Firstly, travel to and from the embarkation port was smooth (we organised our own arrangements with Con-X-ion). We arrived before our designated embarkation time and found ourselves boarding ahead of that time. Disembarkation was also quick and organised, and not as stressful as I thought it would be. It was much more pleasant waiting in the dining room for our number to be called rather than waiting outside in the heat. The bag collection was easy and there were not a whole lot of people crammed into one area like on our first cruise.

Secondly, the activities and entertainment was brilliant. I was very impressed with the diversity of groups they had on board, like church and a LGBT get together. I was also very excited when I saw Creativity@Sea (craft on sea days) as well as educational art lectures which I had never experienced on a cruise before. There was great diversity with the entertainment including comedians, dances, musicians, live music and mind reader Anthony Laye. The comedian Simon McKinney was hilarious and relatable – his humour was not crude and he made fun of everyday life experiences.

Some of the dance shows were stylised, however still very entertaining. One dance show had a UK theme - the lights, props, costumes and 60s/70s music made it unique and very clever. I expected to find music that would suit an older audience on board, however was pleasantly surprised to find various genres of music as well as the talented band Icon. They played both classics and modern pop music with their own twist on it. The entertainment was definitely one of the best parts of this cruise. Read more