We anticipated this Cruise with some trepidation, it being our first cruise with P & O, having only cruised with Celebrity and RCI before and read some derogatory remarks on Cruise Critic. We were very pleasantly surprised. Embarkation was very smooth, even though there was a fair delay due to passengers being unable to board at one stage due to the weather!
Our cabin was ready as soon as we boarded and was far better than anything we had experienced before with many nice touches including champagne! Our Steward, Ajmal, was a real joy and anticipated our every need. We really could not fault the service on the ship despite previous remarks - perhaps we were just lucky! Even the extremely rough crossing did not mar our holiday - although we were surprised at the amount of movement and noise experienced.
We dined in the Peninsular restaurant on 2nd sitting with a table for 8,two of our table mates were really nice guys, if it hadn't been for them we would have certainly asked to move, as the remaining 4 were stuffy, awkward & boring!We escaped as often as possible and tried alternative dining - Sindhu was fantastic and has totally spoilt us for our local Indian! The Italian was good but l7 was fully booked - our favourite for atmosphere was The Glass House. The shows were mixed, Headliners were good but new acts need to be introduced - Tom O'Conor was a waste of time. Always difficult to find a seat.
D403 - Superior Balcony cabin - mid ship. Very spacious with lots of storage space, 3 seat sofa, chair and coffee table as well as 2 televisions! Walk in wardrobe was ideal. Very comfortable bed.Balcony a good size with two reclining chairs and foot stools together with a small table. This could be a problem when sunbathing as it is completely open to the decks above, so no privacy whatsoever. Worth the extra money for the size, bath as well as a shower and other touches i.e. Orchids, fresias, champagne, chocolates, magazines and fruit bowl. Very quiet with easy access to stairs and lifts.