P&O Iona Cruises Norwegian Fjords experience Southampton to Norway

This is our day 1, from checking in to boarding was smooth sailing and then immediately exploring around the cruise ship.

Our second day, the celebration night or gala night. Formal attire and fine dining. Loads of activities around the ship that night from shows at headliners theatre to family disco and party at the Club House and the fine dinings, etc. 

Our third day, first stop at Stavanger. What an experience. I can't detail everything but it's our first time to book a taxi abroad and explore the place on our own. 

Fourth day, second stop. Olden is so beautiful. The scenery from the moment the ship entered the place and around the port. It's lovely. Really breathtaking. 

Fifth day, Hellesylt. This is a small place but you are going to love it because it's so peaceful and the waterfalls is literally just in front of you. 

Sixth day, we were meant to stop at Haugesund but due to bad weather, it was cancelled. The captain of the ship tried to find a nearby area that we can dock and explore but it was all the same, so we had to sail back. The crew made an extra effort to entertain us and made the most of it whilst on board for the day. So there's basketball tournament for crew vs passenger, table tennis tournament, kids can go to The Reef and have fun with out kids. There are two age brackets, the 5-8 and 9-12 years old, karaoke open mic, vocal coaching, juggling lessons, etc. 

 The 7th day, is all about food. We've explored as much restaurant and foods as we can. Obviously, had to pack our staff and we even did sa laundry on board. And that concluded our first cruise ship experience. 

Southampton Ice Skate experience

Ice Skating Fun in West Quay

After going to church this Sunday, our family went to Southampton to have fun and guess what we did, Ice Skating. Mind you, we don't know how to skate how much more skating on ice. We grew up in a country where there's no snow and definitely no ice skating rink. But, no matter what the odds, we still went ahead.

First obstacle was getting a ticket, the day before we already went and check. But, we did not manage to get a slot because it was sold out that day. So, what we did was book online. Again, even booking online was difficult. Seems like everyone wants to go skating. We got the 2:30 PM session. No penguins available when we booked online.

Now going to Southampton was traffic that day and it was really horrendous. We opted to park in IKEA because it seems like everyone was parking in West Quay. But, even there, it was jam pack too. Straight away, we went to the ticket booth and showed our booking confirmation online. It was straight-forward. They will just give you token and direct you where to go or what to do. We enquired if there were penguins available and the lady at the ticket booth said there were two available. So we took those.

Went inside and there are bench and lockers plus loads of friendly staff to assist us. Again straightforward, shoes off and hand it to the staff and asking what for your shoe size. Then, they will give you your ice skates. You can ask for helmet and wrist support/guard, and it's free. We noticed that all the staff are jolly and you know that they really love what they're doing.

We waited for about 5 mins or so because they were cleaning the skating rink and making sure that it's good to go. Then, queue started to buildup and the excitement as well from the room was just going higher and higher. And, when they announced that the skating rink was open, every was just too keen to go.

Coming in was really difficult because apart from lots of people on queue and getting penguins, the ice was really slippery. After we got our penguins, we were just moving slowly and holding on the sides. We managed to go around counter-clockwise, following everyone. There were lots of people who fell and bump their bums on the ice but staff were there ready to help and also most of the people were helpful to assist each other. It was generally fun. Just be mindful because there were loads of people and kids, so you don't cause accident or if you are looking after a couple of kids or more, keep an eye always because there are really loads of people. The music was also added attraction. It makes it more energised and fun to skate.


I thought that we were only gonna go for one round and that's it but we managed to go about 4 or 5 rounds. It was tiring though because most of the time, I was holding on the rails and looking after my little boy. So, after the session was finished, we headed back and return the penguins and the skates. We were really exhausted and hungry. But that's not a problem because there are lots of restaurant/fastfood nearby. We went to Five Guys. There was a queue but it was not that bad. The peanuts there was free and it taste nice, just be careful and mindful of allergies. The serving was big. Because we ordered little burger and I don't think it was little. The chips was also delicious. Hotdog was lovely as well and tons of choices for your drink. Also it's drink all you can.

That completed our Ice Skating experience.