Spectacular Fjords!

Item: Iona
Rating: 4.3
Author: mickeymacs

Iona Cruise Review

mickeymacs

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 53

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5

Norwegian Fjords

Sail date: June 10, 2023

Ship: Iona

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

This was my first P and O experience and it won’t be the last. The ship was twice the size of my previous cruise ships but I was fine. It was busy but never felt over crowded.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Arrived a tad early, but was allowed on. Painless check in, very speedy.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Cannot fault any of the restaurants in their food. All four dining rooms had great food, but for the view Pearl was my fave. Good in Limelight was my favourite of the holiday. Horizon was fine, not as good as Celebrity in my opinion, but did the job for breakfast and lunch. Breakfast in Pearl was lovely! Service on celebration night was painfully slow though, almost leading to us missing the start of the 8.30 show. We went in at 6.30 for dinner. Live the sharing tables. Met so many nice people. Another criticism was the lack of a sommelier or wine waiter. I regularly had to ask for someone to take my drinks order before food order. The bars were fine but their method of ordering drinks, I felt wasted time.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Didn’t really do anything except Karaoke and a few pub quizzes.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

P and O entertainment trumped Celebrity Silhouette by miles! Free shows in the theatre were excellent, staging, music, talent and video screens made it feel very well produced. Limelight Club was worth the extra money. Dinner was good - but a tad rushed. Joe McElderry was brilliant! Didn’t make it to 710 club, so this must be booked ahead of time. There wasn’t a main entertainment manager for cruise director - or if there was they didn’t make themselves known. The Sky Dome was a great place to catch a circus style show - great for kids! The casino was fine but I found the staff in there quite harsh and not understanding of those of us who don’t use casino’s often.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

All in all they were good, but there is clearly not enough of them. When I compare to Celebrity Silhouette where it’s 1 crew member to 2 guest - Iona is seriously lacking. Their method of buying drinks at the bar was a COVID legacy which they need to dump - you order from a guy with an iPad who then sends this to the bar tender… who at times I could have personally given my order to and received it a lot faster! I found the croupier in the casino (roulette wheel) quite harsh and not understanding of those of us who don’t often play. It felt very rushed. The MDR lacked sommeliers or someone to get drinks before ordering meals, which I found disappointing.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Beautifully designed! Great ship!

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

I was a solo traveller, so this balcony was more than enough for me. Well appointed, uk plug points, nice TV with free on demand films. Tiny fridge which barely held four cans and a bottle on it’s side. Plenty of wardrobe space but lacked drawers, instead had cubby holes for small items. Cabin steward - not overly impressed to be honest. When I compare to Celebrity Silhouette, they do turn down’s in the evening, whereas P and O only clean your room once a day. Again, I assume they are short staffed as he did the best he could BUT not as good as Celebrity in my opinion.