This was a port intensive cruise with a good mix of nationalities from the Canada, Britain, Europe, Australia and the USA - for once we actually sympathised with our American friends as their flights to Singapore were much longer than ours.

Unfortunately the ship had had problems with Norovirus for some time, as earlier reviews confirm and, while the crew were trying to deal with it, it does impact on the cruise experience particularly in the buffet where everything has to be served. The other downside is the constant reminders to wash your hands and not to eat any dodgy food on shore. They are probably right though, having seen how many passengers seem to take no precautions on shore, but it does not help.

Luckily it did not affect us and there were many good things. Embarkation in Singapore was fine and disembarkation in Hong Kong excellent (Miami please learn a few lessons), the crew were friendly and the entertainment staff excellent - we could not remember when we had had such a choice of dance music in the early evening. The entertainment in the theatre was certainly varied, not all suited us - but that's fine. The real bonus was the lecturers; for once they were relevant to the itinerary - talking on Buddhism and our ports of call. The lecturer in Buddhism was first class - he really had people talking and at tour lunch stops, when we met other guests, conversation frequently turned to what he said. Read more