First to sail on P&O's Iona, part 1 (travelling in Covid times)
Relieved of suitcases, we joined the line for our Covid tests. This was the longest queue of the day, taking approximately 30 minutes to receive the tests, before then joining the actual check-in line. Just outside the entrance to the terminal building were two ladies on stilts dressed as sailors who you could have your photo taken with. The entrance was decorated with balloons, and a large ‘Iona’ sign, and live music. The atmosphere was electric.
Once inside the building (where it was face masks on) we were directed to staff who went through our health declarations. We were then asked to take a seat until we received our test results. This took pretty much 30 minutes exactly. And boy did we feel relieved to get that text message advising us of our negative results! We excitedly joined the queue for the check-in desks, which was very long but it did move quickly and before we knew it, we were all checked in, through security, and boarding the ship.
The first thing we had to do once on board was check in at our muster station. In the past this used to be a frustrating (but necessary) and time–consuming (time-wasting?!) exercise, but this new way, as a positive result of Covid, is so much better. Our muster station was the entrance to the theatre, so we went straight there, checked in with a staff member, who gave us very brief instructions about what to do in case of emergency, and then we were free to go.
Current rules state that you have to wear a mask moving around indoors on the ship, but if you are walking around outside you are free to remove it. Also, when inside your cabin, or seated at a bar or restaurant eating or drinking you are also allowed to remove masks. So it wasn’t as bad as I feared, because it is not often all you are doing is walking around inside the ship!
We went straight to find our cabin – deck 11, cabin number 11138. There is something about being on a brand new ship, the carpets are plush and luxurious. The furniture sparkling. The cabin numbers very stylishly lit up. Our cabin attendant came straight over to us and introduced herself to us. Inside our cabin we were pleasantly surprised. Small but perfectly formed, with beautiful contemporary furnishings, an abundance of storage, and a smart bathroom with decent sized shower. We had a balcony cabin, with twin beds (which could be converted to a double), a good sized sofa with a coffee table, a large flatscreen tv, a fridge, safe, and tea and coffee making facilities. We were even given complimentary water, in a can!
After unpacking we went off to explore the ship. Starting at the top deck, the plan had been to work our way down each deck. We didn’t get very far, we came across the Beachcomber Bar and Pool, and decided to sit down and order a cocktail! I was very surprised to see the prices - £6.95 for my Mai Tai (which is cheaper than what I would pay back home!). Current circumstances mean that it is table service only on board, even at the bars. For obvious reasons they don’t want crowds at the bars. We did have to wait a while for our order to be taken, but as we were some of the first guests on board, and this was the first time Iona had taken passengers, I will give the crew the benefit of the doubt and put it down to teething problems.
Cocktails in hand, we continued on with our exploration. We explored the top outside decks, filled with giant chess boards, table tennis tables, shuffleboard and plenty of other activities to keep you occupied on sea days. The two infinity pools at the rear of the ship are stunning, they are on different decks so if one is a bit busy you could try the other. Both are accompanied by a bar, obvs.
For dinner on this first night we visited The Quays, where you can choose from 3 different styles of food each day. Today it was either fish and chips, fried chicken and chips, or Thai vegetable Massaman curry. We both went for the fish and chips which was amazing, with a chunky piece of cod. You can also order cocktails and other drinks in here, so we had to test out another cocktail. I would recommend The Quays for a delicious and quick meal.
After dinner we saw the show in the Headliners theatre – called ‘Festival’ it is a fantastic mix of 80’s and 90’s music, with a sweet storyline about two groups of friends at a music festival in the UK. It is colourful, humorous, and filled with great music to sing along to.
After the theatre we decided to get a second dinner! This time we visited Horizon, which is a buffet style restaurant. On this occasion, due to Covid, we did have to make a reservation on My Holiday, P&O’s web-based app which you can access for free on the ship’s Wi-Fi (please note you cannot access anything else on this Wi-Fi, only My Holiday. If you want to pay for Wi-Fi it costs £12.50 per day). We didn’t have to wait long though, and we were shown to our table and then told we could go up to the buffet to get our food. We had to keep our masks on whilst walking through the restaurant, but we could remove it to eat and drink. At the buffet, it wasn’t the traditional ‘help yourself’, there were servers who loaded your plate for you. This was fine, and possibly helped us to not overload our plates! The food was delicious and I would definitely recommend Horizon for a quick meal.
After our second dinner we went to The Club Lounge, where we saw a comedian – Tucker. He was fantastic and definitely made us laugh out loud. One more cocktail to test out in here and then we were ready to head back to our cabin. What an amazing feeling it was to be the first person to sleep in that bed! It was so comfortable, and the duvet was the perfect thickness! The cabins are perfectly soundproofed and considering they play music in the hallways, you don't hear any of that once the cabin door is closed. There is no turndown service at the moment but this will resume once things are more back to normal.
Keep an eye out for day 2, coming soon.