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Hi. To be honest they were all very good. We didn't try the 710 club. But why not do them all?

First of all you can link your cabins for dining, you have ring P & O or get the travel agent to do it - they call it a "travel with" code. If I recall, we used to make separate bookings on the app, but there isn't any actual seat allocation so as long as you have the same time slot you are ok. Now, whether that's different if you have made a booking for two cabins on one booking, i don't know. If you are all on the same booking number, i would have thought all of your names would have come up on the app, as you log in by booking number. Good question. Do you have two seperate bookings, or two cabins on one booking?

Something worth noting, we had a bit of trouble with ours first time and we found you could go to reception and they could make and amend bookings for you too - so worth knowing.

We went in April on that visit - it was REALLY cold. We've also been in summer, where the temperatures are much higher. But so are the prices. And to be honest, Norway in winter is a totally different experience.

Yes I would have expected that would be more than acceptable on formal night.

Not sure to be honest - I can see it on the sample chef's table menu - it may have been on one of the nights in the main dining rooms but I'm not a fan so I wouldn't have paid any attention to it.

It became a bit of a standing joke, the solitary carrot... If you own a greengrocers I think you could have done a roaring trade 🤣. Thanks for watching.

Lol. Thanks! I'm sure you'll enjoy it, please report back, I'd love to think our less than acceptable dining experiences (you will know what i mean if you watch the other videos) were due to the bad time they were having with the norovirus. Please don't believe all the anti-P&O hype, if you research it, you'll know norovirus generally is through the roof again in the UK, and it stands to reason that if it's rife in the population, someone is going to sneak it on board and when I say sneak, i mean knowingly conceal they are ill so as not to spoil their own holiday at the expense of others - while we were on this ship we heard passengers openly confessing they hadn't followed the rules about reporting illness - and yet according to the press it was all P&O's fault. Which they accidentally forgot to mention all the other cruise lines also suffering due to the unseasonal increase generally. For me, early morning is the best time. It is total serenity, especially on a calm sea. Some of the reflections on the water in the morning light can't be described. The front viewing area on the promenade deck is tremendous unless it's in the wind, then it's literally breathtaking! I recommend everyone starts their day with a muffin and coffee :) Thanks for the sub and I hope you'll stick around because we have our first cruise on Arvia coming up later in the year. Best wishes and safe travels. Rob and Sue.

Hi. Thanks, we appreciate it! I'm sure you will love it. Keep watching, there's some more to come. We had a bit of a bad year when we returned so the videos didn't get finished but we are on it now! Thanks

Well on the latest online menus they clearly show the A C or D logos against each drink, but I didn't notice this on the Iona and its definitely NOT on the main dining room menus. I will make a note to check this out when we go on Arvia later in the year. Thanks for watching.

yes, i'm sure i saw them

then again, that might have been on the ventura - they have video roulette for sure, im not sure about the auto roulette wheel. MSC Virtuosa definitely has, though I know that wasnt your question :)

All good tips that I will be incorporating into our next videos - thanks!

Unfortunately (you may not have spotted it in the video) Sue was ill and didn't get to see it, I was up there all on my lonesome. Now, I concede Sue doesn't get a speaking role very often but it's not for the want of trying, but she's quite camera shy and she takes some coaxing. But you know what, thanks for saying that, I've been telling her she should join in more, and i'm hoping on the next couple of videos, she's going to take a more upfront role. So I will pass on your comment to her. Please keep your suggestions coming, I'm taking everything on board and I hope we can improve what we do from what our viewers feed back to us. We've said before, we love to get your comments, and chatting to people who watch our videos is half the fun of making them! Take care and hopefully we will be back soon!

That's kind of you to say so - Funnily enough, I deliberately didn't want to spoil the christmas ambience BUT I did also look at a previous video (th-cam.com/video/D8bxRJmV6Vw/w-d-xo.html) that we made a couple of years ago and thought exactly that, we need to go back and do a more detailed historical tour - so keep an eye out for this year. And I know JUST the expert to take with me! Thanks for watching.

Thank you - we hope to return and do one in a bit more detail, there's a couple of venues on there we didn't get to visit.

It really is and I'm not sure I captured the full beauty of it - its a place I had heard of but not ever researched, so it was a very pleasant surprise to find myself in among the old buildings and canals. It had me yearning to get my watercolours out - it's been a long time since I took them on a cruise with me. Maybe next time. But it does just go to prove that it's worth taking some of these cruises with unknown destinations, because there really are some hidden gems out there - thanks for watching.

Enjoy your stay and thanks for watching

There's some norwegian videos on Iona here if you are interested th-cam.com/play/PLvMjYehQy9KUcln34veN82GVKdK3eGSXK.html

Hi Sandra - I'm predominantly using my DJI Osmo Pocket in this video, which I really like as its easy to handle and drop in my pocket in between shots - I also use my Pixel 6 (just upgraded to Pixel 8a with a better camera, but i havent had chance to use that yet). I also have a couple of 4K action cameras that are useful for extra wide shots, time lapse and fastening to Sue's wheelchair. I'm going to try using these more in our next videos as we walk around. Im hoping one day to upgrade to the osmo pocket 3, with its bigger screen. Ive considered getting a son y ZV but Im not sure i could manage the size - with the pocket, I can actually push sues wheelchair and hold the camera in my hand at the same time. What do you think to the picture quality?

thanks for watching

@ thanks for the response Rob. The picture quality is pretty good that’s why I wanted to know which camera it is. I’m very much a beginner when it comes to taking videos. I recently started a catering and tablescaping business, so I need to take a lot of videos and pictures. Would you say that the DJI Osmo Pockets would a be good buy in my situation?

@@sandrasherwood8521 Thats a difficult call - im finding lately I have been using my phone for a lot of my videos, but for vlogging stuff where you are wanting to talk to camera, the pocket is good - you can flip the camera round, see yourself on the screen, its got a decent built in mic and best of all its light and i dont get tired arms trying to hold it up in the air. To be honest ive not tried anything like the Sony ZV-E10, which seems to be the camera of choice for a lot of people. I started off using my Nikon 3200 but its way to cumbersome to do handheld talk to camera vlogs. My daughet saw the pocket on some videos she watched and encoraged me to get one for our trip to disney a couple of years ago. It worked for me, and I always have it close by, it doesnt take any room up and has a decent amount of battery too. I suggest maybe you have a look at some youtube reviews on it - if i was buying one now, it would probably be the pocket 3 due to the bigger flip screen. But they aren't cheap, and I've only just upgraded my PC so a new camera is on the distant horizon... but then again, Santa is coming soon isn't he?

Hi Simon, thanks for watching and thanks for your kind comments - the taxi price was each way, but it was a seven seater and there were four adults and two children. It might be worth emailing the taxi firm for prices direct from the ship, for a normal car. The train was about £40 return according to the rail europe website, but when we arrived there was a 40 min wait for the next train, so we opted for the taxi - plus the convenience of being dropped dead centre. We didnt get charged for the bus between zebrugge and blankenberge. As it was, we had no problem getting wheelchair friendly coaches in both directions. Thing to note - the buses from the ship go direct to Blankenberge, where on the way back, they stop at the cruise terminal for security then you have to board yet another bus to get to the ship - its not far, but we had to sit and wait for the return bus to fill up. The taxi driver did offer to drives us directly to the cruise terminal but we opted for the Blankenberge bus station where we had been dropped off. As it was, I think the drive to the terminal would have been shorter. Enjoy the cruise, we really like Iona, and the entertainment was exceptional - we found this to be the case when we went on her around the Fjords, so we know it wasnt a fluke.

Absolutely agree, and that beef in black bean sauce was totally yummy, went back and had a second bowl! Didnt try anything of the american diner off the end but it all looked good.

thanks for watching

Hi! Firstly thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. Funnily enough we went on our first MSC cruise last year (it's on the channel) and we also remarked on how excellent the shows were - so we were quite pleased to be able to compare the headliners team and honestly, they measured up nicely - a good group of singers and dancers, good voices, good harmonies, and some very good show ideas - they did one based on a Glastonbury style festival, with tents and an extremely funny dance routine featuring portaloos! And then another one all about an airport and the passengers and on the plane (yes they got a plane on the stage, with cockpit and seats, before transforming into the baggage reclaim area with a great dance routine upon a set of moving conveyor belts complete with luggage! We were mesmerized. You'll probably find footage of that on youtube somewhere, because people don't ask permission and just film it despite the warnings. I thought I would go through proper channels and left a good review on the "initial thoughts" survey that gets sent out, and asked Emma, the Entertainments manager, if she could release maybe a still photo or two just instead of my shot of an empty stage, or better still 10 seconds of video. I'm sure it wouldn't have been the end of the world for P & O, but I got turned down - which is a shame because me just telling you what it looked like isn't quite the same as showing it to you. Maybe I won't bother asking next time. That's interesting to hear you comments about Queen Anne, I have been hanging my nose over that particular ship, and having watched a couple of videos on it, I think it would be a bit of a change for us - Sue has already suggested we need to spread our horizons and try another cruise line, maybe Cunards should be our next adventure. Thanks again for watching, we appreciate it.

That's certainly true. And yet, there was a time when you wouldn't ask for anything and they would come round and ask if you needed anything extra, or offer something extra. My point is, our expectations based on previous experiences with P & O were much higher, and we felt the standard of food in terms not just of provision but basic presentation had fallen a long way off what we were expecting. Having to continually ask for something you would have expected to be the norm isn't the solution, in my opinion.

Thanks. Not bad considering the number of conversions it's been through!

Hi and thanks for watching and we appreciate your comments. The problem is the video starts from a point where we have already had some really disappointing meals for the whole week and there wasn't much to be positive about. Having said that, I feel the review is at least based on a whole week's meals and not our first reaction. That first video was indeed a knee jerk reaction to a really disappointing celebration meal and I felt afterwards it couldn't be representative at that point, so it was important to me that we went back and did a final review after we had experienced the whole cruise. Unfortunately it didn't improve much during the week. We've also cruised on Ventura before, and on many P and O cruises in general, and we've always been very happy with the food served. Dinner in the main restaurants was something we always looked forward too as it was always a big part of our experience on board. To the point where we convinced one of our friends to join us. She was underwhelmed and I was bitterly disappointed for her. We've just been on IONA and although some of the niceties have disappeared over the years no doubt due to budget cuts, the food on the whole was vastly superior and back where we expect it to be. Hopefully our Ventura cruise was a minor blip - it was the infamous one struck by norovirus, maybe all the kitchen staff where ill - but we stand by our comments and I'm sorry that came over as negative, but it wasn't based on some unfair preconception. I'm very hopeful that your next cruise on Ventura is everything you hope for, and hopefully they've ironed out these issues. I hope you can watch our Iona food video coming next week and see a more positive side to our reviews! (Oops spoiler alert!) Regards Rob and Sue.

Yeah, and that's a first for me. But thankfully the food on the Iona was more like what we expect - I'll be showing that in the next few days. Thanks for watching.

What did you do in Rotterdam?

@robandsue took a slow walk into town on the Sunday, Monday took the train to central rotterdam as wife wanted to do shopping lol

We probably needed to research the city more, see what was on offer.

. @robandsue definitely Normally I go into Amsterdam, but on a Sunday loads of stuff ar shut delft is good to do

Yeah, we should have looked into it a bit more. How did you find the cruise generally? Did it come up to expectations?

Impressive

@robandsue thank you 👍

Glad you liked it

Thanks for watching

thanks for watching

@@jbclement1956 veg looks frozen.

Yeah, I remember that. And the IMAX too, it was huge.

Well it didn't work the first time we tried it, we got moved due to them being cot seats. But since then we haven't had any issues. But we check regularly now to make sure our seats don't get changed prior to the flight. Thanks for watching.

We've just booked seats to Washington DC with British Airways, and yet again we got denied seat allocations due to the front row being cot seats - We completely understand that, but then get naturally annoyed when no children occupy the seats and they get given out at random when we do actually have good medical reasons for preferring not the additional leg room, but the lack of a seat in front that can make Sue's access and egress so difficult for her.

@@robandsue I really enjoy the content and it’s down to earth not like many online who get free flights and their reviews show that! I also liked in this video how clever you are being to beat their algorithm to seat you together. I agree it’s annoying especially if you are willing to pay a touch extra for them! My understanding is you need gold status to be able to book them as it’s one of the perks of that card unless bumped by cot or disabled users. That card of course also gives other perks like often blocked middle seats and more frequent upgrades on over sold flights. We should not have to find work arounds tho airlines are squashing more and more people in and it’s a shame that BA Europe is no better than the LCC nowadays. See if you can push as an access need?

@@robandsue it seems the front row get unlocked for non gold customers somewhere between 72-24hrs pre flight so do keep clicking and moving yourself a around!

Hi! thanks for that tip - maybe that's why we've had success in the past because we've persevered. Will definitely try again next year - stay in touch and I will let you know how we get on!

Interesting. I have never tried method feeders, I will give it a go. I did get a couple on PVA bags. Glad you are enjoying it, and I hope you get a few more . Which cabin are you in?

Oh ignore that. Kingfisher 🤔🤐🤦‍♀️

Yes it was very nice.the soup was delicious, we since tried making it ourselves but didn't quite get it right. Shame there were a few add ons to the experience price, like the cover charge. In my mind, you buy an experience up front, there shouldn't be hidden costs. We will read the small.print next time before buying.

I have spent many a happy lunchtime in Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, and many places around that area while working overseas, and became a bit of a goulash fanatic. I've had the BEST goulash ever in a little place called Olomouc in Czechia, a more than acceptable serving in Budapest, served in a huge hollowed out bread roll, and the worse ever was in a back street pub in Slovakia which was closing and I think they literally had the liquor from the soup left as there was no meat or veg, and it just looked like (and tasted like) hot beetroot water. But NEVER have I had anything as greasy and oily and tasteless as that, not withstanding that there was more down the outside of the bowl than inside - if I had been in a sharper frame of mind I would have asked to see the restaurant manager, but who wants to cause a fuss when you're looking forward to a quiet dinner with the family? But I'm sure someone is going to say "what was wrong with that? Stop complaining". Yeah right. I've been in greasy spoons that serve better, and present it better. And to be fair, calling it a 'school meal' is grossly unfair to school kitchens all across the land... Thanks for watching!!!!

We went on Ventura in August for our third time, food definitely much much worse, both in mdr and buffet. Very dissappointed

Well, we have a cruise on Iona coming up, we will see if this is a general fall in standards or its just the Ventura that seems to be suffering...

thanks for that - yeah, we are seeing life from a different (lower down) angle now too. I'm hoping that our experience was partially due to the extra pressures the ship was under, and it will be fine for you - we had some friends go on the ship the week after and they said they felt it was up to their normal expectations. Just bad luck or timing for us i suppose. We are on Iona soon, let's see how that works out.

How interesting. My friend has never mentioned this, i will have to paste this over to him and see what he says. He's lived there all his life I believe.

@@robandsue Trauma began 1935 as Germany (Hitler Time: 1933 - 1945) put all Organizations from Germans outside from Germany under Control and Command from Berlin. Then Germans in Czechoslowakia to create an own ID. Leader of the movement was "Nazi's". During WW II it come from side of German Occupation Regime with thpusands of died Czech people. That is reason why it come to Explosion from Germans in Czechoslovakia. The old Nazi-Leader get Leader in Organizations of German Displaced People in West - Germany. Those Leader was Racists. 80 % of people in Lanov and Dolni Lanov have German Roots. Most of them speak German only in family circles. It is as by Germans in North America.

Awesome. Not been this year, so a bit envious of you 😁

@@robandsue more than sure it’s going so be a pb setting trip we did woodlands in thirsk in April that is a brilliant venue spoilt for choice with the lakes there, and wonderful log cabins a stones throw from the on-site fishery sports bar

We were on the foundry lake, the fish I think are smaller but plentiful. Had some really good fishing, lots of carp. I hear the fish in the other lakes are much bigger but i would be scared to try!

thanks for the tip - i will definitely look it up. Weve been too busy to get a weekend in this year, but definitely wouldnt mind a new venue next year. Hope you get you PB - let us know and send us a photo.

@@robandsue I saw that but I’m with you smaller fish feed better so I’m good there with less chance blanking

yeah, i admit i was a bit perplexed where it had gone :)

It's a touch out of date but we will be revising this before the end of the year with the latest prices.

Our pleasure!

Oh yes - Sue couldn't easily walk down the gangway which is why we opted for the chair. You will see on some of the other videos the process for getting off and back on - their gangway staff are very helpful. The only places where we wouldn't be able to get off with some cruise lines would be those where they have anchored out of the town and are using tenders. P & O for instance have a rule that says you must be able to step over a 9" gap and up or down a 9" step - that would be beyond Sue, so we couldn't do it. How do we combat that? Avoid cruises with tendered ports, or miss the occasional port. It does make some cruises less attractive where there are a lot of tender destinations, e.g. Caribbean. Thanks for watching, and stay tuned because we will be focusing more on accessibility in future videos.

@@robandsue thank you x

No problem - stayed tuned for more cruise videos comig soon.

Hi. I'm glad you got the good weather. We've been twice in summer and it's been glorious. You should try it early on when it's snowing but take your arctic gear! The fjords feel completely different when everywhere is glistening with snow. Thanks for watching. X

@@robandsue off on the Ventura November this year Madeira canaries and la Coruna, just a bit concerned how the sea is going to be. Arrgh

Fingers crossed it will be ok, true it's a bit later in the year when seas can be heavier, but take something before you cross and try not to focus on it. Plenty to be distracted by, and before you know it, you'll be in the sunny canaries.

Hi - thanks for that. We like to be as honest as we can in all our videos. Not everyone always agrees with our verdict, but that's life I'm afraid. Thanks for watching.

Yes, i was definitely disappointed. We are going back on Iona later this year, we will see if it improves on there.

Yes, we do too, its not that far - but the curbs are mainly cobbled until you get out the port - it's a bone shaker for Sue in her wheelchair but it's too dodgy to walk in the road.