Maiden Voyages

[fivedock]

We find ourselves in the position of potentially being on the Iona on her maiden voyage on 14 November (although know slim chance of it going ahead).  When we booked our cruise we thought it would have been sailing for a few months before we embarked.  We are curious as to what can/may occur on a ships maiden voyage carrying passengers as its inevitable that teething problems will arise.  We are not concerned about this but would appreciate any info that may prepare us in advance.  Thank you all.

[Josy1953]

We did the maiden on Britannia and did not find it greatly different from any other cruise.  The ship was obviously not showing any signs of wear and we were not aware of any teething problems.  There was a firework display as we sailed away from Southampton.  We were given a gift to commemorate the maiden voyage, a source of great amusement for us because it was a Wedgwood cup and saucer and my husband is a Wedgwood pensioner and consequently all of our tableware is Wedgwood.  Some passengers actually put them on eBay as soon as they appeared in the cabins, ours are still residing in the loft.

 

We felt that the crew were possibly picked specifically for the maiden season because they were consistently excellent. 

 

We were invited to Southampton the day before to have a guided tour and lunch on board which was nice because we got to wander around and look at the various venues on board before there were thousands of passengers.  I don't know how they selected who wass invited because we met people at lunch who had never cruised and were not booked on any future P&O cruises.  As we left the ship we were given a little goody bag each.

 

Enjoy your maiden on Iona if it goes in November.

[pete14]

1 hour ago, Josy1953 said:

We did the maiden on Britannia and did not find it greatly different from any other cruise.  The ship was obviously not showing any signs of wear and we were not aware of any teething problems.  There was a firework display as we sailed away from Southampton.  We were given a gift to commemorate the maiden voyage, a source of great amusement for us because it was a Wedgwood cup and saucer and my husband is a Wedgwood pensioner and consequently all of our tableware is Wedgwood.  Some passengers actually put them on eBay as soon as they appeared in the cabins, ours are still residing in the loft.

 

We felt that the crew were possibly picked specifically for the maiden season because they were consistently excellent. 

 

We were invited to Southampton the day before to have a guided tour and lunch on board which was nice because we got to wander around and look at the various venues on board before there were thousands of passengers.  I don't know how they selected who wass invited because we met people at lunch who had never cruised and were not booked on any future P&O cruises.  As we left the ship we were given a little goody bag each.

 

Enjoy your maiden on Iona if it goes in November.

We were also on the Britannia maiden although we were not invited the day before☹️. I concur with Josy’s observations - nothing particularly special but a good cruise nonetheless. We were booked on Iona’s cancelled maiden In May 2020 and they had announced upgraded entertainment (Tony Hadley, Jason Donovan etc) not great I know but a step up on the normal offering. Whether they will do the same whenever the new maiden takes place is anyone’s guess.

[molecrochip]

13 hours ago, Josy1953 said:

We felt that the crew were possibly picked specifically for the maiden season because they were consistently excellent. 

Very much so.
 

It also means that new crew are spread across the whole fleet.

[shopaholic6]

On 9/7/2020 at 6:40 AM, fivedock said:

We find ourselves in the position of potentially being on the Iona on her maiden voyage on 14 November (although know slim chance of it going ahead).  When we booked our cruise we thought it would have been sailing for a few months before we embarked.  We are curious as to what can/may occur on a ships maiden voyage carrying passengers as its inevitable that teething problems will arise.  We are not concerned about this but would appreciate any info that may prepare us in advance.  Thank you all.

Hi, 

 

I did the Spectrum of the Seas maiden voyage last year and although I read reviews afterwards from other people saying they encountered ‘teething problems’, I can honestly say we did not encounter one problem and I loved every minute of it 😃

 

I am also on the Iona 🤞🏼 but not until May 2021 🤞🏼🤞🏼
 

Hope your maiden goes ahead 😃😃

[grapau27]

On 9/7/2020 at 6:40 AM, fivedock said:

We find ourselves in the position of potentially being on the Iona on her maiden voyage on 14 November (although know slim chance of it going ahead).  When we booked our cruise we thought it would have been sailing for a few months before we embarked.  We are curious as to what can/may occur on a ships maiden voyage carrying passengers as its inevitable that teething problems will arise.  We are not concerned about this but would appreciate any info that may prepare us in advance.  Thank you all.

We sailed on the maiden season of all current P&O ships which was fantastic having a new ship and maiden season gift.

We sailed on NCL Gems maiden voyage in October 2007 from Dover which was very special and RCL Harmony of the Seas second sailing from Southampton in May 2016 and were given gifts.

Harmony still had a few workmen on board doing carpets so we were given some extra obc because of it but we hardly noticed the workmen.

Hopefully this is the maiden cruise of Iona you are on.

[fivedock]

Thank you all for the response.  Although we had been looking forward to our trip we won't be disappointed if its cancelled. If by chance it does go ahead we will enjoy it to the full as we always do and just embrace the new 'normal'.  Enjoying everyones posts on forum and looking forward to some more happy holidays at sea.

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, fivedock said:

Thank you all for the response.  Although we had been looking forward to our trip we won't be disappointed if its cancelled. If by chance it does go ahead we will enjoy it to the full as we always do and just embrace the new 'normal'.  Enjoying everyones posts on forum and looking forward to some more happy holidays at sea.

I hope your  cruise goes ahead, mainly because selfishly that should mean our Feb 2021 cruise will also happen.