Having spent 180 nights on Royal Carribean and mainly P and O ships we were a little anxious at what to expect. When we embarked in Venice we were made to feel welcome by delightful friendly multinational staff. Arriving on board they had staff at every lift lobby to guide people. Even in the evening there was a nice young lady near the atrium with a big sign around her neck saying "Ask me anything". On board we were pleased to see that the layout of the ship was perfect for us. The crows nest observation area was enormous and was perfect for shows at night or lounging in the day. The aft area of the ship was tiered and had enormous areas for eating out from the buffet or using sun loungers. There were more eating venues on this ship than I have ever seen. I could pick up an early morning coffee from a 24 hr cafe at any time. The coffee was good enough to avoid paying extra for the costa type coffee.

I expected constant announcements about activities like royal carribean but they were kept to a minimum.

The cruise itself was excellent with 10 med ports in 12 days. The ship left on time every day and arrived on time. Disembarkation at every port was slick even with tenders in Mykonos.