Wait, I gotta take a pic first

The Buffet

The fruit tart, gotta be top 5 desserts.

Ah, the free buffet. There was quite a lot of choice, never really ran out of options during our 1 week stay. As for the quality, well, it was buffet food, it was fine. We didn’t eat our main meals here though, kind of a waste when there’s better food for free all over the ship. It also got really packed during meal times and this room seemed to attract the rudest people, it was like a zoo in there.

I was pleasantly surprised at all the dietary alternatives that were available. I have never seen lactose-free milk offered before.
The refrigerated table was neat but I did have to take a fork and hack at the carton because they were often frozen stuck.

Woo, holidays

We were constantly passing through to steal a quick snack because it was near our rooms.

The Quays

This was a free cafeteria room serving fast-food (pizzas, Asian, burgers etc.)
We only tried the fish and chips but it was actually really good.

They also serve breakfast here which we found to be a lot less crowded than the buffet room in the mornings #protip

Kawaiii

The Olive Grove

The free “Mediterranean-inspired” restaurant.
Their entrance is found in the same hall as The Quays, which is where we were initially headed when we first arrived as we were told the buffet room would be really crowded during boarding hours #protip

The entrance was kinda hidden in the corner and it didn’t seem like anyone else had noticed so we were the first customers of their trip. Lucky timing too, I heard it can be hard to get a table during the rest of the week as they don’t take pre-boarding bookings.

For a “free” restaurant, this was one of the better meals.

It felt so wrong to just… get up and leave when we were done eating.

The Keel & Cow

The gastropub restaurant for an additional fee.
Me and my mum got the “best burger on the sea” burger while my dad got a steak. It’s the only burger I’ve tried on the sea but it was pretty good.

Dunno if it was “pay extra on top of the cruise ticket” good though.

Ripples

“Haha, that’s not all for you, is it?” - a fellow passerger remarked
It was, in fact, all for me. Turns out my parents didn’t want any…

The Beach House

Another paid restaurant, this time South-American and Carribean-inspired.

It was eh.

Dessert was nice though.

Epicurean

håper det smaker

The not-free fine-dining restaurant at the top of the ship.

Crispy chicken skin

At an extra £35 cover charge per person, it was also the most expensive restaurant on the ship whereas most speciality restaurants were around £10 pp. We pre-booked most of these before boarding which gives an extra discount but we didn’t need to as the speciality restaurants were mostly empty. Luckily, the credits bundled in with our travel agent package covered for pretty much everything.

Pickled beets
These beets are from a small village named Brimse and prepared using a traditional Norwegian cooking method of pickling, giving a vinegary punch.

Naturally, the waiters gave us more attention here than in the other restaurants.
When I mentioned I didn’t feel like any of the drinks on the menu, our waiter, who overheard us, walked up and offered to bring me a menu from the nearby bar room instead and to collect it on my behalf. That’s when I discovered my love for anything with grenadine in it.

Fillet of lightly smoked mountain trout
Locally reared in Sirdalen valley, this brown trout exudes the traditions of Norwegian cuisine with the classic combination of fresh cucumber and rich horseradish.

We went on the Norwegian-taster day, featuring a 6-course menu designed by Kjartan Skjelde, a Norwegian celebrity chef.

Fillet of Jæren coastal lamb
This succulent lamb gets its unique taste from the salty soil in Jæren, and its flavours marry perfectly with the powerful potato cream mayonnaise

Cream cheese ice cream

White chocolate espuma and cloudberry sorbet
Cloudberries can be fairly tart when eaten raw, but these amber-coloured, raspberry-like fruits are deliciously juicy with a hint of floral sweetness.

Espuma (foam) has gotta be my least-favourite food trend but the cloudberries were really nice, don’t see those in the UK.

Caramel and forest mushroom fudge

Nice view from up here.

Coffee

It was pretty good.

The Limelight Club

Dinner with a show (for an extra cover charge).

Pine Nut Tapenade Crusted Lamb Rack

Service was really slow here. We didn’t get the main course until an hour and 40 minutes after we arrived. And the food wasn’t any better than the free meals from the main dining room. I wonder if something was up with their kitchen that day because it seemed like everything was getting carted in from elsewhere.

Tonight’s guest: Alice Fearn

The show was scheduled for 7:30 but she didn’t start the main act till 9pm.

Dark and White Chocolate Mascarpone Bombas

[Insert another but the dessert was good though]

Main Dining Room

The free food that isn’t the buffet.

We really didn’t eat here that often but we probably will if we were ever sailing on this ship again now that we’ve tried most of the speciality restaurants.

The presentation didn’t have as much attention put into it here and there were notably far fewer waiters per table but the food was more than fine.

They recreated the spinach rolls from Runescape!

Soup

The portions were kinda small here so we were often still hungry after. It didn’t occur to us until the last day that we could’ve ordered more dishes since it was all free anyway.

The 👏 desserts 👏 were 👏 good 👏 though 👏

We only had breakfast here once because we rarely woke up early enough.

Wow~ I’ve never had eggs benedict before~

They’re okay.

Celebration Night

Dressed Devonshire Crab and Scallop Ceviche

The one night where you had to wear a suit to dinner. Definitely saw a lot of black running shoes in there though.

Smoked Duck Breast with a Crushed Hazelnut and Herb Crouton

Featuring a menu designed by celebrity chef, Marco Pierre White, AKA the guy who made junior Gordon Ramsay cry in one of his TV episodes. Gordon got his revenge by becoming the more famous of the two.

Beef Tenderloin with a Wild Mushroom Crust

Pretty good for a free meal.

Apple Tarte Tatin, Biscuit Glace, and a Pistachio and Orange Gâteau Opéra

👏 👏 👏

ඞඞඞඞ

There’s supposed to be free sandwiches here out on the deck but they stopped after 2020. Did something happen that year?

Marco Pierre White and Shivi Ramoutar

Gochisousama!

Also: What else was on the P&O Iona?
Up next: Our first stop, Alesund & Trollstigen (soon)