Britannia B818

Reports about cruises on Britannia
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oldbluefox
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Location: Cumbria

Re: Britannia B818

#26

Post by oldbluefox »

So will Stephen's 50p when he tells you where he is going to put it :lol:

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Onelife
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Re: Britannia B818

#27

Post by Onelife »

I remember what happened the last time he gave me a helping hand.......He can stick is 50p l've never been the same since :lol:

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Stephen
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Location: Down Souf. The civilised end of the country :)

Re: Britannia B818

#28

Post by Stephen »

Onelife wrote: 21 Jul 2018, 17:43
Thanks for sticking up for me again Maureen your 'contributions' always bring tears to my eyes.

:wave:
A kick in the nuts can have that affect.

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sunseeker16
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Re: Britannia B818

#29

Post by sunseeker16 »

Thanks to Kendhini for his review. I am under the impression that there might be more to come, should he decide to continue. It takes effort to write up a cruise; it doesn’t take a lot to snipe or post one-line irrelevances.


cruisin_duo
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Re: Britannia B818

#30

Post by cruisin_duo »

Just caught up with your review, so thank you for posting.


Mamil1
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Location: Whitehaven

Re: Britannia B818

#31

Post by Mamil1 »

Please continue with the review Kendhni,i’m on Britannia shortly and finding it very interesting/useful.Don’t let one boorish character bother you.

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Kendhni
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Re: Britannia B818

#32

Post by Kendhni »

Sorry I haven't got back to this (desperately trying to catch up in work). But next episode

Other Entertainment
We went to see many of the Headliners shows. Several we had seen before but there were a couple of new ones as well. The new Astonish show was very good and well worth seeing. It is mix of song, dance and magic. I can't say I was "astonished" but we both thoroughly enjoyed the show. Other shows during our little voyage
- Jimmy Tamley, the ventriloquist was very funny, especially the closing part of his act
- Philip Browne (singer), we did not see his show but other passengers had told us it was very good
- Jenna Lee-James (singer), good but not really our cup of tea
- John Courtenay (pianist and comedy), very enjoyable
- Tucker (comedian) very good in both his Headliners and adult show. One of those all-rounder type entertainers that can sing, dance and crack a few jokes (like Brian Conley)
- Stephen Frost Improv Show (comedy), blimey he is tall, had its moments but some of the sketches went on a bit long
- Bootleg McCartney (Beatles tribute), I am not a Beatles or a Wings fan but we did see part of his show which looked good (if you are Beatles and Wings fan)
- The 4 tunes (singers) we did not see them (the lure of Pulse doing a Pink Floyd set won that nights entertainment choice - although the PF got cancelled :( )
There was also
- Jean Heard guest speaker
- Limelight entertainment. We didn't go to the Limelight so can;t say much about them (there was Wendi Peters, Darren Day, Dean Andrews, and someone else whose name escapes me (sorry I have given loaned all the Horizon and information about the cruise to a friend who is thinking of booking this cruise next year ... it might have been Claire Sweeney))

During the day time there was the usual dancing, bingo, choir practice and flea market stalls. The big 'sale' item on the ship was Russian Dolls, I had thought about taking a few home until I saw the price (ranging from several hundred to several thousand), however they were beautifully painted and not like the little cheap one my grandmother used to have and I played with as a kid.

On afternoons when the weather wasn't the best we called into the cinema (The Studio). The movies shown were bang up to date and I was surprised that the cinema was usually full with no seats for the late arrivals. Shows included 'The mountain between us, Peter Rabbit, and some oldies like Armageddon.

Overall, compared to the Caribbean, I would say there was more day time entertainment. Overall we really did not have nay time to be bored so congratulations to Neil Oliver and his team.


Late one night, about 11:30 to midnight we were also all up on deck, freezing as we passed under a bridge (whose name escapes me ... how embarrassing). Apparently there was only a few feet of clearance for Britannia.

I will try to get to the ports next.
Last edited by Kendhni on 29 Jul 2018, 10:19, edited 3 times in total.

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Manoverboard
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Location: Dorset

Re: Britannia B818

#33

Post by Manoverboard »

Was it the Oresund Bridge ? :wave:
Keep smiling, it's good for your well being

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Kendhni
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Re: Britannia B818

#34

Post by Kendhni »

I think you are correct MOB - that sounds familiar

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Kendhni
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Re: Britannia B818

#35

Post by Kendhni »

Ports of Call

Day1 - at Sea
This started out as lovely day, so it was up early (as we always do), breakfast and out on deck. Our preferred area being the Serenity pool. Unfortunately by mid morning we sailed into some fog which really dropped the temperature and the fog horn made you jump out of your skin every few minutes - plus the wind got up. We opted to head in and explore the ship and see what other entertainment was on. The British, being a hardy bunch, meant that many stayed out on deck, albeit wrapped in towels, blankets and fleeces. We ended up in the Studio watching "The Mountain Between Us" with Kate Wislett and Idris Elba - very good it was too.

Day 2 - at sea
This was more of a Caribbean style day, the weather was lovely so we were up on deck for most of the day. This was a formal night so we went to the Beach House and had a lovely meal. We then went to see the Headliners (the theatre was full of waiters sitting waiting for the show - and not one offered me a drink). Then off to see Pulse late night show. This was also the night where we all stood up on a freezing cold deck at midnight to watch the sale under the bridge.

Day 3 - Warnemunde.
We had originally booked a tour into Rostock from Warnemunde, but a couple of weeks before the cruise we got notification that the ship would be going into Rostock instead - so we cancelled the tour. We pulled in early in the morning to what looked like an industrial port - a bit chilly. After breakfast we took the bus into Rostock (about 20-30 minutes). The bus was complimentary if you booked the select fare or 4Euro each way if you had booked the saver fare (they scanned the cruise card as you boarded the bus and, I assume, it got charged to your on board account) . As we left the ship locals handed out tourist walking maps - make sure you grab one - my only issue was is that nobody told us where on the map the drop off point was.

It started off a little damp but that soon cleared up and we explored Rostock which was a lovely little town. Lots of shops (so Julie was happy, despite being outnumbered by me and the credit card). One thing, we noticed and it applied to most ports, is that shops did not seem to open until about 10AM.

Day 4 - at Sea
It was a bit blustery and overcast in the morning so Julie decided to peruse the wares on the tat stalls. They had the usual smelly stuff, £200 body warmers, inch of gold, watches etc. but the cruise specialty item seemed to be painted boxes and Russian dolls. Absolutely lovely to look at and appreciate the detail of the artwork but eye watering prices. In the afternoon it brightened up so we sat out and enjoyed the weather.

Day 5 - Helsinki
Like Rostock this looked like an industrial port requiring a bus to get into the heart of the city. As before it was free for select passengers or 4Euro for saver passengers. It was a muggy old day, overcast with a little drizzle. The local agents handed out walking maps so we set off (once we had figured out where the bus had left us). Lots of trams but we opted to walk up to the Rock church. It took about half an hour to reach and then cost 6Euro to get in - a bit expensive I thought, but what the heck, I am on holiday.

On leaving that we then consulted the map and headed towards the Sibelius monument. It took about another 40 minutes or so to walk there but by this time it was brightening up a bit (and I realised my choice of jacket had not been the best, being a full lightweight waterproof jacket that had been keeping the drizzle out but was now keeping the moisture in). We then walked back into the shopping area, strolled around a bit before heading back for the bus (Julie didn't even buy anything :) ).

Day 6 - St Petersburg
Sorry will pick up on this later

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