My husband and I are in our mid 60's and have been on over 25 cruises so we would consider ourselves experienced cruisers. We were really looking forward to getting away for the busy Christmas period and not have to worry about anything. Checking in was a breeze- we caught a train from Engadine to Circular Quay and simply walked with our luggage to the ship. We arrived about 11am and were able to board almost immediately, although we weren't able to access our cabin until after 1pm.

The VOS was the largest ship we have ever been on, and we were not disappointed. Although it is a very large vessel we were not concerned nor worried about the number of people on board. Of course there were busy times, but we chose when we wanted to venture out- especially if the sales were on! Our cabin was on Deck 6- towards the back of the ship and we could not have been happier with its location. Having a balcony was wonderful. We also had the drinks package (PP) which was great for us as we enjoy the wining and dining experience. Our cabin attendant was hard working and attentive and we could not fault him. The cabin itself was very comfortable, quiet and quite roomy, with plenty of storage space, and a very comfortable bed.We did not book any excursions as we had been to New Zealand before, but we thought they were quite expensive and not always good value.

I am not a picky eater, (I don't eat seafood) but I was a bit disappointed with meals in the main dining room- they were quite tasteless at times. For example one night I ordered steak Diane- a very tough piece of meat with no hint of garlic in the Diane sauce- more like Gravox! Christmas Dinner was extremely disappointing! Apart from a few Christmas crackers on the table there were no other decorations- apart from the big garlands hanging from the staircases etc. The meal itself was boring- turkey or ham (not both unless you asked for it), no baked vegetables, and watery flavourless gravy. To top off the meal we had Christmas pudding which consisted of a piece of white cake, with some sort of white sauce. Not my idea of Christmas dinner. A bowl of nuts/pretzels/sweets would have been appreciated! Of course we could have other choices but we wanted a traditional Christmas dinner. The service on this night was also not up to par for some reason and we had to complain to the Maitre D. The service did improve after that and we were more than happy on the remaining nights. Fortunately we had great people at our table and really enjoyed their company! Read more