Britannia Review
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This was my first cruise holiday and I have to say, overall, I was quite impressed with the experience. I travelled with my family to the Norwegian fjords, setting sail from Southampton, stopping off at Stavanger, Olden, Alesund and Bergen before returning. We chose P&O mainly due to the reputation, however, as we did some more research, we noticed a lot of mixed reviews, especially regarding Brittania.
Regarding the ship, we had 2 full days at sea which was plenty of time to explore and make use of the amenities. The ship's decor felt luxurious, much like a 5 star hotel does, with plenty of open, lounging areas to sit and relax. The only complaint would be that the main piece in the Atrium did look slightly over imposing and the different coloured lights it emitted made it seem a tad tacky. The complaints regarding the layout of the ship and lack of lifts are somewhat warranted. The ship is easy enough to navigate by the 3rd day and as for the lack of lifts, it didn't both us as we took the stairs most of the time to walk off the copious amounts of food we ate.
I found myself occupied a lot of the time and spent most of my free time in the gym, reading in the library, exploring the shops and generally walking around. I'm 23 and realised very quickly, there's a reason cruise ship holidays are stereotyped as an old person holiday. If you're a young adult cruiser, be aware that there may not be as many events which appeal to you. We also went to some of the events which were put on in the Headliners theatre, however I felt that the Britannia Showcast's production of 'Once Upon a Time' wasn't great, mainly because it seemed it was targeted at children and given how the majority of the passengers were 50+ and the fact it was an evening show, it seemed an odd choice of show to say the least.
Cabin Review
I shared a twin balcony cabin with my brother which was situated at the front middle of the ship. We found the cabin to be much like any other quality hotel room. The beds were comfy if not slightly small (we're both used to sleeping in double beds). The en suite was slightly small and getting in and out of the shower required some slight shuffling around as the door opens outwards (maybe a sliding door would have been better?). The balcony was an adequate size and fitted both of us comfortably when the weather was nice. The TV had lots of films and the basic TV channels ( International news, sports etc.). Housekeeping visited at least twice a day when we were not in the room to clean, replace towels etc. and we felt well looked after. A kettle and tea/ coffee also ensured that we had something to drink in the morning. I ordered room service once and had some tasty hot spaghetti bolognese within 15 minutes.
Port Reviews
Southampton
Boarding was quick and easy as was car drop off.
Olden
Olden is a lovely little town with a population of little more than 600 people. Again we had pre booked the coach tour to visit the glacier which is a must do. The path to the glacier takes about 45 minutes to complete, however, as I stopped along the way to set up photography equipment and take pictures, it took me considerably longer, however, we are given ample time to explore before having to head back to the ship. It's best to visit this site before the glacier completely recedes and is no longer visible.