Southampton to Europe - British Isles & Western P&O Iona Cruise Reviews

Overall we had a perfectly ok holiday on Iona, but there were a number of key areas that left us disappointed. We would struggle to recommend to others. The ship itself is nice. It's public spaces are all tasteful and contemporary, possibly a little on the bland side once the Christmas decorations came down, but overall create a nice atmosphere. The fully wrap around promenade deck is a great ...

This was the first time my wife and I have had the chance to enjoy Christmas together on a cruise due to work commitments. We have been on Iona previously (three times) and enjoyed it, the ship is beautiful. However this time the ship was full and it seemed to me there were not enough staff. The first formal evening was chaos. There were no places to eat. Everyone was being told to join either the ...

Firstly, I know this review is a 1st world problem. I am aware that I am lucky to have gone on a cruise at all which we worked for to go on. I Am also aware that other people on the same cruise might have had a different experience to what we had but this is our experience. A little background on us. I am 49 years old and my girlfriend is 42 yo. I have been on approx. 20 cruises all ...

Chose this cruise as a nice break prior to Christmas and to see the Christmas Markets. Arrived at Southampton to find a chaotic scene; piles of luggage and no one outside to provide direction. Booking in was OK although extremely busy. Once on the ship, we received no guidance from the staff and had to figure out what to do and where to go by asking other passengers. It was a very poor experience ...

Having sailed with P & O for the last 17 years we were looking forward to cruising on Iona having seen all the reviews. How disappointed we were , by the food. My holiday app is the go to place to book everything from restaurants to theatre etc etc. However it leaves a lot to the imagination as it doesn’t work on all devises. Booking a table for a meal is something to do on your ...

We booked a balcony cabin on this cruise 2 weeks before sailing. It appeared value for money. For various reasons, we just needed to get away; just wanted to relax, be looked after for a while; ports not important. We have only been on one previous cruise and that was pre-covid, pre-recession etc, so we expected this cruise to be a bit different. THE SHIP - we really liked it. Modern, ...

Second time for us on Iona after sailing last yer in November. Checking in and waiting to board was slow and the wait was the slowest of all cruises taken during the last 18 months. Once on board we found that the state rooms would not be ready until 1pm. So had a wait of about an hour, fine really. As we knew our way around the ship we had no issues finding somewhere to sit and have a ...

In need of a break at short notice repeating an itinerary that we have travelled before. First time on Iona and unfortunately the last. Embarkation was good. Booked on a balcony guarantee basis and were given deck 8 promenade the downside being it has a permanent flow of walkers/joggers and some very nosey people who jump up to look into your cabin. Also a greater problem is the deck is full of ...

My wife and I are fond of smaller ships but we chose Iona because its itinerary was perfect for us - ports we had not visited before and others, like Barcelona and Lisbon, we were happy to revisit. Iona is an impressive ship and it passed its first tests with flying colours, a force nine gale in the Channel and a choppy Bay of Biscay. It is a very stable ship and even more so as we were located ...

Unfortunately, we are interested in the scenery so on return from our Staycation cruise on Iona we have cancelled our 2023 Caribbean cruise on the sister ship Arvia, although we still have cruises booked for Britannia, Ventura and Aurora. With reduced occupancy and the necessary Covid restrictions (Maximum 4 people in the lift at a time, many tables/seats out of action to enable social ...