FluffyFiFi

Yes it is for the entire cruise. I did it on Arvia’s transatlantic in October and it was worth every penny. Really comfortable, unlimited wine, beer, Pepsi, mineral water. Nice food mornings and afternoon as well as afternoon tea. It’s a great oasis of calm and as it’s open until 8pm we often went up for a coffee after dinner.

I’m not too fussed about afternoon tea as that wasn’t that great with things coming out in strange order, such as cakes arriving before sandwiches and then tea cakes but no butter. I personally really like Iona and am looking forward to going on Arvia later this year. It seems unfair that these two ships will not be hosting the cocktail parties for Caribbean and above guests. This is one of the perks of the loyalty program and I have always enjoyed them in the past - especially when they did the raffle for the champagne and it was also nice hearing and meeting those who had done the most nights onboard. I hope they will start these again as these should be available on all ships across the fleet.

I’ve had four cabins on deck 4, all with lovely windows. I’ve been forward and mid and really like these cabins, it’s lovely being so close to the water and you either have a window seat or a wide window ledge so you can sit and watch the sea. I prefer these cabins to a balcony, especially if it’s a colder cruise.

I’m sailing on her before this, on her maiden transatlantic, and have to say I’m anxious that my cruise will be on a ship that hasn’t had the traditional blessing that comes with a naming ceremony.

I have cruised on all the fleet and Iona several times and have Arvia booked in January. Personally I think Iona is a spectacular ship and is our favourite. I recently cruised on Arcadia and in comparison we were disappointed with the crew who we found surly. The lack of dining venues, choice of entertainment, dated cabin with only one plug, no night light and no usb charging point. I can see the pros and cons for all sizes of ships but it seems some people have already made up their minds before they have even boarded. Cruising is changing as technology, clientele and world issues impact on the experience. In my mind it’s still the best way to explore amazing destinations whilst the familiarity of our floating home provides comfort.

I have done both window seat and window ledge on Iona and both are great. The window ledge is large enough to lay on (use seat cushions). It’s a great place to sit and watch the waves or read a book. It’s also great if one in the cabin is an early riser as you can sit there with the curtains closed and not disturb anyone else in the cabin. I love these cabins and would be happy to have these over a balcony, especially for colder cruises.

Recently we got to the heady heights of Caribbean, the early embarkation, welcome onboard lunch and 1/2 bottle of champagne is really nice. On our next cruise we should experience our first loyalty lunch which I’m not so sure about as we aren’t really into the mixing with others who just want to talk about how many cruises/how well they know the Captain/how large their cabin/moan how things have changed etc. Hopefully it will be a pleasant experience. We went up a loyalty tier mid cruise and as soon as we had completed that cruise it meant we could use our 10% discount on booking shore excursions for the next cruise. We had already booked some trips at 7.5% but cancelled and rebooked to get the extra off.

It will be a shame if they get rid of the cocktail party, we’ve only done a couple but enjoyed the talk from the Captain and hearing about the people who had traveled the most nights. It was always fun seeing how many glasses of fizz we could have and also enjoyed the canapés. We also thought the tombola for a bottle of champagne was fun. We are on Azura next month so will I was hoping they might be back. They still advertise this as one of the perks of loyalty so it seems wrong they have stopped it.

I went on Iona and we had loyalty lunch in Pearl restaurant, our daughter and her boyfriend were allowed to join us as well and they were in a different cabin. We didn’t expect them to be allowed in but very pleased they were. It was a great start to our Fjord cruise and as her boyfriend hadn’t been on a cruise before he was blown away with it - think the free flowing beers helped with that!

I’ve had both a window seat and a window alcove on Iona. Both are excellent and I would probably go for the window cabins over a balcony. I’ve had three window cabins on deck four and find it a great position as it’s usually the same deck they use for the gangway so getting on and off is easy. It’s also lovely being so close to the water. I have had a few balconies on Iona too which are great but can be a bit noisy with wind and can rattle a bit too - nothing to bad but the seaview cabins are quieter. The alcove in the window is a large window sill that you can sit on, I used the cushions on the sofa and spent a lot of time reading my book as it was so cosy.

Just wondering if anyone knows if P&O have started doing the cocktail party on cruises of 8 nights+ for those on Mediterranean tier and upwards? Last few cruises we got a voucher for a glass of fizzy wine but it’s not quite the same thing.