but considering she is new ship I thought she looked tired , for example the lift had marble patterned floors that quite frankly looked like someone had spilt a can of paint on them ! The colours on the floors and walls are quite plain and although I realise it’s a matter of personal taste they didn’t impress or bowl me over at all.
Cabin Review
G106 is on the front of the ship port side deck 8 and has a metal fronted balcony, its a huge balcony compared to the glass fronted ones at least 2 and half times the size and comes with 2 sun loungers and coffee table so you can easily lay down and sunbathe if you wish as there is plenty of space. ok you cannot see the sea when seated although there was small area that wasn't fully metal ( a kind of grid area) so you could see a bit of ocean whilst seated . but we preferred the bigger space as it was lovely to sunbathe on the balcony instead of trying to get a sun lounger round the pool. and if you wanted to look out just stand up ! we had a large bed with a sofa .its in a great area of the ship as its quiet with hardly anyone passing by the cabin as its on the front and not far from the lifts at the front of the ship.
Port Reviews
St. Lucia
taxi outside terminal cost us $15 to take us to Fiji beach which is a nice beach not too busy and it has a beach bar and loungers
St. Vincent
we walked to the botanical gardens which was a 20 minute pleasant walk, quite a steep walk but a grand walk back ! take a drink as the gardens don't sell any not even bottle of water
Grenada
Easy to walk to and we met a walking guide who told us all about its history a very pleasant afternoon and then a walk through the sendall tunnel into a nice harbour.
Aruba
There is a public bus station just outside the cruise terminal and for $5 dollars return you get to go to eagle beach or la palm beach, eagle beach was nice not to crowded and with snack bars and water sports if you want them, others said if you wanted more action stay on the bus to palm beach which is more livelier, the bus was the number 10 and I think it ran every half hour
Curacao
the town centre is great and very pretty we didn't need anything more,theres a free water ferry takes you across the river when the bridge is open
Barbados
walked from the terminal to Carlisle beach, to pirates cove, a great beach and a lovely walk