Mrs applehead

Hi we have recently been on Iona to the fjords, I loved sitting out on my balcony watching the sail in to olden through the fjords in the early morning.

Definitely pack snacks as crisps and sweets are very expensive on board.

We did the viking village trip in Stavanger which was really interesting, we cooked bread, made necklaces and learnt how to use a longbow. We had a short stop at the 3 swords to take photos.

We used the Loen skylift cable car in Olden, I booked that online with Olden adventures before we went. They have a shuttle bus at the port to take you to the cable car. Make sure you are at the exit as soon as you are able to disembark to avoid long  queues.

Also look on you tube there are loads of reviews on there.

17 minutes ago, Josy1953 said:

Is it mainly families on board to Christmas cruises ? 

There were a lot of families but there were also lots of older couples.

We were told there were about 300 children less on board than we had in the summer.

Yes it will be chilly in Lisbon, we just got wrapped up and went for a walk, had some nice food, looked in the shops and bought some Christmas decorations from a lovely shop.

We honestly didn't miss any of the usual Christmas stuff because we were experiencing new places and the ship has lots to do.

We took our stocking as usual and hung them on magnetic hooks on the cabin wall, father christmas also bought us a couple of little presents and the rest he left under the tree at home.

I didn't bother with a christmas eve box we were too busy having fun on a beach and we don't do elf on the shelf.

We did take a few decorations to put up in the cabin and decorate our cabin door.

We just relaxed during the day and got ready for dinner early as we had a time to meet Father Christmas in the atrium and the queue was really long. Everyone is allocated a dining room and a time to have dinner on Christmas day.

1 minute ago, Presto2 said:

Perhaps you could ask directly to see what they say. We only found out when booking and can't see any info yet ..... will have a look.

I've just looked on myp&o.com and clicked on flights and the info is now there. Gatwick with TUI.

13 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

If it helps - we rebooked for Britannia next January when we were on board and I asked specifically about the flights and shared my concerns. She was able to look up the flight and told me there and then who the flight was with. OK no guarantee, but there must be documentation somewhere ...

Thank you, I will check again to see if its been  added anywhere 

22 hours ago, CCFC said:

We appear to be on  British Airways flight out of Gatwick January next year, cant be any worse from what I have read here!

Can I ask how you found out please, we are going in december and don't know the airport or airline yet.

Some of the restaurant slots were already available to book when I looked at 7am 15 days before. The beach house was already almost fully booked.

12 minutes ago, sandancer said:

This is for Iona and it is for the 30th December cruise. Keel and Cow menu
 

      Christmas Day Selection
Our festive creations can be enjoyed as individual dishes or why not indulge in all three courses for just £12.50.
Starter
Gin-cured Salmon Fillet
with Wasabi Bavarois, Pickled Ginger Jelly and a Seaweed Tapioca Cracker (gf)
£3.50
Main Course
Norfolk Turkey and Pheasant Ballotine served with
Maple Glazed Chestnuts, Château Potatoes, Poached Kumquats, Stir-fried Brussels Sprouts and a Cranberry and Apple Port Relish (gf)
£7.50
Dessert
Mrs Beeton’s Old Fashioned Christmas Pudding steeped in Ginger Wine with Brandy Fruit Cake Ice Cream, Clotted Cream and Cognac Sauce
£3.50

                

Sorry you are right. There is an extra charge. You just don't have to pay it in advance unlike the other speciality restaurants.

We have booked to have christmas dinner in the keel and Cow, It looks like a main dinning room menu.

There is no extra charge.

If you go to the market hall in rotterdam make sure you go to the stall selling "dragons breath" its such fun and draws a big crowd.

Our daughter loved it.

I've seen someone post previously that they rang p&o and were told to get the package once on board and they will just charge for the 2 adults.

I had the ultimate package for the last few days of our recent cruise and it was super fast and never had any problems connecting.

Much better than I have had before.

I used it yesterday definitely no charge

We have just had a letter, we are getting £40 pp as on board credit.

6 coaches have just arrived and people are getting off.

It's the not knowing what's happening which is putting people on edge.

There is so much speculation around the ship but no one knows what the plan is.

We are safely back on board.

7 minutes ago, TigerB said:

I hope there are no full-time wheelchair users ashore; it will be a nightmare for them, and in some cases impossible, to get back on board using a tender.

We won't need a tender they are going to Dock at the terminal we are all waiting at 

1 minute ago, NMcAllister said:

Thanks for the updates. Just on a coach coming back from a rather wet waterpark tour and this seems to be the only source of info for us. 

We have just been told approx 1 hour for Britannia to berth for us to get back on. 

We are in a new terminal it doesn't have any facilities or power but they have said the ship will come and Dock here when it can to pick us up.

It's very crowded, more and more people arriving.

They dropped 

Us at 1 terminal with no facilities so we are now being taken to a different terminal 

By bus.

Britannia is at anchor we don't know when we will get back on or how.

We are on this cruise, just on our way back from a trip, will let you know when we get back on.

Weather is terrible.

Just now, Selbourne said:

Thanks for clarifying. Hopefully it has improved since last October 🤞

No problem. I've read lots of good reviews since we went.

Have a lovely cruise.

34 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Well I’m pleased to say that by burning the midnight oil last night I have managed to secure all our dining reservations for our cruise on Iona in 2 weeks time. Booked the Norwegian Tasting menu in Epicurean for my wife and I and the Beach House for our daughters and their partners who didn’t fancy it. Secured two further bookings in Epicurean for the regular menu, one in Sindhu and the Limelight Club. If I’d left it until this morning, I wouldn’t have been able to make one of our Epicurean bookings and several of the other bookings I wouldn’t have been able to secure at the times that we wanted. 
 

The Limelight Club was the only disappointment, as our daughters were keen to see either Gareth Gates (who is on the cruise preceding ours) or La Voix. We have got Matt Cardle, yet another X-Factor has-been (clearly the folk at P&O who book these acts are huge X-factor fans). I’ll cancel if our daughters don’t fancy it. 
 

I wanted to book one dinner in Keel & Cow, but that can’t be booked until we are on board (presumably only bookable on the evening that we wish to dine, rather than when we board - does anyone know?). Although the Chefs Table doesn’t appeal to me, I have booked a table for 6 for the later sitting as a fall back if we can’t get a table in the MDR. 

On Iona last October we could only join the virtual queue for keel and cow but it went down quickly.

We only went once because they were so short staffed it took forever and I ended up getting a refund for my steak as it was so bad.