My first cruise

[SarahHben]

Well finally after booking in 2018 we are onboard!

Our conservatory suite is very nice, we had priority boarding and it took around half an hour to get onboard after leaving the car with CPS. The check in and boarding process was very easy. We were onboard by 12 and sat and had lunch outside the Quays before going to our cabins around 1:30. The Katsu curry was delicious, my husband made room for 2 desserts, they were only mini ones. Our cases arrived fairly quickly so we unpacked and then went for a wander with mum in the wheelchair while dad had a nap. He met us for a drink in the SkyDome then my husband and I went and explored every deck. Back in our cabin now waiting for sailaway.

 

 

[Dermotsgirl]

Have a lovely time 

[loveheart]

Looking forward to hearing more about your first cruise. Have a great time.

[grapau27]

19 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

Well finally after booking in 2018 we are onboard!

Our conservatory suite is very nice, we had priority boarding and it took around half an hour to get onboard after leaving the car with CPS. The check in and boarding process was very easy. We were onboard by 12 and sat and had lunch outside the Quays before going to our cabins around 1:30. The Katsu curry was delicious, my husband made room for 2 desserts, they were only mini ones. Our cases arrived fairly quickly so we unpacked and then went for a wander with mum in the wheelchair while dad had a nap. He met us for a drink in the SkyDome then my husband and I went and explored every deck. Back in our cabin now waiting for sailaway.

 

 

Wishing you all an amazing cruise Sarah.

[yorkshirephil]

Have a great cruise.

[Harry Peterson]

Hope you all have a great time. Enjoy the food, and the relaxation, and the dressing up, and the entertainment, and all the ports, and all the other great things about cruising!  🥳

[purplesea]

Have a great time, but I am sure you will😃

[Eddie99]

That looks very nice

Perhaps you’re enjoying the view as you navigate the Solent, perhaps you’re having a drinkie before dinner, perhaps you’re already dining?  Whatever - enjoy it all 

[zap99]

1 hour ago, SarahHben said:

Well finally after booking in 2018 we are onboard!

Our conservatory suite is very nice, we had priority boarding and it took around half an hour to get onboard after leaving the car with CPS. The check in and boarding process was very easy. We were onboard by 12 and sat and had lunch outside the Quays before going to our cabins around 1:30. The Katsu curry was delicious, my husband made room for 2 desserts, they were only mini ones. Our cases arrived fairly quickly so we unpacked and then went for a wander with mum in the wheelchair while dad had a nap. He met us for a drink in the SkyDome then my husband and I went and explored every deck. Back in our cabin now waiting for sailaway.

 

 

Pacing yourself on the food front will get better the more you cruise....perhaps. Have a great cruise.

[Sarah1974]

Have a fabulous cruise

[Ardennais]

How exciting! I hope you have a wonderful family cruise. 

[Angel57]

Enjoy every moment…….

[gsmt47471015]

Nothing beats your first cruise , but the second ,third, fourth, fifth etc come close, the cabin looks really nice ,especially with the sunshine, have a great time !!! 

[Josy1953]

Enjoy your cruise.  I am sure that you will enjoy everything especially as you have waited so long to get on board.

Over 50 cruises later we still talk about our first one and look forward to next one as soon as we leave the ship to come home.

 

[Waju]

Have a really lovely time...................that cabin looks great by the way!

[SarahHben]

Thanks everyone.

In my excitement I for got to say we are on Iona 😂 and our cabin is on deck 9, not the notorious deck 8. Having walked past the deck 8 cabins yesterday I can confirm that I personally wouldn’t want to be in one!

All 6 of us really like the ship, although there’s no getting away from the fact she is huge, there are so many different areas and quiet little corners to sit in, at the moment at least, we haven’t felt that it’s crowded.

 

We had a lovely meal in the Olive Grove last night, we would definitely eat there again. 
I had lasagne followed by lemon tart with rose water ice cream and my husband had lamb tagine and baclava, all delicious.

 

After dinner we went for a wander, all piled into  my sister’s cabin for a nosey look, then left them to relax and went for a cup of tea in the Quays. I have a feeling we’ll be using the Quays more than the buffet, it’s less busy and just underneath our cabin.

 

We hadn’t slept well the night before the cruise, pillows were very hard, so we had a fairly early night last night. This bed was very comfortable and we slept pretty well. 
 

I woke up early and husband is still asleep so I am sitting in the conservatory writing this. It looks like it’s going to be a nice day. I opened the balcony door to take a photo and now I can’t get the door to stay shut 🙄 I’ll have to leave it open until Hubble wakes up!

 

I can honestly say that the only minor niggle so far is the fact that we have to wait quite a while to get a lift, obviously mum’s in her wheelchair.

 

Sorry, this is really long, but a side note for people like mum who are temporarily in a wheelchair and don’t have an accessible cabin,  her fold up wheelchair with her in it doesn’t fit through the narrow cabin door. We have to tip her out at the door and then she hops in to get her Zimmer frame.

[SarahHben]

[purplesea]

16 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

Thanks everyone.

In my excitement I for got to say we are on Iona 😂 and our cabin is on deck 9, not the notorious deck 8. Having walked past the deck 8 cabins yesterday I can confirm that I personally wouldn’t want to be in one!

All 6 of us really like the ship, although there’s no getting away from the fact she is huge, there are so many different areas and quiet little corners to sit in, at the moment at least, we haven’t felt that it’s crowded.

 

We had a lovely meal in the Olive Grove last night, we would definitely eat there again. 
I had lasagne followed by lemon tart with rose water ice cream and my husband had lamb tagine and baclava, all delicious.

 

After dinner we went for a wander, all piled into  my sister’s cabin for a nosey look, then left them to relax and went for a cup of tea in the Quays. I have a feeling we’ll be using the Quays more than the buffet, it’s less busy and just underneath our cabin.

 

We hadn’t slept well the night before the cruise, pillows were very hard, so we had a fairly early night last night. This bed was very comfortable and we slept pretty well. 
 

I woke up early and husband is still asleep so I am sitting in the conservatory writing this. It looks like it’s going to be a nice day. I opened the balcony door to take a photo and now I can’t get the door to stay shut 🙄 I’ll have to leave it open until Hubble wakes up!

 

I can honestly say that the only minor niggle so far is the fact that we have to wait quite a while to get a lift, obviously mum’s in her wheelchair.

 

Sorry, this is really long, but a side note for people like mum who are temporarily in a wheelchair and don’t have an accessible cabin,  her fold up wheelchair with her in it doesn’t fit through the narrow cabin door. We have to tip her out at the door and then she hops in to get her Zimmer frame.

We had the same problems with Mum and her wheelchair so I sympathise. We were often blocking the aisle too while she got in and out of it too, although not much traffic passing as we were between isolation areas.  On Iona we didn't have any problem with the lifts as people gave us priority, but on other cruises that hasn't been the case.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[AndyMichelle]

12 hours ago, zap99 said:

Pacing yourself on the food front will get better the more you cruise....perhaps. Have a great cruise.

Stop talking nonsense Zap😂

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, SarahHben said:

Thanks everyone.

In my excitement I for got to say we are on Iona 😂 and our cabin is on deck 9, not the notorious deck 8. Having walked past the deck 8 cabins yesterday I can confirm that I personally wouldn’t want to be in one!

All 6 of us really like the ship, although there’s no getting away from the fact she is huge, there are so many different areas and quiet little corners to sit in, at the moment at least, we haven’t felt that it’s crowded.

 

We had a lovely meal in the Olive Grove last night, we would definitely eat there again. 
I had lasagne followed by lemon tart with rose water ice cream and my husband had lamb tagine and baclava, all delicious.

 

After dinner we went for a wander, all piled into  my sister’s cabin for a nosey look, then left them to relax and went for a cup of tea in the Quays. I have a feeling we’ll be using the Quays more than the buffet, it’s less busy and just underneath our cabin.

 

We hadn’t slept well the night before the cruise, pillows were very hard, so we had a fairly early night last night. This bed was very comfortable and we slept pretty well. 
 

I woke up early and husband is still asleep so I am sitting in the conservatory writing this. It looks like it’s going to be a nice day. I opened the balcony door to take a photo and now I can’t get the door to stay shut 🙄 I’ll have to leave it open until Hubble wakes up!

 

I can honestly say that the only minor niggle so far is the fact that we have to wait quite a while to get a lift, obviously mum’s in her wheelchair.

 

Sorry, this is really long, but a side note for people like mum who are temporarily in a wheelchair and don’t have an accessible cabin,  her fold up wheelchair with her in it doesn’t fit through the narrow cabin door. We have to tip her out at the door and then she hops in to get her Zimmer frame.

Pleased you are having a great time Sarah.

When I posted all the photos of deck chairs on different decks it was to show even though Iona is big she had lots of private places out of the way unlike other big ships like Anthem that seem to cater just for sunbathers.

The balcony door handle just needs turning either up or down to lock into position.

The Quays is a revelation imo.

We had a problem getting through standard cabin doors with Pauline's mam's wheelchair as it is only the cabins for disabled that have wider doors.

Graham.

 

[SarahHben]

18 hours ago, zap99 said:

Pacing yourself on the food front will get better the more you cruise....perhaps. Have a great cruise.

2 desserts was my husband pacing himself 😂

[SarahHben]

We had a very nice breakfast in the Coral restaurant, I had smoked salmon & scrambled egg and hubbie  had eggs benedict, his verdict was that it was good, not as good as his favourite restaurant but much better than lots that he’s tried.

I commented at breakfast that we seemed to have slowed right down, then a few minutes later the captain announced that a passenger had been taken ill and would be evacuated by helicopter. The rear decks were closed and people in aft cabins were asked not to use the balconies. The ship turned around, which I only realised when the sun was in my eyes and our cabin should have been west facing!
It was quite dramatic to watch as the helicopter approached the ship right over our cabin. It was quite a long process but the captain announced afterwards that the passenger was stable and was taken to hospital in England.

 

It was a lovely sunny morning, a bit overcast now, but still warmish and the sea is very calm.

 

Edited May 22, 2022 by SarahHben

[SarahHben]

5 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Pleased you are having a great time Sarah.

When I posted all the photos of deck chairs on different decks it was to show even though Iona is big she had lots of private places out of the way unlike other big ships like Anthem that seem to cater just for sunbathers.

The balcony door handle just needs turning either up or down to lock into position.

The Quays is a revelation imo.

We had a problem getting through standard cabin doors with Pauline's mam's wheelchair as it is only the cabins for disabled that have wider doors.

Graham.

 

We love the Quays Graham. We grabbed some lunch from there today and sat outside in the sun to eat it.

[Josy1953]

23 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

We had a very nice breakfast in the Coral restaurant, I had smoked salmon & scrambled egg and hubbie  had eggs benedict, his verdict was that it was good, not as good as his favourite restaurant but much better than lots that he’s tried.

I commented at breakfast that we seemed to have slowed right down, then a few minutes later the captain announced that a passenger had been taken ill and would be evacuated by helicopter. The rear decks were closed and people in aft cabins were asked not to use the balconies. The ship turned around, which I only realised when the sun was in my eyes and our cabin should have been west facing!
It was quite dramatic to watch as the helicopter approached the ship right over our cabin. It was quite a long process but the captain announced afterwards that the passenger was stable and was taken to hospital in England.

 

It was a lovely sunny morning, a bit overcast now, but still warmish and the sea is very calm.

 

Glad that you are having a nice time.

It is amazing how often some one has to be taken off the ship due to illness though to be airlifted means that it was urgent to get them to hospital, if at all possible they try to keep them on board until they can go into a port to be met by an ambulance.

[purplesea]

1 hour ago, SarahHben said:

We love the Quays Graham. We grabbed some lunch from there today and sat outside in the sun to eat it.

We too liked the Quays and the fish and chips there.