Recently booked a room Iona any advice please

[Mrsmac06]

Hi you lovely people looking fur advice please.
I’ve recently booked a week’s stay on the Iona in April. I was kind of feeling pressured into booking with traveling to the Maldives just the day of the travel agent ringing me and a friend desperately feeling she needed to book up so she had something to look forward too. With this I spoke to a lady from the travel agents who reassured me that she had just been on this exact cruise and knew what was best for us both to go ahead and book our stay. My husband suffers with motion sickness terribly and a cruise has always been out of the question because if this, but told there’s no better way to visit the Norwegian Fjords than on a ship so we’ve gone ahead and booked it but with her recommendations we have gone with her. Travel agent recommending room 10244, a cabin (balcony view what we wanted) so we agreed and paid the deposit for us and our friends. Now home from the Maldives our friends have sent us a floor plan of the Iona and we are very much next to the lifts and forward facing. Can anyone please help us in this, can you hear the lifts experience people stood outside your door waiting/talking at all times waiting for a lifts please? And also did people using rooms suffer from travel sickness than staying in a lower central room please? Is it best I request a room change. Thanks very much in advance

[Stephen]

Never been on Iona so can’t comment. However, we always book a mid-ships balcony cabin on C or D deck away from lifts in case of any noise. But to be honest I have never found the lift areas particularly busy or noisy, but then Iona is a big family orientated ship. If it bothers you then I would suggest seeing if you can change cabins.

If you do decide to try and change cabins have the deck plans in front of you when you contact your travel agent so you can see what and where available cabins are.

Regarding your husbands travel sickness, you should have no problems with motion visiting the Fjords and especially on a ship the size of Iona. He could take some travel sickness pills such as Kwells about an hour before sailing for piece of mind.

Hope this helps.

[Mrsmac06]

Thanks Stephen, great information and very helpful.
I’ve contacted my travel agents waiting to hear back from them.
My husband takes Kwells on flights & short taxi rides when required but they don’t seem to work anymore so we are looking in this too to help him.

Many Thanks

[Meg 50]

the cabin is a bit back from the lift area - so shouldn't be a problem.

But as a motion sickness sufferer we go for low down and central where there is less swaying.

Having said that - after a day or so one finds one's sea legs and generally no probs. If leaving port looks 'dodgy', sink a couple of tablets just in case ( I use Boots travel Calm)

[oldbluefox]

Some people take Stugeron. I've also heard ginger (biscuits or beer) work but as one who doesn't suffer from travel sickness I've no experience of either.

[CaroleF]

I've always used Stugeron and found it excellent. A few years ago we left Southampton with our first stop being Madeira at the beginning of January. The weather was dreadful and until we reached Madeira we were having to hold on to the side rails in the corridor when walking along. My husband and I both took Stugeron and had no problem with sea sickness. It's worked for me when travelling up the North Sea en route to the Fjords and it was fairly rough. I don't want you to think that it's like this on every sea voyage, it isn't. I have had many cruises where I haven't needed to take Stugeron at all but certainly I've never found it to fail. One of the things with Stugeron is to take it if you even think you might need it as it doesn't work instantly.

[Mrsmac06]

Thank you for your advice and information it’s greatly appreciated

[Ranchi]

We have had concerns about lifts but in fact they have never been a problem. Being fairly close to lifts can be a benefit- less distance to walk to get to the open decks & social/retail/restaurant decks. Generally speaking if you are on a deck with cabins above & below it will be fine. I haven’t travelled on P&O’s largest ships but ships these days do seem much more stable than they used to be years ago- probably a result of larger ships & slower speeds.
Looking at the deck plan I don’t think your cabin is forward facing….fwd may be obscured slightly by the extended cabins fwd of 10244.
I must admit when we went to the fjords we spent most time on the open decks so we could get a 360 perspective.

[towny44]

I would not worry at all about the cabin choice, deck 10 on Iona is probably the perfect deck to be on. As for the lifts, we need an accessible cabin which are always near the lifts, 15304 and 15306 on Deck 15, and we never hear the lifts, and only occasionally do we hear any passenger noise, so your location should be even quieter, and the forward lifts are not as busy as the midship ones.

[Ray B]

We have never had a problem with lifts and noise, but we have on family friendly cruises with kids racing up and down the corridors.
Wife always take a pack of Stugeron in case, over the years very little need for thier use, as cruise ships today are very stable at sea nowadays.
Mrsmac 06, have an enjoyable cruise, the views of Norway from a ship are beautiful.

[Jan Rosser]

Hi MrsMac6 welcome to the forum. I’ve travelled twice on Iona both times on deck 10 to the Fjords - found it very stable. I’m going on Iona again in June - deck 11 this time - this cabin is classed as mid forward and near lifts but never had problems with noise. Take Stugeron too but can’t remember using them in fact they are probably out of date My friends wear the wrist bands and find them good - hope you get sorted.

[Mrsmac06]

Thank you for your reply.
We will purchase some Stugeron instead of the Kwells to try. As when we flew in from the Maldives he seemed ok until coming in on landing, it turned him green!
We are travelling in April on the Iona and like someone has mentioned the North Sea can be choppy something I didn’t think off as I was just thinking of the Fjyords itself.
I’ve a meeting with my TA in the morning to ask if there’s any availability mid ship just to be on the safe side, because my husband has already started saying “he may not go” after finding these details, I know he will love it if he’s feeling well enough to enjoy it.

Many Thanks Andrea

[oldbluefox]

By the time we've finished the poor chap's going to look like he's just got in from the Klondyke!!!
I feel sure he'll be fine especially going down the fjords.

[Mrsmac06]

I know

[Stephen]

When you’re cruising down the Fjords you hardly know your moving.

Get your husband to have a full English every morning, that’ll kill or cure

[Onelife]

Hi Mrs Mac…if your husband carries on moaning, just stock the fridge up and tell him to fend for himself

[Mrsmac06]

Hopefully we can move cabin and the meds work so he can enjoy a pint or a few as we’ve upgraded the drinks package