Britannia Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Before we begin let me tell you about why Mrs RL and me cruise. We do it to switch off, get away from work, and tick off some new places. Work phones and laptops are left behind. We choose P&O as it's familiar and we know what to expect. We know there are better and much worse out there but it suits our needs. We can also become grey people and keep ourselves to ourselves on a large ship. We don't want enforced participation, fine dining, non-stop partying, lots of excursions and full on formal nights. I'll come back to the latter later. I will also describe things as marmite, you either love or hate it.
The below is my take on an excellent cruise.
This was cruise number four and first on Britannia. Embarkation was 15 mins from handing over my car keys to CPS and boarding. Britannia was okay but we had a cabin mid-ship and despite being on holiday and not known for our exercise regimes really missed having a set of stairs. It became quite cumbersome having to get a lift a couple of floors or entertaining people who had to do the same. The trek to the forward or aft stairs and lifts was just that little bit too far to make it worthwhile unless it was really busy. Odd design but I guess that is old news.
Cabin Review
Cabin was excellent. Whilst the wardrobe / dressing area space is marmite I actually preferred it as my case could just live there and everything felt out the way. Balcony was small but that may be because on our previous cruise on Iona we were front and centre under the bridge and had a huge balcony. I noticed the cabin next door had their balcony divider open to the next and thought this may be due to the room next to them being empty. I should have found out to see if we could have done the same.
Port Reviews
Copenhagen
20-25 mins bus ride into town. Did independent exploring. Plenty of shuttle buses and accessible transport too.
Helsinki
10 mins bus ride into town. Did independent exploring. Plenty of shuttle buses and accessible transport too. Went to Europe's largest electrical shop. Ate out at a chicken wings place, lovely. Bought some orange mittens and a white fleece. Port day was a Sunday, most things opened at 11:00 though some smaller shops were shut.
Kiel
10 mins walk into town. Did independent exploring. Follow the blue line. Didn't feel very touristy.
Southampton
Got in in 15 mins, off in 10. CPS parking suited my needs.
Stockholm
15 mins bus ride into town. Did independent exploring. Plenty of shuttle buses and accessible transport too. Overnight stop, pricey to eat out but knew that. Couldn't fathom how to use a paper ticket in the metro.
Tallinn
5 mins bus ride into town. Did independent exploring. Plenty of shuttle buses and accessible transport too. Had a pint of A.LaCoq and feel I got ripped off in the old town pub. Needs must for a local beer though and it was a one off. A lot of shops in the Old Town closed on Monday.
Visby
No shuttles. Did independent exploring. Rickety bridge to climb to get across the main road at the port. 1.3km walk up into town. It rained, a lot. Two local beers and two slices of cake cost £26. Pick n Mix in the sweet shop opposite was really cheap. I bought two bottles of own brand cola from there too and the bag split and they smashed. Town also had a shop that sold cheese.
Town itself was lovely, five stars, the walk there less so, one star.