This was our second P & O cruise. The first, on Ardonia, was excellent. This was not so good, although I was affected by a shipboard-caught minor bug, which does colour one's view somewhat. I will seek to make allowance for that. It is a risk wherever there are large numbers of people in close proximity. Because this was a positioning voyage, P & O organized a coach shuttle from Bournemouth Airport, to which we returned after the end of the cruise. Our car, which had brought us from our home in France, stayed, prebooked, in Bournemouth Airport carpark. The shuttle was well arranged without too much waiting around for latecomers. Although our ticket stipulated embarcation time of 2p.m. the shuttle bus arrival slot was 11.20 and we simply joined the embarcation queue in accordance with the letter given to us on arrival at the terminal. Because we booked quite late at some sort of saver price, we were allocated a guaranteed balcony. In the event,this was the very last balcony cabin on the port side of deck 9. It was adequate, although I challenge the shower room to be any smaller yet useable. But it all worked. Our room steward was pleasant, efficient and looked after us well. Dining was also allocated to us on board, and we were given freedom dining. In the event we didn't much like this. It is not freedom dining - it is dining when there is a table available and when that table has been filled. We were given a pager. After about twenty minutes it went off in a shower of flashing lights and this was handy because we could show it on our way through the queue of people waiing for a table, without seeming to barge the queue. When the other two couples had responded to their pagers, the table was ready to be served with one of Mr White's special meals. Which wasn't really very special, and was not as well prepared as the identical menu on Adonia. So after that we tried the Plaza self service restaurant for the rest of the voyage and found this on the whole very satisfactory. Some of the food was really good.There were themed evenings, which were fun. Sometimes very busy, but a pleasant venue. The staff invariably courteous and helpful. As were all the P & O staff we encountered. We had no experience of the reception staff. During the voyage through the Bay of Biscay and into the mediterranean the ship's entertainment was of mixed quality - some we found exceptional, some rather poor and quite a lot with a common theme of loud noise, mediocre band and lots of singing and dancing. A lot of singing of popular or show songs. Day after day. Only three lectures, interesting subjects but unfortunately very poorly presented. However, we had Annaliza Ching and her amazing ballistic violin, and Martin Vishnik the guitarist to delight us, plus a very fine illusionist, so some of the entertainment was worth 10 out of 10 or even more if we could have given it, and some was worth 2 out of ten. Or perhaps less. And I don't think one can complain about that. The ship itself I found rather confusing, and a bit bland. In particular, the library. For such a large ship it was clearly an afterthought - an add on. Small, with few seats quickly occupied by sleeping people. And not much of a book collection. The ports we visited were interesting and we tried but one P & O tour, a 'visit Lucca on your own', which meaned in effect that P & O provided a bus and a shepherd. It was about twice as much as public transport but it was convenient and no more than that. We would not try another.

Disembarcation at Genoa was well arranged. There were flights to various airports, and each was colour coded and timed. Our luggage was put outside our cabin the evening before and we next saw it on the carousel at Bournemouth. The flight was with Jet2, quite the most uncomfortable airline seats I have ever encountered but the important thing for us was that in the cockpit were two fully qualified captains - I checked the number of rings of their sleaves - and they flew the plane safely, climbing away from Genoa and the remains of the Costa Concordia suspended from its caissons in a remote corner of the container terminal. Which reminds one again that the one really vital thing is a competent reliable and efficient captain.