This was a great cruise from the very start. We had arranged to park at Southampton Docks and this was very organised with plenty of direction. We had a short walk to the terminal, luggage trolleys were available if required, and were booked in very smoothly and quickly. Before we knew it we were on board and greeted at the entrance with smiles and directions. as it was lunch time we went straight to the Windjammer , where they had opened an extra seating area to accommodate the fact that a lot of people were arriving at once. We were still eating when it was announced that the staterooms were ready for occupancy so on finishing our meal we made our way to out room. We had booked an outside stateroom without a balcony, the room wasn't enormous but there was plenty of room for 2 of us and it was clean and comfortable. during the cruise the cabin attendant kept us clean and tidy, she was friendly and helpful at all times.
We ate all out evening meals in the restaurant where we had booked in under the "My Time" dining programme. We elected for a shared table each evening and any queues were quickly dealt with and we had the advantage of meeting some very interesting people over dinner each day. All our other meals were taken in the Windjammer. In both locations the food was always of a high standard with plenty of choice. Everything was clean and fresh and the staff couldn't have been more helpful.
We took very little part in any daytime activities as we were either on shore exploring or relaxing on a sunbed, but other people we spoke to had thoroughly enjoyed the numerous activities available. The Compass arrived in our room each evening with a timetable for the following day including arrival and departure times from destinations so we always knew exactly what was going on.
Our cabin was in the bow of the ship just below the bridge with a reasonable sized porthole to look out of. It was small but big enough for 2 and we didn't spend that long in there anyway. CathyAnne our room attendant was fantastic, fastidious and friendly. She looked after us extremely well. The bed and pillows (which I always have trouble with) were very comfortable and the shower was hot at all times.