Live from Iona Norwegian Fjords 20th May 7 Nights

[Interestedcruisefan]

Here's some pics from previous day where we paid 36 pounds  each (I think) to do a ship advertised guided walking tour of Hauselund

 

The girl guiding  us was called Eiren and she was a brilliant guide

[Interestedcruisefan]

We disembark this morning between 9am and 9.15am from The Clubhouse. We are planning a spontaneous day at Henley on Thames and overnight stay on the way home seeing as the weather is good

 

We've had another brilliant cruise 

 

Highly recommend Iona and Norwegian Fjords for a 7 night break with great food, great drinks, great scenery and great entertainment at a great price

 

Really really hard to pick any faults or improvements needed on this cruise. P and O and Iona have pretty much got it nailed I think.

 

Highlights for us:

 

Lunch in Lyndhurst at Hartnett and Holder before we boarded

Forest beating Arsenal to survive relegation in Brodies!!! Lol (was that really only a week ago? Seems like so much longer ago. We have done so many great things since then on the cruise)

The breathtaking scenery in and out of Olden 

The Print/Food Canning Museum in Stavanger

The rib ride in Stavanger

Epicurean Dinner

MDR Dining (much better food than we expected and very relaxed and nice service as well)

Headliners shows in the theatre

710 Club - incredible musicians providing a fantastic experience every night. A 6 star experience for a cruise ship to offer

Drinks in Andersons, The Crows Nest and The Emerald Bar

The mini creme brulees in the Buffet!!

 

Downsides:

The high costs of excursions 

The cost of Wi-Fi 

 

Book this cruise with very high confidence you will have a great time. Only risk is weather stopping you berthing I would say. And we were lucky with that. No problems with the app or queuing at all on this cruise. I would say the vast majority will have really really enjoyed this holiday

[Interestedcruisefan]

Forgot to mention that the band in 710 club last night had especially learnt a Tina Turner song together earlier in the day as a tribute to her to finish their set with

 

A very nice touch

[Megabear2]

Morning ICF.  Looking at your Seven Wonders cocktail list made me laugh.  We too have that list in the Atrium.  On the first night I sat with another solo traveller and we thought we'd try one each.  Waiter arrived and we have him our order.  Sorry ladies we only have the ingredients to make the first three, the other four are off and wont be available this voyage.  Last night we were down to one being available.

 

Best make sure when you come back here in February you give them advance warning of your superstar status or you might be disappointed!

Edited May 27, 2023 by Megabear2

[Interestedcruisefan]

5 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Morning ICF.  Looking at your Seven Wonders cocktail list made me laugh.  We too have that list in the Atrium.  On the first night I say with another solo traveller and we thought we'd try one each.  Waiter arrived and we have him.iur order.  Sorry ladies we only have the ingredients to make the first three, the other four are off and wont be available this voyage.  Last night we were down to one being available.

 

Best make sure when you come back here in February you give them advance warning of your superstar status or you might be disappointed!

The way I read that at first I thought you tried to order 7 between you in one go!!

 

You didnt did you??  

 

Lol

 

Did your cruise not start from Southampton?

 

Strange they wouldn't have all the ingredients If so?

 

Not sure on here. We only ordered 2 and they had both of them on the last day. The other photos were cocktails they made for others we took photos of as they went out. Lots of different ones going out though. Certainly more than 3

 

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Megabear2]

3 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

The way I read that at first I thought you tried to order 7 between you in one go!!

 

You didnt did you??  

 

Lol

 

Did your cruise not start from Southampton?

 

Strange they wouldn't have all the ingredients If so?

 

Not sure on here. We only ordered 2 and they had both of them on the last day. The other photos were cocktails they made for others we took photos of as they went out. Lots of different ones going out though. Certainly more than 3

 

 

We thought about it!  Actually we asked for three different ones and in the end said you tell us which ones are available. He pointed to the three on the left-hand page so we chose from there. If I recall I had the bottom one, something with candy floss if I remember rightly.

[Megabear2]

Rather than go back to the Arvia thread as I'm here I'll speak about second Celebration Night observations while I'm here.

 

My booking was 6.15 in Zenith. No standby queue at all and I walked straight up to booked podium.  Taken to an 8 man table.  There wasn't a table anywhere in sight unoccupied.  Waiters were almost running between tables!  The background noise levels were very high and you couldn't hardly hear anyone apart from those immediately either side of you.  The noise levels did drop further into the meal though.

 

The food was good, no problems there.  However drinks took forever to arrive, my neighbours arrived mid main course.  The staff were quite literally overwhelmed with the numbers yet still managed to try to smile.  No time to discuss menu choices though, literally just order. I felt sorry for them.

 

The service unfortunately was slower than the last celebration night.  I sat down 6.15 on the dot and at 8.05 still had no sweet.  It arrived just as I was contemplating leaving before it as I had the 8.30 Take That show booked.  I left at 8.20 to head forward for the show. My companions were still being served so had to excuse myself or miss show.  Seas were fairly buoyant so had to be careful as I had heels on!  On getting in to the theatre I struggled for a seat. Eventually saw one in the middle of the row which involved asking people to stand to let me in. I felt obliged to apologise and one grumpy lady said "you should try to arrive earlier rather than leave it to the last minute".  I thought that very funny after all our discussion here.

 

Incidentally in the "funnel" queuing area I passed around 40 people being held, I believe they may have been walk one but I doubt any made it as seats were very few and far between.

 

The restaurant I only saw a couple of people admitted while I was in there.  Certainly no one came in between 6.30 and 7.15 as the staff were so busy no tables were being cleared.  Where the people were I've no idea  no queue outside on leaving so I assume.no walk ups happened. Lady sitting next to me checked her app for her show booking and commented virtual queue for the restaurant showed full. This was around 8.00pm.

 

Dress code well adhered to. Photographers out in force and Atrium Amber Lounge completely full as I passed through both times.

 

An extra early evening performance of the Take That show has been added today presumably as it was over subscribed.

Edited May 27, 2023 by Megabear2

[Selbourne]

2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

We disembark this morning between 9am and 9.15am from The Clubhouse. We are planning a spontaneous day at Henley on Thames and overnight stay on the way home seeing as the weather is good

 

We've had another brilliant cruise 

 

Highly recommend Iona and Norwegian Fjords for a 7 night break with great food, great drinks, great scenery and great entertainment at a great price

 

Really really hard to pick any faults or improvements needed on this cruise. P and O and Iona have pretty much got it nailed I think.

 

Highlights for us:

 

Lunch in Lyndhurst at Hartnett and Holder before we boarded

Forest beating Arsenal to survive relegation in Brodies!!! Lol (was that really only a week ago? Seems like so much longer ago. We have done so many great things since then on the cruise)

The breathtaking scenery in and out of Olden 

The Print/Food Canning Museum in Stavanger

The rib ride in Stavanger

Epicurean Dinner

MDR Dining (much better food than we expected and very relaxed and nice service as well)

Headliners shows in the theatre

710 Club - incredible musicians providing a fantastic experience every night. A 6 star experience for a cruise ship to offer

Drinks in Andersons, The Crows Nest and The Emerald Bar

The mini creme brulees in the Buffet!!

 

Downsides:

The high costs of excursions 

The cost of Wi-Fi 

 

Book this cruise with very high confidence you will have a great time. Only risk is weather stopping you berthing I would say. And we were lucky with that. No problems with the app or queuing at all on this cruise. I would say the vast majority will have really really enjoyed this holiday

Welcome back. Delighted to hear that you both had another fabulous cruise. When’s the next one? Thanks again for all your top tips. We are a little apprehensive about our August Iona cruise as the ship will be so busy but, with a combination of pre-planning and using your tips, we will hopefully be able to work around most of the potential issues!

[Interestedcruisefan]

And just to show you I'm a "lucky" cruiser

 

Look at the queues for guest services at 8.20am today (departure day)

 

Or should I say lack of queues

 

I expected chaos here on departure day

 

That's my wife in the queue nearest

 

Further away was a passenger who thought they could claim OBC back as cash at the end of the cruise

 

Nobody else there at all. More staff than passengers!!

 

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[TigerB]

By 'eck, hasn't that week flown (or rather sailed) by?

It's been good reading your posts, and that you've also reported on some of the poorer aspects. I'm glad you've had a generally positive experience; we're looking forward to much of the same in a couple of weeks.

Have a safe trip home.

[Fionboard]

Never seen queues on any ship at guest services on disembarkation day. Everyone intent on getting off the ship!

[Cathygh]

Thank you ICF for your blog. I am boarding Iona later so I hope I enjoy it as much as you and Mrs ICF, albeit we will have 1000 children on board so I will hiding in quiet corners.

[Selbourne]

5 minutes ago, Cathygh said:

Thank you ICF for your blog. I am boarding Iona later so I hope I enjoy it as much as you and Mrs ICF, albeit we will have 1000 children on board so I will hiding in quiet corners.

Have a great cruise and I hope that the weather in Norway is as good as here. Let us know how you get on. The passenger numbers on your cruise will be much closer to the numbers that we will experience in August. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

7 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Have a great cruise and I hope that the weather in Norway is as good as here. Let us know how you get on. The passenger numbers on your cruise will be much closer to the numbers that we will experience in August. 

5317 on this cruise 

 

Worth asking how many are on to compare

 

Hope the next Iona cruisers have as good a time as we did on board and off board

 

My tip is if you encounter problems anywhere on ship walk away if you can and find somewhere else

Edited May 27, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Cathygh]

8 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Have a great cruise and I hope that the weather in Norway is as good as here. Let us know how you get on. The passenger numbers on your cruise will be much closer to the numbers that we will experience in August. 

Yes I will. I have packed winter clothes for the rain🌧 and low temperatures but summer clothes for today and hopefully a warm day tomorrow.

[Megabear2]

9 minutes ago, Cathygh said:

Yes I will. I have packed winter clothes for the rain🌧 and low temperatures but summer clothes for today and hopefully a warm day tomorrow.

Have a wonderful cruise. 

[Selbourne]

11 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

5317 on this cruise 

 

Worth asking how many are on to compare

 

Hope the next Iona cruisers have as good a time as we did on board and off board

 

My tip is if you encounter problems anywhere on ship walk away if you can and find somewhere else

I believe that the capacity with upper berths occupied (as most will be during summer school holiday cruises) is around 6.200. I suspect that a Spring Half term cruise will be a bit less than that, but more than on your cruise. 

[Scorpio41]

4 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

 

Dress code well adhered to. Photographers out in force and Atrium Amber Lounge completely full as I passed through both times.

 

 

No photographers on Auroras cruise 2nd May to the Baltic.  

[Deeliteful]

Thanks for the review. Looking forward to boarding Iona on 10th June to Fjords. Will attempt a live review as everyone’s take is different.

Safe journey home.

Pat

[TigerB]

3 hours ago, Selbourne said:

I believe that the capacity with upper berths occupied (as most will be during summer school holiday cruises) is around 6.200. I suspect that a Spring Half term cruise will be a bit less than that, but more than on your cruise. 

 

I wouldn't have thought the Fjords was a popular place to take young kids. Unless of course it's on the parents' bucket list and they are dragging their offspring along.

[Selbourne]

14 minutes ago, TigerB said:

 

I wouldn't have thought the Fjords was a popular place to take young kids. Unless of course it's on the parents' bucket list and they are dragging their offspring along.

I hope you are right, but we’ve been surprised at the number of children on our previous fjord cruises. There aren’t that many options for 7 night cruises and with many of the new target market seeing the ship as the destination, and it being August in the school holidays, I am managing my expectations accordingly 😂 

[FamilyCruiserUK]

Also dont forget its cheaper to be fined by the schools to take kids out of school when the cruise prices are alot cheaper then going during school holidays. The difference between school holiday prices and a school fine is huge. 

 

Glad the OP had a great trip always nice to hear the positive and negative feedback to get a balanced view of cruises. 

[TigerB]

6 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I hope you are right, but we’ve been surprised at the number of children on our previous fjord cruises. There aren’t that many options for 7 night cruises and with many of the new target market seeing the ship as the destination, and it being August in the school holidays, I am managing my expectations accordingly 😂 

 

I hope then for your sake that a lot of them stay onboard and don't impact on your sightseeing.

 

By the way, I've started a thread about something right up your street.... the Norwegian tasting menu.

[Selbourne]

6 minutes ago, TigerB said:

 

I hope then for your sake that a lot of them stay onboard and don't impact on your sightseeing.

 

By the way, I've started a thread about something right up your street.... the Norwegian tasting menu.

I’m actually hoping the opposite. If they all get off we can enjoy a quieter ship 😂 

[happy v]

ICF thank you so much for your posts. I love your zest for life. Enjoy Henley.

I look forward to your next cruise with eager anticipation