P&O Cruises

Gourmet Food Cruises

Barbados

Southampton

Europe - All

Europe - British Isles & Western

Caribbean - All

Mediterranean

Caribbean - Eastern

Europe - Western Mediterranean

Caribbean - Southern

Spain

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Baltic Sea

Norwegian Fjords

Canary Islands

Norway

Europe River

France

Netherlands

Portugal

Rhine River

Italy

Douro River

Belgium

Germany

Denmark

Sweden

Transatlantic

Europe - River Cruise

Panama Canal & Central America

Europe - Eastern Mediterranean

Caribbean - Western

Mexico - All

Cruise to Nowhere

Scotland

Eastern Mediterranean

Hawaii

Very Good

Average

Excellent

Poor

Terrible

Britannia

Azura

Ventura

Arvia

Arcadia

Aurora

Very Disappointed by P&O

Skagway

Our first cruise , amazing experience , excellent service , very clean and all staff couldn’t help enough. Fly cruise to the Caribbean.  Prepaid excursions were well worth the money with excellent guides on the day.  Unfortunately due to weather , one port stop had to be cancelled and P and O refunded the cost straight away . We upgraded to an outside cabin with balcony which was a blessing as the personally I would have found the inside cabins a little claustrophobic. Choice of dining from set times or free dom  dining including an almost 24 hour buffet and for those leaving the bars late in the evening this was a great idea .  Although we paid a reduced price the service was excellent . I felt that we were not allowed to lift a finger as even to move sun loungers a crew member would appear from nowhere to arrange this for you.  Simple

Spoilt , well done P And O we will be back .

First cruise 

Sadly, I'm of the same opinion of other prople on board  Very disappointed with this Carabbean trip. Ports over crowded by too many ships. 

However, l must say, the staff were excellent.

Our cabin steward did his best to keep our tardy cabin clean everyday.  The shower head was broken which took two attempts at repair; there was mould in the shower corners; the toilet seat was disgusting: (underside of the lids was very badly stained) The food was mediocre, many daily repeats in Oriental restaurant but with different fancy names. Long gone treats etc .no individual  yoghurts, no toasters to choose for yourself if you wanted the thick hard toast provided for you;  horrid, weak seethrough custard; limited fresh fruit; coffee & tea machines constantly running dry. 

First time cruisers wont remember these points. Big ships mean more people and less care & comfort.

The stage shows were good but entertainnment on the lido deck was very poor.  We spent about £ 7000 on this cruise but would never use travel agent Iglu again whose Customer service is appalling.

Seasoned Cruisers Barbados Cruise

Just returned from a wonderful 2 week cruise to the Caribbean, enjoyed every minute. Any holiday is what you make it. Got to visit 9 different islands in 2 weeks. Food of a good standard, ate in Oriental restaurant, thanks to both Soni and Danni both lovely,  Beach House, Epicurian and glass House. Thank you to Sanjay our steward who did and amazing job. Brittania is off for a refit soon can wait to return and see what's been done. Pool deck can be busy on sea days, but always managed to fine a quiet spot out of the blazing sun. Embarkation and disembarkation went really smooth. Headliners theatre group we really good along with Pulse who did a great job of covering lots of different type and style of music. Did visit the spa or gym so not sure what they are like. Our cabin was towards the aft staircase which was very handy.

Beautiful Caribbean

This was our first P&O cruise so tried to keep an open mind and not try to compare with the other companies that we have used. The flight from Birmingham and transfer at Barbados worked well even though we didn’t have our luggage before we went for dinner. We originally opted for Club Dining first sitting and because we only booked 4 weeks before sailing we did not get a table for 2 but were allocated to a table for 10. Not that it made any difference as the Oriental  restaurant was quite empty and we had the table to ourselves. At first we tried to change to a table for 2 but having had breakfast in the Peninsular Restaurant (a much nicer environment) on day 2 we changed to Freedom Dining which worked well for us by using the phone app.

Britannia is a party ship designed for to encourage passengers to part with their money in the bars and restaurants. It is not designed for people who like to relax in the shade or have a post dinner promenade in the fresh air. When cruising we normally try to use the stairs as much as possible to ensure we get some exercise. Britannia is a nightmare to find your way around. Only on Deck 7 is it possible to walk from one to the other. Without a central stairwell we had to use the lifts to go down 2 decks  for meals.

The food was generally good although lunches sometimes lacked a proper choice. The Horizon Buffet often had better choices although it also served up choices from the previous day.

Dress codes were not always enforced. I was denied admission to the Peninsular Restaurant for breakfast because I was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt (not a vest) ladies were permitted to wear strapless sun tops! Girls in bikinis and men without shirts were seen in the Horizon Buffet. Black tie or suit was not enforced in the Peninsular Restaurant.

Our cabin was compact and only had one bedside cabinet with drawers. The bedding was clean but old and anything but white. Initially the a/c was not working correctly and it was too warm. When repaired it went quite cold but it eventually settled down to a comfortable coolness. On board wi-fi was initially poor and it needed a plug in repeater to give us proper reception.

Shore excursions were reasonably priced although organisation was lacking. Unbeknown to us and at least one other party our trip in Curaçao was moved forward by 30 minutes. Fortunately it did not leave without us and we just managed to get seats together. In St Kitts the tours did not assemble by the exit marked for Pre-booked Tours but out of sight some 200 yards away.

There was no information regarding drinking water. If you had your own bottles it was easy to fill from the bathroom tap and keep them cool in the fridge. It is the same water as in the Horizon Buffet, but P&O want you to buy theirs.

Our return trip worked much the same as the outward journey although there was the usual scramble for seats on the buses. Bridgetown airport was also stretched with dealing with so many flights at a time. On arrival in Birmingham I felt sorry for at least 3 people at Manchester whose bags were going round our carousel!

Will we travel with P&O again? The jury is still out; it was good value for money but Britannia is the largest ship we have ever sailed on and probably won’t again. We may try the smaller ships.

One factor that puts us off P&O is they do not seem to care what passengers think. Why no End of Cruise survey?

Good value for money, but does P&O care?

1st Cruise in 20 years,  after reading some reviews we were a bit apprehensive but we so wrong , my advice is make up your own mind.  From arriving at Glasgow Airport to embarking the Britannia, everything was very smooth.  Embarked the ship and were greeted by staff who advised us how to find our cabin,  reach cabin to be greeted by our Cabin Steward,  a lot of reviews saying cabinscan ship were looking tired, cabin was spacious,  good storage , few scuffs on walls but it was clean , we were not intending much time in cabin so all good.  Our cabin was deck 12, this was on Port Side it was a very good cabin.

Food was great in all restaurants only 2 we did use was beach house and Oriental. 

Staff were all exceptional,  Happy to help.

Reviews also complaining about no sunbeds on sea days, we used beds on deck  18 and never had an issue,  but did see beds with towels lying vacant for hours with no one on them,  but we managed OK.

All excursions were well organised and affordable,  our favourites were semi sub in Aruba and Chocolate and rum in St Vincent.

Our only gripe was black tie events too many of them 4 in 2 weeks, all restaurants don't let you in without a jacket except Glass House, Beach House and Horizon.  Sometimes it was difficult to get into beach house or Glass house as people who dressed for Black tie had booked these, we just felt 4 was over the top, we go.on holiday to relax not get mega dressed up, but it did not spoil our Cruise this is just 2 people's opinion.   I would definitely Cruise on Britannia again we had a blast .   Ps best bar for sunset sail is Crows Nest fab sunsets

Fabulous cruise

Booked last year on Board, after a New year cruise, we had some concerns that P&O were cutting everything whilst trying to attract a different client group, but we decided to give it a chance! the result was a mixed bag: 

The Good: Britannia is still an impressive ship and generally feels spacious, she handles roughish seas quite well.  Lots of people made the effort on Celebration night to dress up and staff I the crows nest enforced the dress code when the short  and flip flop wearing brigade arrived! The Caribbean in winter is a great getaway to enjoy the sun and beaches. The staff try hard and the supervisors do try to put things right if it goes wrong.The dance instructors were very good and enthusiastic with full classes.The Glass house stands out as the best eatery and the crows nest still retains it's calmness despite having stopped the savoury biscuits and now charging  more than £10 for a gin and tonic at sea where no duty is paid!

The Bad: Britannia is looking tired and needs refurbishment, Staff levels are cut to the bone with long queues at bars and little table service on deck. 

Buffet food choice is very limited and dominated by : British classics" which have a hospital canteen circa 1980 about them.   "Premium restaurants" now offer poor value for money, Sindhu's tikka Massala must have had genuine tomato soup in it as part of a very bland meal and the Beef fillet at the epicurean( at a £30 pp supplement) was not fillet steak but a cheaper cut dressed up to look like it, but it was stringy and had the wrong texture.On deck food is burgers, hot dogs and pizza (which is not of great quality compared to Princess' pizza! ) Main dinning room staff were excellent but the menu is more limited with cheaper ingredients . Staff will no longer save a bottle of wine for the next night  for your tables so you either drink it in one go or keep it with you! 

Air conditioning is a problem, cabins getting very hot and some public areas having intermittent air con ( it was switched off during dancing and back on for the quizzes in the Crystal room!)

Water was dripping form a number of ceilings and one corridor had a permanent bucket for the drips, rust was visible throughout the ship and even under the superficial layer of white pain that keeps Britannia looking so good from a distance.

Dancing is now interrupted every night by quizzes, one of which had 4 questions about Only fools and Horses! There is a general feel that Ballroom, Latin and Sequence dancing is tolerated rather than valued by P&O; a massive change for when Strictly cruises were held and all things dancing celebrated.

The clientele has continued to move in the direction of people who would probably  traditionally stay at a 3 star  all inclusive, who wandered round the ship in shorts and flip flops on formal nights despite the majority making the effort! It was a shock to see British guests struggling with cutlery at dinner , talking very loudly with their mouths full and generally being rude.There is a general holiday camp/cheap hotel feel about the holiday, which is just not for us.  

Sunbed hogging is a massive problem with 70% usually claimed and not occupied, staff doing nothing to stop it, one couple we saw have staked out two sunbeams and a table and 3 chairs becoming very irate when challenged. Sunbeds are now routinely dragged into the middle of the promenade deck making traditional walking or jogging very difficult, one man was very rude when challenged, first by another passenger then by a staff member who had to intervene. 

The use of various charter flight companies has caused frustration for many, but for us booking seats with TUI cost £180 extra on top of the premium economy supplement , to cap it all we were offered " bangers and mash" as an inflight meal on the way home. 

Overall all that was missing was " knobbly knee" contest. It is really sad to see this happen to Britannia in the Caribbean as we have had 3 previous good cruises, though we have felt the change in clientele on the last couple of years. I suspect that P&O are making a serious mistake in thinking that this new group of passengers will give them the long term loyalty they hope for , but it will definitely drive away more traditional customers. We have already booked a couple of P&O cruises and we are a bit concerned that we may have to endure them rather than enjoy them, but lets see. I suspect the Carnival group hope dancers and more traditional cruisers will gravitate to Cunard, but with it's high service charges, I'm not convinced!

We decided not to even enquire on board about booking again, which I guess says it all

Felling more downmarket every year, despite getting more expensive!

Seasoned cruisers and over 25 completed now and 2nd time on Britannia and just not sure where it has all gone wrong!

So where do i start hmmmmmmm!

Ship itself looks very dated and not what what you expect from a ship that is under 10 years old.

No technology used to get you around the ship, ok for us but for newbies not easy.

Pool Area- lots of tiles missing.

Service around the ship- very slow and staff just do not look happy, especially the bar areas.

Leaks in Buffett- I found this was due to condensation build up but not acceptable as it was dripping on passengers.

Entertainment-A massive drop in standards since our last cruise on this ship, most of the singers would put you to sleep, dull and drab and mediocre comes to mind, Not sure where you got some of these so called Entertainers from maybe Youtube, the only saving grace was Exile the Caribbean band but they sung to many of the same songs.

The Sun bed police- Where did they come and like little Hitlers, we had a situation when someone was in the pool too long and got a tickets, better to get rid of those two and have staff elsewhere.

Plumbing- Heard lots of stories of blocked cabin toilets, pool toilets always seemed to be out of order and our cabin shower head was filthy so cleaned it ourselves.

Food- Peninsular and Meridian overall good but not enough variety and the same things came on the menu over and over again, Horizon Buffet, dull tasteless not seasoned properly comes too mind, need to have a good look and the chefs to work out how they cannot season food properly, Sindhu was an Excellent meal and well worth the money spent to eat in there.  

Emergency alarm- An announcement came over the tannoy at 3:30am in the morning to say there was a Fire on the ship. Would of frightened a lot of passengers to here this message so i went to investigate to calm my wife down and by the time i got back the Captain came over the tannoy to say all was clear.

As i am an Engineer a coded message would of been a better way to alert staff  as i cannot think of a worse scenario than to hear the word fire in the middle of the sea at night. How many people did you want to scare so not acceptable from such a big company and very unprofessional.

Overall this was a very disappointing Cruise and only saved by the great stops, we had more enjoyment off the ship than we did on it.

P&O need to have a good look at themselves and this ship and hopefully take note where it is needed and listen more to your passengers or there are plenty of other Cruise companies people can use.

Where is it all going wrong!

Well after our last cruise on Britannia in June 23 we approached this cruise with some trepidation and more than once had thought of cancelling it prior to departure.

I am pleased to say that our fears were totally unfounded, and we had a fabulous first Caribbean cruise for the reasons below. Was it all perfect? No, but the positives definitely outweighed the ‘not so positives’.

The positives:

The flights and transfers to the ship were excellent. We had paid extra for the premium seats and, though not cheap, the service on the TUI Dreamliner each way from Manchester to Barbados was faultless. Well, Barbados airport boarding was chaotic, but you can’t blame P&O for that. P&O really do handle the transfers well and it is great not to have to mess about with baggage when you arrive. We were taken straight to the ship and were on board in about 10 minutes. Our cabin steward got our bags to us within about 45 minutes. Similarly, on the way home we left our luggage outside the cabin on the last evening and picked them up in Manchester. It really was stress free.

The cabin this time was clean and felt loved this time. As this was a special cruise for us, we had purchased a Bon Voyage Package so there were flowers, chocolates, bathrobes and champagne waiting for us. The cabin steward, Caetano for cabin aft was excellent and one of the best stewards we had ever had on any cruise / cruise line we have sailed on. The balcony was kept clean (important on an aft cabin) but this time we had little soot. We had taken a small flannel with us to wipe it down if needs be as little spots can make marks on your clothing but that is the same for every ship we have sailed on when in an aft cabin. Some of the furniture is now looking tired (the settee) and the carpets need replacing. (I think the refit is due in April so hope that this is something that they will be looking at.) We had a few rough crossings from port to port and the cabin definitely had a ‘creak’ (sometimes a bang) when it was choppy. I’m not sure what they could do about that, and it is a ship not a land hotel after all. Other than that, this time we felt very comfortable and as ever that part of the ship was very quiet. (Thanks to the neighbours who were quiet around us too).

Tea and coffee making facilities were available and replenished just once a day. Sadly, we did not have any biscuits this time (though someone in a single cabin did so not sure what happened here). Am not sure how often the bed was changed but it was kept fresh and clean – as were the towels. No turn down again. It is something we still miss, but it is what it is, so we took our own chocolates! Not sure if this is a positive though …

We purchased our canned water for the cabin via our cabin steward. This was easy, but it tasted awful, so we took a Brita filter bottle to try to take the taste away. 

The major difference on this cruise was the availability of seating in the Main Dining Room. We had been dreading meal times after our experiences in June, but were over the moon to see that it had gone back to its normal good standard and it seemed that most people had returned to using a pager not the useless (in our opinion) holiday ‘app’ booking system. The longest we had to wait for a table was 30 minutes, though on most nights it was about 15 minutes or we just went straight in. Service in the Peninsular was excellent at almost every table and the quality and choice of the food was very good. (Was there as much choice as there used to be? Probably not, but when we looked at the price we had paid for the cruise something has to give and the value for money cannot be faulted). 

The staff throughout the cruise were exceptionally friendly and helpful. Have never seen such a happy bunch! Everyone we passed gave us with a friendly smile or greeting.  It felt like a different ship than in June. It was also good to hear the Captain and other Bridge crew giving regular updated and information about our ports. Sadly, we never saw them around the ship though.

As this was our first time in the Caribbean we tended to book the ship’s excursions and have to say that we found all to be good value for money. I am sure that we could have done them cheaper ourselves, but as this was our first time on this itinerary we preferred to play it safe. The reviews of each excursion are below, but on here, just a shout out for St Vincent and the Grenadines which seems to capture the real feel of the Caribbean more than any other port for us and a Beach Hop excursion by catamaran in St Kitts that was an incredible day. (Thanks guys!) The Excursions Team were really helpful – particularly Frederica who helped us on a number of occasions. We had booked most excursions before we sailed, but it was easy to change them if necessary.

We ate in the speciality restaurants on 4 occasions and this is where things were a little disappointing. The one positive was our 2nd evening in the Epicurean where the crew, food and ambiance of the whole experience was faultless. A little more expensive than the other speciality dining areas but half the price of the speciality dining venues on the American cruise lines so to compare would be unfair. 

Drinks packages. We didn’t purchase either – though we do like a drink we never find that we drink enough to make having the package financially viable. Similarly, we did not purchase wi-fi and preferred to find free wi-fi when on shore. This was easier in some ports than others, but most bars had free wi-fi and it was a good excuse to try a local rum punch or two ….!

Bon Voyage Package. As this was a special occasion we pushed the boat out so to speak and purchased this package. As mentioned, we had flowers, wine, chocolate, bathrobes, a photograph and a champagne breakfast included. Have to say, it was great value for money. The flowers were beautiful and some lasted the whole 2 weeks and the breakfast was huge and a high standard - we were really impressed and will buy this again separately the next time we go. (It lasted two days and part of a lunch !). The Champagne lasted about half an hour ….

Cleanliness. We were pleased to see that throughout the ship attention was being paid to hygiene and there was someone on duty each time we went into the buffet to check that we cleaned our hands / used the hand gel. From what we know there did not seem to be a lot of cases of respiratory illness or sickness on board, but on a ship with that many people in winter it is inevitable that some bugs and germs get about and spread. P&O were doing everything they could to prevent this and you can’t ask  more of them.

Formal nights. Though no everyone’s cup of tea it was good to see everyone taking part in the formal nights (or whatever they call them now). Despite this being the Caribbean everyone was ‘dressing up’ and it made for a great atmosphere. Perhaps 4 night seems a lot though .. perhaps 3 would be better … but if you are taking all of your gear you may as well make use of it!

Entertainment. Though we aren’t usually bothered with the entertainment etc we did enjoy the ship’s Caribbean Band Exxile, a really talented group who brought the atrium a live. We also thought that the ‘Busker’, George Wilding, was excellent too and we would like to have seen more of him in the atrium as he has a real talent. (I think he spent more time in Brodie’s Bar, but he obviously had a big following as the place was packed every time he performed. From the daily Horizon magazine there seemed to be plenty to do and a number of party nights on deck were well attended and looked fun: the silent disco and the Caribbean Party.

Having heard a number of stories about passengers being ‘thrown off the ship’ in previous cruises due to bad behaviour we weren’t sure what to expect this time. I have to say that on the whole, we found our fellow passengers to be considerate, friendly, polite and well behaved! With over 3000 people on the ship there is always going to be someone who is ‘annoying’ – I would say that to have no one on land, let alone sea, would be asking for a miracle. There was a great atmosphere on the ship so thanks to 99.9% of our fellow cruises. It was our first cruise in school term time, so this also made a difference to the ‘make up’ of the ship.

Finally for the positives – the Captain. We both felt that we had a really good Captain who made some excellent decisions in terms of ports. E.g. we had to miss Bonaire due to the high winds and he was able to rearrange a stop in Aruba instead. This was all sorted a very short notice and credit to everyone for sorting our shore excursions etc so quickly. Similarly, we were told that the weather was going to deteriorate one night the Captain made the decision to get to St Maartin quicker than had been planned and dock there before midnight incase the weather prevented us docking the next day. Some people complained because the shops and casino closed early that evening, but it was either that or not docking the next day and having a sea day on a rough sea ….

Not so positives

We now find that the cocktail menu is very limited. In the past we had pages of cocktails to try and now there seem to be about 4 and the drink of the day. We asked them to make up a cocktail that was not on the menu and were told it could not be done. (They had in June). The Cosmopolitan I had felt like pure lime juice and we found that the pina coladas were far weaker than they have been and for some reason they only do one size. All quite disappointing and another reason not to bother with the drinks package in our opinion. 

Ironically, the speciality dining venues were a mixed bag this time.

We went to The Beach House first and the menu was different from the one used in the Mediterranean having a Caribbean ‘vibe’. (It was dominated by spicy Caribbean food as almost everything had some sort of spice in it and for me this meant that I had a very limited choice). Infact, my husband also thought that the choice was limited and he likes spice to a certain degree. In the end I had to ask them to make a chicken dish without the chilli – it still didn’t taste particularly appetising. The service in there was not good / friendly other than one young man who served us occasionally and we cancelled our 2nd booking as a result. We would still give it a go with a new menu as we have always loved the Beach House but prefer the Mediterranean menu.

Sindhu's, similarly was not as impressive as in the past. I am not a fan of Indian food but staff have always been good and adapted my meals to ensure that they are mild. This time there looked to be less choice for the starters and our waiter was more abrupt in terms of adapting anything. He just told me that the food was adapted for the British taste. Though it was ok I still found it extremely spicy and drank gallons of water to help with mu numbing lips. A passenger on the table next to us had the same issue as she too had found her meal extremely spicy having been told it was ‘mild’. It’s a shame as we usually enjoy our visits to Sindhu’s – but not this time it wasn’t as good as on other visits. I think that there has been a change in terms of menus so perhaps this is the reason. Some elements of the meal were good, however and hubby enjoyed his meal. We cancelled our planned 2nd booking here as well though as there was very little choice for me, but we will give it a go another time and I am sure that others in the restaurant had a fabulous meal.

The Epicurean. We ate here twice. The first time the experience was ‘so so’ and certainly not up to the standard of our previous visits on Britannia and Ventura. Service was lamentably slow, taking 3 hours for our meal. The food and whole feel of the evening wasn’t great either. Thankfully, our 2nd visit was much better so perhaps this was a one off and we are glad that we stuck with it and didn’t cancel our last ‘sea day’ visit. On this occasion the service was excellent, the food choice better and the quality very good. 

We never got to the Glass House as we were enjoying the Main Dining Room.

Limited room service menus. When we are on excursions, we like to have breakfast in the cabin. For some reason the cabin service breakfast menu is greatly reduced even more than before. (I.e the breakfast hot panini has disappeared).  Again an example of cost cutting am guessing, but something to be aware of. Having said that when we did order breakfast it appeared on time and was accurate / convenient when preparing for a day out.

So, to sum up – we had a fabulous time on our first Caribbean cruise with P&O on Britannia. It was good to see that some of the issues we had encountered in June had been ‘sorted’. We did have some stormier than usual weather at the end of the cruise (and we heard some people moaning about the cruise / P&O as a result), but there isn’t a lot anyone can do about the weather and even the locals said it was unusual! If nothing else at 28 – 30 degrees the rain was at least warm and if needs be we went for a swim! The vast majority of the time it was baking hot and sunny and we found that we really needed that factor 30 and 50 suncream.

Finally, I have to mention the friendliness of the local people we met – all of whom were delightful – friendly, welcoming and enthusiastic (for want of a better word!). Thanks to everyone we had the pleasure to meet for making our holiday special.

For the first time ever, we booked to return on a similar cruise next January, 24 on Britannia and that really says it all. Is P&O and Britannia as up market now as at the likes of Celebrity – no – but in terms of value for money we don’t think that it can be beaten for this itinerary. Don’t let negative reviews put you off – give it a go.

Curacao

Loved this place and it was easy to walk into the town – about 10 minutes. Lots of souvenir shops on the quay side and a great bar called 5 O’Clock Somewhere that was close to the ship selling amazing cocktails.

Aruba

Did an island tour and beach stop. It was good to see the islands sights and enjoy a proper coconut smoothy. Probably our least favourite port though as we found that the side of the island with the hotels seems to be dominated by huge high-rise hotels. The beach was beautiful, but it was sad to see the island being ruined in some parts. The beach we stopped at was about 10 minutes from the ship so can be reached by taxi. I think it was called Eagle Beach.

St Vincent and the Grenadines

Our favourite stop over. The welcoming vibe from the musicians as you enter the port area – kettle drums and a band – really made for a great party atmosphere. Outside of the port there isn’t much to see as this is the ‘real Caribbean’ to me and the town was not touristy. Found a small shack for a nice rum punch and the people were incredibly friendly. We went on a 4 x 4 Jeep Safari and Beach Break here and it was one of those perfect days. The beach we were taken to – Brighton Beach - was everything you would expect a Caribbean Beach to be and despite it being on the Atlantic side swimming was safe and warm! A great place and probably our favourite port.

St Lucia

We did an Aerial Tram excursion to a rain forest which was well worth the money and a great experience. The port has great shops and free wi fi.

St Kitts

Great shopping in the port area and the Beach Hop by Boat was a fantastic afternoon of fun. The guys on the boat were delightful and it was a great way to enjoy the island. The 2 beaches we stopped at were idyllic with the sand like talcum powder and the sea azure blue. Sadly, Britannia won’t be stopping in St Kitts next year, which is disappointing. 

Grenada

We visited a garden high up in the mountains. The garden is small but the young guide who showed us round was extremely knowledgeable, and the views were stunning. A good way to spend a couple of hours. On returning to Grenada we had a wander around the shops in the port which by this point in the holiday were all beginning to look like the other islands

Antigua

We did the Caribbean Sailaway excursion which was a great way to see the island’s coast, enjoy 2 beautiful beach stops and tuck in to a real Caribbean lunch on the boat. On the day of our visit the weather was hit and miss and we sailed through a number of torrential downpours through most of the day. The 2nd beach we visited was stunningly beautiful and worth the trip on its own. This is highly recommended though and we would do it again another year and cross our fingers for the weather.

St Maartin

We booked a beach break at Cocky Turtle Beach in Simpson Bay. The beach was beautiful but the weather poor with high winds and heavy torrential showers. We made the most of it though, but on return we did not look around the shops in the port area as we needed to warm up. (seriously)

Barbados

We did the 4 x 4 jeep safari and beach break at Copacabana Beach Club in Bridgetown. We enjoyed seeing the sights of the island – especially the stunning beaches on the Atlantic side. We felt that we wanted to stay here longer though as a 10 minute stop didn’t seem to be long enough. The beach break was good, but the weather was stormy, so it did affect our time there. Having said that, the beach was beautiful and the experience of swimming in the beautiful Caribbean sea is a must do

Again, there are plenty of shops in the terminal – though we found better souvenir shops in the airport before we left.

2 Fabulous weeks in the Caribbean

I spent 2 weeks on this ship on a Caribbean cruisr.

I spent 2 sleepless weeks since despite having spent nearly £4k , my cabin was right on top of a club running music until morning hours.

Not a chance for customer service to do anything about it, for them to reply with a standard reply and not solving anything took  24 days since the day i logged my complaint.

But that was not all.

Food was absolutely rubbish across all restaurants (and most of the people i spoke to confirmed the exact same opinion), even tried the most expensive restaurant on board with no luck. The vegetarian option was always indian: why on earth?

The whole boat feels dated and is not even 10 years old.

Entertainment was absolutely rubbish too, in cabin tv had 7 channels in total 4 of which were sports and news, movie channel was really limited with mostly 20years and more old movies which were the same they would run in the onboard cinema. Thank god for streaming!

All the excursions were very expensive.

Never again!

P & NO! 

Just come home from the Christmas cruise and really enjoyed it.

Britannia was a pleasant surprise - a classy upgrade on our two previous trips on Azura. I was surprised how different the atrium felt (in a good way) when we were there, compared to how it looks in photos and videos - you can't get a feel for the ambience until you're there. It's smaller than it looks on screen, but there's actually more than enough seating, if that makes sense.

I know some people say you don't spend much time in your cabin, but Britannia has one of the best in-room TV/movie screens I've come across (up there with Princess) in 20 cruises. Lots of live British TV, box-sets, and movies you don't have to pay for! 

Sindhu & Glass House were excellent as expected- didn't get chance to go to Beach House as it was full when we tried. Choice of alcoholic drinks best bar none for a British audience in my view. MDRs were comparable with other lines, although we didn't like dining at 8.30 (too late) so changed to freedom. Can't understand why they (not just P&O) stuff tables into corners of corridors in dining rooms out of the way of the buzz of the main room. It makes those locations a lot less interesting.

Captain & crew dealt with medical emergencies very professionally and the response by passengers to the request for blood donors was something to be proud of.

I thought Brodies needed a refurb (this spring?), but it is very popular so fading a bit (carpets, upholstery). There were/are several issues with leaks around the ship, but were dealt with properly by the cabin staff.

Singers and bands were generally excellent, especially Georgie Eliza who had a captivating voice and will probably get spotted for bigger and better things sooner or later.

Other entertainment was also good - art lectures, movies in the studio, cookery club, and David Prybus talks all excellent.

As for booking in advance...not at all necessary, despite what people will have you believe (we don't do shows, so can't comment on that side).

When we switched to freedom dining, we never waited more than about 15 mins with a pager before going in. Never booked and never joined any kind of virtual queue. Both times we went to the Glass House we got in within 5-10 mins. The only reason we missed out on the Beach House was because it was the last night, so our fault.

We managed to book excursions the day before - very few were full, and on the first sea day the chefs did a presentation on each of the speciality restaurants to drum up bookings - which they would not have bothered doing if they were anywhere near full.

Would highly recommend a cruise on Britannia at any time. There will be niggles on any cruise (really hated the 'bing-bong' announcements at 7.30 on port days, and the four or five subsequent reminders throughout the morning about which bloody gangway to use!) but these are first-world problems that didn't spoil it overall.

Pleasantly surprised by quality of the ship.

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