Iona Delay

Arrange to meet other members whilst on a cruise on Iona

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vivian
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Iona Delay

#1

Post by vivian »

Press release on Meyer Werft site yesterday.

20.03.2020
Cruise ship Iona: work paused due to corona virus on board
Papenburg/Bremerhaven, 20.03.2020 -

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Gill W
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Re: Iona Delay

#2

Post by Gill W »

More bad news for P &O.
The management must be tearing their hair out
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towny44
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Re: Iona Delay

#3

Post by towny44 »

The messages I saw did not say there was Covid19 on board, just that they were ceasing operations because of the coronavirus.
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david63
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Re: Iona Delay

#4

Post by david63 »

P&O have already intimated that Iona will be late

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towny44
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Re: Iona Delay

#5

Post by towny44 »

david63 wrote: 22 Mar 2020, 08:55
P&O have already intimated that Iona will be late
I guess that Carnival will be relieved they don't have to pay out the $950m just yet.
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david63
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Re: Iona Delay

#6

Post by david63 »

towny44 wrote: 22 Mar 2020, 09:51
I guess that Carnival will be relieved they don't have to pay out the $950m just yet.
Not necessarily - it will depend on the terms of the contact and what they can negotiate. I would guess that there are "staged" payments along the way so much of it may well have already been paid.

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towny44
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Re: Iona Delay

#7

Post by towny44 »

david63 wrote: 22 Mar 2020, 11:50
towny44 wrote: 22 Mar 2020, 09:51
I guess that Carnival will be relieved they don't have to pay out the $950m just yet.
Not necessarily - it will depend on the terms of the contact and what they can negotiate. I would guess that there are "staged" payments along the way so much of it may well have already been paid.
Quite possibly, but normally the major payment is at handover.
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Mervyn and Trish
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Re: Iona Delay

#8

Post by Mervyn and Trish »

Can I get a last minute booking on the Maiden then claim compo? Where's Cubie to advise?

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Ray B
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Re: Iona Delay

#9

Post by Ray B »

If it is delayed or further cruises get cancelled does that mean the next cruise moves up to be the Maiden Cruise?
If so, some cruisers will hope that their cruise will be the one. :thumbup:
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Stephen
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Re: Iona Delay

#10

Post by Stephen »

I can never understand what all the fuss is about going on a maiden cruise. I'd rather go on a new ship several cruises down the line when all the faults, and there always are, have been fixed.

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towny44
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Re: Iona Delay

#11

Post by towny44 »

Stephen wrote: 23 Mar 2020, 08:03
I can never understand what all the fuss is about going on a maiden cruise. I'd rather go on a new ship several cruises down the line when all the faults, and there always are, have been fixed.
I am quite looking forward to the possibility of our Feb 2021 cruise on Iona becoming the maiden. :sarcasm:
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Manoverboard
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Re: Iona Delay

#12

Post by Manoverboard »

…. and more of the crew will know what they are doing :roll:

.
Last edited by Manoverboard on 23 Mar 2020, 09:33, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Iona Delay

#13

Post by david63 »

Whilst on Ventura recently I heard mention that the management on Iona will not be from the P&O stable but from other Carnival brands - no idea whether this is true or not but it sounds plausible bearing in mind that they are looking for a different approach.

Many of the crew will, apparently, be from Britannia - or at least that was the original plan.

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towny44
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Re: Iona Delay

#14

Post by towny44 »

david63 wrote: 23 Mar 2020, 10:23
Whilst on Ventura recently I heard mention that the management on Iona will not be from the P&O stable but from other Carnival brands - no idea whether this is true or not but it sounds plausible bearing in mind that they are looking for a different approach.

Many of the crew will, apparently, be from Britannia - or at least that was the original plan.
Well lets hope the passenger services staff are from US ships, we might then receive a far higher standard of service than usual.
John

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Mervyn and Trish
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Re: Iona Delay

#15

Post by Mervyn and Trish »

towny44 wrote: 23 Mar 2020, 10:26
david63 wrote: 23 Mar 2020, 10:23
Whilst on Ventura recently I heard mention that the management on Iona will not be from the P&O stable but from other Carnival brands - no idea whether this is true or not but it sounds plausible bearing in mind that they are looking for a different approach.

Many of the crew will, apparently, be from Britannia - or at least that was the original plan.
Well lets hope the passenger services staff are from US ships, we might then receive a far higher standard of service than usual.
God help us. And all that insincere "have a nice day". No thanks

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Re: Iona Delay

#16

Post by towny44 »

Mervyn and Trish wrote: 23 Mar 2020, 23:04
towny44 wrote: 23 Mar 2020, 10:26
david63 wrote: 23 Mar 2020, 10:23
Whilst on Ventura recently I heard mention that the management on Iona will not be from the P&O stable but from other Carnival brands - no idea whether this is true or not but it sounds plausible bearing in mind that they are looking for a different approach.

Many of the crew will, apparently, be from Britannia - or at least that was the original plan.
Well lets hope the passenger services staff are from US ships, we might then receive a far higher standard of service than usual.
God help us. And all that insincere "have a nice day". No thanks
Merv, it may sound insincere but in my experience Celebrity and RCI have rapidly sorted out any problems, which is more than most of my on-board experiences with P&O.
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Mervyn and Trish
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Re: Iona Delay

#17

Post by Mervyn and Trish »

I'll not go over it again but my experience is exactly the opposite.

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towny44
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Re: Iona Delay

#18

Post by towny44 »

We will as usual agree to disagree Merv, but there are plenty more who think like me on other forums.
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Mervyn and Trish
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Re: Iona Delay

#19

Post by Mervyn and Trish »

Quite so and ditto!

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Onelife
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Re: Iona Delay

#20

Post by Onelife »

Mervyn and Trish wrote: 23 Mar 2020, 23:04
towny44 wrote: 23 Mar 2020, 10:26
david63 wrote: 23 Mar 2020, 10:23
Whilst on Ventura recently I heard mention that the management on Iona will not be from the P&O stable but from other Carnival brands - no idea whether this is true or not but it sounds plausible bearing in mind that they are looking for a different approach.

Many of the crew will, apparently, be from Britannia - or at least that was the original plan.
Well lets hope the passenger services staff are from US ships, we might then receive a far higher standard of service than usual.
God help us. And all that insincere "have a nice day". No thanks
Americans always do my head in.......very excitable and optimistic about everything......even serving you pancakes
Last edited by Onelife on 24 Mar 2020, 09:54, edited 1 time in total.

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Manoverboard
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Re: Iona Delay

#21

Post by Manoverboard »

It's the 17.5% tips that they expect that gets to me … I would also be prepared to drawl " Have a nice day " for that sort of money and laugh myself to the Bank doing it.
Keep smiling, it's good for your well being

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towny44
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Re: Iona Delay

#22

Post by towny44 »

Manoverboard wrote: 24 Mar 2020, 10:26
It's the 17.5% tips that they expect that gets to me … I would also be prepared to drawl " Have a nice day " for that sort of money and laugh myself to the Bank doing it.
I have never tipped anyone in Guest Services, should I have done?
Last edited by towny44 on 24 Mar 2020, 13:01, edited 1 time in total.
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Mervyn and Trish
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Re: Iona Delay

#23

Post by Mervyn and Trish »

Onelife wrote: 24 Mar 2020, 09:53

Americans always do my head in.......very excitable and optimistic about everything......even serving you pancakes
With your bacon!

To be honest I have no real problem with Americans in general and I don't disagree that P&O's standards have fallen. That is inevitable when you compare the prices now with a few years back and find that in real terms they've fallen. Something has to give. My biggest concern (snob bit coming up) is that with "affordable" prices and drinks packages the standard of passengers, especially on shorter cruises, has fallen further than the service.

But I disagree with Towny and will have to continue to do so because our experience on Calamity was the worst service we have suffered on any cruise on any line, and it was interspersed at regular intervals with them telling us they were the best at every opportunity. Maybe not typical, but that's how it was for us and, as they say, you never get a second chance to make a second impression.

So our future plans are much more likely to be Cunard or Saga, where we will pay more but get what we pay for. Our final P&O cruise is likely to be in 2022 when we take all the family.

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Manoverboard
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Re: Iona Delay

#24

Post by Manoverboard »

towny44 wrote: 24 Mar 2020, 13:01
Manoverboard wrote: 24 Mar 2020, 10:26
It's the 17.5% tips that they expect that gets to me … I would also be prepared to drawl " Have a nice day " for that sort of money and laugh myself to the Bank doing it.
I have never tipped anyone in Guest Services, should I have done?
If you paid gratuities, had a steward or a waiter or a drink or a meal in the posh nosh outlets etc a 17.5% ( min ) charge will have been applied be applied as you well know … and all of them work for ' Guest Services ' of one shade or another.

Unlike P&O of course :wave:
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Re: Iona Delay

#25

Post by towny44 »

Manoverboard wrote: 24 Mar 2020, 14:06
towny44 wrote: 24 Mar 2020, 13:01
Manoverboard wrote: 24 Mar 2020, 10:26
It's the 17.5% tips that they expect that gets to me … I would also be prepared to drawl " Have a nice day " for that sort of money and laugh myself to the Bank doing it.
I have never tipped anyone in Guest Services, should I have done?
If you paid gratuities, had a steward or a waiter or a drink or a meal in the posh nosh outlets etc a 17.5% ( min ) charge will have been applied be applied as you well know … and all of them work for ' Guest Services ' of one shade or another.

Unlike P&O of course :wave:
I thought waiters and stewards worked for the hotel dept, which even on US ships is separate to the pursers or guest services dept.
By the way you can still have your gratuity charge deleted on US ships, and then tip staff at your preferred rate.
John

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