P&O Iona Norwegian Fjords cruise - Sea day Spa & Chef’s table - Episode 2

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Have you done Chef's Table on P&O? We'd love to know your thoughts! We hope you enjoy this episode, be sure to like and subscribe and if you want to join our newsletter, you can do that here: cruisemonkeys.com/newsletter-signup/

[@LiftUpNotDown]

By the end of this video I was slurring my words too. 🤣

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Sign of a good night 😉

[@arthurscruises9310]

Sea days are the best. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself and had a great time taking photos of the ship.

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Yeah, can’t beat a nice relaxed day at sea 👌

[@deborahkent7151]

You two do make me smile so much…even when I feel down..miss cruising soo much x

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Awwwww thank you, sorry to hear you are feeling down, hope it’s cheered you up 😀

[@Chris-yf4qd]

Super impressed that the bow ties weren’t clip on lads, very classy indeed… that hotdog was hilarious, Gavin’s never going to live that down 😂😂😂

[@CruiseMonkeys]

We love our proper ties, if they don’t look right after the 3rd attempt we resort to clip on 🤣 Hahaha, the comments we had about that 🌭 🤣

[@travelingtrishthiel]

Just catching up on the vlogs since we've been away. Love this and as always, you two are a delight to watch! Thanks for taking us along!

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Welcome back and thank you for the lovely comment 😀

[@chrisonYTtour]

Great episode fellas! I love sea days and you’ve definitely convinced me to give the spa a go on my next cruise, it’s a little different to the saunas I’ve been to on land lol

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Thank you! Ohhhhhh you really do need to go there, a great little relax and body detox! Ohhh?! Hahahahahaha 🤣

[@clairehague88]

I love that showed the shops! I have been looking for videos we’re you see what the shopping is like! Nice to see different areas of the ship! Can’t wait to go on the Iona now!

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Glad you enjoyed! Iona (and Arvia) have loads of shops! They even had a 20% off sale on the final sea day, so we end up buying more that day. You could get friendly and find out from the staff if they’ll do it on your cruise, but then you do run a risk of it being out of stock if it’s towards the end 👍

[@MaDaboutcruisin]

Great video again . Love you guys. Mandy and Dave

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed! The feeling is mutual! We love all of the support we get from people like yourselves it makes it all worth it! ❤️

[@virtualgardener]

Oh love the fact that you enjoyed your tarrrrrt😊

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Hahaha 😀

[@nardiaelizabeth6912]

Haha! Luv hou guys. You make me laugh so much and I jusy love how normal you are and hiw you enjoy your drinks 🤣🤣🤣

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Thank you 😍

[@Dfordave76]

We're 2 weeks back from our Iona cruise and watching your video makes me wish i was back again. Looking forward to seeing how your excursion went.

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Glad if has that effect 😀

[@eminiarvii]

Oh ..I do love the thermal suites…yes guys posh..as always i love love 💕 you guys and your posh look, nice poses for your pics🚢😊

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Thank you so much 🤗🥰

[@CruiseLife22]

Great Vlog guys, pure entertainment! 👍

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Glad you enjoyed it 😀

[@rasferrastfarian739]

Love the episode boys, thank you for taking us along. The sauna looks awesome - hoping there's something similar on Quantum of the Seas in Nov! *hugs*

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Glad you enjoyed it 😀 Oh, we’ve only done Anthem so not sure what quantum but if it has the solarium at the front, that a lovely place 🥰

[@Onbehaard]

Ah, nice to relive the cruise. What a good idea to go to the Crows Nest for the celebration drink. We went to the Atrium, along with half the ship, and had to queue for ages. We also went to the Chef's Table for the Celebraton Night and we loved the food. That was the best menu of the whole cruise. Everything on the menu appealed and it was hard to choose. The Beef Wellington was delicious. My husband had the Ravioli which was gorgeous. We ate in the MDR one other time and we were really disappointed with the food. We tried another evening but after "queuing" for 45 minutes, we gave up and went to the buffet! Well done for wearing a proper bow tie! Looking forward to the next instalment. 😄

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Awww fab, hope you keep watching the others, as we’ve the port days coming up which we’re great (but wet hahaha). We love the crows nest and it is a bit quieter than the atrium so often retreated there! We too found the food up there fantastic. Did you try beach house too? That blew us away this time! The bow ties have 2 chances of going on, if they don’t go right, we fall back to pre tied to save loosing our temper 🤣🤣

[@KSteves9]

I’m doing this cruise on my own next year (it’ll be my first cruise! 😬) and I was debating whether to book the spa. But after watching this, it looks like a must do. 😍

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Oh it’s a must do, even if just the one 2 hour slot on a sea day 🛁

[@julieirvine8506]

Loved this ❤ can't wait to see ur day trips I go on the msc virtuosa next Saturday 🎉can't wait for our 1st cruise 😊

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Our Stavanger one will be out on Friday - worth a watch if you’ve nothing booked there! Have a brilliant cruise! 😀

[@julieirvine8506]

Thanks so much can't wait to watch it xxx

[@michaeldocherty2488]

It was a pleasure meeting you guys on Iona, unfortunately I missed out on Luke he had to go to the loo, but nice to say hello to Gavin, keep up the good work guys

[@CruiseMonkeys]

It’s always nice to say hello! Sorry you missed out on Luke 😀👍

[@Mister_H]

Great video guys. You came to the same conclusion of Chef’s table as we did. Food good, service so so, but the main thing was the lack of atmosphere. We felt we lost one of our formal nights which is something we love. Definitely wouldn’t do it again ❤

[@CruiseMonkeys]

💯!! Though you have to try it to experience it, which is why we did it, as you say, we’ll still to the other option on formal night in future!

[@CrusieCTRL]

Fantastic video... Thanks 👍

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Glad you liked it!

[@ChampagneCosmeticsCruising]

You two are so photogenic ❤ Our chefs table experience was lovely food but food was so fast we were in and out in an hour

[@CruiseMonkeys]

💯 agree the food was good! 😀

[@lyndavey4392]

SO ĹOVE YOUR VLOGS XX❤❤

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Thank you

[@iloveanimals1662]

You two are my favs!👌🏻🫶💕😘 I'm on the same cruise Sept 9th! Xx

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Awww 🥰 Have a fantastic time!!!! 😀

[@iloveanimals1662]

@@CruiseMonkeys Thanks guys! Xx

[@KenGoesCruising]

Another great fun vlog

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Thank you both 🤗

[@travelswithlizzylou]

Love seeing this on my Iona cruise eve...

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Awwww! Have a fabulous cruise, wish we were coming along 😘

[@dazzaessex77]

hey just stumbled across your channel......loving it

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Welcome to the channel! Thank you 🥰

[@DavidPeet]

Hi Guys. Interesting and informative vlog. Thank you. Going on Iona in two weeks. You helped us make a decision as to whether to try the Chef’s Table on Celebration Night. The food looked delicious, but instead we have booked the Epicurean which is one of our favourites. You always make us laugh and offer some great advice. Thanks again. 🤗🤗

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Glad it was helpful! The food was good, but you’ve definitely made the best choice going to Epicurean - very nice in there, we end up going there later in the series! Have a great cruise!

[@AniaKeis]

Agree with you guys. I did the first and last time chef table on Arvia! Can't wait for next week to see you at 7 am after a few refreshments .. 😂

[@CruiseMonkeys]

💯- same, MDR next time! Let’s just say we’re glad there’s a 12 noon trip as well as the early one 🤣

[@AniaKeis]

@CruiseMonkeys my 14th year old daughter dream cruise is fjords, and all of us watching your vlog LOL !

[@NamyDoesCruising]

Aww the food at Chef’s Table, was amazing! But god! How many glasses at your table? 🤣 We found that quite a few of the venues were quite slow… we waited over 40mins for our main course to arrive at the Limelight!

[@CruiseMonkeys]

💯 the food was so good! It was just those little things like glasses and it just didn’t feel special! 40 min?! 😬

[@NamyDoesCruising]

@@CruiseMonkeys Completely agree, there was something missing. When we say 40mins… we mean 40min AFTER the supporting singer finished her set! We were starving! 😂

[@sharnieyorke]

Deffo trying keel and cow breakfast next month, only realised recently that it was an option 😮

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Yeah, its quite new, think they only started it this year :)

[@danielprentice2244]

Hello my boys, I love your vlog.....

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Thanks so much Dan! 👍

[@jakecarman4217]

Just back from 5 days on Aurora. Sat in the crows nest and heard some familiar music to see the people next to us watching you boys on KZbin.

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Whaaaaa?! Oh that’s fab! 🤣 hope you had a great cruise?!

[@kathyslocombe1182]

It's a shame that you did not like the Chef's Table but P&O does it very differently than a lot of other cruise lines. We did the Chef's Table on Celebrity where the number of guests is limited and held in a private dining room. Also, it was a set menu. While it was very expensive, it was worth the experience. Great video as always!

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Ohhh yes, now that as an experience would be fab! Think Princess also do that 😍 This was essentially a MDR overflow we think.

[@drdcheung]

Good to see the spa area.

[@CruiseMonkeys]

It’s a lovely area to relax for a couple of hours

[@MarinaAndJoeGo]

Thanks for another great vlog guys 🤩 Brilliant as ever! 😍 We've done Chef's Table twice and enjoyed it,, however the first time (on a seacation) was better than the 2nd (when Iona was at half capacity) as it was so much quieter. We actually had our first and only bad P&O dining experience in the MDR on celebration night during our last Iona cruise, so perhaps there's an issue with staff training for celebration nights now the ship is busy?

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Yeah, the food was good just the ambience though the waiter did say they’d doubled the covers. Think it was too busy for them.

[@MarinaAndJoeGo]

@@CruiseMonkeys if only Iona could sail at 50% capacity all the time 😅

[@johnbarton8574]

Is the Chef.'s Table what is normally the Beach House. Really like the Beach House. Great video as always 👍👍

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Hi, yes it is, but it does have a formal dress code on celebration night. Due to the numbers, they actually spilled out of the beach house which is why we were not even in that section but further aft. Can’t fault the food though 🤤

[@paulatrahern1336]

Loving your vlog. There don’t seem too many people onboard - was it not sailing full? You looked great in your DJs!

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Thank you! Yes, we believe it was full, with approx 800 children as our friend did struggle to book sessions at the kids club. People were well spread out - it’s one thing we’ve found with Iona and Arvia, while busy it’s never rammed like we’ve seen on Virtuosa.

[@RosemullionView]

Too much vino! ❤

[@CruiseMonkeys]

😇

[@Mollylife-6666]

We also tried chefs table first time this year and we would not do it again either as felt it was all too rushed , waiter was looking away all the time when we were speaking to him 😮

[@CruiseMonkeys]

It is a pitty so many say the same thing that they’d not do it again as the food was good 👍

[@Travel_Day_Dreams]

We really enjoyed the Chefs Table as an experience, but we'd choose the MDR as our regular Celebration night venue, the surroundings make the evening feel a little more sophisticated, particularly if you are lucky enough to snag a table by the window overlooking the stern in either Coral or Pearl.

[@CruiseMonkeys]

💯 agree but we had to try for research 😉

[@janemayhew1442]

Hi Luke & Gavin, Great video of Iona , didn't look too busy ,were queues a problem ? Food looked good ,has custard improved 😅😅 Looking forward to your excursion 😊

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Glad you enjoyed! Was full but didn’t feel too busy in all honesty 👍 Cruise custard is something else, makes school custard look and taste good!

[@janemayhew1442]

@@CruiseMonkeys yes it's such a shame the custard let's a good pudding down .

[@ErrolJ]

Did they run out or did you drink them dry? ;) Chef's table looked so good, a shame it didn't hit for you.

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Hahahaaha, we might have! Don't get us wrong, the food was very good indeed, just don't think the formal wear in such a relaxed setting worked to be honest.

[@lesleyhowells8966]

You 2 certainly get your monies worth. 😂, & are such fun. The Iona I found a little 2 big (16 or 17 floors). I dread to see what the new Icon of the Seas would be like. Not sure my sort of thing. Agree with you re Chefs table. Question : do you have to pay extra to eat in Golden Lion on QV? Thanks lads love your videos 😘

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Iona is on the large side! Yeah icon would be too big we think?! Food in the Golden Lion on Cunard is complimentary 😀

[@tarniaadams8428]

We think same about Chefs Table 😊

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Yeah, it seems to be the popular opinion 👍

[@tarniaadams8428]

My other half loves Superdry 😊

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Great taste! 😉

[@cruisingfanatic]

Great video guys, up at 07.00 what time did you get to bed ?... did you get much sleep ?

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Thank you! You’ll see in next weeks how that plan goes 🤣

[@JennyBond-fl6sw]

Hi can I ask why you have lanyard?

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Because I loose cruise cards like they’re going out of fashion.

[@Uio3eva]

Great vid guys, you always make me wish I was on a cruise! 🎉 Was the menu exactly the same as the main dining rooms? We are thinking of booking the chefs table on Arvia, but if it’s exactly the same but in the buffet Idk if it’s worth it 😬

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Thank you! The menus may be similar but there’s usually a few differences as they try and make the chefs table a ‘better’ menu. The advantage is you select a time on booking, while the main dining rooms can get busy so the queue can take a while that night.

[@johnhenfrey5936]

Getting a bit excessive with the ads lads 😂 just short of 4 weeks to our next cruise, so looking forward to it. Wedding Anniversary this weekend, going to the Lake District for a couple of days.

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Ohhh KZbin places them as default, it does 8 over a 25 minute video, we actually remove half of them to try and reduce the amount our viewers get. It does take around 40 hours to make each video so we do rely on the ads which is why we don’t remove all of them. Have a fabulous anniversary weekend 🥳 🥂

[@johnhenfrey5936]

@@CruiseMonkeys thanks a lot it’s appreciated.

[@thegibsons2200]

Love u guys soo funny , hope to bump into you 1 time xx

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Thank you ☺️

[@beth68ann]

You both look very handsome, sorry I'm a week behind.

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Aww thank you! Hope you enjoy the next one 😀

[@mylittlechannel9530]

Oh the toy shop wasn’t there in June

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Ohhh wonder if it’s for the summer holidays? Bit of a pop up?

[@carmelshepherd6739]

Can I book on the ship in September?

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Book chefs table? Yes you can do it on the personaliser when dining opens.

[@carmelshepherd6739]

@@CruiseMonkeys thankyou for your reply 😊

[@garystocks9042]

Gav scrubs up well

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Thank you ☺️

[@jeroen2500]

Well you two look very fetching in your monkey suits 😆 I want to cruise with you guys and close the bars 🍸🍹 😂 Yet again a great fun video 👍

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Awwwww thank you ☺️ Glad you enjoyed it and maybe see you on a cruise one day 😊

[@jeroen2500]

Hope so 🙊@@CruiseMonkeys

[@lyndavey4392]

Were doing chef's Table in 2 weeks

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Enjoy! Food is good!

[@cherifurr3935]

You let a drink coupon go to waste???

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Yes 😭🤣

[@bosse1998]

You mean Captain's table?

[@CruiseMonkeys]

P&O call this the Chef’s Table, it a gala dinner they host in a section of the buffet that’s normally the Beach house.

[@terrilongden275]

Hi cruise monkeys. I'm back today off my norweigan fjords holiday. Its been amazing apart from i fell on overly wet stairs going from 17 to 16 to get to infinity pool and I'm now black and blue. We did indeed do chefs table. I had the shrimp which I didn't really rate it was a bit flavourless. But then I had beef Wellington which was spot on. Then a chocolate tear drop thing lol. However its not filling and most people including myself headed straight to the buffet after.For all new cruisers like me. You won't be disappointed. Lovely food. The four main dining rooms have the same menu for anyone going that is slightly tweaked daily The buffets are brilliant I didn't find repetitive at all. Then taste 360 came in handy to while round the indoor pool. I highly recommend booking stuff to do in norway. We did langhoss waterfall. Kayaking and the troll car. So glad I booked these. Fantastic cruise. Most people are ace apart from some who I can only describe as stuck up their own arse. Staff are wonderful hardworking people. Anyway I've wrote this before watching so I'm going to watch this video while on the coach home. Oh...we are also booking another cruise ha x😮 that's the stairs I fell down next to the little splash area exactly where your sat.

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Awwwww no, hope you are recovering ok? Other than the fall, it sounds like you had a fab time, the booking another cruise speaks for itself! We found the food very good too, for us the Chefs table didn’t have the special feel you get from a MDR or speciality restaurant but we had to give it a go in the interest of research 🧐 You always get some people on the cruise, we tend to avoid them as much as possible hahahaha! Have a safe trip home! 😀

[@terrilongden275]

@@CruiseMonkeys yes well it's quite uncomfortable being sat on my sore bum on this coach, but I'm managing, ha. I do believe other speciality dining is more appealing. However, I only tried it because it was my first cruise and didn't want to miss a thing. And yes, the main dining rooms on iona were better than the chefs table. I probably wouldn't do it again on p and o, but I would try if doing another company. I've actually been looking at other companies, but it seems p and o win hands down on price. It's 2000 more for the same holiday if we go with RC. So maybe when the kids grow up, I could afford a different one, lol. Xx

[@CruiseMonkeys]

@terrilongden275 awww, you’ll be glad to get off it then! Hope you make a speedy recovery! Oh yes, you have to try everything you can, exactly what we try and do which is why we try so many of the special restaurants on cruises, fortunate this was our second visit so could try other things! P&O are extremely good value - it’s why we have cruised with them so much. For the price, you can’t go wrong. You can pay more for other ships, things may be better on them (we loved RC Anthem of the seas) but sometimes they are so much more expensive you have to weigh up the compromise between that and price - 2k is a lot… another cruise… you could justify it as 2 for 1 😉🤣

[@Lorna.R]

We noticed the glasses had not been cleared. 😢

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Yeah, it was no big issue really, but little things like that just don’t help with the atmosphere they want to create, loosing its special feeling! Was still a tasty meal 😋

[@lyn3078]

Chefs table dissappointing about the lack of glasses removal

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Yeah, it didn’t feel a great experience- thankfully the food was good 😋

[@paulorourke4315]

Lego titanic 🤣🤣

[@CruiseMonkeys]

He wants one, but not paying £600 they want in the Lego shop in Southampton 😂

[@StrykerMaguire205]

cheers you make me not want to drink lol

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Lol

[@nicolashankaradasan5470]

Hi cruise monkeys nice video

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Hi 👋 Awww thank you!

[@AndyThompson-f5d]

Gav - please stop saying ‘room’ ! - it’s your cabin !!

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Hehe 🤣 can’t promise but will try 😉

[@CruiseMonkeys]

Oh don’t confuse me now 🤣