Live On-Board Iona G208

[sddsddean]

1 hour ago, pete14 said:

Simon, do you think the Malbec bought in a supermarket is as nice as that bought onboard? Maybe my palate has been addled by drinking more than my fair share of it.

I meant the Beefsteak Malbec Pete. You can get that in the supermarket, but P&O is where we discovered it!

 

Simon

[DamianG]

[DamianG]

[DamianG]

Happy Costa Christmas at Vistas

 

[pete14]

41 minutes ago, sddsddean said:

I meant the Beefsteak Malbec Pete. You can get that in the supermarket, but P&O is where we discovered it!

 

Simon

But to my taste, the Beefsteak Malbec I discovered and enjoyed on Arcadia is different and better than the Beefsteak Malbec sold here in supermarkets. Probably just me.🥴

Edited April 7, 2022 by pete14

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, gsmt47471015 said:

Most wines on ships are considerably cheaper at various super markets and if unavailable at these then a good wine merchant 🍷 

TBH I have enjoyed most of the labelled new world red wines we have had on P&O, even the occasional house reds have been fairly palatable.

[Adawn47]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

Re 15 alcoholic drinks a day, it really does depend on your drinking pattern.  Whilst I'd end up flat on my back our friends did manage to consume their 15 drinks on Princess by having bottled beers.  Through the day into the evening it worked out to 7 pints each, a lot for me but apparently quite normal for them on a day out.

 

The one man we met on a Caribbean Britannia cruise who fascinated me used to be by the pool at 7.30 waiting for the bar to open as he was determined to have his 15 drinks a day. He told us he had created a spreadsheet of what to drink and where to maximise his package!

I wonder if he is also creating a spreadsheet of his hospitalisation, kidney transplant and funeral arrangments. 

Avril

[Selbourne]

7 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

TBH I have enjoyed most of the labelled new world red wines we have had on P&O, even the occasional house reds have been fairly palatable.

We tend to only drink New World wines now (white and red) and would agree that P&O make some very good choices. Their on-board prices are also less than the prices we pay in the pubs around here that we go to for lunch, so we have always considered their prices to be good value!

[gsmt47471015]

40 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

We tend to only drink New World wines now (white and red) and would agree that P&O make some very good choices. Their on-board prices are also less than the prices we pay in the pubs around here that we go to for lunch, so we have always considered their prices to be good value!

Would agree that prices for wine are pretty good with P and O , it comes as a shock when buying on American ships😒

[DamianG]

1 hour ago, pete14 said:

But to my taste, the Beefsteak Malbec I discovered and enjoyed on Arcadia is different and better than the Beefsteak Malbec sold here in supermarkets. Probably just me.🥴

You're not sticking them in the fridge, are you Pete? 😜

[DamianG]

All of a sudden it’s got dark, the deck furniture has gone flying & there were screams from kids in the aft jacuzzis. Then there was lightning. Strap in, here comes that Force 8!

[Megabear2]

9 minutes ago, DamianG said:

All of a sudden it’s got dark, the deck furniture has gone flying & there were screams from kids in the aft jacuzzis. Then there was lightning. Strap in, here comes that Force 8!

That should stop the complainers then!  Looks very dramatic.

 

Re the isolation cabins being midship I've just booked on Iona today for a midship outside cabin.  Am I to assume I'll be taking some big detours?  I will have my 83 year old aunt as my companion so need to be prepared!  Thank you, really enjoying the blog.

[Britboys]

18 minutes ago, DamianG said:

All of a sudden it’s got dark, the deck furniture has gone flying & there were screams from kids in the aft jacuzzis. Then there was lightning. Strap in, here comes that Force 8!

It's been pretty blowy here today. It's bin day and they were being blown all over the place this morning.

[DamianG]

3 minutes ago, Britboys said:

It's been pretty blowy here today. It's bin day and they were being blown all over the place this morning.

Love a bin day (honestly, I joke about it at work). It’s all calmed down very quickly now but it was dramatic while it lasted.

[DamianG]

14 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

That should stop the complainers then!  Looks very dramatic.

 

Re the isolation cabins being midship I've just booked on Iona today for a midship outside cabin.  Am I to assume I'll be taking some big detours?  I will have my 83 year old aunt as my companion so need to be prepared!  Thank you, really enjoying the blog.

Honestly I really don’t know and in any case COVID plans are probably pretty fluid anyway. It’s just our opinion having an aft cabin and I’d doubt if many of the other 3k plus passengers have even noticed.

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, DamianG said:

Wednesday 5^th April

 

I was awake just after 8am again and we made sure Kyle was up and ready for 9am so that we could go to breakfast in the MDR. We chose Coral simply because it had the shortest virtual queue and the table ready notification came through more or less straight away. We were soon seated in a better position than before and I took note of the tables for two which seemed to be randomly spaced out, with some close together and others more widely segregated (up to about 1 metre). Kyle said that he didn’t want anything (not even a cup of tea) so to try tempt him into eating something Michelle ordered American pancakes with syrup and eggs Benedict with a side order of bacon. I chose the full P&O breakfast but without Cumberland sausage. The waiter confirmed that pork sausages are not available in the MDR. In due course Michelle was presented with a plate of 3 pancakes with syrup, and a separate plate with the other items. Our master plan failed as Kyle stubbornly refused to try the pancakes, so Michelle had a double portion breakfast then announced that she was well and truly stuffed.

 

After breakfast we went to Vistas for our usual cup of tea for Kyle and latte for me. We sat in Andersons for a while again in the hope that our cabin would have been refreshed but that didn’t work out as we still returned to the cabin too early, just as it was being finished by the steward. We then had an awkward 10 minutes or so just killing time mooching before finally getting back in the cabin at 10am.

 

A friend had suggested that I could visit the De Kuip stadium, home of Feyenoord, which didn’t appear to be too far South of the city terminal. Kyle had no interest in this whatsoever and Michelle kindly said that she would stay with him so off I went. After a little research I now knew that tram tickets could be bought in the underground Metro stations and Wilhelminaplein was only a 2 minute stroll from the terminal. I had a wait to use the ticket machine whilst various P&O passengers tried to work out how to use it, including the couple who went all the way through the purchase process then abandoned it at the last minute (leaving the details on screen without cancelling), followed by the party of 4 in front of me who faffed around for ages before deciding that €16.50 each for a day pass was too much and they’d use taxis instead. Personally I found it really straightforward, as it was simple to change the machine to English then easy to select a 2 hour any line, any journey ticket for €4.00.

 

It was just a 10 minute ride to the dedicated stadium stop and I took a few photos of the stadium from the outside. I then went through a revolving door into what looked like a reception, and this seemed to take a security guard completely by surprise who (once he realised I was British) barked at me “What do you want?” He then said that I could not go any further and ushered me outside, pointing me in the direction of the club shop. The staff in there were much friendlier and helpful, advising that the stadium was out of bounds due to preparations for tomorrow’s Europa Conference League match, and that stadium tours were generally on Fridays. As expected, the merchandise seemed expensive but they suggested that I try the second club shop, just across the car park. This time the lovely sales assistant helped me to find a good quality Adidas polo shirt for €20.00, which I thought was a bargain. After leaving the shop I did a lap of the stadium perimeter and saw that it has its own dedicated railway station as well, very impressive. My return journey to the cruise terminal was just as straightforward, and I was soon going through the security checks. I put my wallet, mobile phone, spare coins and belt in my bag in an attempt to not set off the scanner. I was about to take off my coat but they advised that I didn’t need to. As soon as I walked through the scanner beeped and Ainsley was there to pounce on me with a jolly “Ah ha! We’ve caught you at last!” He then identified my glasses in my coat pocket as the trigger. D’oh!

 

Once back in the cabin we persuaded Kyle to go ashore based on the promise of more chorros and some money to spend. As often happens, he wanted to do the exact same thing as yesterday which was less appealing to us, so we agreed a slight compromise to include a visit to a large department store not far from where we were heading. I took us all to the Metro station and bought 3 more 2 hour tickets. Apparently under 12s can travel free as long as they are “city registered” but to keep things simple I just bought Kyle a ticket anyway. We were soon on a tram and what seemed like a long walk yesterday was just an 8 minute ride across the bridge to Beurs tram stop. We knew where to get off because we could see H&M and C&A department stores on the roadside.

 

We went into De Bijenkorf department store which was huge, spread out over several floors. It also seemed to be expensive so we didn’t buy anything. We left and made our way across the main road Coolsingel and headed to where the waffle stand was the day before but it wasn’t there. Kyle, who hadn’t yet eaten, was devastated. We carried on to the Grotemarkt and noticed that there weren’t any outdoor stalls there either. Once inside we did a grand tour of the food outlets before finally finding somewhere that sold churros for Kyle. Michelle and I weren’t especially hungry but thought that we may need a little something to keep us going, and we eventually settled on sharing a Greek chicken pie, made from filo pastry, which was delicious. After leaving Grotemarkt we went to Kyle’s new favourite Dutch store Hema where he duly spent his money. It’s one of those stores that sells everything and anything so I also bought some bin bags, as I’d felt guilty about the mess in our cabin bin (leftover sweets and sugar that had fallen off them) that we'd seen the (cabin) steward trying to sort out earlier.

 

The tram ride home was equally swift and this time I managed to get through the scanner without setting any alarms off. Boarding was quick bar a small wait on the gangway to let staff help a wheelchair user get down the other way. We had a bit of cabin time then Kyle asked for pizza so Michelle and I went on another room service run. We had to pass through the Horizon restaurant on our way to Taste 360 on deck 16 and as we did so I noticed that chicken biriyani was available. We generally avoid the Horizon restaurant on P&O ships but I couldn’t resist getting a portion and some onion bhajis to take back to the cabin. Michelle was still stuffed but did manage a bhaji. The spicey food again went well with the glasses of Sauvignon Blanc that Michelle had picked up while I got the pizza.

 

After eating Kyle wanted the cabin to himself for a while so that he could FaceTime his friends without his embarrassing parents being around. This was fine by us given that he doesn’t use the kids clubs and much as we love him a little time apart does us all some good. Michelle and I therefore took the empty dishes back up to the Horizon restaurant (as otherwise they’d be stuck in the cabin all evening) then decided to go to the Crow’s Nest. We easily got some good window seats and Michelle had a Raspberry and Hazelnut Brûlée and I had a Dead Man’s Fingers spiced rum and Pepsi Max. We stayed until just before 6pm when passengers started to arrive dressed formally for dinner, which was our cue to move on.

 

We picked up our regular order of Proseccos from the Infinity Bar deck 16 aft then returned to the cabin. Needless to say this was still too soon for Kyle but we had been away for over an hour and in any case we wanted to get ready for Gala dinner evening in a relaxed, not rushed, manner. As I was shaving there was the bing-bong for a Captain’s announcement (which boomed out in the bathroom as well as the cabin) and I knew straight away what was coming. Captain Dunlop announced that the forecast was poor with Gale Force 8 winds forecast for the Dutch / Belgium coastline. Not only would this be potentially dangerous for such a high-sided ship, but also it would have a knock-on affect on us being able to transit the Niewe Maas river out to the Hook of Holland without causing issues for the other traffic. We were therefore going to stay another day in Rotterdam, and depart 7am on Friday morning. Naturally our visit to Le Havre had been cancelled. Bizarrely, the latest all aboard would be 6:30am on Friday morning, I guess for any passengers or crew who want to stay out all night. Doubtless there’ll be disappointment amongst some passengers with a few no doubt outraged as usual. For us, we’re not too bothered as we didn’t have a plan for Le Havre anyway, and I for one will enjoy actually being able to see the transit up the river on Friday morning.

 

Following the changed itinerary announcement Captain Dunlop went into a long monologue about how much passenger loyalty was appreciated and how he personally was rewarding this with a voucher issued to each adult for a free glass of champagne as a thank you. Considering that there always used to be a Welcome on Board reception, where you would get at least one free drink and often more, I found this to be exaggerated and unnecessary. Do I understand why there isn’t a Welcome on Board reception? Yes, of course I do. Do I appreciate a free glass of champagne? Yes, absolutely. Does it need to be accompanied with a patronising speech by the Captain taking personal credit for it? No, not in the slightest.

 

Kyle was adamant that we were not returning to Opal MDR for dinner so instead we booked for Coral and the table ready notification came through straight away. A very high proportion of the diners were dressed formally which I honestly hadn’t expected, and it was great to see. There was an Amuse-Bouche of a tomato and gin drink which was pleasant enough, followed by Dressed Devonshire Crab and Scallop Cerviche for me (small but tasty apart from the big lump of onion in the crab mix) and Asparagus with Poached Egg for Michelle. I had the Beef Tenderloin (pretty well cooked but not exactly melt in the mouth) and Michelle New England Half Split Lobster and Mornay Sauce (tasty enough but they do seem smaller these days). Kyle’s pasta with tomato sauce (no cheese) was delivered with cheese so he tried it then left it. A replacement was quickly ordered and soon delivered. Michelle had Marques de Reinosa Rioja Blanco to accompany her dinner and I had Silk and Spice again. For dessert we were both going to have cheese and biscuits until we realised that as this was a Gala dinner it would just be some kind of Stilton cheese balls mix. Instead we both had Biscuit Glace, described as Hazelnut Parfait with Raspberry Coulis and Almond Tuile. It was nice but not very "biscuity". We finished with a glass of Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage Port each. Whilst enjoying the port we saw a lady on a nearby table complaining about the cheese and sending it back in no uncertain terms.

 

After dinner we made the long trek from deck 7 aft to deck 17 forward to the Crow’s Nest. One thing I should mention here is that several cabin decks midships are completely shut off, presumably to be used as isolation cabins if required. This is understandable but a bit of a nuisance when trying to get from aft to forward or vice-versa. To circumnavigate the closed corridors, we went from deck 6 aft straight up to deck 16, walked through the Horizon restaurant / Beach House (where people were eating), past the pool / show area at the Sky Dome pool then up the last flight of stairs to deck 17 forward. Anyway, we found some nice seats in a corner but unfortunately this made us invisible to the waiters and waitresses, who served several passengers in our corner (who arrived after us) but not us. Eventually we flagged down a waitress and used our free drink vouchers for a glass of champagne each. Once we’d finished those drinks we remained invisible so after 15 minutes or so we just gave up and called it a day. I suppose that I could have got up and chased after someone to serve us but honestly I could not be bothered. We made the long walk back past all the obstructions and were back in the cabin for 10:45pm.

Hi Damian.

All of those decks were closed when we were on Iona March 5th-19th in the same cabin as you.

We got the lift down to deck 7 then walked past all the shops to the front lifts near the theatre then got the lift up to deck 17 for Epicurean speciality restaurant and crows nest.

James was our cabin steward when we were on.

Really enjoying reading your daily diaries.

Graham.

[Jonesthecat]

7 hours ago, crusingdan said:

There is a 15 drink limit per day but this is on alcoholic drinks only.

 

So you can have essentially an unlimited amount of soft or hot drinks a day and this does not count towards the limit.

 

There’s more details and the Ts and Cs on the P&O website - https://www.pocruises.com/onboard-activities/bars-and-lounges/ultimate-drinks-package

Brilliant thank you. Doubt I could get through that even if I tried. Not quite unlimited though is it so not sure its ultimate, especially with the exclusions. I'm reading other cruise lines are much better on the drinks packages or unlimited from the start. 

[Jonesthecat]

7 hours ago, P&O SUE said:

  
That was the main dining room I believe the buffet is open til about 11am for breakfast items and just about almost 24 hrs so you won’t go hungry! 

Thanks Sue, its good to know we won't miss breakfast. I didn't think we would go hungry lol but do enjoy avacado on toast and think thats only in the main dining rooms? 

[P&O SUE]

3 hours ago, Jonesthecat said:

Thanks Sue, its good to know we won't miss breakfast. I didn't think we would go hungry lol but do enjoy avacado on toast and think thats only in the main dining rooms? 

Ooh I don’t know. I haven’t been on Iona yet but there is the Quays area that has various eateries that might, perhaps Damian can confirm.

[DamianG]

Farewell Rotterdam 

 

[DamianG]

[DamianG]

[Eddie99]

Enjoy that Damian - I’ve only seen it at the other end of the day, as the light disappeared.  I’m sure it will be good as the light improves.  🤞for a good day for you

[DamianG]

Our tug escort just ensuring DFDS lets us pass through: 

 

[DamianG]

A busy morning on Nieuwe Maas