We arrived early in Barcelona and were kept waiting at the airport for our transfer to ship. However, when we got there we were dealt with quickly and efficiently. We were boarded and in the Garden Cafe having lunch at 11.45am!
The ship is immaculate and very tidy and the staff were very hardworking and generally polite.
There was a little bit of frostiness from a member of the reception team, when I arrived at reception to request a waiver form to sign as I wished to pay my own tips as opposed to having my shipboard account debited daily. The premium is $10.00 per person per day. There were 4 people in our cabin and I found this to be excessive, meaning that we were paying £25.00 per day in gratuities for housekeeping. Two passengers in my party were students, who were not able to afford this amount. I later learned of a number of other guests who were unhappy with this charge.