Selbourne Live from Iona!

[TigerB]

50 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I've just posted part one of my report, and intend to do a bit more each day.

 

I'm keen to  get everything down in writing, so that I can get all my thoughts out of my head, but things are moving slower than usual round here. My husband and myself both caught Covid on our cruise, so we are still rather sluggish, but hopefully we're getting there! 

 

Sorry to hear about you both getting Covid; hopefully it's the very mild version and you'll get well soon.

I will also read your review with interest; hopefully, a SAGA cruise will be in our not too distant future.

[ParisHilton]

Final sea day?

Hope you are both feeling ok.

I guess regulars are used to it, but it was nice to tick of the little things we wanted to do. 

Mostly stupid stuff like see the laundrette. Final dance in the studio.

And less stupid stuff like go say thanks to customer services (they know me as Mr Paul there).

 

Still need to come back to find out how quoits is played.

 

Defintely looking at Anthem of the Seas for our next trip which can be done for not ludicrous money we think. Though we may find doing exactly the same again fits our budget better and would not be a problem at all.

Might bring some wood to tart up the atrium though.

 

Thank you for your view of the cruise. I've loved having a second week onboard for free 🙂

[Selbourne]

 

DAY 6 - Haugesund

 

Another good nights sleep and we were already in Haugesund when I got up. Being midships we don’t get shaken out of bed by the thrusters as you sometimes do in forward or aft cabins when docking 😂 

 

Another great breakfast in the MDR. Our regular waiters know the drinks orders off by heart now. I need to remember to take some tip money with me tomorrow, as apparently we can’t have the table on disembarkation morning. 

 

Haugesund has been a bit of a challenge for those with mobility issues since P&O stopped providing free shuttles. It’s about a 15 minute walk to the centre via a bridge (which is a bit steep when you are pushing a wheelchair) and the pavement is quite narrow if two wheelchair or scooter users meet! Thankfully, as with the last time we visited, my wife offered to stay on board and read, which took a lot of pressure off me and allowed me to wander into the town freely. As you disembark there’s a kiosk where you can get a free map with a suggested walking route that will occupy a couple of hours. It’s not the prettiest of places, especially after Stavanger and the fjords, but we’ve been to far worse places on cruises 😂 

 

At 1pm we made our second lunchtime visit to the MDR. Using the app, we got called for our table within minutes. Obviously we didn’t have our usual breakfast table or waiters, but service and food were both excellent. Once seated a succession of families with screaming babies or toddlers appeared, one after the other. As the tables either side of us were empty, I held my breath until each was seated - mercifully none adjacent to us, as that would have really spoiled a very nice lunch! 

 

We then just chilled in the cabin and on the balcony until our departure just after 5pm. The Captain has promised calm seas on our way back to Southampton. I hope that he’s right as we have had nothing more than about force 2 so far, yet two of our party seem to have felt “quite a bit of movement at times” 🙄. I won’t tell them what it can be like on some cruises, or they will never make their second one 🤣 

 

Pre dinner drinks in Anderson’s, as we remembered that none of us had used our sail away vouchers for a free glass of Champagne. It would be a shame to let those go to waste! On the way there we got in a lift as a family was vacating it and found another wheelchair user (a gentleman) and his wife (a fellow pusher like me). Having exchanged greetings the lady said to me “How are you finding it?”. I wasn’t entirely sure whether she meant the cruise, the ship or our experiences being in the same situation as them, so I asked and she replied “with the wheelchair”. I said that we quite liked the ship and the food was excellent but I flipped the question back and asked how are you finding it getting around with the wheelchair? “Dreadful” came the reply. I asked if they had been on other ships and the response was “lots, but none have been as problematic as this one with the wheelchair”. I must say that, whilst sorry to hear this, I was incredibly relieved to find that our experiences weren’t unique, as I have sometimes wondered. 

 

Whilst having a drink, I asked the daughter who has been on the most cruises if Iona was now her favourite ship. Her response was interesting. She said that she loves the cabin and the modern features of the ship, but felt that the staff didn’t seem as friendly or helpful as on the other ships. As an example, when we were on Britannia I discovered after a week or so that you could pretty much order any drink from any bar, not just what was on the menu. On Iona it’s menu items only. One daft thing that she had picked up on was that the Crows Nest has all the required ingredients for a Margarita, yet they refuse to serve one because it’s not on the drinks menu there! We have also noticed that, with a few notable exceptions, the staff don’t seem as happy in their work on this ship as they do on some others. I suspect the fact that the ship feels under staffed in some areas and is incredibly busy must make it very hard work for them 

 

Tonight’s dinner (and entertainment) was in the Limelight Club, featuring Matt Cardle (former X-Factor, as they always seem to be these days). Those who read my ‘live from’ on Britannia recently may recall that this was a great evening both from a food and entertainment perspective. Unfortunately, the experience on Iona was more mixed. We were one of the few larger groups (although only 6 of us) and were seated about as far from the stage as it was possible to be. In itself none of us were that worried about this, but unfortunately we also were at the tail end of the entire service procedure and furthermore our two waitresses were not terribly attentive and we felt very much like an afterthought. 

 

When our mains eventually arrived, 4 of us had ordered beef. 3 were very nice looking fillets - and mine was what was left - a poor looking scrag end that looked nothing like the others. When the waitress came around to ask if everything was OK, I mentioned that I was a bit disappointed with mine and she offered to change it. I said that would be OK if it could be done quickly, but otherwise I’d just stick with it. I wished I hadn’t said anything, as I waited and waited and waited and assumed that they had forgotten me, as everyone else had long finished their meal. I called the waitress over and said “please tell the chef that it’s taken far too long and not to worry. I’ll skip the main course so as not to keep the rest of my party waiting”. “No sir, it’s coming very soon”. OK I said, by the way do you have any horseradish? Yes sir. Great. Could I please have some when you bring the new meal? Another long wait ensued and eventually my meal arrived. Still not brilliant but far better than the fist attempt. The horseradish arrived as I swallowed the last mouthful 🙄. Meantime, one daughter had gone to the loo and commented that all other tables had completed dessert and had their tables cleared. As they were clearing our main course plates the lights went down and Matt Cardle started his act. We were then hurriedly served our deserts, which half of us had to eat with our backs to the performance. As the waitress cleared the dessert plates I asked if she would please let the restaurant manager know that I had been very disappointed with the whole experience. 

 

Shortly afterwards the manager appeared and I had a quiet word with him at the back of the venue. To his absolute credit he was mortified to hear about our experience and offered me a bottle of champagne, which I thanked him for offering but declined as we had all finished our booze for the evening and didn’t want any more. He then said that he would refund our entire drinks bill. I was quite shocked at that and felt that it was overly generous in relation to the problems, but he insisted. As we left I looked for him to thank him but he was already waiting for me in order to apologise once again. The customer complaints team at P&Os Head Office could take a leaf out of this chaps book. Rather than platitudes and making customers have a battle, only to eventually succumb to the absolute least that they feel that they can possibly get away with, he exceed the customer’s expectations and turned a bad experience into a positive one. I shook his hand, thanked him most sincerely and praised him for his excellent customer service skills. 

 

As for the entertainment, it was, shall we say, interesting! Matt Cardle is a great singer and performed some good covers, but all 6 of us said exactly the same thing. The amount of reverb (echo) was so comically over the top it really detracted from the performance. As many will know, reverb is often used by mediocre singers to enhance their voices and make them sound a lot better than they really are. Matt Cardle simply does not need this artificial enhancement as he has a super voice. His performance would have sounded far better without any of it. The other surprise was that the host, who was, shall we say, a bit ‘full on’ sang a few covers herself earlier whilst we were eating. We all cringed a bit when she said she was going to do this, but all ate humble pie as she was absolutely brilliant. We could have easily listened to her for much longer!

 

As no tea or coffee was offered we went to Vistas for a nightcap. Sea day and our last full day of the cruise tomorrow. 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2023 by Selbourne

[TigerB]

Ah, someone has managed to get a brief mobile signal from Kent then!😉

 

Another good read!  What a disappointing experience all round in the Limelight Club. Hats off though to the restaurant manager for trying to placate you. It is refreshing when someone like that takes the initiative and sorts thing at source.

 

Hopefully, your last sea day went well and was as relaxing as it could be, with you having to pack.

I hope you manage to disembark tomorrow without too much stress, and have a safe trip home. I would be interested to hear how your car collection goes, without incident I hope; we are using CPS for the first time in October.

 

Stay safe

Edited August 25, 2023 by TigerB

[david63]

8 hours ago, TigerB said:

Hats off though to the restaurant manager for trying to placate you. It is refreshing when someone like that takes the initiative and sorts thing at source.

In my limited experience of having a complaint in a select dining venue I have found that the restaurant manager always goes out of their way to resolve a problem and thinking about it, it probably comes down to getting a good post cruise score and a bad score, and ultimately keeping their job in the select restaurant or going back to the MDR.

[Fionboard]

10 hours ago, Selbourne said:

 

DAY 6 - Haugesund

 

Another good nights sleep and we were already in Haugesund when I got up. Being midships we don’t get shaken out of bed by the thrusters as you sometimes do in forward or aft cabins when docking 😂 

 

Another great breakfast in the MDR. Our regular waiters know the drinks orders off by heart now. I need to remember to take some tip money with me tomorrow, as apparently we can’t have the table on disembarkation morning. 

 

Haugesund has been a bit of a challenge for those with mobility issues since P&O stopped providing free shuttles. It’s about a 15 minute walk to the centre via a bridge (which is a bit steep when you are pushing a wheelchair) and the pavement is quite narrow if two wheelchair or scooter users meet! Thankfully, as with the last time we visited, my wife offered to stay on board and read, which took a lot of pressure off me and allowed me to wander into the town freely. As you disembark there’s a kiosk where you can get a free map with a suggested walking route that will occupy a couple of hours. It’s not the prettiest of places, especially after Stavanger and the fjords, but we’ve been to far worse places on cruises 😂 

 

At 1pm we made our second lunchtime visit to the MDR. Using the app, we got called for our table within minutes. Obviously we didn’t have our usual breakfast table or waiters, but service and food were both excellent. Once seated a succession of families with screaming babies or toddlers appeared, one after the other. As the tables either side of us were empty, I held my breath until each was seated - mercifully none adjacent to us, as that would have really spoiled a very nice lunch! 

 

We then just chilled in the cabin and on the balcony until our departure just after 5pm. The Captain has promised calm seas on our way back to Southampton. I hope that he’s right as we have had nothing more than about force 2 so far, yet two of our party seem to have felt “quite a bit of movement at times” 🙄. I won’t tell them what it can be like on some cruises, or they will never make their second one 🤣 

 

Pre dinner drinks in Anderson’s, as we remembered that none of us had used our sail away vouchers for a free glass of Champagne. It would be a shame to let those go to waste! On the way there we got in a lift as a family was vacating it and found another wheelchair user (a gentleman) and his wife (a fellow pusher like me). Having exchanged greetings the lady said to me “How are you finding it?”. I wasn’t entirely sure whether she meant the cruise, the ship or our experiences being in the same situation as them, so I asked and she replied “with the wheelchair”. I said that we quite liked the ship and the food was excellent but I flipped the question back and asked how are you finding it getting around with the wheelchair? “Dreadful” came the reply. I asked if they had been on other ships and the response was “lots, but none have been as problematic as this one with the wheelchair”. I must say that, whilst sorry to hear this, I was incredibly relieved to find that our experiences weren’t unique, as I have sometimes wondered. 

 

Whilst having a drink, I asked the daughter who has been on the most cruises if Iona was now her favourite ship. Her response was interesting. She said that she loves the cabin and the modern features of the ship, but felt that the staff didn’t seem as friendly or helpful as on the other ships. As an example, when we were on Britannia I discovered after a week or so that you could pretty much order any drink from any bar, not just what was on the menu. On Iona it’s menu items only. One daft thing that she had picked up on was that the Crows Nest has all the required ingredients for a Margarita, yet they refuse to serve one because it’s not on the drinks menu there! We have also noticed that, with a few notable exceptions, the staff don’t seem as happy in their work on this ship as they do on some others. I suspect the fact that the ship feels under staffed in some areas and is incredibly busy must make it very hard work for them 

 

Tonight’s dinner (and entertainment) was in the Limelight Club, featuring Matt Cardle (former X-Factor, as they always seem to be these days). Those who read my ‘live from’ on Britannia recently may recall that this was a great evening both from a food and entertainment perspective. Unfortunately, the experience on Iona was more mixed. We were one of the few larger groups (although only 6 of us) and were seated about as far from the stage as it was possible to be. In itself none of us were that worried about this, but unfortunately we also were at the tail end of the entire service procedure and furthermore our two waitresses were not terribly attentive and we felt very much like an afterthought. 

 

When our mains eventually arrived, 4 of us had ordered beef. 3 were very nice looking fillets - and mine was what was left - a poor looking scrag end that looked nothing like the others. When the waitress came around to ask if everything was OK, I mentioned that I was a bit disappointed with mine and she offered to change it. I said that would be OK if it could be done quickly, but otherwise I’d just stick with it. I wished I hadn’t said anything, as I waited and waited and waited and assumed that they had forgotten me, as everyone else had long finished their meal. I called the waitress over and said “please tell the chef that it’s taken far too long and not to worry. I’ll skip the main course so as not to keep the rest of my party waiting”. “No sir, it’s coming very soon”. OK I said, by the way do you have any horseradish? Yes sir. Great. Could I please have some when you bring the new meal? Another long wait ensued and eventually my meal arrived. Still not brilliant but far better than the fist attempt. The horseradish arrived as I swallowed the last mouthful 🙄. Meantime, one daughter had gone to the loo and commented that all other tables had completed dessert and had their tables cleared. As they were clearing our main course plates the lights went down and Matt Cardle started his act. We were then hurriedly served our deserts, which half of us had to eat with our backs to the performance. As the waitress cleared the dessert plates I asked if she would please let the restaurant manager know that I had been very disappointed with the whole experience. 

 

Shortly afterwards the manager appeared and I had a quiet word with him at the back of the venue. To his absolute credit he was mortified to hear about our experience and offered me a bottle of champagne, which I thanked him for offering but declined as we had all finished our booze for the evening and didn’t want any more. He then said that he would refund our entire drinks bill. I was quite shocked at that and felt that it was overly generous in relation to the problems, but he insisted. As we left I looked for him to thank him but he was already waiting for me in order to apologise once again. The customer complaints team at P&Os Head Office could take a leaf out of this chaps book. Rather than platitudes and making customers have a battle, only to eventually succumb to the absolute least that they feel that they can possibly get away with, he exceed the customer’s expectations and turned a bad experience into a positive one. I shook his hand, thanked him most sincerely and praised him for his excellent customer service skills. 

 

As for the entertainment, it was, shall we say, interesting! Matt Cardle is a great singer and performed some good covers, but all 6 of us said exactly the same thing. The amount of reverb (echo) was so comically over the top it really detracted from the performance. As many will know, reverb is often used by mediocre singers to enhance their voices and make them sound a lot better than they really are. Matt Cardle simply does not need this artificial enhancement as he has a super voice. His performance would have sounded far better without any of it. The other surprise was that the host, who was, shall we say, a bit ‘full on’ sang a few covers herself earlier whilst we were eating. We all cringed a bit when she said she was going to do this, but all ate humble pie as she was absolutely brilliant. We could have easily listened to her for much longer!

 

As no tea or coffee was offered we went to Vistas for a nightcap. Sea day and our last full day of the cruise tomorrow. 

 

 

When on Iona I met a waiter I knew from Ventura who said he wished he was back on her! He said the staff hated working on Iona for several reasons, too busy, understaffing and unable to return to their cabins during break time as it was just too far to go in the time allowed! Such a difference on the small ships where staff are much happier and have time to interact with pax. Makes a difference.  

[Adawn47]

1 hour ago, Fionboard said:

When on Iona I met a waiter I knew from Ventura who said he wished he was back on her! He said the staff hated working on Iona for several reasons, too busy, understaffing and unable to return to their cabins during break time as it was just too far to go in the time allowed! Such a difference on the small ships where staff are much happier and have time to interact with pax. Makes a difference.  

When on Adonia I asked the same question. We met the maitre d' again who had been on Arcadia, Elvis, a really lovely man. He said the same same thing, and also that the distance from the galley to dining room was a big factor in the efficiency and cheerfulness of the waiters. 

Avril

[Fionboard]

19 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

When on Adonia I asked the same question. We met the maitre d' again who had been on Arcadia, Elvis, a really lovely man. He said the same same thing, and also that the distance from the galley to dining room was a big factor in the efficiency and cheerfulness of the waiters. 

Avril

Yes, they have to travel a long distance down to galley and hate it if you ask for something additional making them go back there again. Always seemed rushed. Maybe that is why they looked so tired! Definitely not happy bunnies! 

[Presto2]

2 hours ago, Fionboard said:

When on Iona I met a waiter I knew from Ventura who said he wished he was back on her! He said the staff hated working on Iona for several reasons, too busy, understaffing and unable to return to their cabins during break time as it was just too far to go in the time allowed! Such a difference on the small ships where staff are much happier and have time to interact with pax. Makes a difference.  

I remember when Britannia was new and staff said they preferred the smaller ships as it was more like a family. Britannia was too big ........

[P&O SUE]

Thanks so much Selbourne for another good read. I’ve just read this in one sitting! 
 

I won’t go on about the lifts as it’s all been said but I’m glad you’ve had great dining experiences. I saw the Olive Grove on a recent video and thought it sounded up my street, seems to be too many burger restaurants for my liking. I still miss the Italian style the original Beach House had.

 

I haven’t been on Iona, I think it looks light and bright in the atrium but am not convinced about how many bars and the Glasshouse that are so open there. We’ve been on the Glasshouse on Azura, Ventura and Britannia and much prefer the first two as Britannia’s is in the atrium.

 

Finally Geiranger, I’ve definitely seen it on Anthem of the Seas itineraries for next year and possibly Princess that are the same size as Britannia.
 

 

[Selbourne]

13 hours ago, TigerB said:

Ah, someone has managed to get a brief mobile signal from Kent then!😉

 

Another good read!  What a disappointing experience all round in the Limelight Club. Hats off though to the restaurant manager for trying to placate you. It is refreshing when someone like that takes the initiative and sorts thing at source.

 

Hopefully, your last sea day went well and was as relaxing as it could be, with you having to pack.

I hope you manage to disembark tomorrow without too much stress, and have a safe trip home. I would be interested to hear how your car collection goes, without incident I hope; we are using CPS for the first time in October.

 

Stay safe

Yes, managed to grab some free 4G signal passing the corner of Kent 😂 I never pay for WiFi so all usage is when we are within ports or near land. Yes the Limelight Manager definitely deserved credit for how well he handled the issue.
 

Home now. Just unpacked and have the first load of washing in, so will post Day 7 Sea Day in a mo as it’s written. When I get chance I will write up disembarkation and final thoughts. 

[Selbourne]

4 hours ago, Fionboard said:

When on Iona I met a waiter I knew from Ventura who said he wished he was back on her! He said the staff hated working on Iona for several reasons, too busy, understaffing and unable to return to their cabins during break time as it was just too far to go in the time allowed! Such a difference on the small ships where staff are much happier and have time to interact with pax. Makes a difference.  

When we were all chatting about our overall impressions of the cruise, those of us who had cruised many times with P&O before (4 of the 6) felt that the staff on Iona didn’t seem as happy and engagement with the passengers was less than we have been used to. There were some notable exceptions though. Our MDR waiters were absolutely brilliant. We just put this down to the fact that the ship was extremely busy and certain areas felt understaffed, but I’m sure that there are other factors at play as well. 

[Selbourne]

 

DAY 7 - Sea Day

 

Thankfully my poor nights sleep at the start of the cruise are well in the past now and I didn’t wake until 7.40am, which is really late for me. The sound insulation between cabins seems to be pretty good on Iona. It may just be that we have been very lucky this time, having one of our daughters one side and another considerate family the other side. We’ve had a tiny amount of thumping around overhead, but not during the night and nothing like the racket we had from the adjacent cabin on Britannia. This has been a huge relief, especially as the people above us are incapable of using their balcony without crashing and banging around on it and re-arranging the balcony furniture every few minutes. I really am not exaggerating. I would dearly love to know what on earth they are doing. It must be exhausting for them never being able to sit still!

 

The captains weather forecast was correct and the sea was flat calm all day during our transit south through the North Sea. We went to breakfast for the last time on our reserved table, as disembarkation day is apparently a free for all with no reservations or bookings via the app. Just in case we don’t catch them tomorrow, I made sure to thank our waiters and give them both a tip in recognition of the fact that they have made the start of each day a great pleasure for us. I forgot to mention earlier in this blog that the senior food and beverage manager who we know the best had been on Iona right up until last week and moved to Arvia on the day we boarded. Apparently he had been in the MDR just 15 minutes before we went in for the embarkation lunch, so we had literally just missed him. We were gutted as we haven’t seen him since before Covid, but hugely relieved to hear that he is still with P&O as we’ve know him for many years.

 

As we had quite a bit planned for the afternoon and evening during our last day, we decide to sort out most of the packing during the morning. We skipped lunch as we had afternoon tea booked in Epicurean, which is a challenge to get through at the best of times 😂 

 

Prior to afternoon tea (BTW, for those who are interested, there is no MDR afternoon tea any more, even on sea days, it’s the buffet or the extra cost Epicurean one) we went to the ‘Wavelength’ performance at 2pm in the theatre. This is a quiz featuring a virtual Ben Shephard, but was hosted by (I think) the Entertainment Manager. I generally find these folk to be cringeworthy, but this chap (didn’t catch his name but a very thick South Wales accent) was fantastic. He just has funny bones and his patter and interaction with the contestants as well as the audience was brilliant. He really made the show and was funnier than many people who are supposed to be comedians. 

 

Afternoon tea in Epicurean was enjoyed by everyone. All very quirky and tasty. We were so glad that we’d all skipped lunch. Afterwards my wife read on our balcony in the sunshine and I watched the film “A man called Otto” on the cabin TV. Other than a couple of minutes of the ladies World Cup final and a few brief glimpses of Sky News, that’s been the first time that I’ve watched the TV all week. Shame they still have the rubbish TVs on Ventura, as we have quite a few more sea days when we are on her in a few months time so would use the TV more then. 

 

I did a final few laps of the promenade deck before a pre dinner drink in the Crows Nest. Our final dinner was in Epicurean, which was extremely busy and quite noisy, not helped by there being a huge group of at least 16 people including some very lively kids. None the less it was a nice way to end our final day. After dinner we decided against the final Headliners show. My wife wanted to finish the book she had borrowed from the library and I went to the SkyDome to watch Triboo, which the girls had enjoyed the night before. Not really for me, but a talented group of performers and something different. Disembarkation tomorrow. 

 

Edited August 26, 2023 by Selbourne

[Purdey16]

Thank you selbourne for all of your thoughts and well written thread I’ve really enjoyed every bit of it for my night time reading 😂 so pleased you had good experiences for your dining and it was a shame your last night in limelight club didn’t quite go as smoothly, I’m a bit like a few others on here , I liked Iona in certain ways especially all the dining venues and mostly olive grove which I think we had lunch in most days , I wonder when and if when P&O will change it to a fixed paying price now just like princess has changed Alfredo’s to charging . My only downside for Iona was the atrium and just too big for me . Pleased your home safely.

[purplesea]

Thank you for an interesting thread of your experiences on Iona. 

 

[cruising.mark.uk]

On 8/22/2023 at 6:28 AM, Selbourne said:

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've just re-read all of your daily updates.  Thank you for a really informative, balanced and positive review which chimes very closely with our own experiences on both Iona and Arvia.  I've extracted the above comment from your Day 3 report, and sense from having re-read your missives on the rest of your trip that you would still be content with that as a summary of your experience after all 7 days. 

 

I get the impression that - for many - how they experience a cruise is closely correlated to the mindset with which they approach it.  I read so many reports across these boards from those who seem determined from the outset to find fault (what I call the 'not happy unless they are not happy' crowd) and, strangely enough, they find multiple faults.  You seem to epitomise the other approach (and the one to which I subscribe) - the 'glass half full' mindset that thinks of a cruise as a holiday and an opportunity to have fun and enjoy oneself and not sweat the inevitable minor issues that one encounters on every holiday as one does every day in the real world.  Unsurprisingly, having adopted that attitude, your report suggests that you had a great time.  As you acknowledge, what seemed to be the one major issue you had was somewhat specific to your circumstances and will not affect many passengers (which doesn't mean that it is excusable, only that the majority of people won't find it a problem to the same degree you did).   The way you have reported on other potential speed bumps suggests that you maintained perspective and treated them as the fairly minor inconveniences they were and found workarounds or other ways to negotiate them successfully.

 

It's a pity that this thread will probably soon fall off the first couple of pages of this board.  If it could remain prominent and be read by all newcomers to P&O or those considering Iona or Arvia for the first time, I think it would really encourage many to give it a go and I'd be surprised if 90% of those who were persuaded didn't then go on and have a fantastic holiday.  It has certainly re-whetted our appetite for our next Iona adventure in January. Thanks again.  

[happy v]

Hi Selbourne. I am not frequenting these boards very often at the moment but I had to come and see how your cruise went. I am almost as relieved as you that in the main it was good. I hope you and Lady Selbourne have many more enjoyable cruises. Take care.    V

 

[daiB]

7 hours ago, Fionboard said:

When on Iona I met a waiter I knew from Ventura who said he wished he was back on her! He said the staff hated working on Iona for several reasons, too busy, understaffing and unable to return to their cabins during break time as it was just too far to go in the time allowed! Such a difference on the small ships where staff are much happier and have time to interact with pax. Makes a difference.  

Odd is it not that the staff I knew from other ships were quite happy with Iona. I have never found staff to be much happier on smaller ships.

[daiB]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

 

DAY 7 - Sea Day

 

Thankfully my poor nights sleep at the start of the cruise are well in the past now and I didn’t wake until 7.40am, which is really late for me. The sound insulation between cabins seems to be pretty good on Iona. It may just be that we have been very lucky this time, having one of our daughters one side and another considerate family the other side. We’ve had a tiny amount of thumping around overhead, but not during the night and nothing like the racket we had from the adjacent cabin on Britannia. This has been a huge relief, especially as the people above us are incapable of using their balcony without crashing and banging around on it and re-arranging the balcony furniture every few minutes. I really am not exaggerating. I would dearly love to know what on earth they are doing. It must be exhausting for them never being able to sit still!

 

The captains weather forecast was correct and the sea was flat calm all day during our transit south through the North Sea. We went to breakfast for the last time on our reserved table, as disembarkation day is apparently a free for all with no reservations or bookings via the app. Just in case we don’t catch them tomorrow, I made sure to thank our waiters and give them both a tip in recognition of the fact that they have made the start of each day a great pleasure for us. I forgot to mention earlier in this blog that the senior food and beverage manager who we know the best had been on Iona right up until last week and moved to Arvia on the day we boarded. Apparently he had been in the MDR just 15 minutes before we went in for the embarkation lunch, so we had literally just missed him. We were gutted as we haven’t seen him since before Covid, but hugely relieved to hear that he is still with P&O as we’ve know him for many years.

 

As we had quite a bit planned for the afternoon and evening during our last day, we decide to sort out most of the packing during the morning. We skipped lunch as we had afternoon tea booked in Epicurean, which is a challenge to get through at the best of times 😂 

 

Prior to afternoon tea (BTW, for those who are interested, there is no MDR afternoon tea any more, even on sea days, it’s the buffet or the extra cost Epicurean one) we went to the ‘Wavelength’ performance at 2pm in the theatre. This is a quiz featuring a virtual Ben Shephard, but was hosted by (I think) the Entertainment Manager. I generally find these folk to be cringeworthy, but this chap (didn’t catch his name but a very thick South Wales accent) was fantastic. He just has funny bones and his patter and interaction with the contestants as well as the audience was brilliant. He really made the show and was funnier than many people who are supposed to be comedians. 

 

Afternoon tea in Epicurean was enjoyed by everyone. All very quirky and tasty. We were so glad that we’d all skipped lunch. Afterwards my wife read on our balcony in the sunshine and I watched the film “A man called Otto” on the cabin TV. Other than a couple of minutes of the ladies World Cup final and a few brief glimpses of Sky News, that’s been the first time that I’ve watched the TV all week. Shame they still have the rubbish TVs on Ventura, as we have quite a few more sea days when we are on her in a few months time so would use the TV more then. 

 

I did a final few laps of the promenade deck before a pre dinner drink in the Crows Nest. Our final dinner was in Epicurean, which was extremely busy and quite noisy, not helped by there being a huge group of at least 16 people including some very lively kids. None the less it was a nice way to end our final day. After dinner we decided against the final Headliners show. My wife wanted to finish the book she had borrowed from the library and I went to the SkyDome to watch Triboo, which the girls had enjoyed the night before. Not really for me, but a talented group of performers and something different. Disembarkation tomorrow. 

 

Selbourne going back to Haugesund, have P&O ever provided a shuttle in this port. To my mind P&O have not been to this port in the last 10/15 years apart from the recent cruises. Which I think is a because they cant get into Bergan because of the hight of the bridge in the fjord leading to the port.

[Selbourne]

6 minutes ago, daiB said:

Selbourne going back to Haugesund, have P&O ever provided a shuttle in this port. To my mind P&O have not been to this port in the last 10/15 years apart from the recent cruises. Which I think is a because they cant get into Bergan because of the hight of the bridge in the fjord leading to the port.

Yes P&O used to provide one Dai. It used to drop off right in front of the Cathedral which, as you will know, is about as far as it’s worth going ‘up the hill’. On our first visit we got the free shuttle bus from the ship to the Cathedral. Having then walked around the town we ended up down by the waterfront (where the bars and restaurants are). As getting back to the shuttle would have meant a climb back up through the town I decided to push my wife all the way back the ship over the bridge. In hindsight I should have retraced my steps back to the shuttle, because the very steep climb up from the waterfront to the bottom of the bridge was intense and then I still had the bridge to deal with 🥵

[daiB]

1 minute ago, Selbourne said:

Yes P&O used to provide one Dai. It used to drop off right in front of the Cathedral which, as you will know, is about as far as it’s worth going ‘up the hill’. On our first visit we got the free shuttle bus from the ship to the Cathedral. Having then walked around the town we ended up down by the waterfront (where the bars and restaurants are). As getting back to the shuttle would have meant a climb back up through the town I decided to push my wife all the way back the ship over the bridge. In hindsight I should have retraced my steps back to the shuttle, because the very steep climb up from the waterfront to the bottom of the bridge was intense and then I still had the bridge to deal with 🥵

Was that recently? One wonders why they do not do it now as this would be the only time I can think of where there has been this kind of change. The town / local authorities seem to provide one now.

[Selbourne]

22 minutes ago, daiB said:

Was that recently? One wonders why they do not do it now as this would be the only time I can think of where there has been this kind of change. The town / local authorities seem to provide one now.

Our first visit was in 2018. We went again in 2019 and have been twice this year. Yes, the P&O provided shuttle has been replaced with a private one that charges but I haven’t checked if it’s accessible as my wife has remained on the ship both times this year. 

[Fionboard]

1 hour ago, daiB said:

Odd is it not that the staff I knew from other ships were quite happy with Iona. I have never found staff to be much happier on smaller ships.

Sorry, just my experience on the various ships. I average about six cruises a year so get to know some of the crew quite well and listen to their opinions.  

[daiB]

11 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Sorry, just my experience on the various ships. I average about six cruises a year so get to know some of the crew quite well and listen to their opinions.  

Yes as I do 6 a year was well. See my signature. Recently on Britannia, Iona, Aurora and Ventura.

[Ardennais]

3 hours ago, daiB said:

Selbourne going back to Haugesund, have P&O ever provided a shuttle in this port. To my mind P&O have not been to this port in the last 10/15 years apart from the recent cruises. Which I think is a because they cant get into Bergan because of the hight of the bridge in the fjord leading to the port.

There was a shuttle there when we visited in 2018.