Dorset cruise fan

16 minutes ago, MyriamS said:

We definitely won't have any luggage to leave at our door, so normal disembarkation and self-disembarkation are the exact same process for us. The only difference is the time. Do they ask passengers for their preferences regarding disembarkation time (of course you're not guaranteed to get your preferred slot, but would be nice of them to ask), or is it all automatically allocated?  

You are allocated a time for disembarkation but there should be a message a few days before in the Horizon newsletter that if you have a specific request then you can arrange a time with the Reception desk. This worked well for us when we had a bus to catch but that was from a much smaller ship. We self disembarked from Iona last December and got stuck in a huge queue as they kept halting the self disembarkation to allow forklifts with luggage through.  Took nearly 40 minutes to get off.

41 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

But RCI, Celebrity, MSC, Princess, in fact every cruise line at Southampton manages to give passengers some choice on  embarkation time except P&O.

So why do so many P&O cheerleaders seem willing to accept such inferior service.

Cunard don't 

We have cruised on Iona twice and as you know she is huge, but well designed for a Fjords cruise as she has lots of outside space. As your cruise is for a week I  would suggest not trying to see/ do everything on board but just find some favourite venues. The Olive Grove is lovely, book as soon as you can when you get onboard or from the terminal if you can access the app. Iona is easy to navigate with a pushchair. The crew are really helpful, if there is anything you need for the baby ask your cabin steward or the waiters. I have no experience of nursery / night nursery but from other accounts they seem to work well. Enjoy your cruise and enjoy the fjords, they are stunning.

6 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

The best way is to join your local library, most now also offer e-books to download to your tablet for free, and you use an app called Libby to download and read them, and the newest books are available.

I was typing whilst you were posting. Dorset uses Libby for magazines and Borrowbox for books but all services are different and I think they pretty much all do e-books 

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Yes could well be that. If it were me I’d leave though, as I’d be terribly conscious of distracting the performers as well as the other audience members!

 

I bought my wife a Kindle for Xmas but now we are at sea she tells me that she couldn’t quite work out how to download enough books. She has a free trial for the ultimate Amazon ebooks thingy and I tried to download one and it charged her! I need to work out how you establish which ones are free as I’ve failed so far 🙄 😂 

Join your local Library! If you are not already a member most Library services (since Covid) allow you to join online and you can then access their online services including their e-books and e audiobooks. Most services currently use Borrowbox and it's really straightforward. Also have a range of e magazines so you can keep up to date whilst you are away.

Northern Lights, reindeer and snowmobiling in North of Norway.

Being back on Aurora, our favourite 

Definitely not RIBs in our case, husband still suffering from fractured vertebrae 

But a big shout out to staff on Iona who helped him, particularly Anthony from Customer services who looked after us.

Olive Grove, Limelight Club and 710 on Iona 

We were very happy with our cabin on Aurora, the bathrooms do need an update but the cabin size and facilities are excellent. TV reception is poor regardless of ship, it's because you are off shore. If you want to watch TV I would suggest sticking to the prerecorded stuff.  We were on Iona 2 weeks ago (where I  suspect our Covid came from)  and the cabin was lovely, bathroom definitely an improvement but the cabin was so narrow, a real squeeze round the bed and storage is nowhere near as good.

Try to relax and just enjoy what the cruise has to offer - scenery, snow, wildlife. Even if it's not what you expected there should be some venue on board that you can enjoy. 

Thank you for all your kind thoughts. Friday was the worst day and we are gradually recovering. The turkey is in the oven and we can slice it and freeze it for New Year. And shhhhhh, whisper it, but quite looking forward to a day in front of TV rather than working hard in kitchen. Happy Christmas to all however youcare spending your day.

4 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

 

I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope you recover quickly, No need to cancel the fun, simply delay it until later.  Take care,

Avril

Couldn't cancel the turkey so somebody's got to eat it!

1 minute ago, Adawn47 said:

 

I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope you recover quickly, No need to cancel the fun, simply delay it until later.  Take care,

Avril

The plan is Christmas dinner on New Year's Eve assuming we are recovered by then

We re confined to home as covid has struck so all family celebrations cancelled.

We took pur daughter on Arcadia for her 18th Birthday and she loved it

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

True, but we took our two daughters on Arcadia when they were in their early to mid 20s and they described it as a floating nursing home 😂 

I think the destinations make a difference 

On our recent Northern lights cruise on Aurora we might quite a few young couples who had done their first cruise on Iona and were now trying other ships. None of them expressed disappointment in the lack of venues but instead were thoroughly enjoying the smaller ship feel. I think if the new ships are encouraging new people to try cruising then they may naturally move on to different ships and enjoy each in a different way. If the itinerary is right and they have got a taste for cruising then why not try a different ship?

1 hour ago, The Med said:

I’m not fussy about toiletry brands so I’ll be happy with whatever is provided. I don’t want to take stuff if it’s already there..

 

So obviously shower gel and shampoo will be there but will they have body lotion and hair conditioner?

Yes, but they are on request, as are face cloths. Asked our room steward when she introduced herself and she brought them straight over.

3 hours ago, CarlaMarie said:

 

Everyone booked on a cruise from mid November into December received an email of what to expect on their Christmas cruises - pantomimes, christmas music, decorations, food etc... 

 

My mum and dad sailed on Aurora last week so they did take a Christmas jumper/shirt each just in case. However other than the decorations and a pantomime, nothing else stated on the email happened. 

I didn't 

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you are okay and nothing ongoing will cause problems.  I assume it was reported and P&O are investigating wat went wrong on this occasion.

 

I wish you a speedy recovery.

We had to fill in an accident form

55 minutes ago, pete14 said:

I knew nothing of the problems in Haugesund but we cut short our exploring of the town due to the patches of black ice on the pavements. I remember predicting to Pete Junior that there would be some people needing medical attention for falls. Were you on the coach that had the ‘accident’ on the ice?

No, on the RIB. Compression fracture of vertebrae and yes, he did follow the safety advice.

We loved the cruise too, with highlights of reindeer, snowmobiling, northern lights, amazing ambulance crew and getting to know Haugesund casualty dept

10 hours ago, RJHNorthyorks said:

Tromso I had booked a private tour with Tromso Arctic Reindeer - Reindeer feeding and Sami Culture. We caught the free shuttle bus from the ship which dropped us outside the Raddison Blu Hotel. The Reindeer people picked us up outside the pub next door to the Raddison Blu for a 25 minute drive with commentary to the camp. 

We really enjoyed this trip. There are 300 reindeer at the camp and a series of Sami huts each containing a roaring fire and hot drinks. We were given unlimited amounts of reindeer food and went off across the field amongst the reindeer to feed them - great fun. 

The scenery was absolutely stunning and we watched the sun going down over the mountains. It felt very cold but we were OK as we popped into the huts for hot chocolate. 
We were served a very tasty lunch of reindeer stew ( there was a veggie option) and had a 30 minute presentation about Sami culture. 
I didn’t think this trip was wheelchair friendly but there was a man in a wheelchair and the guides were very attentive and he was able to take part in everything.

On our return to Tromso we had a wander around. It’s a really pretty place and by 2 pm it was dark so everywhere was lit up. We bought gifts for grandkids , had an expensive coffee and snack and I fell over on the ice ( uninjured) before heading back to the ship for the 4pm quiz ( joint 1st but lost on the tie breaker). 

it really is treacherous under foot and good snow boots are essential. 
Last night 4 of us went to the organ recital in the Arctic Cathedral which was very enjoyable. Mr Google tells us it is not a Cathedral but a Parish Church and therefore not the most northerly Cathedral.

On our way to Alta now. Not sure what we will do there although 3 of our party are going to the Tirpitz museum which is only available through an organised tour in Winter. 

 

Snap!

6 hours ago, RJHNorthyorks said:

We are on the Aurora Northern Lights cruise leaving the U.K. on 15 November 23 and yesterday received an email saying it is Christmas themed and to pack your Christmas jumpers! 
This is the first we have heard of this and the cruise isn’t being marketed as a Christmas cruise on their website. 
Do they really start Christmas this early? 

We have only had qn email about the dishwashers being replaced 

Have been trying to pay the final balance on a cruise for 3 days. Friday, site error, Saturday, got all the way through payment process including code from bank then site error. Today final day of payment tried phoning P&O to discover they are closed on Sundays, last try online and site error - gŕrrrrrrr

2 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

We have tried to go to Amsterdam twice on a cruise, never made it on either cruise due to strong winds and bad weather, we have said we won’t bother with a cruise and are planning to go via Eurostar next year for a long weekend, that way we can virtually guarantee actually getting there. 
 

 

Been there on Eurostar too. Sat in Brussels station for 5 hours and eventually bussed to a hotel, then by coach to Amsterdam the next morning.

7 hours ago, molecrochip said:

I think for all the shouting, it’s the comment about wanting to build a bridge that’s key here.

 

To make it tall enough for cruise ships to pass under is very expensive. If no cruise ships, a much lower bridge is possible.

I agree, they have been trying to deter stag groups for a while and also seem to have been making Rotterdam the major port. Luckily for us we have twice cruised in to Amsterdam and loved the journey up the North Sea Canal. Good to have had those experiences. 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/20/amsterdam-to-close-cruise-ship-terminal-amid-effort-to-restrict-tourism?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Has anyone else seen this? Article says that the port is closing to deter stag parties and big groups of young men off the cruise ships. I should think that was highly unlikely from the ship in the picture!