peteukmcr

On 2/29/2024 at 3:18 PM, shof515 said:

 

i would love if RCCL can update MTD so it works like carnival where you can request the table using the app and then go to the dinning room when the table is ready. the current MTD process on royal ships ive been on is a massive mess with long lines and long waits. 

And on P&Os new ships Iona and Arvia where there are no traditional set dining times unless you want to dine between 5:30pm to around 6:30pm as this is the only time period you can pre-book for. 

On 2/29/2024 at 3:36 PM, SquishTheWhale said:

You'd be surprised how many Europeans enjoy eating that late. The UK not being included in that- we prefer around 6-7!

Not all Brits like eating early. Us and many of our friends prefer something like 8:30pm. 

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

Graham, can't speak for Royal, but I have never felt pursued for tips on Princess. Service is better than on P&O,  but I have never felt under pressure to tip.

Never been pursued by staff on RCI for tips either. Either a daily service charge is added to your onboard account on a daily basis or you can elect to prepay before boarding. 

Interesting reading on here regarding “My Holiday app” and that it should have been tested. Well it obviously was as it worked flawlessly on Iona for us. So this must be an Arvia issue. 
 

As for freedom dining, again worked very well for us on Iona and we look forward to the simplicity of selecting a venue with the smallest virtual queue, booking a table, being notified when ready and selecting “I’m on my way” which gives us 15 minutes to get to the venue. 
 

In comparison to to other 3 sailings we took in 2022 (Virgin Voyages and 2 with Royal Caribbean) the freedom concept on P&O is superior. With VV you need to book via an app that is very unstable to say the least. RCI lets you book a specific time via an app or you have to get in line outside the venue. 
 

With regard to changes, I can’t include Virgin Voyages in this as they have only just started sailing so everything is new (btw food is the best of any of the 10 lines we’ve sailed bar none). So in comparison with RCI (as we've sailed with them 3 times since the restart in 2021) the portion size of food offering may have changed, but the quality was just as good, but then again it was on Iona too. 
 

Yes, there are cutbacks, staffing issues and supply chain challenges, but all lines were experiencing these, not just P&O. 
 

Just made final payment on our very first 14 night sailing with P&O on Arvia and I’m sure by April she’ll be as good (if not better with the additional dining venues and redesigned Sky Dome) as Iona. 

23 hours ago, Dentist at Sea said:

Likewise we are now home and dry after what can only be described as an abysmal 14 days cruising on P and O ARVIA     65 cruises and still counting on various cruise lines around the world, this wasn't the worst cruise we have been, it was by far the worst we have been on. It was almost as if it was P and O maiden cruise.. You can gloss over minor complaints what you cannot gloss over is that 61% ( a figure given to me by a senior officer" of dining room staff had never set foot on a cruise before  and boy did it show. Overwhelmed unsure and completely taken by surprise.was how I would put it. The poor service was reflected throughout the ship, from the restaurants to the reception desk. An area so unfit for purpose with such long lines that people if they waited long enough could celebrate their next birthday. I kid you not. Add to this an IT and App system that went terribly wrong and created a perfect storm. I didn't see people leave the ship but I believe a good number decided enough was enough by the time we got to Madeira.  We had the standard outside cabin with balcony which we find  average with glaring omissions No shaver socket, no USB ports a distinct lack of everything in the bath room including glasses and face cloths. Breakfast in bed costs delivery service of £2.50 but don't ask for toast they don't do it. What about some morning tea in a pot? sorry sir not possible make your own with the kettle provided. In truth if I wanted to go camping I wouldn't have brought my Tux  nor would I have spent thousands.!!!!

Lets not forget the no turn  down service or the small chocolates  or towel animals all the nice touches that made cruising so enjoyable. Then the straw that broke the camel's back .a telephone system that any overseas call centre  would have been proud of. Three days into the cruise the cabins were supplied with a telephone directory. A piece of card with three numbers on !!! If you want toilet  rolls or you had a flood . there is no number for housekeeping. Get through to reception ( or as they call themselves the "My holiday experience" who then relay  your message on to housekeeping  who forget all about it. 

Ronan Keating was very good but no matter how many ovations he received didn't make up for the cold soup and the lack of any urgency by P and O to rectify the situation.

Marks out of 10  just 1   It would have been zero  but at least the beds were comfy

D@C

 

USB ports are under the bedside lights. 

11 hours ago, Coralc said:

Great Review Peter! It sounds like a fun cruise on a brand new ship! 

14 hours ago, Missusdubbya said:

Thanks for the link, great review

12 hours ago, sgmn said:

Great review, it sounds a wonderful ship 

Thanks everyone. Yes it is a great ship, so many improvements to the Oasis class design. 

We recently flew to Barcelona to sail on Wonder of the Seas, here’s my review

https://highseasescapades.co.uk/wonder-of-the-seas-review/

Cabin 12715 category GD tour

Part 2

Part 1 of our sailing

Balcony Cabin 12715, starboard side, category GD located aft near elevator bank

A time lapse when leaving Ålesund

Our first ship tour

Here’s a link to my review of our recent Norwegian fjords sailing.
Any questions please ask and I will try and answer as best I can. 

I will also post links to various videos 

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?posfrom=1&EntryID=686583&et_referrer=RCI Party Data&et_cid=3500453&stay=1&et_rid=10393735

On 5/11/2022 at 4:56 PM, davecttr said:

A sort of related question, where is the bathroom nightlight switch?

We found the night light was on permanently

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

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

Thank you 

Just as an addition, I’m very impressed with Patrick’s video skills, shooting and editing, I only contribute small amounts. Here’s a shorter time lapse of us leaving Ålesund. 

Well we’ve been back from our Iona fjords sailing for 2 weeks and the videos are being edited and the review written. We had fabulous weather albeit chilly in the mornings and evenings. We really like Iona, the ‘freedom’ dining concept and using the ‘virtual’ queuing system using the ‘my holiday’ website. If anyone is interested, grab a brew, sit back and enjoy this ship tour. 
 

4 hours ago, Presto2 said:

Thanks - looks great. We always love an aft cabin and had originally booked an aft cabin on deck 11. Just to ask if there was any water from the infinity pool as rumour has it that it can come down on to the aft balconies.

It wasn’t an aft cabin as such, just located starboard side, towards aft

If anyone is considering Iona then we can recommend category GD balcony cabin 12715. It’s an aft cabin which is well located very near the elevator bank, only 3 decks below the Horizon buffet (no deck 13!) and Lido deck, 4 decks above the Quays and easy access to the 4 main dining rooms of Coral (deck 7) and Pearl, Aqua and Opal all on deck 6. 
Very impressed by the bathroom with a great rectangular shower, plenty of shelving, mirror that does not steam up. Nightlight so no need to switch on the main light during the night. 

A time lapse video of us leaving Ålesund on Wednesday, 20th April 

There’ll be many more come from us over the coming days/weeks (takes awhile to edit all the footage Patrick recorded so please be patient). 
 

10 hours ago, Eddie99 said:

Yes, I gave a shout out for Avril a few days ago too.  Fingers crossed she’s just a bit bored with the board, as it were, and will drop in soon

 

I’ve had a mixed week, starting horribly with the loss of my other cat, just a few weeks after his “brother”.  He went downhill so rapidly you can’t help wondering about ‘broken heart’ etc.  

 

Anyway, after that we thought it would be good to get away, so we’ve been at the caravan.  Had some glorious sunny days and high temperatures but also some fierce ‘sea breezes’ 💨 💨 💨 

 

Dentist tomorrow, so we’ve made our way back.  They phoned on Friday to confirm I was still OK but said my dentist had been off all week with 🦠.  Eek!  I’m very pleased that the very small surgery room has two HEPA filters.  Hope they do their job - assuming she has a clear lft and is able to return to work

 

Happy holidays, to those who’re away/going away.  Get well soon to anyone currently unwell.  Hope to hear from Avril

Sorry to read about your cat. Sincere condolences. It’s so hard, we lost Charlie in Feb 2021, but then we took Oscar from the Cats Protection in April 2021 and I’ve collected him today from the cattery after our Iona sailing. As usual he’s spent a couple of hours ‘scolding’ us loudly for sending him away for 10 days!

The Norwegian fjords were stunning, the weather exceptional, and here’s Iona in Stavanger (1&2) and Ålesund

Well all is well with everyone, been MIA for a long while. Changing jobs (and career), Covid finally got us after 2 years, thank goodness for those vaccinations is all I can say as neither suffered too badly. 
 

Sailed on Virgin Voyages latest ship, Valiant Lady but we are currently on Iona. All I can say this is a step up from our only other experience on Azura (still can’t get crispy bacon though, just fatty back bacon, hardly seen a grill). 
 

However, the cabins, balconies, dining and bar options are great. The new ‘queuing’ system when choosing a dining venue works well. Never had more than a 15 minute wait for one of the 4 MDRs (that was Celebration night). Usually no more than a 5 minute wait (obviously depends on the time you wish to eat, we’re 8pm ish diners). 
 

Not had to contact reception at all which is my yardstick on any cruise line or ship. 
 

We will consider this ship or Arvia in the future. 
 

This was a 7 night Norwegian fjords sailing and we are just about to leave our final port stop of Haugesund, heading back to Southampton, arriving Saturday. 

7 hours ago, raphael360 said:

Doing a little more research, the Sea Blazer program was for passengers who sailed in 2017 according to Virgins website.  

Due to the pandemic and resulting delays in the start of VV sailings, anyone who sailed Scarlet Lady in 2021 (when VV finally set sail) is considered a ‘Sea Blazer’.