Daedalus50

10 hours ago, jeanandjim said:

Crown Grill yes $29,

Sabatinis yes $25,

Gastro Pub yes $18

Steamers no

Planks no

 

 

Many thanks for that Jim.

Happy Cruising !

Jim many thanks for your informative posts.

We are due to sail on Emerald Princess on 18th Jan if we pass our pre-flight Covid tests this Sunday - we are UK based.

I've been trying to book dining via the Medallion App and having lots of problems.

Do you know if all the speciality restaurants are open?

Just back home after disembarking from Iona on Saturday (13th) after 2 week Spain & Portugal cruise.

No information regarding any Covid cases on board but at one Port we could not disembark via the aft gangway. We were told there was a medical emergency and we saw two crew members in Hazmat suits and spray packs going down the stairs.

Our temperature was taken before we were allowed to disembark at the Spanish Ports but not Lisbon. On the coach at the Spanish ports our cabin numbers were noted on a sheet relative to our seat positions. This did not happen at Lisbon.

Salt, Pepper and butter all available on the tables for dining although I did have to ask for the salt cellar to be refilled a number of times ! The tables for couples are very close together. I didn't measure the distance but it looked less than the suggested minimum to me. We shared a large table with 8 others one evening after we were asked if we would like to. Toilets (male at least) were locked and opened by placing a hand next to a sensor, both in and out. Saw a lady with a spray pack every day going along the corridors.

Iona is a beautiful ship, very spacious and modern looking. Loved the little booklet we got in the cabin showing all the decks and what was were, very useful but different bars had different range of spirits and beers and it's a long walk from stem to stern!

On sea days the venues were very crowded, especially around the Atrium. I was told that there were 3200 passengers on board so I wouldn't want to go on a full capacity cruise on Iona. They ran out of Orange Juice and thick cut chips about day 10/11.

However the worst thing about the ship was our cabin on deck 9. Very nicely furnished with a lovely, petit, bathroom BUT it creaked all the time, day and night when we were sailing. I also noticed that in heavyish seas the stairways also creaked as well. Somewhat disconcerting for a brand new vessel.

This was our 1st P&O cruise and we were disappointed in the range of entertainments, particularly on sea days compared to our other cruises (14) although that could be Covid related and we might experience the same when we return to our favourite Cruise Line next May

On 10/22/2021 at 4:01 PM, watsonbeau said:

Daedalus that’s interesting. I take it your travelling companion has own separate insurance from yours going by  what you say. Is that correct ? Am just wondering the situation if you were both on same policy that’s all - with your insurer ?  Thank you 

Yes you are correct in your assumptions. She has her own separate insurance. If she was also on my insurance policy then we would both be covered by their +1 clause which allows a companion to accompany you to hospital

We are on the 30th October sailing of Iona so I checked with my insurance company (not Holiday Extras) what would happen if either of us were disembarked due to positive Covid test. The lady checked with their Medical team and if I tested positive then my travelling companion would be able to claim on my insurance if she was disembarked with me. However if she tested positive and I was also disembarked I would have to claim on her insurance, i.e. my insurance would not cover me. Bad news is that her insurance does not reciprocate so I'd have to fund the quarantine etc. out of my own pocket.

Booster jab booked for tomorrow, fingers crossed and a bit more Internet searching !

I got my insurance through JustTravelCover with InsuraTrip. 

Amazing. Had an email from Celebrity reversing their decision insisting on only Celebrity excursions if you were double vaxxed. Too late for us. Already cancelled and rebooked with P&O. By the way Portugal now has (according to ToL) a higher percentage of population double vaxxed than UK. Will Celebrity now reverse their decision not to call at Portugal?

4 hours ago, Mark_T said:

With the rules as they are though it makes a big difference where your cruise starts and ends, and of course where it stops along the way.

 

What you can do on a Greek departure for example will be under very different rules from a UK departure...

We still flew from and returned to Heathrow as UK citizens. Greece required mask wearing on the ship. P&O are still visiting Portuguese ports and allowing unaccompanied, individual port excursions.

I find this decision by Celebrity strange. We are regular Celebrity voyagers (>11 cruises) but tried a NCL cruise round the Greek Islands in August this year. Able to get off at every port and wander around as we wished. We did go on one NCL excursion only.