We chose this cruise for the ports in Norway , particularly in the Arctic , we wanted to see. I have cruised before with Celebrity and MSC ( and enjoyed both) but for my husband it was his first time. We found the clientele were mostly British or American habitual cruisers and it became a bit wearing to constantly hear " cruise stories". The ship is nice but showing her age and the decor is a bit old fashioned. Our cabin - balcony on deck 14 - was lovely - lots of space for clothes and hangers. Bathroom - as usual quite small was perfectly adequate. However because the weather in Norway was cool and wet ( stormy at times) we spent quite some time indoors and it would have been nice to have had a sofa rather than just one tub chair and an upright chair - MSC has sofas in their equivalent cabins. The balcony was nice with 2 lounger chairs and a small table. The bed was very comfortable.

We chose anytime dining and preferred to have a table for 2 rather than share - we never had to wait long and mostly walked straight in. (usually dined later - after 8.30pm) The restaurant food was very good - always found something we liked. The 3 formal evenings were a bit of a let down - nothing special apart from people dressing up - we did not enjoy them and would avoid in future - think they are a bit of an anachronism - trying to re-create the time of the great liners but missing the mark. We ate once in the Crown Grill which was excellent and well worth additional 39 dollars charge as a treat.

The entertainment was mixed - some very good and some bad - but the theatre always seemed to be full. The on-board singers and orchestra were particularly good. Read more