Shakedown – test, learn, improve and audit approved

This week saw Iona go through her much anticipated shakedown test cruise ahead of the maiden voyage on Saturday 7 August.  We hosted over 3,000 Guests, including Carnival House colleagues, our friends, family, brand ambassadors and travel agents over two nights where the ship was certainly put through her paces.

This was a huge job not only stress testing the operational elements of a brand new ship, but to also test the COVID-19 protocols we have in place. To do this and facilitate our return to service we have been working with Bureau Veritas to audit and verify health and wellbeing standards on board our ships. Having previously given Britannia the green light to sail again, they were back on board Iona to assess and verify all procedures and protocols to identify and manage COVID-19 related risks.

We’re pleased to announce that Iona passed her return to service audit so now we can look forward to her maiden voyage on Saturday.

Testing our on-board operations

Alongside our COVID-19 protocols audit, the purpose of a shakedown is to test the operational elements on board. For those of you who joined to help make this happen, you’ll know we have areas of improvement – identifying these is the exact reason the shakedown was organised; to test, learn, and improve.

From the feedback and interactions on board with both Guests and crew, we have clear sight of the key areas that need to be refined. Colleagues ship and shore are now working tirelessly to make changes to our on-board processes and technology to ensure we’re ready to create unforgettable holiday happiness for our Guests from Saturday.

Thank you to everyone who attended in helping us to test our brand new ship; It’s fantastic to see we have passed our return to service audit which wouldn’t have been possible with you all playing your part in following the protocols on board.

We also want to particularly recognise the incredible efforts of our colleagues on board Iona, many of whom have been away from our ships for a long time. Not only have you returned to a brand new ship, but to new processes, technology and working protocols too. You’ve been working incredibly hard with long hours, adapting your ways of working to overcome challenges – thank you all for all your efforts and your continued support. The same thanks goes to Britannia colleagues too – you’re creating unforgettable holiday happiness every single cruise and our high Holiday Happiness Survey (HHS) scores are testament to all your efforts.