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We are not Cruise virgins, but realize when you pay rather cheaply for a cruise, you can't expect the very best all the time. After boarding in Perth, we thought it a bit bizarre we only cruised 100 klms overnight to our first Port, Bunbury. We got 'sucked in' by the Shuttle bus operated by the Ship, to the tune of US$7 each. We had been told we should prebook all our shuttles, to avoid lengthy queues for the buses at each Port.
Luckily hubby thought this was bunkum, so we asked if we could just rock up to the bus, and pay then. Thankfully the reply was yes, and duly did this for our first, and last, Ship Shuttle. We were barely a few klm from the center, as we found out, so ended up walking back after our day out. We were to find out at each Port, that public transport was readily available nearly every time.
We were impressed by the Ship's appointments and public areas, had no problems at all with the very efficient service from all the attendants in the Cafe and Restaurant, and our Cabin. This was the first time we had been on a Cruise with such a variety of folk from around the world. 800 Aussies, 300 each from UK and US, 200 from Canada, and assorted others from Europe (Note to the Germans - a little courtesy wouldn't go astray towards your fellow passengers, I found them to be quite rude).
A few notes about the Food and Drinks offered. Coffee as usual was putrid, I took my own 'Coffee Bags', knowing this from a previous cruise on Celebrity. I also only drink Green Tea, and luckily had a stash of this also from home. About 5 days from the end, they ran out of Green Tea, I enquired of the Head Waiter about getting some more at the next Port, and was informed that they only took on supplies at the Port of Embarkation.
So tough luck, no Green Tea for many, and I had to use my own. I feel this is unacceptable, especially for 5 days. Imagine if they had run out of coffee, the Americans would have been up in arms and threatened to sue. Because we mild mannered Aussies don't do that sort of thing, we get short-shrift!
Some of the cocktails of the day were a bit odd. It seemed like they just had to put about 4 different flavors together in one glass, and they just didn't marry up. As these were the cheapest drinks to have, I soon decided that having an alcoholic drink at night wasn't worth it.
The same could be said of some of the dishes offered in the Restaurant. The descriptions said one thing, but the reality was quite different. You learnt to read between the lines, so to speak, and if it wasn't up to scratch, I didn't feel guilty in asking for something else (I have always believed in not wasting food, but this went out the door on the Cruise).
We met some lovely people on the Cruise, which we will keep in touch with, and overall, we had a relaxing, lovely time. With so many other Cruise lines and ships on offer these days, I feel it is unlikely we will go on this one again, unless they have a 'bargain basement' offer like this one was.
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