Britboys

Absolutely. Purely my opinion like others who have said they like it. I found there was little to attract me to it and the quality on the occasions I did get something there was poor. Much prefer it when they have a fresh sandwich counter in the buffet.

Who knows - but it would have been better for pax if they had just agreed to pay in the first instance. I was on the first call to Ijmuiden and it was a nightmare.

The demise of the Grab & Go would be a positive imho...

Yes, they - and other cruise lines - stamped their feet, had a paddy and a sulk - and eventually decided not to inconvenience all their pax by docking out in Ijmuiden...

Hmmmm, not sure about herring in oatmeal...🤔. Having had a Scottish partner for 26 years, I've heard of many Scots delicacies but what is potted hough please?

Maybe the people who say P&O is like Butlins are the same ones who say the food in the mdr is like school dinners...🤔

There was lots of military music, Scottish Dancers, Irish Dancers, Gregory Porter and Katherine Jenkins.

Yes, you're probably right Phil. Mind you, I did pass a branch of Iceland in Iceland...😂

Not just cruise cover but cruise cover with missed ports included. I always make sure I have cruise cover but rarely bother to pay the extra for missed ports.

With Amsterdam, it was because the City adopted a small tax on visitors not staying overnight in the City. A number of cruise lines decided to boycott Amsterdam over this...

To be honest, destinations such as Iceland and Greenland aren't really about the towns - more the scenery and wildlife that can be found - but you generally need to do excursions to make the most of it.

Good suggestions. I got chatting to a couple at breakfast aboard Aurora, who had done the World Cruise on her earlier that year. They had a couple on their table for the Worldie who were also on the whole World Cruise - but had never been on a cruise previously! Gamble or what 😯

Agree. The majority of my cruises are taken in inside cabins but no way would I do a lengthy cruise in one.

Lots of good points for you there from Waju. One thing I would add. World cruises tend to be on smaller ships and Iona is one of the largest. I'm not saying she isn't a good ship to cruise on - just that it is likely she will be very different to a ship that you might do the 'Worldie' on.

It is the same with the 'Venice Issue'. P&O have just told pax that their cruise isn't calling at Venice any more ("operational reasons") and instead will call at Xxxxxx Port. Marella - who are not known for their great customer service - have given pax £50 obc and are providing complimentary transfers to Venice. P&O are offering expensive excursions....

Hmmmm. I may well be very wrong but I would imagine that cruise ships with a library are now in the minority...🤔

I don't know if things have changed since Covid but you are normally allocated a slot which is iirc, colour-coded (my memory is a bit hazy as it is now several years since I've been with P&O so it may be a group number). You are then invited over the tannoy system to leave the ship. I prefer a later disembarkation to avoid rush-hour in & around Southampton. I have in the past waited for them to announce "We now invite all remaining passengers to disembark" 😁

Trieste is being used as a replacement port for Venice this Summer following the ban on cruise ships there. That I guess could be having a knock-on effect on other itineraries?

Sounds like it could be fun in the high summer heat...

You'd have to be desperate to take the biscuits these days Avril. Bring back the Priory Crumbles...😂

Really excellent quality video tour. Definitely the best one I've seen of her so far. Well done.

If you get a chance to go to Fountains Abbey, it's stunning...

But Iona was designed for cool weather cruising with the closed skydome whereas Arvia is the 'sun ship' with the magrodome that opens. It would be quite an expensive job to make structural changes and I doubt that they would have both ships in the Caribbean...

All being well, I'm seeing the Downton film tomorrow. Loved the tv programme and enjoyed the first film. Waiting in for the annual burglar alarm service. Could be any time up to 5pm...

Iona seems to be missing more ports than the other P&O ships - or is that just my imagination...