Iona G222 Norway

Iona Cruise Review

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 4
Helpful Votes: 166

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5
Iona

Norwegian Fjords

Sail date: July 09, 2022

Ship: Iona

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

This cruise was our first on Iona, it was postponed twice due to being cancelled by P&O. At last we got to sail the new ship. The ship is great, fresh, modern and does not seem that bigger than Britannia. Having sailed the last 3 cruises on Ventura, it really shows how dated Ventura is. Only negative for us is there are 4 MDR all offering Freedom dining. For us we would prefer a set table as due to wife's food allergy having the same waiter makes for a stress free time as they get to know you. Loads of choice for bars and buffet much better laid out.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
After previous cruises we were well impressed with the speed of the process. Only about 30mins from dropping the car to being on the ship. Was expecting much worse given the number of passengers.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Can't complain, MDR on a par to previous experience on Ventura. Loved the fish and chip option at the Quay's

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Didn't take part or use much of the activities.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
I was impressed, we had a very good choice. Some days too many things we wanted to see. Loved the 710 club, didn't like the Sky Dome as a venue the acoustics are terrible. I would say it was the best selection we have ever seen on a P&O ship.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Staff were always happy to help, didn't notice staff shortages except Epicurean was closed for some of our trip.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Toilets in main areas much better than Ventura/Azura.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Great cabin, slightly larger balcony. Some noise from deck above

Ports of call

Southampton (London), England

4 out of 5

Stavanger, Norway

4 out of 5
Had been before and walked around the old town so decided to do a trip this time. We did the boat trip to the Pulpit rock. Great boat trip but rock rather underwhelming. Our guide Bent was very good and knowledgeable.

Olden, Norway

5 out of 5
Fantastic views, did the Glacier walking trip. Nice day out.

Disembarkation

4 out of 5
We booked 9am but due to late arrival and only 1 airbridge being available to start with. This delayed the planned schedule. Didn't matter too much as we were self driving.
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10 Comments

AuntPinkie    2 years ago

Appreciate your feedback. Happy to hear that there’s a solution to your dining situation (from others). Next time you’ll know. Glad you mostly enjoyed your cruise.

Steph83    2 years ago

Brilliant review

Dinkymaid    2 years ago

May I ask if this was in a specific restaurant? I also follow a dietary requirement menu and wondered how this work from the changes in the mdr’s , thank you

amandasolts    2 years ago

Yeh we been on Iona twice and managed to get the same table for breakfast lunch and dinner 🍴

GabeNSteph    2 years ago

Thanks for your comments

somersetmum    2 years ago

Just to let you know that although all the MDRs are freedom dining, you can ask to be sat at the same table daily. We've been on the Iona twice this year and we're able to do this after explaining I follow a special diet.

Itspeace4me    2 years ago

Thank you for sharing.

javawoody    2 years ago

Thanks for the review

kef2016    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise experience. Sounds like it was a great cruise.

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise