We booked this cruise as a family group of 8 which included 2 teenagers. Being Christmas and New Year there were 1250 children on board and despite the large number of children they did not cause us any problems and were well supervised and enjoyed themselves.

What caused us problems, and the reason we would not book on a large ship again if we did not have children ourselves, were the 20 something year olds. They were rude to staff, very poorly dressed, did not take notice of dress standards in the dining room and argued with the Maitre d' that they had paid a lot of money for this cruise so were entitled to dress how they liked. The girls were as bad as the boys.

The dress standard in the Sapphire Dining Room (MDR) needs to be changed. Most nights were casual, but no shorts, tank tops etc. This needs to be changed to Smart Casual, which would involve a shirt with a collar (not necessarily a tie), long trousers and proper shoes. This is normal dress code in any sporting club or RSL dining room in Australia and I would think most restaurants. The Windjammer is always available for casual dining. Read more