crompton21

Personal experience of a recent Iona cruise: one “guest” we met in a lift displaying two black eyes and a split nose and a second being pushed along in a wheelchair with a bandaged head attempting to stop some quite significant blood flow. Both of these were most likely the result of falls, however we did hear a description of a fight occurring in the theatre.

Recently back from Iona G237, had an aft cabin. On the day of the Gary Barlow concert there was a large and expensive looking drone flying around, presumably taking footage for some sort of PR. At the time there were four men in one of the rear whirlpools. On seeing the drone flying around, one of the occupants stood up, dropped his trunks and waved his bottom at the camera. Don't see that sort of thing going on at Butlins! "This is the life" as they like to say.

May just be a coincidence but mini suites for the only Aurora November departing cruise are currently priced at £169 pp. It might be possible to put two and two together and come up with a theory I suppose.

Factually, neither of the two ships removed from the fleet were sent for scrap. Supposition on my part leads me to think that the number of times people were spotted wearing formal attire had very little to do with their sale.

There's a video on a social media site of a rear suite on Iona, that has 2 sun loungers plus the normal chairs etc. It's (mostly) the case that suites have sun loungers although there are also a large number of exceptions to that rule.

Apologies if this has been covered but I think someone mentioned that they thought they had seen something about a price promise but wasn't sure. Anyway, in all its glory here it is (taken from the website) "Book directly with P&O Cruises and relax knowing that you're guaranteed to have the best price. Not only do you have the added reassurance of booking with our destination and ship experts, but if you find the same holiday for less elsewhere within 24 hours, we'll match it. This means you can enjoy the best value holiday when you book directly with us."

I understand the flexibility thing, and for you that works. There are numerous other posts where people claim to have “got their monies worth” or words to that effect. To do that involves calculating your rolling drinks consumption on a daily basis to ensure that you haven’t been short changed, which appears to be the opposite of what you are able to achieve by having the package.

Have things got so bad that the only way to enjoy a cruise is now to consume so much alcohol that you neither know where you are or remember the experience? That’s what would happen to me once I’d had 15 glasses of wine/beer etc, I must be too much of a lightweight when it comes to drinking🍺

Sailing in three weeks time you can currently book 14 nights for £749 on Iona (was £699 a week ago). One of those conservatory mini suites is £998 (presumably for a cabin where you would not mind being peered at). I assume the price drop factor maybe one reason why there aren't many posts on here saying that people have/will book at launch this time around.

The last three posts, all valid opinions. One bemoans offering the Canaries, one bemoans not going to the Canaries and the other wants to book a cruise on a ship that would probably be going to the Canaries if it wasn’t offering what it is. I guess you can’t please all of the people all of the time 😁😁😁

Would your mind see it differently if the contract note was dated ten years ago?

For the quarter 92% of the fleet was in use with a sold occupancy rate of 85%, this resulted in a loss of $770M. In very basic terms, to break even required an achievement of approx 20% more revenue than was actually achieved. I think this might be a factor in the drop (other significant factors are also available)

Are you saying everything you read on the internet isn't true? Gosh....

I think the gift is the calendar, did you get one of those?

I understand on Arvia there is a plan to use a new and improved app to allow you to self print a virtual meal. This will reduce waiting at busy times and allow guests to enjoy their meal anywhere on the ship at any time.

If you don't mind shopping on Amazon you can ger 2640 cans of Fanta for the same cost....

Certainly you can order anything from the main lunch/dinner menus and anything from room service. I have seen postings of people in a suite being charged for ordering food from room service which shouldn't happen. It was possibly something like you had to order via the butler (but I may be wrong on that). Someone recently posted that they had an Epicurean breakfast delivered, but I have not heard of that before. The process to order is via ringing the butlers pager, they will then ring back and you place your order. The whole process can take a while if you order at a busy time (I think that we have waited an hour or so on occasions) All of the food comes together on plates with a stacking lid system. Generously, I would describe it as often being warm rather than hot when it arrives. By the time that you have worked through the meal a hot pudding (or ice cream) will tend to be quite a bit away from it's optimum temperature. The table in the room is not huge, two can sit at it comfortably but I would think that's about the limit. If there are four of you then two will probably end up sitting on the sofa to eat which may or may not be an issue. If you have an aft suite then there is a larger table on the balcony which is good if the weather conditions are suitable. I think I am correct in saying that on Britannia the side suites do not have a large table outside. If there are four of you, as you eat there will be a lot of used plates/cutlery/lids etc. There isn't a lot of space to stack them if the sofa is being used. Overall, it will give you a quiet and relaxed meal but there are a few areas that you need to check work for your situation. Hope that helps!

That would most likely lead to the majority of people being unhappier. If you buy something and then in that transaction are advised that others can buy it cheaper it tends to have a negative effect on the overall experience.

But not (from 05/09/22) within 270 days as your post reads to me.

From 05/09/22 this changes a little bit (I think!), taken from the website: Guests who have had one booster vaccine, regardless of the date, are considered fully vaccinated.

based on the title of this thread, shouldn't that be sprinklers?

It's not so much being happy to lose past customers, more a case of finding new ones. The sad fact of doing nothing would be that their target market would naturally reduce through time. They need new customers to ensure their future. New (younger) customers will have differing views on what appeals.

We received £150 for a November suite booking on Iona. Currently suites on the cruise are sold out so it appears to be a genuine reduction without a valid reason (such as a significant price reduction available on a booking made today) I find that to be quite strange but gratefully received none the less.

Ventura cruises for October, 01/10/22 depart 7 nights from £749, 29/10/22 depart 14 nights from £749.

Gary isn't proving a big draw if I am right on the pricing!