Dear Thorpe Travel Team

We are now looking back on another excellent holiday organised through Thorpe Travel, a Caribbean cruise.

P&O Cruises Britannia was the biggest ship we’d cruised on. We’d read some reviews, but as always went with an open mind. Home commitments meant we were limited to a week, so we went for the biggest cabin we could afford and this was F731, a Ventura Suite over the stern. The cabin was impressive. A suite, with a balcony wrapping around the starboard side of the stern. On the butlers advice we took breakfasts in the Epicurian Restaurant, which was provided if you were lucky enough to have a suite. Without a doubt these were the best breakfasts we have had on any cruise, lasting us into the late afternoon, irrespective of how active the days turned out to be. Our evening meals were “Freedom Dining” in the Meridian. The food was pretty average although being gluten intolerant it was easy to navigate through the menu while there was also an option to pre-order the previous day. Having remarked to Lorna at Thorpe Travel that the main dining room food was not as good as on Celebrity ships, she answered that, “You get what you pay for” and this seems acceptable – if I want better than the basic fare, I need to pay more and I’m given the option to do so. We booked excursions well in advance. This is just our preference and there are lots of opportunities to hire taxis and to join tours on sale in and around the Cruise Terminals. We did a rainforest walk at St Kitts – brilliant, Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua – worth a look and Snorkeling with turtles – missed the turtles, enjoyed the swim. The trips were a little on the pricey side, we paid for convenience. Generally speaking the trips were managed well. The local mantra seems to be “make haste slowly”. If this is an issue, the Caribbean is not the place for you. If I had to pick a hole in something, it was the Safety Drill. In some ways it was comical. Six stations all called to one location. Half of the people being sent away to find their Cruise Card and a script read by a young crew member who may have left his glasses in his cabin. Great fun for his mates,who seemed to be giggling throughout. Finally five of the six groups were marched away to have a look at their stations. The whole ten minute process taking more like thirty five. Most people having tuned out well before the half way point. Something that was not P&O Cruises’ fault was Bridgetown Airport – nightmare. Well then if that’s all I had to moan about, I must have had a superb holiday and I look forward to spending more time on the Britannia in the future.

The arrangements made by Thorpe Travel were faultless as always.  Lorna or one of the girls are always on the end of a phone and what they can’t answer straight away they sort out without delay.