BouncingWheel

It’s a tough one and does seem potty but is it aimed to stop the book it and cancel it later types that are causing lost revenue onboard and in restaurants up and down the land? If it is I support it though it should be explained. I would also support it being further rolled out to any venue booking like 710 club / olive Grove. The no shows could harm bar bills even though the venue entrance is free but mainly to stop the book everything for free of missing out approach. Aldo a common sense approach to waiving these must be put in place due to issues like cabin confinement etc…

Many of us are happy as Carnival Shareholders. Who’s to say that Carnival aren’t just as happy as Green Bean shareholders. If I could find the company I may invest.

For those of you that are aware of my posts, I am a fan of the smaller ships in P&O’s fleet – especially Aurora. However, I felt that I could not really comment on Iona until I had been on her. My wife and I have recently returned from a 2 week Canaries break on her and these were our findings which I hope others may find useful. We chose this trip because our daughter, and her partner, had already booked a cabin on board and they had asked us to join them. We chose a Sea View Cabin (4624) which had a wonderful window seat and the bed was away from the wardrobe. We had done plenty of research to find this type of cabin as not all Sea Views have window seats apparently and there is a mixture of bed configurations amongst the cabins meaning it can be a tight fit with the wardrobes. We loved this cabin with the only small issue being that it was in the aft section and there are no aft lifts to deck 4 as they only go down as far as deck 5. Not a problem for us but may impede others. The bathroom was very modern though watch out for the shower door – it does swing in and out even if it appears to only swing inwards. The lack of cupboards and only shelving was a concern if the ship got too rocky but we were low down and the decent amount of movement we had caused no issues at all. The Captain (Wesley Dunlop) and senior crew were very informative in their announcements and they were also upbeat. The Captain was also quayside on a number of ports to speak to guests though the cynic in me also saw it as an aid to help the ship’s photographers take more photos to sell. The Captain sets the tone and this one was excellent. I won’t comment much on the itinerary only to say it was a Well-Being cruise so we had a couple of people on board giving various lectures on that topic – we did not attend so cannot comment. We were apparently almost full but there were only about 100 children on board (mostly 5 & under we think) and, taking into account solo travellers, it meant that we were probably at normal (non-school holiday) capacity. We saw about 6 people in various wheelchairs and scooters though there were many more with walking aids. About half the guests seem to be retired with the rest across all adult age groups. We had about 6 lovely sunny days in the middle of the cruise with about 2 days where the outside of the ship were either closed or only tackled by the bravest of souls. I mention all this as I know that the demographic of passengers can influence a cruise especially on Iona and it can affect other aspects on the cruise which I will point out below. Dining: We had our first night’s meal in the Epicurean – a tip we had been given is to book a restaurant to avoid the freedom dining scrum if possible. We thought the meal and service was excellent. The next 2 nights we had dinner in the Pearl restaurant (largest one) and the wait times were poor via the App (over an hour and around 40mins). This was around 7pm. The smaller restaurants – especially Aqua – seem to be horrendous according to fellow guests we were waiting with. My theory was that a number of people choose Aqua as it was the nearest one (a couple of passengers with walking aids told us that is why they went there and we guess they were not alone). It is also next to Anderson’s Bar making it convenient to wait and not travel as far. Again, for us, waiting in Anderson’s Bar to travel to the end of the corridor to Pearl was not a problem. After Day 3, we had no issues with MDR dining wait times at all. In all, we dined 9 times for dinner in Pearl and once in Opal plus a smattering of lunch and breakfasts in Pearl and the other MDRs. The service was excellent with the food quality being very good. The choice was not as large and varied as we have had and there were still loads of green beans with most dishes but this is the new P&O normal. There is no wine/drinks waiter but all orders (food and drink) are taken on electronic tablets and everything arrived promptly. We still have no idea what changed after night 3 to make everything go smoothly – maybe more people went elsewhere? We tried the Glasshouse for lunch. This is in the wrong place. It is in the atrium and people sit there and drink or read or play games. Then, at noon, the staff start politely asking people seated there to more so it can it be used for diners to eat at. We never ate at the Keel & Cow but guess the same may happen there as well. Service and food quality was very poor at the Glasshouse. We have been to this venue on other ships where it was much better. We went to the Limelight twice: Mary Mac (Drag artist) & Ray Quinn (Singer). Both were good but you need to queue at least 45 minutes early to get a decent seat as there are some very bad seats due to columns or being in corners. There was availability onboard for both shows though Ray Quinn did eventually sell out. The food was good though the service was a little slow and haphazard but that might have been due to the order of the food dishes being delivered. The Olive Grove was excellent. Get in here if you can though it gets booked fast. We went twice and it was our favourite restaurant. The way they turnover tables and serve so quickly whilst being so polite and personable was amazing. The Quays was also a nice new addition for us but again it could get busy around lunchtime. It is a mixture of served dishes and self service and is not as much of a scrum as the buffet. Luckily we only did the buffet a few times. Yes, there is a lot much choice but things seem to be under heat longer reducing their quality. Very few people used the wash basins or hand sanitizer and at times it seemed chaotic with a “every person for themselves” attitude. They don’t have trays but the Quays do which is a puzzle to me. Taste 360 (in the Sky Dome) was good and a surprise. As well as the usual hot dogs, pizza and burgers they had a salad bar and a daily Mediterranean dish plus rotisserie chicken after 5pm. We felt that the entertainment on board was poor. There appears to be a lot on but looks can be deceiving. Headliner shows and Sky Dome acrobat shows (which we felt were very good) are repeated 3 times a day and then again either the next day or another day the next week. We didn’t have problem getting seats for these. I am sure this was down to people either seeing them before on this cruise/previous cruises or not their thing. However, this decision puts more pressure of the rest of the ship. The non headliner shows (again 3 times a day but not duplicated) were harder to get seats for and the single sea day lecture (not Well Being themed) was packed were quickly on the two I went to. Other Sky Dome events like Silent disco were good and popular with plenty of room. Nicole’s Scherzinger’s Schhh left me speechless but not in a good way. The 710 club never had availability (fully booked by early boarders before we got onboard though some later dates were released later and they went immediately). However, if go to the queue desk at start of the start of the show and ask to be added onto the waitlist then you can often get in. We did that and managed to get one cancellation once as well. It is a nice venue with a good band with nice interaction. The Clubhouse & the Crow’s nest were always packed whenever there was entertainment on so you had to be there very early or be lucky and grab a seat as someone left – reminded me of musical chairs and this is probably one aspect of where the “Butlins at Sea” comments about these big ships come from. The clubhouse has a soft play area in the corner where toddlers often escape from plus there are Wallace & Gromit etc. characters wandering about and magicians / kid’s entertainers around too. Iona’s Pulse band version is led by a good female singer and a young man who reminded me of Timmy Mallett (had far too much energy jumping around etc…) though fitted in perfectly with the vibe of the venue. The entertainment team were also the youngest set I have seen onboard any P&O ship. All these points give it a holiday camp feel more than any other ship I have been on BUT it is a family ship and aimed at this audience so though I now understand the comments I think they fit in with the style of the ship and there are plenty of other aspects of the ship that have the “traditional” aspects of P&O cruising style. I felt that there was a lack of activities such as quizzes, competitions etc… unless it is a Port Day and then they appear. This is because they cannot handle the numbers on normal sea days. Don’t get me wrong, there are still the odd type of quiz (some in the theatre where you watch others or team based) plus the usual deck quoits / shuffleboard but more come out on Port days which I have never encountered before. There are the usual talks by the shops / art team / future cruise sales but all in all I felt some days there was very little to do that hadn’t been seen / done already. I had obviously been spoilt before. There were more people playing cards, board games etc… all over the ship compared to any other ship I have been on but again this may be down to sheer numbers on board. There are a lot of seats in the 3 level atrium area where relaxing piano music is often heard. These seats were often hard to grab on sea days during day hours. The views are great but the size and look does make it feel cold and airport lounge-like. The Promenade Deck is modern with great signage (feels like walking round a modern town though I know haven’t explained this that well). There are lots of seats and whirlpools and generally the outside areas are numerous with lots of sunbeds/seating that I am sure could handle the very large numbers on board for sunbathing. Spaces in pools are limited though did manage to get in but not much room to swim. The fantastic addition is the sensor toilet doors to stop contamination of handles. Everything like this helps though apparently the disabled ones are different and a bit slow and cumbersome due to how they open/shut/lock but that was just a comment by another passenger to me. Finally lifts. Yes, they are plentiful and most of the time empty but they also seem to be weirdly programmed. Whilst waiting you often see the lift number moving up/down through the floors and bypass yours and go to the top/bottom. It’s like it is programmed to pick you up on the way back by which time it could well be full. The center area on Deck 16 is the worst and I lost count of how many travelled up to travel back down again. My wife has poor knees so can do the odd flight of stairs but not many and was stuck in lift areas waiting for a lift with some space quite a few times. For those unable to use the stairs it is just another area where you can often queue. Overall, I would go on Iona again but definitely not on a School Holiday and it would be for the itinerary and not the ship (other than the window seat and extra dining venues). The queueing / having to get places very early to get a seat and general hustle/bustle of the ship means it is not for me but I am glad I tried it.

I wonder if they will open up the middle staircase like they did on one of the Princess versions when that had a refit. I believe it is currently hidden and used by crew only.

I’m an Aurora fan. Its venues seem to be in better places than Arcadia (for me). The art gallery outside the globe and being on the main thoroughfare being the biggest bugbear especially when they host events. The multi purpose cinema room in Aurora is another plus but they are both great at what they do though are both definitely showing their age now so you must take that into account - I feel that adds to their charm, well until you have blocked toilets or leaks in the ship🤣

Why are we consistently comparing cruise ports to airports? People use airplanes to get to their destinations/holidays not their holiday. Getting on the cruise ship is a major part of the holiday. I’m sure if airplanes took thousands of passengers, had loads of free good food, swimming, spas, bars and entertainment and sat on tarmac for hours before leaving then loads would try and got on early to enjoy the facilities, until then I don’t see people rushing to get there very early. If we want to do comparisons that aren’t the same how about cruise ports and train stations. How you seen the queues at train stations after a sporting match or concert? They often close the station. I still think they are fit for purpose as they handle numbers well the vast majority of times and only fail in extreme cases.

Ah this time last year for me. Loved all the people waving on the canal side as we passed the final lock into the pacific. A wonderful day but I missed seeing the crocodiles in the lakes. Suppose I must go again then at some stage

Selbourne and co got caught out by the priority system. Longer cruises on Aurora type and Cunard etc…. attract more of the regular, higher loyalty tier, passengers that have the priority boarding perk. When large numbers have this there is no real perk and can have large queues. It is not necessarily the check-in that could be the bottle neck but security or drop off areas can also be impacted. The “regular” cruisers with later allocated times usually then breeze thru with no issues and as they are smaller ships being later doesn’t mean missing out on booking slots as these ships don’t do that.

Will the new audience care about the line? They can just do last minute at MSC undoing the work P&O did introducing new people to cruising. Many probably tried cruising because of low prices and generally loyalty is not strong nowadays.

I did this last April when on a last minute cruise and no parking was available. Drop off partner and luggage and park and either walk back or order a taxi from the nearby hotel.

Thanks for the review of Neil Lockwood. I have never seen him but he is leaving you to join us on Iona so will definitely go and see him.

Same here. We had a problem toilet flush - sometimes flushed sometimes didn’t. It was on the QV 5 nighter Xmas market cruise in Dec 23. We thought it was only an issue for us and just put up with it for the short cruise. We didn’t have any smell issues though.

I have seen some great late deals in the past (and am confident some will continue to exist) but I have been hit a few times with the computer says No, not for you as there are no spaces available for a child in that age group category. Families, or those needing accessible cabins, are definitely not as fortunate with the late low bargains deals.

Open dining works very well on QM2 due to one floor being fixed and the other open dining. It starts that way but because they are connected it is very fluid and I have come across fixed diners in the open section and I have been seated in the fixed section if I arrived just after the cut off point for them and they didn’t show so they fill up the tables that way.

I think you need to be linked bookings though don’t you.

Sounds like you are on an amazing cruise. I am sure many more people like me wish we were on there with you. Please keep the reports coming and treasure every moment.

We have had this happen to us (although Arcadia). The biggest problem was the long queues outside the terminal in the cold. Hopefully, they will be more efficient now as they have had to do this a few times recently.

Please also note that if you decide against Britannia and choose another P&O ship then the replies will be different and I would suggest you ask again as the P&O ships and style etc.. are quite different across the fleet though the Britishness and non drop adjusted price replies will remain the same.

It was the 2023 world cruise for Arcadia where Freeport’s Bahamas denied entry to Arcadia due to Norovirus (which started on the previous cruise) and full disembarkation at Fort Lauderdale ensued afterwards. After this, cases gradually reduced of Norovirus though Covid cases did begin to creep up (though I feel that was to be expected).

We had the same issues on Arcadia in January. Wonder how often P&O ships are impacted by Norovirus and compulsory disembarkation for cleaning. Don’t often hear much of it on here so twice in a year is unfortunate and maybe unusual.

Need to take a collapsible tray onboard to overcome this lunacy. There must have been one invented and available on one these shopping channels. When done, fold it up and pop in bag type thing.

Been on Aurora few times and it is my favourite ship. I have been fortunate on her and never seen a bucket or leak. In fact, I am sure the feature in the atrium was meant to have a steady flow of water over it to make it glisten and it doesn’t anymore OR the 1st time I was onboard that was a leak.

I have also had some breakfasts in the buffet better than the MDR including poached eggs, omelettes and eggs Benedict etc.. sometimes in the MDR they arrive lukewarm whereas, if available, they cooked to order and hot.

Arcadia is only ship I have been on where I have seen them mop the floor and mop the ceiling. I too remember lots of buckets and mini floods but my sister was on Arcadia a few months ago and saw none of that. It is obviously something that comes and goes.

It would be extremely busy area on a World cruise. Normally the doors are open (even if asked to be closed it is often too hot to have closed). Lots of chatter in there normally though hopefully no fights! There are much better cabins to be had but for 2 grand more maybe ear plugs and hope for the best.