Iona Thoughts

[jake 26]

After reading the various views and watched some of the videos it appears that Iona is a big step away from the type of cruising that many of us have enjoyed over the years.

 

Clearly it is built to appeal to a younger clientele and families as a large floating holiday resort. When all restrictions end and full capacity is permitted there will be around 4000 adults and 800+ children on board at peak periods. If successful I'm sure it will be a very good source of revenue for P&O. With Arvera coming along next I think P&O will be mainly a family cruise line eventually.

 

I have followed some of the comparisons with Saga on here and the Saga board and, although there is a seemingly large price difference, Saga seems to me to be the future for those of us who prefer lower capacity ships with the fine trimmings of 'old' style cruising.

[jeanlyon]

22 hours ago, jake 26 said:

After reading the various views and watched some of the videos it appears that Iona is a big step away from the type of cruising that many of us have enjoyed over the years.

 

Clearly it is built to appeal to a younger clientele and families as a large floating holiday resort. When all restrictions end and full capacity is permitted there will be around 4000 adults and 800+ children on board at peak periods. If successful I'm sure it will be a very good source of revenue for P&O. With Arvera coming along next I think P&O will be mainly a family cruise line eventually.

 

I have followed some of the comparisons with Saga on here and the Saga board and, although there is a seemingly large price difference, Saga seems to me to be the future for those of us who prefer lower capacity ships with the fine trimmings of 'old' style cruising.

OK, so I looked at a Saga cruise 22 nights at £6279?????? and that's for a standard cabin.  I don't think so.  Even with the stuff they throw in, that's mega money.  My 19 nighter on Aurora is £1379!

[Denarius]

4 hours ago, Cathygh said:

It's true you can book a couple of things-headliners etc but you can no longer book speciality restaurants, Limelight etc and this is causing a lot of disatisfaction and in my case stress and anxiety as I have special events to celebrate and as I won't get on board till about 5 I will have no chance of booking the restaurants I want on the days I want which was the whole reason for booking this particular cruise. Fisrt World Problems!

 

Re. booking of speciality restaurants.

Would not a simple solution be to restrict advance bookings to one per cabin, with no further bookings accepted for that cabin until that meal had taken place? This would hopefully ensure that everyone who wants to book a speciality restaurant in advance has a reasonable chance of doing so. Vacant tables on the day could be allocated on a first come basis.

[wowzz]

53 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

My 19 nighter on Aurora is £1379!

In a deluxe balcony cabin? 

[jeanlyon]

27 minutes ago, wowzz said:

In a deluxe balcony cabin? 

Yep, that would be about £3000 on P&O,

[wowzz]

Just now, jeanlyon said:

Yep, that would be about £3000 on P&O,

We have a two 16 day cruises next year,  one on Arcadia, one on Spirit of Adventure, in similar balcony cabins. Saga is costing us about £70  pppd more. However,  as there are no parking fees, hotel costs, petrol costs etc with Saga the differential reduces to about £60 pppd.

For that extra £60 we get unlimited drinks, no charge speciality dining, free shore excursions  (OK, unsure about those) and most important of all,  get to cruise on a ship with less than 1000 passengers.

Is it worth paying £60 per day extra (in effect £40 pd due to not having to pay for drinks) ? We think so, but others may view £40 as too much of a premium. 

[jeanlyon]

5 minutes ago, wowzz said:

We have a two 16 day cruises next year,  one on Arcadia, one on Spirit of Adventure, in similar balcony cabins. Saga is costing us about £70  pppd more. However,  as there are no parking fees, hotel costs, petrol costs etc with Saga the differential reduces to about £60 pppd.

For that extra £60 we get unlimited drinks, no charge speciality dining, free shore excursions  (OK, unsure about those) and most important of all,  get to cruise on a ship with less than 1000 passengers.

Is it worth paying £60 per day extra (in effect £40 pd due to not having to pay for drinks) ? We think so, but others may view £40 as too much of a premium. 

No that wouldn't be worth it for me.  I would go on a different holiday.  Fred is more expensive than P&O but not that much, so might choose them.

[davecttr]

I looked at Saga, the ships are lovely and I can stand wearing the posh stuff. No casino though so no blackjack so no Saga.

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

No that wouldn't be worth it for me.  I would go on a different holiday.  Fred is more expensive than P&O but not that much, so might choose them.

Their balcony cabins are just as expensive, if not more so, than Saga.

[zap99]

3 hours ago, Denarius said:

Re. booking of speciality restaurants.

Would not a simple solution be to restrict advance bookings to one per cabin, with no further bookings accepted for that cabin until that meal had taken place? This would hopefully ensure that everyone who wants to book a speciality restaurant in advance has a reasonable chance of doing so. Vacant tables on the day could be allocated on a first come basis.

On Brittania we ate in all the speciality restaurants. Sindhu and Epicurean appeared over the top with social distancing. I would estimate 50% if the ' closed ' tables could have been opened up to customers and still plenty of room.

[daiB]

20 hours ago, Selbourne said:

That’s interesting because some of the comments that I’ve read on here said that the MDR food was disappointing. Also, one of the video reviews that I watched last night said that the food in the Beach House on Iona, whilst now free, was not as good as before. I hope that you are right though as, with a few small exceptions, we have always enjoyed the food on P&O, including the MDR’s. 

Hi Selbourne,

 

Well it takes all sorts just read a review that said the food in the MDR was poor, ie not enough to eat. (Clearly he had never heard the expression i will have a large one please.) He then went on to praise how wonderful the App was??? He did not board until 16.00 but booked everything he wanted.

Funny old world.

[jake 26]

4 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

OK, so I looked at a Saga cruise 22 nights at £6279??????  Holy **** and that's for a standard cabin.  I don't think so.  Even with the stuff they throw in, that's mega money.  My 19 nighter on Aurora is £1379!

I don't think Aurora will stay in the fleet when Arvera arrives sadly, and possibly Arcadia will go as well.

My impression of Iona is that of 'pile em high, sell em cheap'. That's not being derogatory, it's good business sense for P&O as if they can attract families, probably sell them the drinks packages which include children's wants at no extra cost then the family have a fabulous all inclusive package holiday. Wide ranging food and entertainment options with some attractive and educational ports of call to visit.

 

For those of us who want traditional cruising there are other options but to return to that style of cruising will be more costly, particularly as fares have fallen in real terms over the past few years.

 

The current seacations are opportunities for lines to showcase their wares to a new and younger clientele, and I think they are achieving that, which is good because the outlook was dire only a few months ago.

[lincslady]

Having done several cruises on Fred. and on Saga, all I can say is that there is a world of difference in overall quality, but of course a difference in price.  But  if you do enjoy a glass or two of wine at lunch, a cocktail before dinner and some wine with dinner and a Baileys or whatever after,  then much less difference!   That could be a decider for some people.  You pays your money and ........

[galeforce9]

38 minutes ago, lincslady said:

Having done several cruises on Fred. and on Saga, all I can say is that there is a world of difference in overall quality, but of course a difference in price.  But  if you do enjoy a glass or two of wine at lunch, a cocktail before dinner and some wine with dinner and a Baileys or whatever after,  then much less difference!   That could be a decider for some people.  You pays your money and ........

But not a patch on Seabourn 😆

[Cruiserjules]

On 8/17/2021 at 8:18 PM, Selbourne said:

That’s interesting because some of the comments that I’ve read on here said that the MDR food was disappointing. Also, one of the video reviews that I watched last night said that the food in the Beach House on Iona, whilst now free, was not as good as before. I hope that you are right though as, with a few small exceptions, we have always enjoyed the food on P&O, including the MDR’s. 

Have to say that with the exception of the buffet on the first evening where the choice was poor, we enjoyed every meal in every venue we visited, especially our embarkation lunch in the Olive Grove.  We haven't been to The Beach House for years, and I know that there was not as much choice as before, but the food was good, (especially recommended the banana split).     I didn't take a phone/camera with me to the dining rooms so don't have any photos of food or menus, but there was plenty of choice, something for everyone. We liked the Coral Restaurant so much that we made our first-ever lunchtime MDR visit during this cruise.

On formal night in the MDR the folk on the table next to us sent their food back as "disgusting" - we loved it - just shows you can't please everyone!

[Presto2]

All we can say is that. if P&O is going to become the UK version of Royal Caribbean we will turn to Celebrity more and more. Very sad to say this though as we love the P&O experience we have had on Oceana and Britannia. Just hope that they are not changing too much. Just wish they would keep a variety of ships to suit all sorts but am too cynical to think that this is the case.

How can any company turn a cruise line with such a great history and tradition in to a 'cheap and cheerful' brand (if you know what I mean)

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Presto2 said:

All we can say is that. if P&O is going to become the UK version of Royal Caribbean we will turn to Celebrity more and more. Very sad to say this though as we love the P&O experience we have had on Oceana and Britannia. Just hope that they are not changing too much. Just wish they would keep a variety of ships to suit all sorts but am too cynical to think that this is the case.

How can any company turn a cruise line with such a great history and tradition in to a 'cheap and cheerful' brand (if you know what I mean)

We have sailed on RCI, Celebrity  Princess and P&O, and they are all very similar. The main differences we find are in the ships, the newest generally being the best because, like a new car they have that extra special look and smell. We like P&O because they do year round sailings from Southampton, but I have to admit that they do an excellent job of suppressing the Wow factor that the other lines produce with their new offerings.

But I was hoping that Iona would break the mold and gives me the same feeling of wonderment that the likes of the RCI ships do, however from the various videos of the other XL class ships I rather get the impression that they have once again managed to make a pigs ear out of a potential silk purse.

[Host Sharon]

20 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

OK, so I looked at a Saga cruise 22 nights at £6279?????? and that's for a standard cabin.  I don't think so.  Even with the stuff they throw in, that's mega money.  My 19 nighter on Aurora is £1379!

If you compare prices now, then yes. They are very high. The  key to Saga is to purchase a pre-registration and book on launch. That will cut that price by about a third. You also cannot compare a Saga standard cabin (larger, balcony, extra amenities, free full room service etc) with a P&O inside cabin. Obviously it is a choice, but I have reached the stage of cruise less, cruise better.

[Host Sharon]

15 hours ago, galeforce9 said:

But not a patch on Seabourn 😆

But they rarely sail from the UK.

[lincslady]

Anyone who is fairly free at present  - a chance to try Saga at a much cheaper price.  Two six nighters to Scotland from Tilbury, on 23rd or 27th of this month, at £1279 and £1431.   Still not cheap, but it is all balconies.

 

The ad. was in the Times, and suggestion is to call Saga on 0800 056 5079 quoting TMP27, or look at website,  saga.co.uk/times.  Obviously have to be fully vaccinated, and over 50.  It even says if you don't love it you get the money back!!

 

It includes all the normal stuff; travel to and fro, insurance, two excursions, drinks etc.

 

If I could, I would be on one!

[BouncingWheel]

17 hours ago, jake 26 said:

I don't think Aurora will stay in the fleet when Arvera arrives sadly, and possibly Arcadia will go as well.

My impression of Iona is that of 'pile em high, sell em cheap'. That's not being derogatory, it's good business sense for P&O as if they can attract families, probably sell them the drinks packages which include children's wants at no extra cost then the family have a fabulous all inclusive package holiday. Wide ranging food and entertainment options with some attractive and educational ports of call to visit.

 

For those of us who want traditional cruising there are other options but to return to that style of cruising will be more costly, particularly as fares have fallen in real terms over the past few years.

 

The current seacations are opportunities for lines to showcase their wares to a new and younger clientele, and I think they are achieving that, which is good because the outlook was dire only a few months ago.

I disagree and think they will keep at least 1 small ship in the fleet for the world cruises and Panama Canal Transit. Maybe they will lose one of Arcadia or Aurora but I don't think both and over time they will still need a small ship as a replacement.

[crompton21]

31 minutes ago, BouncingWheel said:

I disagree and think they will keep at least 1 small ship in the fleet for the world cruises and Panama Canal Transit. Maybe they will lose one of Arcadia or Aurora but I don't think both and over time they will still need a small ship as a replacement.

 

I think I am correct in saying that there was one year (going back a while) when three world cruises were offered, two smaller ships and Azura.  For whatever reason, the Azura cruise was then cancelled.

 

Therefore I think it is possible that the argument for keeping a smaller ship because of the world cruise may not be entirely valid. 

 

The world cruises also make good use of ships at a time of year when sailing/selling cruises from the uk is less desirable because of the weather.  Fly cruises, which there now appear to be more of can also do that.  

[terrierjohn]

51 minutes ago, BouncingWheel said:

I disagree and think they will keep at least 1 small ship in the fleet for the world cruises and Panama Canal Transit. Maybe they will lose one of Arcadia or Aurora but I don't think both and over time they will still need a small ship as a replacement.

Not sure I agree that  P&O will retain one of their smaller ships, neither is in the best condition, and Aurora would be difficult to do a full refurb and reduce its operating costs, Arcadia, with more balcony cabins would possibly benefit from a major refurb, but the economics would still be borderline.

Edited August 19, 2021 by terrierjohn

[Guest]

On 8/17/2021 at 11:20 PM, davecttr said:

1 - nothing wrong with this approach

2 - bad design, implementation and inadequate testing/ staff training

3 - see 1 above, some would say this is better otherwise everything would be booked before the cruise sailed, actually you can book entertainment via the P&O site

4 - probably reduced availability due to social distancing

5 - Good IT development staff are in short supply. If you pay peanuts you get........ 😲

 

Probably several months before the bugs are ironed out, if ever

 

Of course my opinions may change after next week

I work in software development and it pains me to see badly rolled out software. I’m a Business Analyst so I can’t stop thinking about ways it could be made so much more user friendly!!!! 
 

It seems like they had a deadline and I’m *hoping* this is just phase 1 of a long list of iterative features.

[Guest]

17 hours ago, Presto2 said:

All we can say is that. if P&O is going to become the UK version of Royal Caribbean we will turn to Celebrity more and more. Very sad to say this though as we love the P&O experience we have had on Oceana and Britannia. Just hope that they are not changing too much. Just wish they would keep a variety of ships to suit all sorts but am too cynical to think that this is the case.

How can any company turn a cruise line with such a great history and tradition in to a 'cheap and cheerful' brand (if you know what I mean)

I don’t know which RCI ships you have been on; but the Symphony of the Seas was outstanding. On par with any Celebrity cruise I’ve taken in terms of food, service and ship design/features. 
 

I tried P&O after sailing RCI/Princess/Celebrity, and although it was a different product due to the British being the target audience, we felt it was not that bad. Free drinks on formal night with everyone dressed very smartly, very good entertainment. 
 

However since my first P&O cruise in 2017 I have seen little things slipping. Only one free drink on formal night (fizz, no choice of anything else), no more miniature White Company toiletries, sweets in cabin. I know they are little things, but they are appreciated! Whereas Celebrity have only got better. I guess P&O are trying to attract a wider audience, whereas Celebrity are trying to keep their loyal customers.