Well,we arrived home last night from Barcelona after a superb cruise!As first time cruisers with two children and two grandparents celebrating two "big" birthdays we had high expectations. Starting from the beginning -we flew into Barcelona & stayed the night at Gran Hotel Torre Catalunya which was great,clean modern rooms,fabulous bathrooms and a wonderful breakfast. We were so keen to get on the ship that we took two taxis at 10:45 straight to the dock and got on quickly & smoothly .That said -there were many many people waiting to embark so obviously lots of people have the same idea.We were staying in an owners suite and the grandparents next door in a grand suite so we were quickly escorted on board oohing and aahing all the while over the size of the VOS!She was in brilliant shape from the outside ,white and gleaming with not a mark on her. We sat to catch our breath when we reached the Windjammer for lunch and were delighted by the quality of service that we received from the staff.This set the scene for the whole week.Everyone we met was wonderfully friendly,polite ,attentive and yet not intrusive.We ate in La Boheme -we have to commend our two waiters -Omar & Alex who looked after us perfectly and delighted our children with their marvellous care! OUr suite was fantastic ,the bed so comfortable ,immaculately clean & being fussy in this department was the first time ever that I could say that I wasn't happy to return to my own bed last night!!

The excursions were wonderful , we especially enjoyed Capri ,Nice,Monaco and Palermo-one thing though.If you're in first sitting make sure your excursion returns early enough as we learned the hard way on formal night when we returned to the ship at 7:10 & should have been at dinner at 7pm!!!The concierge club was fantastic with its canapes and complimentary drinks and though small ,we never had too much trouble finding a seat.In fact it was a plus as we had to share with others through which we met some lovely ,friendly people which wa a real highlight.EVERYONE we spoke to was very keen to share their experiences-it really was delightful

Prior to the trip we had read the mixed reviews about the ship with trepidation .Many people has commented on how shabby the VOS was as an older vessel.How relieved we were to see what great shape she was in!Her carpets were new ,the beds & linens were new-we saw no sign whatsoever of wear & tear and we would go back in an instant.WE had a fabulous holiday,on a wonderful ship with wonderful crew !