We were treated to this cruise by my parents to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. We travelled with them, my brother and his partner, my niece and her 2 yr old son- so 8 of us in total of varying ages and abilities! My parents are in their 70's, The four of us in the next generation are in our 40's, my niece is 20 and her son 2 years old. Being from the north and south of the country we all met up just outside Southampton on Friday lunchtime in order to drive to the port in a convoy of three cars. (This was not easy as there are many traffic lights in Southampton!) On arrival at the port gate 8 there was a slight build up of traffic but we were moving slowly. We couldn't believe the size of the ship when we first caught sight of it. We were so excited! Baggage drop off was smooth and as my mum has Parkinson's, and uses an electric scooter, I went with her on foot to the check in area whilst the others parked the cars. They joined us very quickly and we were soon through the necessary controls to check in. ( I had to be searched as I set off the bleeper thing- which always seems to happen to me at airports too!) Mum also had to be searched as her metal hip set off the bleeper! We all could check in through the disabled desk as we were a party with a disabled member which was good as the queue was not as long as some of the others. However we still had to wait 5 or 10 mins after check in for our card passes to be brought from elsewhere. Embarkation was then so easy and access was no problem for my mum. She rode straight up and onto the ship, up in the lift and into her stateroom with ease. There really is no problem for people with mobility problems. You can access all areas of the ship easily. We were handed a lovely cocktail as we entered the ship which was delicious. On Deck 9 We all separated to find our rooms. On the way I was trying to take in as much as possible! One of the first things I noticed was the artwork- this continued to impress me throughout the trip. There is a booklet in your rooms giving background information on this. Our balcony stateroom was better than I had expected. Plenty big enough for two with plenty of storage and a good sized balcony with two chairs and a small table. The bed was huge with top quality linens and was so soft and comfortable it was hard to leave it behind! The towels were very thick and soft but too small for me. I like a good sized bath SHEET and these were just tiny hand towels and a bath towel. The bathroom was small - only room for one- but perfectly adequate. The shower was powerful and hot and I liked that it had proper doors not a curtain-which I hate. Our room attendant came to see us after about 10 mins to introduce himself and explain the room etc. We had tea and coffee making in the room (which they've introduced for the brits I think) but when we went to make a coffee there was no milk and we were too anxious to get out and explore so we didn't bother to send for any( just brought a carton back from breakfast the next morning) We had a look at our family's rooms. My parents had a junior suite which was superb. About half as big again as our room. It had a lounger on the balcony in addition to the chairs and the balcony was wider. They had a super walk-in wardrobe and a bigger bathroom with a full bath(shower over). They had a chaise long type seat in addition to the settee and chairs. We had ordered flowers and a fruit basket for them before we left home. I did this on the internet and it did not allow for me to put in their room number so I had to have it delivered to ours. However it was waiting for us in our room as we arrived so I had our attendant take it round for them. He was pleased to do so and even reported back to us that they were really surprised.Nothing is too much trouble on this ship. My brothers room was the same as ours but a little cramped as there were three adults and a child in there. The Ship Well where do I start. My husband and I set off to explore the ship just as it left Southampton. I could not believe all the things I saw! And the atmosphere as we left port was electric. Bands playing, people dancing, waving flags, lined up looking over the side, cocktails, horn blowing.... The weather was superb and people were making the most of it on the sun loungers and in the pools.We managed to take in the pool deck before we had to get ready for dinner as we had booked the 6pm sitting. Im not sure about the sittings for dinner. I would have preferred to eat a little later as we were always rushing to get ready fro 6. If we had been on or own I think we would have taken a more flexible approach to dining rather than the set time but it was good to meet with the family and get together at meal times. The main restaurant was breathtakingly stunning. We ate in Macbeth which was the middle tier, I think, and we were near a window which was nice but it was far too tight for space around the table. My chair had to be pushed in by the waiter every night as it was too heavy for me to move!! I ended up feeling a little hemmed in. The waiting staff were excellent. Well trained, friendly and 'no' is just not in their vocabulary! You can ask for whatever and it will be done! After the first night our waiter, Candice ,knew every one of our preferences and looked after us so well. The menus were varied and there was something to suit everyone. I could not fault the food. It was perfect for me as it was small portions. If you have a bigger appetite you can just ask for more! A member of our party celebrated her birthday on the Saturday night and they brought her a birthday cake and sang to her round the table. It was a nice touch. The after dinner shows were of a high standard. My favorite being the Strings Ice Show. Top quality skating. It got a standing ovation. My little nephew couldn't take his eyes of the skaters despite being way past his bedtime! The sports activities were great. We tried the ice skating(the boots hurt), the crazy golf(well planned and set out), the rock climbing wall ( hard work), the flow rider (very difficult but fun),the table tennis( kept losing the balls), the jogging track (5 times round = 1 mile), the gym ( loads of equipment). We tried the cantilever whirlpools. Lovely but my only complaint was there are no suitable changing cubicles. I don't like getting changed in the toilets and it was a long way back to my stateroom. You can use the gym changing area but its not private. On the topic of toilets, my niece had trouble when needing to change her little boys nappy as there are NO baby changing facilities anywhere. You Have to go back to your room. This is usually a long way from where you are! My Dad took his grandson to the play activities for 19-36 months. He said the staff didn't do anything with the children - you had to entertain them yourself. We didn't use the ships excursions as my brother had booked us a private mini bus tour before we left. The driver was great. He took us to Blarney Castle( where we kissed the famous stone) the on for sunday lunch at a great Irish pub called Blairs Inn. Highly recommended. Then a quick tour around Cork city and back to Cobh port. One word of warning- allow plenty of time back to the ship especially if you are sailing that day. There was a build up of traffic going back into Cobh( apparently locals going to see the ship leave port) and it took us ages to get back to the ship! Our highlight has got to be leaving Cobh on the Sunday night. It was formal night so we were all dressed up on deck. Thousands of people had lined the town, piers, streets etc. There was a band playing on the quay side and as we set sail there were cheers and whistles,ships horn blowing etc. It was quite emotional. We liked the Olive or twist bar with its live music and dancing. We went there most nights after the show. But there are many more to try. We only had four nights and couldn't possibly cram everything in. We did our best though! One thing I must say is that if you are not used to cruising you WILL feel the ship moving. I don't think the sea was that choppy but I felt a lot of swaying and at times it was making me quite dizzy. Back at Southampton disembarking was so easy and we collected our luggage and back in the car in about 15 mins.
All in all it was an amazing experience.I would definitely do it again. Just have to start saving now as we will have to pay for the next one ourselves!!