2 Americans on the Iona, Norwegian Fjords, April 29th

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, smilesonfaces said:

The grab and go has never been opened on Iona. It was closed on other ships due to Covid and has never reopened. 
 

No great loss imho although I appreciate others liked it.

[Sea Green]

9 hours ago, Grumpella said:

We had breakfast in the Pearl restaurant this morning. Food was ok. The food service was timely but as for getting coffee and juice refills, very slow.

 

We had lunch at the Quays. Excellent fish and chips. There is a section off to the side to get water, salads and desserts. 
 

The Grab and Go on deck 16 is empty, I was told there are “technical” issues and it has been broken for some time. Seems like cutbacks to me.

 

 

 Refills not really 'a thing' in the UK, so you'll find this issue everywhere, not just in P&O.

[terrierjohn]

2 minutes ago, Sea Green said:

 Refills not really 'a thing' in the UK, so you'll find this issue everywhere, not just in P&O.

I am very surprised you got served drinks anyway, coffee, water and orange juice are normally self service.

[Sea Green]

23 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I am very surprised you got served drinks anyway, coffee, water and orange juice are normally self service.

Not in the MDR.

[Grumpella]

Last night was Celebration night. I was very surprised that there were several men without jackets or ties in the MDR. No options like prime rib, beef wellington or shrimp cocktail that we are used to on formal nights.
 

My husband wanted to see the Sky’s the Limit show last night, which I had booked in case we wanted to do 1 show. It was ok. 
 

The captain announced last night that we would be leaving Stavanger today at 3 pm instead 5 pm, as bad weather was forecast and he wanted to get ahead of it. I credit him with making the announcement the day before, as to give people a chance to change their plans. He stated that all excursions in the late afternoon will be cancelled.

 

We just arrived in Stavanger. Cold and raining.

[Gettingwarmer]

2 hours ago, Grumpella said:

 

Last night was Celebration night. I was very surprised that there were several men without jackets or ties in the MDR.

 

This seems to be happening a lot on the newer ships Iona and Arvia. They are aimed at the new younger cruisers, some of whom have no wish to dress up on holiday. It is a very different vibe on these ships, much more to some people’s taste. 

[mrsgoggins]

19 hours ago, Grumpella said:

We had breakfast in the Pearl restaurant this morning. Food was ok. The food service was timely but as for getting coffee and juice refills, very slow.

 

 

I've seen a few 'ok' comments from you regarding the food and, as someone who was on Iona last month, I would definitely agree.  The refills situation for breakfast drove my husband insane, and I don't think it's that unusual to want at least 2 cups of coffee/tea with breakfast. Good luck going forward with that!

 

We did 2 Celebrity cruises back to back in January and the difference was startling.  Celebrity is our favourite line, and I don't claim perfection for it, but we always feel there is a buzz about the service levels and speed of servers, which is not present on P&O. However, we have always felt that P&O gave good value - but maybe not so much on our last Iona cruise when we were also in a deluxe balcony - and have more bookings ahead (and also with Celebrity).

 

Please do try Epicurean if you can, because that was really good, albeit at additional cost. I wish you a good experience and will read your posts with great interest.

[Harry Peterson]

13 minutes ago, mrsgoggins said:

Please do try Epicurean if you can, because that was really good, albeit at additional cost. I wish you a good experience and will read your posts with great interest.

Definitely. It’s in another league altogether, for food, service and ambience.

Edited May 1, 2023 by Harry Peterson

[zap99]

On 4/28/2023 at 3:04 PM, Technoman2 said:

You should find it very enjoyable  with so many didning options to choose from. If you find the comedians tedious then dont stick around find another bar or maybe a live music event in the dome. The Lazer show in the dome was fantastic not to be missed. Enjoy and take plenty of money because a coffee in some of the ports like stavanger can cost $10+ for a basic coffee and food isnt cheap either.

Starbucks in Stavanger was about the same cost as London.

[wowzz]

10 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

I am very surprised you got served drinks anyway, coffee, water and orange juice are normally self service.

The OP is used to American levels of service, as found on Princess, Celebrity etc, where drinks are routinely served to your table in the buffet. P&O are very poor in this regard.

[zap99]

2 minutes ago, wowzz said:

The OP is used to American levels of service, as found on Princess, Celebrity etc, where drinks are routinely served to your table in the buffet. P&O are very poor in this regard.

On Celebrity, the buffet staff bring trays of pastries around the buffet at breakfast and tea/coffee. I forgot all about that. Hmmmm, that got me thinking.🤔

[Britboys]

44 minutes ago, wowzz said:

The OP is used to American levels of service, as found on Princess, Celebrity etc, where drinks are routinely served to your table in the buffet. P&O are very poor in this regard.

If I remember rightly, a short while before Covid P&O did actually start bringing round tea & coffee on trolleys in the buffet at breakfast time. I'm not sure but they might even have still been doing it on Aurora last summer...

[Britboys]

40 minutes ago, zap99 said:

On Celebrity, the buffet staff bring trays of pastries around the buffet at breakfast and tea/coffee. I forgot all about that. Hmmmm, that got me thinking.🤔

I'm pretty sure Princess were doing that in the buffet in 2019 but that was my Alaska cruise so don't know if it's something they do on ex-southampton cruises...

[davecttr]

1 hour ago, Harry Peterson said:

Definitely. It’s in another league altogether, for food, service and ambience.

Yet they still have a queue before opening, stretching into the Crows Nest 🤔

Some of them were a bit too casual dressed as well.

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

On Celebrity, the buffet staff bring trays of pastries around the buffet at breakfast and tea/coffee. I forgot all about that. Hmmmm, that got me thinking.🤔

Princess also deliver omelettes to your table.

[zap99]

48 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Princess also deliver omelettes to your table.

Is that random, or do you order them first?🤣

[Ladyshopper23]

4 hours ago, Britboys said:

I'm pretty sure Princess were doing that in the buffet in 2019 but that was my Alaska cruise so don't know if it's something they do on ex-southampton cruises...

We did Crown Princess to Hawaii in February, and there was a lady with a tea and coffee doing the round of the buffet every morning. There were also servers with trays of pastries (no good for us as we're gluten free, but great for everyone else!).

I honestly can't remember if they did it on Sky Princess when we cruised on her back in late 2021 (that was from Southampton).

[davecttr]

I got toast delivered on Arvia. Was first in though and no toast and was surprised when the toast man delivered 2 slices plus butter to my table

[terrierjohn]

5 minutes ago, Ladyshopper23 said:

We did Crown Princess to Hawaii in February, and there was a lady with a tea and coffee doing the round of the buffet every morning. There were also servers with trays of pastries (no good for us as we're gluten free, but great for everyone else!).

I honestly can't remember if they did it on Sky Princess when we cruised on her back in late 2021 (that was from Southampton).

Does Sky Princess have tea and coffee making facilities, like P&O?

[Ladyshopper23]

Just now, terrierjohn said:

Does Sky Princess have tea and coffee making facilities, like P&O?

It did on our cruise from Southampton, but if I remember correctly, it's only cruises from the UK where they do that.

I stand to be corrected on that though, as my memory is shocking!

[Presto2]

5 hours ago, wowzz said:

The OP is used to American levels of service, as found on Princess, Celebrity etc, where drinks are routinely served to your table in the buffet. P&O are very poor in this regard.

I'm surprised at this one. We've been with Celebrity 5 times now and can't ever remember them serving us tea / coffee at the table. Must have missed that one!

[Presto2]

5 hours ago, zap99 said:

On Celebrity, the buffet staff bring trays of pastries around the buffet at breakfast and tea/coffee. I forgot all about that. Hmmmm, that got me thinking.🤔

Do they ? We have always had to travel in August and never seen this happen. Am wondering if they saw us coming and ignored us !

 

To be fair to P&O there is a massive price difference between the 2 lines so it is unfair to compare surely?

 

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, zap99 said:

Is that random, or do you order them first?🤣

They call it "Omlette Roulette" !

[Fionboard]

6 hours ago, Britboys said:

If I remember rightly, a short while before Covid P&O did actually start bringing round tea & coffee on trolleys in the buffet at breakfast time. I'm not sure but they might even have still been doing it on Aurora last summer...

Saw them doing that on Aurora last month. 

[Cathygh]

10 hours ago, Grumpella said:

Last night was Celebration night. I was very surprised that there were several men without jackets or ties in the MDR. No options like prime rib, beef wellington or shrimp cocktail that we are used to on formal nights.
 

 I think Beef Wellington is served every other formal night on Iona, but weekly at the Chef's table. On other ships that have 2 formals a week would serve it once a week.  Prime rib- I don't think that's a British thing. If shrimp cocktail is the same as prawn cocktail then it should appear on the menu at some point. Pre covid it was available daily.

Iona's dress code is dumbed down, but still better than Princess. It's worth noting that P&O is a meant to  be a 4* line and Celebrity is 5* and there is clearly a differience

I hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise