What’s new? The 3,647-passenger ship, the biggest in the company’s fleet, has been designed to appeal to foodies and families alike, with tons of activities and facilities for children and teenagers.
The good news is, they’ve made sure that prices remain constant throughout the year irrespective of the timing of the peak school holiday periods – perfect for families that have to travel during school holidays when holiday prices typically rise.
ACTIVITIES
The outdoor sports space will allow families to play short tennis, cricket and football surrounded by tiered viewing decks, a bar and big screens for playing video games. The ship will also have four swimming pools, a gym, spa, nine entertainment venues, shops and a library.
Britannia will feature the line’s first pool deck dedicated to teenagers complete with an outdoor plunge pool, as well space to watch films, play games or participate in coaching sessions, talent shows and parties.?
KIDS CLUBS
It will also have The Reef, a range of age-specific children’s clubs high up on deck 17, split into four age groups so kids can hang out with children their own age. ??
Qualified youth staff provide a full programme of age-specific activities in Splashers for 2-4 year olds. ??
Qualified ‘Reef Rangers’ provide activities, adventures, games and coaching sessions for those aged 5-8 in Surfers.?
Children aged 9-12 in Scubas can either join in the organised games with the specialist Reef Rangers or simply hang out with friends in the chill out areas.
?A free night nursery for children aged 5 and under is open until 2am and is supervised by qualified youth staff. Parents are provided with a pager in case they need to be contacted.
FOODIE HEAVEN
P&O has recruited five celebrity ‘Food Heroes’ to work on board.
A cookery club overseen by TV chef James Martin and a series of guest chefs is one of the new features on board together with a range of patisseries created by French master patissier Eric Lanlard for the Market Café at the heart of the ship’s giant atrium.
Marco Pierre White will create menus for restaurant gala evenings, Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar is developing menus for the Asian-themed Sindhu fine dining restaurant while wine expert Olly Smith’s Glass House food and wine bar will have an outdoor terrace.
A total of 13 places to eat and 13 bars will be on board Britannia which is currently under construction at a ship yard in Italy.
THE LOWDOWN
Britannia will be sailing from Southampton from March 2015, and is the perfect way to get into cruising as it;s such a big ship. It’s suitable for families and multi-generational groups as well as couples and solo travellers (there are 27 single cabins on board).
Cruises in summer 2015 will range from two-night short breaks to Guernsey with prices starting at £249 per person, to 14-night voyages to the Canary Islands, Mediterranean and Baltic Sea with prices from £1,149. The ship will the run fly-cruises in the Caribbean from Barbados in winter 2015/16 with prices starting at £1,399.