Cloudyrain

My son loved the Roman ruins/amphitheater - and it’s so close and accessible for kids of all ages. They also have quite a few cool little ice cream parlours about that were a firm favourite. A bit further along there are a couple of little playgrounds which were popular.

So much better than Marseille - it’s a great swap 🙂 P&O go there quite often in my experience. The Roman ruins and museum is just off the port and is really interesting and accessible (and not mega expensive) and the little streets are great. It’s a lovely port of you don’t want to travel far 😊

We had 17317: a GC corner balcony, but absolutely huge. No one could look in to our balcony room, and it was at the end of a corridor so super quiet. People could in theory look at you if you are stood at the edge of the balcony, but it’s not really an issue, it’s not like I’m invisible any other time, or that I sit in the nude on my balcony, or that I’m worth looking at compared to the scenery 😂 It does have a big overhang, but we really liked that as it was shaded from rain/wind - and we aren’t sun-worshippers. It’s my favourite balcony we have ever had. We previously had deck 9 and it was just noisy with the people in the hot tubs including a group of people who got in drunk every afternoon singing bad songs badly 😬

I honestly wouldn’t hold off on seeing something you want to see: the cinema isn’t that big and sometimes people get there very early (30 minutes before the screenings start it can be full), other times you can walk in as it’s starting and get seats. They do show things more than once, and several times a day, but still something that’s popular might prove difficult to get in to. Basically what I’m saying is go and see Barbie - it’s brilliant and probably better on a cinema big screen than on the ship. Plus, it’s really the sort of film you can watch more than once so you could could watch it on board if you get chance 😊

The beds don’t rattle, but ships in general often do. There is a lot to rattle in a cabin (glasses/cups, coat hangers, toiletries etc), balcony furniture, balcony partitions etc. Cabins in ships aren’t particularly quiet. If your friends are naturally light sleepers they may want to take some good silicone ear plugs.

The seat selection facility didn’t work on the Iona earlier this year: and it was pot luck on if you got a seat or not. Some showings you could walk in as it was starting and find 4 seats together free, other times you could go half an hour before it started and would be lucky to find any single spare seats.

There are loads of films on the Iona, some TV series/episodes, and some travelogue type shows, but I think the film selection was brilliant. Most admittedly were older, but they are free. They are also organised by genre, but sometimes maybe not the most appropriate category so it’s worth flicking through.

I found the whole situation quite frustrating: but it was a holiday cruise and “at maximum capacity”. Also the cabins were selected to be near each other specifically due to care needs, so it was a case of “put up and shut up” and accept the bad bottle of wine as compensation. We aren’t the sort to complain, but sometimes I wish we were when I see what others in similar situations get. I now know that there are a number of noise-complaint cabins on the Iona, but we booked pre-launch so this wasn’t known at the time. It’s annoying that P&O must know and yet still do nothing about it.

We have been twice on Iona this year and both times there was a sign at reception saying “There are no rooms at the Inn” (well, something along those lines). One of our party needed to move rooms because of a problem with theirs, but there was no room available so they had to remain and put up with the problem.

Mine has been fine the whole time: how strange.

With regards to the Skydome we never struggled for seating, but we would sit against the window near the blocked off buffet entrance. Our view was impeded, but it suited us as we had plenty of space for my sons chair, we were near the disabled WC, and could catch the eye of the waiters at the bar. Also the shows are on up to three times a night, often twice in the week, so we “saw” some shows multiple occasions and there were usually seats and tables around that area free due to the restricted views. I think you will also find as the week goes on the Skydome shows become less popular as shows/style of shows get repeated - and some people realise it’s not their “cup of tea”. The area around the stage is set with loungers, but people did move them about to allow access for wheelchairs. There are some nice atrium bars for pre-dinner drinks: and also a few deck bars (if the weather allows) which are nice to sit at and enjoy the sail away scenery. with the MDRs don’t be put off by long waitlists at the two larger venues: 30 people in front equated to 10-20 minutes. The longest we waited was about 30 minutes when it was something like 60 in front of us. The smaller venues have shorted lists but longer waits.

Some of the comments on here are so depressing: we get these to our face of course, but it saddens me that some people are so quick to assume people abuse the system for the “benefit” of assistance. Lots of conditions are variable, complex, and may require different adjustments at different times. It’s disappointing to think that people “see” this and assume with such certainty that people are abusing the system.

How odd, it can’t be a nationwide thing because I have just been on this morning until about 5 minutes ago to check in, and then have just gone back on now and it’s working ok for me. Im going to go back on this evening and check it’s actually worked 😂

Are you sure your phone isn’t diverting you to the MyHoliday page rather than the MyPOCruise page - mine does that because I never clear my cookies and it always confuses me. I have been able to access MyPOCruise page ok this morning to do my check in.

That’s what I was saying (albeit via the app). We haven’t experienced problems booking on board and generally found it to be a good experience, others unfortunately have had problems. It just goes to show how variable it must be 😊

That’s a shame to hear. We were on it around Easter 2022 and had no problems.

We have assistance booked already (and confirmed) but still had the email twice.

We had no problem last year with the Beach House on the Britannia, and booked the same day on several occasions, so it’s a shame if it has changed on there since then. However, we have been on the Iona twice this year (one in school holidays and one out of school holidays) and my experience there were slots in all dining venues except those I stated. We were able to book the Beach House twice, Sindhu (although cancelled as we changed our mind) and we even got a couple of lucky lunchtime Olive Grove slots - but they took a lot of refreshing and crossing of fingers! All of the bookings were between 6pm and 8pm (with the exception of the Olive Grove where we only managed lunchtime). my only “booking” bug bear was that we were unable to book more 710 slots because we were unable to book kids club slots. If you think restaurants are bad don’t try booking a kids club slot - it’s torturous 😂

Lots of things don’t need booking (skydome, cinema, Clubhouse etc). 710 can be booked on board (and books up fast as it’s only small and a great group) but you can get cancellation spaces if you arrive without a booking and ask to go on the waitlist. In my experience the only things that book out prior to boarding are Limelight and Epicurian/Norwegian Taster Night, but even then there are sometimes last minute cancellations. Oh and the Olive Grove; it’s like the Hunger Games getting in there - but worth it. If you are wanting to go on a “booked” excursion go to the desk on arrival and they usually hold back a portion for sale onboard, or if something is very popular will add extra tours it there is enough demand. may the odds be ever in your favour!

No restrictions on getting on and off, and it’s scanned and beeps every time you get on/off so they can check for no shows. You also have a little security check to go through when you get back on board and that can be a bit of a faff if you have children and it’s super busy so it might put people off getting on and off all day long - I know it does me 😂

My son has always had his own card as it’s needed for getting on and off, but I just keep his card: he is always with a parent or in kids club so there is no risk of him running up a bill. although I repeatedly try to use his card to buy drinks. The last time the waiter said “excuse me madam, but you do not look like a 6 year old boy” 😂😂

Have a lovely time: we go later in the month so I’m looking forward to following your trip with my excitement building 😊

You only need to fill it out if you would need assistance at any stage: so you can say you need assistance in an emergency, but not embarking etc. We need assistance with getting on and off, but not in an emergency as I am able to assist my son and no other assistance would be needed.

Yes you can 😊

that’s fine that it’s not for you - whoever you go with you need to be happy with so that you don’t worry about it when you are away 😊