I was on the same cruise the last couple of weeks, second time on Iona having done others. A few points from me:
1 - Lift etiquette is lacking on all ships I've been on. We're mid-forties and not all disabilities are visible. There were some very rude queue jumpers who presumed we didn't need the lift, barged in and took our spaces. I struggle with depth perception so to others there appears nowt wrong, stairs can become very precarious especially with a rolling ship and where edges aren't clearly distinguishable for me. Front or rear lifts were quiet generally.
2 - I'm no foodie but the food seemed okay to me, always fresh and their butter chicken one night was very spicy, that took me by surprise, tasty though. One odd day where the choice was veal and I think squid... I opted for the Quays that day. The hot vegetarian offering in Horizon seemed to not vary much for a few days. Beach House lava steak now comes with prawns, this was my go to but I'm allergic to prawns... Fajitas were a good back up. My food didn't taste any different on celebration night in the buffet as some were in black tie and I wasn't! Didn't do either of the formal nights, didn't bother taking a suit or anything like that.
3 - I had absolutely no complaints or issues at all. Never struggled for a seat anywhere, never had bad service, never spotted any trouble though is you listen to rumours there was some. It was the busiest sailing we'd done too.Had one internet package between us which worked really well. Never lost signal and could stream YouTube easily.
4 - The cabin stewards work hard. Very hard. I take the bed linen off on my last morning, this really helps them. A lot were working clearing tables in Horizon of an evening. On the crew exercise day he didn't clean our room before 12:30, phoned to apologise and asked if we needed anything. We didn't, I can imagine some people wouldn't have liked that. Cabin was huge! Longest I've had. Quiet too. Plenty of sockets and USBs. Didn't spot the lack of sockets in the bathroom but I wet shave so wasn't looking.
5 - bugbears for me... people saving tables in Horizon. I know and get why people do it but it's frustrating and only adds to the problem of it being busy. A lot of children on board but what comes of a) going on Iona; and b) half the cruise going over half term. That said some counties now have two weeks in autumn and less over the summer. I knew families would dominate the pools and hot tubs so didn't bother with swimming togs. I also saw a load of people at reception cancelling meals and that. Good on them for cancelling rather than no show but why book on the off chance? I had a late boarding time this time, and when I boarded and set myself up by 16:00 I could already book places. I don't think this is fair. By all means be able to book one of anything and maybe with loyalty add an extra but don't have people block booking when others don't get a look in, this means people don't get the full experience and can put them off coming back. I have commented on this in other threads. A lot of people want that last day Epicurean, I didn't stand a chance.
6 - We took some board games to play, a couple were one-time play ones but could be replayed by someone else, I left them in the library on a shelf and was pleased to see a mum and son had picked them up and were playing them.
7 - Horizon was available electronically on My Holiday. Maybe save some paper and give passengers an e-only option if they so wish.
8 - by the end a cold was going round, I dodged it but the chatter on the shuttle in Lisbon (between the coughing) was around the air con being to blame. It didn't feel like it was the other thing. Had this on Arcadia and Britannia as well.
9 - Entertainment... we keep ourselves to ourselves and I can be a small fish in a big pond on Iona. Two weeks to switch off. I have neve done the dancing, talks, shows, quizzes or parties. I read, play games, browse online, ship spot, drink, eat, wander around. Entertainment staff were a lot less cringy than previous, Britannia last year was just awful. Infinity pool at the back was out for maintenance for the two weeks, just unlucky I guess. Didn't cause too many issues. It was relaxing.
I find Iona is very marmite, you either love it or hate it. I watched a YouTube video on another cruise line but their summary is quite apt. If you are new to cruising then people love it. If you are seasoned I find people generally don't like the change. That's fine. Different ships appeal to different people. P&O are changing and Iona is appealing to a broader and new market for them in the longer term. For us it's not the ship that drives my holiday, it's the ports. For others it will be the ship. Will I be disappointed if formal nights went in a decade or two? Personally... no. Would I want P&O to become a full on party ship? No. Iona is a halfway house in that respect.
A lot of people I spoke with were on the first cruise and thoroughly loved it and had booked a second, that's a good thing surely. Others go looking for issues, wind themselves up over the smallest things (dust on top of one wardrobe door, I mean who goes looking) and then vow never to cruise with P&O again. And then rebook...
