My wife and I have always said that cruising is not for us. We like to do our own thing preferably avoiding crowds. We do not dance but enjoy dance music and watching others also enjoy good entertainment and food but not keen on dressing up. This cruise was a late decision and we really enjoyed it. Our cabin was perfect and if we could book the same or similar at the price we paid we would have no hesitation in cruising again. We had a bad start finding another couple with my name in our cabin but that was soon sorted since we had paid for a balcony and they had not. We felt guilty at their having to move but hope that they were able to enjoy the cruise as much as we did.

The chaos at Stockholm was a bad start and I would hope that this is sorted or the port changed for future visits to Sweden. Arrangements for waiting in separate lounges worked well on other stops. We only booked two excursions but used the shuttle twice and walked from the ship at others.The St Petersburg Explorer was ideal for us since we were able to explore at our own pace on our own. We enjoyed the Peterhof Palace and Hydrofoil but wish that we had not wasted time waiting for the fountains to be switched on at 11.00 am since that time could have been spent in the grounds and the fountains watched with less crowds later before catching the Hydrofoil back.

We were allocated late sitting in the Oriental restaurant which was very late for us but it did mean that we did not have to rush after a day ashore and also we could watch as we departed from ports. All the staff were pleasant and we shared a table with two lovely couples one Scottish the other from Yorkshire. Our cabin steward Roy was very helpful and kept our cabin clean and well stocked we hope that he is enjoying being back with his family in Goa.