This was our first P&O cruise, and we had high expectations. Our cabin was good and activities, including entertainment and daytime talks, were all good to excellent. I particularly enjoyed the daily cricket matches run by Adam - excellent. Most staff were polite and helpful, but we found some Reception staff unhelpful and slow to get back to us.

My biggest problem was with the food. I am vegetarian, and found the choices limited and often poorly presented. We opted for set dining in the Meridian Restaurant. We have enjoyed this set type if dining on other cruises and as one of our party had mobility issues restaurant service was preferable. Examples of food I was offered included a potato sandwich (not even any butter, and I was told it was a vegetable sandwich) and risotto that was a solid lump of rice with very little else added! I asked for brown bread sandwiches and was told brown bread is only used for fish! The meat eaters in my party were bored with very similar choices day after day, and some of the meat was very tough and unedible. We all found the pseudo language which regularly had to be interpreted for us very tiresome, and strange dishes and combinations of flavours odd and off putting. The lunchtime buffet in the Belvedere Restaurant was much better and had a wide variety of choices. Waiters and restaurant staff were helpful and always polite. It was such a shame they had to serve such poor quality food.

One other thing that caused us problems - my husband has severe migraine if there are bright flashes, and he always finds the presence of photographers a challenge, particularly on formal nights. There must be other people who are affected by this? All in all, we enjoyed the cruise, but would have struggled with more than 3 weeks of the food! Read more