Tdrott

I’ve just come off this cruise and here are my thoughts. It’s been six years since our last cruise and the two biggest differences we found were the boarding times and the booking app. We’d normally rock up about 12ish (we’ve an 350 mile drive so leave early to avoid as much heavy traffic as possible) and get straight on the ship however I hadn’t realised the new arrangement, hence we arrived at 12 with a boarding time of 4pm. So had a 3+hour wait outside. The boarding time was on the check in document but I never give it a thought to look in to it. Perhaps a highlighted explanation may help others. As for the booking app, it’s brilliant…….for those that are able to use it first! Strangely I managed to book a couple of theatre events a few days before boarding but I couldn’t book any restaurants. So by the time I was “apped” up everything was gone which was extremely disappointing as I wanted to try out some of the specialty restaurants. It was even more annoying to hear a number of people booking 2 or 3 times at these restaurants even more galling when someone brazenly said they didn’t turn up for one booking. I don’t know what P&O could do about that, perhaps a disclaimer “subject to availability “ would help although these restaurants are a big plus for the ship and they don’t want to put people off. We had a few meals in the MDR’s (Pearl & Coral) which were quite nice without being outstanding although the portions seem to have shrunk over the years, eating two plates of everything wouldn’t have been a challenge for most. However the breakfast in the Pearl restaurant was superb so I’d certainly recommend that. The Horizon buffet was ok but didn’t seem to have the variety of choices Azura or Ventura had but my biggest gripe was the temperature of the food, mostly lukewarm when you picked it resulting in cold when you ate it, this could also be said for the MDR. Unlike Azura and Ventura there were plenty of seats and we never had a problem getting one at any time through the week. We managed to get an early booking for the Aqua restaurant which was described as having an a la carte menu, unfortunately it didn’t so we had the normal MDR menu. The Quays eating establishments were also very good and the food was hot. Again small portions but you could keep going back for more so it wasn’t a problem. The Headliners were, as always, terrific and put on excellent shows. We also saw the magician but didn’t think he was up to much. Iona is mahoosive and it took us the best part of the week to get used to her but she is what she is, a cruise ship for the masses. We did enjoy our week but would probably prefer a smaller ship, queueing and scrambling for appointments is not my idea of a holiday but I appreciate some people don’t mind

Not long actually. About 30 mins with about 50+ ahead of you in queue but you have no idea how long you’ll be waiting. I had to check the app to see if table was ready as no alert given although that may be me not using the app correctly

Just an update as promised. When I eventually got on board I went straight to reception and aired my complaint. The staff didn’t really believe that I’d paid for a balcony and “upgraded” to one without. They asked me for proof of purchase so I got someone to go to my house and send me the invoice via email. Once they saw that they were quite happy to sort me a bald cabin out, a conservatory mini suite. As a side not we hadn’t been cruising for 6 years and hadn’t realised some changes like we now had a boarding time. Normally we’d rock up and they let you on the ship. So we waited outside the checking in area for 3 hours before they’d let us in. When on board by the time we’d sorted the cabin out and downloaded the booking app ALL the restaurants were fully booked for the whole week and now have to join a queue every night for the restaurants so just a heads up to anyone who isn’t aware of these changes. Once again thank you all for your input

To my mind the upgrade offered is an increase therefore upgrade in the space ( rather pointless as it’s only the two of us) but a decrease and downgrade in facilities. Thanks to you all for your input, I shall ask for it to be changed when I board and keep you informed

Booking under the Saver fare it’s not an option to refuse an upgrade. If I knew they could change a balcony cabin to an outside cabin, albeit a suite, I’d certainly would have had a rethink

Hello all. I’m about to take a cruise on Iona to the Fjiords. I booked a saver fare as it was a last minute thing and paid for a deluxe balcony cabin as I wished to see the sun rising and setting. When I got allocated my cabin I realised that they’d given me an upgrade to a family suite that has no balcony and I’m most annoyed. Has anyone had the same happen to them ?. I know that going with the saver fare means you can’t select your cabin but surely if you pay for a balcony cabin you should get one !