Iona naming ceremony

[Jennizor]

Just watched the naming ceremony. Mixed feelings really. What they showed of the inside looked lovely, would have liked to have seen more. Paul Ludlow was OK, not very inspirational though. Gary Barlow’s first song was OK, then he sang Rule the World, which was great. Obviously done in a studio a long way from Southampton. Overall, it made me feel that we all have something to look forward too and I can’t wait. 

[bungle66]

I loved the naming ceremony but would have liked to have seen a bit more of the interior of the ship. They could have incorporated a 5 minute 'tour' maybe. I would also have liked to hear the Captain speak, maybe just a few words. It felt a bit contrived but I appreciate it is a very different experience to anything that's been before. I was shivering along with them. It looked cold there lol. All that said I was impressed. Looking forward to my cruise on Iona in December 2022. Not long now lol.

[Jennizor]

We should have been on her in February but transferred to next February. Great to have it to look forward to. 

[molecrochip]

16 minutes ago, Jennizor said:

Just watched the naming ceremony. Mixed feelings really. What they showed of the inside looked lovely, would have liked to have seen more. Paul Ludlow was OK, not very inspirational though. Gary Barlow’s first song was OK, then he sang Rule the World, which was great. Obviously done in a studio a long way from Southampton. Overall, it made me feel that we all have something to look forward too and I can’t wait. 

Can confirm Gary Barlow was on the dockside next to Iona. A black covered stage was erected to the left of the main stage.

[Britboys]

As I said on the other thread, I wasn't at all impressed. The ship could have been lit better and I am really surprised there weren't any fireworks. Half the ceremony was advertising their various commercial partnerships.

Pleased to say that all the technology, including the live stream, was seamless.

[Britboys]

1 minute ago, molecrochip said:

Can confirm Gary Barlow was on the dockside next to Iona. A black covered stage was erected to the left of the main stage.

Yes, that's how I saw it.

[molecrochip]

The fireworks & light show was a casualty of the weather.

 

I understand other aspects of the ceremony were tweaked also.

[Presto2]

I enjoyed it - thought it was quite emotional and I'm not a massive fan of the ship. Just something positive in these dark times and hope for the future (I hope!)

[ann141]

Wish I had accepted the invite🙁 

Just others commenting about the ceremony and the photos of Iona have put me in the mood for cruising.Whilst in Devon we saw several cruise ships including Arcadia off the Torbay and Teignmouth coast. Looking forward to our cruise in September  though like others I am tempted to book a mini cruise for July or August

[cruisefan2012]

I agree, would have been nice to see MORE of the ship, and the interiors 

 

I suppose we will have to wait till the UK cruises before we can see what the interior of the ship looks like when people make youtube videos 

[Ardennais]

A bit of a non-event really. Gary Barlow’s voice sounded really weak! Paul L isn’t very inspiring at the best of times, very little presence. All in all a damp  squib. Why couldn’t they have shown more of the interiors? The ship should have been the star of the show. Short and not so sweet! 

[P&O SUE]

1 hour ago, molecrochip said:

Can confirm Gary Barlow was on the dockside next to Iona. A black covered stage was erected to the left of the main stage.

I was going to say I could see he was standing in front of the ship when it panned out.

 

[wowzz]

2 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

A bit of a non-event really. Gary Barlow’s voice sounded really weak! Paul L isn’t very inspiring at the best of times, very little presence. All in all a damp  squib. Why couldn’t they have shown more of the interiors? The ship should have been the star of the show. Short and not so sweet! 

I watched a 10 year old episode of Vera,  and it sounds as if I made the right choice!

[Ardennais]

Just now, wowzz said:

I watched a 10 year old episode of Vera,  and it sounds as if I made the right choice!

Too right! I thought it was a very poor show, even allowing for the context. 

[bee-ess]

A bit underwhelming I thought - No fireworks at all (literally !).

 

Think they missed a big chance to show off the interior of the ship.

[Pink-belle]

We made it a nice evening, nice food and drink and a cosy evening in our pj’s with the rain lashing down outside. 
I wondered if the weather had spoilt some of the plans, they all looked so cold.

 

my disappointment was lack of ship interior sneak peaks, would have loved them to have used the Sky dome area. 

[Dermotsgirl]

18 minutes ago, Pink-belle said:

We made it a nice evening, nice food and drink and a cosy evening in our pj’s with the rain lashing down outside. 
I wondered if the weather had spoilt some of the plans, they all looked so cold.

 

my disappointment was lack of ship interior sneak peaks, would have loved them to have used the Sky dome area. 

I thought they might have used the Sky dome 

[terrierjohn]

9 hours ago, wowzz said:

I watched a 10 year old episode of Vera,  and it sounds as if I made the right choice!

Me too, I forgot all about it as we were absorbed in a channel 5 documentary about Kew. If there were no views of the ships interiors, I guess we missed nothing.

[swimming with spaniels]

I said to my husband that i was disappointed not to see inside, and he said he thought it would a right mess inside, people and stuff everywhere,  with all the final fittings still being tweaked

[Host Sharon]

Well at least the bottle broke. That's about all I can say positively. The whole thing felt like an advert for cider and a travel agent to me. Surely, even with Covid restrictions, they could have had a clergyman bless the ship?  It was the first naming I didn't feel emotional about or get a lump in my throat.

[molecrochip]

33 minutes ago, swimming with spaniels said:

I said to my husband that i was disappointed not to see inside, and he said he thought it would a right mess inside, people and stuff everywhere,  with all the final fittings still being tweaked

Other than provisioning, the ship is finished.

[bobstheboy]

1 minute ago, molecrochip said:

Other than provisioning, the ship is finished.

When are promotional videos going to be available to all ?

[Pink-belle]

16 minutes ago, molecrochip said:

Other than provisioning, the ship is finished.

Do you know why they didn’t show us any if it? Or even feature the crew? Other than those with flashing lights on the bow. 
some dazzling smiles and we “can’t wait to Welcome you on board”  would have been nice. 

[zap99]

10 hours ago, wowzz said:

I watched a 10 year old episode of Vera,  and it sounds as if I made the right choice!

We watched part 2 of Jane McDonald in the Caribbean. 🛳️

[Ardennais]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

We watched part 2 of Jane McDonald in the Caribbean. 🛳️

We watched that afterwards. Enjoyed the 2 part series very much.