I have recently returned from a cruise on P&O‘s Britannia. These are my thoughts through the eyes of a coeliac travelling with ageing parents.

Travelling by coach from Lancaster to Southampton works well, without having to worry about traffic; it's all taken care of by InterCruises. They work closely with the cruise line, ensuring that you don't miss the boat. We had a 05.45 start from the Holiday Inn at Lancaster and so decided to stay there the night before. We had a lovely big room for the 3 of us at the back of the hotel so nice and quiet away from the main road and M6, in fact, we had a river view which was nice. Parking can be arranged for the week while you are away,y and if staying there, it was free for the night you stay and £40 for the following 8 days. You can also park there if not staying over, and I believe the cost then was £50 for 8 days,s so still not bad, ad and it means you have your car to hop straight in on the return rather than trying to tie up logistics with someone to collect you.

We had a bit of a hiccup when one passenger at the next pickup was dropped by his taxi at the northbound services rather than the southbound, but our driver found him, and eventually we were back on the road. Just one more stop for a quick comfort break, and we were in Southampton for 1330.

I had organised assistance for Mum as she had been suffering with a bad back on top of her other ailments, and my God, I am glad I did. We were told it was unusually busy as they had advised everyone had to take part in a full Muster, whether this meant some with later check-in times had been brought forward, I am not sure.e I can only presume this must have been the case, I also think quite a few coaches had arrived at once. This meant long queues, and I know Mum would not have been able to stand that long.

With the assistance we were shown straight into the terminal building, Mum was given a wheelchair, and a lovely gentleman guided us through check-in and onto the ship.

Britannia, I now realise, is too big for Mu,m and so it might be worth thinking about if you or any travel companions struggle with distance. Our cabin was amidships, but our restaurant was aft, so this meant walking almost the full length of the ship every evening for dinner,r and because of my dietary needs, ds we did it every morning too.

I did suggest a pre-dinner drink, as this way we could break up the journey halfway, but with the early sitting for dinner, we only managed this once, as we just didn't have enough time in the day.

Excursions are something to be careful with, both with mobility issues and dietary concerns.
I was booked on a cycle tour at the first port, and this was advertised as including a picnic. I went to speak to the tour team and found that they can not cater for dietary needs on this tour, so I will need to take my own. Not that easy when it is your first port, I went to the onboard shop and bought some rather expensive (but very nice) nuts and took a couple of slices of toast from breakfast. Not ideal, but I am used to this sort of thing happening.
Mum thought she would manage on the tours we had booked before her back issue, and in fact the first excursion they did while I was cycling,g and that worked well. Wedidd, I'd thought, struggle on the next one, which was visiting Tui and Valencia, both very nice, historic villages,s but the 1 and a half hours of walking turned out to be all in one, whereas we had expected it to be split between the two places. This then meant Mum decided to cancel her last tour when,n in fact, I think she would have been fine on it after I had spoken to the tour's team again, but I think she was just too tired by this point. So please speak to the tours team or ask your travel expert, let's get as much information as we can to ensure you have a wonderful trip.

We had a lovely time despite the above sounding quite negative but I wanted to point out what you need to look out for to make sure you have the best time.