We enjoyed our cruise, using it as more of a visiting holiday to catch up with friends in Airlie Beach we had not seen since 1981 and to visit our son and grandsons for the 2 days docked in Cairns. We loved that it docked in Cairns and was not tendered from Yorkey's Knob as it was when we cruised there 4 years ago. The tendering to Airlie Beach was well organised unlike some ships we have been on.

The food in the dining room was extremely good as always but we did feel that the amount of staff had been cut back as tables took longer to be cleared and the offers of another bread roll was lacking too, and I do love the sour dough rolls. The Windjammer was lacking in a carvery for a few days, no reason was given. They were busy making up sliders instead and the food variety was not great although the food was as always plentiful. The staff were friendly, helpful and entertaining, with some exceedingly so.

We did not attend all of the shows on board but the ones we did see were very enjoyable, especially the Queen will rock you. That had us all on our feet for a standing ovation. We also enjoyed the casino and available tournaments immensely. This cruise was very family oriented with lots of groups of families and friends cruising together and I suppose the one disappointment for us was the lack of supervision by some parents of the 600 children on board during the latter days of the cruise. Not a complaint at all but some, not all, were out of control running up and down corridors, through hallways and venues and around cabins until 2am. Read more