My wife and I have recently returned from an enjoyable cruise to Norway on Iona. Having cruised with P&O for about 30 years we have noticed, shall we say, changes. These have rarely, if ever, been to our taste. The answer, we found, was to avoid the bits that annoyed us.
We decided that we wanted a peaceful break and to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Norwegian Fjords. The cruise date fitted our requirements and the price (at the time of booking) was within our parameters. The next thing was to ensure that we booked a cabin which fulfilled our requirements. We therefore chose our balcony cabin carefully. This worked well, offering us a good view from both the balcony, and from indoors for when it was a bit chillier. The cabin facilities were sufficient for us. It was good to have a fridge, tea and coffee and an ensuite with a good shower with glass door.
We had previously been frustrated by certain aspects of the theatre shows and by the crowds at the Skydome shows. That was easy to avoid. We had already seen the shows anyway so we did not bother about going. Equally I had previously found the bar service to be understaffed, pressured and not very accommodating. Knowing that we would be spending more than average time on the balcony I ordered a nice bottle of Gin from room service to go with the tonic that I brought with us. With that in hand there were very few occasions when I had to do battle with the bars
We had no difficulty using the onboard system to book early (1730-1800) meals. This suited our wish to maximise the sailout times. We found the Opal Restaurant to be quieter than some of the others. Engaging hope over experience we also booked the Olive House twice. We only went once. The meal had plainly been hanging around and the pot of sauce and sweetcorn on the plate were starting to congeal. Service was, to be generous, less than optimal. Hence, we cancelled the second booking, had no problems this time in rebooking at the Opal and enjoyed a better meal and much better service (thanks Franky).
We were pleased with the changes to the booking system for the 7/10 Lounge. The following days shows were only available to book after about 2215 the previous evening. We had no issues in booking the shows we chose to see, and enjoyed these.
The captain advised that the passenger numbers amounted to about 2000 previous cruisers and about 4000 newcomers. We did our best to avoid the crowds. We chose early or late breakfasts and, when in port, avoided the usual 1230-1400 queue to get back on board. We did not wish to use the swimming pools but, if we had, we would have gone early. For us, it was worth the occasional queue at the Quays for great, and piping hot, fish and chips.
We did the ‘self help’ disembarkation. Yes, we joined a long queue, but this moved very quickly once the gangway was opened. It was good that we were able to have breakfast, get off of the ship, get to our car and be on our way and all before the time that we had to be out of our cabin.
It would be easy to question why we went. After all, P&O advertise all of their shows and magnificent facilities on board. We had paid for them so why not participate? However experience has taught us that identifying our wishes and resisting FOMO results in a more relaxing and enjoyable break for us. I feel sure that most of the 4000 newcomers had a great time, so did we, but for different reasons.
