On Iona now 28th Sept

[wowzz]

20 hours ago, zap99 said:

Speaking a little less politely and threatening a poor review on CC got a result as well ( politely first didn't work ).

Given the relatively few people who read CC, I don't think that is much of a threat!

And normally, poor reviews say much more about the reviewer than the review itself. 

[Bluemanc100]

On 10/11/2021 at 8:59 PM, picsa said:

Speaking politely to the relevant head waiters resulted in tables becoming available. 

We tried that for the Olive Grove.. no joy

[Son of Bare]

Can anyone tell me how many seats are in operation currently in the theatre (or an idea of its maximum full capacity), and how many places there are for evening shows in the Skydome?

 

[barriead]

Is smoking only allowed on deck 18 still, I am one of those who smoke obviously and do like a puff somewhere near a bar at times....getting set for the missiles that might come my way.:):)

[Issyalex]

We disembarked Ventura yesterday.

 

From parking our car to being onboard it took approx 2hrs. We had to show our vaccine certificate, boarding pass, health deceleration and passport. 
 

Food choice was very much reduced and repetitive in both MDR and buffet. Smaller portions served in MDR  which I preferred, food well presented and tasty. Service was a hit or a miss, some nights it was very slow and other nights it was like being in a fast food joint. Staff served you in buffet. 
 

Entertainment was not up to their usual standards and again repetitive. 
 

Public areas were kept clean. Passengers wore their masks 99% of the time and if someone wasn’t wearing a mask or not wearing it correctly they were quickly asked put their mask on by senior staff.

 

At all our ports we were able to get off independently. Locals in Spain and Portugal were wearing their masks in the streets as well as in shops. 

 

At disembarkation no one asked to see our PLF or vaccine certificate. 
 

It was so nice to be back onboard and to feel somewhat normal. 

[Technoman2]

4 hours ago, Son of Bare said:

Can anyone tell me how many seats are in operation currently in the theatre (or an idea of its maximum full capacity), and how many places there are for evening shows in the Skydome?

 

In the Theatre i would say around 75% were available and they put on 3 shows per night and for the headliners shows they had 6 performances over 2 nights. The skydome has a area with comfortable seating and the area around the pool has the deck chair or balcony type chairs which i found comfortable for a 40min performance. 95% of seating available in the Clubhouse and i think 100% in Brodies. The clubhouse got full most nights because of the no need to wear a mask. The 8.30 shows in the theatre were the ones that were mostly attended. 

[free from work]

58 minutes ago, Issyalex said:

We disembarked Ventura yesterday.

 

From parking our car to being onboard it took approx 2hrs. We had to show our vaccine certificate, boarding pass, health deceleration and passport. 
 

Food choice was very much reduced and repetitive in both MDR and buffet. Smaller portions served in MDR  which I preferred, food well presented and tasty. Service was a hit or a miss, some nights it was very slow and other nights it was like being in a fast food joint. Staff served you in buffet. 
 

Entertainment was not up to their usual standards and again repetitive. 
 

Public areas were kept clean. Passengers wore their masks 99% of the time and if someone wasn’t wearing a mask or not wearing it correctly they were quickly asked put their mask on by senior staff.

 

At all our ports we were able to get off independently. Locals in Spain and Portugal were wearing their masks in the streets as well as in shops. 

 

At disembarkation no one asked to see our PLF or vaccine certificate. 
 

It was so nice to be back onboard and to feel somewhat normal. 

Thank you for your summary of life onboard. 

 

Did you get any information on the ship occupancy level for the cruise? 

 

We are on Ventura 23/11 and since we booked last week, only a couple of Superior Balcony cabins are now available. When we booked there was plenty of availability in all grades except Suites.

 

Jim 

[Son of Bare]

5 hours ago, Technoman2 said:

In the Theatre i would say around 75% were available and they put on 3 shows per night and for the headliners shows they had 6 performances over 2 nights. The skydome has a area with comfortable seating and the area around the pool has the deck chair or balcony type chairs which i found comfortable for a 40min performance. 95% of seating available in the Clubhouse and i think 100% in Brodies. The clubhouse got full most nights because of the no need to wear a mask. The 8.30 shows in the theatre were the ones that were mostly attended. 

Thanks, the info is appreciated.

[Issyalex]

On 10/15/2021 at 2:13 PM, free from work said:

Thank you for your summary of life onboard. 

 

Did you get any information on the ship occupancy level for the cruise? 

 

We are on Ventura 23/11 and since we booked last week, only a couple of Superior Balcony cabins are now available. When we booked there was plenty of availability in all grades except Suites.

 

Jim 

There was just over 1700 passengers onboard Ventura. We had a superior cabin plenty of room and a bath for hubby to boot. 😂

[free from work]

46 minutes ago, Issyalex said:

There was just over 1700 passengers onboard Ventura. We had a superior cabin plenty of room and a bath for hubby to boot. 😂

Thank you for the information. We only do showers. Seems like there should be plenty of space onboard. 

 

Looking forward to the speciality dining. Hopefully the shows etc will be available. 

 

We plan to enjoy ourselves come hell or high water. 

 

Life is too short to wait for guarantees. 

 

Jim 

[Issyalex]

51 minutes ago, free from work said:

Thank you for the information. We only do showers. Seems like there should be plenty of space onboard. 

 

Looking forward to the speciality dining. Hopefully the shows etc will be available. 

 

We plan to enjoy ourselves come hell or high water. 

 

Life is too short to wait for guarantees. 

 

Jim 

There were 3 shows a night in the theatre and other venues. Masks had to be worn in the theatre but not in bars, restaurants etc if seated. 
 

there was a shower over the bath. 
 

your right life is too short to wait. Go and have a fab cruise and make more memories. 

[free from work]

9 hours ago, Issyalex said:

There were 3 shows a night in the theatre and other venues. Masks had to be worn in the theatre but not in bars, restaurants etc if seated. 
 

there was a shower over the bath. 
 

your right life is too short to wait. Go and have a fab cruise and make more memories. 

Thank you. We will do our best! 

 

Jim 

[GOQ]

14 hours ago, free from work said:

 

 

We plan to enjoy ourselves come hell or high water. 

 

Life is too short to wait for guarantees. 

 

Jim 

Very true.

 

I very much realise I am getting older and after loosing 20 months of happy time because of "going nowhere covid restrictions" I don't want to risk loosing anymore holiday happy times.

 

I have currently 6 cruises booked for the next 18 months 4 of them on P&O: Ventura, Iona, Arcadia and Britannia. I am really looking forward to Iona next February, it will be my first really big Mega Ship.

 

So maybe see you on Ventura next month Jim.

[free from work]

14 minutes ago, GOQ said:

Very true.

 

I very much realise I am getting older and after loosing 20 months of happy time because of "going nowhere covid restrictions" I don't want to risk loosing anymore holiday happy times.

 

I have currently 6 cruises booked for the next 18 months 4 of them on P&O: Ventura, Iona, Arcadia and Britannia. I am really looking forward to Iona next February, it will be my first really big Mega Ship.

 

So maybe see you on Ventura next month Jim.

 

Yes hopefully we will have lots of fun in the sun. 

 

Good luck with all your plans.

 

Jim 

[Diglet01]

On 10/9/2021 at 11:41 PM, Technoman2 said:

If anyone really wants to indulge themselves how about paying £40 a day to get access to the retreat!

I nearly needed a stiff drink when they told me that. HOW MUCH🥃

Even Dick Turpin had the good grace to wear a mask BUT WAIT they were wearing a mask. lol

 

We are on Iona now halfway through our cruise we enquired about the Retreat as soon as we got on in Southampton . It was only available to book for the full 14 days at £240 each no single days available I don’t know if this policy has changed yet . Numbers limited to around 65.

[Son of Anarchy]

1 hour ago, Diglet01 said:

We are on Iona now halfway through our cruise we enquired about the Retreat as soon as we got on in Southampton . It was only available to book for the full 14 days at £240 each no single days available I don’t know if this policy has changed yet . Numbers limited to around 65.

Throw in the grog package and your paying enough to pay for another cruise!