From onboard P&O's flagship cruise ship, IONA I give you my likes and dislikes from this cruise to the Norwegian Fjords. Follow me on socials: / cruisewiths. .
Thanks for your honesty...we due to cruise on Iona in late March...i did wonder about the acoustics in the sky dome...you've answered that one...cant wait to be honest Steve...we doing the Spain/ Portugal cruise...happy days!
Thanks for the video. We've booked on the Iona for the fjords in July 23. This is going to be our first cruise in relatively normal times and the thought of a full ship is filling me with dread. We cruised 3 times during the pandemic and it has been lovely to have a half empty ship, but we know it is not sustainable. Glad we have a balcony cabin into which we can retreat when the crowd becomes too much.
It has been lovely to have the ships running at reduced capacity but I guess they have probably been losing so much money as you say its not sustainable. Don't worry there are lots of areas where you can find space, its mainly the pools, hot tubs and the food areas where you notice how full it is but I'm sure you will enjoy the ship and having a balcony going through the fjords is so nice.
We sailed on the Iona September last year on a sailcation cruise. The ship was only half full at the time. We need an accessible cabin for my husband and the balcony cabin we had was superb. We have booked the same cabin for a Fjords cruise next year. We were very impressed with the ship and had a lovely time. We found the ship very easy to negotiate despite its size and the food was excellent. Looking forward to next year. Interesting to see what it will be like when it is full. We enjoyed the music in the Skydome but usually there were only one or two people singing.
Hey Steve. Great review. We are booked on the Iona from Canada for the Canary Islands in November and can't wait. Here's hoping its not a school holiday in the UK.
Thanks, I don’t think there are any school holidays in November they are October then Christmas so you should be fine. Enjoy your cruise it’s a great ship and the climate in the Canaries in November should be lovely.
Just returned from the Fjord's on the Iona, the last trip there of the 2022 season. It was my wife and I on our 1st ever cruise , the ship was fully booked so things were also busy and hectic at the terminal. All the paperwork needed, requested for COVID was not needed and was just asked if we were safe to travel, it was to relaxed. On board our balcony cabin was nice and clean with a very comfy bed, all good so far, went for fish n chips and a look around. Once we went to bed the problems started, the wind was whistling through a tiny gap in the door frame and a constant knocking from inside an exterior wall. The day time dining in the Horizon was absolute rubbish, cold rubbery food and the poor staff were struggling to keep up with the vast amount of people surging through the place. The wife and I have vowed , never , to go on such a large cruise ship again. It's a shame these companies are getting over competitive with their ship sizes
It’s a shame you had the issues with the cabin as I was quite impressed with ours. I think the staff shortages have really impacted all areas but no excuse for poor food. Somebody said something similar about Arcadia the other day so looks like the issues are fleet wide not just the bigger ships. Hope your next cruise is better, did you send any comments to P&O, any response?
I agree with these comments. The ship has no personality. No sail aways, no white nights, no meetings of of top officers for questions. Never saw any entertainment crew working around the ship. Will not sail her again.
Great video, we have subscribed !! We have just returned from our third cruise on Iona (March 2023) and it was brilliant - Sky Dome is still bad for acoustics though 😔. Ship was sold out and was very busy but service was excellent, food was good and we had some fabulous entertainment - seems that P&O are starting to overcome some of their earlier staffing issues 😁. We expected some ‘supply chain’ problems with food/drink but there was really nothing to complain about.
Thank you. Great to hear that some of the staff issues are getting resolved, glad you had a great cruise. I will have to give it another try in the future as I do really like the ship design overall.
Thanks for the comment about the overhang. I have booked a balcony cab on deck 15 at the front. Wondering if I should change it now so that was helpful.
Hi, If you are able to at no extra cost then I would probably do it but if it’s more I wouldn’t bother. The deck to avoid really is deck 8, that is almost the same height as the promenade deck and people walking past can see into your cabin also you don’t get as good view of the sea. Enjoy your cruise 🚢
Hi, just wondering if you did stick to your cabin at the front and how you found it we've jut booked for August 2024 cabin 103 with a balcony, first time in a cruise, have we done the wrong thing 😢
We just did Fjords (G210). I felt like we fought to get a table anywhere, then I fought to get a drink. Half way through the week I was fighting to even get to breakfast @Horizon. MDR breakfast was poor. Staff were non existent in most of the bars / restaurants. I was that exhausted when I got home I slept for two days straight. Olden is beautiful, but it didn't feel like a holiday to me. My first and only time on Iona I imagine.
Sorry to hear you didn't have a good cruise on Iona, really hope that hasn't put you off cruising completely. As you say Olden is beautiful and without cruising I doubt I would have ever gone there.
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head why the Britannia is such a good option for us. It has 3500 and is still a big ship with lots of choice, but not overwhelmingly massive and a much more manageable amount of passengers. A really nice happy medium imo.
I was on Britannia in April and had a great cruise, its a real favourite of mine. I really like the outside space with the two pools in the centre of the ship and found it much easier to get around. Given the choice I would go Britannia over Iona as long at the itineraries suited.
@@CruisewithSteve your last sentence is exactly what we’re doing. Doing Norway late April next year and both Iona and Britannia are doing nearly the same itinerary a day apart. Deliberately chose Britannia, purely because of the disorganisation and short staffing that’s plaguing Iona at the moment, you just can’t afford to have those issues on a 5200+ passenger cruise ship. Britannia doesn’t seem to be having these issues, plus 3000-3500 passengers is a real sweet spot. I really wish Britannia had a sister ship as I think it really is the perfect proportion of a big ship but not being too much.
i got back today from a week on the Iona on its Norwegian Fjords cruise. The crew were fantastic, especially the highly entertaining Captain Wesley Dunlop, and the service superb but the ship itself was too large for my taste and with nearly 5000 passengers on board I felt crowded. I suspect that because of the numbers the quality of the food was not as high as it could have been and I was not a great fan of the virtual queuing system through the onboard app which I had a number of problems with during the week. But nonetheless we enjoyed our week and am glad we tried Iona if only because it has convinced me never to go on such a large ship again! Finally I must pay tribute to the embarkation and disembarkation procedures which were fast, straightforward and extremely efficient. Airports and airlines could learn a lot from P&O in this regard.
Glad you enjoyed your cruise Paul, Captain Wesley Dunlop does deserve a special mention he was great. There is clearly a bit of cost cutting going on with regards to food, portions were a bit small in the MDR but I did like the food in the Quays. At least by trying it you know what you want for your next cruise now, and how beautiful were the fjords, I thought the ship was great but Norway was absolutely amazing!
Sadly this ship is missing one vital design for the fiords....it was not designed properly to accept the sea walk at Greigranger.....so it can't moor there....just takes the passengers to see the Seven Sisters waterfalls, turns and goes back again. What a mistake! I've not been on a large cruiser and have no desire to - I do watch the cruisers arrive at Greigranger and this fault is pointed out each time. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Returned a few weeks ago from our second cruise on Iona (this one was around the Fjords), have another booked on Iona for next year. Very good synopsis Steve, I really like the experience on Iona 'but' here are my gripes. Firstly is the queues ,there are a lot of people on board so be prepared to queue, although you can mitigate this by getting your timings right if you are prepared to eat, or go to shows early and avoid peak times. My biggest gripe though is the amount of 'scruffs' on board, casual by day like we all like to be but the evenings are supposed to be smart casual (darkdenim,trousers open neck shirt or polo), particularly in the restaurants (not including buffets), I was in despair to see people in these restaurants in clothes I would'nt do the gardening in let alone fine dine, P&O needs to tighten up on this and redirect them to parts of the ship more suited to ripped jeans,hoodies and trainers (and worse). I can appreciate that their 'ripped designer jeans' probably cost more than my entire wardrobe but it's a fine dining establishment on a cruise not a beach party in Ibiza.
It's a great point I did see that myself, again it may be a symptom of the shortage of crew lots of new staff who are rushing around and maybe the attention to detail is not there yet?
what proof is needed at check-inn before boarding as from now september 2022..we are pensioners and had our 1st vaccine& then booster shortley after,i think now you have to take the lateral flow / antigen also how do you get proof for the 1st vaccine and the booster?..great vids...keep im up..👍
Hi, as long as you have had both of the first jabs and the booster you are covered, you dont need to have had any further boosters at this time. If you are in England you can download the NHS app which will allow you to show a certificate which has the details of the dates of your vaccinations, I would print this in case your phone has a problem at the port. If you don't have a this app I would suggest speaking to your GP surgery (good luck with that!) and see if they can print them for you, the cards which they give you at the vaccination centres wont be enough. Have a great cruise!
I was on it for Christmas and New Year. The Worst cruise ever! My Christmas dinner was served at 11.30pm! Fabulous presentation Steve. Like you I didn’t like the sky dome. Would I go on it again? No!
Thats a shame, I did hear things were really bad on Christmas day with the meals. I think that has put me off cruising over Christmas as I would hate to have that day ruined, although I have done New Year on Azura and that was fine. Even if its not on Iona I hope you keep cruising!
I think I am like a lot of people here who came off the final fjords cruise of the season . First of all the layout of the ship has some real issues , staff shortages where hugely apparent but also majority of the staff felt subservient , afraid to have a personality or act outside of actual slaves without fear of persecution. The sky dome concept is kind of cool but executed poorly especially for live music. Any form of paid coffee was burnt within an inch of its life . I worked for TUIs mein Schiff for 2 years pre pandemic and this was my first ever cruise as a guest and halfway through our holiday was have cancelled our trip on the arvia next year
So many of the crew are new so I think that is affecting the service quite a lot. Hope if you cruise again you can find a ship that suits you better. Thanks for your thoughts.
Really good review. We heading on Iona next feb can’t wait. I think full ships will be norm from now on. Hopefully Arvia will improve the sound issue in the dome.
Hi Steve Very I informative. I may already have sent you a previous message so I do apologise. I'm due on Iona on 17th Sept. Her last trip to Fjords this year I think. We could only get an inside cabin. Hey ho. Booked too late ! As Iona goes down through the fjords which in your opinion would be the best view spot and best deck to see as we have no balcony? Regards Therese
@@terryhardy123 Hi, don't worry about the inside cabin I'm sure you will have a great cruise. I would suggest Deck 8, the promenade deck. All of the outside decks I think have two levels of glass which does obstruct the view a little so if you go to the back of the ship on 8 by the sunset bar you will have a clear view of both sides and its also easy to get a drink from the bar or walk along and in and you can get a coffee etc from the Grand Atrium. Hope that helps, safe travels.
I have been on a number of PO cruises and sadly Iona was lacking. I found the restaurant food bland, and the bread roll bounced when dropped. The cocktails in the sky dome watery and not worth the cost. You need to use an app to book shows and specialist restaurants. I have always eaten at the Sindu, but no bookings available. I understand PO is a business, but people still deserve better food, service and entertainment. Iona is sadly not for me, I prefer the Island. I travelled in September, the food did not look like the video. The Fjords are wonderful, something PO was not involved in.
Enjoyed your video but for me it looks and sounds horrendous. For me 5000 passengers plus is just one big holiday camp. I prefer smaller ships. I have travelled on P and O in the past but not any more as for me big is not beautiful but thank you for the video a good and honest insight to P and O.
Thanks Alan, tried to be honest, hope it wasnt too negative I really did enjoy it and I like the options the big ships give you with food and entertainment but it was frustrating getting food in the Quays area and Horizon court as it was so full.
@@CruisewithSteve Yes, your report was very honest and well balanced. Your report of Quays and Horizon court for me sounds a nightmare but obviously it was busier than normal because of school holidays. I have enjoyed P and O in the past but I am afraid the big ships for me are a no no. I prefer something of 2000 or less. Shame I won't be travelling on P and O again but thats life! 🥲
I was on Iona in May, having taken about 14 cruises with P&O and other operators previously. Although attractive and stylish, the ship was too big for me. Anyone with mobility problems should seriously consider if Iona and others ships of the same size is suitable for them. The buffet in the evening was also a let-down with very few main dishes. I think it is P&O's ploy to 'persuade' passengers to dine in one of the premium restaurants.
@@MJC1124 The only plus I guess for passengers with mobility problems is they do seem to have improved the situation with lifts. There are a lot of them throughout the ship, far more than there are on Britannia which I think many find very frustrating to navigate. No doubt there is a big push towards the premium restaurants, I didn't eat in the buffet in the evening, the food in the MDR was good but portions at times were a quite small.
@@CruisewithSteve Called for my flights today. As per Laura it’s Britannia. Maybe they skipped Iona due to the delay with her due to covid and Arvia to be released a year later.
Not sure I want to go in school holiday time, so obviously understaffed with too many passengers. Doesn't look a good experience for the cost of the cruise and excursions.
Hopefully the staffing situation will get better, I must admit I do much prefer cruising outside of school holidays myself but at the moment we are not always able to.
Thanks for the review, really good video I will watch the rest on your channel. I am going on Iona soon and cant wait
Thank you, have a great cruise
Thanks for your honesty...we due to cruise on Iona in late March...i did wonder about the acoustics in the sky dome...you've answered that one...cant wait to be honest Steve...we doing the Spain/ Portugal cruise...happy days!
Thanks for the video. We've booked on the Iona for the fjords in July 23. This is going to be our first cruise in relatively normal times and the thought of a full ship is filling me with dread. We cruised 3 times during the pandemic and it has been lovely to have a half empty ship, but we know it is not sustainable. Glad we have a balcony cabin into which we can retreat when the crowd becomes too much.
It has been lovely to have the ships running at reduced capacity but I guess they have probably been losing so much money as you say its not sustainable. Don't worry there are lots of areas where you can find space, its mainly the pools, hot tubs and the food areas where you notice how full it is but I'm sure you will enjoy the ship and having a balcony going through the fjords is so nice.
We sailed on the Iona September last year on a sailcation cruise. The ship was only half full at the time. We need an accessible cabin for my husband and the balcony cabin we had was superb. We have booked the same cabin for a Fjords cruise next year. We were very impressed with the ship and had a lovely time. We found the ship very easy to negotiate despite its size and the food was excellent. Looking forward to next year. Interesting to see what it will be like when it is full. We enjoyed the music in the Skydome but usually there were only one or two people singing.
Thats great, sounds like you had a good cruise have to agree I think the cabins are superb.
Hey Steve. Great review. We are booked on the Iona from Canada for the Canary Islands in November and can't wait. Here's hoping its not a school holiday in the UK.
Thanks, I don’t think there are any school holidays in November they are October then Christmas so you should be fine. Enjoy your cruise it’s a great ship and the climate in the Canaries in November should be lovely.
Thank you. On Iona in June and cant wait.
Thanks, I’m sure you will have a great cruise.
Just returned from the Fjord's on the Iona, the last trip there of the 2022 season. It was my wife and I on our 1st ever cruise , the ship was fully booked so things were also busy and hectic at the terminal. All the paperwork needed, requested for COVID was not needed and was just asked if we were safe to travel, it was to relaxed. On board our balcony cabin was nice and clean with a very comfy bed, all good so far, went for fish n chips and a look around. Once we went to bed the problems started, the wind was whistling through a tiny gap in the door frame and a constant knocking from inside an exterior wall. The day time dining in the Horizon was absolute rubbish, cold rubbery food and the poor staff were struggling to keep up with the vast amount of people surging through the place. The wife and I have vowed , never , to go on such a large cruise ship again. It's a shame these companies are getting over competitive with their ship sizes
It’s a shame you had the issues with the cabin as I was quite impressed with ours. I think the staff shortages have really impacted all areas but no excuse for poor food. Somebody said something similar about Arcadia the other day so looks like the issues are fleet wide not just the bigger ships. Hope your next cruise is better, did you send any comments to P&O, any response?
I agree with these comments. The ship has no personality. No sail aways, no white nights, no meetings of of top officers for questions. Never saw any entertainment crew working around the ship. Will not sail her again.
Great video, we have subscribed !! We have just returned from our third cruise on Iona (March 2023) and it was brilliant - Sky Dome is still bad for acoustics though 😔. Ship was sold out and was very busy but service was excellent, food was good and we had some fabulous entertainment - seems that P&O are starting to overcome some of their earlier staffing issues 😁. We expected some ‘supply chain’ problems with food/drink but there was really nothing to complain about.
Thank you. Great to hear that some of the staff issues are getting resolved, glad you had a great cruise. I will have to give it another try in the future as I do really like the ship design overall.
Great honest review. We're excited to sail! Cheers 🍻
Thank you, I’m sure you will have a great cruise 🚢
We didn’t think the dome worked as a music venue either. Loud and echoed everywhere, as it is a swimming pool, and sounded like one.
Thanks for the comment about the overhang. I have booked a balcony cab on deck 15 at the front. Wondering if I should change it now so that was helpful.
Hi, If you are able to at no extra cost then I would probably do it but if it’s more I wouldn’t bother. The deck to avoid really is deck 8, that is almost the same height as the promenade deck and people walking past can see into your cabin also you don’t get as good view of the sea. Enjoy your cruise 🚢
Hi, just wondering if you did stick to your cabin at the front and how you found it we've jut booked for August 2024 cabin 103 with a balcony, first time in a cruise, have we done the wrong thing 😢
We just did Fjords (G210). I felt like we fought to get a table anywhere, then I fought to get a drink. Half way through the week I was fighting to even get to breakfast @Horizon. MDR breakfast was poor. Staff were non existent in most of the bars / restaurants. I was that exhausted when I got home I slept for two days straight. Olden is beautiful, but it didn't feel like a holiday to me. My first and only time on Iona I imagine.
Sorry to hear you didn't have a good cruise on Iona, really hope that hasn't put you off cruising completely. As you say Olden is beautiful and without cruising I doubt I would have ever gone there.
thank you, really enjoyed your vlog. Have yet to sail on Iona, so this has been really useful. Have subscribed also :-) ..Terry
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head why the Britannia is such a good option for us. It has 3500 and is still a big ship with lots of choice, but not overwhelmingly massive and a much more manageable amount of passengers. A really nice happy medium imo.
I was on Britannia in April and had a great cruise, its a real favourite of mine. I really like the outside space with the two pools in the centre of the ship and found it much easier to get around. Given the choice I would go Britannia over Iona as long at the itineraries suited.
@@CruisewithSteve your last sentence is exactly what we’re doing. Doing Norway late April next year and both Iona and Britannia are doing nearly the same itinerary a day apart. Deliberately chose Britannia, purely because of the disorganisation and short staffing that’s plaguing Iona at the moment, you just can’t afford to have those issues on a 5200+ passenger cruise ship. Britannia doesn’t seem to be having these issues, plus 3000-3500 passengers is a real sweet spot. I really wish Britannia had a sister ship as I think it really is the perfect proportion of a big ship but not being too much.
Am going June this year..can't wait
I’m sure you will have a great cruise, it’s a really nice ship
A really good and fair review 👍
Thank you for your kind words
i got back today from a week on the Iona on its Norwegian Fjords cruise. The crew were fantastic, especially the highly entertaining Captain Wesley Dunlop, and the service superb but the ship itself was too large for my taste and with nearly 5000 passengers on board I felt crowded. I suspect that because of the numbers the quality of the food was not as high as it could have been and I was not a great fan of the virtual queuing system through the onboard app which I had a number of problems with during the week. But nonetheless we enjoyed our week and am glad we tried Iona if only because it has convinced me never to go on such a large ship again! Finally I must pay tribute to the embarkation and disembarkation procedures which were fast, straightforward and extremely efficient. Airports and airlines could learn a lot from P&O in this regard.
Glad you enjoyed your cruise Paul, Captain Wesley Dunlop does deserve a special mention he was great. There is clearly a bit of cost cutting going on with regards to food, portions were a bit small in the MDR but I did like the food in the Quays. At least by trying it you know what you want for your next cruise now, and how beautiful were the fjords, I thought the ship was great but Norway was absolutely amazing!
I enjoyed your video! Thanks
Thanks Gareth
Sadly this ship is missing one vital design for the fiords....it was not designed properly to accept the sea walk at Greigranger.....so it can't moor there....just takes the passengers to see the Seven Sisters waterfalls, turns and goes back again. What a mistake! I've not been on a large cruiser and have no desire to - I do watch the cruisers arrive at Greigranger and this fault is pointed out each time. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Returned a few weeks ago from our second cruise on Iona (this one was around the Fjords), have another booked on Iona for next year. Very good synopsis Steve, I really like the experience on Iona 'but' here are my gripes. Firstly is the queues ,there are a lot of people on board so be prepared to queue, although you can mitigate this by getting your timings right if you are prepared to eat, or go to shows early and avoid peak times. My biggest gripe though is the amount of 'scruffs' on board, casual by day like we all like to be but the evenings are supposed to be smart casual (darkdenim,trousers open neck shirt or polo), particularly in the restaurants (not including buffets), I was in despair to see people in these restaurants in clothes I would'nt do the gardening in let alone fine dine, P&O needs to tighten up on this and redirect them to parts of the ship more suited to ripped jeans,hoodies and trainers (and worse). I can appreciate that their 'ripped designer jeans' probably cost more than my entire wardrobe but it's a fine dining establishment on a cruise not a beach party in Ibiza.
It's a great point I did see that myself, again it may be a symptom of the shortage of crew lots of new staff who are rushing around and maybe the attention to detail is not there yet?
what proof is needed at check-inn before boarding as from now september 2022..we are pensioners and had our 1st vaccine& then booster shortley after,i think now you have to take the lateral flow / antigen also how do you get proof for the 1st vaccine and the booster?..great vids...keep im up..👍
Hi, as long as you have had both of the first jabs and the booster you are covered, you dont need to have had any further boosters at this time. If you are in England you can download the NHS app which will allow you to show a certificate which has the details of the dates of your vaccinations, I would print this in case your phone has a problem at the port. If you don't have a this app I would suggest speaking to your GP surgery (good luck with that!) and see if they can print them for you, the cards which they give you at the vaccination centres wont be enough. Have a great cruise!
I was on it for Christmas and New Year. The Worst cruise ever! My Christmas dinner was served at 11.30pm! Fabulous presentation Steve. Like you I didn’t like the sky dome. Would I go on it again? No!
Thats a shame, I did hear things were really bad on Christmas day with the meals. I think that has put me off cruising over Christmas as I would hate to have that day ruined, although I have done New Year on Azura and that was fine. Even if its not on Iona I hope you keep cruising!
We went on the iona last year and really enjoyed it, went on Arvia this year and have to say I enjoyed Iona better
Interesting, not tried Arvia yet but like the look of some of the features like the opening dome and swim up bar. What is it you preferred about Iona?
I think I am like a lot of people here who came off the final fjords cruise of the season . First of all the layout of the ship has some real issues , staff shortages where hugely apparent but also majority of the staff felt subservient , afraid to have a personality or act outside of actual slaves without fear of persecution.
The sky dome concept is kind of cool but executed poorly especially for live music.
Any form of paid coffee was burnt within an inch of its life .
I worked for TUIs mein Schiff for 2 years pre pandemic and this was my first ever cruise as a guest and halfway through our holiday was have cancelled our trip on the arvia next year
So many of the crew are new so I think that is affecting the service quite a lot. Hope if you cruise again you can find a ship that suits you better. Thanks for your thoughts.
We felt the same, the sky dome was not good for the music, the Triboo show was very good.
Yes we all really enjoyed the Triboo show, would happily watch that again
Really good review. We heading on Iona next feb can’t wait. I think full ships will be norm from now on.
Hopefully Arvia will improve the sound issue in the dome.
Thank you, I think maybe the reduced capacity has spoilt us a bit and I just need to readjust to full ships again.
Hi Steve
Very I informative. I may already have sent you a previous message so I do apologise. I'm due on Iona on 17th Sept. Her last trip to Fjords this year I think. We could only get an inside cabin. Hey ho. Booked too late ! As Iona goes down through the fjords which in your opinion would be the best view spot and best deck to see as we have no balcony? Regards
Therese
@@terryhardy123 Hi, don't worry about the inside cabin I'm sure you will have a great cruise. I would suggest Deck 8, the promenade deck. All of the outside decks I think have two levels of glass which does obstruct the view a little so if you go to the back of the ship on 8 by the sunset bar you will have a clear view of both sides and its also easy to get a drink from the bar or walk along and in and you can get a coffee etc from the Grand Atrium. Hope that helps, safe travels.
I have been on a number of PO cruises and sadly Iona was lacking. I found the restaurant food bland, and the bread roll bounced when dropped. The cocktails in the sky dome watery and not worth the cost. You need to use an app to book shows and specialist restaurants. I have always eaten at the Sindu, but no bookings available. I understand PO is a business, but people still deserve better food, service and entertainment. Iona is sadly not for me, I prefer the Island. I travelled in September, the food did not look like the video. The Fjords are wonderful, something PO was not involved in.
Enjoyed your video but for me it looks and sounds horrendous. For me 5000 passengers plus is just one big holiday camp. I prefer smaller ships. I have travelled on P and O in the past but not any more as for me big is not beautiful but thank you for the video a good and honest insight to P and O.
Thanks Alan, tried to be honest, hope it wasnt too negative I really did enjoy it and I like the options the big ships give you with food and entertainment but it was frustrating getting food in the Quays area and Horizon court as it was so full.
@@CruisewithSteve Yes, your report was very honest and well balanced. Your report of Quays and Horizon court for me sounds a nightmare but obviously it was busier than normal because of school holidays.
I have enjoyed P and O in the past but I am afraid the big ships for me are a no no. I prefer something of 2000 or less. Shame I won't be travelling on P and O again but thats life! 🥲
I was on Iona in May, having taken about 14 cruises with P&O and other operators previously. Although attractive and stylish, the ship was too big for me. Anyone with mobility problems should seriously consider if Iona and others ships of the same size is suitable for them. The buffet in the evening was also a let-down with very few main dishes. I think it is P&O's ploy to 'persuade' passengers to dine in one of the premium restaurants.
@@MJC1124 The only plus I guess for passengers with mobility problems is they do seem to have improved the situation with lifts. There are a lot of them throughout the ship, far more than there are on Britannia which I think many find very frustrating to navigate. No doubt there is a big push towards the premium restaurants, I didn't eat in the buffet in the evening, the food in the MDR was good but portions at times were a quite small.
I didnt think Iona was made the flag ship. Last i saw they promoted Britannia as the flag ship still
Not 100% tbh, all the trade press describe Iona as P&O's flagship and it would make sense for it to be but maybe it is still Britannia?
@@CruisewithSteve Called for my flights today. As per Laura it’s Britannia. Maybe they skipped Iona due to the delay with her due to covid and Arvia to be released a year later.
Not sure I want to go in school holiday time, so obviously understaffed with too many passengers. Doesn't look a good experience for the cost of the cruise and excursions.
Hopefully the staffing situation will get better, I must admit I do much prefer cruising outside of school holidays myself but at the moment we are not always able to.
@@CruisewithSteve I sincerely hope so, particularly by 26 August 2023 departure
It's rubbish tintack ship and you don't go to many ports as they sell you. P&o forget it