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Iona Maiden / Naming

Host Sharon

By Host Sharon,
in P&O Cruises ( UK )

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Host Sharon "Live from...." Rare

Host Sharon

Posted
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So what are people's feelings about the naming ceremony and the consequent celebrations, being on the 4th July cruise now, rather than before the Maiden Voyage? Have to admit I'm a bit unhappy that we may not get the same level of special events now.

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gillybean1974

gillybean1974

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I booked the July 4th cruise when bookings first opened. Have since made other plans for the rest of the summer so can't easily transfer to another cruise. I'm not too happy about missing Stavanger, not sure how I feel about being onboard for the naming ceremony.

 

Now have to look at transferring or cancelling the cruise., which is annoying as I had planned this summer out and picked out the cabin we wanted (whereas now we're going to be stuck with whatever is left over).

 

For those who have been to Norway before, would you cancel a cruise that missed Stavanger? Or are the other 2 ports enough for a Norway cruise?

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AndyMichelle

AndyMichelle

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21 minutes ago, gillybean1974 said:

I booked the July 4th cruise when bookings first opened. Have since made other plans for the rest of the summer so can't easily transfer to another cruise. I'm not too happy about missing Stavanger, not sure how I feel about being onboard for the naming ceremony.

 

Now have to look at transferring or cancelling the cruise., which is annoying as I had planned this summer out and picked out the cabin we wanted (whereas now we're going to be stuck with whatever is left over).

 

For those who have been to Norway before, would you cancel a cruise that missed Stavanger? Or are the other 2 ports enough for a Norway cruise?

Stavenger is nice, but nowhere near as good as some of the other Fjord ports. 

Being onboard for the naming ceremony would be quite special so I would think carefully before cancelling. 

Whatever you decide, have a great cruise. 

Andy 

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gillybean1974

gillybean1974

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2 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Stavenger is nice, but nowhere near as good as some of the other Fjord ports. 

Being onboard for the naming ceremony would be quite special so I would think carefully before cancelling. 

Whatever you decide, have a great cruise. 

Andy 

Thank you, that's very helpful!! We have until 29th November to decide but may not cancel is Stavanger is the lesser of the ports. 

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Rupert2251

Rupert2251

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1 hour ago, pete14 said:

Where has this information come from? We are on the maiden cruise and share Sharon’s concerns. 

It only affects pax booked on G010 4 July, they will overnight in Southampton for the official naming ceremony then miss out Stavanger and continue as follows

 

The new itinerary will be: 
Saturday 4 July Southampton overnight
Sunday 5 July Sail from Southampton, depart early morning
Monday 6 July At Sea 
Tuesday 7 July Olden,
 Innvikfjorden & Nordfjord (Cruise-By)
Wednesday 8 July Hellesylt and Geiranger
 Geirangerfjord, Sunnylvsfjorden & Storfjorden (Cruise-By)
Thursday 9 July Bergen
Friday 10 July At Sea
Saturday 11 July Southampton

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Host Sharon "Live from...." Rare

Host Sharon

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Just now, SarahHben said:

I’m not on Facebook, is there any chance someone could copy & paste what was announced please?

Sarah

What a summer of celebration it is going to be on Iona – so many very special events and so many firsts. Every single holiday really will be extraordinary on Iona. For those guests on the maiden voyage on 14 May they will be the first ones to experience headline performers under the stars in SkyDome; the first to see the glorious La Voix in Iona’s Limelight Club; the first to taste unique menus in the new restaurants and the first to try the new shore experiences in the Fjords.
We are delighted to announce that guests on G010 on 4 July will be on board for Iona’s official naming celebrations. Guests booked on G013 on 25 July will be the first to see Marco Pierre White on Iona and those on G019 on 5 September can join Olly Smith in The Glass House or in the gastro pub The Keel and Cow. …. What a summer it’s going to be….holiday memories are certainly made of these….

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pete14

pete14

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1 minute ago, Host Sharon said:

The official P&O FB page.

I don’t do Facebook. Is there any mention of the maiden cruise? It does seem an odd decision to have the naming ceremony about 7 weeks after it first sets sail. Hopefully it will not take the shine off the maiden cruise. 

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Rupert2251

Rupert2251

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1 minute ago, pete14 said:

I don’t do Facebook. Is there any mention of the maiden cruise? It does seem an odd decision to have the naming ceremony about 7 weeks after it first sets sail. Hopefully it will not take the shine off the maiden cruise. 

Pete see post 6 above, the maiden cruise is fine.

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SarahHben "Live from...." Rare

SarahHben

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Posted (edited)

Thank you Sharon. We are on G009 the sailing before the naming cruise. Is it common for a ship to have its maiden voyage, plus quite a few more sailings,  before its naming ceremony? 

Edited by SarahHben
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happy v

happy v

Posted
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2 hours ago, gillybean1974 said:

I booked the July 4th cruise when bookings first opened. Have since made other plans for the rest of the summer so can't easily transfer to another cruise. I'm not too happy about missing Stavanger, not sure how I feel about being onboard for the naming ceremony.

 

Now have to look at transferring or cancelling the cruise., which is annoying as I had planned this summer out and picked out the cabin we wanted (whereas now we're going to be stuck with whatever is left over).

 

For those who have been to Norway before, would you cancel a cruise that missed Stavanger? Or are the other 2 ports enough for a Norway cruise?

Probably, especially as it's only doing two other ports.

Stavanger is one of my favourite ports as I like to visit the island garden.

Also overnight in Southampton is hardly exciting.

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brian1

brian1

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Posted (edited)

I honestly misread this thread for a split second as "Iron Maiden",lol.Being an engineering nerd,perhaps Bruce Dickenson could do the ceremony..

Edited by brian1
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jaydee6969

jaydee6969

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10 hours ago, gillybean1974 said:

For those who have been to Norway before, would you cancel a cruise that missed Stavanger? Or are the other 2 ports enough for a Norway cruise?

 

There are 3 ports still on the itinerary :- Olden, Helleyslt/Geiranger and Bergen.

 

I think only you can judge if missing Stavanger is acceptable.  We are on G009 and we will be doing the tropical gardens in Stavanger and also walking around the old timber houses that are alongside the ship.

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akb5k

akb5k

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I'll trade you. We're on the July 4 cruise and I'm not happy about it! Trying to decide if we should find another date (if there are still cabins open) or cancel and rebook on a different cruise line with slightly different stops (Kristiansand instead of Olden). Either way I have to cancel all the hotel rooms and I'm out the cost of the insurance for that trip. At least I can say "I told you so" - I knew there was something weird about it disappearing from the website a few months ago!

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Joyandpaul

Joyandpaul

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Hello all, agreed with everyone’s comments. We think we are going to keep our booking as we are a family group and have struggled to get a time to suit everyone. Has anyone given any thought to who might be Naming the Ship? Our family have some thoughts, there are a few royals with Scottish titles....🤫 

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stocktonmackem

stocktonmackem

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17 hours ago, gillybean1974 said:

Thank you, that's very helpful!! We have until 29th November to decide but may not cancel is Stavanger is the lesser of the ports. 

I agree , Stavanger was a nice enough port but not as stunning as the rest of them. I would be happy to be on board for the naming ceremony.

 

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Host Sharon "Live from...." Rare

Host Sharon

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4 hours ago, Joyandpaul said:

Hello all, agreed with everyone’s comments. We think we are going to keep our booking as we are a family group and have struggled to get a time to suit everyone. Has anyone given any thought to who might be Naming the Ship? Our family have some thoughts, there are a few royals with Scottish titles....🤫 

I think the current favourite, given the date of 4th July, is Meghan.

 

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AndyMichelle

AndyMichelle

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8 hours ago, brian1 said:

I honestly misread this thread for a split second as "Iron Maiden",lol.Being an engineering nerd,perhaps Bruce Dickenson could do the ceremony..

Why would 'The Duke' be doing the opening ceremony, surely too busy with his Real Deal... 😊

Andy 

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