Up early, into the Buffet for breakfast. Then relaxing on the ship. We has another good look around Iona and the shops.
Mel and George head over to bingo whilst I have a dip in the Infinity Pool.
MS Iona is an Excellence-class cruise ship in service for P&O Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Built by German shipbuilder Meyer Werft in Papenburg, she was delivered in October 2020 at a cost of £730 million. At 184,089 GT Iona became the largest cruise ship commissioned for P&O and the British market upon delivery until sister ship Arvia (measuring 185,581 GT) was delivered in 2022. Iona was floated out on 18 February 2020 and delivered eight months later on 9 October amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed her debut by more than a year until 7 August 2021, when she sailed her maiden voyage from Southampton.
Iona has 17 different eateries, including eight restaurants designated as 'select dining', and 12 different bars. She also has 16 whirlpools and 4 swimming pools, one of which is housed under SkyDome, an entertainment venue topped by a 105-ton, 340-pane, 970-square-metre glass dome with a retractable stage for shows. The ship's centre also includes a three-deck atrium flanked by triple-deck glass panels projecting outwards.
Iona has 19 total decks, a length of 344.5 metres (1,130 ft), and a beam of 42 metres (138 ft). Maximum power is rated at 61.7 megawatts (82,700 hp). Total propulsion power is rated at 37 megawatts (50,000 hp). Together, the power system gives the vessel a service speed of 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph). Iona will have a passenger capacity of 5,206 guests and 1,762 crew. Powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), Iona is designed to not emit sulphur dioxide emissions and soot particles.
Iona was originally scheduled to perform her maiden voyage on 14 May 2020. The nine-night round-trip voyage from Southampton was to sail to the Norwegian fjords, calling in Stavanger, Olden, Hellesylt, Geiranger, and Bergen. The ship was scheduled to be christened on 4 July 2020 in Southampton before inaugurating a week-long celebration on the ship. However, on 23 April 2020, P&O announced that the pandemic forced the suspension of its operations and postponed the ship's debut and inaugural festivities. A year later, Iona was christened by Dame Irene Hays on 16 May 2021 in Southampton at a ceremony led by Gary Barlow and Jo Whiley.
Iona was originally scheduled to sail cruises to the Norwegian fjords from Southampton for her maiden season. In March 2021, P&O announced that the ship's maiden voyage would be 7 August 2021 along the Inner Hebrides before operating week-long voyages through September. Due to the United Kingdom's pandemic travel restrictions, all voyages during the inaugural season were exclusive to UK residents. Iona later spent her maiden winter months in the Canary Islands and Northern Europe before transitioning to the Norwegian fjords during the following summer and subsequent summers.
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| The Skydome |
After Lunch, George decided to join me in the Infinity Pool while Mel went for a nap.
We then found a hot tub that was empty!
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We had dinner and watched the sunset.
We watched Sky's the Limit show in the Headliners theatre. I thought it was okay, Mel and George wasn't so convinced.
Anyway to bed we are docking in Stavanger tomorrow, will be good to get ashore!
