Iona ......Thank you

[alpha whiskey]

I appreciate that a lot of people have had different experiences on Iona, but we have just returned from a 12 night cruise and would like to say that we were well entertained; well fed and watered(🍸!);  well looked after and well happy.

Huge round of applause 👏👏👏👏 to the Captain and all his crew for working their socks off to ensure we had a great time.

We appreciate all that you did to make our time onboard so enjoyable.

[Eglesbrech]

That’s really good to hear. So glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[Camberley]

That’s really lovely to read. So pleased you had a great time on what is a lovely ship.

[happy v]

Thank you for posting. We aren't going until March but I have been looking at the ship details and it all looks fabulous 

[alpha whiskey]

Just now, happy v said:

Thank you for posting. We aren't going until March but I have been looking at the ship details and it all looks fabulous 

Yes, we thought she was a very nice ship. So lovely and bright with contemporary furnishings.

We had no issues with any points of service. Plenty of bar waiters in each venue. Main dining room worked like clockwork.

Cabin was spacious and bathroom lovely too ( standard balcony, deck 10)

Just remember to take a plug adapter for elec toothbrush etc as there are no shaver points in the bathroom.

[yorkshirephil]

53 minutes ago, alpha whiskey said:

Yes, we thought she was a very nice ship. So lovely and bright with contemporary furnishings.

We had no issues with any points of service. Plenty of bar waiters in each venue. Main dining room worked like clockwork.

Cabin was spacious and bathroom lovely too ( standard balcony, deck 10)

Just remember to take a plug adapter for elec toothbrush etc as there are no shaver points in the bathroom.

Just as a matter of interest do you know how full the ship was?

[alpha whiskey]

16 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

Just as a matter of interest do you know how full the ship was?

We did ask 1 waiter who said it was 4,900. Wasn't officially verified though. Maybe someone else may know? 

[grapau27]

3 hours ago, alpha whiskey said:

I appreciate that a lot of people have had different experiences on Iona, but we have just returned from a 12 night cruise and would like to say that we were well entertained; well fed and watered(🍸!);  well looked after and well happy.

Huge round of applause 👏👏👏👏 to the Captain and all his crew for working their socks off to ensure we had a great time.

We appreciate all that you did to make our time onboard so enjoyable.

It is good to hear you had such a fantastic time.

Our 2 cruises on Iona were fantastic too.

Graham.

[Eglesbrech]

@AlphaWhiskey a few questions if you can be bothered.

 

Did you try any of the speciality restaurants, were they easy enough to book once onboard? Thoughts on them?

 

Did you go to the Limelight club, any recommendations for acts?

 

Are there 3 theatre shows and if so what are the times? Again any problems getting booked or easy enough.

 

MDR, can you just turn up or is booking required?

 

thanks

[alpha whiskey]

26 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

@AlphaWhiskey a few questions if you can be bothered.

 

Did you try any of the speciality restaurants, were they easy enough to book once onboard? Thoughts on them?

 

Did you go to the Limelight club, any recommendations for acts?

 

Are there 3 theatre shows and if so what are the times? Again any problems getting booked or easy enough.

 

MDR, can you just turn up or is booking required?

 

thanks

We booked Olive Grove prior to boarding and ate there about 4 times. Very enjoyable. The speciality venues booked out quickly and we were slow at booking and therefore missed out. We will be more on the ball next time! We did have the chef's table booked but cancelled it due to a bumpy Bay of Biscay and didn't fancy being on deck 16 at that time! 

 

Didn't do the Limelight club.

 

Theatre times were 6.45pm 8.30pm 10.30 pm and bookable in advance a couple of weeks before sailing. 

 

The evening trapeze shows in the Sky Dome are also worth going to. They also have bands or singers up there, but can get a bit echoey.( no booking required) 

 

The Pulse band were very good in the Club House .

 

Once onboard we did a mixture of booking the MDR and walk up. We never had a problem getting a table for 2, but we do tend to dine early-ish 6-6.30pm. I couldn't say about other times. We found the restaurant manager very accomodating and aiming to please.

 

We are still getting used to P&O, having only done 2 previous cruises with them a few years back,  so will be better prepared next time. We have tended to cruise with HAL, Princess, RCL, NCL, Celebrity, but suitably impressed with Iona to book another cruise whilst onboard😉

[Yorkypete]

2 hours ago, alpha whiskey said:

We did ask 1 waiter who said it was 4,900. Wasn't officially verified though. Maybe someone else may know? 

The ship was supposedly full but I don't know how many that is. It did seem very crowded.

[Megabear2]

13 minutes ago, Yorkypete said:

The ship was supposedly full but I don't know how many that is. It did seem very crowded.

Isn’t full around 5,600 if all the bunks are used of 5,200 normal?  Sorry for typo before.

Edited January 14, 2023 by Megabear2

[Stu UK]

9 hours ago, Yorkypete said:

The ship was supposedly full but I don't know how many that is. It did seem very crowded.

We were also told just under 5,000. That was by the lady at check in on 2nd Jan. Captain told us that Christmas Cruise was an additional 400 ish people - due to children in bunks and on sofa beds. 

[Jennizor]

Thanks for all your comments Alpha. We are on Iona for the first time on 18th of Feb, so really appreciate your views. 

[Somerset Cruiser]

18 hours ago, alpha whiskey said:

I appreciate that a lot of people have had different experiences on Iona, but we have just returned from a 12 night cruise and would like to say that we were well entertained; well fed and watered(🍸!);  well looked after and well happy.

Huge round of applause 👏👏👏👏 to the Captain and all his crew for working their socks off to ensure we had a great time.

We appreciate all that you did to make our time onboard so enjoyable.

We spent Xmas, New Year and the week before on Iona, 23 nights in all. Whilst we have a long list of minor complaints and Xmas Dinner arrangements were a farce we left the ship feeling we had had a really good time.

If you let the little niggles take over it can pull you down, or you can concentrate on the good stuff and enjoy. There is so much about Iona which is very good.

 

 

[Britboys]

14 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Isn’t full around 5,600 if all the bunks are used of 5,200 normal?  Sorry for typo before.

P&O always publish "normal operating capacity", which for Iona & Arvia is 5200. I have seen it said that absolute maximum is 6200 but don't know how accurate that is.

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

P&O always publish "normal operating capacity", which for Iona & Arvia is 5200. I have seen it said that absolute maximum is 6200 but don't know how accurate that is.

Barbados port quotes Arvia as 6,264 and Britannia at 4,406 but I can't recall ever sailing on Britannia with that number either.

 

[Fionboard]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

Barbados port quotes Arvia as 6,264 and Britannia at 4,406 but I can't recall ever sailing on Britannia with that number either.

 

Me neither, Britannia specs state 3600 ish.

[Slugsta]

It's good to read your comments, Alpha. We are due onboard for the first time on 28th of this month 🙂

[Britboys]

2 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Barbados port quotes Arvia as 6,264 and Britannia at 4,406 but I can't recall ever sailing on Britannia with that number either.

 

I think it would be a rare occurrence for the bigger ships to sail at maximum capacity. I guess they could get close in school holidays maybe...

[Britboys]

24 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Me neither, Britannia specs state 3600 ish.

Yes, P&O state 3647 as Britannia's normal operating capacity.

[Yorkypete]

10 minutes ago, Britboys said:

I think it would be a rare occurrence for the bigger ships to sail at maximum capacity. I guess they could get close in school holidays maybe...

It is not school holidays but there were a lot of children/teens on board this trip.