Selbourne Live from Iona!

[ParisHilton]

I only briefly saw the Spanish troupe, and that was from above . So didn't hear them at all.

It would make sense for them to have performers in there that aren't audio 'heavy'. No idea what mind.

Mimes? Magicians?

[Selbourne]

3 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

How are you finding the noise levels compared to Britannia last month?

It feels significantly busier than Britannia and is therefore noisier as a result. Not a major problem though, but there are a lot of people who talk at full volume during performances. Not sure why they bother going tbh. 

[Selbourne]

Some shots of Iona in Stavanger plus our balcony and the promenade deck as it is below us. 

[Presto2]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Not P&O, but here’s one of part of the atrium on Queen Mary 2

Nothing like a nice atrium

[ParisHilton]

Are balconies less good value when the weather outside is just 'ok'.  Not once did I think of sitting on a balcony and reading.  Or whatever you do on balconies.  Would have been nice for a sunset photo, as it doesn't really work through a window.

Maybe if I didn't have the kids with me, I would have, but I think I'd rather have been in a bar.  And apparently I'm anti-social!

[Selbourne]

2 minutes ago, ParisHilton said:

Are balconies less good value when the weather outside is just 'ok'.  Not once did I think of sitting on a balcony and reading.  Or whatever you do on balconies.  Would have been nice for a sunset photo, as it doesn't really work through a window.

Maybe if I didn't have the kids with me, I would have, but I think I'd rather have been in a bar.  And apparently I'm anti-social!

Absolutely worth having if you can afford them. We would never cruise without one, whatever the weather. We don’t spend long on the balcony at all, certainly compared to most people, but the floor to ceiling views from within the cabin are what swing it for us, plus the ability to pop out if something catches your eye. We have done a few northern lights cruises in minus 20 odd degree temperatures. The views from our cabin were spectacular, and we saw the Northern Lights from bed at 3am 😂 

[Selbourne]

58 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Nothing like a nice atrium

I can’t find any of my photos of the atrium on Aurora, so here’s one I’ve borrowed

[Slugsta]

@Selbourne Thanks for the live review. I'm very glad that your fears of not being able to get a table proved unfounded.

 

We were on Iona in February, when the ship had far fewer people on board. We did find the same issue with the lifts at times though. By the time I had wheeled to the correct one, someone had jumped in ahead of me (until/unless OH got there first!). I wouldn't be in favour of a designated lift though - partly because there aren't always enough people to justify it, but also because it is a short step from 'You have priority with this one' to 'That's yours and you can't use ours'

[Windsurfboy]

Lift etiquette. Thought you always let those with chairs and walking aids on first. However they are not the issue as not that many, it's the queue jumpers. Always thought you mentally keep a count and let those who were there first go first. You can spot the jumpers by their body language,  my technique is to move quickly, get in front then stop, stand in front of them until those who have been waiting have got on. Don't say anything to them just say to others you were here first.

[Son of Anarchy]

2 hours ago, ParisHilton said:

Are balconies less good value when the weather outside is just 'ok'.  Not once did I think of sitting on a balcony and reading.  Or whatever you do on balconies.  Would have been nice for a sunset photo, as it doesn't really work through a window.

Maybe if I didn't have the kids with me, I would have, but I think I'd rather have been in a bar.  And apparently I'm anti-social!

I still use the balcony when the  weather isn't great.  Needs to blowing a hooly to stop me from getting my money's worth!

 

Last cruise we had fog for over 24 hours on the run back to Southampton.  Still sat on the balcony for a coffee or something stronger from time to time.   A bit eery in the fog, especially at night.

[purplesea]

On Arvia in May there were a lot of queue jumpers, those that had just arrived at the lifts and also  happened to be nearer the lift that arrived than those that had been waiting for however long. 

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

I can’t find any of my photos of the atrium on Aurora, so here’s one I’ve borrowed

Always reminds me of American city railway station.

[Presto2]

3 hours ago, ParisHilton said:

Are balconies less good value when the weather outside is just 'ok'.  Not once did I think of sitting on a balcony and reading.  Or whatever you do on balconies.  Would have been nice for a sunset photo, as it doesn't really work through a window.

Maybe if I didn't have the kids with me, I would have, but I think I'd rather have been in a bar.  And apparently I'm anti-social!

Would not sail without one .. have sat on one in October with our woollies on but fresh air. Without sounding like a  Celebrity cheerleader their new ship Apex has what is called an infinite veranda cabin that can be like a balcony or just a balcony with a large window. We don't like the concept for hot areas but for a cooler cruise would be great. And it comes at a price......

[daiB]

6 hours ago, Selbourne said:

It’s difficult to describe how much nicer the atriums are on the other ships and how they provide a wow factor. I’ll see if I can find some photos. We even like Britannia’s (which isn’t to everyone’s taste) but the one on here is just a huge white space, not helped by the acres of not particularly attractive white and grey marble flooring. I know it sounds silly and, in the scheme of things it’s really minor, but you only get one chance to make a first impression and this is the first cruise ship we have ever been on out of well over a dozen that we haven’t felt like we are entering somewhere special. 

Well Selbourne we loved the the atrium. 

[Adawn47]

4 hours ago, Presto2 said:

Nothing like a nice atrium

Is that Oceana?

Avril

[Presto2]

2 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

Is that Oceana?

Avril

Yes, our favourite PO ship ... first PO cruise on her and we just loved her. Was she perfect? No. But we will always have a soft spot for her.

[Adawn47]

4 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Yes, our favourite PO ship ... first PO cruise on her and we just loved her. Was she perfect? No. But we will always have a soft spot for her.

I agree Presto.

Our first cruise on her was a 24 night around the Eastern Med and we loved her. We celebrated our Golden wedding anniversary aboard her too. Nice memories.

Avril

[Presto2]

4 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

I agree Presto.

Our first cruise on her was a 24 night around the Eastern Med and we loved her. We celebrated our Golden wedding anniversary aboard her too. Nice memories.

Avril

Miss those days .... I don't think that P&O is the cruise line we came to in 2010 and were smitten with anymore. Sadly, if we ever get to take our cruise in January, I fear it will be our last on PO - though we will always want to keep in touch with our PO buddies on here 😉

We have 2 land holidays booked for Cyprus and Italy for 2024 and in some ways we are really looking forward to them as it all seems less stressful !

Edited August 21, 2023 by Presto2

[Dermotsgirl]

50 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Yes, our favourite PO ship ... first PO cruise on her and we just loved her. Was she perfect? No. But we will always have a soft spot for her.

Aurora was our favourite ship, but our next favourite was Oceana. We had some memorable cruises on Oceana, including sailing through the Panama Canal from Acapulco to Barbados and the 35 night USA / Caribbean round trip.

 

There was something so perfect about lunch in Cafe Jardin 

[grapau27]

14 hours ago, Selbourne said:

We are currently on board Iona. I can’t promise anything like the level of blog that I did on our last cruise for two reasons. Firstly we are only on board for a week and secondly we are with a family group so will have less free time, but I will do my best!

 

By way of background, this is our first time on Iona. We have been on all the other P&O ships (other than Arvia), but most comparisons will be against Britannia which we were on for 2 weeks last month.  

 

DAY 1 - EMBARKATION 

 

We arrived at Ocean Terminal at 1150 for our 1200 embarkation slot. No delays or holding queues to join the CPS drop off zone and their check in operation was as efficient as usual. They also proactively offered to call a porter for us given that my wife is a wheelchair user, which was impressive and appreciated. 

 

Having arrived at the terminal building just after our designated time we were waved straight into the terminal. There was a small queue of early arrivers outside, but not as long as there had been for Britannia.

 

Unlike when we boarded Britannia, the assistance team were not at all attentive - they were sat around chatting - and when I interrupted them they seemed to suggest that we could board ourselves. This irritated me, as I had specifically booked assistance as I didn’t want the heavy hand luggage on my wife’s lap for long (her biggest problem is her legs). A pusher was provided but I didn’t feel inclined to tip this time, which I usually do. As a point of interest, when we got to the check in desk for the assistance boarders, I noticed that the party in front of us (lady in wheelchair plus two others) had a boarding time of 1.45pm. A bit cheeky of them to turn up that early. 

 

We boarded the ship through the atrium and whilst I am usually wowed by the first impression as you board a new ship, this was the complete opposite. I can now absolutely see why people liken it to an airport terminal. Not at all ship like and not at all glamorous IMHO. 

 

After checking in to our muster station (Keel & Cow) we went to the Pearl restaurant for the priority boarders lunch. I knew that this would be a buffet and I’m pleased to say that it was much better than the buffet lunches we had pre Covid, but I much prefer the waiter served lunch that we had when boarding Britannia.

 

One of the senior restaurant managers recognised us and later returned to our table offering to reserve us a table in the MDR each night, but I explained that we only intend to use the MDR for Celebration night. He asked what time we’d like to dine and said that we should go to the desk at that time and say that he had arranged a table for 6 for us. Let’s hope that works as it will alleviate a lot of hassle given that Celebration night was challenging on Britannia, taking us 90 minutes to get a table. 

 

After lunch we went to our cabin, which is a midships Deluxe Balcony cabin on the ‘hump’. Ours is accessible and we booked the two adjacent non accessible deluxe balcony cabins for our daughters. Our daughters are delighted with theirs and feel that they are far better than the balcony cabins they have had before. They are longer than the standard balcony cabins, so more roomy, and the bathrooms and shower cubicles are a little bigger as a result. Being on the curved section, the balconies are also noticeably larger. Our accessible cabin is also very good and is obviously bigger again to allow for wheelchair manoeuvring. Main positives are lots more wardrobe space than on Britannia and, of course, the much bigger balcony. A few minor gripes would be that the sofa is very upright, rock hard and uncomfortable and the TV is opposite the bed rather than the sofa (it’s the opposite way around in the non-accessible cabins) but we probably won’t use the TV much this cruise. The automated doors, whilst useful for wheelchair users, are also a pain in that the bathroom door slams shut (which is embarrassing at night and annoying for those in adjacent cabins) and the main cabin door wasn’t closing properly, but one of our daughters partners took the closing assembly apart and fixed it in 2 minutes 😂  We couldn’t work out how to alter the height of the basin so asked the steward who said that it couldn’t be adjusted and was fixed. I knew this wasn’t correct so had a further play around and eventually sussed it. I showed the steward how to do it later 😂 

 

Once we had unpacked (cases were already at the cabin when we arrived after lunch) we explored the whole ship. In the past when people have mentioned dislikes around the decor and ambiance of various ships I have been quite surprised, as we haven’t had a problem with any of them. Until now that is. I fully appreciate that one man’s meat is another man’s poison and these things are entirely subjective, but both of us have quite different tastes when it comes to decor, yet both of us feel the same about Iona. Not only does this not look or feel like any other P&O ship, if I was asked to sum up the interior as succinctly as possible I would say ‘conference hotel’. Those who have attended conferences in large modern hotels will know exactly what I mean! It’s all there, but it’s functional, bland and not luxurious. As an example Anderson’s, which on ships such as Aurora is like an upmarket club, looks like a modern hotel lobby. The only bar that we felt looked comparable to those on other P&O ships was the Crows Nest. Perhaps our opinion will improve as the cruise progresses. For balance, our daughters (mid to late twenties) think it looks great and the passenger profile is much younger than the other ships, so I don’t criticise P&O for this as it seems to be right for the new target market and, of course, a lot of older experienced cruisers will also like it - but on first impressions it’s not to our taste. 

 

We had pre dinner drinks in the Crows Nest. We managed to find a table which we could move some extra chairs to in order to accommodate the six of us, but it was like pulling teeth trying to get served. Too few drinks waiters and those that were working weren’t attentive. In the end I went up to the bar to order myself which immediately resulted in two waiters rushing to serve me! We left Southampton at around 6pm and had a lovely transit out along Southampton water. 

 

Dinner was booked in Epicurean for 6.45pm (I couldn’t book online for the time I wanted) but they kindly allowed me to change it to 7.30pm. In spite of it being very quiet, we were mid restaurant, rather than by a window, but apparently all the window tables are tables for 2. I have to say that the whole dining experience was superb and even surpassed Britannia last month. Every course was a hit with all 6 of us and service was excellent. The Crepes Suzette was flambéed in the restaurant (rather than pre- prepared in the kitchen on Britannia) and tasted 10 times better for it. Also, we had the little candy floss cones and hand made lemon chocolates for petit fours, rather than just the bog standard MDR chocolates that they served in Epicurean on Britannia. 

 

After dinner we went to the 10.30pm headliners show. The show scheduling is even more all over the place than on Britannia. It was advertised in Horizon and on the app as being a show called ‘Digital’ but was actually a completely different show (‘The Sky’s the limit’?). It was quite an elaborate production, but not to our taste (nor our daughters, interestingly), and a couple sat behind us literally chatted throughout the entire 45 minutes. Why do these thoughtless cretins bother to go to shows if they are unable to extend the common courtesy to the performers and other guests of just sitting quietly and watching the show?

 

DAY 2 - Sea Day

 

The sea had been calm all night but I didn’t sleep well. Unlike Britannia, no noise from cabin neighbours thankfully, but it was the pillows. They are both very ‘full’ and thick and one wasn’t enough but two was too much 😂 In the end I found that one with one of the sofa cushions under it was better! Goldilocks pillow syndrome 🤣 

 

The shower is super powerful compared to other ships, but I realised that the steward had only provided us with one bath towel. Being the gentleman that I am, after I had got dressed I went out into the corridor to nick a dry towel for my wife from a service trolley 😂 

 

Three of the four MDRs were open for breakfast and I joined the virtual queue for the smallest one (Aqua) and we were called within a few minutes. We had difficulty getting a lift - a problem we have experienced quite a few times now on this ship. Unlike the other ships there are no signs at the lifts saying that priority should be given to wheelchair users and those with disabilities. Thinking about it, there was no mention of this in any of the boarding day announcements either, which there usually is. Even without these requests, we usually find that 90% of fellow passengers don’t even need reminding, they are just naturally obliging, for which we are always grateful. Not on this ship. We are waiting for ages for a lift with enough space and when one does arrive people just pile in with no regard for others needs or even who has been waiting longest. It’s not an age thing either. We arrived at a lift area to find a lady in a scooter waiting, so we fully expected that she would go first and us the next time. Two elderly ladies strolled up 5 minutes after we had arrived and when the next available lift arrived they both just got straight in. In the end, we had to resort to going up in order to come back down. I sincerely hope that it improves, as I think that we are going to tire of this. 

 

Aqua restaurant was interesting. The food and service were both fine (other than the smoothies which, as on Britannia, have been watered down post Covid and are no longer as nice) but I’m afraid that the ambiance and decor in there falls firmly into our ‘conference hotel’ category, especially the chairs. 

 

Our daughters and partners went to the buffet (separately and at different times) and both reported that it was extremely difficult to find a table, and they had to walk around the entire area several times (yes, even the extremes), and had to pounce when they saw someone vacate their table. They usually like the buffets on cruise ships but aren’t impressed at all with this one. 

 

After breakfast we went to an art talk on Picasso and Dali in the cinema, which was an enjoyable interlude. Afterwards we did our first full circuit of the promenade deck, which is the one thing that so far is streets ahead of Britannia (not difficult as Britannia doesn’t have one 😂). The hot tubs are a nice touch but the very high glass screens do somewhat dilute the connection with the ocean that you get on ships with normal height promenade deck railings. Other than a few areas, leaning on a hand rail gazing out to sea is through glass on this ship. 

 

We  checked out the much discussed promenade deck conservatory mini suites. The issue for us would be less about the lack of privacy but more about the severely compromised outlook. The balcony glass is opaque (so no view out through it), then you are looking across the wide promenade deck and then finally through the high glass screens mentioned above. I reckon the outlook from these would be far worse than even a cabin with a metal fronted balcony, as at least you’d have a clear view from above the handrail in those and, of course, none of the privacy issues. 

 

When we walked past the Sunset Bar there were loads of unoccupied tables but all were covered in used cups, glasses etc. Bit of a theme emerging here. The ship feels short staffed to me. There are apparently 5,700 people on this cruise, which is 500 over the lower berth capacity but 500 below the total possible occupancy with all upper berths in use. The ship feels busy and this unfortunately adds to the lift problems. 

 

For lunch we had booked the Olive Grove. I’m pleased to say that the ambiance in there is far nicer than many other areas of the ship and more restaurant like. I can see why people rave about this and we would agree. Great choice and good food and the vast majority is free. This is a fantastic addition and a definite plus point for Iona. For balance, our daughters went an hour or so after us and weren’t as impressed. They said that service was terminally slow. 

 

We returned to the cabin afterward and, yet again, normal lift etiquette (or basic manners) are not adhered to by many of the passengers on this ship. It took ages to get a lift that we could get into and when one did arrive a middle aged couple who had only just turned up jumped straight in. This was the straw that broke the camels back I’m afraid and I pointed out to them that they had jumped ahead of us, so they vacated and let us in. We are only just over 24 hours in and I’m already dreading having to use lifts. I should imagine that it’s going to be a nightmare when people are getting on and off in ports and will be nigh on impossible on disembarkation morning. It’s also worth noting that we are having issues even though all lifts are working. If any go out of service (as they have a tendency of doing) it’s going to be even worse. I decided that I would register our problems at reception and ask why there are no signs at lifts (as there are on the other ships) or announcement on embarkation day during the captains address asking people to give priority to wheelchair users and those with disabilities. I also asked if they could perhaps put a reminder in Horizon. After a discussion behind the scenes the lady returned to tell me that on Iona there is no priority for wheelchair users or those with disabilities. Well I had already worked that out 😂. Wheelchair and scooter users note. I hope that Cunard haven’t made the same mistakes with their new ship Queen Anne. We shall see in May. 

 

At 7pm we went to the 710 Club for the Handwritten performance. We all enjoyed it. The main singer / pianist was excellent. The drummer sang a few tracks. We all agreed he should stick to drumming 😂 The lead guitarist sang a Coldplay track and he was much better. I tried a cherry Negroni that several had mentioned on here. Not for me 😂 

 

When the performance finished we were too early for our 8.15pm dinner slot so we went to Anderson’s for another drink. As mentioned, a naff ambiance in here but we were served much quicker than the Crows Nest. 

 

At 8.15pm we duly trotted off to Pearl restaurant and, as instructed, mentioned our friendly managers name. He duly appeared and showed us to a really nice oval table with two great waiters. A great meal and fab service was had by all. We have requested the same table for breakfast at 9.15am tomorrow. I got the impression that anyone could make a similar request, not just those of us who know senior staff. None of us fancied the singer Kelly Anne so everyone returned to their cabins, although I decided to try the Jess Lynne tribute singer in the Sky Dome. Awful acoustics as many have reported, but she was great. The girls will be envious when I tell them at breakfast. A quick walk on the top of the ship to see the night sky and then to bed. Tomorrow Stavanger. 

Excellent reading and I will be following along.

You did right being rightly assertive with that couple who jumped into the lift in front of you.

I always let wheelchairs in first because we had Pauline's late mam with us on several cruises in her wheelchair and understand the difficulties.

I have been abrupt with people who turn up and jump in a lift before people who have been waiting patiently.

Your cabins sound great in an Ideal location.

I hope you all have an amazing cruise.

[grapau27]

12 hours ago, molecrochip said:

I hope you have a wonderful rest of your cruise.

 

The decor on Arvia, especially the atrium have additional wood touches instead of silver and it improves the appearance.

Can you please give an update on the water overflowing onto aft balconies from the deck 16 infinity pool on Iona.

The P&O advert actually shows people near the edge splashing water.

Do you know if any alterations have been made to the overflow?

If you hear anything on board about this would you be so kind and give some feedback @Selbourne.

Iona Epicurean was much better than Britannia's and I'm pleased you enjoyed your time there last night.

[indiana123]

So far, being a new mobility user (I use two sticks at first then a tiny scooter when tired), so far I have been amazed at how kind people are, including on cruises, but also in supermarkets etc. I always make a point of saying thanks.  I don't think I have a right to expect priority but it is nice when everyone is so polite.  I really hope it continues.

 

It is a bit ironic me posting on here about a lift, when it was a *&^*&*& lift door on the way to a cruise that made me disabled.

[Selbourne]

 

DAY 3 - Stavanger 

 

I usually sleep like a log on cruises but am struggling on this one. There were quite a few people being inconsiderate and talking loudly in the passenger corridors whilst returning to their cabins in the early hours after Celebration night, and we have people above us who are going for the world record of how many times they can rearrange their balcony furniture, including very late at night and very early in the morning! As one of our daughters said (who was also disturbed by the noise) it surely wouldn’t be difficult to build in some sort of soft padding on the feet of balcony chairs etc to minimise the noise when they are dragged around. Her partner, who is new to cruising, thought it was thunder 😂 

 

We went down to the Pearl restaurant for our booked table at 0915. Our daughters really enjoyed it and have said that they will ditch the buffet now. Our waiters are brilliant. Nothing is too much trouble. The food was good quality and hot. We are also delighted to find that MDR breakfast is last admission 9.30am on all port days and 10am on all sea days on Iona, which is 30 minutes later than most of the other ships. Makes all the difference and is a big plus for us. 

 

I reported yesterday on the lift issues we are experiencing with the wheelchair and it was interesting that when the deputy captain made the announcement about disembarking in Stavanger there was no mention of which exit wheelchair users should use, as there almost always is on the other ships. Sometimes only one of the two exits is safe for wheelchairs, and if you finally get a lift and go down to the wrong one you are asked to go to the other, which involves yet more lift issues. Thankfully we were Ok with the one we chose, but we are building up a firm picture on this ship that the needs of those with mobility challenges is just not on their radar. A great shame, as I have always sung P&Os praises on this issue and it’s been one of the major reasons we’ve used them so much since my wife became a full time wheelchair user. It’s particularly odd because the accessible cabins and physical provisions around the ship (accessible loos etc) are all excellent. 

 

We had a lovely few hours walking around Stavanger in the sunshine. The blue skies were just an added bonus, as we were relieved to be here given how many times Iona fails to dock in Stavanger due to wind etc. As this is the only biggish place we are going on this cruise, the girls enjoyed the shops and said that the prices didn’t seem too bad. A few carrier bags accompanied us back to the ship! 

 

When we were taking photos of the ship we noticed that a run of 4 cabins above us all have their balcony dividers folded back, so it must be a large party all travelling together. This might go some way to explaining why there is so much noise from overhead when we are on our balcony. It sounds like people are walking (and sometimes kids running) backward and forwards constantly, crashing and banging around and dragging balcony furniture around with great frequency. As I have mentioned on previous cruise blogs, if there’s a noisy or inconsiderate family on the ship you can bet a large sum of money that they will either be beside or above us 🙄. Thankfully, one of our daughters is one side of us and we have a lovely family the other side who are as considerate as we are, so the problem this time is just from above 😂 

 

We left Stavanger at around 5pm, just as the sun was fading, so good timing. A nice transit out, albeit lacking the visual splendour of the proper fjords which we will enjoy for the next 2 days. 

 

Four of us had dinner booked in Sindhu. We met for pre dinner drinks in the very narrow Sindhu bar. I was interested to find out if they had the East India Punch drink that I couldn’t get on Britannia due to “supply issues in Southampton”. They did, so the excuse given on Britannia was clearly hogwash. It was much nicer than the Cherry Negroni I’d had the night before 😂 

 

I’m not usually a massive fan of Sindhu (even though I love Indian food) but our daughter was really looking forward to it as it’s her favourite. Thankfully this was an excellent meal and everyone really enjoyed it - including me. The menu was totally different from both the menus we had on Britannia and was all the better for it. The signature plate is a completely different style. On the other ships it’s 3 different curries. On Iona it’s like a platter of different things (lobster, beef and duck) all flavoured differently, plus loads of bits and pieces that we kept discovering hidden under other things! I’ll post a photo. Highly recommended. I was also really impressed with the charging setup for those who had booked pre cruise. The £10 booking charge had been discounted by 20% for advance booking plus a further 10% loyalty discount. However we were credited with the full £10 a head. Furthermore, the surplus was then also discounted by a further 20% because we had booked pre-cruise and then that was discounted by my 10% loyalty discount! Nice when you feel that you’ve had a bargain 😂 

 

The show was not the one previously advertised, so we cancelled as it didn’t appeal and my wife wanted to return to the cabin. I know that I am becoming like a stuck record about this (and it will only be of interest to those with mobility issues) but we then had the worst example yet of lift problems. We had been waiting for a good 10 minutes or more for a lift and every one had space for a 2 or 3 people but not for a wheelchair. At this point a large group of around 8 people arrived, and when the first lift that had a decent amount of space space in it eventually appeared they all charged for it. I’m afraid that my blood boiled and I told them in no uncertain terms that we had been waiting for ages and would be using that lift. Those that had rushed in reluctantly vacated to let us in, but then proceeded to pile in all around us so we were wedged like sardines. We are now sick and fed up of this lift issue and I think it has completely put us off going on Iona (or Arvia) again. We are both already dreading what it will be like on disembarkation morning, given that it’s usually a nightmare even on the ships where we’ve had no significant lift issues during the cruise. 

 

Given that 95% plus of the people reading this will be able bodied and won’t experience any of these issues whatsoever (so apologies for boring you with our problems), let me end todays blog with some significant positives.  

 

We don’t have the concerns or issues with ‘big ships’ that some have and in all honesty it doesn’t feel that much bigger than Britannia when you are on board. It does feel a busier though. Virtual queueing for the MDRs works much better on Iona than on Britannia, in spite of the size difference. I have not seen more than 1 of the MDRs showing ‘queue full’ at any time, so I don’t think that we would have had any issues had we used the MDR each evening. This was a major problem on Britannia. We thought that the food on Britannia was mostly very good. It’s even better on Iona. If you are foodies like us, this is the P&O ship to come on. Our daughters and partners (all, thankfully, able bodied and using the stairs a lot) love the ship and are really enjoying it. 

 

So, in summary, if you are booked to come on Iona or are considering it, you will have a great experience. The problems that we have had are very specific to us and shouldn’t affect your cruise at all. I am also conscious that several other forum regulars who use scooters or wheelchairs haven’t reported these challenges when they’ve been on Iona, so we may have just been very unlucky and it’s probably been exacerbated by it being peak summer school holidays. We are still enjoying the cruise, but mostly because we are with family and the food has been great. The lift problems that we are regularly experiencing and the attitude from reception and many fellow passengers regarding this issue have just put a whopping dark cloud over us. Next stop Olden. 

[Selbourne]

The Sindhu Signature plate on Iona. Excellent. 

[Selbourne]

And a truly ‘Live from’ as this is our arrival into Olden taken just minutes ago