New Iona details

[stephen@stoneyard.co.uk]

6 hours ago, dgs1956 said:

HaHa I'm sure you're well aware that there are a lot of people on cruises that can eat and drink all day and still probably manage up to the buffet for a late night snack. Not me I'm afraid, I don't drink that much, although I can do on occasion, and if I put on more then 3 or 4 lbs on a 2 week cruise I would not be a happy man.

 

I do like to eat and drink on a cruise but I have my limits and I like other things to do. I put on a pound a day I would guess. I lose half a stone before the cruise and the rest after. 

 

Best wishes, Stephen. 

[stephen@stoneyard.co.uk]

6 hours ago, Britboys said:

Indeed Stephen.  I think most of the modern, huge, megaships are designed to maximise the number of 'revenue centres' on board.  Hence Iona having as many - or possibly more - for-fee restaurants than free ones.  Iona will apparently have some sort of Library aboard but it will be in Anderson's, along with the Gin Distillery.  I guess it is just about impossible to provide any sort of meaningful library stock for upwards of 5000 pax anyway.  I bet there will be an opportunity to buy things in Iona's Library too 😁

 

It does seem to be the P and O way. We shall see how it works for them. I am on on of early cruises to Norway.  I always enjoy Norway and am cruising with friends.  It will probably be my only Iona cruise. My only other big ships are Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas and MSC Bellissima. As ships and as cruises, one I enjoyed very much the other was just so so. 

 

Best wishes, Stephen. 

[Britboys]

11 hours ago, stephen@stoneyard.co.uk said:

 

It does seem to be the P and O way. We shall see how it works for them. I am on on of early cruises to Norway.  I always enjoy Norway and am cruising with friends.  It will probably be my only Iona cruise. My only other big ships are Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas and MSC Bellissima. As ships and as cruises, one I enjoyed very much the other was just so so. 

 

Best wishes, Stephen. 

I'm sure you will enjoy yourself with your friends Stephen.  I did a 4-night on Azura in March this year with a group of friends despite really not liking Azura after sailing on her in 2011.  I still intensely dislike Azura after this but had a great time with the big group of friends in March!

[Scriv]

On 8/7/2019 at 9:56 PM, tartanexile81 said:

Think they dash up and down to Southampton 

 Haha - have just read this. 🙂 Yes, we do, and are always the ones left behind as you all sail off into the sunset. One day...

 

[stephen@stoneyard.co.uk]

6 hours ago, Britboys said:

I'm sure you will enjoy yourself with your friends Stephen.  I did a 4-night on Azura in March this year with a group of friends despite really not liking Azura after sailing on her in 2011.  I still intensely dislike Azura after this but had a great time with the big group of friends in March!

 

I certainly will. I know what you mean. I had a lovely cruise on MSC but that was entirely the company, the ship was not my taste. 

 

Best wishes, Stephen. 

[WhickhamLass]

On 8/6/2019 at 5:38 PM, mcloaked said:

 

When I contacted P&O (quite some time back) and asked about whether there would be a ballroom on Iona, the answer was no. So there is every indication that there will not be any facility for regular nightly ballroom dancing on Iona.  There may be other small floor spaces where 'some' ballroom music or Latin may be played occasionally,  but nothing in the advertising for facilities on the ship shows any indication that this will be the case.  I would be interested if anyone has more recently had any direct communication from P&O about provision for dancers, and particularly ballroom and Latin dancers as opposed to disco party dancing which of course can be done on any small space without any need for a proper dance floor.  

 

Of course if they don't fill up the bookings they might then start to look at providing facilities to get back some of the traditional ballroom cruise passengers who will look to the other ships where a ballroom is available every evening.

 

 

It's a pity. I love ballroom dancing but unless you go to the likes of Cunard or maybe Fred Olsen there is little about. The Atriums on most ships are totally unsuitable and dance teachers usually do the basic modern sequence dancing. Might have to pay out and go Cunard next time.

[ballroom-cruisers]

Yes it remains the case that Cunard is about the only line that still has ballroom and Latin dancing every evening, with an orchestra playing several sets of 45 minutes each evening, with recorded music between those sets.  It used to be the case that P&O had ballroom dancing, such as in the Crystal Room on Britannia, every evening, with quite a lot of people coming to sit, buy a drink, and watch the ballroom dancing, including show dances on formal evenings.  However when that started to be diluted by quizzes and jazz duo sets in the middle of the evenings on Britannia we stopped going on P&O, and haven't been back.  Also on Cunard the dance classes have always been run by a professional ballroom couple, and high quality teaching of basic waltz, cha cha, rumba, jive, quickstep, and occasionally samba, have been taught on sea days.  There was a period this year when the classes were taught by dance hosts instead when a professional couple was not on board, but that is apparently changing back to the original format again, with a professional couple back on board, as well as dance hosts to partner solo or other passengers who wish to dance in the evenings. The dance floor on Cunard ships is a reasonable size, so that a moderate number of couples can dance the moving dances like foxtrots, waltzes, quicksteps, ballroom tango, and samba and paso, whereas the floor on most other lines is quite a lot smaller. Although there have been some limited sequence dance sets on Cunard, such as an hour at 5pm, it has largely been the case that the evenings are ballroom and Latin dancing - so the dancing is much more interesting and pleasurable when it is not rigid sequence figure groups, which often has packed rings of couples and free movement around the room is difficult.

[Fionboard]

14 hours ago, WhickhamLass said:

It's a pity. I love ballroom dancing but unless you go to the likes of Cunard or maybe Fred Olsen there is little about. The Atriums on most ships are totally unsuitable and dance teachers usually do the basic modern sequence dancing. Might have to pay out and go Cunard next time.

Ventura has dancing in the atrium most nights and Britannia in the Crystal room. Aurora in Masquerade and Arcadia in the Retreat (not a nice venue, a bit out of the way). 

[ballroom-cruisers]

We have not  been on Ventura for some years - how much ballroom dancing is there in the Atrium on this ship in the evenings?  Is it all evening, or do they have small periods of ballroom dancing interspersed with other activities like jazz duo sets, or quizzes that you can't dance to? Do they still have a live band? Or is it all recorded ballroom music when they do play it?

[Ilovemygarden]

1 hour ago, ballroom-cruisers said:

We have not  been on Ventura for some years - how much ballroom dancing is there in the Atrium on this ship in the evenings?  Is it all evening, or do they have small periods of ballroom dancing interspersed with other activities like jazz duo sets, or quizzes that you can't dance to? Do they still have a live band? Or is it all recorded ballroom music when they do play it?

I haven’t been on Ventura but on Azura in February there were two sessions each evening in the atrium (with hosts) - one I think at 7.30 and another at 9.00 or maybe 9.30.  No live band though.   There were also daytime classes on sea days.

[ballroom-cruisers]

5 minutes ago, Ilovemygarden said:

I haven’t been on Ventura but on Azura in February there were two sessions each evening in the atrium (with hosts) - one I think at 7.30 and another at 9.00 or maybe 9.30.  No live band though.   There were also daytime classes on sea days.

 

Thanks - how long were the ballroom evening sessions?  An hour, 45 minutes or something else?  I guess if 7.30pm to 8.30pm, and then 9pm to 10pm it is reasonable enjoyment level for a dancer - though many ballroom dancers are used to three hours of dancing in an evening, or more.

[Ilovemygarden]

4 hours ago, ballroom-cruisers said:

 

Thanks - how long were the ballroom evening sessions?  An hour, 45 minutes or something else?  I guess if 7.30pm to 8.30pm, and then 9pm to 10pm it is reasonable enjoyment level for a dancer - though many ballroom dancers are used to three hours of dancing in an evening, or more.

I honestly don’t know but that is a good approximation.  I seem to remember (probably depending on the hosts) that the later session went on until everyone had had enough!  

[Fionboard]

17 hours ago, Ilovemygarden said:

I haven’t been on Ventura but on Azura in February there were two sessions each evening in the atrium (with hosts) - one I think at 7.30 and another at 9.00 or maybe 9.30.  No live band though.   There were also daytime classes on sea days.

Was similar on Ventura, with more dancing on formal nights.