Brilliant Britannia

If you are thinking of going on a cruise for the first time then Britannia is a great choice. Having never been on a cruise with my family before, I decided we should give it a go.

We drove down to Southampton the night before and stopped off in a local Premier Inn. This was great for feeling refreshed the next morning. Driving into Southampton we were all taken aback by the huge ships waiting for their passengers to dock.

It was a very painless check in process in comparison to airports. We drove straight through as we had booked the car parking. We were met by someone who whisked our car away to park for the next seven days.

Once through the security check points of the cruise terminal we simply stepped on the ship and greeted by the crew. You couldn't tell that it was a ship as it was that big and everything was so grand. It was like a 5 star hotel. Our cabins were ready immediately and our luggage was delivered swiftly to our room so we could unpack and start exploring the ship.

The ship was huge and we were staying in an inside cabin, which had plenty of room for me, my husband and daughter. We unpacked everything and there was a space for everything to be neatly placed. Top of the range toiletries by The White Company were waiting along with a mini bar with some water. A webcam of outside the ship could be viewed at any time through the TV.

The next seven days took us across the Bay of Biscay and we visited Guernsey, La Coruna, Bilbao and La Rochelle. When not visiting the cruise ports there was plenty of things to keep you occupied on ship.

There are a full programme of activities daily and at night. There are also three pools and a spa.

Kids were kept entertained with their own kids clubs, sectioned into age appropriate groups. This was very secure and the children could only be signed out by the person registered. My daughter enjoyed it in here with her friends. Every evening we all ate together as a family and then the kids would go to kids club in their PJs and settle down for a movie. We would pick them back up and hour or so later (after we had a quick drink in the adults only Crow’s Nest bar) and head to the buffet again for a quick supper. The kids loved it.

All in all, Britannia catered for all age groups and I would definitely go on again and visit some other destinations.