mrsgoggins

Sky Princess is a favourite of mine too. We sailed on her last year and again this and I hope you are as impressed as we were, so yes please, it would be lovely to have a few photographs. Enjoy.

+1 I felt we were kindred spirits in all but our choice of chocolate! I do hope his absence is temporary 🤞

I would be interested in the response you get. When we have sailed on Disney, they advertise some showings of the same films with CC, which I think is an excellent idea and it surprises me that other cruise lines, which are likely to have far more passengers with hearing issues, do not do this. I have also never been able to access CC on the TVs either. I should add this is not for me, but for DH who prefers to read in any case, but I would like him to have the option.

Not personally a fan of the music but I started my teaching career in Wigan in 1975 and was fascinated by the fifth formers’ tales of all-nighters at Wigan Casino and loved to watch them dance at school discos - just fascinating for the moves they could make! This was before the days of elaborate Proms of course.

I had a conversation with a cheerful couple on Celebrity Silhouette today; he the pusher with his wife in wheelchair. I asked about the lift behaviour and they said people, and staff could not be more accommodating and they have had no problems at all, which I was delighted and relieved to hear. Selbourne I do hope that your next cruises go much more smoothly in that regard. You have been very fortunate with your dining room treatment, but that does not compensate for your wife's feelings about changing floors on Iona. The poster who mentions people using the lift for one or two floors, in a disparaging manner, could do well to withhold judgement. I may do this and DH will often say, if the lift is fullish, 'You get in and I'll take the stairs', and there is a reason for this which would not be obvious to the casual observer. We will shortly leave Kristiansand, our final port, and so I wish us all smooth seas for our return to Southampton. Thank you so much for posting and keeping us updated.

Wishing you both a lovely day today and maybe a lovely meal to celebrate 🥂

I have 35 night (2024 and 2025) cruises booked with P&O, both on Ventura which I quite like, and importantly DH likes the pool (he's a 7 am swimmer 🙄) but I'm definitely hearing you about other options being less stressful - especially than the new ships. Like Selbourne, I'd done my homework before embarking on Iona but still concluded that it wasn't something I would repeat for the money I paid. Clearly others feel differently and I'm definitely not part of the demographic they are targeting for Iona or Arvira (?).

I am doing your itinerary in reverse it seems (Celebrity Silhouette) since we have just arrived in Stavanger and were in Olden yesterday! The buses outside the ship in Olden do a short (just less than an hour) but pretty tour with a few photo stops. We did it last year - just had a short walk yesterday, and from memory they have blue single deck buses which I suspect have better access. I am appalled by the lift behaviour of some people and you are wrong to assume your experiences might have no interest to the able bodied. I have been known to hold people back when aware of a wheelchair user who has been there longer than me. (I was a teacher of 14-18 year olds and can 'project' when necessary 😉). Pleased to read that you can also be assertive but not that it's necessary in the first place. I've sailed with Princess and now Celebrity since Iona in March and we won't be back on her. Not to our taste either despite having much we liked. I hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise and it's good to know that the younger ones are enjoying the ship.

+1 I especially like the inside the car photos with that day's snack. Even when raining, it feels cosy and makes me smile.

On this forum, I'm envious of your energy and Brian's (@Brian1) lifestyle 😁 Please tell me you'll have an afternoon nap rather than going bowling, to make me feel better 😉!

How very stressful for you! Something similar happened to us decades ago and we ended up living on my mother's drive in our caravan, with our young son, for some months. I hope it gets resolved for you soon. I wonder if the Scottish system works better, as I have been led to believe.

Have you heard him sing yet? Do attend if you get the chance; he's classically trained. I've heard him a few times - on Sky last month and twice on Celebrity when he was a CD with them. Quite a surprise for most people and not what they expect.

I was awake at 4 am but didn't give in and get up, instead I listened to the 'Americast' podcast on Radio 5 Live of Donald Trump's latest woes on a 30 minute timer! That helped me doze off again way before the end 😁

We had a lovely few days in IOM just as things started to open up 2 years ago. It’s a lovely place and a childhood holiday destination for me. I wasn’t aware that any cruise ships called there, so that’s really interesting. I hope you are enjoying the Spirit of Adventure as a good friend of mine, and a seasoned cruiser, was on the cruise prior to yours and loved it.

I had seen it was going to be on and so set 'series record' and we watched it last night. Now I like Princess a lot, but the staging of this programme was a bit much to take! Not to mention the padding - thankfully it was recorded and I could jump minutes at a time, which I did. I have status with Princess and, like Josy, have never had the treatment and in-cabin perks that these cruisers had when boarding any of their ships, including Regal Princess. They had the 'Jane McDonald treatment' for sure 😉

Also enjoying your thread, which I’ve only just found. What poor service from National Express! I was interested in your comments about Virgin Upper since we have only used with the older layout in UC. Returning to LHR from TPA (PE) in January on a near empty plane (new route for Virgin), I asked to be shown the new UC seats and I wasn’t overly impressed. We were on Sky’s Scandinavian & Baltic cruise last month and it was excellent all round - food, service, rooms etc. We are booked on her next year for a Canaries cruise I’m happy to say 👍 We’re boarding Celebrity Silhouette in Southampton the day you disembark (also Fjords) and I’m pleased to report that the weather is looking good for the weekend. Looking forward to the rest of your trip report and more great photos.

I would agree with this. I've done a lot of cruising over the past few years and whilst I have had some truly exceptional staff members, all have been efficient and deserving of an extra 'thank you'. My view on this is possibly coloured by the fact that when young, I did a summer season at a high-end Swiss hotel as a chambermaid and appreciate what hard work it can be. I even leave a tip in a Premier Inn! I am sure those 'unseens' on cruise ships work equally hard and I'm pleased to think that P&O do the 'tips included' thing, which I hope means they are paid accordingly. Edited to add that Guest Services have envelopes at the ready towards the end of the cruise for those who request them. I tend to save and re-use envelopes which come containing reservations or invitations etc.

I hand over tips, in an envelope, the day before disembarkation. Mainly because on the morning you leave, the room attendant may be busy clearing out another room and would need hunting down. I also give additional tips the night before if we have had the same servers in the MDR for most of the cruise. This was not necessary on Iona because we rarely had the same ones twice and the multiple locations.

5 star photos and review - definitely no boredom! Thanks again for taking the time to do it Sarah.

4.45 am and I’m signing into the ‘Wide Awake’ club! First time in weeks, but something is niggling at me - not a huge issue - and it won’t go away. Things always seem to get out of proportion in the wee small hours don’t they? So, here I am, cup of tea and banana by my side watching a review of today’s news on Sky, iPad in hand. Which reminds me, I definitely don’t see every post on this thread, but have I missed what has happened to Harry? I’m hoping he and his good lady are managing a holiday because I enjoy his posts. Time to do Wordle 😉

Ah, thank you, I hadn’t realised that. We were on Apex in January of 2022 when it was little over half full so had a good experience (as in lifts arriving in seconds, good tables in dining rooms etc) with excellent food and service. I just know that I like ‘traditional’ when it comes to cruising so that would definitely influence the way I felt about Iona.

I’ve had 2 Celebrity back to back cruises so far this year (Equinox in the Caribbean) with a Silhouette cruise due shortly and have also sailed on Iona. For balance, I’m also not a fan of Celebrity Apex so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that I didn’t care for Iona either! I think the new mega ships, aimed largely at a younger clientele, are not for me. We enjoyed our Iona cruise overall (Canaries), just not some aspects of the ship. In particular, we enjoyed the Limelight club, 711 and dining in Epicurean. You asked about the main differences and I would say service levels and food in general. We found it easy enough to use the App on Iona and are early diners and so didn’t have the problems that others report In getting tables when they were ready to dine, or even being unable to join the virtual queue! Ours was not a ‘cheap as chips’ cruise that many got and happily shared details about (eg ‘I couldn’t eat like this at home for the £50 a day I’ve paid) because I wanted a mid ship deluxe balcony cabin - with a sofa, which is standard in a regular Celebrity cabin. Essentially I didn’t consider the Iona cruise to be worth what we paid. We have since done a Princess cruise and found their levels of service and food to be similar to Celebrity. We have also sailed on Ventura this year and enjoyed that cruise too despite service levels being below par IMO, but, importantly, I did consider we had value for money on that cruise. Sitting in what felt like an airport in Iona’s atrium, could in no way compete with Celebrity’s atrium or my favourite Bacio. Lots on here love Iona and so I suggest reading many people’s views to decide what’s important to you.

That one took me back Avril. My mum used to use the phrase 'elegant sufficiency' - I wonder where that came from? Probably ITMA or a similar wartime radio show 😁 After DH told one of our grandsons, then aged about 3, that he had been bitten by a horse fly, he went home and told his mother that his grandad had been bitten by a rocking horse!

We've enjoyed three cruises on Ventura and I wish you calm waters and a good cruise. I'm off to check my Stugeron is still in date ready for my next cruise - you've just reminded me 🙂. Look forward to reading updates if you get the chance.

Another occasional poor sleeper signing in! Like others, DH sleeps soundly as soon as his head hits the pillow. He can also sleep on planes - something that has always alluded me, even if we have been lucky enough to have flat beds. For me it's just once every few weeks with no rhyme nor reason. Not stressed; tired when I went to bed etc - just a mystery. When it's really bad, I give in, get up, make a cuppa and sometimes eat a banana because I think I once read that it could help. I don't normally switch on the computer or look at my phone, but maybe I will in future to see who's about 😁