We had sailed on Britannia previously. The second cruise she ever made. That was our first time with P&O and we disliked it so much (as my review at the time will explain) that we said we would never cruise with them again. This cruise was a present to us though. So the choice was made for us and we gave the ship and line another chance. Again, nothing has changed and we won’t be returning to P&O and the problems with Britannia are still the same as before.

The food was the main issue. As we had a large suite, we had access to the epicurean for breakfast. This was an excellent restaurant and the service and food was perfect. Friendly servers who were great with our little girl. The same can’t be said for the Oriental dining room. The food was constantly dry and cold and could take up to 45 minutes between courses which made meal times drag out. With a one, nearly two year old with us late at night, this was a big problem. The choice of food was poor and we all often struggled to find anything to eat. The buffet was no better. Food tasted as if it had been left under heat lamps for hours and the choice was small and poor and repetitive. It feels as if they are purposefully making the food bad to force you to spend money in the other restaurants. They do seem to like to up sell and try to drain every penny from you at every turn, with ads almost every day for £25 sail away parties and drinks. I know every line does this. We are not strangers to it. But it seems more obvious and blatant with P&O.

The grab and go is a great idea and handy for excursions, but again, the food is the same every single day and there is little choice. Read more