10th March 2015: Driving down along the front in Southampton, past the De Vere Hotel, I catch my first glimpse of Britannia - in a word, huge! Pulling up at the car park on the quayside the sheer scale of the ship is evident but, unlike some others of similar size, I could see that it still had some style and classic looks.
Embarkation was easy and soon I was aboard. On entry on Deck 5 you are immediately walking through the heart of the ship with its 3-deck high atrium complete with massive hanging central sculpture. This certainly made an impact, with cafes and shops surrounding it. You can just imagine the buzz on a normal cruise with people excitedly making their way off for shore excursions or shopping and drinking a coffee.
The decor throughout is modern but classical, not in your face as some of the American lines tend to be these days. My cabin was typical of this, neutral colours with a bathroom complete not only with shower but bath; a nice plus. Cabins aboard tended to be on the large size with lots of options; not all balcony cabins are the same. The same is true of the inside ones, so do ensure you look at all the cabins options and prices before you decide.
Restaurants are plentiful on this ship. The two main ones, Peninsula and Oriental (named after P&O), were both excellent with the design eliminating the feeling of being in a huge dining hall. The quick service Horizon Restaurant offers self-service with wonderful views of the sea. The other smaller choice restaurants, despite incurring an additional supplement to your cruise cost, don't carry a huge supplement. Food is one of Britannia's big draws.
Their "Food Heroes", James Martin, Marco Pierre White etc, have not only designed lots of the menus, but are regularly sailing on the cruises themselves.
The ship boasts the most amazing Cookery Club for lessons; this looked fantastic and not only could you learn from the likes of James Martin but 16 lucky people could dine with him after he had cooked a meal especially for them.
This experience is not cheap at £200 per person but, with most dates already sold out, it is clearly a winner! My food throughout my stay was beautiful. Not only did it look good but tasted wonderful - definitely 10 out of 10!
The Show Lounge is a great venue with stunningly high tech equipment that allows them to really showcase their entertainers. We were lucky enough to have the amazing Michael Ball entertain us. What a lovely chap and what a voice. A great experience and one to remember; "Love Changes Everything" has always been a favourite of mine.
Other entertainment venues on board include the Live Lounge, home to younger sounds; the Crystal Room for mellow music and the Crow's Nest at the front of the ship - my favourite spot to relax with a drink.
After a fantastic night it is off to see the Queen name the ship. We took our seats well in advance to watch Rob Brydon, TV star and also star of the TV adverts run by P&O. He was excellent and was not only very funny but equally reverent when required. Two of the Strictly Come Dancing stars then strutted their stuff for a while before the bag pipes of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers finished the entertainment. Surprisingly the interesting mix of bag pipes and rock worked!
The Queen's arrival is a funny thing - I have been to events with her before and a hush just takes over and people seem simply to be in awe of her presence - quite amazing. She and the Duke looked excellent and seemed to really be enjoying the whole experience. She wasted no time in naming the ship and we watched in expectation as the huge bottle of British sparkling wine made its way ever quicker down the zip wire to the ship's hull.
Thankfully a huge smash resulted and this queued streamers to fall in every direction. An excellent event, superbly organised to the last detail - just what you would expect. Interestingly, the Queen stayed on board for a lot longer that expected. She clearly liked what she saw!
So what were my overall thoughts? Firstly, a very big ship, so not everyone's cup of tea. Good range of facilities throughout so no lack of things to do. Decorated well and looked wonderful throughout. My only negative thought was that I found the staff sadly lacking any personality. On most cruise ships, the staff are the life and soul, entertaining, engaging and welcoming. I found most staff to be very functional and a bit flat, but once they find their spark and personality, then this ship will be hard to beat.
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Travel Blog by Miles Morgan
Phone Miles: 01291 762007
Email Miles: [email protected]
Visit Miles: 14 High St, Chepstow, Monmouthshire, NP16 5LQ
