Med Cruise 8/4/2016

We travelled down to Southampton by car and whilst we normally aim to be on the ship by around 1pm, we were given a 3pm embarkation time and told not to arrive early. We arrived at the dock around 2.15pm and waited in a line for around half an hour before our car was called forward. Inside the terminal it was chaotic, crammed to the rafters with people, many of whom had been there for hours. The terminal seemed more like an airport terminal during a strike. Many people were complaining about the delays and the general consensus seemed to be that this particular terminal is too small to cope with Britannia . When we were finally called we then had a further long queue to get through security staff who were also complaining about the chaos. We finally got on the ship just before 5pm and had no time to unpack before being called to muster stations. As we were on early dining, unpacking had to wait until the evening. There is no mid-ship staircase which causes massive logisitical problems for passengers and long delays waiting for too few and too small lifts. Admittedly they have recognised the error of their ways and we understand a new staircase will eventually be fitted. The balconies for most cabins can only be described as tiny which suggests that space has been compromised to squeeze in more passengers. The only way you can spread out on a sun lounger is to straddle your lounger across the balcony and the inside of the cabin. Whilst there is a good selection of TV programmes and films on the cabin TV, we were surprised that you couldn’t check your on-board account via the TV. Theatre is roomy and comfortable but the gangways are far too narrow making it a very slow process to exit. Atrium area looks fantastic and has lots of seating where you can sit and chat or have a Costa. We found the delays getting back on the ship unacceptable at some ports, notably Gibraltar and Lisbon, particularly as we had only had a few hours in Gib. Dining experience and food quality generally good but don’t order a steak. You won’t enjoy it!! We had a problem mid cruise with a flooded cabin which was not handled well initially but was eventually resolved after a complaint. It seems we weren’t the only ones to experience flooding. Considering the ship is only 1 year old, there did seem a lot of superficial rust in places, particularly the balconies. We felt the variety of sea day activities was limited especially my wife missed not having art or craft classes. Plenty of sunbeds but crammed too close together making them difficult to get on and off. Overall we felt it was just an OKAY cruise with no wow factor. We have had much better cruises on big ships with other cruise lines and we feel that P and O is making a mistake by chasing the big ship market which it can never compete with for wow factor. We are not put off P and O, but in future will only use their small and mid size ships which seem better able to service the P and O type of clientele.