Iona First Timers

[Minnie29]

Hi all,

we are booked on our first P and O Cruise in September on Iona in a Deck 9 Mini Conservatory Suite. 
Any advice or tips will be gratefully received on either what’s included with the cabin and the ship itself.

Looking at the dining options we will probably do speciality dining each evening and your reviews on the options and when they can be booked would really be welcomed. 
Thank you

[Jennizor]

12 hours ago, Minnie29 said:

Hi all,

we are booked on our first P and O Cruise in September on Iona in a Deck 9 Mini Conservatory Suite. 
Any advice or tips will be gratefully received on either what’s included with the cabin and the ship itself.

Looking at the dining options we will probably do speciality dining each evening and your reviews on the options and when they can be booked would really be welcomed. 
Thank you

Hi Lisa and Paul

 

Can’t help you with the cabin.  You will only be able to book the speciality restaurants two weeks before you sail. I would advise you to do that as soon as the booking option opens. We are going on our second Iona cruise 3 weeks today and will book as soon as online booking opens to ensure we get in at a time we want.

 

I can’t comment on the Epicurean restaurant, we have never been as I couldn’t eat five courses but there are other members on here who find it very good. The food in the Limelight Club was very good both times we visited it, plus you get entertainment so it’s a good evening out (obviously depends on who is on but we have never had a bad experience).  Sindhu is a lovely restaurant and the food is very good. We will book the Chefs Table for the formal night. We didn’t know what to expect last time as it is part of the Horizon buffet which we never use, however, we were very surprised. It was a sectioned off area, set out to look like a stylish restaurant and the menu was very good. We also like the Olive Grove and the Glass House.

 

I hope this helps and you have a great cruise on Iona.

 

Jennizor

 

Iona is a lovely ship and despite there being over 5000 passengers on board the only time it felt busy was in the evening when the entertainment venues were finishing. There are lots of lovely seating areas and bars. 

[SarahHben]

13 hours ago, Minnie29 said:

Hi all,

we are booked on our first P and O Cruise in September on Iona in a Deck 9 Mini Conservatory Suite. 
Any advice or tips will be gratefully received on either what’s included with the cabin and the ship itself.

Looking at the dining options we will probably do speciality dining each evening and your reviews on the options and when they can be booked would really be welcomed. 
Thank you

Hi

We had a deck 9 conservatory mini suite on Iona last May, 9632, & loved it.
In the cabin we were given robes (not to keep) slippers, a bottle of fizz, a box of chocolates, a bowl of fruit, use of binoculars & an atlas. In the bathroom there was a White Company gift set of shower gels, shampoos etc. 

 

We also had priority boarding as it was a mini suite & there was due to be a complimentary lunch but that was cancelled as there was some sort of convention on that day.

 

My husband posted a video of our cabin on YouTube if you want a look at the cabin. If you search for your cabin number on YouTube you may find a video of yours on there.

 

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by SarahHben

[DamianG]

12 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

Hi

We had a deck 9 conservatory mini suite on Iona last May, 9632, & loved it.
In the cabin we were given robes (not to keep) slippers, a bottle of fizz, a box of chocolates, a bowl of fruit, use of binoculars & an atlas. In the bathroom there was a White Company gift set of shower gels, shampoos etc. 

 

We also had priority boarding as it was a mini suite & there was due to be a complimentary lunch but that was cancelled as there was some sort of convention on that day.

 

My husband posted a video of our cabin on YouTube if you want a look at the cabin. If you search for your cabin number on YouTube you may find a video of yours on there.

 

 

 

Great video, that cabin looks fantastic. I priced up a conservatory mini suite for our Arvia cruise this year but it was out of our budget. Our son would love the conservatory part (as would we all) so hopefully we'll be able to book one in future.

Edited June 24, 2023 by DamianG

[Minnie29]

Thanks for posting the video. What a great cabin. I did read that deck 8 wasn’t a good position. We are in 9515 midships. 
Think we may book Sindhu twice as we love Indian food. 
The Chefs Table sounds interesting too and Epicurian.

Has anyone done the Norwegian Fjords itinerary and did you book any ship excursions.

[david63]

2 minutes ago, Minnie29 said:

Think we may book Sindhu twice as we love Indian food. 

Don't get too excited as the food in Sindhu, whilst good, is nowhere near authentic Indian cuisine.

[zap99]

15 minutes ago, david63 said:

Don't get too excited as the food in Sindhu, whilst good, is nowhere near authentic Indian cuisine.

Seeing videos of some food in India, I don't think I want authentic cuisine.

[Minnie29]

British style Indian sounds good to me and the menu looks really interesting 

[solentsam]

1 minute ago, Minnie29 said:

British style Indian sounds good to me and the menu looks really interesting 

It will nothing like you get from your normal Indian takeaway or restaurant on the high street. So it may disappoint, certainly did for us. I was looking forward to it, like a curry on a Saturday night, but alas it was not. . But dont get me wrong many people enjoy it.

[kalos]

33 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Seeing videos of some food in India, I don't think I want authentic cuisine.

 Dysentery dopiaza, Rush ta loo are unforgettable classics .😉

[Selbourne]

11 minutes ago, Minnie29 said:

British style Indian sounds good to me and the menu looks really interesting 

It’s Indian Fusion (if that makes sense). Not 100% to my taste (I prefer the Indian / Bangladeshi curries we get here and used to get in the P&O MDRs at lunchtime) but my wife and daughters really like it and the service and ambiance are both very good. 

[zap99]

Not the same as a local takeaway, but not meant to be, much like la Gavroche isn't like the local cafe's in Paris.

[terrierjohn]

50 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

It’s Indian Fusion (if that makes sense). Not 100% to my taste (I prefer the Indian / Bangladeshi curries we get here and used to get in the P&O MDRs at lunchtime) but my wife and daughters really like it and the service and ambiance are both very good. 

Not really to my taste either, I obviously chose the wrong main dish last time, which was rather dry and somewhat bitter. So I asked the waiter if I could have some mango chutney to sweeten it up a bit, sorry sir we don't have any, but I will bring you some ?????, which to be fair he did, a tiny little dish of something rather red and a bit fiery.  Who ever heard of an Indian restaurant with no mango chutney?

[david63]

1 minute ago, terrierjohn said:

So I asked the waiter if I could have some mango chutney

Which ship?

 

Last year they certainly had mango chutney on Britannia as it was served with the mini popadoms at the start of the meal.

[terrierjohn]

3 minutes ago, david63 said:

Which ship?

 

Last year they certainly had mango chutney on Britannia as it was served with the mini popadoms at the start of the meal.

Iona, and the same spicy chutney was served with our popadoms.

Edited June 24, 2023 by terrierjohn

[SarahHben]

9 hours ago, DamianG said:

 

Great video, that cabin looks fantastic. I priced up a conservatory mini suite for our Arvia cruise this year but it was out of our budget. Our son would love the conservatory part (as would we all) so hopefully we'll be able to book one in future.

It’s out of our budget too.

We had originally booked a deluxe balcony on the curved bit & had selected ‘no upgrades’  but they were still keeping areas free for covid quarantine last May and we were moved to the conservatory mini suite. 😊

[SarahHben]

7 hours ago, Minnie29 said:

Thanks for posting the video. What a great cabin. I did read that deck 8 wasn’t a good position. We are in 9515 midships. 
Think we may book Sindhu twice as we love Indian food. 
The Chefs Table sounds interesting too and Epicurian.

Has anyone done the Norwegian Fjords itinerary and did you book any ship excursions.

We did several excursions last May. We were due to do the boat trip past Pulpit Rock but it was too windy for Iona to dock in Stavanger so that one was cancelled.

We did the troll cars up to the Briksdal Glacier at Olden, we had torrential rain but loved it, and then we did the ‘Geiranger on your own’ one where you get the ferry and have a set amount of time in Geiranger to explore. Geiranger was our favourite place of the trip.
My husband has posted videos of the troll car trip and Geiranger on the same YouTube account as our cabin video.

 

[majortom10]

7 hours ago, solentsam said:

It will nothing like you get from your normal Indian takeaway or restaurant on the high street. So it may disappoint, certainly did for us. I was looking forward to it, like a curry on a Saturday night, but alas it was not. . But dont get me wrong many people enjoy it.

Sindhu even when it was first introduced under the leadership of Atul Kocchar was never intended to be like a typical Saturday night Indian restaurant in most towns and cities. It has always been classed as fine dining Indian food and is excellent, although not as good as when under the control of Atul Kocchar.

Edited June 24, 2023 by majortom10

[Minnie29]

It sounds great and we are really looking forward to trying it. 

[zap99]

4 hours ago, majortom10 said:

Sindhu even when it was first introduced under the leadership of Atul Kocchar was never intended to be like a typical Saturday night Indian restaurant in most towns and cities. It has always been classed as fine dining Indian food and is excellent, although not as good as when under the control of Atul Kocchar.

Although the menu needs a make over we have had some of the best meals that we have ever had on a P&O ship. The lobster was historic and the byriani pie thing was stunning. Not anything like the Khyber pass takeaway in the high St.

[Camberley]

22 hours ago, david63 said:

Don't get too excited as the food in Sindhu, whilst good, is nowhere near authentic Indian cuisine.

Well, it’s all rather subjective isn’t it.
 

While Sindhu is arguably not as impressive as it was under the excellent Indian chef, Atul Kochhar, it is still very good - and having lived in India years ago briefly, it is authentic enough with expected tweaks: certainly more so than you might get in your typical high street Indian restaurant that is typically swimming in oil and overly sweetened sauce and often lacks real flavour balance. But doubts over authenticity etc aside it is really good food if you want a touch of refinement.
 

Likewise in terms of being subjective, we have always found Chef’s Table style over substance. Great sounding menus but the reality is adequate pub fayre served just a touch more elegantly. The last time we braved it again (just in case it had improved) was in April - to us it hadn’t and several tables left part way through to eat elsewhere. But it might tick the box food-wise as some love it.

 

The mini suite is divisive: many love it, many do not. We had 4 friends on our last one in two mini suites. Two of them hated it but the other two loved it: the two who hated it/loved it were in different mini suites, so not the same couple.

 

Either way I hope you have a lovely cruise. I am sure you will 

Edited June 25, 2023 by Camberley

[Red Ray]

The first thing we do when on board is to book Sindhu - twice if it's a 14 night cruise. Only been slightly disappointed once & that was on Iona. Arcadia in May was well up to standard.

[ParisHilton]

7 hours ago, Red Ray said:

The first thing we do when on board is to book Sindhu - twice if it's a 14 night cruise. Only been slightly disappointed once & that was on Iona. Arcadia in May was well up to standard.

 can you not book two weeks before boarding?

[Red Ray]

Not on Arcadia, only on the larger ships

[Minnie29]

What’s everyone’s recommendation for breakfast?