New to Cruising. Iona Questions

[Jamie38]

Hello there, 

 

All new to Cruising so have a few questions if that's ok.

 

We are looking to book up a cruise through the Norwegian Fjords and it will be on the Iona.

 

We have been looking at cabins and are interested in getting an Aft cabin with a balcony, but have read that there have been some issues with the infinity pool overflowing onto the balcony's below, has this been fixed?

 

If we decide not to book an Aft cabin, which side of the ship will be best for viewing the amazing landscape during the cruise?

 

The WiFi package seems quite steep so we are wondering if when at ports are you able to connect to the internet via 4g? As we were thinking to buy the WiFi passes at days at sea.

 

Also any other tips and information will be greatly appreciated. 

 

Thank you

[Methuselah55]

Welcome to cruising; hope it's the start of new adventures around the world. 😎

Always difficult to choose the best side of the ship and, particularly for fjord sailings, what you miss on the way in, you'll see on the way back out.

We were on Iona last September and had a starboard balcony cabin which gave us a great view of the Olden sailaway party (pic) from the locals, as well as great views over Stavanger.

We make the most of quiet sea days away from the world wide web etc, and catch up in port. 4G is pretty good everywhere; we use it to find pubs & shops away from the tourist traps.

Have a great time.

Meth

[Jamie38]

Thank you for the reply, much appreciated. Really looking forward to the cruise. 

 

Hope you enjoyed your trip to the Norwegian Fjords, Olden looks lovely.

 

I think that's a great idea with the 4g and WiFi, we will do the same, we will explore the ship on sea days and experience the cruise.

 

If I could ask a couple more questions,

How much spending money do you recommend taking when visiting the locations, will be looking to bring a few little souvenirs home and eat out at a couple of locations, and I take it we will need to use the Norwegian currency.

 

And also the food aboard the Iona, from the free restaurants and paid restaurants, what was your experience with that?

 

Thank you 

[AlanCruise]

Re Norwegian currency, all the feedback is that you don't need cash. Everything is paid using Credit Cards (preferably contactless payments)

[Jennizor]

We were on Iona in Feb/March and back on her in July to the Fjords. We went there on Arcadia a few years ago and loved the experience.

 

We are in cabin 12246 which is quite near where we were last time and found the position very good (we decided to go for a deluxe balcony this time as it’s my husband’s 70th birthday).

 

We found the main dining room food quite good. We also did the Limelight Club, Sindhu, the Glasshouse (extra charge and well worth it) and the Chef’s Table (formal nights only and no extra charge and excellent meal).

 

We did wonder if Iona would be too big for us but not at all. She is a lovely ship and we can’t wait to be back on her.

[Interestedcruisefan]

Jamie 

 

When are you planning to go?

 

I'm doing Norwegian Fjords May 20th on Iona and will be doing a live report on here about everything we do and eat and watch whilst on her!!

 

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Jennizor]

 

4 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Jamie 

 

When are you planning to go?

 

I'm doing Norwegian Fjords May 20th on Iona and will be doing a live report on here about everything we do and eat and watch whilst on her!!

 

 

We are going in July so will look forward to your report.

[Camberley]

2 hours ago, Jamie38 said:

 

And also the food aboard the Iona, from the free restaurants and paid restaurants, what was your experience with that?

 

Thank you 

The free restaurants are absolutely fine. Functional and nothing special - mostly decent pub food served nicely - but fine for what they are and for a no-frills, non-luxury cruise line.

 

The buffet is a love it-hate it affair: mainly fuel without anything fancy, but some nice dishes from time to time: some of the roasts and curries…..Sadly with a few exceptions, in our opinion the buffet desserts veer on the synthetic side: it’s sometimes like they’re using up Costco cakes and desserts!
 

Olive Grove is very good. Quays is also pretty good (their Fish and Chips are usually excellent).

 

The speciality restaurants are excellent: personal opinion of course, but these, for me, elevate things to a more special event meal-wise than the functionality of the MDRs. And we have never had a less than very good meal in any of those, which is why it is a priority for us to get several booked per cruise. Some folk make a point of not paying extra for meals on principle (and fair enough) but for us, without those speciality restaurants we would abandon ship! Just booked several of these for next week’s Fjords cruise on Iona: can’t wait!

Edited April 1, 2023 by Camberley

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Jamie 

 

When are you planning to go?

 

I'm doing Norwegian Fjords May 20th on Iona and will be doing a live report on here about everything we do and eat and watch whilst on her!!

 

 

Look forward to this one . Your last was very informative.

[Methuselah55]

2 hours ago, Jamie38 said:

If I could ask a couple more questions,

How much spending money do you recommend taking when visiting the locations, will be looking to bring a few little souvenirs home and eat out at a couple of locations, and I take it we will need to use the Norwegian currency.

 

And also the food aboard the Iona, from the free restaurants and paid restaurants, what was your experience with that?

 

Thank you 

Not sure how much cash we took but be aware that Norway is pretty expensive. We trialled a Post Office travel money card which lets you load up in GBP then convert to whatever currency you need.  Worked perfectly in Norway and subsequently in Spain, Portugal, and all over the Caribbean.

 

We tend to avoid the Horizon buffet scrum, and the speciality restaurants unless there's a special occasion to push the boat out for.

We tend to break fast in The Quays (great omelettes) or the MDRs (full English), and have dinner in the MDRs. Quality and choice is routinely above average I would say, whilst service is almost always excellent. 

[Jamie38]

5 hours ago, AlanCruise said:

Re Norwegian currency, all the feedback is that you don't need cash. Everything is paid using Credit Cards (preferably contactless payments)

Thank you, we will be getting one of them cards to use, makes alot more sense

5 hours ago, Jennizor said:

We were on Iona in Feb/March and back on her in July to the Fjords. We went there on Arcadia a few years ago and loved the experience.

 

We are in cabin 12246 which is quite near where we were last time and found the position very good (we decided to go for a deluxe balcony this time as it’s my husband’s 70th birthday).

 

We found the main dining room food quite good. We also did the Limelight Club, Sindhu, the Glasshouse (extra charge and well worth it) and the Chef’s Table (formal nights only and no extra charge and excellent meal).

 

We did wonder if Iona would be too big for us but not at all. She is a lovely ship and we can’t wait to be back on her.

Hope you enjoy your trip, treat yourself 🙂 and happy birthday to your husband, hope you have a lovely time.

Thank you for the information about the restaurants, we will be checking them out. We are looking forward to exploring Iona, sounds really nice. 

4 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Jamie 

 

When are you planning to go?

 

I'm doing Norwegian Fjords May 20th on Iona and will be doing a live report on here about everything we do and eat and watch whilst on her!!

 

 

We are planning to go in September. Hope you have a lovely time and will be following your report. Thank you for the heads up.

3 hours ago, Camberley said:

The free restaurants are absolutely fine. Functional and nothing special - mostly decent pub food served nicely - but fine for what they are and for a no-frills, non-luxury cruise line.

 

The buffet is a love it-hate it affair: mainly fuel without anything fancy, but some nice dishes from time to time: some of the roasts and curries…..Sadly with a few exceptions, in our opinion the buffet desserts veer on the synthetic side: it’s sometimes like they’re using up Costco cakes and desserts!
 

Olive Grove is very good. Quays is also pretty good (their Fish and Chips are usually excellent).

 

The speciality restaurants are excellent: personal opinion of course, but these, for me, elevate things to a more special event meal-wise than the functionality of the MDRs. And we have never had a less than very good meal in any of those, which is why it is a priority for us to get several booked per cruise. Some folk make a point of not paying extra for meals on principle (and fair enough) but for us, without those speciality restaurants we would abandon ship! Just booked several of these for next week’s Fjords cruise on Iona: can’t wait!

Thanks for all the information there, very helpful. We will be checking a few of the more luxury restaurants out as well as making use of the buffet, just have a bit of everything. It's nice to know that the restaurants are worth the money. Really hope you enjoy your cruise, have a lovely time 🙂

2 hours ago, Methuselah55 said:

Not sure how much cash we took but be aware that Norway is pretty expensive. We trialled a Post Office travel money card which lets you load up in GBP then convert to whatever currency you need.  Worked perfectly in Norway and subsequently in Spain, Portugal, and all over the Caribbean.

 

We tend to avoid the Horizon buffet scrum, and the speciality restaurants unless there's a special occasion to push the boat out for.

We tend to break fast in The Quays (great omelettes) or the MDRs (full English), and have dinner in the MDRs. Quality and choice is routinely above average I would say, whilst service is almost always excellent. 

Thank you, we will be using one of them cards, makes sense to use them.

It's nice to know, there are plenty of options with food, will be adventuring down to them places for breakfast 🙂

[BrianI]

8 minutes ago, Jamie38 said:

Thank you, we will be getting one of them cards to use, makes alot more sense

You don’t need a special card. A normal UK credit or debit card can be used.

Brian

[Fionboard]

Just back from Norway and took no currency. Only place you could not use a card was on the bus in Tromso, but I bought my ticket with a card in a shop.