Iona G237, P&O, and that "app".

[Happy afloat]

Returned from our first cruise on Iona on Saturday and thought we'd share some of our observations with you. 

Firstly, the ship itself. Big, bright and roomy, exceptionally clean and easy to find your way around. But for us, it doesn't flow in the way others in the fleet do and lacks warmth. Who thought it would be a good idea to put the Glasshouse and Keel and Cow where they are? No privacy at all for the diners as people sit next to them playing cards/games and having a drink. Basically, you are dining in a corridor. The main dining rooms are very nice, particularly the smaller two, as are Andersons, the club house, 710 club and the Crows nest, although, at times, a lot of the ship felt physically cold. The atrium is a big space, possibly too big? No central feature other than the stairs. Beautifully dressed for Christmas but we couldn't help thinking how bare it would look without the decorations. Cabins are smaller than those on other ships and lack storage space. Who has a bedroom at home? Bet you've got drawers in it....

 

Secondly, staffing. All the staff we met were superb, no complaints about any of them. Extremely hard working as usual and very pleasant. But you could sense they were under pressure due to insufficient numbers, and it was obvious they were being pulled to other areas of the ship that proved busier, obviously to the detriment of the area they were leaving. Long waits for food on occasions and quite often for drinks. Come on P&O, hire some staff before the quality ones you have vote with their feet because they're fed up.

 

Lastly, the app that isn't an app. Okay, I'm on record elsewhere that I don't want to live by the clock whilst on holiday. By removing set dining for those on saver fares, it increases competition for places, meaning we could rarely book dining or entertainment venues after the first 24 hours. It seems apparent, from other guests and staff, that people were block booking multiple choices in advance and then deciding which to attend. The problem here is that entertainment venues can't be cancelled via the app, so would show as fully booked when in fact they weren't. The 710 club, for instance,  could only be booked for the 12.15 a.m. slot. Yet we got in three times at 10p.m. by turning up just as the performance was due to start. One evening, they were actively patrolling the atrium looking for people, although the app showed fully booked.

 

Now the good stuff. Staff were brilliant,  as I said.  Food, excellent, almost without exception, and the entertainers we saw were very good (especially Gary!).We had a great time despite our findings, and the novice cruisers with us booked again whilst on board. Nothing is bad, per se, its just not as good as it could,  or should be. 

[terrierjohn]

27 minutes ago, Happy afloat said:

Returned from our first cruise on Iona on Saturday and thought we'd share some of our observations with you. 

Firstly, the ship itself. Big, bright and roomy, exceptionally clean and easy to find your way around. But for us, it doesn't flow in the way others in the fleet do and lacks warmth. Who thought it would be a good idea to put the Glasshouse and Keel and Cow where they are? No privacy at all for the diners as people sit next to them playing cards/games and having a drink. Basically, you are dining in a corridor. The main dining rooms are very nice, particularly the smaller two, as are Andersons, the club house, 710 club and the Crows nest, although, at times, a lot of the ship felt physically cold. The atrium is a big space, possibly too big? No central feature other than the stairs. Beautifully dressed for Christmas but we couldn't help thinking how bare it would look without the decorations. Cabins are smaller than those on other ships and lack storage space. Who has a bedroom at home? Bet you've got drawers in it....

 

Secondly, staffing. All the staff we met were superb, no complaints about any of them. Extremely hard working as usual and very pleasant. But you could sense they were under pressure due to insufficient numbers, and it was obvious they were being pulled to other areas of the ship that proved busier, obviously to the detriment of the area they were leaving. Long waits for food on occasions and quite often for drinks. Come on P&O, hire some staff before the quality ones you have vote with their feet because they're fed up.

 

Lastly, the app that isn't an app. Okay, I'm on record elsewhere that I don't want to live by the clock whilst on holiday. By removing set dining for those on saver fares, it increases competition for places, meaning we could rarely book dining or entertainment venues after the first 24 hours. It seems apparent, from other guests and staff, that people were block booking multiple choices in advance and then deciding which to attend. The problem here is that entertainment venues can't be cancelled via the app, so would show as fully booked when in fact they weren't. The 710 club, for instance,  could only be booked for the 12.15 a.m. slot. Yet we got in three times at 10p.m. by turning up just as the performance was due to start. One evening, they were actively patrolling the atrium looking for people, although the app showed fully booked.

 

Now the good stuff. Staff were brilliant,  as I said.  Food, excellent, almost without exception, and the entertainers we saw were very good (especially Gary!).We had a great time despite our findings, and the novice cruisers with us booked again whilst on board. Nothing is bad, per se, its just not as good as it could,  or should be. 

From my experience in October everything on the app could be cancelled  if you decided you did not want to go.

[Amelia Noylam]

Same for us in October, everything on the app could be cancelled for an earlier time or later if you wanted it.

Happy Afloat: Definitely agree with you about the Glasshouse and the Keel and Cow.

[Happy afloat]

46 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

From my experience in October everything on the app could be cancelled  if you decided you did not want to 

That may well have been the case, but we couldn't. It also "unloaded" itself for some people.

[LesleyAnn60]

From my experience on this same cruise, you could only have one booking for a show, it wasn’t possible to book the same show at different times. If you wanted to change to a different day or time you had to cancel your booking to rebook. You could definitely cancel a booking on the app, from memory it was under the My Bookings tab. 

[9265359]

14 hours ago, Happy afloat said:

Who thought it would be a good idea to put the Glasshouse and Keel and Cow where they are? No privacy at all for the diners as people sit next to them playing cards/games and having a drink. Basically, you are dining in a corridor.

 

Yes, completely dumb idea - those dining there are doing so in the ambience of an airport terminal.

 

14 hours ago, Happy afloat said:

Cabins are smaller than those on other ships and lack storage space. Who has a bedroom at home? Bet you've got drawers in it....

 

That's just the design of every modern hotel in the world and done that way to make it quicker to clean and check empty on changeover days (money, money, money...)

 

14 hours ago, Happy afloat said:

Come on P&O, hire some staff before the quality ones you have vote with their feet because they're fed up.

 

Every hospitality business across the world is experiencing the same issues - the staff they previously employed have discovered they actually prefer not working the unsocial hours demanded.

 

14 hours ago, Happy afloat said:

By removing set dining for those on saver fares, it increases competition for places

 

The problem P&O have is that the traditional older customer who liked dining at 6pm isn't booking as much as they used to, and certainly not on ships like Iona.

 

If P&O tried to sell to 'normal' people for whom dining at 6pm is late afternoon, then they wouldn't buy and so there is 'freedom dining' which doesn't really work when the vast majority want to eat at 7.30 to 8.

 

An individual solution is just to develop Spanish dining habits when on-board - go and have lunch just before service closes in the MDR at 2pm and then go and have dinner at 9pm (although that is a bit too early for a Madrileno). Still will have eaten in time to catch the late 10.30 show.

 

14 hours ago, Happy afloat said:

we could rarely book dining or entertainment venues after the first 24 hours. It seems apparent, from other guests and staff, that people were block booking multiple choices in advance and then deciding which to attend.

 

The system won't allow you to book things that occur at the same time, so you can't make multiple choices and decide which to attend.

 

You can book lots of stuff in advance and then cancel (or just not turn up), but that isn't the same thing.

 

14 hours ago, Happy afloat said:

The problem here is that entertainment venues can't be cancelled via the app

 

You can and I have done on many occasions.

 

What cannot be done is if one person booked on their 'app' then their partner cannot cancel on their 'app' even though they are part of the booking (and now cannot book anything at that same time slot).

 

14 hours ago, Happy afloat said:

The 710 club, for instance, could only be booked for the 12.15 a.m. slot. Yet we got in three times at 10p.m. by turning up just as the performance was due to start. One evening, they were actively patrolling the atrium looking for people, although the app showed fully booked.

 

Rock and a hard place. When I sailed on Iona a year ago then there were queues all across the atrium before every show. Obviously P&O didn't like the look of that so introduced a booking system.

 

And it seemed to work as when I sailed on Iona in September and went to the 710 club every night then it was full with people who like me had booked, with perhaps only two or three couples being let in just before show time to fill any empty seats.

 

15 hours ago, Happy afloat said:

Nothing is bad, per se, its just not as good as it could, or should be. 

 

Hard for P&O to improve when they are charging under £40 a night.

 

[Happy afloat]

15 hours ago, LesleyAnn60 said:

From my experience on this same cruise, you could only have one booking for a show, it wasn’t possible to book the same show at different times. If you wanted to change to a different day or time you had to cancel your booking to rebook. You could definitely cancel a booking on the app, from memory it was under the My Bookings tab. 

Looks like our lack of IT skills may have let us down.....

[Happy afloat]

Hi 9265359, thanks for your comprehensive reply.

 

I'm aware of the staffing problems throughout the industry, that's the point I was making.  If they made the job more appealing they might attract more,  thus making the job easier for their incredibly hard working staff and leading to greater customer satisfaction. 

 

Is it possible that all members in a party could book separately for each event, thus filling the schedule?

 

Our experience at the 710 club (enjoyed this very much) was as I stated, I appreciate yours may have been different.

 

We didn't pay under £40 a night but would love to! Genuine congratulations to anyone who did. We've got a great deal for next November, with a good amount of obc. Still more than 45 quid, which we're very pleased with.

[Fionboard]

19 hours ago, Happy afloat said:

Returned from our first cruise on Iona on Saturday and thought we'd share some of our observations with you. 

Firstly, the ship itself. Big, bright and roomy, exceptionally clean and easy to find your way around. But for us, it doesn't flow in the way others in the fleet do and lacks warmth. Who thought it would be a good idea to put the Glasshouse and Keel and Cow where they are? No privacy at all for the diners as people sit next to them playing cards/games and having a drink. Basically, you are dining in a corridor. The main dining rooms are very nice, particularly the smaller two, as are Andersons, the club house, 710 club and the Crows nest, although, at times, a lot of the ship felt physically cold. The atrium is a big space, possibly too big? No central feature other than the stairs. Beautifully dressed for Christmas but we couldn't help thinking how bare it would look without the decorations. Cabins are smaller than those on other ships and lack storage space. Who has a bedroom at home? Bet you've got drawers in it....

 

Secondly, staffing. All the staff we met were superb, no complaints about any of them. Extremely hard working as usual and very pleasant. But you could sense they were under pressure due to insufficient numbers, and it was obvious they were being pulled to other areas of the ship that proved busier, obviously to the detriment of the area they were leaving. Long waits for food on occasions and quite often for drinks. Come on P&O, hire some staff before the quality ones you have vote with their feet because they're fed up.

 

Lastly, the app that isn't an app. Okay, I'm on record elsewhere that I don't want to live by the clock whilst on holiday. By removing set dining for those on saver fares, it increases competition for places, meaning we could rarely book dining or entertainment venues after the first 24 hours. It seems apparent, from other guests and staff, that people were block booking multiple choices in advance and then deciding which to attend. The problem here is that entertainment venues can't be cancelled via the app, so would show as fully booked when in fact they weren't. The 710 club, for instance,  could only be booked for the 12.15 a.m. slot. Yet we got in three times at 10p.m. by turning up just as the performance was due to start. One evening, they were actively patrolling the atrium looking for people, although the app showed fully booked.

 

Now the good stuff. Staff were brilliant,  as I said.  Food, excellent, almost without exception, and the entertainers we saw were very good (especially Gary!).We had a great time despite our findings, and the novice cruisers with us booked again whilst on board. Nothing is bad, per se, its just not as good as it could,  or should be. 

On board now. Hate it! Not slept for 3 nights due to very noisy balcony cabin. Queues at reception complaining about this. Limited choice of drinks and queues for everything. Pile em high and sell em cheap on here. Lots of rather dubious people around. So glad I am back on Arcadia next month! You get what you pay for definitely applies.

[zap99]

22 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

On board now. Hate it! Not slept for 3 nights due to very noisy balcony cabin. Queues at reception complaining about this. Limited choice of drinks and queues for everything. Pile em high and sell em cheap on here. Lots of rather dubious people around. So glad I am back on Arcadia next month! You get what you pay for definitely applies.

When we were on Iona there were lots of rather dubious people on board. When we got off, apparently there were none. Strange that. Hopefully they will apply a bit of WD40 to the cabin before October and dubious folk don't follow us around.

[9265359]

1 hour ago, Happy afloat said:

I'm aware of the staffing problems throughout the industry, that's the point I was making.  If they made the job more appealing they might attract more,  thus making the job easier for their incredibly hard working staff and leading to greater customer satisfaction. 

To attract more staff = paying staff more = increased prices 

 

If people want better service then other Carnival brands provide it, but at higher prices, and Carnival have obviously decided that P&O is the ‘value’ brand.

 

1 hour ago, Happy afloat said:

Is it possible that all members in a party could book separately for each event, thus filling the schedule?

No, because either you book for both people in the cabin and then the other person cannot book because they are already booked, or if they book just for themselves there is only one seat booked.

 

There is an issue with the Olive Grove (and Beach House) where if you look to book for two (or one) there might be no availability, but book for three or more and there is, and so you could book for three and only two of you turn up, but that doesn’t really impact general availability.

 

1 hour ago, Happy afloat said:

Our experience at the 710 club (enjoyed this very much) was as I stated, I appreciate yours may have been different.

My experience was with the 7pm and 10.30pm shows, and going a dozen times I only ever saw a few empty seats, but appreciate that might not have been the case at the 8.30pm show with people delayed at dinner or the 12.15 show with people too tired.

 

1 hour ago, Happy afloat said:

We didn't pay under £40 a night but would love to! Genuine congratulations to anyone who did. We've got a great deal for next November, with a good amount of obc. Still more than 45 quid, which we're very pleased with.

 

I did, and to be frank it was an absurdly cheap price for what was delivered.

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Happy afloat said:

Hi 9265359, thanks for your comprehensive reply.

 

I'm aware of the staffing problems throughout the industry, that's the point I was making.  If they made the job more appealing they might attract more,  thus making the job easier for their incredibly hard working staff and leading to greater customer satisfaction. 

 

Is it possible that all members in a party could book separately for each event, thus filling the schedule?

 

Our experience at the 710 club (enjoyed this very much) was as I stated, I appreciate yours may have been different.

 

We didn't pay under £40 a night but would love to! Genuine congratulations to anyone who did. We've got a great deal for next November, with a good amount of obc. Still more than 45 quid, which we're very pleased with.

We are paying £140pppn next October. We quite like Iona, but would like it very much more at £560 each for 2 weeks

 No wonder it is full of dubious folk.🤣

 

 

[Froxfield]

On our cruise, ending last Saturday, Iona was only full of dubious people if you think that people from north of Birmingham are dubious. Which, for the avoidance of doubt, I don't!! 

[9265359]

30 minutes ago, zap99 said:

We are paying £140pppn next October. We quite like Iona, but would like it very much more at £560 each for 2 weeks

Hang around to next March and I have no doubt those deals will be available on Iona’s med cruises from Southampton - a Select inside cabin for £799 for two weeks with £160 OBC each and included free car parking - the net cost is down below £560 (£40 pppn).

 

Now sure you can pay for a balcony, but the hourly rental rate for the time it is in use is pretty exorbitant.

Edited November 29, 2022 by 9265359

[Happy afloat]

25 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

Hang around to next March and I have no doubt those deals will be available on Iona’s med cruises from Southampton - a Select inside cabin for £799 for two weeks with £160 OBC each and included free car parking - the net cost is down below £560 (£40 pppn).

 

Now sure you can pay for a balcony, but the hourly rental rate for the time it is in use is pretty exorbitant.

That IS an excellent deal!

 

[zap99]

1 hour ago, 9265359 said:

Hang around to next March and I have no doubt those deals will be available on Iona’s med cruises from Southampton - a Select inside cabin for £799 for two weeks with £160 OBC each and included free car parking - the net cost is down below £560 (£40 pppn).

 

Now sure you can pay for a balcony, but the hourly rental rate for the time it is in use is pretty exorbitant.

No thanks to an inside cabin

 

[Denarius]

20 hours ago, Amelia Noylam said:

Same for us in October, everything on the app could be cancelled for an earlier time or later if you wanted it.

Happy Afloat: Definitely agree with you about the Glasshouse and the Keel and Cow.

Not been on Ioan so can't comment on specifics, nor on Keel & Cow. But as regards the Glasshouse, as I recall it this was originally envisaged as a wine bar. Its selling point was that you could buy all the wines on offer by the glass, hence the name. You could also get snacks and light meals like you often can in wine bars ashore. But P&O appear of late to have been promoting it more as a restaurant. On my recent Azura cruise most entrances to it were roped off with a reception desk next to the only remaining one, and table bookings were taken. I suspect that therein lies the problem for Iona; that the Glass House was designed as a wine bar (and the Keel & Cow as a pub?) but is now being promoted mainly as a restaurant, which are presumably more profitable. But what works for the former may not work for the latter.

[terrierjohn]

4 minutes ago, Denarius said:

Not been on Ioan so can't comment on specifics, nor on Keel & Cow. But as regards the Glasshouse, as I recall it this was originally envisaged as a wine bar. Its selling point was that you could buy all the wines on offer by the glass, hence the name. You could also get snacks and light meals like you often can in wine bars ashore. But P&O appear of late to have been promoting it more as a restaurant. On my recent Azura cruise most entrances to it were roped off with a reception desk next to the only remaining one, and table bookings were taken. I suspect that therein lies the problem for Iona; that the Glass House was designed as a wine bar (and the Keel & Cow as a pub?) but is now being promoted mainly as a restaurant, which are presumably more profitable. But what works for the former may not work for the latter.

They could have designed it more like Britannia, where most of the eating area is partitioned off from the seating area which is open to the atrium. But that would have detracted from the openness of the glass walled atrium on Iona, which P&O made a selling point when Iona launched.

[9265359]

18 minutes ago, zap99 said:

No thanks to an inside cabin

Good to hear there are some willing to pay the excessive balcony rental rate to subsidise me.

[zap99]

37 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

Good to hear there are some willing to pay the excessive balcony rental rate to subsidise me.

Pleased to help.  On our Iona 2 week cruise the difference between an inside and a balcony, taking into account OBC is £700. A bargain. hope you enjoy your cupboard.🤣

Edited November 29, 2022 by zap99
Added.

[9265359]

6 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Pleased to help. I hope you enjoy your cupboard.🤣

Cabins are used for three things, none of which need a window, let alone a balcony!

[zap99]

1 minute ago, 9265359 said:

Cabins are used for three things, none of which need a window, let alone a balcony!

Each to their own. Sitting on our balcony watching the world go by is one of the reasons we cruise.

[9265359]

10 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Each to their own. Sitting on our balcony watching the world go by is one of the reasons we cruise.

Plenty of places you can do that on the ship, and £50 an hour or so to rent a bit of outside space is rather over the top.

[zap99]

46 minutes ago, 9265359 said:

Plenty of places you can do that on the ship, and £50 an hour or so to rent a bit of outside space is rather over the top.

You have your opinion. £700÷14÷24 is 2 pounds.

[Jennizor]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

Each to their own. Sitting on our balcony watching the world go by is one of the reasons we cruise.

Zap, I totally agree. We spend quite a lot of time on our balcony. We had a wonderful moment sailing past the Statue of Liberty, all the balconies were full of passengers sharing the moment. Sailing round the Fjords a couple of year ago was also a delight, enjoying the magnificent views and a glass of wine on our balcony and chatting to our neighbours. The wildlife we have seen has been amazing. You won’t get the same experience standing on a noisy deck. It’s worth every penny to us.