I was always reluctant about cruising; this is only because I can’t swim and also watching Titanic doesn’t help! I have now changed my mind about it. I went cruising with my family (4 adults and 2 kids; 10 and 7) and my parents wanted to try something new.
We cruised with P&O Iona and what a beautiful ship it was! Keep reading on my experience: –
Booking/ Online check in
My sister did all the booking and we had 3 inside cabins. Depending on what you book you can either have Onboard Credit (OBC), parking or there was another option (not sure what it was though). We chose OBC and we got £90 each (£180 per cabin); this also depends what cabin you chose as the OBC will be different. A couple of weeks before you sail, you are able to check in online and book entertainment and restaurants. When you check in, you will need to put in all your details; passport details, emergency contact etc. Then you will need to add in your card details, you have to add card details as this is for your OBC; if you go over your OBC the money will then come out of the card you registered with. Once that is done, you will then be able to print off your boarding pass and luggage tags. There is an option for you to upload a photo but you don’t need to do that as you can do that on the day you sail at check in. I would also print off your insurance details just in case; they didn’t check ours but it’s always better safe than sorry!
Packing
I had a few friends that had already gone on the same Fjords cruise so I picked up some tips from them about what clothes to pack! I was told to pack for every types of weather; thin rain coat, long sleeved tops, t-shirts etc. There is a launderette on each deck so you wouldn’t need to bring too much; if you do decide to use the launderette then I recommend to bring your own detergent etc. My sister took laundry sheets which were easier to pack! I packed a couple of dresses for evening dinner; If you are going on celebration night then that is a formal evening; you would need to pack what you would wear to a wedding. We didn’t go to celebration night so we packed smart casual clothes.
To identify our cabins, my sister bought wooden magnetic boards; you can customise them with a whiteboard pen and these can be stuck outside your cabin door so you can easily see which cabin you are in. As there were 2 kids with us, we also packed lanyards for them so they can wear their cabin card.
For the luggage tags, I bought tag holders from Amazon and they are specifically for cruising. Here are the ones I bought: Cruise Luggage Tag Holder, 10 Pack Waterproof Suitcase Tags for Cruise, Clear Luggage Labels, Durable Travel Baggage Tags for All Cruise Line(19.2×8.9cm, with Steel Loop) : Amazon.co.uk: Fashion
Embarkation
The day of cruising has arrived and don’t forget your passport! I walked to Ocean Cruise Terminal as I live only 20 minutes away and typical British weather it was raining! The rest of the family took a taxi to the cruise terminal so I waited for them. When I arrived there are conveyor belts and then the actual terminal. You will need drop off your suitcase depending on what deck your cabin is and then make your way to the terminal; there were plenty of porters around the terminal and they will be able to help you. There are two lines, one for on time and one for earlies. We were about 15 minutes early so we queued in the early one. Just bare in mind if you are too early there are no seats outside but you can drop your luggage off and have a walk around Southampton then come back at your allotted time.
Once you get inside the terminal, you are then led upstairs to check in and security. Check in was stress free, give them your passport and boarding pass and if you didn’t upload a photo online they will take your photo there. If you are in a group then you can check in as a group; that’s what we did. After check in, we went through security just like in an airport. Take coat off and put hand luggage to be scanned after that you are then ready to get on the ship!
Once on the ship you will need to go to your Muster Station, this is stated on your boarding pass. They scan your boarding pass and then you are able to make your way to your cabin. You don’t need to worry about your luggage as they will be outside your cabin from the afternoon.
Inside Cabin – deck 4 mid ship
When you get to your cabin, there will be a little box outside and this will have your cabin cards and if you are lucky you may be able to meet your steward/stewardess; you will have the same person during your travels and if you ever need anything you can go to them. They will introduce themselves and advise you where to go for emergencies etc. You will also need to watch the safety video when you are in the cabin.
Once we’ve watched the safety videos we unpacked our cases and surprisingly there were plenty of space to hang your clothes and also put your suitcases in the wardrobe. There were around 20 hangers, some shelving and also a safe. All cabins come with a hairdryer; there are UK sockets in the cabins so no need to bring any adapters.
For an inside cabin, there was space to move around between the beds and also around it. It also has a desk, fridge and a TV. There were also hooks on the wall to hang coats/bags.
The bathroom was a decent size with your essentials; shower gel, shampoo, toilet paper and hand wash. It was spotless! If you were to wash your own clothes there is a washing line in the shower; it’s one of those pull out ones.
We were told by our stewardess that they will clean our room if we put the “Gone Exploring” sign outside our door. We did this when we were at port, they would clean the room and if you want your towels changed you will need to put them in the shower cubicle.
My Holiday webpage
This will also be known as the My Holiday “app,” this is NOT an app you download on your phone. This is just a webpage and you use the ship’s own WiFi to login.
The webpage is myholiday.pocruises.com and this is where you book your restaurants and entertainment and also to check how much of your OBC you have spent! It is very easy to use and self explanatory.
There are some entertainment that doesn’t need to be booked i.e. The Skydome. Some restaurants only have a virtual queue; this means that you book your spot on the day and you join a virtual queue and when your table is ready it will notify you.
The Horizon magazine
This is a daily magazine you get in your letterbox outside your cabin. It has all the times of shows and any deals happening around the ship. I found this very handy as some things in the magazine isn’t on the My Holiday webpage! It also shows you what’s on at the cinema.
If it’s a port day the next day, along the top of the magazine it will tell you when you will arrive at the port, what time to get back on the ship and the temperature. At the back of it, it will tell you if there are shuttlebuses available and excursions you can do.
It’s a good morning read! Haha.
Around the ship
We didn’t book anything before hand so we went with the flow. People say if you don’t book before you will miss out on shows etc but we never had that problem, so I wouldn’t panic if you don’t book. You don’t want to be stressing about it!
The ship was very clean and there were hand sanitisers dotted around; which I was very appreciative of. I really like the thought of the washing hand stations in the buffet near the doors! Since COVID, every communal surface I have touched I would sanitise my hands! So being at the buffet after touching all the ladles etc, being able to wash or sanitise my hands put me at ease.
There were water stations around the ship, so I recommend taking a water bottle and filling it up! They don’t give you water in your cabins but to be honest if they did… that would be a lot of plastic waste!
There were plenty of seating everywhere around the ship so I wouldn’t worry about not finding a seat. Just a tip if you watch shows in the evening… the later the show the less seats there are, I recommend you going a little bit early to the venue to find a good seat!
There were a variety of shops onboard; perfumes, make up, essentials (expensive!), sweets, alcohol, watches, jewellery, toys, P&O souvenirs and more! They would sometimes do talks in some of the shops so look out for those.
By the lifts and stairs there would be signs on where to find venues and restaurants, there is also an interactive map to show where you are. It shows where you are currently and if you tap on where you want to go it will show you which direction you need to go. We thought we would get lost on the ship but after a few days, we found our way!
Each deck will have a launderette and they are very clean! Depending on the deck they may only have about 2 washing machines and tumble dryers or 4/5 washing machines and tumble dryers. They are very easy to use, just follow the onscreen prompts. The launderette also has an iron and an ironing board if you wish to do any ironing! Just to note, it will get busy the day before disembarking!
Every restaurant we went to were spotless and all the waiters/waitresses were very nice and also talkative. My nephew made friends with the dessert waiter (Vincent) in the Epicurean; my nephew was watching Vincent make a crepe and he even gave my nephew a little commentary on what he was doing and what the ingredients were. Vincent didn’t mind the little audience! Thank you for keeping him entertained (and quiet lol). I found all the staff were patient with everyone and just very attentive.
Port days
On port days the shops on the ship are closed but reopen once you are back at sea, so be warned if you think you can shop on port day!
In the morning you will hear the captain announce that we have arrived at port; they will advise of the weather, the time you can leave and get back on the ship and also which deck to get off from.
The usual time we got off at was between 7.30am-8am and getting back on was around 4pm-5.30pm. You don’t have to stay out all day you can come and go as you like, as long as you are back on the ship before it departs!! We usually got back around 2 hours before it departs, we made sure we had plenty of time!
You will need to scan your cabin card when you get off and when you get back on. When you get back to the ship, depending on the port, you either have security checks at the port itself or back on the ship.
Day before disembarking
The day before you leave you will get a leaflet explaining your disembarking time and meeting location and if you will be self disembarking or not. Self disembarking is where you leave the ship yourself with all your luggage and you will leave before anyone else. If you are not self disembarking then you will need to leave your luggage outside your cabin from 2pm the night before. Make sure you pack what you don’t need in your big luggage/s! The leaflet also has all the information regarding breakfast and what time you need to leave your cabin (this is 8am).
This will also be a good time to do some shopping and use up your OBC! They will sometimes have some last minute deals/discounts! I would go later in the evening so there are less people; gotta love a good discount!
Disembarking day!
The day has come to leave the ship (booooo). In the little box outside your cabin you will have your on board account statement. This will show you how much you spent (and where) and the charges; if you went over your OBC then you will see an amount in the Total Credit Card Charges at the bottom, this will be a minus figure. This charge will come out of the card you registered at the beginning; I used a debit card so the charges were in pending state for a month but if you use a credit card there shouldn’t be any pending payments (this is what I’ve heard on Facebook). If it’s 0.00 then well done! lol
We were able to have breakfast before we left so we opted for the buffet and after that we waited around until our disembarking time. You will need your cabin card to hand when you get off the ship as you will need to get it scanned! You get to keep the card too; I was quite happy about that as I can keep it as a souvenir!
Remember the luggage you placed outside your cabin the night before?! This will now be waiting for you once you get off the ship. The luggage is grouped in deck order and it’s highest deck to lowest. It was rather seamless and everything was well organised!
I think I got everything! I also went on Iona’s sister ship Arvia the week after… So my next blog will be what the differences were between them and I can tell you, there are differences!
Hope you enjoyed this blog, it’s a little different to food blogs but I will also publish what we ate on both ships!
Ciao for now! Jill x
The Oriental Foodie 