Since we came back I have already seen plenty of stinging reviews about mediocre food, expensive internet and cabins you can’t swing a cat in. Either these people should stick to their usual ‘premium’ cruise line (‘we normally cruise with x but decided to give P & O a try) or in fact they will never be satisfied whatever ship you put them on. I also think that some people chose this cruise without realizing that there were going to be a lot of sea days as we heard a lot of complaints about this. It’s a case of horses for courses. We love relaxing on sea days and found plenty to entertain us on this cruise. We are not first time cruisers and have cruised with 4 different lines. It’s a personal opinion of course but I thought Britannia was one of the best ships we have been on. It’s big without being so large you can’t find anything and has a good range of bars, entertainment venues, and eating places. It’s had a mild upgrade and looks modern and stylish yet comfortable.

Food in the buffet was varied and tasty. A particular favourite of mine was the chocolate and salted caramel creme brulé. The bacon and sausage are proper English versions not American imitations. There is plenty of choice and most items are served to you which makes things a bit slower, but also cuts down on waste. We ate in the main restaurants every evening and I can honestly say that I did not have a substandard meal throughout the trip. Everything was fresh, hot (when it was supposed to be) and tasty. My wife had a tough steak which may have been left sitting too long after cooking but otherwise her meals were equally well prepared. I tried a few vegetarian options and found these to be delicious. We also ate once in the Limelight Club while watching 4 Puffs & a Piano. The steak I had here was one of the best I have ever tasted. We did not eat in any of the speciallity restaurants because we find the food in the main restaurants more than good enough.

Most of the venues on Britannia are similar to other P & O ships. The décor makes them feel a bit more modern than say Ventura or Azura but they are basically the same spaces.(The Live Lounge at the rear, the Crows Nest at the top of the ship forward, Brodies in the middle). We tended to use the Crystal Lounge which is a medium sized show lounge on deck 7 just off the atrium. This was where ballroom dancing was on and it was an excellent venue with a reasonable sized dance floor and plenty of seating around it. The Limelight Club on deck 5 was a similar size but set up for dining around the stage, which made for a relaxed informal and intimate experience. The shops too are pretty much the same as on other ships in the fleet with a few additions due to the extra size. Due to lower passenger numbers there was no pressure on sun loungers but with only 2 hot tubs (compared to the 15 or so on Iona) they were always busy whatever the weather. Read more