Iona Review

A lovely ship - at half capacity!

Review for Europe Cruise on Iona
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AdeAfloat
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Aug 2021

Like everyone else aboard we were looking forward to getting back to sea as soon as we could after Covid. Many passengers had done one or more cruises already - it is a great way to try out different ships after all.

This was Iona's Maiden Voyage and P&O enhanced the cruise to celebrate it. The ship herself is beautifully built, bright, spacious and airy. The many hard surfaces and constant musak drove up the sound levels but not seriously. Our 'standard' balcony cabin was well appointed and very well sound proofed. The lack of drawers actually helped here but there was enough storage space for the cruise - and any size case could be stored under the bed. We found a gift of engraved wine glasses waiting for us; very nice but something else to pack later! The only cabin feature that we didn't like was a 'night light' in the shower which filled the cabin with light if the loo door was left open at night. It couldn't be switched off sadly. Instead of her designed capacity of over 5000, there were only some 2400 passengers aboard, and the number of crew was in proportion, which did lead to problems. And there were a few changes which will probably become permanent - no face flannels or shower caps (except by request), no bar soap and no evening turndown service (or pillow chocolates!)

The pre-cruise Covid testing for passengers arriving in their own cars was concentrated at a facility near the Mayflower Terminal and was for all passengers using the port, irrespective of ship. With three other ships sailing out with us this meant a bit of waiting around but it was a slick process in the actual testing centre. Hopefully testing won't be required when cruising returns to near normality.

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