Day 2 on Iona, P&O's newest, most eco-friendly ship!
We got up and went to Horizon, which in non-Covid times, would be the buffet restaurant. We were shown to our table, and then went straight to the food stations, where we were served our breakfast. I chose a waffle, some sliced fruit, and I also had a small cooked breakfast consisting of a fried egg, a slice of bacon, some baked beans, a hash brown, and a sausage. You could also choose from scrambled eggs, black pudding, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, cereals, toast and porridge. I also grabbed a mini pain au chocolate and a mini muffin! I have to admit, the waffle didn't taste fresh. The hash brown also looked like frozen ready-made ones you can buy from the supermarket. And the muffin also didn't taste fresh. Other than that, the food was actually delicious.
After breakfast we went back to the cabin and got into our swimsuits, then headed up to the pool deck to find a couple of sunbeds. This wasn't difficult as there are sunbeds located all around the outside decks. We chose two sunbeds next to a hot tub and stayed here for a couple of hours. Whilst we were sat here, we spotted a couple of dolphins just off the side of the ship. It was amazing to see, they were just playing with eachother for ages. There are a lot of hot tubs located around the ship so no need to worry about not being able to get in one.
After a couple of hours we were ready to go down to the Skydome, where we went to Taste 360, which is a quick service food spot serving up pizza, hot dogs, burgers etc. There was a long line but it moved fast. And it was worth it - so tasty!
We went back to the cabin after this to have a shower and get ready for the rest of the day. The room attendant had cleaned up our room and it was like new again (not that we had made much mess!). Soon it was time for Bingo! We went down to The Clubhouse where we purchased our booklets. We paid for the most expensive option - 10 chances, and there were 5 games. This cost £30 but we were able to split the booklets so we had 5 chances each. We also purchased two dabbers at £2 each. So in total it cost us £34, but we had so much fun, and we did win one of them. The prize would have been £110 but another person got a full card too so we had to share it with her, so we actually won £55. This was fine because it meant we covered our cost!
It was now time to get ready for the black tie evening. We got dressed up, and wondered to the Grand Atrium, where we were given a complimentary non-alcoholic cocktail. It was delicious. It was really nice seeing the effort that everybody had gone to as well, ladies in beautiful dresses, and men in fancy suits. A lady played the grand piano. At one point a band played shanty music. Sounds like a strange combination, but it worked. We had made a reservation in one of the formal dining rooms, however this was the biggest teething problem that P&O experienced while we were on this tester cruise. The reservation booking system just wasn't working. It just wasn't working and after waiting an hour, we walked up to the restaurant to find out what was happening. They said they were experiencing problems, and offered to give us a pager, but we decided to go back up to Horizon and have our dinner up there.
On the menu tonight was beef bourguignon. This was absolutely delicious. Also on offer was sweet potato fries, plenty of veg, new potatoes. There was also a chicken option, and a veggie option. You can also order cocktails and various other beverage options in Horizon and it will be brought to you.
After dinner we went up to the Skydome to watch the aerial show that they put on up there. I don't want to give too much away but 9 very talented performers gave a first class performance including acrobatics, aerial acts, lasers, dance, music... it was amazing. I would highly recommend.
By this time it was time for bed for us. There was plenty going on around the ship for those who would want to stay up much later. I know there is the 710 club (inspired by Gary Barlow) with live music and a sophisticated bar. There are many other pubs, bars and lounges on the ship to choose from.
I also haven't mentioned the spa and fitness centre. We took a look inside the gym and it is filled with plenty of cross-trainers, bikes, treadmills, weight machines, basically plenty to satisfy those of you that like to exercise whilst on holiday. Every salon and spa treatment you could imagine is on offer here too if you would like to get pampered. This seemed very popular in the short time we were on board.
As it was our last night we were instructed to pack our cases and leave them outside our cabins to be collected overnight. There was a letter in our cabin telling us what time to disembark, and where we needed to wait at our allotted time. Luckily for us we were able to fit in a very luxurious breakfast in Pearl, one of the formal dining rooms. Here I was able to order proper coffee, pancakes, fruit, toast, basically everything you might want. It might be a bit more formal, but nothing beats being served tea from a teapot, and eating your breakfast on a tablecloth! Call me a snob, but it was the perfect end to our trip. My only gripe was that the muffin that i ordered in the hope that it would be better than the one I'd had the day before, tasted exactly the same, and definitely wasn't made fresh that morning.
The disembarkation process was absolutely seamless. We left the ship, scanning our cards on the way out, and entered the terminal building at Ocean cruise terminal, Port of Southampton, where are suitcases were there waiting for us. Simple as that. It was a fantastic couple of days, there were definitely teething problems, but that was the whole purpose of the trip. To put the staff and the ship through it's paces. I did have an issue with the Wi-Fi in that I paid £12.50 for 24 hours of Wi-Fi but I couldn't access it at all. I did speak to Reception about this twice, and they said I would be refunded, which I am still waiting for. But all in all, I was very impressed with the ship, the crew, the decor, the amenities, it was all beautiful. There are kids clubs on board, but I would probably recommend this ship for families with young children, and couples (of all ages).