We arrived at Circular Quay by train. 37 minutes later we were on board. The checkin and Customs were quick and painless. We were greeted our cabin steward Michael who told us everything we needed to know. The cabin was one of the new Panarama Cabins at the front of the ship. The window is from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. This was great during sail-ins as we had a great view. The shower in the cabin was set at a very low water pressure which could not be adjusted. What this meant was the a shower took much longer than normal, and soap on the floor would not flow down the drain unless you held he shower head very low. This made the shower floor very slippery and dangerous.

We chose my time dining which worked OK for the two of us, but seemed to be difficult for them if there was more in our party. I was traveling with my brother and his wife and when we asked for four places willing to share there was always a bit of a wait. One night there were 6 in our party and we had to wait over 40 minutes.

Deck 5 is for My Time Dining. Decks 3 & 4 are for fixed times. But, while Deck 5 are turning people away and making them wait there are many tables at the lower decks empty. Read more