TigerB

I have feeling that they probably refuelled there because it was easier than doing it at Southampton and possibly cheaper, taking on enough to see the ship well into the next cruise. I'm quite certain they didn't take on extra food and, like they do with longer itineraries in the Caribbean or Med. If they did, it really didn't show; the yogurts were still getting thin and the grapefruit juice still felt watered down in the last two days before getting to Southampton.🙄 I don't recall it being refuelled in Stavanger. We were parked port side to the quay, and while we were walking around the harbour I don't recall seeing a tanker on the starboard side; they are usually there for several hours. We found Haugesund to be a bit meh, so thought it must be port selected more for the convenience of the company (cheap fuel) rather than as a picturesque port for the passengers. Perhaps @molecrochip may be able to offer a 'company' perspective.

That is the problem with the inside seating in the Quays; they could very easily set three of four tables near the walkway aside for wheelchair users and the mobility impaired. But no! Even though M&S do it in their coffee shops, P&O can't be seen to give priority to those that need it!🙄 What we would do is take our food deckside; we usually found seating outside in the same area, both starboard and port side. I would sometimes just bob down and grab something for both of us, and take it back to the cabin.

Another great report.👍 I am so glad you enjoyed the tasting menu; I too thought it was fantastic and excellent value for money. I really liked the trout, but that was the only thing I had off the meat/fish menu; everything else I had was on the vegetarian menu. Don't say too much as @bronzevernis has booked the tasting menu, but did you like the chicken skin amuse? Our lass left it. I'm glad too that you are really liking Olive Grove, and choosing it for lunch. That Crema Catalana dessert really is fantastic. As you know, I'm not a dessert person and have never had two or more desserts at one sitting (🤥), but I reckon I could easily polish off four or five of those!🐷 As you did, we also booked for the maiden Fjord season, and was looking forward to Gerainger. We booked the June one in November 2021, and I can't really remember if that port had been dropped by then. The navigation of Geraingerfjord was still on though, so that was a disappointment it was also dropped nearer to our cruise. When onboard I had a conversation with the Excursions Manager about why the navigation as far as the Seven Sisters had been dropped; I had initially understood it to be scheduled for after we left Hellesylt in the early afternoon. He said something along the lines of it not being at the optimum time for all guests to enjoy. I couldn't get my head around that, as the Fjord transit from Olden was during meal times, as was the subsequent one from Hellesylt. I reckon it was more from a commercial viewpoint, in the they wanted to get to Haugesund early enough to not miss out on refuelling. Wow, the 710 Club has been more popular on your cruise than it was on ours; the most I saw queuing for the 22:30 performance was about twenty. It sounds like there has been a change of personnel also; this was our band... Sebastian - pianist, lead vocalist, and MD Adam - guitar Ellis - bass Ryan - drums. I know what you mean about the silent disco. Our kids and their partners did it on Britannia last year, and loved it. I have threatened our lass that, on the next cruise, and subject to the imbibing of several Punk IPAs, I will treat the other cruisers to my falsetto singing style and dad dancing.🤭

Yes indeed, she doesn't need unnecessary stress on holiday. I meant to ask, do they charge for the fancy coffees in the MDR?

Thanks for another great report.👍 I'm sorry to hear that you are still having lift problems, and that it influences your decision not to cruise again on Iona or Arvia. That's a shame. Incidentally, are you always using the midship lifts when you leave your cabin for breakfast. We have found that the aft and forward lifts were usually quieter of a morning; the corridors outside the cabins are wider than some other ships, so we've never encountered a problem using them to get to another lift. I'm in agreement with you about both Keel and Cow, and Glass House; not just the quality of food and the poor selection (GH), but also the open dining aspect. No doubt, like us, you experienced folk just coming and sitting on the tables set for meals, to enjoy their drinks from the bar. Glass House on both Iona and Arvia is nothing like the one on Britannia. I'll look out for that female singer next time we're on. Is she the one that is generally billed as the 'busker' in Brodies? Hopefully, you will have a good day in Hellesylt. Watch your back pushing Lady S up the hill to the waterfall; hopefully, you will choose the better route.

All the gangways are wheelchair accessible, and you're correct, the designated one isn't for the exclusive use of wheelchair users; P&O don't afford priority to them, apparently. It usually depends on a few factors as to which one is designated as the wheelchair one; one factor may be the surface of the quay, but the most common being the gradient being affected by the tide. The latter is why the designation may change later in the day.

Nope, on Iona too. Just press the star button.

I see where you're coming from John, and I've no doubt that Carnival would cite the H&S in an emergency as a reason. That said, it's probably the latter reason that motivates them not to provide more; extra berths equals extra income.

Taking into account the spending power of the purple pound, you would think that, when designing Iona and Arvia, they would have included more accessible cabins in order to tap into that resource. But no! Those two ships only have 55 accessible cabins, and 20 of those are classed as only partially accessible.

They stand up, push them, then sit back down again.🤭 Seriously though, more often than not they would be with a carer/partner; otherwise, if they were alone, they would have to rely on a stranger doing it. Another example of designers not thinking about all the needs of wheelchair users. Then again, thinking about Selbourne's response from the lady in Guest Services, wheelchair users appear not to matter to P&O.

It looks like you're on the port side, judging by that photo.😉

Yes, a ramp at the back. To be fair, there were a lot of them when we were in, some being from different operators, albeit they were all managed at the quayside by the same company - Olden Sightseeing. Others on subsequent trips have reported less of them being available. Perhaps there was a surplus on our visit because they weren't needed elsewhere. Get her a power chair; there are some really good lithium ones that fold up really easily, ideal for traveling as well as everyday use. Your back will thank you! Our lass used to hate it when she only had a manual chair, as I would steer her away from expensive stuff when shopping.🤭

You've done very well then with the additional discount at the beginning. Perhaps they've changed it since we last pre-booked, or maybe they knew it was you!😄 You're right about the balcony situation; I don't think we would want that with our kids, and you get the extra space with yours anyway.

Thanks for the great update, young man.👍 Hopefully, your meal last night has caused you to reassess your view on Sindhu. For us, although they only have one menu on Iona and Arvia, they were more varied. I think your sums are wrong though. We've only had the Peninsular discount off the cover charge, the additional 20% off occurs once in the restaurant. Still good value though, but not as good value as just five or six years ago where you would get three courses plus coffee for about £18. One of the things I was going to ask was about the balcony partitions. I take it both of your girls are in the two deluxe cabins at one side of you. Have you considered asking for the partitions to be opened? It is really annoying when you get kids running up and down and making a row. I don't blame the kids though, there are doing what kids do. It's the parents/guardians! Incidentally, don't you have a pull down bed in your cabin? Any problems with it squeaking during th night. Or, like Goldilocks with your pillow and extra cushion, are you away with the fairies? I'm not going to go on about trying to get in the lifts again; posts from me and others on this subject yesterday were removed.🤔 However, I feel your pain! You do mention something else that really annoys us; that is when you finally get in a lift, then everyone else crams in like sardines, totally oblivious to the fact that the personal space of the lady in the wheelchair is being invaded. I once had to tell a bloke to stop holding on to the back of her chair. Another consequence of said cramming is when you hear, "Is there room for just one more"? and when that person squeezes in, the 'overweight' alarm goes off. Then you get, "It must be the wheelchair". No, it is you, you fat knacker!🤬 (NOTE TO OTHERS: The above comment is my view only, and something that I'm sure Selbourne and his good lady wife have experienced. Please try and resist responding specifically and risk this great thread going off tangent. The Mods don't like that!) Enjoy the rest of your day in Olden; hopefully you may get on one of the land trains. It is a good trip, going up and around Lake Floen.

That's right👍 I've posted above; hopefully Selbourne may see it whilst still in port. The land choo-choo trip is about an hour and I thought it was good value.

When we were there in June, of the seven land trains I counted, more than half were wheelchair accessible at the back. https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2943400-not-quite-live-from-iona-g318-fjords-10th-june/page/4/#comment-65546780

Great photos!👍 You've even managed to photoshop some low cloud in.🤭

Nope! Lidl ones will do for me. #Yorkshire

That explains it! For a moment there I thought your lad must have been Heston Blumenthal.😯

I could be swayed by a fish finger butty. Not one of those posh ones with mayonnaise and rocket, which a 'gastro pub' charges a tenner for. It has to be buttered 'plastic' white bread, with a bit of tomato ketchup. My 'go to' meal after a holiday is usually chips and dippy eggs.😋

19:00 / 20:45 / 22:30 / 00:15

What took you so long, lad? After the football yesterday, I had to get on with those jobs our lass had on her list; no sitting on my backside allowed whilst waiting for your first post!🤭 Decor and ambience: I hadn't really thought about it before, but now that you mention it, I suppose the public areas do have that modern conference hotel feel to them. To us, they were just light and airy, albeit quite noisy in the atrium. Other than Britannia and Arvia, we haven't sailed on any other P&O ships, so not much else to compare to. By the way, to really get that airport feel, you need to go on Arvia, where the shop concessions are laid out in an open manner like the duty free area of an airport. Dining: I'm really glad you enjoyed Olive Grove; for us, the experience in there was far superior to the one we had on Arvia. It is busier of an evening though, but I think you're all sorted with other venues. I'm also glad you enjoyed Epicurean and that it was better than you had experienced on Britannia. I do hope the tasting menu lives up to expectations. See! All that stress beforehand about getting a table for all of you in the MDR, and it resolves itself. Top marks to the restaurant manager for recognising you and offering to sort you out. As you say, you don't necessarily have to be the infamous Selbourne to be able to get a table. I know what you mean about Aqua, although it felt much quieter than either of the main MDRs. We did prefer Opal, which you won't get to experience as it doesn't open for breakfast. Lifts and priority: I'll try and keep this short, as I could easily go on for ages! What a response from the lady at Guest Services!😯 She may as well have said, "Hey, you've got an adapted cabin, there are automatic doors around the ship, we've made space for you in the theatre, we've provided lifts; what more do you want"? Her response now makes me realise why there aren't cards on the tables in Horizon of the Quays, requesting priority be given to wheelchair users and disabled guests. Luckily, despite the apparent policy of P&O/Carnival on priority, or lack of, for some of the most vulnerable guests, at least there are some folk around that have the common sense and courtesy to try and make life a wee bit easier for such guests. @molecrochip, I would be interested to read your view on this, and if the 'policy' mentioned by the lady in Guest Services comes from the top. After reading about your first lift experience, I did wonder how long it would be before you became vocal with other guests. You have more patience than me! Having experienced it previously, I'm there straightaway: going to the lift doors and blocking access to those ' blind sprinters', and pointing out that there are disabled folk waiting. Cabin: I can't believe that a cabin steward who services accessible cabins doesn't know how the equipment works. Hopefully, the sink won't break down as ours did. Hopefully, you'll get used to the automatic doors, and remember to stand well away from the main one when leaving the cabin, especially if you are leaving your good lady inside in a state of undress!🤭 The balcony doors are so easy to use, aren't they? Until they break down! I know what you mean about the pillows. When we first see our cabin steward, we always ask for two extra ones; our lass needs plenty of support. I am like you though, one is not enough, two are too much. As a compromise, when I'm ready to settle down, I use on pillow and put it on its side. I hope you enjoy your day in Stavanger. I look forward to your next installment.

Welcome home to you all. I bet Teddy was right fussy to see you. Thanks for sharing your trip with us; your launderette shenanigans took me right back! 😉

The Olive Grove is one of those restaurants that isn't available to book ahead on the Cruise Planner; well, it certainly hasn't been for the three cruises for Arvia and Iona that we've been on. Once onboard, we found that availablity for the Iona version to be better than the Arvia one, even getting in a few days into the cruise. We like to be able to book our speciality dining, and when available, our MDR dining ahead of the cruise. That said, I would expect that some availablity is held back for booking by others once onboard; if not, it should be.

Another example then of P&O's left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.🤔 As you say, it causes some folk to miss out who otherwise may have had a look.