Britannia – Some Good, Some not so good

We have cruised for many years with P & O on their medium sized ships (favourite being Aurora)., never been tempted onto the larger ships until the launch of Britannia when we decided we would try a one week cruise to our favourite destination of Norway. Lots of good points – embarkation at Southampton was first class, Britannia is very impressive and very spacious and number of passengers not a problem. Ther are numerous seating areas to while away the hours both on deck and within the ship. Very happy with our cabin – comfortable, compact Bathroom but well laid out, liked the glass door/screen to the shower. Plenty of space with the walk-in wardrobe area and no banging doors from adjoining cabins. Large wall mounted TV and audio system, easy to operate with plenty to choose from. Headliners shows very good using the latest lighting and sound effects.
Comparing previous cruises with P & O there were unfortunately some not so good points – dining experiences not what they used to be. Plated food just doesn’t do it for us, the waiters are far too busy to build any sort of relationship with the diner, not enough of them, therefore service was very slow. (We dined at Sindhus which really was brilliant, so well looked after and course after course of lovely food. It is clear that this is the way cruising is heading. To receive the service and food one has been used to in the past, one has to pay a premium which for us was well worth it).
Our main disappointment was the blatant disregard to adhere to the dress code of the night. We only had two Black Tie evenings during the whole cruise and even then there were people wearing the same shorts and tee shirts they wore during the day and being allowed, unchallenged, to enter dining areas, bars and the Theatre. This is clearly not acceptable to the majority who take the time and effort to dress for the occasion. P & O need to take urgent action to stop this situation getting out of hand and allowing their standards to be further eroded.
Overall we enjoyed our time on Britannia but think the smaller ships are probably more suited to the type of cruising we are used to.
Lastly, our disembarkation at the end of the cruise was carried out without a hitch.