After being told not to arrive before 12 noon , our cab arrived at the port at 11.30, we then queqed to get into the port which ran up the cab fare from the airport next door to 40 dollars for 2 persons. After eventually joining the long queue to get on the ship, we finally boarded at 1.25 and went straight to the sanctuary. Very disappointing that it was already fully booked for the week, we were told to come each day before 8.00am and queue until the opening time of 8.30 to see if any loungers were available . To be honest we didnt want to spend our holiday waiting in line constantly so did not arrive until 9.00 each day, every time it was full. We did hear an employee advising customers who were staying on for the next cruise to book on tne morning of change over to guarantee them a space before any new guests arrived. I assume that is what happenned on our cruise ?
We stayed in a mini suite on deck 12. The room was nice, and so was the bathroom which was a very good size. The balcony was terrible, it was sooo small. Two chairs with foot rests that stored underneath . The footrests were impossible to use as there was not enough room to pull them out. The room lacked sockets which made charging phones etc difficult. Bed linen was good and bed was comfy unlike the pillows whiich gave us both neck ache. The room steward kept a very low profile, we only saw him in the evenings when we returned to our cabin around 10pm and had to wait for him to finish the turn down. Cleaning was not very thorough.
We ate on the anytime dining plan, food and service varied from great to poor, but more the lattter :( we tried to book the specialility restaurants but all were full . Each time we called room to try to book it took 15+ minutes for them to answer the phone. We ate lunch in the buffet restaurant which had a good choice and plenty of tables.