The cabin was lovely and the cabin steward (Desmond) was excellent.
The ship was beautifully decorated for Christmas but attention to general detail was very poor, some staff were sullen and some were just ill informed.
Guests are numbers not individuals who are treated as cash cows.
Buy three Toblerones for £17? Much cheaper in UK supermarkets is just one example.
We had pressure put on us to leave small amounts, (less than £1) in the Casino bank (WHY) and the food ingredient quality was quite often sub-standard.
The Horizon buffet needs a major rethink.
The ship had no concept of what a vegetarian is, the tongs in the buffet which was strangely laid out were unhygienic and little emphasis was placed on personal hygiene.
There was a better choice for vegans if you like curry or spiced food but there were no good vegetarian classics.
It was as though everything had to be portrayed as fine dining everywhere when indeed it was not.
The spiced dhal cottage pie had to be tasted to be believed – unremittingly over salted and awful.
I had three implausible explanations as to why they could not offer a raw tomato at the MDR the one day I tried breakfast.
I could have a cooked one.
Where do cooked tomatoes start life?
Trying to discuss my dietary requirements on embarkation day at the Coral restaurant check in desk was useless.
The man dealing with me was polite but totally unhelpful and needs re-training.
We tried the MDR one evening only.
How do you discuss the next day’s menu when you have eaten at a non MDR restaurant the day before? You cannot ring a dining room only reception, who are unable answer the phones if they are busy.
The Epicurean has a nice ambience but little choice for vegetarians (fried silken tofu anyone?) and for a cover charge of £35 per head should have included another choice.
The waiter was excellent though, the surroundings very nice and the bread superb but it was an expensive cover charge for me.
The Beach House had a lovely waiter (Gilbert) but by dinner three a change of menu would have been nice.
Fevertree tonic is no longer available and the blender was broken which certain bars used so I could not have an alcohol free cocktail.
Does the ship not carry spares? Instead of trying to promote the ship perhaps some of the officers should deal with young children shrieking in the spa pools which I thought had an age limit.
They should also encourage guests to have good hygiene practices and should tell staff as well as guests to sanitise their hands when going back on board.
I followed two crew members who ignored the sanitising station.
Due to transport strikes and the weather port visits were altered, then cut out and departure and return times altered.
Having arrived back early to Southampton we could depart the ship but that was a non starter as we could not manage all our luggage in one go from the cabin to the gangway.
Lifts were often crowded and they must have been a nightmare for anyone who needed assistance.
Germs must have flown around them.
P&O altered excursions but did not offer guests a penalty free option to cancel.
A special order placed with P&O on land was not communicated to the ship correctly and I still don’t know whether I have been refunded for a champagne breakfast which Bolsover cancelled on my behalf before we sailed.
It was meant to be a surprise for my husband but even if I had not cancelled it it would not have been a surprise as a voucher was left for him in the cabin on embarkation day.
On embarkation day the reception member I eventually saw told me I had to contact my travel agent.
It took a firm request to talk with a supervisor to get them to cancel it again.
Obviously that did not work either as 10 days later the cabin steward’s manager was still asking when we wanted the breakfast.
The birthday cake had to be reordered but was nice when it arrived.
Changing the time on my phone’s clock stopped me being able to drill down on My Holiday – apparently I needed to alter the time zone too.
Why not advise that on the screen message? It took three visits to reception to sort that.
This was our third holiday with P&O.
Ventura was the first and that was atrocious so we waited several years before sailing on Arvia in 2023.
That was much better so we decided to book on Iona.
Thank heavens we upgraded to a better mid ship balcony cabin as we spent a lot of time in it – after one week we both caught the heavy cold evident amongst many passengers from day one.
Would we choose Iona again? NO.
Would we cruise in the winter again on any line? Definitely not.
If you don’t use a smartphone think carefully about whether the alternative booking options on Iona for meals, trips and the theatre suit you.
The shows in the theatre are not refreshed very often.
If you don’t care about attention to detail then the ship is lovely and the cruises are quite reasonably priced.
I suppose you get what you pay for.
Please can anyone recommend a fairly new, not too formal or pretentious ship with simple food well executed, an excellent buffet, knowledgeable and helpful staff where guests are treated as an individual, not a number? Child free would be a bonus but not essential.