Iona January 2023

[Selbourne]

7 hours ago, Valfan said:

 

I think perhaps it's also because she's the one ship in the fleet where I can't go around bitter and twisted at all the changes and cutbacks since I was last onboard her, cos no one knew Iona before the unpleasantness. 

Perhaps you’ve hit the nail on the head there. Maybe in an attempt to move away from the constant criticisms of “it’s not what it used to be”, made by those of us who have cruised with P&O for decades, they have a new approach? Launch new ships targeted at a new generation of cruisers and offer a standard of food in the MDR and on board service that is well below par, so that in years to come these passengers are talking about “how much P&O has improved”. Clever 🤣 

[Britboys]

11 hours ago, Valfan said:

In what way?  I thought Iona would be too big, too many young passengers etc.  I said I'd only go on Iona and Arvia once each, as I've been on all the other current P&O ships and all those that have left the fleet in the past 29 years.

But I loved my first Iona cruise so much that I'm setting off this week for my 3rd cruise on her within 6 months. I just love the size and scale of her, the choice of venues, the light bright colours, the atrium, all sorts of things.

I think perhaps it's also because she's the one ship in the fleet where I can't go around bitter and twisted at all the changes and cutbacks since I was last onboard her, cos no one knew Iona before the unpleasantness.  I'll be able to test out that theory in a few weeks' time when I sail on Arcadia. 

I'm glad you enjoy Iona and I don't knock the big ships - they are just not for me. Regardless of cutbacks/changes, nothing about them appeals. I am someone who prefers the traditional cruise style. I want set-dining times, with the same pax around me each evening. Most of the alternative dining venues, included or extra-charge don't really appeal to me. I have no desire to have to plan each day on board ship and make bookings for dining/entertainment. I just want to turn up as previously booked for dining and wander into a theatre or lounge if I feel like it.

I've tried Azura twice and found it too big and too busy on both occasions. I enjoy Formal nights - and enjoy them even more so when the vast majority take part.

In other words, I'm an old git....😂

[mercury7289]

30 minutes ago, Britboys said:

I'm glad you enjoy Iona and I don't knock the big ships - they are just not for me. Regardless of cutbacks/changes, nothing about them appeals. I am someone who prefers the traditional cruise style. I want set-dining times, with the same pax around me each evening. Most of the alternative dining venues, included or extra-charge don't really appeal to me. I have no desire to have to plan each day on board ship and make bookings for dining/entertainment. I just want to turn up as previously booked for dining and wander into a theatre or lounge if I feel like it.

I've tried Azura twice and found it too big and too busy on both occasions. I enjoy Formal nights - and enjoy them even more so when the vast majority take part.

In other words, I'm an old git....😂

+1

[peajay]

I was also on this cruise with my wife (third time on Iona) and enjoyed the cruise. For us it was an inexpensive way to avoid two cold weeks at home and see some nice cities. Our previous cruise in December was a transatlantic to Rio on Azamara Pursuit, so I think it is a matter of expectations versus price. We found the MDRs hit and miss, we only used them for dinner, I agree the steaks are thin and overcooked. The buffet was busy but we always found a table for two within a minute or two. Even though it is factory level production, it could be improved at very little cost just by adding slight variation, such as a different filling in the breakfast pastries every few days. I like American pancakes but on P&O ships they are rubbish, tough dry little objects that are nothing like proper pancakes so they should drop those if they can't figure out the recipe. The Olive Grove and Beach House are good options for dinner, and the Quays and 360 are good alternatives for lunch.

I think the glaring weakness on this cruise was the entertainment. The computerised animation and lighting of the shows does improve what is otherwise typical song and dance stuff that we have all seen many times. The other acts were poor, the usual too loud shouty pop songs. The violinist was a nice change, although he was overpowered by the band and it would have been good to hear him play a few classical pieces rather than even more pop songs, he was clearly a very good violinist.  Incidentally the non existent Cruise Manger introduced him and got his name wrong.  I was hoping for good traditional Irish music, but no, the Four Harps sung similar slightly Irish pop music and with not much harmony. The first comedian, from Liverpool, was very good, but the second, from Cornwall, was terrible, just not funny.

This was a cruise visiting Spain and Portugal so why don't P&O offer some local music options? At a few ports, especially Cadiz we saw street performers that were excellent and were better, and probably much cheaper, than acts we saw onboard.

Sea day entertainment could also be easily improved at not much cost, crew talent shows, chef demonstrations, officer presentations about the ship and operations, the ports visited etc.

 

We have sailed on eight cruise lines and think P&O have a basically good product at very reasonable prices (especially if you don't take the Select fare option) and could be easily improved at little cost by attention to details, looking to see what other companies are doing, and aligning their products to the demographics of their customers.

[Beckett]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

I'm glad you enjoy Iona and I don't knock the big ships - they are just not for me. Regardless of cutbacks/changes, nothing about them appeals. I am someone who prefers the traditional cruise style. I want set-dining times, with the same pax around me each evening. Most of the alternative dining venues, included or extra-charge don't really appeal to me. I have no desire to have to plan each day on board ship and make bookings for dining/entertainment. I just want to turn up as previously booked for dining and wander into a theatre or lounge if I feel like it.

I've tried Azura twice and found it too big and too busy on both occasions. I enjoy Formal nights - and enjoy them even more so when the vast majority take part.

In other words, I'm an old git....😂

Me too! 

[Eglesbrech]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

In other words, I'm an old git....😂

There are a lot of us around.

[Eglesbrech]

37 minutes ago, peajay said:

The violinist was a nice change, although he was overpowered by the band and it would have been good to hear him play a few classical pieces rather than even more pop songs, he was clearly a very good violinist

He was very good. I would loved to have heard him play something like the Gael Northwest. His style would have suited it perfectly. Yes a few more classical pieces would have been nice but overall we enjoyed his show.

 

While  I enjoyed many of the shows you are correct about the sound system. The band was over emphasised, at one point in our show (6.45pm) the violinist actually spoke directly to the sound man from the stage to ask him to tweak it which improved it a bit.

[Slugsta]

We were on this cruise too, our first on Iona, and agree with most of the comments.

 

Lack of daytime entertainment was an issue. OH was disappointed that there was no bridge (hosted or unhosted); I found 30 minutes sing-along (AKA 'vocal workshop') inadequate; there was only one real speaker (other than a single talk by an artist), the rest of the talks were really just promotional things from the many shops onboard. Why weren't the talks shown in the cabin afterwards as they used to be?

 

We had plenty of OBC and ate in most of the speciality restaurants. We managed the Olive Branch twice via the virtual queue (once for a late lunch, and again on the last evening). The first time at the OG, service was terrible and it took 45 minutes to order and get our starter, the second time was much better. We thought it was a shame that the Keel + Cow and Glass House aren't partitioned off in any way, especially the evening there was show in the atrium and people crowded around the tables to watch it while people were eating.

 

OH always likes to see magicians and we enjoyed his show. Really enjoyed The 4 Harps, thought both comedians were 'adequate' at best. We also enjoyed the toucan in the Sky Dome show!

 

The ship was generally bright and airy, our accessible cabin was good and our 'hump' balcony a great size. It was covered but I'm not a sun worshipper so that suited us. I did find that I was generally cool onboard and took home clothes that I didn't wear as they weren't warm enough. We didn't see our cabin steward after the first day but have no complaints about him.

 

We would certainly go on Iona again if the price and itinerary were right, but she wouldn't be our first choice.

[Selbourne]

8 minutes ago, Slugsta said:

The ship was generally bright and airy, our accessible cabin was good and our 'hump' balcony a great size. 

That’s good to hear. We have an accessible deluxe balcony cabin on the ‘hump’ booked for August, plus two adjacent deluxe balcony cabins for our daughters. We decided that this looked like the best location, as there was no potential noise nuisance underneath and even the promenade deck is too narrow for people to congregate under that section. If we find the ship to be too busy then we intend to spend quite a bit of time in the cabin & on the balcony. We don’t sunbathe, so a covered balcony is good for us too. 

[Valfan]

On 2/14/2023 at 1:04 PM, Britboys said:

I am someone who prefers the traditional cruise style. I want set-dining times, with the same pax around me each evening. I have no desire to have to plan each day on board ship and make bookings for dining/entertainment. I just want to turn up as previously booked for dining and wander into a theatre or lounge if I feel like it.

😂

I'm with you on all that. I'm looking forward to getting back to a set dining time on Arcadia. And the nonsense about booking entertainment is infuriating. But I must admit, for someone with no tablet or smartphone, I've found it's easy to get by. You just walk up to the "I haven't booked" queue at MDR and they take you right in, while other passengers stand all flustered on their gadgets in the other, much longer queue, wondering how you've managed to do that.

As for entertainment, it's just the theatre that requires booking, all the lounges are as normal. I book the 5 or so nights they let you book before travel on my laptop at home, then get a member of staff to book the other nights' shows for me when I get onboard. But it will be better still to get back on Arcadia in April, as P&O have listened to opinion and reason and dropped the request to book theatre shows on the 4 smallest ships.

In the meantime, I'm on a train going down south for my latest Iona adventure, ready to play the game of "I have no smartphone and no tablet. But this cruise is a great singles deal and I love the ship, so I'm determined to get by."

[Selbourne]

Out of interest, why are P&O still persevering with people needing to book places for shows? It obviously started when numbers had to be restricted due to Covid, but with theatres now able to operate at full capacity it seems daft. Given that P&O are clearly struggling with some basic organisational aspects at present, many brought about by the need to book things, this seems to be making unnecessary work for them and adding unnecessary complexity for passengers. 
 

I can’t help but feel that the ‘first come, first served’ approach always worked really well with shows and Freedom Dining, even on Britannia. I’ve lost count of how many reviews I’ve read lately where the common thread seems to be that the problems occur with the need to book things that you never needed to book before.
 

Some people can’t or won’t book and just turn up. This then conflicts with those who have booked, who then aren’t able to just walk in because the two queues merge at some stage. Some people book and don’t turn up. Some are unable to get bookings, are turned away from venues or have prolonged waits because of no shows and confusion. And so it goes on….

 

I will be interested to see what we make of it all when on Iona in August, but I can’t help but feel that they are managing a problem that doesn’t exist and, as a result, creating multiple new problems! I’d be very tempted to ditch the lot and just go back to first come, first served.
 

 

[happy v]

I agree. Now there are no restrictions shows should be on a turn up bases. In October it created problems which had never previously existed because the doors weren't open until the singers turned up with their clipboard. One night they were late and people were queuing for 25 mins. This meant folk for the ballroom dancing were inconvenienced because everyone was crowded through the lounge 

[Advanced Diver]

On Iona for the first two weeks of February (got off last Saturday), and for the performances we went to we never saw the theatre full. Sure we booked, because why not? It's easy and you do ensure you have the places, but for that cruise there was actually no need to book. My wife saw a family effectively turned away because they hadn't booked, but despite the theatre being half empty they wouldn't let them in, telling them they had to wait until the last minute. There should be a better compromise for those who don't want to book if they know they are not at capacity (which I far from believe they were).

 

That said when the Four Harps were doing their first set in The Club House it could so have done with bookings, at the very least a capacity limit. There were people standing against all the walls (including us), and then more people would try and come and stand in the passageways in front of those.

 

One gripe with the booking system - why can't you book for the same show on two successive nights?

 

I personally did like the "My Holiday" concept (Not an App, nothing like an App), the ability to check what was on, from anywhere on the ship, just by pulling out my phone. Apart from it doesn't do that. You can't check the Speakers in the daytime, or where Pulse is playing, or what's on in the Sky Dome. Needs expanding. A view like on the TV would be great with a grid showing all venues, but at the very least a link to a PDF copy of the Horizon. In this day and age I shouldn't have to carry around a printed newspaper.

[RJChatsworth]

Having to make advance bookings for the theatre might be a precursor to paying for this venue in the future.  It might mean cutting the number of shows from three to two each evening but I don’t see that as an issue.

[Selbourne]

21 minutes ago, Advanced Diver said:

On Iona for the first two weeks of February (got off last Saturday), and for the performances we went to we never saw the theatre full. Sure we booked, because why not? It's easy and you do ensure you have the places, but for that cruise there was actually no need to book. My wife saw a family effectively turned away because they hadn't booked, but despite the theatre being half empty they wouldn't let them in, telling them they had to wait until the last minute. There should be a better compromise for those who don't want to book if they know they are not at capacity (which I far from believe they were).

 

That said when the Four Harps were doing their first set in The Club House it could so have done with bookings, at the very least a capacity limit. There were people standing against all the walls (including us), and then more people would try and come and stand in the passageways in front of those.

 

One gripe with the booking system - why can't you book for the same show on two successive nights?

 

I personally did like the "My Holiday" concept (Not an App, nothing like an App), the ability to check what was on, from anywhere on the ship, just by pulling out my phone. Apart from it doesn't do that. You can't check the Speakers in the daytime, or where Pulse is playing, or what's on in the Sky Dome. Needs expanding. A view like on the TV would be great with a grid showing all venues, but at the very least a link to a PDF copy of the Horizon. In this day and age I shouldn't have to carry around a printed newspaper.

The first paragraph of your post confirms that the whole concept of having to book for the main theatre is a complete farce and should be scrapped. First come first served never had any of these issues. 

[Valfan]

At least they have stopped using My Holiday for bookings for freedom dining and theatre shows on all but the 3 largest, newest ships now. Maybe they are trying to bow out gracefully and gradually from the whole concept of asking people to book in advance for things.  Or maybe it will be kept indefinitely on the behemoths. I'm certainly looking forward to relaxing and not playing this new game when I go on Arcadia in April.

[Selbourne]

8 hours ago, Valfan said:

At least they have stopped using My Holiday for bookings for freedom dining and theatre shows on all but the 3 largest, newest ships now. Maybe they are trying to bow out gracefully and gradually from the whole concept of asking people to book in advance for things.  Or maybe it will be kept indefinitely on the behemoths. I'm certainly looking forward to relaxing and not playing this new game when I go on Arcadia in April.

Well that’s a start and, like you, we will breathe a sigh of relief when we go on Ventura that we don’t have to contend with this nonsense. However, we have a cruise on Iona to deal with first!

 

Having done 3 cruises on Britannia, all Freedom Dining, we never had a problem getting in to the theatre or the MDR when it was just a ‘first come, first served” system. As I said before, P&O seem to be trying to manage a problem that never existed in the first place and, as a result, have created several!

[zap99]

9 hours ago, Valfan said:

At least they have stopped using My Holiday for bookings for freedom dining and theatre shows on all but the 3 largest, newest ships now. Maybe they are trying to bow out gracefully and gradually from the whole concept of asking people to book in advance for things.  Or maybe it will be kept indefinitely on the behemoths. I'm certainly looking forward to relaxing and not playing this new game when I go on Arcadia in April.

We have used the app on Azura to book all the theatre shows. It all worked well.

[Slugsta]

I was worried about the lifts appearing smaller but they seemed to manage even the larger scooters. They don't have mirrors at the back, which makes reversing out more difficult. I am thankful to everyone who waited patiently for me to turn around in my chair when I entered an empty lift, and to those (the majority) who were generally helpful and considerate. No thanks to those (I am sure none of them are here) who appeared out of nowhere when a lift arrived and piled in ahead of the people who had been waiting . . .

[Eglesbrech]

27 minutes ago, Slugsta said:

I was worried about the lifts appearing smaller but they seemed to manage even the larger scooters. They don't have mirrors at the back, which makes reversing out more difficult. I am thankful to everyone who waited patiently for me to turn around in my chair when I entered an empty lift, and to those (the majority) who were generally helpful and considerate. No thanks to those (I am sure none of them are here) who appeared out of nowhere when a lift arrived and piled in ahead of the people who had been waiting . . .

That’s why I avoided the lifts as much as possible (thankfully I’m able to). Yes we also saw the people who just appeared and pushed in first or squashed into already full lifts. Some people lack basic manners or consideration.

 

They have a bit in the Horizon about showing consideration to those with mobility difficulties. Perhaps it should be on the walls next to the lifts so it can be pointed out to those who have not read it (or are just plain inconsiderate).

We were mid ships but often walked forward to get the lift up to the Crowns Nest as it was quieter.

[Guest ccpm]

5 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Well that’s a start and, like you, we will breathe a sigh of relief when we go on Ventura that we don’t have to contend with this nonsense. However, we have a cruise on Iona to deal with first!

 

Having done 3 cruises on Britannia, all Freedom Dining, we never had a problem getting in to the theatre or the MDR when it was just a ‘first come, first served” system. As I said before, P&O seem to be trying to manage a problem that never existed in the first place and, as a result, have created several!

Like you I like Azura and Ventura and thought i would hate Iona but was surprised how well it seemed to work for 2 of my cruises which were around 4500 pax. I am back to Ventura in May and strangely find myself a little concerned about how well I will like her now. I loved all the extra dining options on Iona (albeit it didn't like the openness of some) and think I will struggle on Ventura this time if the Glasshouse is not open for lunch.

[Selbourne]

39 minutes ago, ccpm said:

Like you I like Azura and Ventura and thought i would hate Iona but was surprised how well it seemed to work for 2 of my cruises which were around 4500 pax. I am back to Ventura in May and strangely find myself a little concerned about how well I will like her now. I loved all the extra dining options on Iona (albeit it didn't like the openness of some) and think I will struggle on Ventura this time if the Glasshouse is not open for lunch.

We don’t have an issue with the big ships. We actually prefer Britannia to Ventura and Azura and we didn’t like Arcadia, even though we love Aurora!  We were booked on Iona’s very first maiden cruise which obviously vanished due to the pandemic.
 

For various reasons (not least future cruise credit and the fact that one of our party is a teacher) we have ended up going on Iona this August, when we are likely to be amongst circa 6,000 passengers (the quoted 5,200 capacity is lower berths and obviously in school summer holidays there will be hundreds of kids in upper berths). That will obviously be an entirely different experience to the current out of season cruises, or even last summer when there were some restrictions on passenger numbers. None of this is P&O’s fault though and was our choice. However, if P&O are struggling to cope with 4,500 to 5,000 passengers, then 6,000 is going to be a massive test for them. 
 

I’m sure that there will be a lot that we will like about Iona, most notably the choice of dining venues and the accessible cabins and features. My concerns are the fact that the entire MDR experience sounds below standard and the whole thing about having to book everything adds a level of hassle that also takes away one of the joys of a holiday - spontaneity. Hopefully my fears will be allayed when we do our next two P&O cruises, but we have sufficient concerns not to want to make any more future bookings until we have experienced the ‘new’ P&O for ourselves, unless they are very cheap. 

[wowzz]

As I have mentioned before, the majority of cruise lines seem to be going down the ship within a ship route.

Princess is doing the same with Sun Princess, which is not as big as Iona or Ariva.

That way, those who want a more intimate cruise experience but with  big ship opportunities, can do so.

I am at a loss as to why P&O have not seized the opportunity to offer a Yacht Club type experience, with a consequently higher spend per passenger.

 

 

 

[Selbourne]

39 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I am at a loss as to why P&O have not seized the opportunity to offer a Yacht Club type experience, with a consequently higher spend per passenger.

I suggested a similar thing, having recently booked a Britannia Club cruise on Cunard. But then it dawned on me that with the new direction that P&O is taking, those prepared to spend that sort of money on a cruise are more likely to look at other operators now.
 

My sense is that we will continue to cruise with P&O, but only when the price reflects the experience. I don’t mind a 3 star experience if I’m paying 3 star prices. However, we won’t book suites on P&O any more, as for that expenditure we would rather go with a different operator in a standard balcony cabin. We are interested to see how we find Cunard versus P&O and we’d love to try Saga, but we aren’t sure that we love cruising enough to pay their eye watering prices, however good their product is!

[wowzz]

16 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I suggested a similar thing, having recently booked a Britannia Club cruise on Cunard. But then it dawned on me that with the new direction that P&O is taking, those prepared to spend that sort of money on a cruise are more likely to look at other operators now.
 

My sense is that we will continue to cruise with P&O, but only when the price reflects the experience. I don’t mind a 3 star experience if I’m paying 3 star prices. However, we won’t book suites on P&O any more, as for that expenditure we would rather go with a different operator in a standard balcony cabin. We are interested to see how we find Cunard versus P&O and we’d love to try Saga, but we aren’t sure that we love cruising enough to pay their eye watering prices, however good their product is!

I would have thought that a Britannia Club cruise on Cunard would be in a similar price bracket to Saga ?