Iona problem

[Camberley]

23 minutes ago, Saab4444 said:

Is all this still about Iona issues????

Well, if not the mass-deletion of stuff will happen again I guess, but fair enough.

 

I don't think Iona has any more issues than any other ships from the stuff I've read on here and on other cruise forums and online cruise communities. Can of course be annoying to have changes....but effective communication from the powers that be works wonders to alleviate annoyances 

Edited August 2, 2022 by Camberley

[Vampiress88]

20 hours ago, Fionboard said:

Exactly, depends on the couple. Good point about mobiles though. Should not be allowed at the dinner table. Some people cannot do without them and can be so annoying at times. Whatever happened to the art of conversation! 

I need my phone to my husbands utter embarrassment. So I can take photos of the food!

[Camberley]

4 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

I need my phone to my husbands utter embarrassment. So I can take photos of the food!

Yes indeed. Some really great photo opportunities too.

 

I think there could be so many other important etiquette issues to address at the table before the mobile phone issue.......but it's all too easy for others to judge from a nearby table and the like...

 

Edited August 2, 2022 by Camberley

[Dermotsgirl]

1 hour ago, ChristopherTracy said:

This table sharing is interesting - we enjoyed lots of chats with random people around the ship, in queues for the 710, in bars and the buffet but I wouldn't want to sit next to someone at dinner as there's more of an expectation of sociability that I think I would find oppressive. My teenager would just huff their way through it as well.

That’s similar to how I feel. Chatting with others is fine when it happens naturally around the ship. But not keen on that expectation of sociability at dinner. 

[Dermotsgirl]

15 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

I need my phone to my husbands utter embarrassment. So I can take photos of the food!

One of my few cruising regrets is that I didn’t take enough photos of food. I’ve got a few from my last couple of cruises, and find that it really brings back the memories. I wish I’d started doing it years ago 

[Neecy1]

3 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

That’s similar to how I feel. Chatting with others is fine when it happens naturally around the ship. But not keen on that expectation of sociability at dinner. 

Exactly. Plus you can't easily escape at dinner whereas you can elsewhere on a ship

[AnnieC]

15 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

That’s similar to how I feel. Chatting with others is fine when it happens naturally around the ship. But not keen on that expectation of sociability at dinner. 

Same here. A couple of hours over dinner night after night offers many opportunities for uncomfortable silences if there's little common ground, and I have an unfortunate need to fill uncomfortable silences, sometimes not in a good way...

Edited August 2, 2022 by AnnieC

[Ardennais]

3 hours ago, Dermotsgirl said:

That’s similar to how I feel. Chatting with others is fine when it happens naturally around the ship. But not keen on that expectation of sociability at dinner. 

Same here. Don’t want to speak English every night! 

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, Ardennais said:

Same here. Don’t want to speak English every night! 

"Iechyd da!"

[IslayMist]

I'm a bit late to the party on this one as I've just found you lovely people.

I was on cruise G224 to the fjords last week and I'm not convinced there was problem with Iona. During our "limp" back to Southampton there were many hours during the night when she was not moving. We sat in the Crow's Nest bar between midnight and 1am watching the setting sun and she didn't move. We took a visual fix on the oil/gas rigs flames and they never moved. The following night I went onto my balcony at about 3am and again we were not moving. I calculated that with the amount of time we spent killing time in the North Sea overnight (when most passengers would not notice) we could have gone to Haugesund but left early. I noticed we approached Southampton from the west, yet Norway is east? Is that normal on a Norwegian cruise returning to Southampton from that side? Or did we park up hiding behind the IOW for a few more hours?

On the OBC front. We had a drinks package so couldn't defray our bar bill against the cost. Our visits to Limelight were paid in UK before cruising.

This was my first time with P&O. I won't use them again. I'm going back to my old reliable favourites.

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, IslayMist said:

I'm a bit late to the party on this one as I've just found you lovely people.

I was on cruise G224 to the fjords last week and I'm not convinced there was problem with Iona. During our "limp" back to Southampton there were many hours during the night when she was not moving. We sat in the Crow's Nest bar between midnight and 1am watching the setting sun and she didn't move. We took a visual fix on the oil/gas rigs flames and they never moved. The following night I went onto my balcony at about 3am and again we were not moving. I calculated that with the amount of time we spent killing time in the North Sea overnight (when most passengers would not notice) we could have gone to Haugesund but left early. I noticed we approached Southampton from the west, yet Norway is east? Is that normal on a Norwegian cruise returning to Southampton from that side? Or did we park up hiding behind the IOW for a few more hours?

On the OBC front. We had a drinks package so couldn't defray our bar bill against the cost. Our visits to Limelight were paid in UK before cruising.

This was my first time with P&O. I won't use them again. I'm going back to my old reliable favourites.

Welcome to the board (although it looks like we may not see you again...) and thanks for your thoughts. The mystery deepens...

[Trevor Fountain]

3 hours ago, IslayMist said:

I'm a bit late to the party on this one as I've just found you lovely people.

I was on cruise G224 to the fjords last week and I'm not convinced there was problem with Iona. During our "limp" back to Southampton there were many hours during the night when she was not moving. We sat in the Crow's Nest bar between midnight and 1am watching the setting sun and she didn't move. We took a visual fix on the oil/gas rigs flames and they never moved. The following night I went onto my balcony at about 3am and again we were not moving. I calculated that with the amount of time we spent killing time in the North Sea overnight (when most passengers would not notice) we could have gone to Haugesund but left early. I noticed we approached Southampton from the west, yet Norway is east? Is that normal on a Norwegian cruise returning to Southampton from that side? Or did we park up hiding behind the IOW for a few more hours?

On the OBC front. We had a drinks package so couldn't defray our bar bill against the cost. Our visits to Limelight were paid in UK before cruising.

This was my first time with P&O. I won't use them again. I'm going back to my old reliable favourites.

Ha Ha, I was reading your post and up until the last sentence I actually thought you were praising the cruise. I think it would be great to go on your balcony at 3.00 am and find you're not moving. I'd have sat their until breakfast. As peaceful as life gets I reckon.

[jeanlyon]

On 8/2/2022 at 5:20 PM, AnnieC said:

Same here. A couple of hours over dinner night after night offers many opportunities for uncomfortable silences if there's little common ground, and I have an unfortunate need to fill uncomfortable silences, sometimes not in a good way...

I can honestly say, we've never had uncomfortable silences at dinner.  In fact, have had great conversations with new people and thoroughly enjoyed their company.  After about 15 cruises, nobody has ever asked me how many cruises I have done either.

[yorkshirephil]

12 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

  After about 15 cruises, nobody has ever asked me how many cruises I have done either.

So, how many cruises have you done Jean?

[Camberley]

See it doesn't upset me if others ask how many we have done. It's nice to chat anyhow.

 

But I can do without those unwelcoming "tells" to partners (not-quite-subtle eye rolls and snarky glances) that some experienced cruisers do when a new cruiser strikes up a conversation and asks that. Not even sure such folk know they do it. 

Edited August 4, 2022 by Camberley

[SarahHben]

1 hour ago, Camberley said:

See it doesn't upset me if others ask how many we have done. It's nice to chat anyhow.

 

But I can do without those unwelcoming "tells" to partners (not-quite-subtle eye rolls and snarky glances) that some experienced cruisers do when a new cruiser strikes up a conversation and asks that. Not even sure such folk know they do it. 

Being new to cruising, I had no idea that ‘how many cruises have you done’ would be a question that many people don’t like being asked, until I joined this forum anyway! 

I was very careful not to ask when chatting to people on our first cruise this May 😆 

[terrierjohn]

8 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

Being new to cruising, I had no idea that ‘how many cruises have you done’ would be a question that many people don’t like being asked, until I joined this forum anyway! 

I was very careful not to ask when chatting to people on our first cruise this May 😆 

It's never worried me to be asked, although I try not to sound to be bragging when I say 36 or so. The older you get the more likely you are to have done quite a few cruises.

[kalos]

1 minute ago, SarahHben said:

Being new to cruising, I had no idea that ‘how many cruises have you done’ would be a question that many people don’t like being asked, until I joined this forum anyway! 

I was very careful not to ask when chatting to people on our first cruise this May 😆 

 

I don't mind ,it isn't like they are asking for my bank details .

Years ago before my cruising days and we would holiday in a caravan at the coast

with our kids ,we would go to the parks club house and get chatting to people.

I suppose the land based equivalent question would have been ....

" How many weeks are you here for/have you been before ?"

I would not start sighing and rolling my eyes as I told them that I owned my own 

holiday home . Just a conversation to me .😊

[Megabear2]

As a frequent visitor to a particular Austrian village I was surprised one night to be introduced at a festival as one of the people visiting there the longest, in my case 30 years.  I was asked to go on a stage to meet the Mayor of the village and given a box to mark the occasion.  Imagine my surprise on opening it when I  found 30 specially minted silver coins.  I can now proudly boast that I am the recipient of a biblical 30 pieces of silver!

[Britboys]

7 hours ago, Camberley said:

See it doesn't upset me if others ask how many we have done. It's nice to chat anyhow.

 

But I can do without those unwelcoming "tells" to partners (not-quite-subtle eye rolls and snarky glances) that some experienced cruisers do when a new cruiser strikes up a conversation and asks that. Not even sure such folk know they do it. 

It is a fairly logical question when asked by someone who is new to cruising. It is a pain however when it is asked by a 'serial cruiser' who is only asking so that it will be asked back and they can bask in the 'glory' of having done more than anyone else at the table...🙄

[zap99]

17 hours ago, yorkshirephil said:

So, how many cruises have you done Jean?

My bet is on  about 15.🤣

[wowzz]

14 minutes ago, Britboys said:

It is a fairly logical question when asked by someone who is new to cruising. It is a pain however when it is asked by a 'serial cruiser' who is only asking so that it will be asked back and they can bask in the 'glory' of having done more than anyone else at the table...🙄

I think I mentioned some time ago, that the Princess Medallions, in different colours depending on the number of cruises taken, means that all this conversational foreplay is unnecessary. 

 

[wowzz]

10 minutes ago, zap99 said:

My bet is on  about 15.🤣

An underestimate in my opinion.  I'm going for 22.

Perhaps we should start a sweepstake? 

[zap99]

5 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I think I mentioned some time ago, that the Princess Medallions, in different colours depending on the number of cruises taken, means that all this conversational foreplay is unnecessary. 

 

Does your chocolate entitlement change by seniority. Milk chocolate for a newly, or handmade truffles for a Legurian ( or equivalent ). Fruit and nut for me.

[Josy1953]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

I think I mentioned some time ago, that the Princess Medallions, in different colours depending on the number of cruises taken, means that all this conversational foreplay is unnecessary. 

 

It may be unnecessary but it still happens, we were asked on several occasions on our last cruise.  The question always seemed to be "How many times have you cruised to get your black medallion ?"