Iona - 7 night Northern Europe Cruise

I have recently returned from a 7-night Northern Europe cruise onboard Iona P&O Cruises newest ship. I had been on Iona for 2 nights prior to her maiden cruise in August 21, this was a golden opportunity to see how the cruise operates in the ever-changing covid travel world we are all in. I wanted to go through the pre departure checks that my customers go through. I embarked at Southampton, arriving at the drive through testing area, vaccination proof and passport checked, onto parking the car, cases to stewards to load then into the embarkation hall. Health declaration checked again (I did this online 3 days before), as I was checking in my negative test result came through, final passport check then a short wait to get onboard – 1 hour from the test centre to being onboard. You are directed to your muster station and told to watch the safety video on the cabin TV. Time to start exploring, some lunch in the buffet area, my cabin (a conservatory mini suite) was ready at 1:30pm. Your cabin door key is placed in an envelope outside the cabin. Iona is a large ship, she can carry 5100 is full, we had 3100 onboard, having said that make sure you know which lists and stairs are the closest to your cabin, it can be a long walk if you find yourself at the wrong end of the ship. I made a point to try and experience as much of the ship as possible. I ate in various venues around the ship. Buffet area for breakfast each day, dinner in The Quays twice, Aqua restaurant (one of 4 main dining restaurants onboard) The Chefs Table, Buffett one evening and The Beach House and Keel & Cow (both carry a small extra charge) Also onboard is Sindhu the Indian speciality restaurant and Epicurean the A La Carte venue (charges apply to both). Epicurean is also where suite guests can enjoy breakfast. Lots of choice and something to suite everyone. We saw 2 shows in the Headliners theatre and 2 shows in the impressive Sky Dome. So much to do onboard IF you want to, the choice is yours. Iona has a lot to offer – multiple venues around the ship. Bars and lounges to enjoy, a cinema, Theatre, nightclub or dining show lounge, library, Spa and Gym, shops, the Sky Dome which includes a swimming pool, great place during the day but also a fantastic night-time venue when the area is transformed for spectacular shows. At the centre of the ship is the 3-deck atrium, this area is the beating heart of the ship, many venues are reached from the atrium it is also a great place just to sit and watch the world go by or have a drink or a coffee at the same time. Iona has a range of cabins grades to suit all budgets – inside, outside, balcony, conservatory mini suites and full suites. Cabins for 1, 2 3 or 4 and several adapted cabins for wheelchair users. P&O Cruises has introduced their My Holiday App can be accessed once onboard – this is very handy addition – from here you can pre book dining or evening entertainment or the daily program or keep up to date with your cabin account. *You do need a decent up to date mobile phone to get the best from this new feature* There is plenty of help onboard if you get stuck. We had 3 ports of call Zeebrugge for Bruges, Rotterdam (in port overnight) and Le Havre (rescheduled from Hamburg – for tours to Paris or Normandy. I was able to go shore in all 3 places either independently or on an organised ship’s excursions – we did both. I was delighted to be able to get away onboard a ship for a full cruise, it was certainly worth all the pre departure paperwork and testing and the post cruise testing and online forms.

Iona will be sailing from Southampton offering a range of cruises – Atlantic Islands and Atlantic Coast, Norway and Northern Europe. Iona will be joined by her sister Arvia in December 2022. Arvia will sail from Southampton for her 1st few cruises then reposition to the Caribbean the come back to spend the summer sailing from Southampton. P&O is just one of the many cruise lines for Ocean and River trips that I deal with. If you would like to know more about Iona or indeed about any cruise you may be interested in Get in Touch and Get on Board. You can contact me by phone 01425 639155 or 0800 093 1320 or caroline.howden@travelcounsellors.com Please find and like my Facebook business page – search for Caroline Howden Travel Counsellors Cruise Specialist. More photos of Iona can be found on my page.