Mymarina Bay

Today I was in discussion with my TA and by chance this issue was raised. He did say he thought PO were tightening the rules due to an incident last October on Iona when there was a fire due to a lithium battery pack setting alight. (Un)Fortunately it happened in port but I believe the ship was evacuated while it was extinguished however it could so easily have happened at sea.

We are looking forward to it especially the short journey to embark. Visited the ports before although only once to Gijon. We hope to get the metro to Bilbao as we are docked until 10 pm but disappointed Fred's shuttle doesn't drop you in Bilbao. Getxo is quite nice we had lunch there once although didnt cross the Vizcayha bridge but its on our to do list. A shortish journey from home definitely ticks my box.

Keep trying as they stay open until 8pm possibly later, Ive always managed to get through around 7.30 - 8 pm.

We booked Fred for similar reasons and found customer services excellent so far. (It seems a long time ago when we last had a printed excursion brochure from P&O.) We have two future cruises booked with PO, one next year the other in 2026 but if we enjoy our first cruise in October like you we will be booking again.

Thank you for replies. Will see what is available when our TA does the transfer in the next month or so.

Our cousin recently travelled Eavesway from Preston on Man United coach. It had its own fitted kitchen, TVs on every seat, private tables, iced water dispenser and full air con. We have had a few poor coaches with Intercruise, even when Ellisons turns up its still poor compared to Eavesway. However our last coach from Preston was the worst one yet. The guy had travelled from East Yorkshire to collect us on a coach that probably had its best days 40 years ago. It reminded me of a school bus as most seats were theadbare and stained, a couple of windows opened, no air con, absolutely no leg room at all and he asked that the toilet was only used in emergency as it wasn't working correctly. He had been on the road for a few hours already with no pickups, so stopped at services within 30 mins and continued stopping at services approx every hour to take a break. Took us 9 hours from pick up at 7am to drop off at 4pm with no traffic hold ups. A couple we met had travelled Eavesway from Preston and were eating lunch onboard at 1.30. The coach back was better (Smiths I think) but even that had issues with toilet not working and cramped seats. Intercruise should have a standard that all coaches have to meet and if they dont a refund should be given to passengers. NB We got the train for the next cruse. Departed Preston 7 am eating lunch onboard by 12 noon. Will get the train in future if Eavesway n/a.

When did they stop offering the service? I see they still offer Arvia, Aurora,Arcadia, Brittania and Ventura luckily. Our coach this year with Intercruise was appalling, no air con, no leg room, tatty seats (prisoners probably travel in better comfort) and driver kept stopping at services for no other reason than to have a fag.

We are having to transfer a cruise next year and I quite fancy trying Iona to the Fjords. However before transferring our booking I am looking for some advice on standard balcony cabins. We are good sailors and prefer very quiet parts of a ship. I am looking at the front of Iona towards end of a corridor or forward facing cabins thinking decks 11, 12, 14 (steel fronted) (subject to availability). Has anyone stayed near the front and can you recommend any or do you know of any we should avoid towards the front?

Also booked our first cruise with Fred sailing on Bolette out of Liverpool in October. Clocked up 3k+ points with P&O over the past 24 years as well as Celebrity and Princess. Looking forward to a short train journey (or taxi) to port and sailing on a smaller ship although dont think the original Arcadia was that big.

Back to the original post about baby equipment. A few years ago daughter requested cot, steriliser and baby bath. Cot and bath provided no steriliser (steward said she got the last bath). The reason they gave onboard for no steriliser was these had already been earmarked by officers partners! She would have brought her own had she been told before. It wasnt ideal and regardless of them saying the bottles would be sterilised in the kitchens it rarely happened. My advice would be to take one anyway. Baby food was never requested but told it was kept in the buffet you just had to ask. No problem with baby food.

Always go and explore the ship from top to bottom, unpacking can wait. We decide which bar is likely to be our go to for the rest of the holiday. Also love watching the comings and goings at the dockside. Definitely get ourselves a drink, its usually a sailaway cocktail for me and a bottle of whatever for him. I love sitting on promenade deck with a glass in hand sailing down the Solent (weather permitting). We check out all the restaurants and decide where to eat on the first night, no way are we joining the long queue for freedom that night. Just love our first day its the start of another adventure.

Ring in the evening before 8pm you get through quickly.

We came back recently from a 7 day Arcadia cruise our spend was £300 between the two of us. This included a meal in Sindhu, three bottles of wine in MDR (not same night), drinks before and after dinner including cocktails, costa coffee and Irish coffee for me nearly every day . No soft drinks only water. Also a couple of purchases from onboard shop. We had exactly what we wanted and still came in under the drinks package cost. What I have an issue with is PO upselling the drinks package to customers who don't understand what the package includes. There was a lady on our cruise travelling solo and a first time cruiser age early 70s at a guess. She had been sold the drinks package and thought this meant tea & coffee in cabin, at breakfast, lunch and dinner. She knew it was 15 drinks per day but had barely touched alcohol the whole cruise. Our waiter explained she could have what she liked but she was very reluctant saying she would rather drink unlimited tea/coffee. She had booked directly with PO and the agent had sold her the package saying she wouldnt have to worry about her drinks bill at the end of the cruise. It really irked me that she had been taken advantage of when it was obvious no one had explained to her exactly what she was purchsing.

No problem. She said if they remained after a week to contact again. Also she took our booking reference and said the best time to phone (in case they didn't drop off) was in the evening before 8 pm.

We arrived back from Arcadia last weekend and discovered Tuesday extra charges. After waiting 45 mins on phone spoke to a very helpful agent who said they were holding charges by the bank and they would disappear within a week. They dropped off yday.

Just to let you all know the CP and PO customer service were both wrong. There were two formal nights as usual. Lots of unhappy cruisers on the second night because of the mix up particularly those refused entry to MDR. I overheard a few complaining at reception. It was noticeable in the Theatre, I would guess 50% not in formal attire. Ship to shore obviously not got act together.

Decided to pack formal wear just in case there are two nights not one as stated on CP. Will report back.

I've double checked the CP and it's still showing one. Is the response from PO wrong as well ! Will see, we sail Saturday with/without formal attire will decide tomorrow.

Our cruise is 7 nights and it's usually 2 formal ie first sea day and last port day. However it was queried by a fellow cruiser and the reply from PO was only one on cruises under 11 days.

Presume then it must be a recent change for future cruises.

When did they decide on only one formal night on cruises under 11 days. Expected the usual two on our upcoming Arcadia cruise. Its not worth packing formal attire for one night only.