Live from Iona Norwegian Fjords 20th May 7 Nights

[davecttr]

2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Not good for roulette then

2.7% house edge for single zero and 5.26% for double zero. Still a LOT better than playing the slots. the best house edge for players is about 0.5% if you play blackjack properly. However that is long term as the game is very streaky so you could have bad or good periods lasting weeks or even months. On my last cruise someone lost £1200 in an hour or so. They were betting £100 per hand

[Son of Anarchy]

24 minutes ago, alpha whiskey said:

Not quite as slick as Iona,  (great restaurant manager in Coral as you have previously pointed out 👍)

Never a major problem on Arvia that I can remember.

We probably used the MDR about 50%. Preferred Zenith over Meridian. 

Certainly never went hungry or had to change any plans.

Always got a table for 2. Dined at about 6.15 (give or take) 

If asked to choose my favourite ship out of the 2, my vote would go to Iona, but would also jump back on Arvia in a heartbeat! 🤣😉

 

 

Pretty much our experience re the MDRs when we were on Arvia last month.  Funnily enough, we preferred Meridian over Zenith, but that was down to the slightly better chance of being seated near a window.

[ParisHilton]

34 minutes ago, davecttr said:

2.7% house edge for single zero and 5.26% for double zero. Still a LOT better than playing the slots. the best house edge for players is about 0.5% if you play blackjack properly. However that is long term as the game is very streaky so you could have bad or good periods lasting weeks or even months. On my last cruise someone lost £1200 in an hour or so. They were betting £100 per hand

 

Do you know what the 'realistic' minimum bet for a blackjack hand is?  I know casinos advertise low minimum bets, and then you can't find tables with them.

I enjoy the chat that can go on around a black jack table. Not quite as frenetic as roulette or craps.

 

£100 a hand, I assume someone that can afford to lose a lot of case.  Not a bad way to launder money I suppose 🙂

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

No our appointment got cancelled.

 

I went to pre-book and there weren't any active queues anywhere for MDR I could join so I assumed they weren't open on disembarkation day. Mistakenly it now appears. 

 

So we went to quays instead

No the app closes at 2.00am the night before disembarkation.  As you're early to bed you might not have realised but that's also when final bills are sorted and payment taken.  I've found mine outside my door at 4.00am before now, quite impressive considering its claimed, printed and circulated in that 2 hours.

[CarlaMarie]

5 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

No the app closes at 2.00am the night before disembarkation.  As you're early to bed you might not have realised but that's also when final bills are sorted and payment taken.  I've found mine outside my door at 4.00am before now, quite impressive considering its claimed, printed and circulated in that 2 hours.

 

I thought the app closed. That's why I didn't understand how ICF booked a speciality dining venue for the Saturday evening when they disembarked on the Saturday morning. 

[Britboys]

2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Duelling pianos I certainly want to try

 

The onboard gin distillery experience they offered seemed steep in price I thought plus my wife doesnt like gin

 

But think there might have been a FOC  talk on gins we missed? Not sure

 

I sometimes honestly  get the  impression some posters pick a favourite ship or ships and then just find fault on any other ships 

 

I've enjoyed all of my cruises on all the ships I've been on. So I don't need to pick fault with any ships I've been on

 

I'm sure I would enjoy cruises on all the smaller ships even now and even without apps and having  to share tables. We would just adapt and enjoy. Make the absolute most of what's available to us on board. 

 

We just happen to think the newer bigger ships are better than the older smaller ships for what we want.

 

And back up why we think so. 

 

I often feel outnumbered and overwhelmed on here doing so though. 

 

I'm not anti smaller ship cruising I'm just pro bigger ship cruising 

 

I think there's a few on here decidedly anti bigger ship cruising 

 

Possibly because they fear bigger ships will replace the smaller ships in  time?

 

I think that's a long way off and I hope everyone who prefers the smaller ships and smaller ship benefits can enjoy them as long as they want

 

I just feel I want to defend the bigger ships from the constant complaints on| here

 

Even when MB lists lots of things she's enjoyed on the bigger ship the conversation seems to focus on the things  that weren't positive

 

I actually get moaned at for being  so positive. But it's how my cruises make me feel

 

 

 

 

I'm responding to this through memory and I'm happy to accept that my memory can fail me so very happy to be corrected by others!

My feeling is that prior to Covid, the general atmosphere on this board was one that was very positive toward P&O cruises. Of course there was always the odd negative and postings of things that had gone wrong but mostly always upbeat posts. Indeed, criticism was levelled that most of us were P&O devotees/acolytes who wouldn't accept criticism of the company...

Much however has changed since cruising was, as they put it, paused. Cruising is back but there have been significant changes - some logical and some purely as efficiency savings. The mdr menus are significantly different and lots of the nice little touches are no more.

On top of that, the company has two significantly larger ships offering a somewhat different style/experience to that on offer pre-pause.

Many of us on here have been cruising with P&O for quite some time and some of the changes introduced have divided opinion massively.

Taking all that into account, I would suggest it's not exactly surprising that there is more criticism now than previously.

[Megabear2]

Well I'm clearly of great interest to P&O at the moment!  Yesterday I had a real, yes really, survey on how was my cruise, today I'm being asked to Feefo review and minutes ago I just received this.

 

Anyone else been in so much demand recently, or am I just privileged again!  I've never seen this latest survey before, is it commonly sent out if you book onboard or generally direct?

 

Quote

 

we're delighted that you have booked a cruise on Britannia and we look forward to welcoming you on board.

Our guests are at the heart of every decision we make, and we greatly appreciate the thoughts and ideas that you share with us. In this survey, we are particularly interested in understanding why you decided to book this holiday and what you're looking forward to the most. Please click the link below to provide your feedback and answer our survey: START SURVEY HERE This survey takes 15 minutes to complete on average, and will be open for the next 7 days. Thank you in advance for your participation. Kind regards, http://emails.pocruises.com/files/amf_blueberry_wave/project_514/hh-images/paul-sig.png Paul Ludlow, President, P&O Cruises

 

 

 

Unquote 

 

[Megabear2]

5 minutes ago, CarlaMarie said:

 

I thought the app closed. That's why I didn't understand how ICF booked a speciality dining venue for the Saturday evening when they disembarked on the Saturday morning. 

It's a system blip.  It counts your disembarkation day as a day of your holiday for the Limelight Club. Several were caught out on Arvia as they had La Voix coming onboard in Southampton and people thought it was the last night act.

 

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, lancashire_cruisers said:

ICF I for one have really enjoyed your live from and hope to see more of them in the future. For what it's worth the newer and bigger ships always get a pasting on here. You should have seen the furore when Ventura and Azura were launched! 😄

Yes indeed but I think the difference is that the old guard were unhappy about the size and maybe style of the new ships rather than that things were not working or that they had long waits to get into a restaurant...

[alpha whiskey]

26 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Well I'm clearly of great interest to P&O at the moment!  Yesterday I had a real, yes really, survey on how was my cruise, today I'm being asked to Feefo review and minutes ago I just received this.

 

Anyone else been in so much demand recently, or am I just privileged again!  I've never seen this latest survey before, is it commonly sent out if you book onboard or generally direct?

 

Quote

 

we're delighted that you have booked a cruise on Britannia and we look forward to welcoming you on board.

Our guests are at the heart of every decision we make, and we greatly appreciate the thoughts and ideas that you share with us. In this survey, we are particularly interested in understanding why you decided to book this holiday and what you're looking forward to the most. Please click the link below to provide your feedback and answer our survey: START SURVEY HERE This survey takes 15 minutes to complete on average, and will be open for the next 7 days. Thank you in advance for your participation. Kind regards, http://emails.pocruises.com/files/amf_blueberry_wave/project_514/hh-images/paul-sig.png Paul Ludlow, President, P&O Cruises

 

 

 

Unquote 

 

We didn't book onboard,  but we got the same survey/email after booking Britannia earlier this month.

We are definitely not special nor loyal to P&O as we mix up our cruise lines depending on who's offering what! 

We are a lowly Pacific tier, and definitely don't have a 'P' against our name 😭

I filled it in and sent it off, but didn't get anything back as a thank you!! 🤣

You might be more lucky though 😉

Do come back and let us know! 

Edited May 30, 2023 by alpha whiskey

[Cloudyrain]

3 hours ago, Peanut006 said:

I like the bigger ships, always something to see and do for everyone. We cruise with our grandchildren sometimes so a bigger ship is perfect. We are toying with the idea of booking Iona for next year to the Fjords for a completely different type of holiday for them. We have only done Royal Caribbean with them before, a bit worried they might think there is not enough to keep them entertained. Can anyone comment on this? 
 

Michelle

There is less on it for teens/children than RC/NCL/MSC, but they do have lots of family activities (treasure hunts, films, circus skills, kids discos, crafts) and the kids clubs are very popular and “better” than the other lines in terms of the staff’s involvement with the kids. There aren’t zip lines, arcades, slides, but the Fjords is a pretty active holiday base anyway so probably those things are less important somewhere like that with quite a lot of port activity options. 

[terrierjohn]

4 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

What are you seeing in terms or reduction in MDR food quality Britboys?

 

 

It is probably more the quantity than quality that we have noticed has declined in the MDRs, and that is both in the portion size and the choice of dishes. We have especially noticed that the soups are often cooler than we would like, and definitely not as flavourful as they were pre covid. 

The veggie selection has also reduced, there is generally only one type of potato, and never more than 2 other veg, and meagre portions of them as well. The meat content has also declined, the slices are smaller and you rarely get more than 2. I know Dai will say you can always ask for more, but until the bare plate arrives you have no idea that you might need more, and of what!!!

As for the choice this might look generous with probably 6 or 7 main course items, but 2 of these will be the always available sirloin and chicken, a further 2 will be fish and 2 more veggie and vegan, which is very disappointing when compared with the period from 2015 through to 2019.

[Megabear2]

7 minutes ago, alpha whiskey said:

We didn't book onboard,  but we got the same survey/email after booking Britannia earlier this month.

We are definitely not special nor loyal to P&O as we mix up our cruise lines depending on who's offering what! 

We are a lowly Pacific tier, and definitely don't have a 'P' against our name 😭

I filled it in and sent it off, but didn't get anything back as a thank you!! 🤣

You might be more lucky though 😉

Do come back and let us know! 

Bit worried they might want to "upgrade" Britannia, my  favourite P&O ship by a mile very interesting questions on this latest one about what experience you'd like...   

 

Interesting it asks if you'd do a one to one chat after you return as well.  I'm hoping the one on Arvia might elicit one of those.  

[lancashire_cruisers]

22 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Yes indeed but I think the difference is that the old guard were unhappy about the size and maybe style of the new ships rather than that things were not working or that they had long waits to get into a restaurant...

Unfortunately there was more to it than that! It was inferred that you were a certain ‘type’ of person if you sailed on those ships amongst other things.

 

It was horrible and certainly reflected badly on some of the old guard. Indeed any issues I’ve had onboard a P&O ship have stemmed from the behaviour of those older cruisers and mostly because I had the temerity to cruise with my then young daughter.

 

Thankfully things are much better now and the bigger ships are ideally suited to families and multi-generational cruisers, where you can avoid the ill-mannered and rude individuals.

[alpha whiskey]

18 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Bit worried they might want to "upgrade" Britannia, my  favourite P&O ship by a mile very interesting questions on this latest one about what experience you'd like...   

 

Interesting it asks if you'd do a one to one chat after you return as well.  I'm hoping the one on Arvia might elicit one of those.  

I'll put good money down that they will do a one to one chat with you, and somehow I will live with the fact that they have probably just lost my phone number!! 🤣🤣

Edited May 30, 2023 by alpha whiskey

[Winifred 22]

9 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

The problem I think that does certainly exist is that the majority of people on cruise ships do not want to share tables when given the choice 

 

This was really noticeable on the Iona cruise in MDR

 

Shared tables at set times was the only way in the  past that ships could get everybody fed 

 

I think we all realise that. We all accept that. We've all shared tables. Some enjoy it. Some don't. It's almost intimidating for those who have never  experienced it before. Rightly or wrongly. We actually enjoyed it when we first cruised having been worried about it before we cruised. But given the choice we don't share now.

 

That issue may still not exist on smaller ships with lots of cruisers used to doing it and happy to sign up for it and those  cruise holidays can viably try and keep that happening for as long as people pay in enough numbers for shared dining cruises.

 

With the larger cruise ships now though they need to attract hundreds of thousands of new cruisers each year

 

It was really noticeable that MDR on Iona when people are given the CHOICE of whether to share a table or not they choose NOT to share

 

The MDRs were DOMINATED by tables of 2 or 4

 

That's what people are mainly asking for when asked what they want

 

My estimate was 60 per cent of tables  were being used for 2 

 

25 per cent of tables for 4

 

Only 15 per cent were 6s or 8s or more

 

When people are given the choice

 

And maybe half of those tables for 6 plus were family groups rather than sharing tables. So even less than 15 per cent of tables are tables where passengers are asking to share

 

Freedom dining isn't just about what time or where people choose to dine of course.

 

It's very much about whether people want to share a table or not

 

The cruise companies have to try and give their future customers the holiday experience they would want

 

So they did have a problem to fix. If they wanted to attract new customers and give  them a holiday experience they wanted to repeat. Which they need to happen to survive and flourish

 

Also people like the choice to dip in and dip out of dining in the same restaurant at the same time each night which compounds why the cruise companies needed to change. They need to know when people aren't coming in as well as when they are coming in.

 

They can't just have MDR tables waiting empty in case someone comes in or not. They need to know whether the guests are CHOOSING to eat with them each night

 

They wouldn't have changed if they didn't need to 

 

I'm sure of that. They've made it harder for their staff allowing the passengers choices they never had before

 

But the thing we hear complaints about on here has only come about due to the demands of customers and to meet those demands of those customers

 

Sharing tables is still possible every night in MDR. It's just that the vast majority aren't choosing to do it often if at all

I would never share. If that really was the only option in MDR I would chose the buffet. 

[Winifred 22]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

Well I'm clearly of great interest to P&O at the moment!  Yesterday I had a real, yes really, survey on how was my cruise, today I'm being asked to Feefo review and minutes ago I just received this.

 

Anyone else been in so much demand recently, or am I just privileged again!  I've never seen this latest survey before, is it commonly sent out if you book onboard or generally direct?

 

Quote

 

we're delighted that you have booked a cruise on Britannia and we look forward to welcoming you on board.

Our guests are at the heart of every decision we make, and we greatly appreciate the thoughts and ideas that you share with us. In this survey, we are particularly interested in understanding why you decided to book this holiday and what you're looking forward to the most. Please click the link below to provide your feedback and answer our survey: START SURVEY HERE This survey takes 15 minutes to complete on average, and will be open for the next 7 days. Thank you in advance for your participation. Kind regards, http://emails.pocruises.com/files/amf_blueberry_wave/project_514/hh-images/paul-sig.png Paul Ludlow, President, P&O Cruises

 

 

 

Unquote 

 

I have received this for nearly every P&O or Cunard cruise I have booked. If it’s the same it’s just generically general in scope and not ship or itinerary specific. 

[daiB]

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

I'm responding to this through memory and I'm happy to accept that my memory can fail me so very happy to be corrected by others!

My feeling is that prior to Covid, the general atmosphere on this board was one that was very positive toward P&O cruises. Of course there was always the odd negative and postings of things that had gone wrong but mostly always upbeat posts. Indeed, criticism was levelled that most of us were P&O devotees/acolytes who wouldn't accept criticism of the company...

Much however has changed since cruising was, as they put it, paused. Cruising is back but there have been significant changes - some logical and some purely as efficiency savings. The mdr menus are significantly different and lots of the nice little touches are no more.

On top of that, the company has two significantly larger ships offering a somewhat different style/experience to that on offer pre-pause.

Many of us on here have been cruising with P&O for quite some time and some of the changes introduced have divided opinion massively.

Taking all that into account, I would suggest it's not exactly surprising that there is more criticism now than previously.

Andrew I think your memory is tricking you. There is certainly a great deal of positivity on this forum now indeed far greater tan before. There are a number of posters with I have rarly agreed with in the past who seem to be having a great deal more positivity about P&O. In some way I think it is due to the game changer of the two new ships. With these ships I feel P&O has upped the ante. Friends, not on here are now much more positive about cruising P&O after their recent cruises. 

 

Andrew try a bigger ship.

[Selbourne]

3 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

We did on Sunday. I think ICF was needing to get off very sharpish on Saturday for an appointment and just meant they didn't have time with their walk off.

That’s a relief. The one thing that I hate most about a P&O cruise is disembarkation, especially as they make such a meal of it compared to some other lines. We tend to have a relaxing breakfast in the MDR (when we can get there, lifts being an absolute nightmare on disembarkation day when you are with a wheelchair user) and then attempt to get off. I just couldn’t be doing with being held in public rooms for ages and we avoid the buffet like the plague.
 

We just couldn’t believe how much better the Cunard disembarkation process was. Zero hassle and the whole process was completely different and so much easier. Why on earth P&O don’t adopt it is beyond me. 

[AndyMichelle]

28 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

I would never share. If that really was the only option in MDR I would chose the buffet. 

We used to think like that until we booked a cheap saver fare and had to share. 

We then chose to share for a while. We have met some amazing people who have become friends and been fortunate enough to not encounter the grumpy ones. 

Our next cruise though, we have requested a table for two on club dining as we want a bit of 'us' time, but wouldn't hesitate to share again, especially on freedom dining. 

I accept it's not for everyone, it's your holiday, it's important to enjoy it your way. 

Andy 

 

[Britboys]

33 minutes ago, daiB said:

Andrew I think your memory is tricking you. There is certainly a great deal of positivity on this forum now indeed far greater tan before. There are a number of posters with I have rarly agreed with in the past who seem to be having a great deal more positivity about P&O. In some way I think it is due to the game changer of the two new ships. With these ships I feel P&O has upped the ante. Friends, not on here are now much more positive about cruising P&O after their recent cruises. 

 

Andrew try a bigger ship.

I think we are looking at a different forum Dai.

Try a bigger ship? I think not. I will try Britannia at some point but as I only want to do a week on her and don't want to do Norway for a while a it will be after 2025...

Hell will freeze over before I try Iona or Arvia....

[daiB]

1 hour ago, Winifred 22 said:

I would never share. If that really was the only option in MDR I would chose the buffet. 

We nare coming up to 60 cruises and unless on Iona/Arvia have a table for 8 second sitting every time. Only one poor table which my wife did not like. We still communicate with people from our first two  cruises as well as many others.

[Jennizor]

1 hour ago, Winifred 22 said:

I would never share. If that really was the only option in MDR I would chose the buffet. 

Whenever we have the option to share, we always do. We have probably 90% good experiences over 15+ cruises. We were on Iona in Feb/Mar and when asked outside the MDR, we opted to share. Again, we had some lovely table companions. We are all different and for us, meeting new people is part of a lovely cruise. We did have a table for two at some of the speciality restaurants, and enjoyed those too. Everyone is different and it’s your holiday so your choice is right for you. I would never chose the buffet though

[JeanieC,Aston]

7 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Very reasonable opinion.  I am aware that the staff quarantine cabins on Arvia apparently haven't thankfully been used for a while.  I was given one to sleep in on night two and reception were at great pains to tell me know one had been in there for a very long time.  The notice left in the cabin was addressed to Dear Colleague so I had no reason to doubt what I was told.

 

Re cabin stewards, mine was very busy and proactive until 13.00 hours. I saw her again assisting with ushering people to MDR seats at 6.00pm when I used them, we would have a joke about the "zoo" of towel animals she was leaving me and how the ship would be short.  However on the day I was finally moved cabins I was informed the assistance from my deck 5 stewards would not occur until 11.00pm as they were on alternative duties. This was at 9.25pm.

 

Compared with Cunard the week before with turndown etc fully operational it was a million miles apart as was Celebrity and Princess last year.

 

Not a criticism  but an observation, all the staff on all four lines were working extremely hard and doing absolutely everything to make the cruise run smoothly.  Patience of saints was in no way an exaggeration!

Hi

We had the same on Iona with cabin stewards,,,of an evening they became MDR staff,,you could pick them out as they were given grey polo shirts to wear,,,they showed you to your table and gave you the menu.

[JeanieC,Aston]

4 minutes ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

We had the same on Iona with cabin stewards,,,of an evening they became MDR staff,,you could pick them out as they were given grey polo shirts to wear,,,they showed you to your table and gave you the menu.

Why has Iona done away with ballroom dancing and dance hosts,,,many people enjoyed this activity.

There is plenty of room for it,,,like Ventura and Azura they could have it in the foyer (nothing else happens there except the Silent Disco now and then),,like the Ventura and Azura the Costa Coffee outlet is in the same room.

It would certainly add some life to what is a lifeless area.

 

I don’t dance ballroom or sequence but as it never finished until Midnight loved watching the good dancers with a Macchiato and Jameson’s nightcap.