Cathygh

Hi yes that's right but that might change in the future

On anothere site there is list of Iona beds by the balcony or wardrobe. All dining is Freedom/Anytimee on Iona. I think of you ask the restaurant Manager when you board you can book a table at set time as long as it is by 6.30. Or if you join a virtual queue at about 5.30 you should be seated by 6.30. The MDRs are very busy early on and open at 6 Yes jacket is required on black tie night The cafe in the atrium sells costa coffee, I think you can get it in most of the bars. Same price as on land. Shows are mainly 6.30 and 8.30 Have look at the Iona boards reviews and Live From on Cruse critic

I was on Britannia in November, everything was fine. My main dislike was thst someof he Headliners' (in house singers/dancers) singers screech. The food was better than our cruise on Arcadia in August. If I had a complaint it would be that some of the towels and linen have seen better days but they might have been replace by June. I can't comment on the Butlins comparison as it's 30 years since I've been to one.

it means liqour/spirits/beer/wine etc. You can make coffee in your cabin, kettle etc is provided, or from the buffet from 6am

Thank you, have a good cruise. I am considering this cruise for a future January for the same reasons so I am very interested in how to keep busy on the sea days.

I have not seen film of any talks since the restart, staff cut backs maybe? I used to enjoy catching up on the art talks as they always clashed with something else.

Was the teminal really full of people sitting down, or was it a case of a long wait at the check in desks? I ask because on Iona in May they only let people in when they could go straight to the check in desk, and held people at the bottom of the escalator until the queue cleared. No one was waiting on the seats in the terminal.

I wonder if the queues are so long because people have turned up without their yellow fever vaccination or exemption certificate? The weather here is better than yesterday but still not that great. Have a wonderful time @Selbourne

If you want to see the act then book it but you need to do it as soon as reservations open. You can try asking in board, they might hold some seats for those who don't do the internet, and they have a waiting list you can join in case there are cancellations

I'm very late to this thread but I would like to make a couple of comments 1 The P&O 'app' I have recently become aware of an app called dojo. It allows you to join a virtual queue for cafes etc that are listed on it. It lets you know how long the wait is, checks you still want a table and tells you when it is ready. This is what P&O need. 2 River cruises seem so expensive, even befoe covid. And prices seem to have risen by at least 25% and doubled in some cases making them more so. I'd love to go down the Danube, Douro and the Nile but I can have 2- 4 week's sea cruising for 1 week on the Danube.

We rarely go into Southampton now, only if we want to go to John Lewis or Ikea. Or get on a ship🛳️ I can get most things I need here in Bishop's Waltham or Hedge End. I still like Winchester but there's not a lot of Independent shops there now.

It's perfect time to get off the ship and pootle over to Wickham, pop into my shop, spend all your money, before we change hands in a week's time. Lots to do outside of Southampton- Wickham, Bishop's Waltham. Alresford, Stockbridge, all totally unspoiled and non touristy. If anyone wants a model of a P&O ship there are a few for sale in Warwick Market in Wickham (not my shop).

The toilets don't seem to be be part of the premoulded elements. On some ships the walls and the tiles seem to be premoulded, making it difficult to change the colour scheme.

The problem with dated cabins is changing them. I believe but I stand to be corrected that the cabins are premoulded so changing them is an expensive challenge especially for bathroom fittings. The other ships apart from Arcadia are much more modern. Just been on Britannia and had excellent tv coverage and a goid selection of films and box sets. Aurora and Arcadia need to be brought up to that standard at least.

On the previous cruise to yours 31 passengers ( allegedly) were taken off the ship for drunken behaviour. They had sat in a bar in the port all day drinking. Though people who actually saw them come back to the ship said they were not abusive just in party mode. There were also reports about drunken behaviour at the Lido Bar in the early hours. BTW at Barbados aiport it is slightly cooler at the gates, the area by the bars and cafes is extremely hot.

Thank you, I was on the cruise before yours and enjoyed it very much. Regarding the missed port, did you get a substitute? If you didn't you might be be to claim off your insurance company, but you need a letter from P&O saying that the port was missed and that they aren't giving any compensation for it. We got £150 each back for a missed port in May this year.

What put me off Arcadia was the cruise cough I had for 3 weeks when on board(August) which disappeared when I was in the fresh air. I have done 12 cruises since the restart, including one last month, and I only had the problem on Arcadia. If I were to bet on any ship beeing sold off I would chose Ventura or Azura. If P&O can't fill their ships to the level required for a good profit cutting capacity by 3000 might make a difference, and give them a cash injection

Thank you Your comment about the food being bette than Britannia earlier in the year caught my eye. IMHO the food for me can influence how much I enjoy the cruise I have come to the conclusion that who ever is in charge of a particuar kitchin has great influence over the quality of the cooking. So If I were to rank the MDR food on the 3 P&O cruises I have done this year I would say Iona (May) Excellent Britannia (November) Very good Arcadia (August) improvement required Yet now I am reading complaints elsewhere that the food on Iona is below par and it seems like Britannia has improved since you were on board. All comments are IMHO.

Yes I do, I ordered it not having tried it before and not realising its price.

I don't have the list but Vergelegen is £34 and is included in the Captain's package.

Glasshouse on Britannia is part of the virtual queuing system. The queue closed at about 6.30 everynight and did not reopen before 7.30 which is when we like to eat. I don't know if it opened later. Someone told us they tried to walk in and were told there was a 45 minute wait. We asked if we could go in for a drink- yes they said. We hadn't realised you coud just pop in for a drink, and I don't think many other did either as it was relatively quiet(compared to 2018 when it was rammed every night with drinkers far outnumbering the diners). Then once we were seated we were asked if we were dining. We declined, but I do wonder if they did not knw we hadn't been in the dining queue, and if we had ordered would they have twigged?

I like the concepts and the songs in the shows but not the singing in broad American accents and the screaching girls. This is not how the cast is taught on their performing arts courses, this is how the Production Team in Southampton tell them to sing. Even US singers sing in a mid atlantic accent, not the broad accents I have heard in the shows. IMHO the Production and Musical Directors need to be replaced. And the Sound Engineer who makes the drums drown the other instruments out. I am referring to my recent cruises on Arcadia and Britannia, the one I did on Iona on May had much better singing.

Just remembered there is another thread on this ssubject too.

Available on Arcadia on for fixed dining though.

On Britannia last week we had a best Christmas jumper or T shirt competition on a casual night, a much better idea IMHO. We did not enter the competion ( clashed with dinner) and most passesngers who spotted us in our T shirts told us they didn't get the email asking passengers to bring them. However on Brutannia they scheduled the Indian Buffet on a formal night. So like your Christmas jumper night I suspect that this is a way of dumbing down formal nights and gives P&O an excuse to drop down to formals on 2 week cruises.