DESTINATIONS — CRUISE
Cool Britannia Hollie-Rae Merrick
tests out P&O’s new and contemporary flagship
market and with the world’s largest union flag emblazoned along its hull, Britannia is definitely the most patriotic ship at sea.
I P&O Cruises had been relatively
secretive about the design of its flagship, so the inaugural celebrations, held in Southampton earlier this month, proved the perfect opportunity to showcase the cruise line’s new look and feel. In the run-up to the launch, the
P&O team had described Britannia as perfect for “modern Britain”. Carnival UK chairman David Dingle even said that previous ships had been designed and built to fit a Britain of the past. So when I got the chance to
explore the 3,600-passenger vessel, I was excited to see P&O Cruises’ take on what modern Britain wants.
l DESIGN OF THE TIMES This ship is unlike any other P&O ship. Britannia is modern, stylish and, in places, quite funky. The main difference between
t’s the biggest ship ever designed solely for the British
the old fleet and Britannia is the design and flow of the ship. Britannia is the only vessel in the fleet to have been wholly designed by the same company, Richmond International, whose previous projects include hotels such as The Langham, The Dorchester and The Berkeley. On Oriana or Ventura, for example, a different company designed each area, and although those ships still have sophisticated spots, that feel doesn’t necessarily flow throughout. Britannia is a very different
look for P&O Cruises, and several agents, including Sovereign Cruise Club’s Stefan Shillito, commented that the ship helped propel the cruise line into the premium market. Others described it as a “step change” for the brand. For me, Britannia’s pièce de
résistance on the design front is the Star Burst feature in the middle of the atrium, which is definitely the heart of the ship. This eight-metre-tall chandelier/ sculpture has the wow factor and shines in different colours as you view it from different angles.
26 March 2015 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 57
l GOOD TASTE
While other cruise lines go big on gimmicks, Britannia’s food offering is one of its main USPs. P&O has brought in a six-strong
roster of food and wine gurus: chefs James Martin, Atul Kochhar and Marco Pierre White, pâtissier Eric Lanlard, wine expert Olly Smith and cheese connoisseur Charlie Turnbull. Pitched as the ‘Food Heroes’, all
six have a role onboard Britannia, whether it’s the afternoon tea
The atrium
in the atrium’s Market Cafe or Epicurean restaurant (£15 a person), courtesy of Lanlard, night dining in Sindhu (Kochhar’s restaurant), or a glass of fizz in Smith’s The Glass House. The group will appear on 13 Britannia sailings this year. Perhaps one of the most
exciting innovations, and one of my favourite spaces, is The Cookery Club, created by James Martin but run on a day-to-day basis by chef Rob Cottam. It’s
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