TigerB (not at all) live from Iona (G404 - Portugal, Spain, and Canaries)

[TigerB]

Why this cruise?

 

We were originally booked on K405D, 22 nights on Arvia, flying out from Manchester to Antigua on 9th March, cruising part of the Caribbean, and sailing back to Southampton. That was to celebrate a big birthday for our lass. It would be rude of me to reveal her age but needless to say, it is a milestone birthday, and has a zero in it.  We booked that last year when on Arvia, and it would have been the longest cruise for us thus far and, at almost £7k for an outside cabin, the most expensive.

Throughout last year she was talking about also being away on her birthday, it is on 25th February, and that it was a pity that the Caribbean cruise started after it. We couldn't justify another short cruise just before it, or even a land based holiday, not necessarily due to the additional cost, but the fact that we wouldn't want to put our kitty in the cattery for so long.  Anyway, the Maleth Aero debacle put paid to our planned trip, as we would no longer be able to fly PE.  That cabin class is the minimum that we will fly these days, as it offers more comfort for our lass; having to fly economy is a deal breaker.  I therefore cancelled the Caribbean cruise, and after an email to P&O Towers explaining our lass's medical and welfare needs, we were refunded our deposit.

 

We then booked this cruise, and in doing so, saved almost £5k in the process. Madeira, Gran Canaria, and Lanzarote would be new destinations for us, so that was also pleasing.

I then (secretly) put it out to our three children, and my sister and brother-in-law, if they would care to join us for this special birthday cruise.  My sister and brother-in-law couldn't justify the expenditure due to a trip not long before, so that was fair enough. Of the kids, our eldest and her husband again couldn't afford it because they had a November Caribbean cruise planned to celebrate his birthday, our lad and his wife were planning a Fjords cruise and maybe a return to Iceland, so again couldn't afford it, and his twin sister and her fiancé were saving up for their wedding next year.  I had previously paid for all our kids and their partners to join us for my retirement cruise in September 2022; the Bank of Dad though was no longer offering free cruises.  Nevermind, we would all have a big celebratory meal upon our return.

Potential Spoiler Alert: what you've just read may become relevant later.

 

The speciality dining bookings opened up at fifteen days out and I booked Epicurean for dinner twice, once for each menu, Sindhu once, and Beach House twice. It was my intention, once onboard, to make our MDR reservations for every other night; we like to eat relatively early, so being able to book the 18:00 slot on the My Holiday app/non-app is great for us. We also like to eat breakfast in the MDR so, although it is not necessary to do so, I will make reservations for breakfast at 07:45 each day. "Well, he's an organised tiger", you may think, or, "what's the daft lad doing, they're on holiday?", some of you may also think. That's fair enough; horses for courses, as they say.  For me though, I cannot deal with the stress of trying to get into a dining location through the virtual queue and potentially waiting up to an hour or more, and I like to have all my ducks in a row. The way I do it is much better for my mental health.

 

Now, a couple of things about the format of this blog/report/review...

 

I have previously done live(ish) blogs, albeit not posting every day because I am too tight to buy an internet package, but, as others will testify, it can be really hard work.

As examples, my Mediterranean blog from last April is here...

and the Fjords blog from last June is here...

Hats off to @Selbourne for committing to doing it for 65 days. He has mentioned that he types quite fast, probably due to his secretarial college education back when Eve was a lass🤭; for my part, despite writing reports and preparing files for all of my working life, I am still very much a two finger typist. 

 

For my last report, in October, I decided to post everything after we got home.  That created its own problems in that, firstly, I failed to maintain the recording of notes each day, meaning I had to try and delve into my decrepit memory at a later time, and secondly, life got in the way after our return, which meant I was late posting. That report is here...

 

This time around I will take photos as we go along, and write the post-ready reports when I find the time; perhaps while we are chilling in the cabin or elsewhere on the ship. What you are reading here was written on day 3.  I will then post whenever I get mobile data; so, port days generally. That's the general plan, but it may not come off as smoothly as I would want it to.

I will try to remember to take photos of the lunch and dinner menus each day, as Selbourne has been doing, but I can't promise anything. On here they have digital screens outside the MDRs, rather than displaying the printed menus as they do on Aurora, so the photos may not be perfect; furthermore, if we're not attending an MDR for a specific meal, I may forget to go to that area to take the photos, so sorry in advance.

It is my intention, after we get home, to scan and upload all the Horizons; some folk have an interest in seeing them for cruises they haven't been on. I know they are on the My Holiday app/non-app each day, but it is a faff to screenshot and save them, even if I do remember to do so before they come off.

 

Here follows an important health warning...

I like photos of food, almost as much as my love of food itself.  So, if you don't like food porn then I'm sorry. Wait a minute! No, I'm not sorry; love it or loathe it, my posts will be heavy with porn of the culinary variety!😉

[Megabear2]

3 minutes ago, TigerB said:

Why this cruise?

 

We were originally booked on K405D, 22 nights on Arvia, flying out from Manchester to Antigua on 9th March, cruising part of the Caribbean, and sailing back to Southampton. That was to celebrate a big birthday for our lass. It would be rude of me to reveal her age but needless to say, it is a milestone birthday, and has a zero in it.  We booked that last year when on Arvia, and it would have been the longest cruise for us thus far and, at almost £7k for an outside cabin, the most expensive.

Throughout last year she was talking about also being away on her birthday, it is on 25th February, and that it was a pity that the Caribbean cruise started after it. We couldn't justify another short cruise just before it, or even a land based holiday, not necessarily due to the additional cost, but the fact that we wouldn't want to put our kitty in the cattery for so long.  Anyway, the Maleth Aero debacle put paid to our planned trip, as we would no longer be able to fly PE.  That cabin class is the minimum that we will fly these days, as it offers more comfort for our lass; having to fly economy is a deal breaker.  I therefore cancelled the Caribbean cruise, and after an email to P&O Towers explaining our lass's medical and welfare needs, we were refunded our deposit.

 

We then booked this cruise, and in doing so, saved almost £5k in the process. Madeira, Gran Canaria, and Lanzarote would be new destinations for us, so that was also pleasing.

I then (secretly) put it out to our three children, and my sister and brother-in-law, if they would care to join us for this special birthday cruise.  My sister and brother-in-law couldn't justify the expenditure due to a trip not long before, so that was fair enough. Of the kids, our eldest and her husband again couldn't afford it because they had a November Caribbean cruise planned to celebrate his birthday, our lad and his wife were planning a Fjords cruise and maybe a return to Iceland, so again couldn't afford it, and his twin sister and her fiancé were saving up for their wedding next year.  I had previously paid for all our kids and their partners to join us for my retirement cruise in September 2022; the Bank of Dad though was no longer offering free cruises.  Nevermind, we would all have a big celebratory meal upon our return.

Potential Spoiler Alert: what you've just read may become relevant later.

 

The speciality dining bookings opened up at fifteen days out and I booked Epicurean for dinner twice, once for each menu, Sindhu once, and Beach House twice. It was my intention, once onboard, to make our MDR reservations for every other night; we like to eat relatively early, so being able to book the 18:00 slot on the My Holiday app/non-app is great for us. We also like to eat breakfast in the MDR so, although it is not necessary to do so, I will make reservations for breakfast at 07:45 each day. "Well, he's an organised tiger", you may think, or, "what's the daft lad doing, they're on holiday?", some of you may also think. That's fair enough; horses for courses, as they say.  For me though, I cannot deal with the stress of trying to get into a dining location through the virtual queue and potentially waiting up to an hour or more, and I like to have all my ducks in a row. The way I do it is much better for my mental health.

 

Now, a couple of things about the format of this blog/report/review...

 

I have previously done live(ish) blogs, albeit not posting every day because I am too tight to buy an internet package, but, as others will testify, it can be really hard work.

As examples, my Mediterranean blog from last April is here...

and the Fjords blog from last June is here...

Hats off to @Selbourne for committing to doing it for 65 days. He has mentioned that he types quite fast, probably due to his secretarial college education back when Eve was a lass🤭; for my part, despite writing reports and preparing files for all of my working life, I am still very much a two finger typist. 

 

For my last report, in October, I decided to post everything after we got home.  That created its own problems in that, firstly, I failed to maintain the recording of notes each day, meaning I had to try and delve into my decrepit memory at a later time, and secondly, life got in the way after our return, which meant I was late posting. That report is here...

 

This time around I will take photos as we go along, and write the post-ready reports when I find the time; perhaps while we are chilling in the cabin or elsewhere on the ship. What you are reading here was written on day 3.  I will then post whenever I get mobile data; so, port days generally. That's the general plan, but it may not come off as smoothly as I would want it to.

I will try to remember to take photos of the lunch and dinner menus each day, as Selbourne has been doing, but I can't promise anything. On here they have digital screens outside the MDRs, rather than displaying the printed menus as they do on Aurora, so the photos may not be perfect; furthermore, if we're not attending an MDR for a specific meal, I may forget to go to that area to take the photos, so sorry in advance.

It is my intention, after we get home, to scan and upload all the Horizons; some folk have an interest in seeing them for cruises they haven't been on. I know they are on the My Holiday app/non-app each day, but it is a faff to screenshot and save them, even if I do remember to do so before they come off.

 

Here follows an important health warning...

I like photos of food, almost as much as my love of food itself.  So, if you don't like food porn then I'm sorry. Wait a minute! No, I'm not sorry; love it or loathe it, my posts will be heavy with porn of the culinary variety!😉

Pole dancing??

[TigerB]

Day 1 - Saturday 17th February: Embarkation 

 

So, move forward to the 17th of February...

 

We had a 15:00 arrival time and the parking was booked with CPS as one of our select options. As we were in an inside cabin we only had to give up £90 of our OBC for the parking, which is a no-brainer really; however, I will never understand why they increase the rates according to your cabin grade. It's the same duration for everyone on this cruise, but it's like you are being penalised if you choose a balcony or suite; after all, P&O are already getting more money out of you for the higher cabin grade; I would hazard a guess that they pay CPS the same rate for each two-week booking, regardless of grade, so are benefitting financially by taking more OBC from the higher grade cruisers. Perhaps our esteemed 'insider', @molecrochip could clarify.

 

As is usual, we travelled down the day before and stayed a few miles out; on this occasion it was the Newbury south PI again. We were late leaving home because I was trying to secure tickets for AC/DC this summer. As an aside, isn't trying to buy concert tickets one of the most stressful ordeals ever?

 

We had a chilled Saturday morning and left it right until midday to check out. The journey time to gate 4 of the Ocean terminal was showing as 56 minutes so, accounting for delays due to traffic, then half an hour to get parked up, I anticipated that we would be ready to enter the terminal at about 14:00 or a little bit earlier. Before I get flamed, we had no intention of jumping the queue by the way; we intended to sit a while so I could log on to the My Holiday app/non-app to secure our MDR dining and my 7/10 Club bookings.

 

Apart from the last four miles or so, traffic was quite good, and when we arrived at 12:55 there was no queue from Central Road to gate 4. A couple of minutes later, we joined the CPS queue.

 

 

The blue badge was on the dashboard and we were asked by the first attendant if we had a wheelchair onboard. After confirming that to be so, we were directed into lane 3, for which there was no queue; we immediately drove to under the canopy and were greeted by the next attendant. She called over a porter and took the obligatory photos of our car. The checked luggage was taken away by the porter and I proceeded to unload our lass, her wheelchair, and the carry-on items, but not necessarily in that order. We crossed the road and were at the terminal doors by 13:15; there were hardly anyone in the snaking queue to our right. I told the chap at the door that we were nearly a couple of hours early and will sit a while inside the terminal. As with previous arrivals, he said that if we did not require any further assistance then we can go straight in the lift and up to check-in.

After visiting the loo downstairs, we took the lift and joined the accessible check-in queue. I counted twenty different parties in the queue ahead of us. Previously, when there have been just two or three ahead of us in the queue, it has only taken five minutes or so to get checked in. I figured it may take about half an hour this time. I was correct and we we at security screening at 13:55.

By 14:10 we we onboard and 'mustered'. We were told that all cabins were ready, but we wanted our obligatory first drink onboard, and sat in the Emerald Bar a while. Oh dear, the draught taps were no working yet! Doom Bar it is then...

...and a large lime and soda for the lady!

 

Now, if you remember my reports from Iona in October, or have recently read them, you will know that we had a problem with pricing errors at the bars. That was primarily to do with the menus on the My Holiday app/non-app being out of date, but also because we were charged almost nine quid for our first two drinks: a pint of Punk IPA and a large lime and soda. The issue was resolved later in that cruise.

 

So, anyway, back to the present. I checked my account and saw that we had been charged £8.70 for a bottle of Doom Bar and a large lime and soda. I checked the menu on the My Holiday app/non-app; the date was September 2023 and the price of a Doom Bar was £5.30. So, if the menu was current then we had been charged £3.40 for a large lime and soda. On the last cruise it was confirmed to be £2:15. Back home the most we have been charged has been £2.30, and that's been at a pricey restaurant. The usual cost is between £1.30 and £2.00.

Off I trot to the bar, where the barman confirms there have not been any price increases since September and that a bottle Doom Bar is £5.30. I asked him why I have been charged £3.40 for a soda water with a dash of lime in it. He said that is the price. I said it was £2.15 back in October; he said it wasn't, I said it was. Rather than getting into a game of bar price tennis, I asked to see the Bar Manager. I then went back to sit down.

Clayton, the Bar Team Leader, came to see us just two or three minutes later; so, fair play to him for coming so quickly. First of all, I had him confirm that the menu dated September 2023 was still in force and that the current price of a bottle of Doom Bar was £5.30. I then asked him why we had been charged £3.40 for a large lime and soda. He said that's the price. No, it isn't. Yes, it is. Here we go again! I explained the situation from the last cruise, and that I had even been given a signed chitty to confirm that the price was £2.15, and we should not get charged any more than that. He asked me who I spoke with; obviously, I couldn't recall without consulting my notes from the time. I was beginning to wish I had brought that chitty with me this time. He then started quoting the prices of drinks such as cola or lemonade, and that they were two pound something on tap. At this point I thought he was doing what Americans do and referring to all fizzy drinks as soda. I pointed out that those drinks should be more expensive because they have the post-mix syrup in them; clarifying that I was referring to the soda water that comes out of the same tap. He then appeared to understand what I meant; he confirmed that a large soda water from the tap (pump) is £2.05. Great, we're getting somewhere. I then put it to him that for a dash of lime cordial to be added to that same £2.05 soda water, which at home would be anywhere between 10p and 30p, costs £1.35 on P&O. He confirmed that to be so. I asked him how ridiculous that sounds; he agreed but said the prices were not set by them, it is charged according to the buttons that are pressed. He said he could do nothing more and suggested I make an appointment to speak with the Food and Beverage Manager. To be continued...

 

We then sat for a while before going to our cabin. It was a right manky day outside...

 

[TigerB]

12 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Pole dancing??

Sorry to disappoint MB but, despite bringing my tiger thong and oil, we don't have a pole in our cabin this time.

[TigerB]

Day 1 - Saturday 17th February: Our Cabin 

 

We went to our cabin at about 15:00 to find all our checked luggage outside the door. Unlike all previous post-covid cruises on P&O, where there has been a paper seal on the door, to indicate that it has been cleaned and sanitised, there wasn't one of this occasion.

 

Our partially accessible inside cabin, which is actually fully accessible for our lass's wheelchair, is exactly the same as a previous one he had stayed in. Therefore, I didn't take photos; those posted below are of the exact same cabin from when we were on Iona last October. With the queen bed configuration, the gap between the left side of the bed and the wall of the bathroom was 73cm, and on the right side was 70cm; so, room enough to drive in an reverse a normal sized wheelchair at either side of the bed. The tap between the foot of the bed and the wardrobe was 122cm, which was more than enough for our lass to spin and manoeuvre her chair. The total dimensions, excluding furniture, of the sleeping area was 4.91m x 3.77m, and 2.31m x 2.44m for the bathroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We weren't in the cabin five minutes when our cabin steward, Sugar, came to visit us. She gave us the usual spiel about the accessible features of the cabin and the door sign protocol, and I then ,are my request for extra pillows, body lotion, conditioner, and ice each day. She returned not long after with the first three items. Schoolgirl error though in not emphasising that the lotion and conditioner bottles should be left at the end of the cruise to be refilled and recycled. We would do so anyway. She is a nice enough lass but my good lady thought that, despite her sweet name, she had a slightly sour demeanor about her; you know, the jaded outlook of someone one that has been doing the same job for so long, and was counting the days to the next off rotation.

 

I only unpacked a few things before attending the Epicurean to sort out dining arrangements for later in the cruise. I can't recall if it was someone on these boards, or someone on a previous trip, that had mentioned that breakfast at Epicurean is open to all, subject to availability and a supplement. The restaurant host confirmed that to be so; the supplement was £8.50 per person and it could not be booked, we would be required to queue on the day and would be allowed entry according to the capacity at the time. I intended to take our lass there for her birthday breakfast.

 

When I returned to the cabin this was on the door...

 

I opened the door and showed our lass; she confirmed that she hadn't put it up, and I knew she wouldn't have anyway. We then thought that Sugar had put it up; again, probably unlikely. A little later, when chatting on WhatsApp with the kids, we bounced around ideas as to who the culprit was. What was certain was that we didn't know anyone else on the cruise, so that idea was discounted. Our cabin steward was still a possibility but unlikely; we hadn't mentioned the upcoming birthday to her, and thought it unlikely that she would have access to a guest's personal details. Another possibility was that someone from guest services may have come and put it up; they would be more likely to have legitimate access to our personal data, and I know I had mentioned in a previous phone call about it being a milestone birthday. Another possibility was that a guest had put it up for someone they knew, but got the wrong cabin. Our lad said that it looked wonky, which prompted daughter number two to offer the funniest response, that it had been put up by Stevie Wonder.

[TigerB]

Day 1 - Saturday 17th February: First Dinner 

 

 

 

 

On the days we are dining in the MDR we have chosen Opal for our evening meals. One reason is that it is a little bit quieter than the two large MDRs, but the main reason is that, as you go deeper into the venue it becomes more difficult for a wheelchair to manoeuvre, and it is in those locations where those pesky rows of two-seaters are mostly located; we were very keen to avoid those. On our October cruise the perceived plan more or less worked flawlessly; we were shown to the easy to get to tables, and only once were we seated at a two-seater next to another one, the rest of the time we were on isolated two-seaters, or on a four-seater for our own use.

 

Tonight we were shown to a two-seater against a wall; that was no good for our lass and her wheelchair, so I asked for the one next to it, table number 125, a two-seater with a distance of about 50cm between it and the original one. A couple was then shown to the table against the wall. After initial pleasantries, we avoided eye contact thereafter. Just as well, as he never stopped 'talking at' his wife/partner for the whole of the meal. 

Our waiting team this evening were the efficient Nixon and Valentino.

The first thing I noticed was the insert in the menu wallet offering the paid-for extras...

 

Having previously read on here anecdotal evidence of waiters not wishing to push the extras, and perhaps hoping that it would fail, I got the distinct feeling that a direction had come from P&O Towers to push the extras. I was tempted to try the starter, but Valentino confirmed that the same three items are available every night for the whole of our cruise, there is no rotation of items offered. I therefore decided to give it a miss tonight with the option to have it again another night if the starters were rubbish.

 

Tonight we mostly ate...

 

Starters:

 

Our lass...

 

Me...

Schoolboy error here; I opted for the slimy mushroom dish and totally overlooked the trout starter on the Chef's recommendations.

 

Mains:

 

Our lass...

 

Me...

 

Hey @Selbourne, I had green beans...

...but they were mixed with sugar snap peas and spinach...

 

 

Desserts:

 

Our lass...

 

Me...

plus, of course a couple of scoops of rum and raisin 😋

 

For a first meal it wasn't bad at all. The service was great; our water glasses were never empty and, a first for us, we were offered coffee refills. I think the fact that we were right next to our waiters' station may have had a positive bearing on the service.

[zap99]

17 minutes ago, TigerB said:

Day 1 - Saturday 17th February: First Dinner 

 

 

 

 

On the days we are dining in the MDR we have chosen Opal for our evening meals. One reason is that it is a little bit quieter than the two large MDRs, but the main reason is that, as you go deeper into the venue it becomes more difficult for a wheelchair to manoeuvre, and it is in those locations where those pesky rows of two-seaters are mostly located; we were very keen to avoid those. On our October cruise the perceived plan more or less worked flawlessly; we were shown to the easy to get to tables, and only once were we seated at a two-seater next to another one, the rest of the time we were on isolated two-seaters, or on a four-seater for our own use.

 

Tonight we were shown to a two-seater against a wall; that was no good for our lass and her wheelchair, so I asked for the one next to it, table number 125, a two-seater with a distance of about 50cm between it and the original one. A couple was then shown to the table against the wall. After initial pleasantries, we avoided eye contact thereafter. Just as well, as he never stopped 'talking at' his wife/partner for the whole of the meal. 

Our waiting team this evening were the efficient Nixon and Valentino.

The first thing I noticed was the insert in the menu wallet offering the paid-for extras...

 

Having previously read on here anecdotal evidence of waiters not wishing to push the extras, and perhaps hoping that it would fail, I got the distinct feeling that a direction had come from P&O Towers to push the extras. I was tempted to try the starter, but Valentino confirmed that the same three items are available every night for the whole of our cruise, there is no rotation of items offered. I therefore decided to give it a miss tonight with the option to have it again another night if the starters were rubbish.

 

Tonight we mostly ate...

 

Starters:

 

Our lass...

 

Me...

Schoolboy error here; I opted for the slimy mushroom dish and totally overlooked the trout starter on the Chef's recommendations.

 

Mains:

 

Our lass...

 

Me...

 

Hey @Selbourne, I had green beans...

...but they were mixed with sugar snap peas and spinach...

 

 

Desserts:

 

Our lass...

 

Me...

plus, of course a couple of scoops of rum and raisin 😋

 

For a first meal it wasn't bad at all. The service was great; our water glasses were never empty and, a first for us, we were offered coffee refills. I think the fact that we were right next to our waiters' station may have had a positive bearing on the service.

A sneaky bowl of ice cream.🤣

[TigerB]

Day 1 - Saturday 17th February: The Evening 

 

 

After dinner we retired to the Crow's Next where we sat at a table and ordered our free glasses of bubbles. A table next to the window on the port side became vacant, so we moved to that; the main reason was that we would get better mobile signals and could chat a bit longer with the kids and others as we sailed along the Solent and towards the Isle of Wight. I moved one of the chairs to one side in order to make space for our lass in her wheelchair.

We ordered more drinks and exchanged messages on WhatsApp with the kids, family and friends; the topics included banner-gate, early suggestions on the demographic of guests on this cruise, and that we wished the kids, and/or my sister and brother-in-law, could have afforded to have cruised with us; oh well, nevermind.

About half an hour had passed when, out of the corner of my eye I became aware of a guy who quickly approached us; I thought he was going to ask us for the spare chair but no, he proceeded to sit down in it, right next to me. I was just about to sarcastically say to him, "Are you alright there"? when I heard my wife exclaim, "*****"!  Yes, I am married to a docker!🫢 I quickly looked at her, and then the fella; I recognised him immediately! Well, I should do; after all, he was my prodigy, my mini-me, the seed of my loins, my son. Stood next to him was his wife. "You pair of tw@ts"!

What a total shock! 

 

Neither of us had any idea. 

It turns out that he wasn't lying when he had told me last year that they couldn't afford it, and had other plans.  Their planned Fjords cruise wasn't going to come off, so they looked at this one. They booked it in August at a great rate of £699 each, and he then tried to persuade his siblings to book it too at that rate; unfortunately, they still couldn't afford it. What is the biggest shock is that all of the kids and their partners didn't let it slip for all this time. When we messaged the others, they said that each time they were due to see us they would have to mentally prepare themselves. They also said they couldn't tell me because, despite working thirty years in a job where I dealt with confidential material, I had history of accidentally blurting out family secrets. What was even more surprising is that our lad didn't let it slip as he is more of a gobshiite than his father.

Well, at least banner-gate has been resolved! Our lad revealed he had snuck up to our cabin and hurriedly stuck the banner up before he was spotted; that explains why it was wonky.

 

After chatting I while longer, and arranging to meet for breakfast, we went our separate ways. The kids were wiped out, as was our lass.  I took her back to the cabin and got her settled. For this young 56 year old though, the night was still young; I made my way to the 7/10 Club for the 22:30 show.

 

Before I write about that I just want to mention the booking process, which was different this time around.

Previously, all shows have been available to book on the My Holiday app/non-app on day 1.  Therefore, those that get on the ship earlier have the best chance of securing reservations. It has happened that some of the shows get fully booked by the time the ship sails.  This time it wasn't available for selection when we boarded. A crew member said that it would be available to book after 16:00. Sure enough, it appeared on the entertainment section at about 16:20, but only for that evening.; I booked that.

I kept checking to see it other days were available; they were not. It then crossed my mind that they may release them a day at a time, which would be a much fairer way of doing it; everyone would get a fair crack of the whip. It may also discourage those that book every show as soon as they can, decide they don't like it after the first show, then fail to cancel the rest of their bookings.

As it turns out, all the remaining shows became available to book just after midnight. So, those who, like me, were still awake had first dibs.  By mid-morning, I think, all shows apart from the 00:15 show, were fully booked.

 

Tonight it was Supergroup Sounds.

The band had undergone a wholesale change since our last cruise.  They comprised of:

Guitar: Stefano from Italy

Bass: Candio from Venezuela

Drums: Will from Brighton, or Essex; well, a suvverner anyway 

Keyboard, guitar, and MD: Alistair from Scarborough

 

The setlist:

Do It Again (Steeley Dan)

A brilliantly soulful version of Roxanne (Police)

Dreams (Fleetwood Mac)

A poor cover of Another Brick In The Wall (Pink Floyd)

Songbird (Fleetwood Mac)

It Must Be Love (Labi Siffre)

California Dreaming (The Mamas And The Papas)

Sit Down (James)

[encore] Hey Jude (Beatles)

 

This was the third iteration of the 7/10 band I was seen, and whereas with the other two, the keyboard player and MD did most of the singing, with other band members taking up the reins occasionally, in this version Alistair did all the singing; he was very accomplished at it too.

[Eddie99]

What a lovely surprise!

I hope he doesn’t cramp your style 🤣

[Beckett]

Great intro @TigerB and thank you very much. I look forward to your live/not live report as and when you are able. I'm glad you are not apologising for the food porn - always welcome and sometimes worth salivating over.

 

i wish Our Lass a very happy zero birthday on 25th. Have a great time. Jane xx

[Beckett]

Oops! I posted too soon @TigerB. Part Two appeared on my screen just minutes later.

 

What a fabulous surprise! I absolutely loved your dockers replies - just like my family - even though we're not dockers! You are going to have the greatest time. So pleased for you. Jane xx

[TigerB]

30 minutes ago, Eddie99 said:

What a lovely surprise!

I hope he doesn’t cramp your style 🤣

No chance! I'm a more accomplished pole dancer, even though he is a firefighter. 🫢

[Selbourne]

An excellent blog as always. Makes mine look cursory. BTW I am also just a 2 finger typist but can still do it at almost talking speed 😉

[Junction2]

I’m full of admiration for all of you who take the time to keep us all amused and informed about your cruise experiences. Your cruise has got off to a wonderful start and I’m looking forward to reading more when you are able to update again.  

So big thanks to you, Selbourne, Eddie99, Mrs Goggins etc for brightening up my days. 

[Angel57]

Thanks for posting this blog @TigerB. I know I am going to enjoy reading your “not all live” blog from Iona.

Have a wonderful cruise.

 

[TigerB]

16 hours ago, Selbourne said:

An excellent blog as always. Makes mine look cursory.

Not at all, young man. I think I may have peaked!😉  It may descend into just food porn posts.😂

[mrsgoggins]

Just found you 🎉💃🤗 and I'm so looking forward to following, live or not!

 

Btw, going away for longer than 2 weeks, and no convenient neighbours, are the only reasons I am cat-less!

 

I like the change in the booking system for 7/10 but think daily booking would have been preferable to allowing multiple bookings. 

 

If I ever do another blog (I'm on next year's January 35 nighter that includes the USA and Caribbean) I'll request lessons on how to embed food descriptions in the photos themselves 🤞

 

Great surprise that your son and his wife could make it. Happy birthday to your lass for 25th (also my son's birthday) 🎂

[TigerB]

Just a quick 'proper live' post while I'm sat writing my notes for later posts.

 

This will be of interest to non-smoking disabled folk and those in, or with partners in wheelchairs.

 

Since first cruising on Arvia last January, and on Iona since, this has always been a bugbear of mine; there are only two means of access to the deck 19 sun decks for those that cannot use stairs, this being the lifts marked in the below image. 

 

 

 

The problem is that P&O had the bright idea of placing the forward smoking area on 18 on the port side, just where the lift is to get to deck 19.  It is a very slow lift too, like those you find in large furniture retailers where you need to get from the ground floor to the next floor. As you will imagine, this is not a pleasant experience for those non-smoking essential users.

This is something that I have mentioned to senior crew a few times, and something about which I have complained by email to P&O Towers.  I am quite sure I am not the only one who has had cause to complain.

 

Good news...

P&O appear to have bowed to public pressure; since our last cruise on Iona in October, the smoking area is now located on the starboard side.

Now, my wife and others can access the forward section of deck 19 without getting a lung full of secondhand smoke. 

 

I hope they have done the same on Arvia.

 

 

[TigerB]

6 hours ago, mrsgoggins said:

Just found you 🎉💃🤗 and I'm so looking forward to following, live or not!

 

Btw, going away for longer than 2 weeks, and no convenient neighbours, are the only reasons I am cat-less!

 

I like the change in the booking system for 7/10 but think daily booking would have been preferable to allowing multiple bookings. 

 

If I ever do another blog (I'm on next year's January 35 nighter that includes the USA and Caribbean) I'll request lessons on how to embed food descriptions in the photos themselves 🤞

 

Great surprise that your son and his wife could make it. Happy birthday to your lass for 25th (also my son's birthday) 🎂

 

I'm not sure if it was a deliberate action on their part, just releasing the first day's shows on embarkation day.  Then, to release the rest of the shows just after midnight just creates the same situation as before, the shows get booked up immediately. Like you, I think it would be preferable to release the remaining shows daily, perhaps one or two days in advance.

 

By all means, come back to me nearer the time for extra tuition.👨🏻‍🎓

 

Happy birthday to your lad for Sunday.🙂

[TigerB]

Day 2 - Sunday 18th March - At Sea

 

 

 

 

Up at 07:15, quick ablutions, and at the desk of Pearl by 07:50. The kids were going to joins us for breakfast.

As with our previous cruise, we were going to mix it up at breakfast, visiting each of the three available MDRs in rotation.

 

We were shown to table number 367, a four-seater near the windows at the port side. They was another four-seater on one side and a two-seater on the other side, both with a reasonable gap beyond them and our table.

Our waiting team were Vijay and Jithin; the latter recognised me and our lass from October, and welcomed us back. We both immediately recognised his smiling face; he and Vijay served us several times in October, when they were on a different section.

The service and food was great; I'm sure though that they have changed the vegan sausages they serve.

 

Afterwards, we sat a while in the atrium before going back to our cabins. I unpacked the rest of our stuff, and sorted what I would be ironing later. Our lass wanted to rest a while, so I went to the talk in the Headliners theatre by guest speaker Julian Dismore, an award winner documentary producer. It was fairly well attended...

 

Today's talk was titled 'Tales From A TV Producer'.  There were some cheesy moments, but generally it was an engaging forty-five minutes from a fairly accomplished public speaker. It helped that I was able to understand him, with him being a Yorkshire lad from just up the coast from us.

 

The kids joined us for a relaxing lunch in Coral.

We were seated at table 610, a four-seater, and our waiting team were Ramil and Miracle.

On offer today...

We all had...

But that photo is of mine, which included an added...

 

Me and our lass also had...

Cauliflower Cheese 

 

The kids had chips

 

For pudding I had...

With the obligatory rum and raisin ice cream.

 

Our lass had...

 

The kids just had ice cream.

 

Afterwards, since it was on the same deck, we went to the duty free booze shop where I parted with £70 of OBC for four bottles of gin.

The kids went off to do something, and we went to the casino where our lass had an enjoyable half hour playing Lobstermania. 

This was the lime and soda she had...

That cost £3.45.  I decided to get the same at a different location later in the cruise, to see what was changed, before I ask to speak with someone.

 

Our lass was still pretty much wiped out from the day before, and neither of us had a good night's sleep, so we retired to the cabin for a while. I went to the laundry to iron a couple of things for the evening and next day.

 

Dinner today was in Opal again. The kids dined with us, but did say they didn't want to crowd us the whole cruise. I changed our MDR dinner reservations for the rest of the cruise to four people, to afford us some resilience; on the evenings they didn't want to join us, I would change the booking back to the two of us.

Tonight we were seated at table number 163, a four-seater near the windows; our waiting team were Raymond and Marlon.

Tonight's menu...

 

The 'extras' insert was still there.

 

Our lass and I mostly ate (sorry, I didn't take photos of the kids' food)...

 

Starters:

 

Both of us...

Our daughter-in-law had that too.

 

Mains:

 

Our lass...

Our lad had that too

 

Me...

 

@Selbourne, look at this...

One single green bean.  I asked if there was a shortage of green beans; I was told that almost the entire order had been sent by mistake to Aurora.😂

 

Desserts:

 

Our lass...

 

Me...

The obligatory ice cream this evening was rum and raisin.

 

Afterwards, the kids went off to a show; me and our lass went to Crow's Next for post-dinner drinks.

 

By 22:00 she was wiped out; I took her to bed and then went to the 22:30 set at the 7/10 Club. Tonight it was American Vinyl.   Another great show!

 

[Purdey16]

Thank you for doing a semi live report and taking the time out from your holiday and taking us all along , I know sometimes it can be a bit embarrassing taking photos of your food each evening but if you’re doing a blog you have too and it only takes seconds so I really appreciate it thank you .

What a lovely surprise for you that your son managed to arrange to come at last .

Have a lovely time together and enjoy your holiday, look forward to the next chapter 😎

[Cathygh]

We had Julian as speaker on 2 cruises last year. His talks can be bit cheesy and OTT but he came on a tour with us and that is just his personality. He was very entertaining on the tour. He is up for everything and will join in as many activities as he can. I don't know where he gets his energy from!

[TigerB]

@Cathygh, he's done three talks, all before we hit Madeira. Our next sea day isn't until Sunday, and he's still onboard flogging his book; so I expect he'll continue on Sunday.

[Eglesbrech]

@TigerB thanks for the great blog and posting pictures of the food.

 

The food looks far, far better than we had on our last cruise (except the cheese which look just as poor). Let’s hope we get the same on our next cruise with P&O.

 

Have a great cruise.

[Cathygh]

46 minutes ago, TigerB said:

@Cathygh, he's done three talks, all before we hit Madeira. Our next sea day isn't until Sunday, and he's still onboard flogging his book; so I expect he'll continue on Sunday.

I suppose he could leave on a port day. He's always at the sailaways..