(Not quite live) from Iona - G318 - Fjords - 10th June

[purplesea]

6 hours ago, TigerB said:

 

I wouldn't be surprised if you talked to the restaurant host on your first day, they would be able to accommodate you for the same time each night; mention the wheelchair and that should help with his/her decision, in the spirit of inclusiveness. If you also told him/her what nights you were eating elsewhere, I'm sure they would see that as a positive; you help them plan and they will help you.

I expect you will be on an eight-seater; I've not seen a table for six, but there are plenty for eight or ten.

When on Iona in January last year the same table was booked for us  each night at the same time, but did inform them on the one or two occasions that we would be dining elsewhere.

[Fionboard]

46 minutes ago, purplesea said:

When on Iona in January last year the same table was booked for us  each night at the same time, but did inform them on the one or two occasions that we would be dining elsewhere.

Sounds like fixed dining! Why don't they have this in one restaurant like on the other ships? 

[Selbourne]

27 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Sounds like fixed dining! Why don't they have this in one restaurant like on the other ships? 

This is what I struggle with. Whilst I can quite understand why people will endeavour to get a set table at a fixed time each evening, it flies in the face of Freedom Dining and helps to explain why the new system doesn’t work as well as when Freedom Dining was just that - first come, first served.
 

These ‘reserved’ tables are having to sit empty for periods prior to the selected time (which reduces capacity and slows throughput) and, of course, some folk won’t always communicate that they have opted to dine elsewhere.
 

Thankfully, it sounds as though Iona isn’t as problematic as Arvia, but one of the two smaller MDRs could be converted to fixed dining, first and second sitting, which may then allow the Freedom Dining MDRs to operate as they should. 

Edited June 12, 2023 by Selbourne

[Megabear2]

6 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

This is what I struggle with. Whilst I can quite understand why people will endeavour to get a set table at a fixed time each evening, it flies in the face of Freedom Dining and helps to explain why the new system doesn’t work as well as when Freedom Dining was just that - first come, first served.
 

These ‘reserved’ tables are having to sit empty for periods prior to the selected time (which reduces capacity and slows throughput) and, of course, some folk won’t always communicate that they have opted to dine elsewhere.
 

Thankfully, it sounds as though Iona isn’t as problematic as Arvia, but one of the two smaller MDRs could be converted to fixed dining, first and second sitting, which may then allow the Freedom Dining MDRs to operate as they should. 

From my observation on Arvia the tables are not sitting empty. My normal dining time was 6.15pm.  When I entered the dining room there were very few tables unoccupied in Zenith at least.  Remember there was only 15 minutes left of the "reserved" period left to come after I entered so it would be right not many empty tables.  As the meal progressed I looked around and what I did notice was not many sharing tables completely emptied in one go, often stragglers lingering over a chat and also the staff we running round like the proverbial blue a...d flies serving and hardly any tables that were vacated were able to be reset immediately they were vacated.  Zenith also required tablecloth changes on some tables, all consuming further time.  The real problem in there seemed to be lack of staff.

 

I only had one dinner in Meriden, that time at 6.00pm.  Again even though earlier it was pretty full.  Here they didn't offer coffee/tea one of my dining companions asked for a cup and the waiters seemed quite nonplussed.  I left there at 8.00pm to catch my 8.30pm show and several on the 8 s3ater table were still eating cheese and biscuits.  That table was full with 8 diners at 6.05pm, I was by then checking it out.  Also 3 of the people were walk ups, the other five including me reserved in advance so no one from the app queue.

 

Thinking back on it I cannot recall dining in Zenith with anyone who used the app and I had breakfast most mornings in Meriden where I seemed to be the only one who had used the app to go to breakfast. Most mornings there would be 13 or 14 people in the queue when I joined it and I never once got to leave my room before it summoned me.

[Peanut006]

6 hours ago, TigerB said:

We are in Stavanger today; what a lovely little place with some beautiful buildings. We are the only ship in. It was cloudy this morning but now there is more blue sky than cloud. As I sit on our balcony, overlooking the old town, while I enjoy my gin and limonata from Tiger's bar, the temperature is 22°C.

For those of you that may be concerned about how I cut lemons after having my lemon knife confiscated, I half-inched one from the Quays.🫢

 

We should have been on an excursion this morning, but cancelled it; I'll explain why 8n a later post.

Instead, we went for a bimble around the harbour, shopping area, lake, and (me only) old town.

 

Tiger’s Bar!! Love it!!

 

Michelle

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

From my observation on Arvia the tables are not sitting empty. My normal dining time was 6.15pm.  When I entered the dining room there were very few tables unoccupied in Zenith at least.  Remember there was only 15 minutes left of the "reserved" period left to come after I entered so it would be right not many empty tables.  As the meal progressed I looked around and what I did notice was not many sharing tables completely emptied in one go, often stragglers lingering over a chat and also the staff we running round like the proverbial blue a...d flies serving and hardly any tables that were vacated were able to be reset immediately they were vacated.  Zenith also required tablecloth changes on some tables, all consuming further time.  The real problem in there seemed to be lack of staff.

 

I only had one dinner in Meriden, that time at 6.00pm.  Again even though earlier it was pretty full.  Here they didn't offer coffee/tea one of my dining companions asked for a cup and the waiters seemed quite nonplussed.  I left there at 8.00pm to catch my 8.30pm show and several on the 8 s3ater table were still eating cheese and biscuits.  That table was full with 8 diners at 6.05pm, I was by then checking it out.  Also 3 of the people were walk ups, the other five including me reserved in advance so no one from the app queue.

 

Thinking back on it I cannot recall dining in Zenith with anyone who used the app and I had breakfast most mornings in Meriden where I seemed to be the only one who had used the app to go to breakfast. Most mornings there would be 13 or 14 people in the queue when I joined it and I never once got to leave my room before it summoned me.

As you say, on Arvia the reserved tables are all very early times only, so would all be in use when you were in there. I may have misunderstood, but I thought that some were implying that on Iona tables could be reserved at later times, which would inevitably cause tables having to be kept for them.
 

However, it does appear that Iona is not experiencing the levels of problems that Arvia has had on occasions, no doubt helped by having the two additional MDRs. Hopefully that’s the case on celebration night as well. Our two live bloggers both used speciality restaurants that evening, whereas we intend to use the MDR that evening (the Chefs Table doesn’t appeal). 

[TigerB]

9 hours ago, Fionboard said:

Sounds like fixed dining! Why don't they have this in one restaurant like on the other ships? 

 

8 hours ago, Selbourne said:

This is what I struggle with. Whilst I can quite understand why people will endeavour to get a set table at a fixed time each evening, it flies in the face of Freedom Dining and helps to explain why the new system doesn’t work as well as when Freedom Dining was just that - first come, first served.
 

These ‘reserved’ tables are having to sit empty for periods prior to the selected time (which reduces capacity and slows throughput) and, of course, some folk won’t always communicate that they have opted to dine elsewhere.
 

Thankfully, it sounds as though Iona isn’t as problematic as Arvia, but one of the two smaller MDRs could be converted to fixed dining, first and second sitting, which may then allow the Freedom Dining MDRs to operate as they should. 

 

In my view, they could easily convert either Aqua or Opal into fixed dining venues; at least for a trial basis to check demand.

I don't know of an easy fix for Arvia 

[TigerB]

8 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

From my observation on Arvia the tables are not sitting empty. My normal dining time was 6.15pm.  When I entered the dining room there were very few tables unoccupied in Zenith at least.  Remember there was only 15 minutes left of the "reserved" period left to come after I entered so it would be right not many empty tables.  As the meal progressed I looked around and what I did notice was not many sharing tables completely emptied in one go, often stragglers lingering over a chat and also the staff we running round like the proverbial blue a...d flies serving and hardly any tables that were vacated were able to be reset immediately they were vacated.  Zenith also required tablecloth changes on some tables, all consuming further time.  The real problem in there seemed to be lack of staff.

 

I observed all of the above in Zenith when we dined in there in January; we ate at 18:30 or thereabouts.

In April we weren't able to get a table for our preferred time, so mostly ate elsewhere.

[TigerB]

7 hours ago, Selbourne said:

As you say, on Arvia the reserved tables are all very early times only, so would all be in use when you were in there. I may have misunderstood, but I thought that some were implying that on Iona tables could be reserved at later times, which would inevitably cause tables having to be kept for them.
 

However, it does appear that Iona is not experiencing the levels of problems that Arvia has had on occasions, no doubt helped by having the two additional MDRs. Hopefully that’s the case on celebration night as well. Our two live bloggers both used speciality restaurants that evening, whereas we intend to use the MDR that evening (the Chefs Table doesn’t appeal). 

 

We were chatting to first timers last night. They did Chef's Table on Sunday and from what they described, they had a totally different experience here on Iona to ours on Arvia in April. The service for them wasn't rushed like ours was, and the drinks service was swift, whereas we received our wine when our mains were on the table, and the table next to us not until desserts arrived.  The couple on here also received copy of the menu, signed by MPW.

 

From what they were saying, it appears that the staff in the Chef's Table on Iona are more polished. 

It'll still be like eating in a canteen, though.

[TigerB]

Up at sparrow's fart today as we make our way towards Olden.

This was at 05:37...

 

As I sit here, writing this and enjoying the scenery from our balcony, my nostrils are offended by cigarette fumes.  I am unable to identify the offender.😡

[TigerB]

@Selbourne  I can confirm that Coral has a few six-seater tables.

Edited June 13, 2023 by TigerB

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, TigerB said:

 

We were chatting to first timers last night. They did Chef's Table on Sunday and from what they described, they had a totally different experience here on Iona to ours on Arvia in April. The service for them wasn't rushed like ours was, and the drinks service was swift, whereas we received our wine when our mains were on the table, and the table next to us not until desserts arrived.  The couple on here also received copy of the menu, signed by MPW.

 

From what they were saying, it appears that the staff in the Chef's Table on Iona are more polished. 

It'll still be like eating in a canteen, though.

A minor point. 

 

Unless MPW was actually on  the ship I can't believe the menu was hand signed by him

 

Maybe a printed signature?

 

He would have to pre-sign tens of thousands of the menus otherwise?

 

 

[TigerB]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

A minor point. 

 

Unless MPW was actually on  the ship I can't believe the menu was hand signed by him

 

Maybe a printed signature?

 

He would have to pre-sign tens of thousands of the menus otherwise?

 

 

 

Without a doubt! The first timers were fussy nonetheless, and it wasn't for me to burst their bubble.

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, TigerB said:

As I sit here, writing this and enjoying the scenery from our balcony, my nostrils are offended by cigarette fumes.  I am unable to identify the offender.😡

That would infuriate me. We haven’t had that issue for many years, but it’s been raised quite a few times by those on Arvia and Iona which, as we know, have a high proportion of first time cruisers. Are the ‘No smoking or vaping on balconies’ messages clear enough (such as on balcony doors etc)? Mentioning it in Horizon after people have complained seems to be too late. 

[TigerB]

Well, being up early and watching the beautiful scenery has made us hungry; we were banging on the doors of Coral at 07:28

[P&O SUE]

Morning TigerB! I have just caught up with your posts and enjoying your tales! 
Looking forward to hearing more ….

[TigerB]

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

That would infuriate me. We haven’t had that issue for many years, but it’s been raised quite a few times by those on Arvia and Iona which, as we know, have a high proportion of first time cruisers. Are the ‘No smoking or vaping on balconies’ messages clear enough (such as on balcony doors etc)? Mentioning it in Horizon after people have complained seems to be too late. 

 

After reading this post, I have just had a good look around the cabin. There is not one notice or sticker about smoking and vaping, and nothing in any of the reading material, including the below, which is all about flogging stuff...

[Gettingwarmer]

3 hours ago, TigerB said:

 

We were chatting to first timers last night. They did Chef's Table on Sunday and from what they described, they had a totally different experience here on Iona to ours on Arvia in April. The service for them wasn't rushed like ours was, and the drinks service was swift, whereas we received our wine when our mains were on the table, and the table next to us not until desserts arrived.  The couple on here also received copy of the menu, signed by MPW.

 

From what they were saying, it appears that the staff in the Chef's Table on Iona are more polished. 

It'll still be like eating in a canteen, though.

When we were on Iona in February at Chefs Table we waited a long time for our drinks, the food had arrived before we were able to order. It appears to be where you are sat as in some areas it is hard to attract the attention of the waiters. 

[TigerB]

16 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

So you don't need to dress up for Sindhu on celebration nights?

 

That's duly noted for our next cruise

 

We normally just go in the buffet or quays

 

No, just the MDRs, Chef's Table, and Crow's Nest.

That said, we were what I would call suitably dressed, me in black jeans, boots, and a sports jacket over a plain t-shirt; our lass wore a dress.

When we were in there on Arvia in January, although not on a formal evening, a young lad in his twenties(?) was wearing scruffy trainers, shorts and a motif t-shirt. I don't want to come across as the RAP (Restaurant Attire Police) but such clothing is only suitable for the buffet and fast food venues, not any of the table service venues. What got me though was that he was with what appeared to be his parents, who were smartly dressed. If that was our son, he would have been sent back to the cabin to change, adult or not.

[TigerB]

1 hour ago, Gettingwarmer said:

When we were on Iona in February at Chefs Table we waited a long time for our drinks, the food had arrived before we were able to order. It appears to be where you are sat as in some areas it is hard to attract the attention of the waiters. 

 

Was it though the same as we had on Arvia, where they have a dedicated wine waiter?

In the MDRs these days your waiter takes your order and it is promptly delivered by someone else (bar staff?), often within five minutes or less. At Chef's Table on Arvia in April, there was just one dedicated wine waiter covering an area that had three different waiting staff pairs.

[Megabear2]

2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

A minor point. 

 

Unless MPW was actually on  the ship I can't believe the menu was hand signed by him

 

Maybe a printed signature?

 

He would have to pre-sign tens of thousands of the menus otherwise?

 

 

MPW was onboard on 3 June cruise.  When we sailed with him on Britannia he had signed piles of menus and on arrival in the dining room we were presented with one each.  It could be they had leftovers so handed them out

[Bin man]

Last year we were on Iona and actually saw him signing piles of menus in one of the restaurants early one morning as we made our way for breakfast to the mdr 

[Interestedcruisefan]

23 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

MPW was onboard on 3 June cruise.  When we sailed with him on Britannia he had signed piles of menus and on arrival in the dining room we were presented with one each.  It could be they had leftovers so handed them out

Yes especially if they only give out menus on request

 

That makes sense

 

So maybe it is hand signed after all

 

When he was really big on TV (Hells Kitchen time)  we used to get him to sign chefs knives and frame them with one of his scary face looking images

 

And auction them in fund-raising events

 

He's fallen away a bit now

 

Also sold out somewhat by putting his name to franchise restaurants all over the place that are good but not great

 

 

Edited June 13, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[TigerB]

We are currently parked up in Olden, with tha starboard side against the pier. I can't see how many folk are rushing off as we are port side.

There is a lot of cloud cover, although none looking like rain clouds (I'm no meteorologist but I get by 😏), and my phone shows the temperature as 12°C

When the DC came on the tannoy, he said the cloud cover was high, so would not affect the view at the top of the skylight, and that the sun will break through this afternoon.

 

We were booked on a trip, Accessible Beauty Of Nordfjord, but was forced the other day to cancel that, and the ones for Stavanger and Haugesund; I will explain in a later post why that was.

 

As it turns out, even if we hadn't cancelled our trip, we still wouldn't be going. A recent tannoy announcement explained that three coaches enroute from Bergen didn't make it, so they have cancelled the trip we should have been on, and another.  I wouldn't like to think what the queue is like now at the shore excursions and reception desks, lots of chuntering customers demanding a full refund for their cruise, no doubt.

The Hull word of the day: chuntering = complaining/moaning.

 

Our lass is wiped out after the early start, so she is having a snooze. I've just caught Venus to tell her not to clean the cabin, and I've just swapped out a few things, and given her our rubbish and recycling.

I'll likely get off very soon to check the lay of the land, and the suitability for a wheelchair. She doesn't fancy the sky lift, and I don't want to leave her for a long time, so that will be one for the future. If we have time, I may check out ICF's DJ pal who drives the land choo-choo. Mind you, he may be busy with three coach loads of disappointed cruisers.

[Megabear2]

10 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Yes especially if they only give out menus on request

 

That makes sense

 

So maybe it is hand signed after all

 

 

As a foodie you should try a cruise with the Celebrity Chefs.  I had a meal cooked by Aktul Kochar when he was associated with Sindhu and it was fabulous.  On Britannia my husband did the Cookery Club with Marco which he thoroughly enjoyed. Marco also did cook a special meal you could book into but unfortunately it was sold out so we missed it.  

 

I'd quite like to do the Spanish one with Jose Pizzaro but as he's on Arvia sailings only k can't see me doing it for a while.

Edited June 13, 2023 by Megabear2