Selbourne

That certainly seems to be the case. Unless I’ve missed it, I don’t believe that there’s ever been the same level of issues with the MDRs on Iona (with 4 MDRs) as there has been on Arvia (with 2). P&O seem to have underestimated the demand for the standard MDR experience on Arvia.

Thanks Dave. That’s interesting, as what is happening currently is very different from what is shown on that schedule 😂

Is it a formal night? I wonder if they are trying to come up with solutions to take some pressure off the two MDRs?

Congratulations on getting the photos the right way up at last 😂 Those MDR meals look very nice. Note to self - ask for extra veg! Funny that they give plenty of meat (the expensive part of the meal) but very little veg! Thanks for all the continuing information. All very reassuring for those of us yet to experience Iona.

Any chance that you could provide a link to that information please? I’ve ploughed through dozens of pages of the FAQs on the P&O website and cannot find it. My understanding is that Arvia is the only ship where freedom dining can be pre-booked (and then only prior to 6.30pm) and entertainment is only pre-bookable on Arvia and Iona (other than the Limelight Club which is pre-bookable on Britannia but always has been). It’s certainly very confusing so it would be good to see what the official line is!

Just checked the Cruise Personaliser for our next 2 P&O cruises (Britannia July & Iona August) and I have that banner for Iona but not for Britannia. I presume that means that we will be able to pre-book some shows on Iona but not on Britannia. When you say that dining and entertainment options were 24 hours apart, which could you book first? Ideally it would be best to book entertainment first (as it’s at fixed times) and then book dining the next day, as you can then fit dining around the entertainment.

I know where to pre-book dining on the cruise Personaliser (the options currently being ‘Coming Soon’ or ‘Enquire on Board’ underneath each restaurant) but I haven’t noticed any equivalent options for booking entertainment. The entertainment tab just has generic info and isn’t configured for bookings. Do booking options suddenly appear on this tab 2 weeks before the sailing or do I need to be looking somewhere else?

Which ship were you on? It seems that you can pre book shows on Arvia but the situation with the other ships (including Iona) is less clear - and when you think you understand it changes!

Yes, it’s very much like Champagne but IMO slightly nicer. It’s maybe a tiny bit sweeter than Champagne. The grapes freeze on the vine. I don’t like sparkling wines (other than Champagne) but love Peller Ice Cuvée. They do a Rose version as well, which I’m not as keen on, but my wife loves. We’ve recommended it to a few people and all have liked it. Unfortunately it’s quite difficult to source at home.

Thanks. I have a feeling that it may be different on Iona and you can only book the theatre shows (and MDR) once on board, day by day? However, it’s all very confusing and when you think you’ve got it sussed it seems to change again, even for the same ship between one cruise and the next!

Thanks. If there’s 3 shows, are they 6.30pm, 8.30pm and 10.30pm?

Many thanks. You are an absolute star providing all of this info. If there are 3 performances, is the first one at 6.30pm? Just wondering whether a good plan (for us) could be the 6.30pm show, followed by pre-dinner drinks, during which time we get in the virtual queue for dinner, and then eat late when the MDR is less busy. That way, if service is slow we aren’t under any time pressure. Obviously the challenge will be knowing, in advance of the cruise, what time to book the speciality restaurants for when we don’t know whether there will be 2 or 3 performances each night. We don’t like to eat very early. If you still have the Horizon schedules for each day of the cruise and could possibly post photos of just the evening schedules I’d be incredibly grateful. I would assume that it would be broadly the same schedule for our Iona cruise. Thanks again. P.S. Fingers crossed that you get in Epicurean tonight. Given your experience with the 710 Club, could it be worth turning up to see if they have any no shows?

That’s excellent news. Progress at last! Hope it’s the same on Iona 👍

That’s extremely helpful. Thanks. Might try it for lunch rather than dinner.

That would be great. Many thanks. We intend to try it. Seems to get mostly good reviews and the food choice is a welcome change from the usual MDR menus. It is my understanding that it is open from lunchtime on Iona.

We have gone to the theatre on all our cruises and whilst we have to get there early to get a wheelchair space, we have rarely known a situation where able bodied folk have to do the same. It’s almost always possible to walk in just 5 minutes before the show and get seats. In fact, it’s often possible for people to walk in after the show has started and still get seats - irritating though that is for others. The 710 Club doesn’t particularly appeal (never that keen on cruise ship singers), but I’m inclined to agree that they should introduce a more robust system (perhaps with a refundable fee when you arrive) to avoid the scenario you describe. There will have been passengers who were disappointed at not getting seats last night who were oblivious to the fact that they could have been admitted had they just turned up. Is there any chance that you could please post photos of the daily schedules (Horizon) - but only if you can post them the right way up! I was wondering, do they have two or three showings of the theatre productions? On most ships there’s two (8.30pm and 10.30pm) but I felt sure that I’d seen a Horizon listing for Iona or Arvia that also had a 6.30pm slot? Thanks.

Encouraging that you didn’t have a queue. For future reference, it’s worth doing the MDR on the formal night. They usually have a Marco Pierre White menu and the food is better than the other nights. The queues will be longer (as the MDRs are more popular on formal nights) but worth it IMHO.

Pleased to hear that you are having a great time. I’ve always felt that the last entry time for breakfast in the MDR is too early. We are on holiday, after all! When we were on Cunard recently I noticed that the last entry was 0930 regardless of whether it was a sea day or port day. Are P&O still persisting with 9am last entry on port days?

I know that you won’t agree, but this is further evidence that they should ditch this pre booking entertainment palava and return to first come first served, allowing the return of spontaneity which, for many of us, was one of the joys of cruising.

Thanks. That’s interesting. I thought (obviously incorrectly) that Olive Grove was free on Arvia (due to the fact that she only has 2 x MDRs, which causes capacity problems, especially on formal nights), but an extra cost speciality restaurant on Iona (which has 4 x MDRs, so doesn’t experience the same problems as Arvia). If it’s an included restaurant, can you pre-book Olive Grove in the 2 week Pre-boarding window, or is it only bookable on the day via the virtual queue? P.S. Pedantic is fine. It’s important to be accurate 😉

The whole idea of Freedom Dining (which is the only MDR option on Iona and Arvia) is that nobody pre-books and you just enter a queue (virtual or physical) when you want to dine. However, P&O have introduced a hybrid system on Arvia (not sure about Iona - someone else will confirm) where you can pre-book the MDR, but only at very early times - the idea being to encourage people to dine at the less popular times (very early), thus easing pressure off the more popular times. So, even if Iona has the same system (which I hope it doesn’t, as it defeats the whole object of Freedom Dining IMHO) then I don’t believe that you can book later times such as 7.45pm. Iona doesn’t have a 6th St Diner, but Olive Grove is an extra cost speciality restaurant on Iona, so you should be able to book the latter.

Agreed. We were really disappointed about that as well. I took it up when we got home and they came up with some nonsense about the large screen TVs not fitting in the accessible cabins due to the different cabin configuration. I replied with a photo showing where the larger TV could easily be fitted but I never heard from them again!

Unfortunately none of the packages would make financial sense for us but, if we were to buy one, it would be the deluxe package. Much of what we drink is excluded from the Classic Package. If ordering a glass of wine it would be a 250ml, spirits would be doubles and with a G&T we would want Fevertree tonics. All of these are excluded from the Classic Package. When having a drink we order what we want, not what we are allowed. We could achieve that with the Deluxe package, but not with the Classic. I have to admit that if I bought a package I would drink around 3 or 4 times what I currently drink in a day on a cruise, as I would be determined to get maximum value out of it (I know it’s sad, but that’s me) 😂. Equally, I would be irritated that my wife wouldn’t see it the same way and would drink a tiny fraction of the allowance, causing me to constantly remind her how she was wasting money 😂

Have they explained why the shuttles aren’t running? Rain would surely not affect them, unless it’s to avoid long queues for them outside in the rain - that would make sense.

Yet on Cunard (also part of Carnival) it is deemed safe to flambé tableside 🙄 It made me smile that they had to check every time that they weren’t under a sprinkler as, according to the restaurant manager, “that would empty the swimming pool” 😂 ICF - brilliant thread and is proving to be invaluable in helping me plan our August cruise. Whilst we will have 1,000 more souls on board than on your cruise, the principles will be the same (in terms of busiest and quietest areas), so till relevant. I’m particularly interested in all your restaurant reviews, as with only 7 days we don’t want to waste a day on a bad one. Have they got the Norwegian Taster menu in Epicurean this week? I think it would be tonight if it’s happening.