Iona G401 - Live report

[TigerB]

Thanks for the update.👍🏻

 

Your experience of the Chef's Canteen, I mean Chef's Table, was very similar to the one and only time we tried it, last April on Arvia. I wrote about it here and likened the service to being at a work Christmas do.

 

Here's hoping for nice weather for you when you are in Funchal tomorrow🤞

[Fionboard]

59 minutes ago, Eddie99 said:

 

 

Don't worry. Caribbean lunch is no different to Baltic and Ligurian. In fact loyalty benefits seem no different either. A bugbear of mine for years now! 

[Eddie99]

@TigerB

Yep - you wrote at greater length but it sounds pretty similar.  I wonder why they do it?  I thought Iona had sufficient space in the MDRs should everyone decide to do “formal”?

 

Anyway, thunder & lightening has abated, the sun is battling the clouds, the sea is a little more lively than yesterday, I think.  Loyalty lunch is at 12. Oh my - more food and drink

 

Just checked out the Marabelle gin at the duty free.  £42 a bottle (not litre).  Phew!  Will check out how the OBC holds out as time goes on.  It would be a very acceptable momento

Edited January 16 by Eddie99

[Gettingwarmer]

31 minutes ago, Eddie99 said:

I thought Iona had sufficient space in the MDRs should everyone decide to do “formal”?

No they don’t. That is exactly why they have Chefs Dinner in the buffet area. These are pre designated times and allow respite from the MDRs

[Cruising Nomads]

Strange they are having all the loyalty tier lunches together. It is a different menu for the 2 upper tiers to the caribbean so not sure how they will do that

[Selbourne]

Just now, Eddie99 said:

 I asked for my beef rare and was delighted to receive a piece perfectly cooked to medium, as I’d anticipated.

😂 Exactly as I’m doing on Aurora presently, having discovered on our cruises last year that steaks are usually cooked one level above what you ask for. I’ve asked for medium-rare so far and received perfectly cooked medium steaks, so the plan has worked 😂 

[Selbourne]

Just now, Cruising Nomads said:

Strange they are having all the loyalty tier lunches together. It is a different menu for the 2 upper tiers to the caribbean so not sure how they will do that

I should imagine that on Iona and Arvia they get comparatively few higher loyalty tier passengers, so it makes sense to combine them if the lunch is basically the same. 
 

Conversely, on Aurora at present we believe that there are 1,000 higher loyalty tier passengers, so each tier is having its own lunch. In fact, the Caribbean lunch had to be split over two days as there’s so many of us!

[Cruising Nomads]

Selbourne i think you might be surprised by the numbers. Who do you think fills the ship out of school holidays. On my last cruise on iona the queue for the top tier lunch went almost back to the middle lifts.

[zap99]

These exclusive top tier lunches for exclusive folk don't seem very.....exclusive.🤔

[Eddie99]

I must make my apologies - it was just Baltic & Ligurian.  Maybe half or just over of Coral restaurant 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 16 by Eddie99

[Eddie99]

Sigh

 

i didn’t have 2 portions of smoked salmon!

can’t edit properly

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Eddie99 said:

Sigh

 

i didn’t have 2 portions of smoked salmon!

can’t edit properly

All looks nice.

[Eddie99]

Hooray!  Landfall!

 

We’ve arrived in Madeira.  Hoping for good weather.  Forecast is max 22C with possibility of a shower or two.  We’ll take that

 

Early pic, through a salty window.  Breakfast calls 🙂

[Eddie99]

Mmm

I thought port days might prove difficult to keep up to date

So, a couple of pics from a showery Madeira and I’ll try to catch up tomorrow 

 

 

Marella Explorer (iirc) and Iona.  Spot the difference

 

 

The old town of Funchal is so pretty

 

 

My lunch - a skewer of squid!

[zap99]

47 minutes ago, Eddie99 said:

Mmm

I thought port days might prove difficult to keep up to date

So, a couple of pics from a showery Madeira and I’ll try to catch up tomorrow 

 

 

Marella Explorer (iirc) and Iona.  Spot the difference

 

 

The old town of Funchal is so pretty

 

 

My lunch - a skewer of squid!

Hmm. Sick squid.🤔

[Eddie99]

Stick squid?  Tasty, whatever

 

So, we were promised a warm but showery day in Funchal and that’s how it panned out.  Plenty of short, sharp, scats and a couple of longer, more drenching, showers - the final one as we were walking the length of the ship, to get to the terminal and security, before doubling back inside the compound to get to the gangway.  At times like those you wish Iona was a smaller ship!  She dwarfed the Marella ship beside us.  I think Captain Dunlop was a bit nonplussed that she had berthed directly in front of us, so he needed to do a *sideways shimmy*, as he put it, to leave port before Marella.  I think we left before 5, so it was quite a short visit to Funchal

 

The main road - past Cristiano Ronaldo’s place was taped off, so the first initiative test for walkers was to find an alternative.  We took the high road, through the elevated park on the left going in, others used a tunnel.  It all helped towards 16,000steps yesterday! 😳

Oh - anyone due to visit & using the shuttle bus - it now drops and picks up at the general bus terminus, near the cable car 

 

We hadn’t planned anything other than mooching around and lunching - which is what we did.  There is still a lot of construction going on wrt the marina redevelopment, so that meant a lot of shuttering, reduction in the pedestrian walkway, and loss of sea view for a while.  However,the chestnut sellers are still there, plus the bicycle tuk-tuks, coffee carts and other familiar sights.

 

tbc

 

 

[Eddie99]

The tourist restaurant we have often used in the past was closed for 3 days for the staff Xmas party (some party!) so we took the line of least resistance and went to the one opposite.  Scabard fish & banana for him (it’s a sort of tradition.  It’s surprisingly good). Squid on a hanging skewer for me (as previously pictured).  Lots of assorted vegetables (no green beans) and a beer for him, white wine for me.  We admired the “caller-in”s people skills, swapping languages, gauging whether people were up for a meal or just a drink etc

 

The afternoon seemed to fly by after that.  It was All Aboard by 4pm, so no real opportunity to linger

 

So that was our first port call and it went well wrt affording 5000 plus passengers the opportunity to disembark and reembark.  No crowding, no long queues, no being marooned halfway up the gangplank

 

We tried the Marabelle gin in Anderson’s before dining.  They serve with fever tree tonic, garnished with a slice of green apple and sprig of mint.  It goes down very well.  A nice clean taste and more towards the “traditional” gin taste than many newcomers

 

We are in The Olive Grove for the first time.  I wasn’t overly impressed - service was friendly but slow, and it wasn’t very full at all.  Greek mezze sharing plate was ok, lasagne and lamb tagine (£4.50 supplement), crema Catalana.  All ok but nothing special.  Perhaps I was expecting too much

 

We find that the theatre, showbars etc are not appealing to us.  I think that’s us and our having got used to the quiet life.  I’ll do a para on the acts which have been on offer, tomorrow.  Plus,we’re venturing to Limelight tonight, so I’m sure that will be a worthy subject 

 

Tenerife calls.  See you

[LadyL1]

50 minutes ago, Eddie99 said:

 

Oh - anyone due to visit & using the shuttle bus - it now drops and picks up at the general bus terminus, near the cable car .

 

 

In December, (with Cunard) the shuttle buses where dropping us off in the main shopping thoroughfare!

[purplesea]

1 hour ago, Eddie99 said:

 

 

 

 

The main road - past Cristiano Ronaldo’s place was taped off, so the first initiative test for walkers was to find an alternative.  We took the high road, through the elevated park on the left going in, others used a tunnel.  It all helped towards 16,000steps yesterday! 😳

Oh - anyone due to visit & using the shuttle bus - it now drops and picks up at the general bus terminus, near the cable car 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for the information as we are due to call at Funchal on Monday and again the following week on Azura.

[TigerB]

Thanks for the update 👍🏻

The scabbard fish and banana looks interesting; something I wouldn't mind trying.

[Angel57]

@Eddie99 thanks for posting your reports. I’m finding it informative and helpful. Who is on stage for your Limelight visit?

[Eddie99]

I think he’s called Rob Howchen.  Something like that.  I haven’t heard of him and Google didn’t help much

Doesn’t mean he can’t put on a good act though

Watch this space 

[Eddie99]

7 hours ago, purplesea said:

Thank you for the information as we are due to call at Funchal on Monday and again the following week on Azura.

It might be worth asking on board if the road is open again?  P&Os port agent should be able to tell them ahead of time, or the morning you dock

We had an officer at the bottom of the gangplank pointing shuttle buses that way, 10 minutes; walk that way 20 minutes, but no mention of the barriers

 

btw - we came through Tenerife cruise terminal this afternoon, for security etc.  I was a bit amazed to see P&O have 50, yes 50, check in desks in the terminal!  Doesn’t mean they’ll use them all, of course, but it looks hopeful that it won’t take long to complete the processing and get you on board

[carlanthony24]

Check in at Tenerife does not take long at all. I say 5 minutes max.

[purplesea]

25 minutes ago, carlanthony24 said:

Check in at Tenerife does not take long at all. I say 5 minutes max.

That sounds good. It has just taken me 7 hours to travel fron home to Bristol!