Top tips for Iona?

[Jonesthecat]

Hi everyone, I go on my first ever cruise next saturday on the Iona to the Nordic Fjords. I was wondering what your top tips would be about the ship? I've read different reviews but wondering what people would say to do/not do, restaurants that are better than others etc. We have what seems like a late embarkation time of 330pm as I have read people saying they go for lunch when they get on-is this because we are first timers so don't have any membership perks? 

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, Jonesthecat said:

Hi everyone, I go on my first ever cruise next saturday on the Iona to the Nordic Fjords. I was wondering what your top tips would be about the ship? I've read different reviews but wondering what people would say to do/not do, restaurants that are better than others etc. We have what seems like a late embarkation time of 330pm as I have read people saying they go for lunch when they get on-is this because we are first timers so don't have any membership perks? 

If you read the live from Iona G208 thread by DamianG it should give you a very good idea of what to expect from a cruise on Iona. As regards lunch on embarkation day, for newbies, and any one else, the buffet will be open from mid day for lunch and then afternoon tea around 3:30-4:00pm, so you wont really miss the Peninsular lunch for upper tier cruisers.

[Jevsy]

Book lunch at the Olive a couple of times for the week as soon as you get on!

Go to the 710 club in the first couple of nights before everyone else realises how good it is and queues emerge!! 🥂

The Limelight club is a great place to book for your first night providing the entertainment is to your taste! You then know where you're eating, at what time, and no need to go looking for entertainment! Such a relaxing first evening after the busyness of travelling and boarding!

[johnnylikely]

Yes agreed- book Olive quickly - it's great!

[Dobbers]

Hi, we would highly recommend the Keel and Cow. It’s an extra charge but excellent food and service. For lunch we often used the Quays as the fish and chips were delicious and also a decent range of salads.

On sea days the Skydome was very busy and we did see towels on seats quite early in the morning 🙄 nice area to sit if you use the buffet for breakfast.

Iona is a beautiful ship and we really enjoyed her despite the size.  Would recommend looking at the deck plans before going so you have a good idea of where you’re going once onboard.
Enjoy your cruise

 

 

[Dobbers]

Almost forgot, the public toilet outer doors have hand controls. Just look for the square and wave your hand in front of it. Some of the deck toilets have the same system for locking once inside the cubicle. 

[Jonesthecat]

Some great tips thank you! Will definitely be booking the olive and keel and cow-if we can get in. I have heard it can get very busy and we embark later due to being newbies.  I'm getting excited now for my first cruise but a little nervous. Feels very different to other holidays! 

[Bobblehat71]

Just got off Iona. 

 

I would recommend the Quays for Breakfast. Its more relaxed than the buffet and they also do Pancakes and waffles.🤤

The Katsu curry and Fish and Chips are also great at the Quays for lunch. The Pizza at the Skydome is also excellent. (I ate a lot last week!).

If you like indian food then I would also recommend you try Sindhu.

Generally the food was some of the best we've had on P&O.

 

Didn't make it to the 710 club as there was always long queues at least half an hour before it even opened.

If you want to see any of the 8:30pm shows at the headliners theatre then book early if you haven't already.  The 6:45 and 10:30 shows were always half empty. The Skydome shows were always busy as they are popular with kids so get there early as you can't book these.

Masks are now only required in the headliners theatre and when getting on and off the ship. The only other time we wore ours was when we used a lift.

[Jonesthecat]

8 hours ago, Bobblehat71 said:

Just got off Iona. 

 

I would recommend the Quays for Breakfast. Its more relaxed than the buffet and they also do Pancakes and waffles.🤤

The Katsu curry and Fish and Chips are also great at the Quays for lunch. The Pizza at the Skydome is also excellent. (I ate a lot last week!).

If you like indian food then I would also recommend you try Sindhu.

Generally the food was some of the best we've had on P&O.

 

Didn't make it to the 710 club as there was always long queues at least half an hour before it even opened.

If you want to see any of the 8:30pm shows at the headliners theatre then book early if you haven't already.  The 6:45 and 10:30 shows were always half empty. The Skydome shows were always busy as they are popular with kids so get there early as you can't book these.

Masks are now only required in the headliners theatre and when getting on and off the ship. The only other time we wore ours was when we used a lift.

Thank you. We have already booked some shows but went for the 830pm and now thinking we should have gone for the half empty ones lol  I don't even know what this 710 club is as haven't seen anything on line about it, but see people mention it in reviews. Thanks for the tips about breakfast and lunch too.  I love indian food but we looked at the menu and didn't fancy it-do you really think its worth it? I live near Birmingham so do enjoy a really good indian meal. 

[darknightsdespiser]

On 4/9/2022 at 4:21 PM, Jonesthecat said:

Hi everyone, I go on my first ever cruise next saturday on the Iona to the Nordic Fjords. I was wondering what your top tips would be about the ship? I've read different reviews but wondering what people would say to do/not do, restaurants that are better than others etc. We have what seems like a late embarkation time of 330pm as I have read people saying they go for lunch when they get on-is this because we are first timers so don't have any membership perks? 

Enjoy! I was looking forward to going in June but they still want us jumping through hoops to prove we don't have a cold so just cancelling.

[Camberley]

Have a great trip. She really is a wonderful ship: event though she is huge it never actually felt too big and it had a lot of heart about her. It was quite lovely hearing many on board who initially felt it might be too big a ship for them but felt it not to be.

 

Lunch in the Olive Grove was a regular highlight - but needed booking a little ahead to guarantee a table unless you don’t mind waiting. But it was a special eaterie.
 

Some of the buffet lunches were actually quite good. We also found getting our own Afternoon Tea items from the buffet rather than the dismal Afternoon Tea on the MDR was the best plan. And a couple of Epicurean Afternoon teas thrown in for a special occasion.

 

I am sure you will have an a fabulous time. And with such great scenery in the Fjords.

[the wandering two]

Re food we found Sindhu totally underwhelming, better curries in the buffet. Loved the small plates etc in Glass house & as others have mentioned Olive grove. 
Disappointed in Beach house, £7.50 supplement isn’t a lot but still not worth it. 
Pancakes in the Quays are so fluffy, don’t know why the waffles are like cardboard, you’d think it would be the same mix? 
They are available in the buffet but you have to ask & they alternate availability. 

[Selbourne]

4 hours ago, Jonesthecat said:

I love indian food but we looked at the menu and didn't fancy it-do you really think its worth it? I live near Birmingham so do enjoy a really good indian meal. 

Like you, I really enjoy Indian food, but Sindhu is quite different from the U.K. norm. Think ‘posh Indian / fusion’. I’m not a huge fan of the food, but my wife and daughters really like it. The ambiance and service are usually very good and it’s a nice break from the main dining rooms. Our favourite select dining restaurant on the other ships is Epicurean, but we haven’t been on Iona yet. 

[wowzz]

6 hours ago, Jonesthecat said:

I live near Birmingham so do enjoy a really good indian meal. 

Sindhu is nothing like a Birmingham curry house. Fusion cuisine with an Indian twist.

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, the wandering two said:

Re food we found Sindhu totally underwhelming, better curries in the buffet

If you want a typical "British " curry, with rice, popadums and three pints of lager, then the buffet curry made with premixed curry sauces, is right up your street. 

Sindhu is not a curry restaurant,  which is perhaps why you were disappointed.  

[Bobblehat71]

15 hours ago, Jonesthecat said:

Thank you. We have already booked some shows but went for the 830pm and now thinking we should have gone for the half empty ones lol  I don't even know what this 710 club is as haven't seen anything on line about it, but see people mention it in reviews. Thanks for the tips about breakfast and lunch too.  I love indian food but we looked at the menu and didn't fancy it-do you really think its worth it? I live near Birmingham so do enjoy a really good indian meal. 

 

Don't expect Michelin Star Indian cuisine. Howeverth food is very good and as @Selbourne says above, the ambience and service are great and its nice place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the Main Dining Rooms.

[Jonesthecat]

18 hours ago, wowzz said:

Sindhu is nothing like a Birmingham curry house. Fusion cuisine with an Indian twist.

The Indian food scene in Birmingham goes way beyond a curry house now but I wasn't sure of Sindhu with the sample menu on line but maybe I need to go and try it. I do like Lasan which is more fusion cuisine. 

Edited April 13, 2022 by Jonesthecat

[Jonesthecat]

9 hours ago, Bobblehat71 said:

 

Don't expect Michelin Star Indian cuisine. Howeverth food is very good and as @Selbourne says above, the ambience and service are great and its nice place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the Main Dining Rooms.

Thank you. We have booked Epicurean and hope that's good service too. We are only doing a 7 night cruise as I am not sure if I will like it lol 

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, Jonesthecat said:

The Indian food scene in Birmingham goes way beyond a curry house now but I wasn't sure of Sindhu with the sample menu on line but maybe I need to go and try it. I do like Lasan which is more fusion cuisine. 

I'm sure that Birmingham serves a vast array of Indian cuisines. 

The point I was making is that Sindhu is not a curry restaurant.

[Volvos60s60]

Hi, I have a general query about P&O drinks packages. On their £40/day premium drinks package they include drinks up to £6.95 with a 20% discount on drinks that are more expensive. 

So if you were buying a £10 drink, would you be paying the difference of £3.05 minus 20%, or the full amount if £10 minus 20%?

Also, is there a further discount on any of that for Peninsula Pacific members?

Thanks

[indiana123]

I asked this question many moons ago and was told that it was the full amount not just the amount over £6.95.  Bit cheeky I thought.

 

It may have changed so someone else might be more up to date with it.

[wowzz]

35 minutes ago, Volvos60s60 said:

Hi, I have a general query about P&O drinks packages. On their £40/day premium drinks package they include drinks up to £6.95 with a 20% discount on drinks that are more expensive. 

So if you were buying a £10 drink, would you be paying the difference of £3.05 minus 20%, or the full amount if £10 minus 20%?

Also, is there a further discount on any of that for Peninsula Pacific members?

Thanks

You pay the full price, less 20%. 

Sheer robbery by P&O. 

Princess charge the difference, plus 18% service charge.

[Volvos60s60]

Seems a bit like sharp practice to me, as the P&O website is not clear about this

[Jonesthecat]

Just thought I would do a little update as we are now home. Overall I really enjoyed my first cruise, we had very calm seas and unseasonably good weather-even got a little sunbathing in! Norway was beautiful and I would highly recommend a Nordic fjord cruise. 
iona was lovely. Huge but didn’t feel that big once we were aboard. We did have the drinks package but 100% didn’t make full use of it. We aren’t big drinkers but did drink each night but they definitely made money from us. Some of the bars get really busy and even if you tried I think you would be hard pushed to get the 15 drinks as service was very slow at times. 
The coffee shop is a lovely touch and was nearly always busy. We sometimes waited 30-40 minutes for a drink it was so busy.  In terms of drinks too, it’s been mentioned before but if you go for prosecco and have a drinks package you get just under half a glass. But try the bars in the sky dome-they give full glasses. 
we loved the epicurean. Really nice food and the service was impeccable. Definitely recommend. 
We didn’t fancy the keel and cow (I had steak in the epicurean instead), beach house or Sindhu, so didn’t try any. We went to the Olive grove twice but I didn’t really rate it. A tip-the sharing platters for starters are tiny, not really enough for one let alone two-so order another starter with one of those. Then mains-first time I had a ceasar salad with chicken but the chicken was those slices out of a packet. Second time I ordered pizza and asked for a side salad and was told no, I could only have one main meal and a salad counted as a main. I didn’t fancy fries or focaccia whcih were the only other sides so I just ended up with an ok pizza. I love Italian food and have Italian friends and an amazing restaurant near by so I didn’t think the food was great-maybe on a par with the chain place bills. 
m the main dining rooms were fine but it’s a shame all 4 offer the same menu. It meant there didn’t feel a lot of choice some nights. By the second day it was almost impossible to book any of the restaurants you paid for as they were full of you could get 5pm or 9pm-too early and too late for us. So book early. Generally I was a bit disappointed by the food but given how many meals they do a day it’s no wonder. The buffet we didn’t like at all. Quality wasn’t great. We loved the fish and chips at the quays though-it’s a must try! 
The testing took ages! We had 330 as our embarkation time but with a 3 hour drive we got to Southampton early and decided to see where we needed to go-the queues were huge and out onto the main road. So after a bit of debate we decided to try our luck at 1 ish. I’m glad we did. We didn’t get our of the car until after 230. Then we were in a long line for testing both outside (it was a warm day and pleasant) then inside a warehouse. Tip-download your nhs covid pass as there isn’t much signal in there and we were held up and told we couldn’t get on unless we could get the app to work! Which was stressful with one bar! We got on the boat after 430. 
we will do another cruise for sure. But Iona did feel very busy and wasn’t full. So maybe a smaller ship next time ?!?! 

 

[davecttr]

What night was whatever they call the formal night ? 

 

I see the two smaller MDR's on Arvia will be an american Diner and a relocated Olive Grove so I expect Iona to convert as well, eventually.

 

I am going to revert back to my childhood for the meals experience with the main meal at lunchtime and snacks in the evening. Hopefully no queues.