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 midship on deck five whilst most of the cabins, located on decks nine to 15, may have detected more movement.

Being on deck five however provided an unexpected downside. The gap between the bed and the balcony was a mere seven inches- unless the heavy two inch thick duvet was lifted up. It was okay for my wife of course on the cabin side of the bed, but even though I am super slim and under 11st I had to slide sideways or climb in from the bottom of the bed. Not good enough P and O. It was not an experience I have ever encountered in a hotel or cruise ship before. Read more