On our first trip with P&O, back in February 2024 on Iona to the Canaries from Southampton, it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

You’re always hopeful that your cruise or vacation will go without a hitch, but what about when things don’t quite go to plan?

We were looking forward to some warmer weather and had swimwear packed, ready to enjoy the splashpad and hot tubs. We’d finally managed to crack potty training and so it was nice to get access to the pools. Most cruise lines don’t allow children in nappies in swimming pools, plus often some splash areas are also out of bounds too.

We loved the splash area Iona offers and we spent a lot of time there as a family as we reached the warmer climates of the Canaries.

During the cruise and a gorgeous sea day was my birthday, we had Sindhu booked as a treat and were looking to spend the afternoon at the splashpad beforehand. However whilst at the splashpad, Warren had been playing with a car on the low level wooden seating around the splashpad, we didn’t think anything of it, as seemed pretty harmless.

However in the next few minutes we noticed Warren holding his hand over one of the water jets and looking at his hand. We took a bit of a closer look and, Warren had managed to get several very large splinters in his hand which were buried quite deeply.

I ran back to the room to see what I had brought with us, having previously heard a calpol syringe can sometimes be used to remove splinters and also can be a much nicer procedure for littles than forcibly removing them with tweezers or needle.

Sadly the splinters were really deep in his hand and it was already looking very sore and swollen. I had no luck at all in removing the splinters using the calpol syringe so we headed back to the room to see what else we could try.

We bring an inflatable bath with us, which fits neatly in the bottom of the shower, these are technically for babies but Warrens never been a fan of a shower so we find it quite nice for him to have a bath whilst in the room, even if he barely fits in it these days. We filled the bath with warm water, hoping this would help ease the splinters out but unfortunately no luck.

So we called guest services who referred us to the medical centre, we’ve been dreading the medical centre as we’ve heard some horror stories of just how much even getting a dressing can cost. Yes we have medical insurance and should be covered, but this isn’t always the easiest process in claiming things back.

Whilst waiting in the medical centre, my husband was advised to speak to the maintenance and health and safety team onboard as Warren was injured in the toddlers area. The crew reviewed the CCTV footage in the area and could see just where Warren had previously been playing. They inspected the area and could see the seating had been left in quite poor condition and definitely needed attention.

As P&O accepted that the splinters were due to the maintenance in the area, which definitely shouldn’t have been the case given this is an area for toddlers and younger children, they agreed to comp the treatment from the medical centre.

Firstly, we were really surprised just how big the medical centre was, how many treatment rooms and wards they had onboard. The staff we met from those at reception to the doctors and nurses who looked after Warren were superb, working with toddlers is never easy. The splinters were very deep under the skin and they proved very tricky for the team to remove. Warren wasn’t the easiest patient, but I also can’t blame him as it’s a pretty scary thing overall for a toddler to go through.

The team used toys and all sorts of distractions to help with the situation, we really can’t thanks the team enough for the care they showed Warren during what was a really stressful time for all involved.

The maintenance team closed the splashpad for a few hours, whilst they took to correcting the issue and overlooking the rest of the area. Which was definitely good to see just how quick they jumped on to resolve the situation.

Once back at our room, we decided to have a more chilled night than planned and opted for dining in our room in front of the TV, with some food from the buffet. I think at this point we all needed to wind down a bit.

A few days later during the cruise, we came back to our cabin to find a bag with some goodies for Warren, including a teddy and some toys from the gift shop plus a card making sure he was OK.

When home I emailed the team to thank them for what they’d done in resolving what was probably the most stressful time we’ve had at sea, especially for what should have been a lovely relaxing birthday day and meal. We later received another teddy and few gifts from the team to our home, plus we also received some onboard spend on our next trip, which we were definitely not expecting.

It was great to see just how equipped the team are onboard in the medical centre and definitely puts me at ease for future sailings, should we ever need to visit again. But i’m most certainly hoping that isn’t the case.

Next time you’re on board and you see something that isn’t right and can be resolved by the maintenance team, be sure to report it.