Only booked a few weeks before we sailed as my wife needed to e stress after our daughters wedding which was the week before.sailed with riviera 1st in 2015 and was disappointed then, that we never got a bed by the pool when we came back on board in the afternoon. I prefer the smaller ships with around 600 passengers but no complaints about overcrowding on this cruise. staff were excellent and food mostly first class. Jacques restaurant is worth a Michelin Star on its own. Polo is also good but they insist on serving a terrible Mint jelly with their Lamb. It should be Mint sauce or Redcurant jelly. Many ( not all) of the supervisory staff seem to think they should manage the staff and not look after guest. I saw several waitresses and waiters being spoken to, admonishingly for not running about quickly enough.Overall its a lovely ship and the value is top class. Try to avoid disembarking from Rome ( Civitavecchia port) as Rome airport is a nightmare and even worse in summer.The TV's could do with a review as they are all hanging off the wall as if they might fall anytime.Beds are probably the best we've slept on and that includes the Queens Grill suites on Queen Mary 2 and Silver Sea's Spirit which we love.Sadly the singer with the Orchestra and the solo piano player/singer in the Martini bar were terrible and I'm amazed they passed the audition because the cruise director and rest of the entertainment were good