If you’re planning a cruise on P&O’s Iona you may be considering booking an inside cabin.
I’ve recently disembarked a 7-night cruise onboard Iona where I stayed in an inside cabin and in this post we will look at the cabin layout, bathroom, storage, beds, and general comfort of the room.
Which Cabin Did I Stay in?
I booked what is called a guaranteed inside cabin, this means that we picked the cabin’s grade but not the specific location. Not picking a specific location is usually a good way to save money.
Our cabin was assigned to us a little over a week before the cruise.
We were assigned cabin 11,115.
Our cabin was located right at the front of the ship. We were the further inside cabin available on deck 11.
Iona has some inside cabins which are a standard rectangle shape and some which are a square shape. The general style and amenities in both styles are the same. We stayed in a standard rectangular cabin.
Was The Location Okay?
We didn’t have any problems with having our cabin at the far front of the ship.
Many people say that if you get seasick you should avoid booking a cabin at one end as the movement is felt here more, I do get seasick when I cruise but to me, the price saving of not picking the location outweighs any risk of me feeling seasick.
I don’t go on cruises assuming that I will be seasick but if we do get caught in a storm it may happen, to deal with this I’ve learnt many ways to prevent and treat seasickness.
To find out more check out this post: 13 Actionable Tips to Prevent and Treat Seasickness on a Cruise.
I didn’t experience any seasickness on our Iona cruise and we very rarely felt the movement of the ship.
Iona is a big ship so the walk from one end of the ship was quite a long way, Iona is over 300 metres long. That never bothered us though and really I feel as though a few extra steps on a cruise is no bad thing!
What Were Our First Impressions of The Cabin?
When we first found our cabin we were met by our cabin steward who introduced herself to us. She explained that the cabin would only be cleaned once per day as opposed to the usual two per day that P&O used to offer.
This worked well and the cabin was always spotlessly clean.
The footprint of the cabins is pretty standard with two beds at the far end and a bathroom to the left of the cabin. I personally really liked the design of the cabin, but this is a personal preference.
What Was in Our Inside Cabin?
The amenities in the cabin are fairly standard when it comes to inside cabins. The majority of the room is taken up by the beds and desk area with storage cleverly organised around the room.
- Two twin beds (which can be converted to a queen sized bed)
- A desk and chair
- Bedside tables
- A TV with storage underneath
- A kettle
- A wardrobe
- Further storage
- Safe
- Fridge
How Big Was Our Inside Cabin?
Our inside cabin on Iona was 135 sq ft. The average inside cabin size is 167 sq ft so Iona’s are a little on the small side. The cabin didn’t feel small though and we had plenty of space for everything we needed.
To learn more about how big cabins usually are, and how they compare to hotel rooms, check out this post: How Do Cruise Ship Cabins Compare to Hotel Rooms?
How Was The Bathroom?
The bathroom was a fair size, I’ve stayed on cruise ships with bigger bathrooms, and with smaller bathrooms too. What I liked about the cabin was the way that it was designed, it felt spacious despite being small and there was lots of storage under the sink and on the shelves on the left.
The light around the mirror made the room feel bright and it was always spotlessly clean.
The only thing that I did find a little annoying was having the towels behind my head when sitting on the toilet, if that is the biggest problem a bathroom has though, that’s great!
There isn’t really any other space wall space to hang towels.
When you’re on a cruise if you would like fresh towels you leave your old towels in the bottom of the shower or on the floor, this signifies to the room steward that you’d like clean towels. If the towels are on the rail, it’s assumed that you’re happy to use them again.
The shower was a good size and very powerful. The shower head was quite high so I think the majority of people would be fine height wise in the shower.
There was also a few little storage areas for our toiletries which was nice.
The door to the shower opened both ways and didn’t seem to leak. Woohoo!
Which Toiletries Were in the Bathroom?
In the bathroom, there was a liquid soap on the side of the sink. In the shower, there was a shampoo and a body wash, both of which smelt AMAZING.
P&O uses the brand The White Company for all of their toiletries onboard.
If you’re taking a cruise and are curious about which toiletries a cruise line provides, check out this post which includes a searchable table: Do Cruises Provide Shampoo and Conditioner? – Cruise Line Guide
Were The Beds Comfortable?
The beds in our inside cabin were incredibly comfortable. The photo below was taken 5 days into our 7-night cruise but the pillows were always incredibly fluffy and high.
Personally, the pillows were a bit too fluffy for my liking, but again if that is the type of ‘problem’ you have on a cruise, things are pretty good!
By each bed, there was a USB under the light and a UK plug socket on the side walls.
In the middle, we had a couple of bedside tables (these would be on the other sides if the bed was made up as one bed). This was a great place to keep our chargers/pyjamas and to place a drink.
The beds were made up of a duvet/quilt inside a white cover.
Do P&O Have Kettles in Their Cabins?
P&O Cruises provide kettles in all of their cabins. The kettle is fairly large and is accompanied by at least two mugs. P&O also provide tea bags, milk and sugar as standard.
If you do drink another type of tea, chances are you’ll find what you are looking for in the buffet. I drink peppermint tea and usually bring a couple of teabags back to my cabin from the buffet so that I can make peppermint tea in my room.
Our kettle had a European plug socket which was good as it left the UK sockets available for us to use at all times.
How Many Plug Sockets are There on P&O’s Iona?
All cabins on P&O’s Iona have at least 4 UK plug sockets, 1 European plug socket and 2 USB sockets.
If you ever need to know which sockets are in a cabin, check out our searchable table here: Complete Cruise Ship Plug Socket Guide: Search by Ship
Did The Cabin Have a TV?
All cabins on P&O cruises have a TV, the size and age may vary depending on the age of the ship.
Our TV worked well during our cruise, we used it to watch the safety videos at the start of the cruise and also to watch movies during the cruise.
There were a number of movies available to watch at no extra cost. We did find that sometimes the movie would stick and buffer, but I imagine this was due to the bad weather that we were experiencing at the time.
The TV also had other features such as being able to check our onboard account and to find information about the restaurants onboard.
Most of the features that were available on the TV were also available on P&O’s app, so most of the time we did look at things on our phones instead of the TV.
Having the option to use the TV was appreciated though.
Under the TV was a phone which can be used to phone other areas on the ship. Any cabin can call another cabin, free of charge, by entering their cabin number.
Would I Recommend The Cabin?
I would definitely recommend an inside cabin if cruising on Iona. Infact, I’ve just booked another cruise on Iona and have booked and inside cabin again.
The cabin was clean, spacious and well designed. We were very comfortable in here for the week.
To learn more about my cruise, including my review of the ship, food and entertainment, check out this post next:
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