The Connect Package (£7.75 for 24 hours)

If you want to have your social media fix this connect package gives you access to social media services including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. It also includes WhatsApp for staying in touch with family and friends.

The Browse Package (£12.50 for 24 hours)

This package includes all that is in the connect package above but also includes internet browsing and email access such as Gmail and Outlook.

This is the package that we chose to purchase.

The Works (£24.95 for 24 hours)

This package provides all of the above, but also allows app downloads/updates, and streaming of You Tube, Spotify and Apple Music. Internet calling on Skype and FaceTime is also included in this package.

Once on board, just log on to the ship’s Wi-­Fi to get connected. Almost any device that can connect to Wi-­Fi can be used on board their ships. Make sure that the Wi-­Fi is turned on and then connect to the ship’s Wi-­Fi network, which should show up automatically.

P&O state that ‘It’s worth bearing in mind that satellite internet will be slower than browsing at home as the signals have to travel thousands of miles to reach the satellites in space. Weather and the ship’s position can also occasionally impact on the signal. We do our best to manage the connections, however speed will vary and intensive activities like streaming content may not work at all times or may be excluded from certain plans’.

We found that the WiFi connection on board Iona at this time was the worst we had every experienced on a cruise ship.

We are a bit confused on why P&O have launched a brand new ship that doesn’t have the best technology available. When you compare this to MSC, Royal Caribbean and Princess of which we have all experienced in the last 3 months then this is definitely the worse.

The connection would come and go, which was extremely frustrating. We tried all sorts, different parts of the ship, but it still would not constantly work.

We are hoping that P&O take on board the feedback we have given and the majority of passengers who we spoke to who were also frustrated with the WiFi and that they make some improvements for the future.

It will be interesting to see if it does improve as we are back on Iona in January. For now though we advise you not to waste your money and stick to using your data or free WiFi at a cafe on your port days.