Iona Thoughts

[SarahHben]

59 minutes ago, Cathygh said:

Sorry I took pics of the scenery, not so much of the inside. We had 14.428, great views, almost in the dead centre of the bulge. It has the bed by the door end, not the window, so if I had a choice I would book one with the bed by the window. There is an Iona cabins group on faceache and someone has posted how to work out which is which. BTW the tv is on the wall in the middle of the wall but you can angle it towards the bed. The fridge is cold for once. I forgot to say in my review beware of the lift doors, they close fast and hard. 

Thank you for that, I’m not on FB so can’t look that up.

We’ve booked 11.443 and expecting that the sofa will be next to the balcony window, which will suit my husband but I think I would have preferred the bed next to the balcony.

[Bin man]

I think you have a sofa next to the balcony . I not sure but from what I have seen when you look at the door into cabin on two cabins doors together left ones sofa right one is bed .Dont quote me on this I may be completely wrong ! As per usual 

[Cathygh]

7 hours ago, SarahHben said:

Thank you for that, I’m not on FB so can’t look that up.

We’ve booked 11.443 and expecting that the sofa will be next to the balcony window, which will suit my husband but I think I would have preferred the bed next to the balcony.

If you are port side and your cabin door is to the left then the bed is by the door. I think the opposite is true on starboard side.

[SarahHben]

28 minutes ago, Cathygh said:

If you are port side and your cabin door is to the left then the bed is by the door. I think the opposite is true on starboard side.

This is a starboard cabin with door on the left and the bed is also by the door so I'm not sure if it's that simple.

Hopefully as more photos and videos are posted a pattern will be easier to spot?

[davecttr]

I think there is no set layout, my cabin 9429 had the bathroom/wardrobe/sofa/bed/balcony layout and the 2 adjacent cabins had bathroom/wardrobe/bed/sofa/balcony layout.

 

the deluxe cabins have basically the same bathroom and width but are longer with a somewhat bigger balcony. the photo shows the gap between wardrobe and sofa, there is a similar cap between the sofa and bed so I moved the second coffee table to use as a bedside table/cabinet. the steward gave up moving it back after a couple of days.

 

The balcony is larger but you can only have one chair on lounger setting diagonally across the balcony.

 

I am 5' 4'' and my eye level was 6'' below the prom deck cabin balcony rail top. The front 3 cabins and forward facing ones are even worse. I don't think any of those were occupied.

 

I met one of our fellow CC users onboard. Lynn2002 and her daughter who posted on the entertainment topic. They 'disappeared' half way through the cruise and Lynn has not posted since. I hope they are OK.

 

 

[wowzz]

Those balcony cabins facing onto the promenade are truly awful!

A lot of people are going to be disappointed - studying the deck plan before booking is more important than ever!

[SarahHben]

@davecttrThanks for posting those.
I’m glad we’ve opted for deluxe, there does seem to be significant extra space next to the wardrobe, essential for my mum who can trip over air without having to try to get into a wardrobe with very little leg room to do so.

Also confirms I would never want a conservatory cabin on deck 8!

[Roger88]

43 minutes ago, davecttr said:

I think there is no set layout, my cabin 9429 had the bathroom/wardrobe/sofa/bed/balcony layout and the 2 adjacent cabins had bathroom/wardrobe/bed/sofa/balcony layout.

 

the deluxe cabins have basically the same bathroom and width but are longer with a somewhat bigger balcony. the photo shows the gap between wardrobe and sofa, there is a similar cap between the sofa and bed so I moved the second coffee table to use as a bedside table/cabinet. the steward gave up moving it back after a couple of days.

 

The balcony is larger but you can only have one chair on lounger setting diagonally across the balcony.

 

I am 5' 4'' and my eye level was 6'' below the prom deck cabin balcony rail top. The front 3 cabins and forward facing ones are even worse. I don't think any of those were occupied.

 

I met one of our fellow CC users onboard. Lynn2002 and her daughter who posted on the entertainment topic. They 'disappeared' half way through the cruise and Lynn has not posted since. I hope they are OK.

 

 

If you ask me, I believe this is some nicely designed wardrobe and the cabin in general. I especiially like the doors, the carpet on the floow and the sofa. My only concern is the lightning but I believe if its got a balcony, the room should be full of light

[Son of Anarchy]

Thanks for pictures Dave.  I'm not 100% sure I would want to wander round the prom deck let alone have a balcony cabin there!  Probably worth paying Select fare to choose your cabin with the no upgrade option.  Still, we will be on board in less than 2 weeks time and will see what we think of wandering round around the prom deck then.

[davecttr]

The prom deck is very popular for wandering being half a mile per circuit. and there are a lot of venues opening onto it, hundreds of loungers and seats as well. Will get a tad busy when the ship is full though! Like all mega ships there is less open deck space per passenger and looking at the top decks of Iona I can see some serious congestion. Blue towels are now in racks along the deck and there are bins for used ones. Even so I saw some determined cruises who had managed to 'reserve' loungers with towels clipped to them

 

If you like the sun you might want to avoid those balconies. My next cabin is forward right under Epicurian, hopefully no noise and no impaired views

 

Edited August 30, 2021 by davecttr

[AndyMichelle]

55 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Those balcony cabins facing onto the promenade are truly awful!

 

I don't know Wowzz, my pea shooter might make for a lot of fun😊

Andy 

[davecttr]

2 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

I don't know Wowzz, my pea shooter might make for a lot of fun😊

Andy 

Could get nasty as the great unwashed throw their litter over the rail, both ways, it WILL happen

[Technoman2]

Great review Jules, we are booked on 25th Sept for the Spain Portugal trip so fingers crossed that it goes ahead as two of our cruises in 2020 were cancelled Iglu were a nightmare getting our money back but P&O gave a refund within 14days of the cruise cancellation date. 

We have booked a saver fare Balcony for 2 weeks under £800 so pleased with the price just have to hope we get lucky with the location. We normally always go for an inside cabin but with Covid concerns it is the only way we would consider going at the moment. 

Got to the point where we dont want to keep putting our lives on hold because of this virus and it now seems it may be something we have to live with for some time. 

I will give feedback when we get back. Not sure yet if we will need to do the PCR test on return OR whether we can go ashore without having to book an organised tour.

[wowzz]

8 minutes ago, Technoman2 said:

Not sure yet if we will need to do the PCR test on return 

I think it virtually certain that you will have to do the Day 2 test, (the indications from the government is that this test will be around for some time) so you will need to order these before you leave.

[Technoman2]

9 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I think it virtually certain that you will have to do the Day 2 test, (the indications from the government is that this test will be around for some time) so you will need to order these before you leave.

Thanks, we have tried to look into this and cannot get a definitive answer. I have seen the .Gov website and it does appear that is the case BUT P&O are doing Pre boarding testing and and i think lateral flow before disembarkation. I guess we will have to wait until our tickets are released 3 weeks before and hope they have set out what is required. Then if the test is required i guess we will go with Randox.

[wowzz]

28 minutes ago, Technoman2 said:

i think lateral flow before disembarkation.

Which is the test that everyone has to take (and test negative) before they can enter the UK, followed by the Day 2 test.

I can't see cruising being treated any differently to any other type of holiday.

Edited August 30, 2021 by wowzz

[Bin man]

I guess it's a lateral flow test that you leave with at Southampton and then a pre booked pcr test on day 2 stand corrected as it's a guessing game with cruising 

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Bin man said:

I guess it's a lateral flow test that you leave with at Southampton and then a pre booked pcr test on day 2 stand corrected as it's a guessing game with cruising 

I think we all assume that, and we are hoping that P&O will arrange and pay for the test needed for disembarkation. But you will probably  need to arrange for the 2 day test you need after returning home, before you go on the cruise, because you need its ref. number to enter on your return document.

[Bin man]

Yep that's how I understand it as well but with only 3 weeks on Saturday for the first p and o cruise how long will it be till P and o give us some clue of what we should do . If we are to arrange day 2 tests should they tell us to get on with it and arrange these tests .They must have over 5000 passengers leaving on the first international cruises. 

[Technoman2]

17 hours ago, Bin man said:

Yep that's how I understand it as well but with only 3 weeks on Saturday for the first p and o cruise how long will it be till P and o give us some clue of what we should do . If we are to arrange day 2 tests should they tell us to get on with it and arrange these tests .They must have over 5000 passengers leaving on the first international cruises. 

I agree BM its a guessing game but again my understanding is that UK residents do not need to fill in the passenger location form. If Randox are able send you a PCR test to do at home on Day 2 then maybe P&O will purchase these for us to take with us off the ship and do at home or arrange for them to be sent to our home address. Fingers crossed!

[wowzz]

27 minutes ago, Technoman2 said:

agree BM its a guessing game but again my understanding is that UK residents do not need to fill in the passenger location form

Can I ask where you got that information from ?

Passengers on the recent Saga cruise to Iceland had to complete the forms. 

[willow1uk]

hi guys we have booked for march and can i ask if anyone has stayed in a b6 suite? can you book the taste evening before you board? can you use your cabin credit to pre-book a wine package.

thank you

[terrierjohn]

26 minutes ago, willow1uk said:

hi guys we have booked for march and can i ask if anyone has stayed in a b6 suite? can you book the taste evening before you board? can you use your cabin credit to pre-book a wine package.

thank you

Anything booked before boarding is charged against your credit card, it will deduct any Peninsular discount you are entitled to, but if you want to use your OBC it has to be booked on board.

[Cruise_Rookie_2010]

On 8/31/2021 at 1:54 PM, wowzz said:

Can I ask where you got that information from ?

Passengers on the recent Saga cruise to Iceland had to complete the forms. 

We're on Iona departing 25th Sept, there's very little information on testing other than the departure test will be provided at Southampton. I can't find any information about the pre-arrival in UK test but it looks pretty clear that passengers are required to complete a locator form 48 hours before arriving back in the UK, and in the absence of a positive statement from P&O I'm assuming that they will not provide tests, so it's down to the passengers to make their own arrangements. Same issue with arrival in both Portugal & Spain where evidence of negative tests within previous 72 hours is required to enter the country. We'll be at sea so not sure how we can comply. I've asked the question with P&O customer service but so far nothing forthcoming other than "check the website".

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, Cruise_Rookie_2010 said:

Same issue with arrival in both Portugal & Spain where evidence of negative tests within previous 72 hours is required to enter the country. 

That is not correct,  assuming you are double vaccinated.