Embarkation: We departed from Venice. There was really no difficulty whatsoever. We arrived at the ship about 330 so our room was already ready for us and we went straight there. My wife immediately noted a strong smell of smoke. It was clearly worse in some parts of the ship than others. It's also worth noting that the world cruise disembarked right before us. Our cabin steward immediately addressed the smell in and around our room, and I don't really think I noticed the remainder of the cruise (at least around our cabin).
The ship itself is elegant and understated. I really liked the style and design and thought the size was perfect. The gym was a little on the small side and poorly ventilated but had excellent equipment. Spa was very nice as were the staff there.
There was a fair amount of vibration. We were all the way forward on the port side so that may have had something to do with it. It did interfere with my sleep a little bit, but I was able to eventually get used to it. To quantify the amount, you could clearly see ripples in a glass of water sitting on a table almost constantly.
Ample storage space. Did feel some vibration when cruising at top speed. Generally very quite. Cabin is right next to the bridge. Balcony view is very good but bridge observation deck can view into your balcony. Elevators and stairs are very close by. All in all an excellent cabin and location.