We are newcomers to cruising, although not to the use of ships as means of transport. With one short cruise on QM2 earlier in the year, we thought we would try a cruise during the darker months of the year. The Adonia cruise took our eye: Copenhagen, the Kiel Canal, Hamburg and Amsterdam, just before Xmas, with all the city lights, markets and celebrations to see. It was advertised s a Christmas Markets cruise....

We travelled from our home in Brittany to Portsmouth and then on to Southampton. Boarding the Adonia was straightforward. We had to wait in the huge port terminal for an hour, but that was due to the fact that we had arrived an hour earlier than that advised. But the procedure worked well, and embarkation was smooth. We had a last minute booking of a balcony, and found our cabin well up towards the bows. We liked this, because the bow wave broke just beneath us, and that was a lovely rythmic rushing sound, albeit later on it did get louder and louder and more dramatic as the seas rose. But if you book a cruise at this time of year in these latitudes you have got to expect the risk of storms.

Our cabin was kept scrupulously clean throughout. We saw little of our steward, but that entirely suited us and I suspect that he knew that. If one wanted more attentive service, without doubt one would get it. But full marks for steward service. On our previous QM2 cruise, for vrious reasons we opted for buffet dining, but that on the Adonia is a chancey affair because the buffet does not operate every evening. So we used the main dining room. We were at a table for eight - no choice allowed because of the nature of our booking contract, made entirely clear before we booked. We were tucked away in a corner somewhat but it made not one iota of difference: the food was good, plenty of choice, well presented and well prepared. The service by the senior waiter was perfectly adequate - my wife thought he was lovely -, and by his junior, exemplary. This waiter from the Indian subcontinent was the very best. It made a big difference. The eight of of us at the table, from disparate backgrounds but of similar ages, all agreed that the food was good and the service truly excellent. If there was a problem with, say, diet, he tried his utmost to solve it. So, 6 out of 5 for him. Read more