What are the main selling points of iona

[besberry]

On 1/16/2020 at 3:00 PM, john watson said:

 

I beg to differ:  1. in three years Iona will not be "the new ship" as other new ships will take the title.   2. Offering the cheapest price means you cannot increase your price as you will no longer be the cheapest price.  Economies of scale will likely drive bigger ships being cheaper again leaving Iona without these two USPs.

 

Regards John

Whenever RCI introduce new larger ships, they are more expensive not cheaper.

[silversurf1]

Bit too big for us unfortunately. We still get lost on Ventura and been on her four times.

[daiB]

1 hour ago, besberry said:

Whenever RCI introduce new larger ships, they are more expensive not cheaper.

Michael, the cheapest inside on Iona for this summer is £778 that is not cheap. Some people on here post without checking anything.

[Britboys]

For those that like a lot of choice in eating venues, that will probably be the main selling point.  She doesn't particularly seem to have a lot of additional entertainment venues in comparison to smaller ships.  Prices in comparison to other similar ships are probably attractive, particularly with gratuities now included. 

Obviously, selling points are different to all of us.  Iona seems to be selling well and I am sure will be popular but I am afraid to me personally she has no selling points at all...

[diamondsparkling]

Just booked for next jan. Been on many cruises and different lines usually mid size don't really like the big ships but we were looking at Xmas but the cruise after was such a bargain why not? Hopefully kids will be back at school so shouldn't be too busy but whatever we just love to cruise everywhere and anywhere.

 

Val & Dave From Lincoln

 

[AndyMichelle]

2 minutes ago, diamondsparkling said:

Just booked for next jan. Been on many cruises and different lines usually mid size don't really like the big ships but we were looking at Xmas but the cruise after was such a bargain why not? Hopefully kids will be back at school so shouldn't be too busy but whatever we just love to cruise everywhere and anywhere.

 

Val & Dave From Lincoln

 

Have a great time, I'm sure you will with your positive attitude. 

Andy 

[Fionatritton]

We are booked on Iona for the December Christmas market cruise and we are going because we are part of a family wedding party. We are looking forward to visiting the Christmas markets and spending time with our family. I think the bride and groom selected the ship because it is new and they wanted to go on the maiden season. We are in our early 40s and will be going with our 10 year old, not sure whether this makes as "younger clientele" or not lol.

 

We will enjoy ourselves whatever it's like

[Denarius]

To answer the original question, as far as I can see P&Os main selling points can be summed up as "bigger with more choice". P&O, like most of its mid market competitors, appears very much to be pushing the bigger is better concept, rather than small is beautiful. More up market competitors like Viking, Oceania, Azamara and Saga however, contine to introduce smaller ships which embody the latter philosophy. This appears to be leading to polarisation of the market between massive resort ships competitively priced and smaller luxury ships, with very little in between.

Edited January 31, 2020 by Denarius
grammar

[Jennizor]

We are booked on Iona for Feb 2021 to the Canaries, paying £2850 for a balcony cabin, booked on release. We sailed on Azura in Feb 2018, again to the Canaries, paid £4898, again for a balcony cabin. No brainer for us. We know there will be a lot more people on board, but hopefully teething problems will have been sorted. Really looking forward to it as a new experience but time will tell.

[john watson]

On 1/17/2020 at 4:02 PM, besberry said:

Whenever RCI introduce new larger ships, they are more expensive not cheaper.

 

And they will displace the older "new ship" as they are newer.  So that's one USP thwarted.

 

Regards John

[Presto2]

On 1/15/2020 at 10:31 PM, beachmad123 said:

Just wondering what are the main selling points of iona ?

 

My first reaction to this question was:

 

"It floats"

[Britboys]

20 hours ago, Denarius said:

To answer the original question, as far as I can see P&Os main selling points can be summed up as "bigger with more choice". P&O, like most of its mid market competitors, appears very much to be pushing the bigger is better concept, rather than small is beautiful. More up market competitors like Viking, Oceania, Azamara and Saga however, contine to introduce smaller ships which embody the latter philosophy. This appears to be leading to polarisation of the market between massive resort ships competitively priced and smaller luxury ships, with very little in between.

Here in the UK we do at least have Fred Olsen and CMV as an option for a smaller ship not priced in the 'luxury' bracket.

[Tapi]

I’ll contribute to the conversation. 
 

I’m an American (in my 40’s) who has never sailed aboard P&O, or to the Norwegian Fjords. Iona has definitely caught my attention and I’m in the process of researching a cruise aboard this ship. 
 

For me, the first selling point is her design and onboard amenities. From what I’ve seen online, Iona will be a fascinating ship. Yes, she will be large, but that’s a positive for me. I do enjoy sailing aboard larger ships and having options. 
 

Second selling point is accommodations. They are attractive nonetheless, and preliminarily it seems like they are fairly priced which will allow me to upgrade to better accommodations while still remaining within my budget. 
 

Third, her itinerary. As mentioned at the beginning, I’ve never cruised the Norwegian Fjords so the itinerary is definitely a big deciding factor. 
 

My thought process about Iona is similar to when I decided to sail aboard the MSC Meraviglia in the Mediterranean, which at the time, was MSC’s largest and newest ship. She was huge, new, offering affordable prices, and an itinerary that I had never sailed on before, somewhat like what Iona is now offering me. To this day, it was one of the best cruises I’ve ever taken. 
 

It seems to me that with Iona, P&O is extending their reach, and hoping to attract new cruisers who may not be in their traditional demographic, or cruisers who may not have ever considered sailing P&O before (like me).
 

It may not be what P&O traditionalists want, but I do believe that for a company to remain relevant and thrive, they do need to evolve with the times, otherwise risk suffering a slow death when they fall behind the competition.  

[DamianG]

21 hours ago, Denarius said:

To answer the original question, as far as I can see P&Os main selling points can be summed up as "bigger with more choice". P&O, like most of its mid market competitors, appears very much to be pushing the bigger is better concept, rather than small is beautiful. More up market competitors like Viking, Oceania, Azamara and Saga however, contine to introduce smaller ships which embody the latter philosophy. This appears to be leading to polarisation of the market between massive resort ships competitively priced and smaller luxury ships, with very little in between.

 

Great post, I especially like the description "massive resort ships" which fits perfectly in my opinion.

[terrierjohn]

11 minutes ago, Tapi said:

I’ll contribute to the conversation. 
 

I’m an American (in my 40’s) who has never sailed aboard P&O, or to the Norwegian Fjords. Iona has definitely caught my attention and I’m in the process of researching a cruise aboard this ship. 
 

For me, the first selling point is her design and onboard amenities. From what I’ve seen online, Iona will be a fascinating ship. Yes, she will be large, but that’s a positive for me. I do enjoy sailing aboard larger ships and having options. 
 

Second selling point is accommodations. They are attractive nonetheless, and preliminarily it seems like they are fairly priced which will allow me to upgrade to better accommodations while still remaining within my budget. 
 

Third, her itinerary. As mentioned at the beginning, I’ve never cruised the Norwegian Fjords so the itinerary is definitely a big deciding factor. 
 

My thought process about Iona is similar to when I decided to sail aboard the MSC Meraviglia in the Mediterranean, which at the time, was MSC’s largest and newest ship. She was huge, new, offering affordable prices, and an itinerary that I had never sailed on before, somewhat like what Iona is now offering me. To this day, it was one of the best cruises I’ve ever taken. 
 

It seems to me that with Iona, P&O is extending their reach, and hoping to attract new cruisers who may not be in their traditional demographic, or cruisers who may not have ever considered sailing P&O before (like me).
 

It may not be what P&O traditionalists want, but I do believe that for a company to remain relevant and thrive, they do need to evolve with the times, otherwise risk suffering a slow death when they fall behind the competition.  

An astute and thoughtful post, I agree that if P&O are to succeed it needs to provide the sort of cruise that their chosen demographic by Carnival demands.  This is evolving as Carnival impose their requirements on each brand  and since Cunard seems to be their chosen de-luxe UK based cruise line, I suspect that once Atcadia and Aurora are gone, then P&O will be quite different to what the traditionalists seem to prefer.

[pete14]

1 hour ago, Presto2 said:

 

My first reaction to this question was:

 

"It floats"

I hope you are correct😉

[Tapi]

31 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

An astute and thoughtful post, I agree that if P&O are to succeed it needs to provide the sort of cruise that their chosen demographic by Carnival demands.  This is evolving as Carnival impose their requirements on each brand  and since Cunard seems to be their chosen de-luxe UK based cruise line, I suspect that once Atcadia and Aurora are gone, then P&O will be quite different to what the traditionalists seem to prefer.

Thank you. 
 

I do think that Carnival Corp is blurring the lines between its various brands. In the past, it seemed like each cruise line catered to a very specific demographic, and each line seemed to be a progression over another one. 
 

Now it seems like each brand, while still having its own identity, offers amenities that appeal to a broader clientele. So rather than move up to the next cruise line, I find myself bouncing back and forth between cruise lines. 
 

But what has enticed me to do this, may not be what each cruise line’s traditionalists want. For example, our next cruise is aboard Holland America’s newest ship, the Niew Statendam, and while I am looking forward to it, attracted by the amenities that it offers, I do read several negative comments from HAL loyalists who consider this ship to be a monstrosity (at 99,000 tons). 

Edited February 1, 2020 by Tapi

[dan12345]

We’ve booked Iona for July. We’ve never cruised before, we usually holiday in an isolated villa somewhere on a hillside on a Greek island and we love our privacy.......I know, I know!

 

However the reasons we have booked are;

 

1 Always wanted to see the Fjords and my research suggested cruising was the best way to do it

 

2 The cruise is only a week long so if we detest the whole thing there won’t be many nights to tick off before we can get off!

 

3 The ship is brand new so everything will be modern, fresh and clean. (I looked at another ship on YouTube also doing the fjords and I thought it looked a bit scabby!)

 

4 Great value at just over £4500 (during school holidays) for 3 of us (my 16 year old son is coming) in a conservatory mini-suite. We chose this as at least we’ll have a reasonable amount of space and a balcony if we hate it!

 

We’re in our (v late!) forties, so in us P and O have brought new to cruising customers to their brand......we’re so looking forward to it.

Edited February 21, 2020 by dan12345

[Britboys]

It will certainly be a very different experience to an isolated villa in Greece 😁.  I'm sure however that you will love seeing the fjords - it is stunningly beautiful.  As someone who has done their fair share of small Greek islands over the years, I don't doubt that you will appreciate the beauty of Norway.

[AndyMichelle]

1 hour ago, dan12345 said:

We’ve booked Iona for July. We’ve never cruised before, we usually holiday in an isolated villa somewhere on a hillside on a Greek island and we love our privacy.......I know, I know!

 

However the reasons we have booked are;

 

1 Always wanted to see the Fjords and my research suggested cruising was the best way to do it

 

2 The cruise is only a week long so if we detest the whole thing there won’t be many nights to tick off before we can get off!

 

3 The ship is brand new so everything will be modern, fresh and clean. (I looked at another ship on YouTube also doing the fjords and I thought it looked a bit scabby!)

 

4 Great value at just over £4500 (during school holidays) for 3 of us (my 16 year old son is coming) in a conservatory mini-suite. We chose this as at least we’ll have a reasonable amount of space and a balcony if we hate it!

 

We’re in our (v late!) forties, so in us P and O have brought new to cruising customers to their brand......we’re so looking forward to it.

Excellent post and explanation, thank you. 

None of us know how Iona will be, but you have weighed up your options and made an informed decision. 

Cruising is definitely the best way to see the Fjords, take time to appreciate the sailing in/out of port. 

Happy cruising. 

Andy