Just home from Iona

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, Red Ray said:

Strange isn't it - we love the Headliners theatre shows and must have seen them all over the last 20 years but we thought the Take That one was the worst of the lot.

Depends if you like take that  songs I guess

 

Plenty do

 

I don't. But my wife loves them and I can stil enjoy the show

 

It's fun and the songs are well known

[Red Ray]

I don't mind Take That & my wife has seen them live many times, we just thought the story linking the songs was weak.

[Interestedcruisefan]

6 minutes ago, Red Ray said:

I don't mind Take That & my wife has seen them live many times, we just thought the story linking the songs was weak.

Yep but thats all it is really - links to songs you know

 

It's light entertainment not serious drama

 

Cheesey of course

 

 I prefer that to the  shows with specially created songs in them you don't know

 

Which are also cheesey as well

 

 

Edited December 10, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[smj777]

20 hours ago, posford said:

Just back from my third Iona cruise in 3 months. My fifth P&O cruise in 5 months.

I do not wish to write a review as I could not match the quality of Selbourne or TigerB.

I do though wish to share a few thoughts on my experiences.

 

Iona rides the sea’s magnificently. Force 9 or 10 winds, 10 metre waves, no problems, just a mild sway.

The staff, especially the waiters LOVE working on Iona and actually ask to come back on next contract. That is good because they are the best we have had on our 20 years of cruising. I could name so many instances, but just one. A waiter, who was not our waiter, noticed my wife had lost her voice, so he went and got a plate of honey and lemons for her to take back to our cabin. He checked for the next couple of days to see if it had done the trick. Fantastic.

The organisation including embarking, disembarking, ports is first class.   Much better than all the other P&O ships.

One for Lady Selbourne, no problems at all with lifts, especially front and back.  The etiquette was exemplary. Wheelchairs and pushchairs were always were given priority.  Please give it another try outside of school holidays.

The food was good but was let down by the menus, which is company wide.

PLEASE P&O SET UP A PASSENGER PANEL TO ASCERTAIN WHAT PASSENGERS WANT.

The dining app works a treat because most use it.

The food in the Olive Grove is fantastic, why it is included baffles me.

The shows are good, enhanced by the quality high tech.

 

The Christmas decorations were fantastic as well.

 

Last thoughts.

Cabin steward gave us 4 packs of biscuits per day.

Ice when he did the cabin, usually when we were at breakfast.

 

If I told the waiter I liked something he always asked if I would like two. For instance, if I asked for a steak, he said “ would you like 2”. Nothing was too much trouble.

 

Yes, I know P&O is not what it was but it will do for me.

Especially as I booked the same cruise for next year and got £830 OBC No, I don’t know why!!
 

Selbourne - please give it another try.

 

 

 

What is the cruise with the £830 OBC that you mention?

 

 

 

[The Med]

We will be on Iona in a few weeks and I’m wondering what to take for black tie nights.

 

Do any of the women wear long dresses? I’d love a chance to wear mine but I won’t pack any if people don’t really bother.

[sandancer]

I can tell you that on both Arvia and Azura there were plenty of long dresses worn on black tie nights. I plan to take one on our upcoming Iona cruise. Really enjoy dressing up on formal nights. 

[JeanieC,Aston]

19 hours ago, zap99 said:

We just enjoy the shows. Some are better than others, but that can apply to all entertainment. On NCL epic they had some American entertainers. The Beatles spoke in Liverpool accents. Quite amusing.

Hi

There is a Japanese Beatles tribute act resident in Benidorm who are brilliant.

 

There is an old saying ‘The turns who don’t make it in Northern Workingmens clubs go to Benidorm or cruise ships’

I go frequently to Benidorm (this NYE next) and the turns are really good now,,,,so they must be going onto cruise ships,,,especially that busker on Iona in February.😏

[Clodia]

On 12/10/2023 at 10:20 PM, The Med said:

We will be on Iona in a few weeks and I’m wondering what to take for black tie nights.

 

Do any of the women wear long dresses? I’d love a chance to wear mine but I won’t pack any if people don’t really bother.

I took 2 long dresses for the formal nights and was by no means the only person wearing long. You won't look out of place.

[TigerB]

I'm glad you had a positive experience on Iona, @posford.  We like her as she ticks a lot of boxes for us; Arvia also, but more so Iona.

[TigerB]

On 12/10/2023 at 12:39 AM, Interestedcruisefan said:

2 female waitresses on either Arvia or Iona (can't remember which) working in epicurean and very experienced on P and O said they preferred the old days of serving the same customers every night and becoming friends with them etc

 

But that's not what modern cruisers are looking for of course. 

 

On Arvia and Iona I don't recall ever seeing female waiting staff in the MDRs, I don't know why, but there were several in Epicurean, Sindhu, and Green & Co, and we've always had good service from them. If you are referring to the pair that worked as a team in Epicurean, they were on Arvia and were fantastic.

[Fionboard]

12 minutes ago, TigerB said:

 

On Arvia and Iona I don't recall ever seeing female waiting staff in the MDRs, I don't know why, but there were several in Epicurean, Sindhu, and Green & Co, and we've always had good service from them. If you are referring to the pair that worked as a team in Epicurean, they were on Arvia and were fantastic.

Lots of lady waiters in MDR on my cruises this year. In fact, have noticed many more ladies working in cabins and bars too than there used to be. They are lovely. 

[TigerB]

I've probably not noticed them; the two larger MDRs on Arvia and Iona are huge though. In the sections we've sat in, although there have been plenty of female staff, mainly table escorts (I don't know if that's the correct term) and bar waiters, I've never seen an actual female waiter or assistant waiter. I'll try and pay more attention next time.

[Fionboard]

1 minute ago, TigerB said:

I've probably not noticed them; the two larger MDRs on Arvia and Iona are huge though. In the sections we've sat in, although there have been plenty of female staff, mainly table escorts (I don't know if that's the correct term) and bar waiters, I've never seen an actual female waiter or assistant waiter. I'll try and pay more attention next time.

I have not been on Iona or Arvia this year so can only speak for the other ships. 

[TigerB]

Ah!  My reference point is those two behemoths😉

[majortom10]

2 hours ago, TigerB said:

Ah!  My reference point is those two behemoths😉

Plenty on both Iona in March and Arvia in September.

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, TigerB said:

 

On Arvia and Iona I don't recall ever seeing female waiting staff in the MDRs, I don't know why, but there were several in Epicurean, Sindhu, and Green & Co, and we've always had good service from them. If you are referring to the pair that worked as a team in Epicurean, they were on Arvia and were fantastic.

There were certainly some on our Iona cruise last February.

[sandancer]

Can I ask please how the temperature was in the restaurants posford. Not sure whether a jacket will be required for DH (for warmth, not dress code) as he’s already taking a dinner suit and a wrap for me. I’m hoping we’ll need neither as I could do with the packing space for other stuff. Not used to cold weather cruises so packing jeans and jumpers is a bit of a trial. 

[posford]

Hi,

Temperature in the dining rooms warm.

No need for jackets etc.

 

By the way, numerous female waiters on Iona, including female hosts on front desk of all restaurants.  Very pleasant intelligent ladies. A pleasure to be greeted by them.

[The Med]

Did you go to the cinema at all? 
 

I wondered what films are showing at the moment.

[posford]

Hi All,

just to close this topic off.  A few observations.

 

P&O may not be who they were, but who is.

If you really think deeply about it, they/we are extremely lucky that they did not go under because of Covid.

I book a cruise.

Drive down to Southampton, book my car in to CPS, which comes with the cruise cost, board immediately( lucky to be Baltic tier), hospitality lunch with unlimited drinks, go to immaculate cabin.

Lots of onboard spend which we never had pre Covid.

Oh yes, can take your drinks onboard for cabin drinking - try that with some other companies.

Dining in MDR. Breakfasts are fantastic. Can’t manage lunches as well. Evening meals need some attention, but I addressed that in a previous mail.

Olive grove on Iona is exceptional.

Shows, especially on Iona, are better than we have ever seen.

Organisation including embarkation and disembarkation is second to none.

staff continue to be wonderful.

 

So summing up, apart from the evening meals in MDR, what has changed for the worst?
 

The cost of the overall product is, I believe, still very competitive.

 

In the last few months we have rediscovered our love of cruising.

 

Just my honest opinion.

 

[Selbourne]

6 minutes ago, posford said:

So summing up, apart from the evening meals in MDR, what has changed for the worst?

I could list a couple of dozen things, but in the scheme of things they are (individually) quite minor and the vast majority didn’t have a particularly adverse effect on our cruise experience. The one that has impacted us most is the cut backs on guest lecturers - both numbers and quality of them. They were the only things that we looked forward to on sea days and on all our post Covid cruises they’ve been few and far between and the few we’ve had were boring subjects. 
 

I agree with pretty much everything else in your post, with the exception of disembarkation. I think that P&O make a meal out of it and other cruise lines do it far better. I always felt that they also made a meal of tender operations pre Covid, so I will be interested to see if that’s improved on our next cruise, as our 3 cruises since Covid haven’t required them. 

[posford]

Must just come back on the subject of disembarkation.

 Last 3 cruises on Iona, Sept, Oct and Dec this year.

Passengers taking their own luggage off just after 6.00, all others off just after 7.00.

So very smooth.

 

We don’t normally attend guest lectures but on the last cruise was a guy that was in charge of the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.  Three very informative and interesting lectures. Venue packed out for all three.

[P&O SUE]

28 minutes ago, posford said:

Must just come back on the subject of disembarkation.

 Last 3 cruises on Iona, Sept, Oct and Dec this year.

Passengers taking their own luggage off just after 6.00, all others off just after 7.00.

So very smooth.

 

We don’t normally attend guest lectures but on the last cruise was a guy that was in charge of the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.  Three very informative and interesting lectures. Venue packed out for all three.

That does sound a talk that would be interesting!

[Interestedcruisefan]

On the Fjords cruise on Iona we had a talk on Agatha Christie, Victoria Wood (and other female entertainers) and one more I missed.

 

From an actress who spoke well

 

Also enjoyed a talk on Lowry from the art gallery director.