P&O Iona - FULL Review Of Our 1st Cruise. Did We Enjoy It, Has She Made Us Want To Book A 2nd ?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 มิ.ย. 2024
- So we have come to the end of our P&O Iona journey and we are ending it with our review of our 1st cruise.
We are going to talk to you about our thoughts and experiences from our point of view as first time cruisers.
From the ship its self to the entertainment and everything else inbetween we hope this video will help you prepare for your Iona holiday and save you some time and answer any questions you have wether you're new to cruising or you're an experienced cruiser and its your 1st time on Iona
We hope you have enjoyed our time on the Iona and sadly this is the end of this trip. But don't worry we will have some more cruise videos coming out very soon
Thanks so much for watching we really appreciate each and everyone of you. And if you haven't already don't forget to subscribe and give this video a big thumbs up if you enjoyed it.
P&O Iona Playlist - • P&O Iona
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Many thanks for sharing your experience. Although me and my wife have cruised before,I learnt something from this .Happy future cruising.
Thank you so much
Thank you so much for your honest and down to earth review of Iona. It was enjoyable to follow your holiday journey and I waited in anticipation for the next videos to be uploaded to learn more. I've have 13 days to go before I get to experience my first solo cruise on Iona. Your videos have got me excited with planning and lowered my anxiety for the embarking and disembarking process's. Thank you again. Hope you both enjoyed your second cruise ☺️
Thank you so much. Hope you have an amazing time
Great job on your Iona Norwegian fjords cruise vlogs guys, I found them very informative and entertaining without being too overloading with detail. Struck just the right balance across all of the key info that people need. We sail to the fjords on Iona this coming weekend. Our third PO cruise but first on Iona. We now feel well prepared having watched your vlogs, so thanks for all the time and energy you put into them. We look forward to your next project. Take care and happy future holidaying.
Thank you so much for the lovely comments
Thank you for your blogs. I have watched them all as we are going on our fist cruise around the Med in July 23 on Arvia. They have given us a great insight into cruising and some helpful hints and tips on how to get along. Its lovely to hear off fellow "Skokie's" too!!! can't wait to hear about your next adventure x
Ay up duck thanks for watching 🤣
Loving your vlogs very informative. We are going on our very first cruise in jan 23 on the new ship Arvia. So it’s been nice to see your views on first time cruising
Thanks so much Sue, hope you have a great first cruise.
Thanks for the Iona videos and your honest insight ( unlike some other British cruise vloggers) We are off on Iona next week. Looking forward to following you and see your further adventures.
Thank you so much Rob and hope you have a brill holiday
Thank you for your wonderful review we will probably go on a cruise now we've never been on a cruise. So watch this space. Many thanks look forward to watching you again. X
Fingers crossed its soon
Looking forward to my first cruise on Iona in September thanks for all the tips, very helpful 😊
Thanks so much, have a lovely cruise when you go
Thank you both for taking us along on your first cruise and showing us so much and you honestly. My partner and I are booked on Iona for 2 weeks to the Canaries next year, we can't wait, and your video has helped us in our decision. And I am from Inverness and we all say 'tea' instead of dinner as well so I totally got you. 🙂
Haha glad you also say tea 🤣. Hope you have a great time when you go on the Iona its a lovely ship. Any questions beforehand just ask us anytime. And thanks so much for watching 😁
@@OneCouplesAdventure please watch video of Jim Nduruchi called a Tribute to Irene Anderson
Really enjoy your videos Stacey and Kev. Keep going them and I'll follow with enthusiasm. We are going on our 1st Cruise in June on P&Os Azura to the Mediterranean.
Thanks so much , and we hope you love your first cruise, am sure like we did you will want to do another 😊
Great in depth review, Kev and Stacy. Seems like you covered everything but the critical thing here is: No free ice cream??? A travesty! But it was a lovely cruise (We loved seeing the Fjords!) It sounds like you enjoyed it! We did too but I'm not sure we're cruise people. But we'll be right there with you on your next!
Thanks Dave and Kathy, I suppose they aren't for everybody, good job we all like different things or life would be very boring 😴 lol. Hope you are both well 😁 and thanks so much for watching
We're going on first cruise to Norway next April on Iona. These videos have been very helpful and informative and has given some great insight in regards to the ship, the processes and the ports. By the way, you are a lovely couple. Enjoy many more adventures together! 😊✈🛳
Arrrr thanks so much Melanie we really appreciate it. Hope you enjoy your first cruise. Any questions in the meantime just ask us anytime 😁
Have fun!
Love your vlogs , not done P&O but cruised with marrella a few times , sailing next May , keep your holiday vligs coming 😁😁
Thanks so much
Great review - we got back from our P&O Iona cruise last week. The Fjords were fab and I definitely agree with you about the Skydome shows. We expected something like "cirque du soleil" but what we got was really not fit for purpose - a real cringe-fest of a show. And it was too bright in the Skydome so you couldn't see the lasers or lights. The P&O staff were lovely but there just wasn't enough of them so service was slower than usual. Glad to hear you are trying out other cruises. Have fun 😀
Thank you so much, glad you had a great time. And we know right 🤣 thought we had missed something with the show but from the comments we are getting we didn't lol. And yeah we agree there wasn't enough staff really, they were friendly enough though 😁
Stacy well u look amazing on alog keep up the good work both of you
Thank you for your video. We were on the same cruise on the 11 June. Our first cruise. We understand they had just over 4k on board then. We agree another 1k may be to much at times. We did not bother with the shows, but spent most of the time on board, eating, drinking and went a few occasions to the cinema. What a beautiful, ship, restaurants, surrounding and cabins very good. We found the staff excellent, the service was top notch. We ate virtually everywhere, but had most breakfasts and evening meals in the Coral, (what a setting for a restaurant). The fish and chips were great also. Enjoyed having a drink in the Crows Nest also. You could go on and on....
One problem we found with being more elderly than you (both in our 70s,) finding our way from our cabin in the front of ship to back and vice versa for a few days ,a nightmare. Until we realised the ship is colour coded by the carpets and lifts, red to the back, grey middle, blue to the front.
Watched one of your videos just before we left, found it very helpful. Thank you both again.
Thanks for watching. Wish we realised the carpets were different colours lol
We are going on the Iona next July ( was meant to be 2020) so watching these vlogs are amazing, will be our first cruise, normally do Orlando, but I'm thinking cruising may be our new way forward x
Thanks for watching. They do a week in orlando and a weeks cruise from port canaveral on cruisenation.com we are cery tempted by lol
Watch out! You may already be addicted. I didn't want to go on my first. I thought it would be boring. My wife dragged me kicking and screaming onto the Norwegian Gem in New York. In October I will be going on my tenth cruise and cannot wait.
So many different cruise lines and ships to choose from. You were quite lucky to be going with experienced cruisers. I feel a lot of people give up on cruises because they are quite overwhelmed and don't know what to do. It is really nice to have someone who can guide you through it.
Can't wait for your next one. Great vlogs.
Thank you. Would like to do one from new york to canada
Loved your vlogs very informative and honest - the first cruise I did was 2018 on a very old much smaller ship on a Baltic cities cruise (Astoria it’s retired now I believe). I’ll never forget the time we hit some bad weather so we had the rocking and movement etc. we were in the cinema early evening and the entire ship shuddered and creaked so loud it was like it was going to split in half. Everyone in the cinema turned to look at the person/group they were with with a look of slight worry, it was the worst night ever on the two week trip… but it didn’t put me off in the slightest, me and my fiancé have booked a Mediterranean cruise on the new P&O Arvia for May 2023 this will be his first.
Haha sounds like an interesting experience 😅 hope you have an amazing time on the Arvia it looks amazing 😁
Great videos guys... 😊
Thanks so much
Found your channel looking for cruise vlogs as we are about to go on the same trip in August. Love your style and your review is brilliant. Have watched the whole collection of your Iona vlogs and giggled at you both getting absolutely soaked on your glacier trip. Thanks for all the info guys and just one thing please don’t take this is a criticism but I find the background music to this particular video a bit distracting. I just need to hear you both, music not necessary. Both doing a great job and good luck with your next cruise x
Thank you so much 😁 and no we appreciate any kind of feedback 😊 we're still trying to figure out when the times are when there's an awkward silence or when something needs that something extra! Glad to hear Just the sound of us would of been enough lol. We know for next time 👍
Good ♥♥🎁
Great series, thanks. We went on Iona last March, our first cruise, will be going on her again next year. Rethe bright light by the bathroom, we found it bright also, the next day we asked our cabin stuard about it and he showed us a switch on the wall by the balcony window , it opperates that light,
Thanks Gazz and haha hindsight lol can't believe we spent the whole week using a pillow to block the light 😆. Least we know for next time. Strange place have the switch by the balcony doors lol
@@OneCouplesAdventure Our bed was by the balcony door , so you could turn it off when got into bed. Your cabin layout was different.
In your cabin tour video , the switch is by your bed, it is a double switch with a 3 pin, 13amp socket by it
Great vlog
Thank you 😁
Hi, we also did our first cruise to Norway on Iona 2 weeks ago and really enjoyed it. Since we got back we have booked a 2 week med cruise on Arvia next year. By the way there is a switch by the bed to turn off the floor light.
Your addicted aswell then lol. Wish we knew that lol
@@OneCouplesAdventure you should have a look at the deals on offer for the med cruises next year. We booked K311 with amazing amount of money to spend on board per cabin.
Got off on Saturday and they must have listened to feedback as the silent disco was in the Skydome.
That seems a better place to do it. The atrium was a weird place with people having a quiet drink and that going on
Great video. Really helpful. Did either of you get seasick? if so what would you recommend to take? Thanks
Hi we normally have Kwells tablets , but have only maybe used them a couple of times as we both don't really suffer with seasickness too much
@@OneCouplesAdventure Thank you. Good to know. Thank you for your detailed cruise videos. They have been hugely helpful.
Not been on a Norway cruise yet, but definitely on the list. Not sure if anyone else has mentioned, but you mention of Freedom Dining is literally free to go when you like, pending table availability, as opposed to what used to be the case years ago and is still the case in one dining room on some of the other ships, as fixed dining, normally 18:30 and 20:30, which some do prefer. Also means sitting with the same people every night. We had this on our first cruise in 2003. 2 nice couples and one "nightmare" moaning all the time couple. Horse for courses I suppose.
Ye the freedom dining was really good. Thats what we don't like about sharing tables with people like to have our own table and eat in peace lol
Hello Guys your vlogs are fab. Loved your P&O Iona cruise vlogs. I'm going on Iona to Norwegian Fjords in April 2023 this will be my first cruise on my own. your vlogs are so full of information and details which has helped me alot before cruising which has been such a great help which I'm really looking really forward to it. Looking at information on P&O website says you need passport size photos what is this for? I can only think it's ID for on and off the Ship while in port? Also are they used for something else and do they give you a lanyard for it? Hope to hear from you soon. Happy Cruising. Anthony
Thank you so much. It might be for the ID/room card but we uploaded our own photo on the app if i remember correctly. They do recommend you take some ID off the boat aswell so we just took our drivers licence with us. They don't give you a lanyard but the do sell them or just take your own as theres are over priced lol
Did you know you can turn that little light off near the bathroom door? 😀 We were on the same week as you and have spotted people from our group, including ourselves, in 3 of your videos 😁👍It was also our first cruise and loved it so much we have booked again for next year. Really enjoyed watching your videos 🥰
Thanks so much Julie, and no we didn't lol 🤣🤣 we spent the whole week with a cushion blocking the light 🙈
Yeah the switch is by the bed
I found your blog by accident I was googling p&o cruises Iona and your videos popped up so me and hubby sat and watched it all this Sunday afternoon thank you for all the information given we don’t go until sept 2024 but we wanted to think ahead.
What time can we park the car up before boarding?
Do we get a set time to board as well?
Keep up the good work Kev & Stacey 😊😊
Hi thanks for watching. When you book the parking it says do not arrive more than 30 minutes before your boarding time, and yes the boarding time is "set"
But we got on a few hours early as we had a 4pm time, the ship was only half full so they didn't say anything but if the ship is full then they might not let you get on early. I wouldn't try getting on at 11am of you have a 4pm time but you could try a couple hours early
@@OneCouplesAdventure thank you for getting back to me. Will be booking port parking soon. Hopefully see you on board in the near future 👍👍
Boarding this is normally easy, security doesn't have to be as strict as you are ultimately on the ground. It's the same on eurostar, which I'm raking to Amsterdam to start my Norway cruise.
That is a big ship, don't forget that there are many types, sometimes smaller or midsized ships can be better if you like it quiter, and also sometimes they can see more places as they fit better.
They often do stuff in the atrium because it means that they can keep the stage for main shows, doing stuff in there is pretty normal imo. Some cruises have more venues or others, depends on the ship and aim of the cruise line.
A lift tip, at times when people are going up for food or something, you can be cheeky and go down to the bottom floor the lift goes to and just stay in it, sometimes reduces the wait, however I'd rather walk, leaving the lifts for people who need them or need to go up more floors.
The top floors you get used to, it's a regular things on many lines and ships, say with a sport deck in the middle or the sliding roof for the centre pool.
write some notes of events on your phone or something rather than carrying the magazine, that often works well
Never really watched the shows to be honest, I'd rather play pingpong or watch something in my room or be outside etc...
P&O definitely aren't a kids line, they are one of the more premium carnival brands, so yes, the Iona is much more adult focused entertainment, but on a large ship scale
The reason I like balconies is because they are private, in places with a nice view the open decks are often packed etc.
Cabins can occasionally sound like that, often walls are thin for weight saving, however it does depend on the ship, stabilisers and build etc
Most cruises have free dining, they just have to mention that. You can book for some places like the dining room if you want, but that is normally the same on all cruises. Also, the speciality restaurants often have waits as they are just smaller venues.
We tend to eat in the buffet most of the time, don't really use the dining room. However, do often use the smaller venues, however that's personal choice.
Strange you got no free ice cream, most cruises have at least some, often with the option to pay for gelato in a separate place as you mentioned.
Glad to hear you'll do more, it can turn into an addiction lol. I think they're a great way to see many places, often you end up going back to some of the places you went on the ship.
In terms of cruises I can recommend, It would be Alaska, which has been my favourite so far, and the Panama canal, which is totally unique. Also, a Norway one earlier or later in the season right up North to Tromso. I've loved my cruises on HAL so far, they're great if you want a destination focused cruise, not necessairly much to do on the ship, enough for the type of ship, and definitely not kid focused but that makes for a quite ship lol.
Anyway, great series of videos.
Thank you. We would love to do Alaska it looks such an amzing place to cruise.
@@OneCouplesAdventure I can highly recommend Holland America for that, they are the longest serving cruise line in Alaska and given it's so destination focused the on board ship stuff doesn't really matter, only a night, maybe two, but normally they'll have people from National geographic on to talk about the place or something if that's you're thing
Strange show with birds and egg 🥚 lol , I loved the ship and food ,embarking no problem , alot of queuing for food that never used to be got to get hang off the app 😊
Haha it really was 🤣
My mum and dad are going on iona this friday🌝
Agree with almost everything! Had a great week. Had forgotten could claim for missed port on my insurance - I got the money back from the excursion I’d booked in stavanger so not out of pocket financially so don’t think I’ll bother! (This is hopefully where you don’t reply saying you got £200 each!)
We are still waiting to here from our missed port claim. Its £75 each. Well thats what it is on our travel insurance
Thanks for all the info. You mentioned you took your own soft drinks onboard, I couldn't find info on this. How much can you take and is it cans only? I take it you can't take your own drinks everywhere like the buffet?
Hi yes we found it on the P&O website think it was under FAQ. Think the allowance was 12 cans each and alcohol you could take 1 litre each whether it be wine beer or spirits. We carried a can of pop round with us or when we sat on the deck but didn't take them to the buffet or restaurant, hope this helps
Loved your videos as a smoker was it hard to find place to have a puff sorry 😮lynda
Hi thanks Lynda and there was a few designated areas, can't remember where exactly but there was one on the open deck and I believe a small area inside
My fav bloggers are cruise monkeys and cruise with ben and david
I think cruises have changed a lot in the last 10 years unfortunately not for the better. We are going on iona in a couple of weeks after it being canceled once before .
We were on your cruise and also thought Rise was rubbish and cut short too! 😊
Also you can turn off the little light under the bathroom door.
We tried all the switches and nothing happened. A pillow did the job lol
@@OneCouplesAdventure it was a bit of a lottery as had to try a combo of about a thousand tries first before the light went off lol
Watching these videos for a possible planning of a fjord cruise as an xmas surprise for my wife, ship looks mostly fab but you say some things were still closed because of covid ? interested to know when your trip was, as surly know in 2022 all things should have been open.
We went the end of may 2022. What did we say was closed lol. Been on another cruise since and forgot what we said.
I can’t remember myself right now I have watched quite a few of your videos today, I’m from the north of England too and I like your outlook ( probably a little bit of information overload on my part in one day lol ) things closed due to covid was only mentioned a couple of times though, and I’m hoping everything is open and up and running for when I book :)
Haha oh right and thanks so much, yeah things seemed cut back on gala night and there was no captains speech etc but we weren't sure if due to cutbacks or covid, you would hope no issues due to covid still , hopefully back to normal 😀
And also you guys x
That's lovely thanks Jennifer
You're right the cut price Cirque Dr Soleil act are bloody terrible. It's all the arty bits, laboured over without the exciting bits.
P&O is challenged by its usual clients. Its an older crowd and outside of school holidays has virtually zero families. This means Iona is a ship that follows a resort ship model without all the usually stuff you have on resort ships.
So they are trying to change but its challenging for them.
I'd try Royal Caribbean or NCL. Though many cruise lines are cutting back here and there.
I liked my Iona cruise overall and I am going on a Canary Island one will probably be a decade younger than everyone else. Haha. It was very cost effective though and allows me not to fly currently.
The not flying and spending 3 hours at the airport is great.
If they don't start to add the extras to there new ships soon then its going to hurt them in the long haul.
The Cirque du soleil was terrible and the one we watched a few weeks later on the MSC Virtuosa was amazing
You may like Royal Caribbean they have more things on there. It’s my favourite cruise line .
Im sure we will try a royal caribbean at some point lol
You are looking so nice so beautiful great fantastic video keep up good work thanks for shared stay always connected dear friend. God bless you 🎁🎁🎁♥️♣♥ 🎁🎁🙏🙏
Live your video but would love the back ground music to disappear I would rather listen to what you are saying but really good informative helping me decide whether to do this trip
Thanks so much Andrea and yes we have since learned after feedback and still learning this whole youtube thing that we don't need the loud background music, we really appreciate the constructive criticism as it helps us to grow and learn 😀 thanks for watching
Great blog but you need to turn down the back ground music
Hello I'm going on a Norwegian cruise with P&O Iona in April next year. Just got a few questions 1 - Onboard spending how does that work? Is it cash in English Pound or credit card if credit card do you get a bill at the end of your holiday? 2 - Suitcases allowance size etc as I'm traveling to Southampton by coach as I'm going on my own. 3 - what is the passport size photo for? Hope you can help thank you. Anthony
You use your room card to pay for everything and that is linked to your credit card. Yes you get a bill outside your room on the last night.
You can take as much as you like. So long as each case doesn't weight more than 23kg. Ask your coach company how much they let you take.
The photo is for your room card. But thats only if you can't upload a photo on the app.
Thanks for watching
@@OneCouplesAdventure thank you so much that's great. Anthony
On my cruise at the end of June they closed the doors to the Promenade that is the reason people walk through the Keel and Cow.
Lifts on cruise ships are a pain on a lot of the larger ships. Even on ships like the Norwegian Bliss which is viewed as larger bit not the 7th largest like Iona has painful lifts.
The full wrap around promenade on Iona is one of the best it is amazing.
Ye the lifts were a pain lol. The promenade is nice but they shouldn't have people walking through a restaurant while people are eating
I think you could have turned the light off by the bedside.
Yes lots of people told us after we got home lol 😆
I've heard you can't take a drone onboard. I was told they are confiscated and destroyed?!?!?!
Is this correct?
I think ever company is different. I don't see how they can destroy your property, im sure they would confiscate it and give it you back at the end. I don't fly mine whilst on the ship, only when im in port
Hello, great video like and worth watching beautiful my friend. I hope you have a nice day. Welcome to my channel
The acrobatic show schedule is displayed on the on-board TV for the whole cruise.
It wasn't on our cruise. Its advertised the shows posters but didn't say when or where the shows were on. We even asked at the guest services and they didn't know
@@OneCouplesAdventure I meant on your in cabin tv. If you go to entertainment then highlights of the cruise, it will show what it happening at the skydome every day for your cruise and also other venues.
It didn't on ours. It showed the 3 posters for the shows and that was it. It didn't say what was on in the skydome i looked all over. Nobody knew when the acrobatics shows were on. We asked a few people
Went on in June 2022. Completely overbooked.couldn’t book restaurants or entertainment.
Not a happy bunny with P&O.
We have a Caribbean cruise booked for Jan 2023 and are seriously thinking of giving up our deposit.
Thats terrible. Did you manage to see any entertainment? I would be thinking the same if the deposit wasn't huge
How does the price of the cruise compare with MSC
th-cam.com/video/eWzkJWx54oU/w-d-xo.html
We did a video comparing iona and virtuosa 😁
Did you enjoy your self
This has been so helpful, we are booked for the Iona in May and can't wait! Thanks for all the tips. I would have loved to hear more about your 2 other days when you were off ship and the temperature on the ship and off. 😀🛳
Hi to be honest the 2 days off the ship we didn't mention, one was nice for a walk around for a hour but other than that not much there unless you did an Excursion and the other it was a Sunday and everything was closed so we got back on the ship! Temperature wise you needed a big coat when we went in May last year and it also rained alot. But the Temperature is very unpredictable in Norway as the week before we went it was sunny and warmer. Just take lots of layers. And Temperature wise on the ship was actually quite warm.
@@OneCouplesAdventure thanks so much for taking the time to reply and again helpful info! Enjoy your next adventure. 🙂
Loving your vlogs very informative. We are going on our very first cruise in jan 23 on the new ship Arvia. So it’s been nice to see your views on first time cruising
Thank you. If the Arvia is like Iona you will have a great tine