Day 4 – Tuesday (Olden)

Olden is a small village, situated at the southern end of one branch of the Nordfjord and at the entrance to the stunning Oldedalen Valley. The sail in, early in the morning (7 am) was one of the highlights of the cruise for me. The mountain scenery, as the sun rose and thick bands of mist undulated across the fjord as we approached, was stunning and phenomenally peaceful.

We had a leisurely start to the day as we had pre booked a trip on the Loen Skylift to the summit of Mount Hoven. The port is tiny and there was actually no need for us to have prebooked this trip, as we could have done so at the kiosk as we got off the ship. A shuttle bus ride from the port to Loen (included in the ticket price) and then onto a cable car, travelling at no more than 7 metres/second. It takes 5 minutes to travel up 1011 metres, at a gradient of 60 degrees, one of the steepest in the world (average gradients are 45 degrees). The 210-degree views from the stop were truly breath taking on this beautifully sunny day. There is a restaurant and café at the top and lots of walking trails, as well as a zip line and aerial walk ways secured by wires. For something even more extreme it was a good day for paragliding off the top!

The Skylift only opened in 2017 and has become a big attraction. The other main option as a shore excursion from Olden is a walk up the Briksdal Glacier, which I did on a previous cruise, many years ago.

Back at the ship, we had a light lunch in Horizons Restaurant – soup and bread, although we could have had the choice of a daily roast with all the trimmings, curry and casseroles, a pasta dish, several vegetarian/vegan options, pre-plated salads in small bowls, wraps, sandwiches or paninis, cold cuts and cheese and a beautifully presented array of pre-plated cakes, cold desserts, fresh fruit and cheese and biscuits. There was also always a hot British pudding (pear charlotte, steamed jam roly poly or bakewell tart with custard, even semolina and jam). There are similar lunchtime choices in the MDRs (but no roast) with an Express Lunch option comprising soup, a sandwich and dessert. As you might expect many items are geared to British tastes with favourites like Shepherds Pie, sausage and mash and Cornish pasties featuring on the weeks’ menu.

‘Iona’ is relocating to sail Canary Island itineraries over the winter and so today was her last visit to Olden for this year. The people of Olden are very fond of ‘Iona’ and wave her off each week. Apparently, they very respectfully waved flags after the Queen died and today we were treated to a musical send off, visible from the starboard side of the ship. There was a pianist, renditions of ‘Sailing’, ‘Rockin’ All Over the World’ and ‘Sweet Caroline’ played over a PA system and much waving of torches on mobile phones. All in all a nice moment celebrating international camaraderie.

This evening, we decided to try ‘Keel & Cow’ one of the specialty, extra cost restaurants and a gastopub concept new to P&O Cruises. Situated on deck 8, just forward of the shops and part of the Grand Atrium, it is open from 11.30am – 9.30 pm and can only be booked by the virtual queue system on ‘My Holiday App’. Despite being popular, especially in the evenings, we were able to book at table at the time we wanted. As its name suggests, it serves fish and meat dishes like The Steak Board (cuts of steak from 8oz fillet up to 32oz Tomahawk steaks (£32)) complete with chunky chips, battered onion rings and Portobello mushrooms, Beef Shin & Ale pie, Cumbrian sausages with bubble and squeak mash and haddock fish finger sandwiches. There are also vegetarian and vegan options. Some dishes are to share like the Baked Hampshire Tunworth Cheese starter (similar to Camembert), served with dipping bread and sweet date relish, but I think the stand out item on the menu is The Prime Minister, reputedly the best burger at sea – an 8oz beef patty with bacon, Isle of Wight blue cheese, tomato, lettuce, onion marmalade and roasted garlic mayonnaise in a salted bun served with skin on fries and Bloody Mary ketchup. It costs £8.50 and has been dubbed ‘the boss of all burgers’.

The menu offered a nice blend of dishes to suit all appetites, along with some sharing and individual portioned desserts as well (New York Cheesecake, Sticky Toffee Pudding (made with beef suet) and orchard fruit crumble and custard). As a result, it was the type of restaurant that you could eat at more than once but its location, right in the middle of the Grand Atrium and with people walking past the table to get to the forward cabins on the ship, spoilt the whole occasion for me. There were also guests using it as a general seating area.  

The same could also be said for The Glass House – in a similar position in the Grand Atrium, but on deck 7. An altogether larger space, this is Olly Smith’s signature wine bar and tapas restaurant, found on several P&O Cruises ships. Small and larger plates can be paired with wines, from a tapas menu designed by Spanish chef Jose Pizarro. In theory this restaurant should be open to serve small bites as well as more substantial lunch and dinner items, but has never actually been open since ‘Iona’ launched. Staff on board did not know when it would open. The same can also be said for the ‘Grab And Go Bar’ the self service station located by the Infinity Pool offering packaged sandwiches, fresh salads, yoghurts and pots of chopped fruit.