Iona- beautiful ship, just one very wet design flaw! 😱

[Host Sharon]

57 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I think you are in a minority !

Maybe but I am the same, although I have been seduced by the balconies on Saga. All my future P&O cruises however are on Aurora as she is now the only P&O ship I consider.

[Host Sharon]

45 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Personally I don't consider Ventura and Azura as old in the context of this thread (I actually wouldn't consider them old full stop). Even Aurora isn't what I think of as especially old. As for Aurora's bathrooms, I have always found them perfectly functional with decent storage space so the pale pink is really not an issue for me - I don't spend much time in the bathroom tbh.

My cabin on Aurora in August/Sept was in very good condition and the only things I look at on the TV are the Navigation and News channels...

At least Aurora has proper bathroom cabinets too. I hate those open shelves where everything is on show and falls off in rough seas.

 

[brian1]

19 hours ago, DamianG said:

Panic over for us, as quickly pointed out by my wife we are booked on Arvia next August (not Iona). What a dozy sausage I am sometimes. Anyway, a quick check of the deck plan shows Arvia cabin 10742 further to the side next to the corner suite so we should be okay.

Thanks again for all the comments.

 

 

'Ang on doesn't Arvia's new "Kamikaze water flume of death"infinity landing pool overhang 10742.

[DamianG]

58 minutes ago, brian1 said:

'Ang on doesn't Arvia's new "Kamikaze water flume of death" infinity landing pool overhang 10742.

 

If the worst comes to worst I'll use the opportunity to do my bit for the planet and save a bit of water by standing on the balcony starkers waiting for the inevitable.

[Windsurfboy]

12 hours ago, Host Sharon said:

Maybe but I am the same, although I have been seduced by the balconies on Saga. All my future P&O cruises however are on Aurora as she is now the only P&O ship I consider.

 

Aurora certainly  looks nicer than Iona, but still has a lot of balconies and not a sleek as the generation before , which I think looked the most elegant from the outside.

 

I was very happy with my cabin on Aurora and loved the ambience inside ship.  It was our first cruise and got us hooked.  Only negative for me is Sindhu, would prefer epicurean or ocean grill as premier restaurant. 

 

So far my cruises have be Aurora,  Cunard Vistas and new Saga ships. Ariva will be an experiment,  may be a step to far , but give everything a go once

[zap99]

12 hours ago, Host Sharon said:

Maybe but I am the same, although I have been seduced by the balconies on Saga. All my future P&O cruises however are on Aurora as she is now the only P&O ship I consider.

We are on Iona to the Canaries next October. Saga go as well, but at double the price. Not really a just comparison. 

 

[Host Sharon]

39 minutes ago, zap99 said:

We are on Iona to the Canaries next October. Saga go as well, but at double the price. Not really a just comparison. 

 

But all inclusive - insurance, transport, drinks, excursions, wifi, all restaurants ...

[zap99]

34 minutes ago, Host Sharon said:

But all inclusive - insurance, transport, drinks, excursions, wifi, all restaurants ...

I'm sure all that is true. Iona £4,000, saga 2 weeks later £8,000 for 2. I'm sure Saga suits some folk very nicely Indeed, but the £4,000 difference is probably why a few thousand people a week enjoy their cruise on Iona and will forgo the above as they may have annual insurance , live near the port, use roaming when in port, etc.

 

Getting back to Iona.......🤣

 

[jaydee6969]

50 minutes ago, Host Sharon said:

But all inclusive - insurance, transport, drinks, excursions, wifi, all restaurants ...

 

I'm with @zap99 here, pretty much tick all those boxes.  Live in Southampton, annual policy, drink whatever I want, not interested in panoramic excursions, Wi-Fi can wait until I get roaming in port and book any restaurants as required.

 

So I can enjoy everything I want and have two cruises on Iona to one on Saga.

 

Oh, off on Iona Saturday to the Canaries.

Edited November 9, 2022 by jaydee6969

[zap99]

15 minutes ago, zap99 said:

I'm sure all that is true. Iona £4,000, saga 2 weeks later £8,000 for 2. I'm sure Saga suits some folk very nicely Indeed, but the £4,000 difference is probably why a few thousand people a week enjoy their cruise on Iona and will forgo the above as they may have annual insurance , live near the port, use roaming when in port, etc.

 

Getting back to Iona.......🤣

 

Oh ! and we got £630 OBC.

[zap99]

10 minutes ago, jaydee6969 said:

 

I'm with @zap99 here, pretty much tick all those boxes.  Live in Southampton, annual policy, drink whatever I want, not interested in panoramic excursions, Wi-Fi can wait until I get roaming in port and book any restaurants as required.

 

So I can enjoy everything I want and have two cruises on Iona to one on Saga.

 

Oh, off on Iona Saturday to the Canaries.

Enjoy your cruise. October for us, but we sneaked in a week on Azura in February.

[jaydee6969]

9 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Enjoy your cruise. October for us, but we sneaked in a week on Azura in February.

 

Cheers, we are looking forward to Azura next March and July, but October will be trying Arcadia for the first time heading North.  And we just booked a cheeky 5 nighter on Ventura for January, stupid price for lucky dip balcony cabin - worth a gamble.

[Windsurfboy]

The difference between  P&O and Saga is more then Wi-Fi, insurance ,  travel , drinks. Service is at another level. As it should be for extra money. 

 

However both offer a good cruising experience and in their own ways are good value.  But you don't get showers on your balcony on Saga. 

 

 

[Host Sharon]

5 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

The difference between  P&O and Saga is more then Wi-Fi, insurance ,  travel , drinks. Service is at another level. As it should be for extra money. 

 

However both offer a good cruising experience and in their own ways are good value.  But you don't get showers on your balcony on Saga. 

 

 

Also if you book on launch Saga are around 35% less than the price quoted above, and all-balcony but I appreciate some people don’t want the extras. Personally I now prefer fewer cruises of better quality and I have lost confidence in P&O to deliver on that score. Also the increasing discounting appears to be attracting some rather dodgy people if Britannia’s recent cruise is anything to go by.

[zap99]

8 minutes ago, Host Sharon said:

Also if you book on launch Saga are around 35% less than the price quoted above, and all-balcony but I appreciate some people don’t want the extras. Personally I now prefer fewer cruises of better quality and I have lost confidence in P&O to deliver on that score. Also the increasing discounting appears to be attracting some rather dodgy people if Britannia’s recent cruise is anything to go by.

I agree. Some very dodgy people. We were on Britannia for 2 weeks in October. Very dodgy people.🤪

[jaydee6969]

9 hours ago, Host Sharon said:

Also if you book on launch Saga are around 35% less than the price quoted above, and all-balcony but I appreciate some people don’t want the extras.

 

The Saga price I quoted contained a substantial 25% discount.

[Britboys]

11 hours ago, jaydee6969 said:

 

The Saga price I quoted contained a substantial 25% discount.

I've seen Saga prices at 35% discount and they are still eye-watering to me, especially as a solo...

[Shelley61]

Excuse the TikTok link, but I saw this the other day - Overflowing infinity pool

 

It was from November 2021 and the pool does look less empty on OP's picture, so hopefully doesn't happen quite so dramatically now!

[JG&Lcruisingnewbies]

1 hour ago, Shelley61 said:

Excuse the TikTok link, but I saw this the other day - Overflowing infinity pool

 

It was from November 2021 and the pool does look less empty on OP's picture, so hopefully doesn't happen quite so dramatically now!

hmm 🤔 perhaps not like this all the time, but It did, often (considering it was October and not as many people in it as there might be in the summer) fall down exactly like that. There would regularly be a big splash sound on your balcony like someone emptied a bucket on it and you found yourself grateful you were not under it!

I think the water level does look a little lower than that when it was in use Pre 9pm but it still made many balconies unusable Pre 9pm

For info: my pic was taken later, without anyone in it

 

they need to have a taller piece of glass stopping the water coming down. Set up like the infinity hot tubs which have very high sides on the side overlooking the sea

[JG&Lcruisingnewbies]

On 11/9/2022 at 9:04 PM, Host Sharon said:

 Also the increasing discounting appears to be attracting some rather dodgy people if Britannia’s recent cruise is anything to go by.

well this escalated quickly 😂 

My opening post about iona and balconies to generalisations of finances = behaviour 

It isn’t really fair to suggest that discounts attract dodgy people though is it?

after all those dodgy people may well have been very well off, or not. They may have been there regardless of cost 🤷‍♀️ 

 

Perhaps you were just unlucky?

 

i promise I dress up for formal night and am polite despite moving between cruise lines to get good deals (as well as preferred itineraries, I’m not THAT dodgy) 😃 😂 

Ok I never expect anything to stay on topic on Cruise critic, that’s part of the fun 🤩 

 

I am putting in a complaint to head office regarding the free, yet unwanted, balcony showers- I shall update once I get a reply

 

thank you all for your replies, and the laughs too 😆

[Windsurfboy]

I presume as your balcony was unusable  you will be claiming the difference between balcony and a sea view plus extra for your inconvenience and disappointment.

 

Please let everyon know how you get on 

[JG&Lcruisingnewbies]

17 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

I presume as your balcony was unusable  you will be claiming the difference between balcony and a sea view plus extra for your inconvenience and disappointment.

 

Please let everyon know how you get on 

Exactly this. The same cruise at the same time (October half term) next year, this difference between all outside cabins and the exact same cabin we had amounts to £290. Screen shots taken

unsure if to specify an amount for any further compensation. I think I’ll see what they come back with

im a trained advisor with citizens advice. I have some experience with writing complaint letters!

but we’ll see how much they dig their heels in. A lot, I’m guessing. At least first response but I will take things further if I need to

[Deep-Blue-Iris]

Oh no, I've had 12741 booked for a Canary Islands cruise since launch 😞 I'd hoped they'd sorted the issues with the pool, but now I'm considering seeing if it's possible to change cabin number. 

[Kagan_rc]

We just got off Iona yesterday and had Cabin 12740... in the 2 weeks we never had any water on our Balcony ... had a wet balcony the first night due to rain lol and enjoyed our first Aft Balcony experience...we were next to the Suite cabin and maybe was lucky not being directly under the Pool...

 

Kevin

Edited November 13, 2022 by Kagan_rc
spelling

[Windsurfboy]

It's 12742 and 12745 that are in the middle , directly under it on Iona