Day 3 – Monday (Stavanger)

We had already been warned by the Captain that there would be no ship’s announcements made whilst in port in Stavanger, due to our proximity to houses and by the time we had tied up at the port, it was obvious how much ‘Iona’ towered over Gamle Stavanger – the old town of small, white, wooden, clapboard style houses adjacent to the dock. As we were wanting to get off the ship early, we had a quick self-serve breakfast in Horizons Restaurant, which is absolutely huge, running all the way between the Infinity Pool (aft) and the SkyDome (mid ships). There is a vast array of seating configurations both inside and on deck, with at least 4 blocks of repeated food serving stations and we always managed to find a seat. Children’s Afternoon Tea is served at 5pm daily in an area of the restaurant, giving parents the option of utilising the Kids Club’s evening facilities so that they can dine by themselves later on. Horizons is not quite a 24/7 eatery – it does close for short periods of time during the day, to prepare for the next meal service. The evening buffet starts at 11pm with snacks and full meals, as well as Hot Chocolate and Horlicks.                              

The Beach House is a separate area of Horizons specialising in Caribbean and South American cuisine. It is one of the chargeable restaurants on board and available to book via ‘My Holiday App’. As it is only open in the evenings we were never actually able to book a table and eat there. Signature dishes include the beer can chicken sharing dish, hanging kebabs, lava rock ‘cook your own’ steaks and chocolate fondue.

We got off the ship and had a walk round Stavanger, with a passing nod to Silversea’s ‘Silver Moon’ which was perpendicularly parked close to ‘Iona’. There is a pretty pedestrianised area with funky bike parks and pastel painted wooden buildings, as well as the 173 white houses of Gamle Stavanger.

As Norway is 1 hour ahead of the UK timewise, we were able to get back on the ship and watch the Queen’s State Funeral on TV. There were various lounges on the ship showing the funeral, but we decided to watch in our cabin. Film and TV buffs could actually spend the entire week in their cabin surfing through the 15 TV and radio channels, which have over 350 films and TV series on offer. You could combine this with 24/7 Room Service (available for breakfast as well as nibbles, small plates and larger dishes throughout the day and night) which comes with a £2.50 delivery charge.

Post funeral we headed down to The Quays on deck 8 –billed as ‘Iona’s’ food hall and open for All Day Dining from 12 noon – 9.30pm.The area offers 3 street food type options: ‘Hook, Line & Vinegar’ (does what it says on the tin – fish and chips with optional sides like mushy peas, as well as more up market fish burgers, crab cakes, calamari and scampi), ‘ Boardwalk Diner’ (American style hot dogs, burgers and Southern fried chicken with skinny fries, beans and corn cob sides) and ‘Fusion’ (Asian dishes like katsu chicken curry, Malaysian spicy pork with peanut sauce (which I had) and Thai vegetable massaman curry, all served  with steamed rice).

As they are all next to each other, long queues can build up – when we were on board ‘Hook, Line & Vinegar’ was the most popular. There was a small selection of self-serve side salads and desserts available (mirroring offerings from Horizons) round the side from the food stalls. For those guests in the know – ‘The Boardwalk Diner’ serves a secret veggie burger and a (vegan) dairy free brioche bun. To me, portions seemed to vary in size:’ Hook, Line & Vinegar’ servings were small, ‘Fusion’ bowls more than adequate for a light lunch and ‘Boardwalk Diner’ plates were big. There is lots of seating both opposite the food hatches and al fresco, but with the main thoroughfare for the ship being right through the middle of this area, it often felt a bit cramped and over busy.

We went to the first evening showing of the acrobatic show ‘Rise’ which tells the story of the birth of a phoenix.

These productions are held in the 2-deck high SkyDome (decks 16 and 17) which is an indoor lounging area, with a swimming pool, bar and eateries by day and transforms to an entertainment space at night. The pool closes early and moving boards transforms it into a stage for performers. ‘Rise’ and ‘Triboo’ (which we saw on Friday night) are the two acrobatic productions currently on board. Get there early for the shows and sit either ‘upstairs’ (deck 17) or close to the stage/pool or your view of the aerial acrobatics will be seriously impeded! For a closer view of the moves, watch the acrobats practice in a roped off area of the Grand Atrium during the day. We also saw a trio of singers (The Voxens) perform in the SkyDome.

We opted for dinner in ‘The Olive Grove’ a quasi-specialty restaurant (open for lunch and dinner) with additional costs applied to a few items.

Although it was an entirely separate restaurant, I thought it was a bit bland when compared to other Italian/Mediterranean restaurants on cruise ships. Dishes included grazing boards and sharing platters, paella, lamb tagines, hanging beef koftas, lamb gyros and pizza. All were very good, albeit the restaurant was very busy and the service slow. We shared 2 of the Grazing Platters between us – Italian Antipasti and Mediterranean Trio and I followed up with Seafood, Chicken & Chorizo Paella.