After three years we thought it was about time to go back to the Caribbean - we usually go every two, but the birth of two grandchildren within 12 days of each other and me being birth partner for both put a stop to it. We thought it would be ideal to sample Britannia - we hadn't heard anything negative about her, and she would be different from other ships in the fleet. So we booked when the special offer of £100 deposit came up and were delighted when an opportunity to do a ship visit on her came up for August.
To say we were disappointed would be an understatement. We liked the outside facilities and the buffet area - what a good idea to have sinks for hand washing close by! But we found the cabins and the balconies in particular to be small. The seats in the theatre were very narrow - I'm not huge, but not skinny either, but would be uncomfortable sitting in one for an hour or so. My husband sat at the back during the tour, from where he could not see the stage at all. It was a surprise not to be able to see the sea from our table in the main dining room. This is apparently done to make the restaurant appear more intimate due to its size, but just had the affect of making me feel claustrophobic, which I suffer from, so that leads me to the lifts.....no I won't go there.
I found the décor very depressing -I hate browns and greens anyway and just could not bring myself to spend a couple of weeks in this dull, dreary colour scheme. After seeing stunning pictures of the atrium we found the real thing an anti-climax. The tour guide said, "this is where you are all supposed to say wow!" and we all just looked at each other.
For a while we thought we would still go - you can't really judge a ship unless you live on her for a while, after all. But as it got closer to the balance due date we began to get fidgety. So we've cancelled and rebooked on Azura for very little more, in a perfectly situated cabin on C deck with the extended balcony, got first sitting instead of the freedom dining that we had, and dislike, on Britannia, two ports we haven't been to before, and £700 OBC. Bargain! Now, at last, we are looking forward to our holiday
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)