Iona no show for Geiranger

[newbie cruissy]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

We were told by a local guide on our last visit to Geiranger that all locals on fjord were building or had built houses higher up because they were all expecting due to global warming one day to be flooded due to higher sea levels. Don't know how true that is but seemed very genuine.

The flood risk is from a Tsunami, not global warming. A large chunk of mountain is slowly detaching from the side of the Fjord, and when it does, that's it for Hellesylt and Geiranger 😕

[Snow Hill]

43 minutes ago, newbie cruissy said:

The flood risk is from a Tsunami, not global warming. A large chunk of mountain is slowly detaching from the side of the Fjord, and when it does, that's it for Hellesylt and Geiranger 😕

Tsunami happened  in 1934 in Tafjord when part of mountain collapsed, 40 people died. 

 

https://www.lifeinnorway.net/tafjord-tsunami/

Edited May 26, 2022 by Snow Hill

[seb530]

Theres a movie about this "the wave"

[BellaCat]

I’m due to sail on Iona in August. Phoned P&O today to ask about the itinerary change - the customer services person knew nothing about it! Has gone off to investigate.

[majortom10]

2 hours ago, newbie cruissy said:

The flood risk is from a Tsunami, not global warming. A large chunk of mountain is slowly detaching from the side of the Fjord, and when it does, that's it for Hellesylt and Geiranger 😕

Yes that does ring a bell now you mention it. Thanks.

 

[SarahHben]

The particular mountain in Geiranger is apparently one of the most closely monitored in the world. The film The Wave is good but we didn’t think it wise to re-watch it just before visiting 😂

[SarahHben]

20 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Thanks. After I posted I managed to work it out on Google Maps. Looks like Seven Sisters is just over half way along Geiranger Fjord but they probably go a bit further to turn around where the fjord widens. As I say, I just hope that this is the absolute minimum that they do on all cruises that were advertised to call at Geiranger.
 

Can I ask those who have cruised all the way to Geiranger to advise whether the remaining fjord between Seven Sisters and Geiranger is the real highlight of that fjord? In other words, how short changed will we be (in terms of scenery, rather than mileage) if the extent of our transit is Seven Sisters?

My parents and sister couldn’t join us on the boat trip to Geiranger yesterday but very much enjoyed seeing the scenery from onboard Iona as she sailed down the fjord. The whole fjord is pretty, all that they missed seeing was a view of Geiranger as it was just round the last corner. There wouldn’t be much to do in the village of Geiranger with a wheelchair but my husband noticed a wheelchair user on our boat ride, it had to stay inside on the lower deck obviously. Geiranger is on a hill but you could stay down by the dock where it is flat. There’s a few cafes and a bakery and a few shops. We had around 3 hours there before getting the boat back.

[SarahHben]

On 5/25/2022 at 12:24 PM, Fionboard said:

Does that pier look a bit short for the ship? Looks like only one exit area open which surely will cause queuing!

There were 2 exit areas yesterday and we didn’t have to queue at all.

[zap99]

1 hour ago, SarahHben said:

The particular mountain in Geiranger is apparently one of the most closely monitored in the world. The film The Wave is good but we didn’t think it wise to re-watch it just before visiting 😂

Don't watch the Poseidon adventure on you cruise.🤣

[zap99]

49 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

There were 2 exit areas yesterday and we didn’t have to queue at all.

Sarah. Some folk seem to look for, or even invent problems. You seem to give your honest impression. Thanks for that. Hope your cruise continued to give you pleasure, we are certainly enjoying your posts. Enjoying your cruise was the plan after all.🤣

[Selbourne]

3 hours ago, SarahHben said:

The particular mountain in Geiranger is apparently one of the most closely monitored in the world. The film The Wave is good but we didn’t think it wise to re-watch it just before visiting 😂

That’s a relief to hear that it’s monitored. Not getting into Geiranger is bad enough, but a tsunami down the fjord would put a real downer on the cruise!

[Snow Hill]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

That’s a relief to hear that it’s monitored. Not getting into Geiranger is bad enough, but a tsunami down the fjord would put a real downer on the cruise!

Reading a geological report on the subject, they estimate that the wave would be 85m high,  wouldn’t want to be around when that hit, hopefully the monitoring gives adequate time for evacuation of residents and any ships in the area can get out. 

[purplesea]

24 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

Reading a geological report on the subject, they estimate that the wave would be 85m high,  wouldn’t want to be around when that hit, hopefully the monitoring gives adequate time for evacuation of residents and any ships in the area can get out. 

 

I googled it earlier and seismic sensors register the rock's movements and geologists expect to be able to give at least 72 hours notice of the collapse. 

[Roblong]

Hi

If you got to the cruice ship schedule for Geiranger port   https://crew-center.com/geiranger-norway-cruise-ship-schedule   it said, before the arrival date of Iona's visit, next to where the arrival and departure times are N/A and if does so for all the future coming visits of Iona.

Wheeas, all other cruise ships have a arrival and departure time which makes me believe it will not be visiting Geiranger.

To me Geiranger and arriving at Geiranger is the highlight of Iona's Norway trip and Hellesylt, although nice is no substitute for the grandier of Geiranger. It is not a world heritage site for nothing and a sail along the seven sisters waterfall and then turning round is outraigious.

I did phone up P&O and they told me it would be 2 weeks until Iona goes to Geiranger which means, according to P&O it will be visiting Geiranger on 8 June.

I question this is correct as Holland Americas ship Rotterdam went there and docked at the floating walkway the day after and also the Geiranger gruise port still says N/A against geiranger for the rest of the year.

We are booked to go on Iona in August but I feel I have lost faith in P&O with how they are performing and don't think I will be using them again.

 

Edited May 26, 2022 by Roblong

[Yorkypete]

6 hours ago, SarahHben said:

My parents and sister couldn’t join us on the boat trip to Geiranger yesterday but very much enjoyed seeing the scenery from onboard Iona as she sailed down the fjord. The whole fjord is pretty, all that they missed seeing was a view of Geiranger as it was just round the last corner. There wouldn’t be much to do in the village of Geiranger with a wheelchair but my husband noticed a wheelchair user on our boat ride, it had to stay inside on the lower deck obviously. Geiranger is on a hill but you could stay down by the dock where it is flat. There’s a few cafes and a bakery and a few shops. We had around 3 hours there before getting the boat back.

My only arguement with P&O over this would be they are charging £58 to go to a place they should have been going to for free. P&O seem to charge people also for  'doing their own thing' by charging for a bus ride into town on many ports. Shuttle buses are provided by other cruise lines free of charge.

[Selbourne]

5 hours ago, Yorkypete said:

My only arguement with P&O over this would be they are charging £58 to go to a place they should have been going to for free. P&O seem to charge people also for  'doing their own thing' by charging for a bus ride into town on many ports. Shuttle buses are provided by other cruise lines free of charge.

I agree. Cruises (such as ours) were sold as going to Geiranger. If Iona is no longer able to go there, P&O should provide a no-cost option for passengers. It’s a nice earner for them to stop short and charge passengers extra for concluding the advertised journey!
 

As I’ve said before, I can think of no other consumer product (let alone holiday) where one thing is advertised and sold, yet something different is delivered and yet there is no come back whatsoever on the company that has mis-sold the product - and the consumer just has to put up with it. This will come as quite a surprise to the ‘new to cruising’ market that P&O are so desperate to target. 

[SarahHben]

7 hours ago, Yorkypete said:

My only arguement with P&O over this would be they are charging £58 to go to a place they should have been going to for free. P&O seem to charge people also for  'doing their own thing' by charging for a bus ride into town on many ports. Shuttle buses are provided by other cruise lines free of charge.

 

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

I agree. Cruises (such as ours) were sold as going to Geiranger. If Iona is no longer able to go there, P&O should provide a no-cost option for passengers. It’s a nice earner for them to stop short and charge passengers extra for concluding the advertised journey!
 

As I’ve said before, I can think of no other consumer product (let alone holiday) where one thing is advertised and sold, yet something different is delivered and yet there is no come back whatsoever on the company that has mis-sold the product - and the consumer just has to put up with it. This will come as quite a surprise to the ‘new to cruising’ market that P&O are so desperate to target. 

I don’t disagree with you, it was certainly disappointing for people like my sister who wasn’t able to do the extra trip to Geiranger and my comment is nothing to do with the rights and wrongs of how it’s been dealt with,  but before leaving England I looked up how much it would cost to do the ferry independently from Hellesylt to Geiranger and if I calculated correctly it was around the same price that P&O charged for the trip.

[thornegirl]

14 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

 

I don’t disagree with you, it was certainly disappointing for people like my sister who wasn’t able to do the extra trip to Geiranger and my comment is nothing to do with the rights and wrongs of how it’s been dealt with,  but before leaving England I looked up how much it would cost to do the ferry independently from Hellesylt to Geiranger and if I calculated correctly it was around the same price that P&O charged for the trip.

Just for information for anyone it might help,  I have booked tickets for our family (5 adults and 3 children) on the car ferry that goes from Hellelyst to Geiranger.  The price is £42 per adult and £21 per child.  I did a web chat with the company and you have to book the time there and back and you cannot catch and earlier ferry if you want to,  the tickets can be cancelled and refunded up to 7 days prior to the trip.  There are 330 seats to book, we are going at 9.30 and returning at 2pm. It takes and hour and five minutes according to the timetable.  

 

[pete14]

9 hours ago, Yorkypete said:

My only arguement with P&O over this would be they are charging £58 to go to a place they should have been going to for free. P&O seem to charge people also for  'doing their own thing' by charging for a bus ride into town on many ports. Shuttle buses are provided by other cruise lines free of charge.

Shuttle buses are free on P&O as a benefit for those who pay the ‘select’ fare rather than either of the cheaper ‘saver’ fares. In many ports, they are not necessary.

[Froxfield]

We were on the 14 May cruise on Iona and were fortunate to get one beautiful sunny day in Olden!  But it was of limited interest as a place: the main attraction being the Norwegian national day parade.  We have previously been to Geiranger and, frankly, there wasn't much there either. Perhaps I am immune to the beauties of nature but, at the risk of being flamed, I am rather of the view that "see one fjord you've seen them all".  And I certainly would find it hard to get wound up about the difference between Hellesylt and Geiranger. The overall impact of majestic nature can be found everywhere in the fjords. I feel much the same about waterfalls.  Indeed, on our Geiranger cruise the waterfalls were dry!  Can I suggest that many "new to P&O" or "new to cruising" might feel the same?

We had real trepidation about getting on something as big as Iona and acknowledge that so large a vessel can have problems accessing destinations.  However, we were delighted with the ship.  I think it provided possibly the best food we have had on P&O and a great overall experience. It seemed to us that there was a somewhat younger and more diverse group of passengers, so perhaps Iona is working for P&O.  We had previously vowed never to cruise with P&O again after a horrible experience on Oriana to Norway: we don't expect to have to sleep in layers of pullovers on a cruise ship!! We had no hesitation in booking a cruise on Arvia for 2023. I am sure ships of this size is the way the market is moving: leaving smaller ships to the more premium lines.

Edited May 27, 2022 by Froxfield

[molecrochip]

Just to say, I understand P&O are working on a resolution so that Iona can call.

[majortom10]

21 hours ago, Yorkypete said:

My only arguement with P&O over this would be they are charging £58 to go to a place they should have been going to for free. P&O seem to charge people also for  'doing their own thing' by charging for a bus ride into town on many ports. Shuttle buses are provided by other cruise lines free of charge.

I can only assume you have never been on a Princess cruise they charge at least $16pp return for a shuttle bus and everyone has to pay it there is no free for Select and others pay everyone has to pay.

Edited May 27, 2022 by majortom10

[Yorkypete]

3 hours ago, majortom10 said:

I can only assume you have never been on a Princess cruise they charge at least $16pp return for a shuttle bus and everyone has to pay it there is no free for Select and others pay everyone has to pay.

And on RCI it was free when we last went on it...and it happened in three ports!

 

[Gettingwarmer]

8 hours ago, Yorkypete said:

And on RCI it was free when we last went on it...and it happened in three ports!

 

Which ports?

[Amyracecar]

On 5/27/2022 at 5:46 AM, Selbourne said:

As I’ve said before, I can think of no other consumer product (let alone holiday) where one thing is advertised and sold, yet something different is delivered and yet there is no come back whatsoever on the company that has mis-sold the product - and the consumer just has to put up with it. 

 

Isn't that the exact business model of Wish.com? 😆

 

Seriously though, I don't suppose there are many other holiday types that have the logistical problems that cruising does either, so while it might not be handled the way we'd all like, I do somewhat sympathise with their side of things too. 

 

In P&O's case I find the communication probably the most frustrating thing. They clearly knew about some of these issues for longer, if not for our cruise on the 21st then certainly for the next one(s), but they weren't advised of the change at the same time as us. Leaving it as late as possible just gives people less time to make their own plans. 

As for whether they should provide transport to Geiranger for free, I'm not sure that's really ever going to happen. It's a change of port, and we're just lucky the port is close enough to still go if we choose to. It could easily have been Alesund or even a sea day. I don't know if there would even be sufficient space to ferry the whole ship in an ideal world. 

 

When I first started cruising it used to be pretty much stated that you pay for the cruise aspect, not the ports, as those can change due to circumstance. I don't think that's ever really stated as much now, though is in the T&C's.

Another similar model is comic cons, where if you buy a ticket because a certain actor is there & they then cancel the appearance, you aren't entitled to a refund of the entry ticket because you pay entry for the whole convention, not individual guests. (They would refund any extras you bought for that particular guest like photo ops etc, but not your entry tickets. People complain about this similarly)