Ardennais

Entertainment was also pre-bookable on Britannia last month - for the first week anyway.

The app went down on Iona in Feb for well over 24 hrs and it caused no end of problems. Luckily, I had a print out of all our bookings made before leaving home, but others didn’t have a clue what they had booked. The Captain made an announcement and apologised. When we went to our Olive Grove booking, we were told that the IT problem was impacting the kitchen and that the meal would be significantly delayed. I was quite pleased that they informed us upfront because we decided to cancel the booking and went to the Quays. So these things DO happen, not that it really bothered us. We normally go the 10.30 show but changed things around on Britannia last month and booked the 8.30 a few nights. We quite like sitting in the theatre for 30 minutes before the show - we both have our Kindles. We’re not bar/cocktail people. Or else, we chat with people around us. Nothing wrong with that. I posted a few photos at the time showing the theatre pretty full at 8.10 with just single seats dotted around available for later arrivals.

During the Feb half term cruise on Iona which was jam packed, service was the weakest link due to chronic understaffing IMO. We thought the food was very good - far superior to Britannia last month. The queue for the buffet to open at 11pm was an eye-opener! Luckily we only wanted the hot chocolate and a few cookies.

Yes they do appear 2 weeks before sailing. With the 7 nighter on Iona, we could pre-book all the theatre shows. The Britannia cruise was a 12 nighter and we could only book the first week (I think) before sailing.

We did that too, also on Britannia.

We were able to pre-book most of the shows on Iona (Feb) and Britannia last month. I also printed the schedule before leaving home which was lucky because the ‘app’ crashed on Iona and didn’t work for over 24 hrs.

We were able to book Olive Grove before boarding Iona in February. I managed to book slots the very day they became available. Also pre-booked Epicurean and Limelight Club.

We normally have late boarding, so go straight up to the cabin, stopping these days at our muster station on the way. Chill out on the balcony then go for a coffee. Cases will normally have arrived by the time we return to the cabin so we then unpack. Relax on the balcony as we sail away. Evening meal in the buffet then a show. Crash out!

We’ve used it several times and I would also recommend this hotel.

ICF - really enjoying your posts and photos. Glad you’re having such a great time,

I don’t find these new style port guides useful. As noted, they’re full of references to coffee shops etc. We found the old style paper ones very useful.

Strange, because we had late embarkation on our Feb half term Iona cruise and there was no waiting at all. That cruise was full + 800 children. We also disembarked efficiently, collected our luggage quickly and were back in the car and off by 10:00 am. So it can be done. The inconsistency is puzzling.

I would agree to some extent. However, I do expect the basics to be done properly, and sorry to keep banging on about it, but cold/lukewarm food is not good enough,

Well I enjoy the lectures and the crafts too. Great on the long cruises. We still work, so we don’t have loads of free time at home to pursue our interests.

Similar to our experience on Britannia last month, but we did have trays! I can do without special, but I don’t like cold lukewarm food!

It’s like a SATS paper! (Palma)

Just a bit “off” is a good way of putting it. Exactly how we felt.

Thanks! We’ve lost the deposit, of course, and as it was a long cruise, we didn’t want to risk booking anything pricier. If it had been a 7-12 nighter, we probably would have stuck with it. To be fair, it wasn’t just down to the food, but a combination of factors. Cruising has lost its magic for us, it’s just not as relaxing anymore. We still have one big cruise booked for next year. We’ll see how it goes!

I hear what you’re saying but I disagree with ‘it’s hard to fault what P&O are providing’. The food offering is inconsistent - we thought Iona did it well in February but Britannia last month was disappointing. I actually don’t expect anything fancy, but I like food served at the correct temperature, and that definitely wasn’t the case on Britannia. We have actually cancelled our next P&O cruise before the final balance is due.

As I’ve said before when other issues are raised, it’s not my problem! Why do you always expect passengers to ‘propose’ a solution??? You always seem to look at things from the top down, not from the bottom up!! They shouldn’t even have to resolve issues like this when they have full ships, half full ships, whatever. The issue shouldn’t exist in the first place. Sorry to say, you actually don’t sound very sympathetic.

I agree. If that is indeed the offer, then our cruising days are numbered.

Such a horrible experience. Thing is, this issue needs resolving once and for all instead of trying (and failing) to pacify passengers on a cruise by cruise basis. The problem isn’t going to go away by itself.

I can also zone out noise - a skill I learnt in the classroom! Yes, we’ve probably been lucky. I think the worse noise was the air con on Iona which was quite annoying,

We have never heard anything from other cabins! I can honestly say that it’s usually as quiet as being at home and as you know, we live in the middle of nowhere!

I understand your point, but the problem is this - the glossy advertising doesn’t project a ‘more budget experience’!