A Iona Cruise review (Hamburg etc, 10th December 2022)

[Dowmai2022]

Just returned today from Iona's trip to Hamburg, Rotterdam and Zeebrugge, and wanted to share my experience/see if some of these experiences are across the board. 

 

Problems started right on arriving at the terminal on the coach. We were diverted to the QE2 terminal to wait for over 40 minutes before even being taken to board. When we arrived on board I received a text from a random number saying 'hi your bag is leaking looks like wine', no signature to say it was P&o so I thought it was spam. My husband opened the suitcase when it arrived (5 hours later) and cut his finger on shards of glass. A bottle of gin I had wrapped smashed in the suitcase and leaked everywhere, covering £200 of birthday presents I had bought for my husbands birthday onboard. I took it to reception and must admit some of the receptionists were incredibly rude and really struggled to understand English. They said we shouldn't have packed it in the suitcase but I had called customer service a few days before the cruise to ask where I carry the gin, and they said the suitcase not hand luggage. At risk of this being a long post, Iona took the suitcase and promised it back by Monday evening (husbands birthday was on the Tuesday) but we didn't receive it. Didn't get the suitcase until Thursday and I had to repeatedly go to reception to demand my husbands presents back.

 

In hamburg on Monday, the shuttle bus crashed and the driver (who could not speak a word of English) couldn't tell anyone what was going on. Another passenger had to use Google translate to communicate, but we were stuck on the side of the road for nearly 2 hours. Some of the passengers, including my 2 children under 6 were standing up because we were stationary for a long time, when the driver decided to drive off without warning any of us. Both my children went flying in to their seats. We all acknowledged a crash is completely out of P&O's control but as it is the main shuttle company they use, you would think they would ensure someone who could atleast speak a word of English is there incase situations happen. You would also think they would provide a number to passengers that they could easily get through to if issues arise. Passengers on the bus called many different numbers and all were constantly engaged. 

 

Additional concerns - on Sunday night a high number of passengers (including me and my mum) were served completely raw chicken in the coral restaurant. They did give us a bottle of wine to compensate but took them until Friday to actually sort it out. Queues were massive for absolutely everything, most things were constantly booked and the only reason we could access some of them was because of reception management booking them for us to compensate for the issues we experienced. I stood on a shard of glass in the cabin despite stewards saying they had thoroughly cleaned it. The Chefs table was alright, but disappointing that for a celebration night they have that meal in a section of the horizon buffet restaurant. There seemed far too many passengers on board for what the staff could cope with. Long queues for drinks. Constantly long queues for reception, and every passenger we came across had many complaints. But the most disappointing part was the port days in Hamburg, Rotterdam and Zeebrugge. All were advertised as having great Christmas markets, but they had already finished in Rotterdam and Zeebrugge. Hamburg had 2 small ones that you could finish in 30 minutes, very expensive and you could barely move. However, 1 of them was beautifully decorated though and Hamburg as a whole had some incredible buildings to look at. 

 

Talking to some other passengers it did appear that this is not always normal for Iona. Many said they came on earlier this year and had a fantastic time, but it appeared this specific trip was just disaster for everyone the whole week. 

 

I will say though that the ship itself is incredible to look at and is very beautiful. The entertainment was fantastic - my children were particularly obsessed with the aladdin pantomime and deck the halls performance. Entertainment definitely made the cruise worth while for us. All other staff apart from reception were so polite and friendly. 

 

All in all, it was an alright trip. The experience put my husband off cruising (he's a first timer), so are some of these things consistent across the board? My last cruise was ventura in 2014 and I had the most incredible time and want to take the family on to that one next. But if some of these issues are across most ships, then maybe I might have to avoid. 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Dowmai2022

[Happy afloat]

So sorry to hear you've had a bad experience. We were on Iona for the first time in November and can honestly say we never had a bad meal, though I'd agree about the low levels of staffing and over-long waits for drinks etc.

I wonder if they've poached  staff to help man Arvia? 

[Britboys]

Sorry to hear that you had some bad experiences on your cruise. Whatever P&O had advised, personally I would never pack glass bottles of anything in my suitcase, always would take as hand luggage.

I was in Hamburg the day after you (aboard Ambassador Ambience) and an English-speaking shuttle bus escort told us that Iona had been in the previous day with 5700 pax on board. With that number of people needing shuttles I expect it would be impossible to find enough drivers who spoke English, or escorts to ride with the buses.

I visited three markets close together in Hamburg and thoroughly enjoyed them all, particularly as we had a late departure time and so could go back in after dark, when the lights really sparkled and one even had Santa doing a 'fly-past' on his sleigh...

Edited December 17, 2022 by Britboys

[DS_Dean]

I was on this cruise and while I didnt have any issues for reception whenever I walked past reception it seemed to always be rammed with people. In the Club House on the last night when they asked if people had a good cruise the audience seemed split between Yes and No, so do agree that some people had issues.

 

Highlights for me were the "Noise Next Door" act in Headliners Theatre, Zoe Hearn and the Limelight Club and the food in the Keel and Cow. All of these were excellent.

 

Some negatives - Food in the Beach House was quite basic. The My Holiday app was hit and miss, often not loading. On one night it was down for about 1.5hrs and staff did not know how to manage queues. The app advertised food in Glass House but actually the menu was not available, so it was pointless joining that queue. 

Also the acts in the Sky Dome... the sound quality was terrible. Think they could do with a Sound Engineer in that venue!

[Dowmai2022]

We also had a similar issue with the my holiday app. It unfortunately did not work on my phone at all, but I assumed it may be something on my phone blocking it. It eventually worked after 2 days on my partners phone but he did have to go down to reception to get them to sort it for him. 

 

We went and watched 1 act in the sky dome - a female singer that I cannot remember the name of. It did sound like she had a fantastic voice but I agree the sound quality was terrible. Often couldn't really hear what she was singing because the background sounds drowned her voice. 

 

I calculated I went down to reception 15 times on the cruise, which was not ideal. Most were chasing up things that were promised to be sorted at a certain time but weren't. For example, the reception manager decided to tell my children to their face that he would have gifts delivered to their room by Monday evening to cheer them up after the shuttle accident, as they were very scared and anxious. It was 2 days later before they received them, which I was very grateful for (they received 2 captain Teddy bears and 3 big tomblerone bars which they loved). But making promises to 6 year old and 4 year old children and then not following through with them when expected isn't great. It would have been more ideal if they didn't state a time to my kids. 

 

Most of the complaints I heard from other passengers were about the queues, my holiday app and the closure of Christmas markets in rotterdam, despite being ported there for 2 days. 

[Dowmai2022]

57 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Sorry to hear that you had some bad experiences on your cruise. Whatever P&O had advised, personally I would never pack glass bottles of anything in my suitcase, always would take as hand luggage.

I was in Hamburg the day after you (aboard Ambassador Ambience) and an English-speaking shuttle bus escort told us that Iona had been in the previous day with 5700 pax on board. With that number of people needing shuttles I expect it would be impossible to find enough drivers who spoke English, or escorts to ride with the buses.

I visited three markets close together in Hamburg and thoroughly enjoyed them all, particularly as we had a late departure time and so could go back in after dark, when the lights really sparkled and one even had Santa doing a 'fly-past' on his sleigh...

I have learnt my lesson with that for next time. Unfortunately the last P&o cruise I went on I was 17 so I have never had experience of bringing alcohol on board and relied on P&O's advice. 

I agree with that number it very likely would be impossible. But at least a dedicated telephone number for the ship to be given to passengers would be ideal, that way if issues like this happen again passengers would know what to do. Unfortunately for us it was very much guessing and calling every number we could find. The manager did mention yesterday about agreeing to look further in to a dedicated phone number so hopefully they are taking the incident on board! 

Oh that's a shame we didn't see that, maybe we walked to the wrong bit. But where we were recommended and directed to there really wasn't much there. 1 Christmas Market was less busy but it was just white tents and a couple of lights. The other we saw was very lit up and beautiful to look at, but as expected it was rammed and not big enough to accommodate everyone which was a shame. 

[Dowmai2022]

1 hour ago, Happy afloat said:

So sorry to hear you've had a bad experience. We were on Iona for the first time in November and can honestly say we never had a bad meal, though I'd agree about the low levels of staffing and over-long waits for drinks etc.

I wonder if they've poached  staff to help man Arvia? 

I wondered the same as well. The raw chicken was the only bad meal we had luckily. The chefs table meal was ok, but the location of it let it down and I found most of the other food was better. They did have a Christmas dinner night with Christmas crackers which was the best meal I found, plus the eggs benedicts for breakfast. I think I ate that for breakfast pretty much all week lol

[koonard]

Hi ... We always take any breakables in a carryon / roll on case .... always use your common sense ... 

 

[Ardennais]

3 thoughts:

• We always take the Horizon/Princess Patter or equivalent when visiting a port as they have contact numbers.
• We never take drinks onboard. Regardless, I wouldn’t dream of putting any bottles in a suitcase. Asking for trouble.
• I wouldn’t expect bus drivers in London to speak German so it’s not surprising that the German bus drivers speak little English. 

[Dowmai2022]

16 hours ago, koonard said:

Hi ... We always take any breakables in a carryon / roll on case .... always use your common sense ... 

 

I would have had had I of been aware and this not been the first time I've ever taken any breakables abroad. Which is why I called P&O before boarding to confirm what to do, and their advice was to put it in the suitcase. I won't be doing that again. However it is hard to apply common sense with something like this when you have never done it before and don't know the rules. 

[Guest ldtr]

Thank you for the review

 

I will be cruising on this ship next September.  While I have been on over 50 cruises this will be my first on both this ship and P&O.  Usually have cruised on Princess, HAL, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Oceania.

 

I noticed when looking at cruise details that they list a number of different included and additional cost dining venues.  How exactly is dining on this ship handled?  Do you need to make reservations for each venue or are they just walk in?  Is there an equivalent for the main dining room on other cruise lines or have they just gone to a number of different venues?  If reservations are needed how does one go about making them?

[Mim Lloyd]

I'm recently off Iona. Like you, I've sailed many times with other cruise lines and this was my 1st P&O cruise. Iona has 4 main dining rooms, 2 large and 2 smaller. They're not much different to each other and all have the same menu. You book them via what P&O call the 'app' but it's not actually an app, it's a webpage that you can access via WiFi for free whether or not you have a WiFi package (which is terrible for connectivity by the way. P&O should be done under the Trades Description Act for calling it their 'Ultimate' WiFi...but that's another story). When you're ready to dine you access the webpage and click the restaurant you'd like to dine in and join its virtual queue. When your table is ready, anything from a minute or two to almost an hour, you receive a notification. So you need to keep your phone handy. The Horizon buffet, The Quays (fast food type dining), and the Keel and Cow (pay extra) you just turn up for when you want. Other restaurants such as Olive Grove, Sindhu and Epicurean are best booked before you sail (2 weeks before) to ensure you get the day and time you want. Epicurean we didn't bother with but we prebooked Olive Grove twice. Food is good and is included except for a modest charge for a couple of items. If you're familiar with the buffet on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean I'd recommend end you to give P&O's a miss. Food is limited in choice, quality and range of items - we thought it was more like a works canteen. Breakfast was bearable but lunch and dinner was dire.

Edited December 30, 2022 by Mim Lloyd

[happy v]

Thanks for this. I was looking at the restaurants last night and wondering which you have to book and pay for.

[Guest ldtr]

Thank you, that was exactly what I was looking for.  The description of the ship was not very clear when it came to the main dining rooms. 

[terry2]

Talking about dining, if you don't bother with the app/web  booking and just turn up, what are the times when you are likely to just be able to walk strainght in?

[davecttr]

7 hours ago, terry2 said:

Talking about dining, if you don't bother with the app/web  booking and just turn up, what are the times when you are likely to just be able to walk strainght in?

Good question. I have an iona cruise next month and hate the 'app', mainly because I really don't like using those tiny touch screens on a smartphone - hand problem.

[jeanlyon]

I was also wondering this for someone I know who does not have a mobile phone at all!

[Host Sharon]

Sorry you had a poor cruise. I suspect this was the first cruise that Iona has sailed at full capacity, hence those cruising earlier in the year didn't have any problems. They do appear to have major staffing issues, particularly on the two biggest ships. As others have said, I always take my copy of Horizon ashore, which has several useful phone numbers in it, and always pack any bottles in hand luggage, although I only take them home off the ship, not on board at the start. The Netherlands celebrate Christmas at the beginning of December (Black Peter brings gifts on 5th) so any Xmas markets there will be over by later December. From experience, the main Xmas market in Hamburg, opposite the Rathaus, is huge, amazing and always jam-packed with people - hardly P&O's fault. 

[Host Sharon]

28 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

I was also wondering this for someone I know who does not have a mobile phone at all!

I believe you can just turn up, but may have to wait, or ask reception to book. Even on Aurora, we had to use the app to book entertainment, but it only applies to freedom dining, not fixed sittings. Given the target demographic for Iona and Arvia, I would imagine they all have smart phones.

[jeanlyon]

33 minutes ago, Host Sharon said:

I believe you can just turn up, but may have to wait, or ask reception to book. Even on Aurora, we had to use the app to book entertainment, but it only applies to freedom dining, not fixed sittings. Given the target demographic for Iona and Arvia, I would imagine they all have smart phones.

Yes, we are on Aurora Freedom Dining next October, so I hope it;s sorted by then.  I did read that you can just turn up for the entertainment now.

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, Host Sharon said:

Sorry you had a poor cruise. I suspect this was the first cruise that Iona has sailed at full capacity, hence those cruising earlier in the year didn't have any problems. They do appear to have major staffing issues, particularly on the two biggest ships. As others have said, I always take my copy of Horizon ashore, which has several useful phone numbers in it, and always pack any bottles in hand luggage, although I only take them home off the ship, not on board at the start. The Netherlands celebrate Christmas at the beginning of December (Black Peter brings gifts on 5th) so any Xmas markets there will be over by later December. From experience, the main Xmas market in Hamburg, opposite the Rathaus, is huge, amazing and always jam-packed with people - hardly P&O's fault. 

Good information.

Rather than taking the Horizon with us I just take a photo of the telephone information supplied.

While we were on a tour to Puerto de la Cruz on Azura on November 25th we were all at the coach pick up point in Puerto de la Cruz 15 minutes before pick up time.

The coach turned up 30 minutes late with out any explanation.

Several people tried ringing the telephone number in the Horizon which was not answered.

Back on ship several people complained at the excursion desk.

We explained that if we were late the bus would have left us in Puerto de la Cruz.

The ship kindly supplied a bottle of wine of our choice in Glass house and also the next night in Sindhu.

 

Edited January 2, 2023 by grapau27

[happy v]

12 hours ago, terry2 said:

Talking about dining, if you don't bother with the app/web  booking and just turn up, what are the times when you are likely to just be able to walk strainght in?

On Brittania most who hadn't used the app got in as they arrived. If you booked  there was a slight delay but this was only as they called people in blocks 

[Obobru]

Putting glass bottles in your luggage is obviously stupid, even if they told me to do that I wouldn't as you use common sense. 

 

15 visits to guest services? Why? It sounds like you were angry from the start due to the bottle damage and wasted massive amounts of your time complaining. 

 

As for the couple of comments about not speaking English, you are not in England! Why do people think everyone everywhere should speak English. 

 

It seems you were determined to find problems to complain about because it was your husband's birthday and the bottle you put in a case got things off to a damp start. I hope if you cruise again you will use a little critical thinking and some research before boarding and you will have a much better time.