My thoughts on Iona March / April 2023

[Selbourne]

2 minutes ago, daiB said:

I have to say Selbourne that I am a little surprised that, you with all your experience would base your future cruises on anything else but your own experience. Having read these pages for many years I know that there are always some people who have in their opinion bad experiences and if you beleaved them all you would never cruise. All I can say is that the report above is miles away from our experience. I never go into the clubhouse but my wife does, every night and children messing about on the dance floor is her biggest gripe. I have just asked her and she tells me she did not see it on our cruises, one of which was in the Easter Hols. Now that may mean that it happened when we were eating or somewhere on the ship.

Anyway good luck with you Iona cruise in August. Not sure we would book then being a retired teacher. I look forward to your review.

 

Gan Canny

 

Dai

We haven’t cruised since Nov 2019 Dai and therefore not yet been on Iona or Arvia, which are targeted at a different market, or for that matter any P&O ships in the post-Covid era, so obviously I can only go on the experiences of others at the moment. However, with 3 different P&O ships now booked for the next 6 months I will indeed be able to revert to my personal experiences and will report back as I find it - good and bad. 
 

There’s absolutely no way that we would have booked an August cruise on Iona, but the partner of one of our daughters is a teacher, and as we were keen to do a family holiday we had no choice. I guess if we survive that in one piece we will be very happy to fill our boots with cheap off season cruises on Iona and Arvia, as we like the sound of all the dining options!
 

 

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, devonuk said:

One yes and one not. The first was just after Covid so there was only 50% on board and the Iona was new so things were pretty good then. 

You are in a catch 22 position a little bit I think.

 

Whether we like it or not most holiday destinations have downsides for adults if we travel in school holiday time. Cruises certainly no exception

 

If you only plan to use Iona alongside your own young children in your family in school holiday time you will only experience the ship at its worst time for adults I guess

[devonuk]

21 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

You are in a catch 22 position a little bit I think.

 

Whether we like it or not most holiday destinations have downsides for adults if we travel in school holiday time. Cruises certainly no exception

 

If you only plan to use Iona alongside your own young children in your family in school holiday time you will only experience the ship at its worst time for adults I guess

And that is the conundrum I face. However, with a little attention to detail and a raising of standards then it might just be at an acceptable level. But human nature will be that there will always be something to ‘moan’ about. 

[daiB]

39 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

We haven’t cruised since Nov 2019 Dai and therefore not yet been on Iona or Arvia, which are targeted at a different market, or for that matter any P&O ships in the post-Covid era, so obviously I can only go on the experiences of others at the moment. However, with 3 different P&O ships now booked for the next 6 months I will indeed be able to revert to my personal experiences and will report back as I find it - good and bad. 
 

There’s absolutely no way that we would have booked an August cruise on Iona, but the partner of one of our daughters is a teacher, and as we were keen to do a family holiday we had no choice. I guess if we survive that in one piece we will be very happy to fill our boots with cheap off season cruises on Iona and Arvia, as we like the sound of all the dining options!
 

 

You will notice a massive improvement in facilities for wheelchair/scooter users. Every door to an outside area is automatic, so no struggling with heavy doors. No lips on the doors to outside areas all flat. The balcony doors are automatic and the exit is smooth. The auto doors on the bathroom are good as well they have sensors which prevent them opening until everything is clear. However word of warning do NOT use the rails hooks on the back of the door as this will stop the door closing. 

[terrierjohn]

55 minutes ago, daiB said:

You will notice a massive improvement in facilities for wheelchair/scooter users. Every door to an outside area is automatic, so no struggling with heavy doors. No lips on the doors to outside areas all flat. The balcony doors are automatic and the exit is smooth. The auto doors on the bathroom are good as well they have sensors which prevent them opening until everything is clear. However word of warning do NOT use the rails hooks on the back of the door as this will stop the door closing. 

It is a good feature though if you want to keep the door open.

[Cruising Nomads]

Also beware the cabin door takes forever to close and you can be half way down the corridor before it does.

[Red Ray]

These posts are exactly the reason we largely avoid School Holiday cruises like the plague. We don't have children and have no interest in other people's little darlings. We did go on QM2 over Christmas but thankfully saw n0 evidence of bad behaviour.

[Selbourne]

2 minutes ago, Cruising Nomads said:

Also beware the cabin door takes forever to close and you can be half way down the corridor before it does.

That always frustrates me on Aurora. Having to wait outside the cabin for ages for the door to close and, when entering, being on show to all passers by for what feels like an eternity!

[Slugsta]

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

That always frustrates me on Aurora. Having to wait outside the cabin for ages for the door to close and, when entering, being on show to all passers by for what feels like an eternity!

One cruise on Oriana, there was a glitch with the door which would almost close and then swing open again. It made things 'interesting' but, fortunately, was easily fixed.

[daiB]

4 hours ago, Selbourne said:

That always frustrates me on Aurora. Having to wait outside the cabin for ages for the door to close and, when entering, being on show to all passers by for what feels like an eternity!

Also if you stand too close it will not close the door. 

[Ardennais]

On 4/16/2023 at 12:38 PM, Camberley said:

The Iona cruise we disembarked yesterday (a “taster” of the Fjords*) was the first time we found Iona to be very crowded in many places and perhaps either understaffed or ineffective deployment of staff to various areas. Perhaps the crowds were to be expected given it was still school holidays. The Crows Nest - our of our favourite places to enjoy a drink formerly - was often packed from early eve. BUT there were other places to go to on board that were less busy to enjoy and places we knew to avoid (typically where the big families hung out and took over!).
 

Service was variable in many of the free restaurants and this is the first time we had experienced that in all the cruises we took since Covid: sometimes glacial service, sometimes highly rushed. On 2 lunch times we waited almost an hour to be served after we had sat down in a MDR, but then the food was then rushed out and almost thrown at us. All courses on Gala Night in the MDR (superb food btw) were over and done with in about 30 minutes: a very clear production line going on, no sooner than one course finishes then immediately the next was plonked down! I know they have to get though the guests but at least let us try to savour our food and make it feel like a “celebration”! It typically took between 20-40 mins to get an order taken for several of the bars both during the eves, then a similar time to receive the drinks. But we were in no rush and could happily to chat with others while we waited,

That infinity pool is appalling. Kids deliberately throwing water over the overflow onto the balconies below. I would genuinely recommend nobody gets one of those cabins directly underneath. We and others saw the deliberate splashing from our balconies off to the side and rang reception. Firstly met with scepticism, then several of us videoed what was going on and showed reception. A few hours later and then each day, the same deliberate splashing happened. I’d really ban kids from that pool or shut it off completely as P&O have still really not got a grip on this!

 

But there were so many more wonderful things about the cruise than these issues - and these negatives didn’t really mar the holiday to a significant extent once we got going and got into the swing of things.

 

*The day we boarded we were informed by the captain we would have an extra sea day before we got to Norway because of poor weather in Stavanger: so we were told we would instead do Stavanger at the end, instead of Haugesund. Yet several people we had befriended on board showed us an email they received a few days prior to boarding citing operational reasons for not being able to dock in Haugesund! 

We definitely thought that Iona was extremely short staffed during our Feb half term cruise. We enjoyed our cruise but I didn’t think the service good enough when folk pay a premium to travel during school holidays for whatever reason. It’s all well and good telling people to avoid school holidays - but it’s unavoidable for many. 

[majortom10]

No great signs of being short staffed on Iona in March and the ship was full.

[Ardennais]

4 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

No great signs of being short staffed on Iona in March and the ship was full.

Your full didn’t include the 800+ children! 

[Selbourne]

17 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

Your full didn’t include the 800+ children! 

Exactly. ‘Full’ can be anywhere between 5,000 (lower berths with some solos in double cabins on special offers) and 6,000 plus with most of the upper berths full. We are on Iona in the summer school holidays. Now that really will be full. Very full 😱

[majortom10]

23 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

Your full didn’t include the 800+ children! 

No it was during school term. All ships are stretched during school holidays due to a lot of cabins having 4 (2 adults and 2 children) in where out of school holidays will only have 2 adults.

[Ardennais]

6 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

No it was during school term. All ships are stretched during school holidays due to a lot of cabins having 4 (2 adults and 2 children) in where out of school holidays will only have 2 adults.

Exactly. So our cruise was, in our opinion, short staffed. 

[Ardennais]

I’m currently on a cruise. It’s term time. Very few children. Well staffed. This level of service (or close to it) should be the norm even during the school holidays. 

[majortom10]

1 minute ago, Ardennais said:

Exactly. So our cruise was, in our opinion, short staffed. 

No they cannot increase staff just for a short period during school holidays. The staff are all employed on lengthy 8-9 month contracts and they are not going to increase staff numbers for majority of cruises just so they are available for school holidays.

[majortom10]

3 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

I’m currently on a cruise. It’s term time. Very few children. Well staffed. This level of service (or close to it) should be the norm even during the school holidays. 

But how do you suggest P&O to do it because there is sufficient staff currently but you say they would need more staff just for school holidays. Where are they going to get those extra staff from just for a short period of say 2 weeks.

Edited April 23, 2023 by majortom10

[Ardennais]

1 minute ago, majortom10 said:

No they cannot increase staff just for a short period during school holidays. The staff are all employed on lengthy 8-9 month contracts and they are not going to increase staff numbers for majority of cruises just so they are available for school 

Just now, majortom10 said:

But how do you suggest P&O to do it because there is sufficient staff currently but you say they would need more staff just for school holidays. Where are they going to get those staff from just for a short period of say 2 weeks.

Not my problem! Iona’s atrium half term Feb was messy. Tables weren’t cleared for hours - seriously, I sat there reading in the afternoons and people weren’t being served for ages. The staff on my current cruise have time to interact and chat. It’s sooo different! 
 

The mega ships are marketed as great for family cruises and should be staffed properly. I really hope they manage it for the long summer break at the very least. 

[majortom10]

Just now, Ardennais said:

 

No it's not your problem but it is a problem that every cruise ship on every line has to do and Durkin g school holidays they have to cope with same number as staff as rest of the year. Unlike land based hotels if short staffed can call in agency staff cruise lines cannot.

[majortom10]

2 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

 

That is why we never book a cruise during school holidays. It is nothing new there has always been this problem during school holidays for the 26 yrs I have been cruising.

[Grimsby Mariner]

Just returned from a week in the Norwegian fjords on Iona. Weather was fantastic, but this was our fifth time on the ship in sixteen months and, sad to say, our last sailing experience with P&O for the foreseeable future.

 

Over those five cruises the ship has gone from a beautiful clean high end experience, to a glorified ferry crammed to the limit, giving little better than a booze cruise experience. Cutbacks have been massive so that now the experience is pared to the bone, and there are nowhere near enough staff to service the massive number of cruisers, which we were assured by staff onboard the ship is actually above the number the ship was meant to sail with.

 

P&O's policy is well known, sell all the cabins regardless of price, so to some extent it is our own fault for continuing to pay the low end prices as you really do get what you pay for nowadays. At least as experienced cruisers we can get round all the issues on board by booking before we go, but even then the online booking system P&O use is a nightmare as their IT is so bad and bookings do not register or disappear. And don't mention the MYHoliday App on ship, a system not fit for purpose which suits P&O perfectly because it means nothing gets overbooked because so many people cannot use it!

 

Plusses - fantastic food

             - cabin crew and restaurant staff are brilliant

             - Embarkation is efficient (at least it is once you get in the departure hall)

 

Minuses - You can never complain to anyone senior on board

               - You never see a senior member of staff around the ship

               - There are nowhere near enough staff on the ship for the number of cruisers

               - Disembarkation - an utter shambles with again no senior staff members overseeing

               - Customer service - 28 days to reply to an email! Probably dealing with so many complaints

 

We have tired of the P&O experience now. To be honest my view is if they continue too much longer as they are there is going to come a time where the Company hits huge difficulties. You can only go on for so long treating existing customers so badly whilst selling cruises in the bargain basement to people unlikely to return as they are so shocked by the experience. Eventually there will come a time where there are no returning customers. In my opinion the policy the Company are pursuing is a one way trip to bankruptcy unless they have a very fast re-think and start listening to all the criticisms aimed at them.

 

 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Grimsby Mariner

[Grimsby Mariner]

21 hours ago, Ardennais said:

We definitely thought that Iona was extremely short staffed during our Feb half term cruise. We enjoyed our cruise but I didn’t think the service good enough when folk pay a premium to travel during school holidays for whatever reason. It’s all well and good telling people to avoid school holidays - but it’s unavoidable for many. 

We were told by staff onboard last week the real reason that Iona did not dock in Stavanger on 13 April. If it is true they never had any intention of doing so and knew when the cruise set sail they were missing the first port day. Everyone on that cruise should be getting a refund, just another example of the contempt P&O has for its customers.

[d9704011]

2 minutes ago, Grimsby Mariner said:

We were told by staff onboard last week the real reason that Iona did not dock in Stavanger on 13 April.

What would that be?