Live On-Board Iona G208

[Eddie99]

Thanks Graham

 

Damian - if you remember and can respond, that would be great

Also, it was very ungracious of me to fire a question at you without saying how much I had enjoyed your blog.  A cruise blog!  Almost like *the old days*, you know, before   … the 🦠 

[Selbourne]

3 hours ago, oleb84 said:

Fair enough but letting the experts have their say just for one moment...

Cellar temperature is a steady 11-13 degrees. Anything higher than this and proper beer (ie, traditional English ale) will consist of mostly foam and turn to vinegar before you know it. Terminology such as "room temperature" is why the English have such a bad stigma around the world for drinking "warm flat beer". It's not warm, it's just stored in a temperature controlled environment that is not as cold as other countries serve their beer.

 

Anyway, please excuse my rant! Publican here that prides himself on perfect beer quality and taste!

 No worries. I don’t doubt your expertise and I am no publican myself, but those who are seem to serve my beer far too cold these days! One thing I like about P&O is that the waiters can almost always find me one that is not chilled at all and I’ve never had one that tastes of vinegar yet. They always know what I mean when I say room temperature whereas if I asked for cellar temperature I think it would confuse them as well as making me sound pompous! I can guarantee I’d get a cold one, which I really dislike. I appreciate that this means that I may be somewhat Neanderthal 😂 

[DamianG]

6 hours ago, Eddie99 said:

Are you still onboard Damian?

I was wondering if Glass House wines (or at least a decent number of them) fall within the Drinks Package price ceiling?

 

Not many, from memory in the whites the Swiss Chablais, Essex New Hall, Picpoul de Pinet, Romanian Pinot Grigio (out of stock) and a Greek white wine. There was 1 Rosé (Zinfandel sweet style so not my taste), and Malbec, Rioja and Merlot reds. I may have forgotten some. 

 

Overall the package worked for us (just) because of our son getting his included and his liking for tea from Vistas! In some ways it was nice to pay up front then have what we wanted when we wanted, without considering the final bill as we'd already come to terms with what we were going to pay. We never deliberately went out of our way to "get our money's worth" so some days we probably had less than the so-called "break even" required number of drinks and other days we had more than planned.

 

It was fun to try it (and this was a celebratory birthday cruise for Michelle) but we definitely would not have got it if we'd been going ashore more often.

[DamianG]

Friday 8^th April

 

I had a better night’s sleep overall apart from waking up at 3:25am sweating having been wrapped up in the traditional P&O special edition 1000 tog duvet. I hadn’t set an alarm but somehow woke at 7am so I got up and tried to get dressed quietly (failed miserably of course, it’s an impossible ask) before leaving the cabin and going straight down to Vistas for an early morning coffee. I quite enjoy having a wander around the ship early morning when there are just crew and a few other insomniac passengers like myself out and about (I think Kalos is another early riser if I remember correctly?). Coffee in hand I made my way to the deserted sunset bar deck 8 aft to watch the sail away and we finally let go of the ropes at 7:24am. A few other early bird passengers passed through but it wasn’t until after 8am that I was joined by 2 other hardy old boys who were togged up and ready to stay out the back all the way to the North Sea. I’d missed the sun rise but the sun was only just above the high rise buildings and I thought that I’d got some good photos despite only using my smart phone rather than our DSLR camera which we didn’t bring on this occasion.

 

At 9am Captain Dunlop made his announcement, advising that the weather had been really poor yesterday with recorded winds of 65 knots (75 mph) on the Dutch coastline thus justifying the decision to not sail yesterday. He also emphasised that this would affect any cruise ship, not just high sided cruise ships like Iona. Maybe he heard about that passenger’s complaint yesterday. As an aside, I’m sure we once sailed through a force 9 with at least 5 metre swells on Oriana, but then again I was sick as a dog, so I’m not complaining. He carried on saying how we’d set sail “just after 7am” (fibber – I know because I was there) and that we were expected to arrive in Southampton in the early hours of Saturday morning.

 

We’d already decided not to rush Kyle to MDR breakfast but in the end we ended up rushing him to the 10am closing Quays breakfast instead. Michelle and I got the usual cooked breakfast items and this time they had fried bread (oblongs, not golden triangles) but with my arteries in mind I didn’t partake. Kyle asked for pancakes and a waffle with chocolate sauce. Both were cooked to order and the Scotch style pancakes went down well but the waffle was smothered in chocolate sauce and was a thick slab that you could have used for a flower bed border in your garden (instead of those wooden half logs from the DIY store). Kyle and Michelle both tried it but sadly it went to waste.

 

After breakfast we got our regular tea and coffee from Vistas except that this time we stayed there to drink them. We still got them in Costas Christmas takeaway cups though as Kyle loves drinking his tea through the gap in the plastic lid (and I just fell into line having the same for the sake of not wanting to cause any confusion with the order). We returned to the cabin for some downtime before I took Kyle to the gym just after 12pm. It was really quiet with just half a dozen or so exercising and again he enjoyed using the exercise machinery.

 

We were back in plenty of time for our 1pm lunch booking at the Olive Grove. The menu suggested that the starter platters were ideal for sharing so we ordered 2 between the 3 of us which (without being greedy) turned out to be just right. It’s all a matter of personal taste of course, but we found the various titbits rather hit and miss. Kyle enjoyed the Calamari but not much else, there was only a single piece of chorizo and various items which would always divide the crowd like Padron peppers, haloumi and green olives. Kyle had a Margherita pizza for his main but it was a bit too cheesy for his taste so he more or less pulled half of it apart to eat it without the cheese and left the rest. Michelle and I both had lamb kebabs which were excellent and accompanied with some excellent tzatziki. Michelle finished with lemon pie which was good and I paid the £2.00 supplement for baklava which was well worth it. Service was quite slow, especially after our main courses, but we weren’t in any hurry to go do something else anyway. We finally left after 2:30pm.

 

We had another lazy afternoon similar to yesterday, alternating between the cabin and strolls around the ship, including drink stops at the Glass House. We had a good look around Brodies for the first time, but with loud music and TVs everywhere showing basketball it just wasn’t our scene at all. We looked in the casino as well (not our scene either) and it was incredibly busy, especially at the roulette wheel and around one poker table in particular. Some of the players had big piles of chips and to my eyes clearly seemed to know what they were doing.

 

In the Glass House there is a quite limited list of drinks that are included in the “Ultimate” drinks package, especially as they are out of stock of Romanian Pinot Grigio. I’d tried most of the whites except Picpoul de Pinet which the waiters have been suggesting to me all week as a fresh, dry white. I’ve tried it at home a few times and never liked it but I caved in and finally asked for a glass and guess what, I still don’t like it.

 

Late afternoon we noticed what appeared to be a very, very old man with swept back white hair and a handlebar moustache to match, who was strolling across the Atrium Charlie Chaplin style, twirling a walking stick. He was trying really hard to engage with passengers sat around, and as he got closer it was clear that his face wasn’t real and was either some very detailed make up or some kind of mask. Because of his mannerisms we thought that he must be some kind of performance artist trying to entertain the passengers. Most were wary of him but eventually he sat down with one group and stayed in character for 10 minutes or so before finally taking off his mask, revealing himself to be the gentleman from what I previously described as the overwhelming couple (whom we’d seen several times and at afternoon tea). I’m really not sure what to make of that, just a bit of fun, or attention seeking at its worst, or trying to be the life and soul of the cruise? I really don’t know.

 

Back in the cabin Michelle did some packing while I typed up the blog. I suddenly noticed the coastline so ventured out onto the balcony and could see that we were passing through the Straits of Dover, just after 6:30pm. We’d been cruising along very slowly all day and clearly there were never going to be any issues with arriving back in Southampton on time. P&O must have certainly saved on LNG for this cruise.

 

We weren’t in any rush and eventually went to dinner after 8pm, again choosing the Pearl MDR. As we went in I glanced over at table 407 which we had last night, and the whole area was deserted again. Kyle was keen to ask for that table again but Michelle was adamant that we would sit somewhere a bit livelier and that is exactly what the Maître d' allocated us, in quite a central position. Michelle had Singapore-style Chicken Satay for a starter and I continued our lunchtime theme with a Middle Eastern Meze Platter. Michelle had Mushroom Risotto with Winter Truffle (she couldn’t really taste the truffle which suited her) and I had lamb shank which fell off the bone. We each had our last glasses of Silk and Spice, definitely our favourite red wine discovery of this voyage. We both had Limoncello Panna Cotta to finish. Kyle had his last 2 bowls of pasta with tomato sauce but declined the waiter’s offer of a 3^rd. We discussed having a last drink somewhere but in the end took the sensible option to call it a day straight after dinner so we were back in the cabin by 9:45pm for another movie and lights out.

Edited April 9, 2022 by DamianG

[terrierjohn]

Damian, many thanks for the excellent cruise blog, very entertaining as well as informative.

[DamianG]

Saturday 8^th April

 

We were up at 6:45am helped by the clocks going back an hour overnight. We left the cabin for a light breakfast in the Horizon restaurant, this being the only time that we had sat there all week. After breakfast we returned to the cabin, got our cases and rucksacks and easily got a lift down to deck 6 just after our allotted 7:30am self-disembarkation time slot. Nobody checked our documents so we just scanned our cruise cards out and strolled off the ship onto the gangway. At the point where the gangway meets the terminal there was a security lady on duty and she stopped the couple in front of us to ask where their luggage was. They advised that they were going to collect it in the baggage hall but the security lady told them that it wasn’t ready so they would have to step aside and wait (along with a few others who were already there). It then occurred to me that these people must have ignored their disembarkation time slots and all the announcements asking passengers to wait (for their slots) until the luggage had all been offboarded, and instead had just strolled off the ship when they were ready. Cheeky or what?

 

I’d got a text message at 6:52am from Parking for Cruises advising that our car was ready for collection and sure enough a lady was waiting with our keys, making this one of the slickest disembarkations I can ever remember. We drove away from the port before 8am then were very lucky with the motorways, getting home just after 12pm. Remembering the time when we were sat on a coach waiting for 2 old ladies which meant that we didn’t leave until 11am, or the time someone else took one of our cases meaning we’d had to hang around in the baggage hall until 11:15am, getting away so early and home just after midday was absolutely fantastic and a great end to the week.

Edited April 9, 2022 by DamianG

[Harry Peterson]

9 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Not necessarily! Some cellars can be very cold and that’s not how I like my red wine or ale for that matter. I’m not really bothered about what the experts might say. I know what I like and what I don’t 😂 

Exactly. What matters is what each individual enjoys - forget the ‘rules’. Drink wine at whatever temperature suits, and whichever colour suits. Just avoid the blue wines, particularly nun.

[Eddie99]

56 minutes ago, DamianG said:

 

Not many, from memory in the whites the Swiss Chablais, Essex New Hall, Picpoul de Pinet, Romanian Pinot Grigio (out of stock) and a Greek white wine. There was 1 Rosé (Zinfandel sweet style so not my taste), and Malbec, Rioja and Merlot reds. I may have forgotten some. 

 

Overall the package worked for us (just) because of our son getting his included and his liking for tea from Vistas! In some ways it was nice to pay up front then have what we wanted when we wanted, without considering the final bill as we'd already come to terms with what we were going to pay. We never deliberately went out of our way to "get our money's worth" so some days we probably had less than the so-called "break even" required number of drinks and other days we had more than planned.

 

It was fun to try it (and this was a celebratory birthday cruise for Michelle) but we definitely would not have got it if we'd been going ashore more often.

Thanks so much

I’ve been sent an offer of free drinks package but I was wondering if we would enjoy the offerings - gin & “gun” tonic not Fevertree or even Schweppes, only cheaper wine etc

[DamianG]

16 minutes ago, Eddie99 said:

Thanks so much

I’ve been sent an offer of free drinks package but I was wondering if we would enjoy the offerings - gin & “gun” tonic not Fevertree or even Schweppes, only cheaper wine etc

 

All a question of personal taste of course, if it was free or even half price I'd take it because the Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Prosecco served in the Quays and presumably the open decks suited me. Similarly the Malbec, Rioja and especially Silk and Spice were good for us as well.

[purplesea]

Damien, thank you for an interesting informative blog on your cruise. I enjoyed reading it and look forward to reading more of your adventures in the future.

Pam

[Selbourne]

This has been the best thread for a long time Damian. Very interesting and a thoroughly enjoyable read from start to finish. Many thanks for sharing it with us. 

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, DamianG said:

 

Not many, from memory in the whites the Swiss Chablais, Essex New Hall, Picpoul de Pinet, Romanian Pinot Grigio (out of stock) and a Greek white wine. There was 1 Rosé (Zinfandel sweet style so not my taste), and Malbec, Rioja and Merlot reds. I may have forgotten some. 

 

Overall the package worked for us (just) because of our son getting his included and his liking for tea from Vistas! In some ways it was nice to pay up front then have what we wanted when we wanted, without considering the final bill as we'd already come to terms with what we were going to pay. We never deliberately went out of our way to "get our money's worth" so some days we probably had less than the so-called "break even" required number of drinks and other days we had more than planned.

 

It was fun to try it (and this was a celebratory birthday cruise for Michelle) but we definitely would not have got it if we'd been going ashore more often.

Happy belated birthday Michelle.

[Ardennais]

Great blog Damian, I’ve enjoyed reading it very much, 

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, DamianG said:

Saturday 8^th April

 

We were up at 6:45am helped by the clocks going back an hour overnight. We left the cabin for a light breakfast in the Horizon restaurant, this being the only time that we had sat there all week. After breakfast we returned to the cabin, got our cases and rucksacks and easily got a lift down to deck 6 just after our allotted 7:30am self-disembarkation time slot. Nobody checked our documents so we just scanned our cruise cards out and strolled off the ship onto the gangway. At the point where the gangway meets the terminal there was a security lady on duty and she stopped the couple in front of us to ask where their luggage was. They advised that they were going to collect it in the baggage hall but the security lady told them that it wasn’t ready so they would have to step aside and wait (along with a few others who were already there). It then occurred to me that these people must have ignored their disembarkation time slots and all the announcements asking passengers to wait (for their slots) until the luggage had all been offboarded, and instead had just strolled off the ship when they were ready. Cheeky or what?

 

I’d got a text message at 6:52am from Parking for Cruises advising that our car was ready for collection and sure enough a lady was waiting with our keys, making this one of the slickest disembarkations I can ever remember. We drove away from the port before 8am then were very lucky with the motorways, getting home just after 12pm. Remembering the time when we were sat on a coach waiting for 2 old ladies which meant that we didn’t leave until 11am, or the time someone else took one of our cases meaning we’d had to hang around in the baggage hall until 11:15am, getting away so early and home just after midday was absolutely fantastic and a great end to the week.

Thank you for doing your Live From review Damian.

It was extremely interesting and your writing makes me and I guess everyone else feel like we were there with you.

It was good to hear your disembarkation was very smooth and you were back home in good time.

Regards.

Graham.

[lincslady]

Many hanks for the blogs ,Damian.  A shame you did not manage to get Kyle to eat something more interesting for dinner!  It is just nice to visualise being on a ship, which your blogs have helped to do.  

 

Re wine temperatures, yes, please everyone just have it how you like, and ignore me and anyone else trying to tell you what to do.   I personally do not like hefty reds served very warm, they seem 'soupy', but each to his  own.

[kalos]

Thanks for the vlog Damian ,as regarding me getting up early I had a lie in this morning 

06:20 today Hope Michelle had a good birthday and glad you are all home safe and sound . 

Hope Kyle lets you two in the house and does not throw the pair of you out whilst he chats to

his mates  Those old cruise habits 

 

Take care and thanks again 

[Angel57]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post your blog.

It was a balanced, informative and enjoyable read.

We look forward to the next one.

 

[Adawn47]

Damian, thank you for your excellent blog. I have tasted every wine, sampled every meal, explored the ship, mooched ashore and laughed at some of the more 'interesting' passengers with you and your family. I have had a most enjoyable cruise in your company.

When's the next one?😉

Avril

Edited April 9, 2022 by Adawn47
correction

[Waju]

I've really enjoyed reading every bit of this blog, thank you Damian.

[SarahHben]

2 hours ago, DamianG said:

Saturday 8^th April

 

We were up at 6:45am helped by the clocks going back an hour overnight. We left the cabin for a light breakfast in the Horizon restaurant, this being the only time that we had sat there all week. After breakfast we returned to the cabin, got our cases and rucksacks and easily got a lift down to deck 6 just after our allotted 7:30am self-disembarkation time slot. Nobody checked our documents so we just scanned our cruise cards out and strolled off the ship onto the gangway. At the point where the gangway meets the terminal there was a security lady on duty and she stopped the couple in front of us to ask where their luggage was. They advised that they were going to collect it in the baggage hall but the security lady told them that it wasn’t ready so they would have to step aside and wait (along with a few others who were already there). It then occurred to me that these people must have ignored their disembarkation time slots and all the announcements asking passengers to wait (for their slots) until the luggage had all been offboarded, and instead had just strolled off the ship when they were ready. Cheeky or what?

 

I’d got a text message at 6:52am from Parking for Cruises advising that our car was ready for collection and sure enough a lady was waiting with our keys, making this one of the slickest disembarkations I can ever remember. We drove away from the port before 8am then were very lucky with the motorways, getting home just after 12pm. Remembering the time when we were sat on a coach waiting for 2 old ladies which meant that we didn’t leave until 11am, or the time someone else took one of our cases meaning we’d had to hang around in the baggage hall until 11:15am, getting away so early and home just after midday was absolutely fantastic and a great end to the week.

Fantastic blog, I've thouroughly enjoyed reading about your cruise. Thank you!

[brian1]

2 hours ago, Eddie99 said:

Thanks so much

I’ve been sent an offer of free drinks package but I was wondering if we would enjoy the offerings - gin & “gun” tonic not Fevertree or even Schweppes, only cheaper wine etc

On Marella we just paid the supplement for the bottled mixers and still got the spirits in the package.Perhaps Damian might know if this is possible on P&O,cheers,Brian.

[brian1]

2 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

Exactly. What matters is what each individual enjoys - forget the ‘rules’. Drink wine at whatever temperature suits, and whichever colour suits. Just avoid the blue wines, particularly nun.

True,blue nun gets into bad habits.

[Eddie99]

6 minutes ago, brian1 said:

On Marella we just paid the supplement for the bottled mixers and still got the spirits in the package.Perhaps Damian might know if this is possible on P&O,cheers,Brian.

Sounds sensible

A decent gin each on the package and pay for a decent bottled or canned tonic to share.  *Repeat as necessary*

[P&O SUE]

Once again Damian thanks for the great read. 
That ‘Charlie Chaplin’ passenger sounds very bizarre! 😃

 

We always self disembark now, so easy and less stressful. Our first or second cruise there was some sort of hold up in the CPS car park and we sat there for over an hour, not a good end to a great holiday!

Edited April 9, 2022 by P&O SUE

[Jonesthecat]

Thank you so much for the blog, it’s been really interesting and informative. I feel more prepared for boarding Iona for my first ever cruise now next week thanks to this.