Well, just got back from our very first cruise, and I hope my review helps any first timers, any questions I will gladly try to answer. I was sceptical to be honest the reviews were not great for the fortuna, and I had read lots about the food not being good, and pushing and shoving when it came to getting on and off the ship. So here goes: We were at the very front 7202, cabin was fine, bit noisy as there was a generator coming on and off during the night, but no big deal. . Food was brilliant, (we are not fussy eaters though) not sure why the Americans thought it was not up to their standard, you would have to be pretty fussy not to find something you liked!! . The X1 package is great, saved us loads of money and I tipped our waiter on the first night and he brought us a bottle of wine each, every night. Venice, Dubrovnik, Rhodes, Mykonos - all fantastic. Bari great for shopping, Katakolon - not keen, we thought the beach was more like a dirt track and cars and motor bikes sped along the beach behind you while you were sitting there. didn't make Santorini as was ill, but friends told us the cable car situation was terrible and not worth all the hassle, but I believe when you do get to the top it is stunning. . Organisation we thought was fantastic, how Costa manage to feed 3,500 people all day and night is beyond me and keep them entertained and get them on and off the boat, brilliant. . Staff mostly Filipino were fantastic, worked very hard and tried to please you. . Tipping - Well its 14 euros per day (couple) up to you if you want to tip extra, we did, we tipped both our waiters on the first and last night, but no one else on our table did. .Entertainment was about average, some nights excellent, some not so good, they did there best to suit all the nationalities .We did not pay for any excursions, we did it all ourselves, and were very pleased at how easy it was, we dont feel we missed out on anything. .The ship itself is fantastic the art work and design is great - truly awesome. .The negatives - The adult only pool was always full of children with no Costa staff attempting to remove them. However, this did not really bother us, but it did bother a lot of people. .Sun beds are very close to each other, a bit too close for comfort if you know what I mean!! . Avoid the obvious meal times - either go early or late, there is still plenty available and you will then not clash with the hoards of people all trying at the same time to eat!! .Remember it is an Italian cruise ship so 80% of the clientele are Italian, mostly families,(if thats an issue don't book it!)they are not bothered about queueing, and sorry to say, showed no manners and lack of respect to some of the more elderly customers that we had chatted to. . Great first cruise, really enjoyed our holiday, but I did miss my chilled beach holiday, so prob a couple of years until book another cruise. .