Iona Review
Wonderful first cruise experience for my husband. Slight hiccup at the end...
Rating by category
Additional details
We had originally booked a Baltic cruise on Azura, due to set sail in summer 2020, but Covid-19 obviously put our plans on hold. We were disappointed but cancelled and rebooked a Norwegian Fjords cruise on Iona for summer 2022 instead.
This was our first (and definitely not our last) cruise together. I had previously been on an informal (but very enjoyable nonetheless) Ocean Village cruise in the Med with our teenage daughter, many years ago.
Pre-cruise: we booked an overnight cruise package at the nearby Holiday Inn which included bed, breakfast, up to 15 days' parking and taxi transport to/from the cruise terminal. This worked really well and the transport to the ship was organised very efficiently. I mislaid our taxi voucher for the return trip back to the hotel so we decided to walk back with our suitcases in tow. It wasn't easy but not too bad and may even have been quicker than waiting for a taxi.
Cabin Review
We researched balcony cabins and decided to choose cabin because it had a great sized balcony and was at the front of the ship which we thought might be good for seeing the fjords in their full splendour. We were not disappointed - the cabin and balcony seemed huge (to us) and it was great to have a sofa as well. We would happily book this cabin again.
I wasn't sure whether it would be a problem having a steel-fronted balcony but it made no difference whatsoever to our enjoyment of the space. We also wondered whether it might be very windy but it was fine in the fjords and most of the time in open sea (opening the balcony door was only tricky on one occasion in the North Sea).