Oh dear, Iona disappointment, Again!

[jaydee6969]

1 hour ago, Bazrat said:

We must have been in the minority on this site and found the web page worked well, on other sites there seams to be no complaints about it so it must be just here.

 

We are also part of the minority that didn't have issues with the 'app' whilst on board.

[Bazrat]

48 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I am hoping that by June we will able to turn up at the MDR and get a table without much of a wait, but if that causes problems we will try the app, but with my memory I will forget to do it or forget how to do it. So we will see which system causes me least grief.

You might find it less stressful if you use the system in place 

[Fitzplumbago]

One thing I learnt was that when a main dining room wasn’t available to join on a queue on the app, it meant that there wasn’t a queue at all. I always headed for the Pearl MDR on deck 6 at around 7pm and never had to queue once. Ventura was often a half hour wait. I felt  the food was better on Iona than on any of the P&O ships I had been on previously, mainly due to there being  more choice.

 

It was good to be able to view the bar menus for every venue  on the app. But I agree, it would be nice if they had the MDR menus (Lunch and dinner) integrated too. Saves having to wander down to the rear of deck 6/7 every day and snapshotting  the led screen before it flicks over! 

[jeanlyon]

I presume this is only a problem on the big mega monsters?  I hope it's not true on Aurora - re Freedom Dining.  We also go down about 8 and never had a problem.

[davecttr]

On my Iona cruise last August I did not use the main dining room and see no reason to do so this May. my OBC will cover the costs if any.

[Megabear2]

3 hours ago, Bazrat said:

And you still can but you just book it wait a few minutes and get called, we did it and it worked well.

My husband's phone connected okay, mine didn't even with assistance.  What we found annoying was having to turn off our paid wifi to use the blessed thing as it wouldn't work if we were connected. Considering we had paid for whole voyage wifi we felt that wasn't good.  Carrying a phone all day isn't something I want to do.  

 

Had tyecsame problems on Regal Princess trying to book restaurants so not necessarily a P&O problem but a design problem on Britannia's class of ship.  Not sure if it's in operation on Aurora but will be interesting to compare.

[Fionboard]

5 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

If this covid era was your first experience of freedom dining, then please dont judge it on this experience. Although I have not yet cruised since covid hit, I certainly would not enjoy the fact that sharing tables could lead you to quarantine if any table mate tests postive, and pre booking your table is also alien to my idea of how freedom dining should work. Pre covid we always chose freedom dining, mainly had sharing tables, and never pre booked our dining time, which to me defeats the whole purpose of freedom dining, and choosing your time to suit your mood.

Fixed means I have the same table mates every night with which I am more comfortable. Not perfect but at least I do not have to dine alone! And I have made some good friends this way.

[wowzz]

45 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Had tyecsame problems on Regal Princess trying to book restaurants

We just used the cabin TV. Very easy.

[Purdey16]

Just got home tonight from my 3 weeks on Iona and really had no problems with using the app it was very well done in our opinion all ways worked, booking a table to eat when a show finished ( joined the que) and by the time we walked to the restaurant our table was ready, there is only 5 or 6 o’clock times you can book in advance but if that’s to early for you you can join the que anytime after that when convenient for you , the food on Iona is good lots to choose from , tastes good and well presented, ordering drinks in any bar was quick and plenty of waiters walking around to get your order , plenty to choose from in the Horizon, but most mornings we went to the keys for breakfast and had fresh omelette and pancakes and waffles made , the olive grove was also very good which we had lunch most days , so plenty to choose to eat and included in price you just had to be a bit organised to what you want to do to book some things , plenty on at the pictures to watch but you had to go at least 20 mins before to get a seat  and not leave it till film is just about to start and then go moaning about can’t get a seat , all in all we had nothing to complain about , good happy waiters/ staff went out of their way to do anything for you , re the Madeira not docking the captain did try twice it was 7 o’clock in the morning and it was cross winds and the pilot decided it was not safe to berth , yes I was up set because we were so close but the true experts know best they have years of  experience and the weather was deteriorating. 
All in all a good cruise ship plenty to do and eat , just not for us , too big with too many passengers.

[jeanlyon]

Agree, the Captain would not miss a port without good reason.  However, these huge ships have a big windage problem which makes it lot more difficult to berth in a cross wind.

Edited March 5, 2022 by jeanlyon

[Britboys]

7 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

I presume this is only a problem on the big mega monsters?  I hope it's not true on Aurora - re Freedom Dining.  We also go down about 8 and never had a problem.

Les_ldh has said on the current Aurora thread that you can either book using the app or just turn up. Glad I still do Club Dining. One thing less to worry about...

I'm hopeful that things o Aurora might be back to 'normal' by the time I board in August...🤞🏻

[jeanlyon]

I hope so too Andrew.  We are not due to sail until April 2023.

[bobstheboy]

Returned home after a lovely two weeks onboard Iona. The majority of people we spoke to loved it, a few didn't, that's life. One lady in a lift just blurted out this is the worst holiday experience of my life ! I couldn't help saying Do I look interested in your comments ?

 

I am having a long rest from social media. Opinions are just that, so you have yours and I'll have mine.

 

[Britboys]

5 hours ago, bobstheboy said:

Returned home after a lovely two weeks onboard Iona. The majority of people we spoke to loved it, a few didn't, that's life. One lady in a lift just blurted out this is the worst holiday experience of my life ! I couldn't help saying Do I look interested in your comments ?

 

I am having a long rest from social media. Opinions are just that, so you have yours and I'll have mine.

 

I have no doubt that I wouldn't enjoy Iona, which is why I don't intend to sail on her. As to the lady in the lift, unless there was something non-ship related that made her cruise so bad, then all I can say is that she must have been very lucky to have found every previous holiday in her life to be such a wonderful experience.

[devonuk]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

I have no doubt that I wouldn't enjoy Iona, which is why I don't intend to sail on her. As to the lady in the lift, unless there was something non-ship related that made her cruise so bad, then all I can say is that she must have been very lucky to have found every previous holiday in her life to be such a wonderful experience.

To be fair to her I had conversations with a few who reckoned it was the worst ship they’d ever travelled on 🤷‍♂️
As previously stated it’s all about opinions, for us both not the worst but by no means the best cruise we’ve had. 

[Halfway]

Just back from first cruise on Iona, so drawing a few comparisons with previous cruises on other P&O ships.:-

Iona - a bit underwhelmed by the Atrium, not got the "wow" factor I'm sure P&O wanted. The SkyDome is impressive, but awful acoustics spoil any musical acts that appear there. Not sure if COVID related, but no sail away parties, and the entertainment staff don't do much other than introduce shows and host quizzes.

Cabins:- Nice, but poor wardrobe/cupboard spaces, and a glaring omission is no facility for charging electric shavers/toothbrushes. The ports guides which have been an essential part of cruises we've done before weren't available. Cost cutting? Don't know, but poor from P&O if so. White Company toiletries restricted to shampoo/shower gel, all securely fastened, so no taking away part-used bottles!

Dining:-

The My Holiday app was good, we joined the virtual queue every night, and never waited more than a few minutes before getting the "table ready" alert. Food very good, definitely more veggie/vegan options but enough others options to satisfy most tastes. Portions - particularly starters - noticeably smaller sizes, but good nonetheless.

Entertainment:-

Pulse were excellent, several other good acts, but virtually all the high-wire shows due to happen in the Sky Dome were cancelled due to the virtually omni-present high winds. Only one guest speaker on board, which was disappointing.

Verdict:-

Things were always going to be different since our last cruise just before the pandemic started. Cruise companies have lost millions and it is perhaps no surprise that they are now trying to claw some of it back. Iona is definitely aimed at attracting more family-based cruisers. No dancing in the Atrium, laser shows, high-tech effects in Headliners, fast-food outlets in the Quays etc. It's a big, modern ship and P&O need to get as close to the 5200 capacity as they can. For us, we've tried it but prefer other vessels in the fleet and that's where we will look for future cruises.

[Francisdrake]

On 3/5/2022 at 12:41 PM, lujaha said:

Things must have changed since our cruise in Jan/Feb.  We never booked a main restaurant and always got seated straight away.  Usually around 8 in the evening.

Exactly this on our cruise in February we just turned up at the dining room without ever looking at the app & every single time they seated us straight away.

 

What I would say about Iona though is it seemed to lack atmosphere throughout the day in particular in the sky dome area as there was no background music or entertainment going on at all.    Whenever I've been on other cruise ships there's always been something going off up there even if it's just music played in the background.

Edited March 6, 2022 by Francisdrake

[Harry Peterson]

9 hours ago, Halfway said:

Just back from first cruise on Iona, so drawing a few comparisons with previous cruises on other P&O ships.:-

Iona - a bit underwhelmed by the Atrium, not got the "wow" factor I'm sure P&O wanted. The SkyDome is impressive, but awful acoustics spoil any musical acts that appear there. Not sure if COVID related, but no sail away parties, and the entertainment staff don't do much other than introduce shows and host quizzes.

Cabins:- Nice, but poor wardrobe/cupboard spaces, and a glaring omission is no facility for charging electric shavers/toothbrushes. The ports guides which have been an essential part of cruises we've done before weren't available. Cost cutting? Don't know, but poor from P&O if so. White Company toiletries restricted to shampoo/shower gel, all securely fastened, so no taking away part-used bottles!

Dining:-

The My Holiday app was good, we joined the virtual queue every night, and never waited more than a few minutes before getting the "table ready" alert. Food very good, definitely more veggie/vegan options but enough others options to satisfy most tastes. Portions - particularly starters - noticeably smaller sizes, but good nonetheless.

Entertainment:-

Pulse were excellent, several other good acts, but virtually all the high-wire shows due to happen in the Sky Dome were cancelled due to the virtually omni-present high winds. Only one guest speaker on board, which was disappointing.

Verdict:-

Things were always going to be different since our last cruise just before the pandemic started. Cruise companies have lost millions and it is perhaps no surprise that they are now trying to claw some of it back. Iona is definitely aimed at attracting more family-based cruisers. No dancing in the Atrium, laser shows, high-tech effects in Headliners, fast-food outlets in the Quays etc. It's a big, modern ship and P&O need to get as close to the 5200 capacity as they can. For us, we've tried it but prefer other vessels in the fleet and that's where we will look for future cruises.

Thanks for that review.  The thing that really surprised me was that on a ship carrying that number of people there was only one guest speaker.

 

Did you find enough to do on sea days?  I think we'd have been bored silly.

[Purdey16]

9 hours ago, Francisdrake said:

Exactly this on our cruise in February we just turned up at the dining room without ever looking at the app & every single time they seated us straight away.

 

What I would say about Iona though is it seemed to lack atmosphere throughout the day in particular in the sky dome area as there was no background music or entertainment going on at all.    Whenever I've been on other cruise ships there's always been something going off up there even if it's just music played in the background.

We had music playing in the background in the sky dome it was on low until 10 o’clock in morning then turned up , .and then some acts were practicing at some point .

[Purdey16]

28 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Thanks for that review.  The thing that really surprised me was that on a ship carrying that number of people there was only one guest speaker.

 

Did you find enough to do on sea days?  I think we'd have been bored silly.

Harry there was only 3,700 onboard, which the week before was 3,100 which we certainly noticed the difference around the ship , there was the usual stuff that goes on like bingo , quizzes, battle of the sexes, just 1 guest speaker, line dancing exercise  in the limelight , pictures on all day , daily talks on jewellery, the spa talks, and some extra stuff on the theatre, and a comedian in the afternoon, but we really missed the port talks to find out about the towns and they weren’t on the tv , just the brief description you get when booking prior to cruise,  we don’t do quizzes, bingo, dancing, or reading, but we did visit the pictures which they have 4 studios , films change every few days 

[Harry Peterson]

4 minutes ago, Purdey16 said:

Harry there was only 3,700 onboard, which the week before was 3,100 which we certainly noticed the difference around the ship , there was the usual stuff that goes on like bingo , quizzes, battle of the sexes, just 1 guest speaker, line dancing exercise  in the limelight , pictures on all day , daily talks on jewellery, the spa talks, and some extra stuff on the theatre, and a comedian in the afternoon, but we really missed the port talks to find out about the towns and they weren’t on the tv , just the brief description you get when booking prior to cruise,  we don’t do quizzes, bingo, dancing, or reading, but we did visit the pictures which they have 4 studios , films change every few days 

Thanks for the further information.  I think our days with P&O are probably over - we always found plenty to do on sea days, but most of what we did seems to have been cut out to reduce costs.

 

There does come a point, possibly already reached, when cost cutting produces a product which just isn't worth buying for some people.  So many other holiday options to choose from.

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, Harry Peterson said:

Thanks for the further information.  I think our days with P&O are probably over - we always found plenty to do on sea days, but most of what we did seems to have been cut out to reduce costs.

 

There does come a point, possibly already reached, when cost cutting produces a product which just isn't worth buying for some people.  So many other holiday options to choose from.

The problem going forward for me is the massively inflated cost for these P&O cruises.  Looking at the Christmas cruises to the Caribbean which we have taken many times, I'm now looking at around £7,500 for two in a select balcony which is frankly way too expensive for the product on offer. We have Christmas 2022 booked using a moved cruise from 2020 and are looking at a balance of 60% outstanding at this point which shows how the cost is so much more - the 2020 cruise was 45% cheaper in total.

 

I am seriously thinking of moving the funds to a different cruise at another time which will not require such a high outlay. This and my 1 April cruise are the only P&O bookings remaining for us and currently the itineraries and pricing are not drawing us towards booking others.  If I have to pay these types of prices Princess, Celebrity and Cunard are of a much higher quality at not much more cost.

[Harry Peterson]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

The problem going forward for me is the massively inflated cost for these P&O cruises.  Looking at the Christmas cruises to the Caribbean which we have taken many times, I'm now looking at around £7,500 for two in a select balcony which is frankly way too expensive for the product on offer. We have Christmas 2022 booked using a moved cruise from 2020 and are looking at a balance of 60% outstanding at this point which shows how the cost is so much more - the 2020 cruise was 45% cheaper in total.

 

I am seriously thinking of moving the funds to a different cruise at another time which will not require such a high outlay. This and my 1 April cruise are the only P&O bookings remaining for us and currently the itineraries and pricing are not drawing us towards booking others.  If I have to pay these types of prices Princess, Celebrity and Cunard are of a much higher quality at not much more cost.

I’ve stuck largely with P&O for cost reasons, having found that the aft suites, which suit our purposes well, were relatively good value.

 

As the years have passed, though, it’s become much less of a luxury holiday, much more of a basic holiday. Less appealing altogether, because of all the little extras removed. Guest speakers were a big attraction. Now it seems to be gaming machines, bingo and sales talks from people trying to sell third rate ‘art’ and jewellery.

 

If the prices now match the frankly much better competition, little reason to stay, then.

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Harry Peterson said:

I’ve stuck largely with P&O for cost reasons, having found that the aft suites, which suit our purposes well, were relatively good value.

 

As the years have passed, though, it’s become much less of a luxury holiday, much more of a basic holiday. Less appealing altogether, because of all the little extras removed. Guest speakers were a big attraction. Now it seems to be gaming machines, bingo and sales talks from people trying to sell third rate ‘art’ and jewellery.

 

If the prices now match the frankly much better competition, little reason to stay, then.

We cruise with a few different lines and generally find P&O to be in the cheaper end. This year we will be cruising with Celebrity, RCI and P&O and have no doubt that Celebrity and RC will have some advantages, but that overall, P&O will give greater value. 

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

I'm now looking at around £7,500 for two in a select balcony which is frankly way too expensive

And by the time you factor in PE seats on the flights, onboard drinks etc the final bill will be approaching £9k.

At that price level, land based holidays become increasingly attractive.