Early December Cruise Advice

[holidaylover10]

Hi, considering a cruise to the Canaries on Iona in early December 2025. Is the ship likely to be full this time of year and what ratio of children likely to be onboard? We usually cruise Celebrity on smaller ships and worry perhaps Iona may be too big and heaving. 

[Winifred 22]

She is a lovely ship and experience but you must taper your expectations to reflect the most likely large difference in price you could be paying. 

[Selbourne]

We have never felt that a ship was too large. In a way, the larger the ship, the greater the choice of dining and other venues. 
 

We cruised on Iona in August school holidays. There were a lot of children on board but in all honesty they weren’t a problem. If anything, the ones that we saw or interacted with were extremely well behaved. There were an awful lot of babies on the cruise and maybe we were just unlucky, but many were crying or creating a lot of noise in restaurants etc and their parents weren’t taking them out until they calmed down (as we did when our kids were that young). 
 

There were 5,750 passengers on our cruise and the ship felt very crowded and, in places, uncomfortably so. I suspect that in early December you will have at least 10% less passengers and, of course, far less children and quite a few less babies (if they have school age siblings), although there seems to be an increasing trend of people taking their kids on holiday in term time as it’s cheaper. That being said, I think you would find it a far less crowded experience than we did, given that we were on Iona in one of her busiest weeks. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

Early December there shouldnt be too many families with children at all

 

Loads of lovely areas on the ship as well 

 

And very good prices to upgrade to speciality restaurants 

 

It's more than possible to have a high quality cruise on Iona whilst at a much lower cost than Celebrity 

 

IMO

[sddsddean]

Just got off the Iona Xmas cruise. Apparently around 800 children on board, but didn't see most of them! (They like the kids clubs). Many of these could travel as Xmas school holidays had started, but in early Dec that won't be the case, so probably a lot fewer children on board, but you still won't see most of them.

We were sailing at full capacity, but didn't seem overcrowded, even on sea days when the weather was a bit chilly outside. Its a good ship and as a plus point, The Quays is a great idea for a dining space. Quick (and hot!) freshly cooked food in not too big portions...ideal for a 'snacky' lunch...they do good breakfasts too without the bedlam of the Horizon buffet!

Go for it; I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

Simon

 

[holidaylover10]

Thank you for the replies. I think I am at the point of booking. Have read a few negative reviews but that seems to be quite common with all cruise lines these days. Friends have said I won't like P&O after sailing Celebrity for many years but I am open to trying new lines. We have booked  Cunard's Queen Anne for summer 2025.

[Technoman2]

If you are sailing from southampton you will have to expect cold weather for around 6 days of the trip and also the possibility of rough seas in the bay of biscay. I think you have to balance the cost of what you would pay with celebrity against the cost of a P&O trip which in my opinion offers good value. 

If you book you can book the main dining room meals 14 days before travel and the theatre 15 days before. Iona is a lovely ship.

[Selbourne]

10 hours ago, sddsddean said:

We were sailing at full capacity, but didn't seem overcrowded,

Did you happen to find out how many passengers were on board? The quoted passenger capacity (5,200) is only lower berths. The ship can actually carry up to around 6,000 passengers. 

[sddsddean]

I think I saw somewhere it was 5425…though we had 2 air evac’s (2nd and 3rd days) and at least 2 families were ‘asked’ to get off the ship(!), so that brought it down a bit!

 

Simon

[sddsddean]

2 hours ago, Technoman2 said:

If you book you can book the main dining room meals 14 days before travel and the theatre 15 days before. Iona is a lovely ship.

You can’t pre book MDR, only speciality restaurants. MDR has to be done on the day via the app…which is a right pain in my opinion!

 

Simon

[Selbourne]

17 minutes ago, sddsddean said:

MDR has to be done on the day via the app…which is a right pain in my opinion!

Hmm. That’s interesting. The app worked well on Iona (when everyone used it) but not on Britannia (where only a proportion used it, and walk-ups were getting seated quicker). As a result of our experience on Britannia we opted for Club (fixed) dining on Ventura and it was great. Sounds like we made the right call. 
 

Edit - just realised you were on Iona. I’m between two threads and the other is about Ventura 🙄😂

Edited January 1 by Selbourne

[Technoman2]

11 minutes ago, sddsddean said:

You can’t pre book MDR, only speciality restaurants. MDR has to be done on the day via the app…which is a right pain in my opinion!

 

Simon

Im afraid you are wrong Simon unless they have changed the booking system. We booked all our evening meals on Iona including the Olive grove 14 days before in the online holiday planner not the APP . But you could only book times between 5.30 and 6.30pm, other times had to be booked on the day.

[sddsddean]

9 minutes ago, Technoman2 said:

Im afraid you are wrong Simon unless they have changed the booking system. We booked all our evening meals on Iona including the Olive grove 14 days before in the online holiday planner not the APP . But you could only book times between 5.30 and 6.30pm, other times had to be booked on the day.

 Correct, you can do those times, but they go quickly, so effectively you have to do it on the day and unlike Ventura (which selbourne mentioned) you can’t ‘walk up’ any more. However, one night we were in a 1 hour queue for 3 MDR’s and the Aqua was showing as full. As we walked past the Aqua, we asked if there was any chance of a table. They said no problem if you don’t mind sharing, so we walked straight in. That shows how good (not) the system works!

 

Simon

[Selbourne]

8 minutes ago, sddsddean said:

However, one night we were in a 1 hour queue for 3 MDR’s and the Aqua was showing as full. As we walked past the Aqua, we asked if there was any chance of a table. They said no problem if you don’t mind sharing, so we walked straight in. That shows how good (not) the system works!

Nonsense isn’t it. The system will only work as intended if it is the only way to gain access to the MDR. For as long as they allow walk-ups and/or pagers it throws the whole system. As I said, when we were on Iona it seemed to work pretty well, but 70% of passengers on our cruise were first timers so didn’t question it and just used the app. By contrast, on Britannia the vast majority of passengers were seasoned cruisers who wouldn’t or couldn’t use the app. We did, but got frustrated as the restaurant staff kept giving up on the app system and setting it to ‘Queue Full’ whilst immediately seating those who were just walking up. Far easier to ignore someone in the virtual world than when they are stood in front of you!

[Technoman2]

39 minutes ago, sddsddean said:

 Correct, you can do those times, but they go quickly, so effectively you have to do it on the day and unlike Ventura (which selbourne mentioned) you can’t ‘walk up’ any more. However, one night we were in a 1 hour queue for 3 MDR’s and the Aqua was showing as full. As we walked past the Aqua, we asked if there was any chance of a table. They said no problem if you don’t mind sharing, so we walked straight in. That shows how good (not) the system works!

 

Simon

As the saying goes , you snooze you lose😴

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, sddsddean said:

You can’t pre book MDR, only speciality restaurants. MDR has to be done on the day via the app…which is a right pain in my opinion!

 

Simon

IMO

 

The app is fine and not a pain at all

 

As said above its often the people who won't  use the app that don't help

 

But every year that passes more people will use the app

 

 

Edited January 1 by Interestedcruisefan

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, sddsddean said:

 Correct, you can do those times, but they go quickly, so effectively you have to do it on the day and unlike Ventura (which selbourne mentioned) you can’t ‘walk up’ any more. However, one night we were in a 1 hour queue for 3 MDR’s and the Aqua was showing as full. As we walked past the Aqua, we asked if there was any chance of a table. They said no problem if you don’t mind sharing, so we walked straight in. That shows how good (not) the system works!

 

Simon

If P&O correctly operated the virtual queuing system, and cut out all walk ups and ALL and every single one of the prebookings the MDR's would operate very smoothly, and the virtual queues would be cut to a minimal amount, and only people wanting a table for 2 at busy times would find lengthy delays.

Which was how Freedom Dining used to work.

[Selbourne]

2 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

If P&O correctly operated the virtual queuing system, and cut out all walk ups and ALL and every single one of the prebookings the MDR's would operate very smoothly, and the virtual queues would be cut to a minimal amount, and only people wanting a table for 2 at busy times would find lengthy delays.

Which was how Freedom Dining used to work.

Exactly this. Couldn’t have put it better myself. The stumbling point, of course, is that there’s a not insignificant minority who can’t (or refuse to) use the virtual queuing system, which is where it all falls over. If they could find a way around that, other than allowing walk-ups to jump the queue, then it would be great. 

[Selbourne]

7 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Small but vocal minority who are also prone to complain about anything else that changes as well

 

They should just promote some adult only cruise ships without app bookings and let those who wish to enjoy their cruise holidays together until the demand for that eventually disappears 

 

Make sure there's plenty of prawn cocktail on board

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s unfair. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that your unbridled enthusiasm for the app bookings system is based upon your experiences on Iona and Arvia only? Also, you mostly dine very early rather than at peak times. 
 

As mentioned earlier in the thread, when we were on Iona we also felt that the app booking system worked well (for the restaurants only). I believe that this was because the vast and overwhelming majority of passengers used it (being new to cruising, most did not know that there were alternative methods). Like you, I would much rather sit in a bar with a drink and have a notification that our table is ready than go to the MDR and potentially be given a pager, then having to hang around until a table is ready. So I am all for change and agree with @terrierjohn that if this was the only way of getting in to an MDR then it would all work brilliantly. However, Arvia and Iona are completely different beasts, and with very different passenger profiles, to the other ships in the fleet, and that’s where the problems start. 
 

To illustrate the point, I will contrast our experience on Iona (where, in spite of the ship feeling very crowded, the dining aspect of the app worked well) with our experiences on Britannia and Ventura. 
 

When we were on Britannia, which was our first cruise since the new system was introduced (but our fourth cruise on that ship) I was determined to use the app, for the reason given earlier. This was not a good experience. We like to have breakfast in the MDR and usually go within the last 15 minutes. On all three previous cruises, where it was first come first served and nothing else, we just walked in or, at most, had just a couple of minutes wait for a table for two (not long enough to need a pager). By contrast, we found that now the app always showed the MDR as ‘Queue Full’ for the last 15 minutes of breakfast service, so we either had to get in the queue earlier than we wanted, or go down and take our chances with those who had booked earlier. 
 

Lunch in the MDR, especially on sea days, was a nightmare. Again, on our previous cruises on Britannia (first come, first served) we had no issues and walked straight in. With the app system, we could wait up to an hour for a table and one time, when it just showed ‘Queue full’ had to get a pager and we didn’t get called until 20 minutes after entry to lunch was meant to finish. 
 

Dinner was equally problematic, especially on formal nights. On our previous cruises the longest we ever waited for a table at a peak time was 45 minutes and I only recall that once. Most of the time it was 15 minutes or less. This time, the app showed ‘Queue Full’ for 45 minutes at peak times and then when we could eventually join the queue we had waits of 45-90 minutes. 
 

As I say, we stuck with the app because the theory of how it should work appealed, but talking to other passengers they thought we were mad. They ignored it completely, did walk ups and got seated immediately. The reason? Because the restaurant staff simply cannot cope with 3 different systems (app, direct walk ins and pagers) so something had to give, and that was the app. Far easier to switch the app to ‘Queue Full’ than have to have endless face to face conversations with disgruntled passengers wanting a table. 
 

Fast forward a few months to Ventura and the app system wasn’t used for dining and we had none of these issues. First come, first served worked really well for breakfast and lunch. I can’t comment about dinner as, following our experience on Britannia, we switched to Club (fixed) dining so that we didn’t have all the hassle. 
 

Finally, as we have discussed before, the app system for the theatre is also daft and doesn’t work. You continually claim that it allows you to ‘reserve a seat’ (it doesn’t) and you can stay in the bar until 5 minutes before show time and just wander down and take your seat. That isn't reality, even on Iona. Those who had pre-booked and adopted your approach were finding that at best they were stood at the back or, at worst, couldn’t even get in, as 5-10 minutes before ‘walk-ups’ were allowed in to fill empty seats. On Britannia, half the time they didn’t even bother to check who had booked and who hadn’t. By contrast, Ventura was first come first served and we had no issues getting in 5-10 minutes before a performance, even needing a wheelchair space. 
 

Doubtless you will dismiss my experiences as just complaining about changes, but I’m all for change and, in particular, the use of technology - when it works. Unfortunately, there are very large numbers of P&O passengers who don’t share that view and refuse to use it, or can’t (as they don’t have a smartphone). P&O allow work arounds for these passengers and that’s where it falls over as multiple systems don’t work in tandem. I will admit, however, that I do like a prawn cocktail 😉 

Edited January 2 by Selbourne

[Interestedcruisefan]

34 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

That’s unfair. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that your unbridled enthusiasm for the app bookings system is based upon your experiences on Iona and Arvia only? Also, you mostly dine very early rather than at peak times. 
 

As mentioned earlier in the thread, when we were on Iona we also felt that the app booking system worked well (for the restaurants only). I believe that this was because the vast and overwhelming majority of passengers used it (being new to cruising, most did not know that there were alternative methods). Like you, I would much rather sit in a bar with a drink and have a notification that our table is ready than go to the MDR and potentially be given a pager, then having to hang around until a table is ready. So I am all for change and agree with @terrierjohn that if this was the only way of getting in to an MDR then it would all work brilliantly. However, Arvia and Iona are completely different beasts, and with very different passenger profiles, to the other ships in the fleet, and that’s where the problems start. 
 

To illustrate the point, I will contrast our experience on Iona (where, in spite of the ship feeling very crowded, the dining aspect of the app worked well) with our experiences on Britannia and Ventura. 
 

When we were on Britannia, which was our first cruise since the new system was introduced (but our fourth cruise on that ship) I was determined to use the app, for the reason given earlier. This was not a good experience. We like to have breakfast in the MDR and usually go within the last 15 minutes. On all three previous cruises, where it was first come first served and nothing else, we just walked in or, at most, had just a couple of minutes wait for a table for two (not long enough to need a pager). By contrast, we found that now the app always showed the MDR as ‘Queue Full’ for the last 15 minutes of breakfast service, so we either had to get in the queue earlier than we wanted, or go down and take our chances with those who had booked earlier. 
 

Lunch in the MDR, especially on sea days, was a nightmare. Again, on our previous cruises on Britannia (first come, first served) we had no issues and walked straight in. With the app system, we could wait up to an hour for a table and one time, when it just showed ‘Queue full’ had to get a pager and we didn’t get called until 20 minutes after entry to lunch was meant to finish. 
 

Dinner was equally problematic, especially on formal nights. On our previous cruises the longest we ever waited for a table at a peak time was 45 minutes and I only recall that once. Most of the time it was 15 minutes or less. This time, the app showed ‘Queue Full’ for 45 minutes at peak times and then when we could eventually join the queue we had waits of 45-90 minutes. 
 

As I say, we stuck with the app because the theory of how it should work appealed, but talking to other passengers they thought we were mad. They ignored it completely, did walk ups and got seated immediately. The reason? Because the restaurant staff simply cannot cope with 3 different systems (app, direct walk ins and pagers) so something had to give, and that was the app. Far easier to switch the app to ‘Queue Full’ than have to have endless face to face conversations with disgruntled passengers wanting a table. 
 

Fast forward a few months to Ventura and the app system wasn’t used for dining and we had none of these issues. First come, first served worked really well for breakfast and lunch. I can’t comment about dinner as, following our experience on Britannia, we switched to Club (fixed) dining so that we didn’t have all the hassle. 
 

Finally, as we have discussed before, the app system for the theatre is also daft and doesn’t work. You continually claim that it allows you to ‘reserve a seat’ (it doesn’t) and you can stay in the bar until 5 minutes before show time and just wander down and take your seat. That isn't reality, even on Iona. Those who had pre-booked and adopted your approach were finding that at best they were stood at the back or, at worst, couldn’t even get in, as 5-10 minutes before ‘walk-ups’ were allowed in to fill empty seats. On Britannia, half the time they didn’t even bother to check who had booked and who hadn’t. By contrast, Ventura was first come first served and we had no issues getting in 5-10 minutes before a performance, even needing a wheelchair space. 
 

Doubtless you will dismiss my experiences as just complaining about changes, but I’m all for change and, in particular, the use of technology - when it works. Unfortunately, there are very large numbers of P&O passengers who don’t share that view and refuse to use it, or can’t (as they don’t have a smartphone). P&O allow work arounds for these passengers and that’s where it falls over as multiple systems don’t work in tandem. I will admit, however, that I do like a prawn cocktail 😉 

Don't know why it's unfair?

 

I'm saying app only cruises and then other cruises where there's no app

 

A choice people make in advance with full knowledge of what type of cruise they are joining

 

Only time the apps not used is in the event it's faulty. I've not faced that yet.

 

On the ships where it's app only bookings then just allocate more staff to show people how to use the app. If people still try to do walk ups make them use the app when they get to front of walk up - they will soon learn

 

Make it clear and make it a selling point 

 

What's unfair about it selbourne?

 

Having multiple ways and systems to book things is clearly causing issues

 

And I'm fully expecting to walk up to my theatre bookings on Arvia in Feb 5 mins ish before the show starts ish and easily finding seats as normal

 

Same as I did on Arvia and Iona before

 

And I will post pics as I arrive (if I do live thread) to show how easy it was again

 

And that's for primetime shows

 

I'm always honest to admit when something doesn't work. But always worked for me so far

 

And I remember very clearly how that didn't work for me on cruises where you couldn't pre-book theatre in the past

 

 

Edited January 2 by Interestedcruisefan

[Interestedcruisefan]

8 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Exactly this. Couldn’t have put it better myself. The stumbling point, of course, is that there’s a not insignificant minority who can’t (or refuse to) use the virtual queuing system, which is where it all falls over. If they could find a way around that, other than allowing walk-ups to jump the queue, then it would be great. 

They can't or refuse to use the virtual system because quite simply theyve been allowed to get away with not using it 

 

Just let them walk up to be just put on an app

 

It's simple IMO

 

Make it as inconvenient as possible for those refusing to use the app

 

Don't pander to them. And each time someone helps them use the app explain how life could be easier for them with the app

 

And if they've signed up for app only cruises they can't argue

 

Edited January 2 by Interestedcruisefan

[Selbourne]

3 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Don't know why it's unfair?

I thought that your comment that a small but vocal minority complain about changes was unfair.
 

Change is good and to be welcomed when it’s positive. However, whilst the app booking system for MDRs is a good idea in theory, it doesn’t work well in practice, especially on the ships with a lot of experienced cruisers who know how to circumvent it and, as a result, those of us who use it fall to the bottom of the list. I’d love it if the use of it was 100% compulsory, with no work arounds possible, as I think it would work really well. However, as not everyone has a smart phone, P&O would have to issue devices to those who don’t have one. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

5 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I thought that your comment that a small but vocal minority complain about changes was unfair.
 

Change is good and to be welcomed when it’s positive. However, whilst the app booking system for MDRs is a good idea in theory, it doesn’t work well in practice, especially on the ships with a lot of experienced cruisers who know how to circumvent it and, as a result, those of us who use it fall to the bottom of the list. I’d love it if the use of it was 100% compulsory, with no work arounds possible, as I think it would work really well. However, as not everyone has a smart phone, P&O would have to issue devices to those who don’t have one. 

With my suggestion it would be made clear  you need a smartphone with you to be able to book your cruise meals and activities

 

With the right marketing and promotion it can be made to be a positive move

 

There must be very few people now who can afford to cruise who don't use smartphones

 

And there will still be cruises they can book

 

And there can still be cruises where multiple systems are in operation as well

 

But the more they allow multiple systems to be in place the less benefits for all concerned - including P and O 

 

IMO

 

 

 

Edited January 2 by Interestedcruisefan

[Interestedcruisefan]

7 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I thought that your comment that a small but vocal minority complain about changes was unfair.
 

I'm referring to the people who refuse to use the app

 

I totally sympathise with people who do use it then complain when those who won't use it - make it less effective for everyone else

 

 

[Selbourne]

2 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

There must be very few people now who can afford to cruise who don't use smartphones

I don’t think it’s about affordability, but there are a lot of particularly elderly people who find smartphone technology to be bewildering. For your idea to work, P&O would have to provide a solution for these people that doesn’t include allowing walk-ups.