So looks like my first ever cruise was to be the last for this ship in its present form.....it's now on its way to a refit before moving to the Caribbean.
Desperately needs a refit cos its tired beyond redemption.......supposedly had a Deluxe Cabin with Balcony but Deluxe is described as "Particularly elegant, luxurious, or elaborate for its kind; of superior quality or refinement:". .....not a chance, firstly the room was really small and cramped, the smell coming from all the drains in the shabby bathroom was just awful and my cabin was situated at the very back of deck 10 and right underneath the outside eating area of the grill restaurant....... it just beggars belief how passengers ( particularly Spanish nationals) are only happy once they've rearranged all the deck furniture by dragging table and chairs from pillar to post.......what a noise!! Of course once passengers have moved all the tables and chairs the crew have to move them all back - normally at just after 5.00 am!!!
Now the balcony was accessed through a very heavy, badly fitting sliding door and was in itself ..tiny.. but it was nice to have the wind whistling through the gaps in doors to accompany you all the time there was a wind ...which was all the time the ship was actually cruising......