P and O Iona now.

[AndyMichelle]

6 hours ago, Funboy said:

I have not been thrilled by Haugesund on my two visits. This last time we faced an hour or so walk into the city(we are both 76). There was a shuttle bus and though it said it was the official P&O shuttle it was £5.50 each. Because of the distance there should have been a free shuttle as P&O sometimes provide. On our next visit we will not bother leaving the ship.

 

Yes, we struggled to get ' Grandad' over the bridge, so he got the bus back. 

Fortunately I am able, so managed to have a fantastic walk out to the lighthouse then a nice coffee in an independent bakery. 

I agree though, the town is uninspiring. 

Andy 

[Winifred 22]

16 hours ago, Paulant said:

We're going in August, can't wait but I'm worried we might end up on deck 8.We booked an early saver with upgrades.

Bit inexperienced in cruising but our first P&O cruise last year was amazing so hopefully this isn't ruined with a rubbish cabin location.

I ended up with a deck 8 cabin. Amazing great value. Right at the front so had 180 degree views. As others have said most people giving their negative two penny worth have never been on Iona let alone deck 8. Would be happy to have one again. 

[davecttr]

2 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

I ended up with a deck 8 cabin. Amazing great value. Right at the front so had 180 degree views. As others have said most people giving their negative two penny worth have never been on Iona let alone deck 8. Would be happy to have one again. 

I found they closed off the forward part of deck 8 overnight to give the forward cabins some chance of privacy. However on Arvia the forward solid railing overlooking the crew deck  is higher than on Iona so it appears 'sea views' are restricted to forward cabin occupants standing on a chair!

[Paulant]

1 hour ago, Winifred 22 said:

I ended up with a deck 8 cabin. Amazing great value. Right at the front so had 180 degree views. As others have said most people giving their negative two penny worth have never been on Iona let alone deck 8. Would be happy to have one again. 

Thank you, that's all encouraging. Did you feel you had your privacy if you was on the balcony?

[grapau27]

On 5/9/2024 at 3:23 PM, Paulant said:

We're going in August, can't wait but I'm worried we might end up on deck 8.We booked an early saver with upgrades.

Bit inexperienced in cruising but our first P&O cruise last year was amazing so hopefully this isn't ruined with a rubbish cabin location.

You should speak to your travel agent or whoever you booked with.

You might be able to pay a little extra and get a GD grade guarantee cabin which is near the back of the ship deck 10 and up.

If you can get a GD grade say no to any upgrades.

We have had GD grade balcony cabins 5 times on Iona.

Graham.

Edited May 10 by grapau27

[Paulant]

If I remember correctly we have automatic upgrades with the saver fare?

[Winifred 22]

12 hours ago, Paulant said:

Thank you, that's all encouraging. Did you feel you had your privacy if you was on the balcony?

There were people walking past but they didn’t bother me. Balcony was quite big. Didn’t notice people staring over 

[grapau27]

8 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

There were people walking past but they didn’t bother me. Balcony was quite big. Didn’t notice people staring over 

These are the deck 8 front cabins. 

Edited May 10 by grapau27

[Paulant]

2 hours ago, grapau27 said:

You should speak to your travel agent or whoever you booked with.

You might be able to pay a little extra and get a GD grade guarantee cabin which is near the back of the ship deck 10 and up.

If you can get a GD grade say no to any upgrades.

Graham.

 

1 hour ago, Winifred 22 said:

There were people walking past but they didn’t bother me. Balcony was quite big. Didn’t notice people staring over 

 

[Paulant]

Apart from the potential privacy issue I suppose the other thing that would concern my wife is that excitement of looking down at the sea splashing on the side of the ship and the sound sending you to sleep. 

I know it's a small thing but that's what is amazing about these trips.

Maybe we were spoilt on our first cruise last year on Azura with a fantastic balcony cabin with no obstruction and no one above, but you never know, we might not get deck 8!!

[seahorse001]

On 5/6/2024 at 1:25 PM, Photo Andy said:

Reporting from Iona today Bank Holiday Monday in Stavanger. 
Ship looking great, food good, plenty of choice, always hot and passengers seem to be having a great time. Sailing north on the North Sea yesterday (Sunday) lovely and sunny, passengers sitting in the sun, exercising and generally having a great time. Last night was formal night and most people smartened up, what ever the age young and old, people know how to smarten up. 
Now for the downside I observed 4 people not washing hands entering restaurants, or exiting toilets. One man in the restaurant helped himself with his hand in the cheese crackers! No outbreaks yet, just hope our immune systems are working well.

Olden tomorrow. 
We have enjoyed our first few days on board, we have booked another cruise onboard, just where we want to go. 

Nice to see you are enjoying your cruise Andy long may it continue.

Re your hand washing comment- I experienced this on Arvia & Iona. In fact I would say the majority DID NOT wash their hands when in ANY dining venue 🙈. I witnessed this many many times - hardly nobody washed their hands & no staff were enforcing it 

[Funboy]

4 hours ago, seahorse001 said:

Nice to see you are enjoying your cruise Andy long may it continue.

Re your hand washing comment- I experienced this on Arvia & Iona. In fact I would say the majority DID NOT wash their hands when in ANY dining venue 🙈. I witnessed this many many times - hardly nobody washed their hands & no staff were enforcing it 

Have to agree. On our recent Iona cruise virtually no-one washed their hands in the three areas we ate in...buffet Olive and Quays.

[gsmt47471015]

34 minutes ago, Funboy said:

Have to agree. On our recent Iona cruise virtually no-one washed their hands in the three areas we ate in...buffet Olive and Quays.

I’m afraid to say it’s a massive issue across the whole fleet , something really needs to be enforced with relation to personal hygiene in eating areas. As for leaving restrooms, what can you say? 😟😟

[Jennizor]

On our recent Arvia cruise there was always someone at the MDR entrance holding hand wash. I never saw anyone walk past without taking it. 

[Windsurfboy]

They have limited  resources to check on washing,  but I'd concentrate them on the buffet,  most risk of cross contamination. 

 

For other restaurants it's more important for supervisors to check on staff.

 

 

[AndyMichelle]

2 minutes ago, Jennizor said:

On our recent Arvia cruise there was always someone at the MDR entrance holding hand wash. I never saw anyone walk past without taking it. 

Same on Britannia, but we did see a Japanese guy refuse the hand sanitiser, but he was the only one. 

The bigger worry for me was in the toilets. Lots of men do not wash their hands... 

[Jennizor]

My husband was constantly annoyed at the number of men that did not wash their hands. Do they not wash them at home either?

[Windsurfboy]

Nowt you can do but concentrate on own hygiene,  and remember Covid lessons keep hands away from face. 

 

Avoid buffet 

 

 

[zap99]

On 5/6/2024 at 5:05 PM, terrierjohn said:

I doubt that calling their customers such names is likely to lead to them increasing the policing of the wash basins.

Strangely enough lots more staff members with hand sanitiser bottles at restaurant entrances on the second week. Well done to P&O for taking immediate action to  comments made on surveys.🤣

[Funboy]

2 hours ago, zap99 said:

Strangely enough lots more staff members with hand sanitiser bottles at restaurant entrances on the second week. Well done to P&O for taking immediate action to  comments made on surveys.🤣

Good for them, it's a start.....but unfortunately the sanitisers are useless against Norovirus. It is only soap and water which is effective. I still believe that anyone not washing their hands should be stopped going in.

 

 

 

[Photo Andy]

Thought I would bring you all up to date. It is Sunday night and we are back in UK at home. 

Eventful final few days.

Wednesday in Alesund, we walked up Mt Aksla with many people from P and O Iona and an Aida ship. The footpath was very busy,  I took my camera / tripod images of Alesund  but not from the cafe as it seems permanently closed. Walked back down into the town and fell off a pavement and injured myself up, mostly my right hand knuckles, deskinned and bloody, avoided any facial injuries, a quick check and nothing seemed broken. Back on ship cleaned up, then back out into Alesund to buy some dressings, tape and scissors. (I used to work in the NHS doing tissue viability so self dressing is not a problem). Have you ever tried to pass through ship security with a pair of scissors longer than 40mm? They looked at the dressings we purchased, the tape and my bloody fingers etc. They allowed the scissors on board but we could not open the packet until in our cabin and could not take them out of the cabin. We were meant to have a pm cruise on a fjord but just did not feel up to it. 

Thursday - heavy rain, fog and 35mph wind and the ship had 2 attempts to enter Haugesund but no luck. On the upside we were refunded our excursion money. 

Friday, packed, had a table for dinner at the Keel and Cow, lovely meal, clean plates. 

Saturday, our disembarkation time was 8-55am, in the car and on the way home by 9-30am. 

This was a great holiday, the hand injury was my fault, but Iona was excellent, food, crew, venues etc. Missing a port excursion seems to be an issue in Norway, just stay cool and enjoy the ports you can visit.

BW

Derek.     

[AndyMichelle]

19 minutes ago, Photo Andy said:

Thought I would bring you all up to date. It is Sunday night and we are back in UK at home. 

Eventful final few days.

Wednesday in Alesund, we walked up Mt Aksla with many people from P and O Iona and an Aida ship. The footpath was very busy,  I took my camera / tripod images of Alesund  but not from the cafe as it seems permanently closed. Walked back down into the town and fell off a pavement and injured myself up, mostly my right hand knuckles, deskinned and bloody, avoided any facial injuries, a quick check and nothing seemed broken. Back on ship cleaned up, then back out into Alesund to buy some dressings, tape and scissors. (I used to work in the NHS doing tissue viability so self dressing is not a problem). Have you ever tried to pass through ship security with a pair of scissors longer than 40mm? They looked at the dressings we purchased, the tape and my bloody fingers etc. They allowed the scissors on board but we could not open the packet until in our cabin and could not take them out of the cabin. We were meant to have a pm cruise on a fjord but just did not feel up to it. 

Thursday - heavy rain, fog and 35mph wind and the ship had 2 attempts to enter Haugesund but no luck. On the upside we were refunded our excursion money. 

Friday, packed, had a table for dinner at the Keel and Cow, lovely meal, clean plates. 

Saturday, our disembarkation time was 8-55am, in the car and on the way home by 9-30am. 

This was a great holiday, the hand injury was my fault, but Iona was excellent, food, crew, venues etc. Missing a port excursion seems to be an issue in Norway, just stay cool and enjoy the ports you can visit.

BW

Derek.     

Welcome home Derek. 

Glad you had a great time, despite the setback.

Hope all heals up quickly. 

Surprised to hear the cafe is closed at Alesund, it seemed to be doing great business when we went a while back. 

Thank you for reporting in, feedback like yours helps a lot of people and we enjoy following along. 

Andy 

 

 

[Ardennais]

Hope your hand is healing, but pleased to hear that you enjoyed the cruise.

 

The cafe on Mount Aksla was open the previous week. 

[davecttr]

I just cheked the restaurant site

Monday - closed

Tuesday - closed

Wednesday to Sunday - 11am

[Ardennais]

1 hour ago, davecttr said:

I just cheked the restaurant site

Monday - closed

Tuesday - closed

Wednesday to Sunday - 11am

I wonder whether Iona always visits Alesund on Wednesdays. We got up there around 11.30 on Wednesday 1 May and the cafe was quite busy.