Ardennais

I really hope your cruise makes up for the dreadful start! Sounds like something out of Race Across the World. 

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

 But I guess you have to admit that keeping dogs outside is very much the exception.

They’re working dogs so that’s the difference! People can choose to have dogs in their own home, no problem. However years ago, you wouldn’t find many dogs in cafes and restaurants. They seem to be everywhere now and not just little dogs but huge ones! I find if very off putting when trying to eat.  

7 hours ago, Angel57 said:

My Cockapoo doesn’t whiff either…… and he is always cleaning his paws.🐶 but @kalos I’ll admit he is very partial to eau de fox if available!

I love that I’m allowed in many cafes and pubs with him, but imo it is always best to have a separate seating area so those who do not like dogs can avoid. 

 

Definitely! I have asked to move tables more than once because I couldn’t enjoy my meal with a dog drooling close by. 
I was raised on a farm, and dogs never came into the house. They don’t on most farms! 

7 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Poodle cross varieties don't really smell, or at least my sons Labradoodle doesn't.

I think dog owners sometimes get used to the smell and don’t notice it. Same as smokers and smoke! 

7 hours ago, lincslady said:

Good morning everyone.  It looks as if it will be summer again today, at least on this side of the country, so hope we can make the most of it by being outdoors.

 

I had a great lunch yesterday - this is one lovely small country pub which is really busy even on a weekday lunchtime.  Because the staff are friendly and super efficient, and there is a big choice of tasty food served piping hot.  They really deserve to be successful.  I even had a pud., a lovely raspberry pavlova, and was so stuffed my dinner was a glass of orange juice.  

 

Has anyone been reading about the new phenomenon of dogs on cruises, purporting to be 'service' animals?  I find it entertaining, though I would not like to be on a 'luxury' ship to find a pampered pooch sitting on a sofa near me, or in a handbag in the restaurant!  Been seen on Regent, Silversea and Seabourn ships, I suspect generally with USA owners.  The crews are not happy at having to clean and tidy the cabins for such clients, but management seem to be succumbing to pressure from rich and entitled people.  I feel petty sure it would never happen on a P and O or Saga ship.

 

 

I hope not! I hate dogs indoors and can smell them hours later. I don’t like them in cafes and restaurants either. 

5 hours ago, F-s Islander said:

we've just got back after using Parking 4 Cruises and they were excellent in every way. We have previously used CPS but they have either been fully booked or much more expensive. They were nearly double the price and I don't see you get anything else for your money. Parking4 cruises were in constant contact, did everything they promised and were really friendly. 

CPS was just a very rushed, get them through quickly operation.

Have also used Park on my drive which worked well

Good to hear that! Did they actually text you first on the day of the cruise? 

14 hours ago, LittleTinker said:

Parking 4 cruises hands down the best.

Whist everyone is queuing for CPS, we;re in our car and away

I’ll be putting that to the test shortly as we’ve booked P4C for the first time. We’ve never had to wait with CPS, pre-cruise or when returning so P4C will to be super amazing to give us even better service! Price is the only reason for trying them out as it’s a Princess cruise and parking isn’t included. 

If you’re booking similar cabins, then this won’t apply. However, make sure that you work out which is the ‘best’ cabin to book the car parking. For our recent cruise, it was more cost effective to allocate the car parking to the inside cabin. Can’t remember the sums involved, but that left us with more OBC overall. 

Have a look at the deck plans and the notch showing the cabin door. 
 

This is Iona, but it might be similar on Arvia! 
 

My husband and I were in 9230 - open the door, then bathroom door on immediate right. Row of wardrobes facing the window with back to bathroom.  Then sofa and then the bed by the window.

My daughter and partner were in 9232 - open the door, then bathroom door on the immediate left. Row of wardrobes facing the window with back to bathroom. Then the bed and then the sofa by the window. 
 

1 hour ago, me and the mrs said:

Hi fellow cruise's. 

When we were on the arvia last we were on deck 5 in balcony cabin (shaded type), the cabin we had was laid out with the bed near the wardrobes with the settee next to balcony and we noticed some cabins near us had the bed next to the balcony and the settee next to wardrobes, is there any way of knowing which cabins are laid with the the bed next to balcony as it seems a much better option? 

I think solentsam is spot on. Our recent cabin on Iona had the bed next to the balcony but we actually prefer the sofa next to the balcony. The cabins are quite narrow and the bed was very close to the balcony doors so I’ve tried to ensure that our next cruise on Iona has the bed by the wardrobe. I know from last year on Iona that there’s not a lot of room to open the wardrobe doors when the bed is next to the wardrobe, but I still prefer that layout. 

1 hour ago, Angel57 said:

This is where I am today and look at the sky. (Haugesund, Norway). This is the last port before arriving home on Saturday. 
I am enjoying Iona very much, but my daily step count has trebled!

Hope everyone is well.

Gill x

Pleased that you’re enjoying Iona! 

Excellent suggestion Selbourne, the voice of reason!

I’ve been phoning around for quotes for a few cruises this past week, and I’ve been asked more questions than usual about mobility and our ability to walk unassisted. I eventually booked via my usual TA on Saturday, and she was very thorough in her questioning. It’s a shame that something then goes wrong down the line. 

Having cruised around 250-300 nights, we’ve only ever missed 2 ports. Once due to weather conditions and once due to industrial action. I guess we’ve just been very lucky!

2 hours ago, purplesea said:

The Chef's Table is situated in the buffet but away from the open buffet/self service area.

We had a table for two on Arvia.

Exprience wise, it is a matter of opinion. To me the service was the same as the MDR.

Yes, people can still walk through while you are eating.

Similar on Iona. We had two tables of four for the 8 of us. We enjoyed it. There was a great atmosphere in our section and everyone seemed to be having a good time. 

6 hours ago, Josy1953 said:

Good morning, where are the early risers today.  I was woken by the birds at just after 4am and gave up trying to go back to sleep so got up at 4:45 to do the housework, as DH says it is fortunate that we are detached.

It is a bit grey at the moment and only 12° but hopefully it will stay dry and warm up later.

Have a great day.

You seem to do an awful lot of housework Josy! 

There were two young men running Creative Waves on Iona last month. I only attended one session, and to be honest, it was the sort of thing that Early Years would do! Basically cutting bits from the daily Horizon and maps of ports and sticking them on a black piece of paper. Nothing like the proper craft classes we had on our long Ventura trip a few years ago. 

The Club House:

16 hours ago, Pet said:

Going back to the original post, would you kindly be able to provide the times of the shows on Iona during the Norway cruises in the three main venues? Might help me to decide booking reservations in the restaurants.

 

Many Thanks

 

Pet

These were the timings on Iona during the Norway cruise a few weeks ago. No bookings were required at all as they had to adjust the programme due to injury. Just walk in. 

32 minutes ago, Josy1953 said:

His mum is ill and since his dad and sister both died last November she was only just starting to get back to normal.  I know that he had to go to court to support the client this morning but I cannot see any reason why he can't ask for compassionate time.  It is time he grew up and put his mum ahead of people who are making little effort to turn their lives around.

You Josy have provided fantastic support to your family. Some people don’t have any support at all. That’s all I have to say. 

4 minutes ago, zap99 said:

We have never bothered locking our suitcases. If they can get into my computer, I doubt a 50p lock would tax their abilities too much. If they want my secondhand " undercrackers " they are welcome.🤣

I was beginning to think that we were the only ones! We never lock our cases either. 

In my experience, the paper ones are simply impossible to remove without using scissors. We use a lot of staples, and I mean a lot! 

Olive Grove wasn’t available for booking pre-cruise for us recently on Iona. It was last year, but not this time around. 

3 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Great post

 

I agree

 

Let's not forget as well set dining times and sharing tables with fixed set menus was how cruises started when they couldn't possibly create systems to offer choices or alternatives

 

What we are seeing now on new cruise ships (big and even on smaller ships) is just progress

 

Just like we get on screen cinemas, automatic doors you don't need to touch (which are huge improvements hygiene wise) but something the older ships don't have but could do with asap.

 

Water dispensers, better designed cabins, better toilets and showers. Wide screen tv's with multiple channels. Being able to see where the ship is going on your TV even in inside cabins. Theatres with state of the art sound and HUGE video screens 

 

Safer ships with the best technology, muster systems that aren't HUGE pain in the necks requiring those boring long winded drills

 

All we are seeing is progress

 

Very little of which is for the worse

 

And progress whilst costs have dropped significantly in real terms

 

And we no longer are expected to pay gratuities either

 

We should all be celebrating. Not trying to find fault or scare newbies off

 

 

I would agree with a lot of what you say, but I don’t think Iona’s cabins are ‘better designed’. Very narrow cabins, useless bedside units, no drawers! 

15 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

I wonder why P&O have not considered Iona alternating between a  Fjord cruise and a Baltic cruise. I could see the latter being a a popular choice.

Great idea! 

Until 2020, I seem to recall that staff would come around the buffet asking whether guests would like to book the speciality restaurants, often with so-called special offers. It appears that they had to work hard to fill those restaurants. Why the change, I wonder?

We’re quite happy with the MDR and buffet most nights, and only booked speciality for the first time on Iona last year. Epicurean was OK, but not bothered about going again. Went to the Limelight on Iona and then Britannia and really enjoyed the singers, but wouldn’t pay extra just for the food. 
 

Megabear’s point about being a solo passenger and having a lengthy wait is important and reminds us that everyone’s situation is different. We were a little concerned that we would have to wait a while recently on Iona as we were a group of 8. Turned out to be the easiest dining ever. No app, just told to turn up at any time and there was always a table ready for us. As I said, when it’s just the two of us, we’re relaxed and on Iona would have been quite happy to use the Quays or the buffet. However when travelling with elderly parents, using the app without any real indication of waiting time would have been a pain as we always tried to eat around 7.30. We’re not drinkers and never have pre-dinner drinks so would prefer the buzzer for which they indicate the likely wait.