The staff were intent on extorting money from passengers with overpriced drinks, expensive gifts (one item seen in St Petersburg at $8 was $20 onboard), hard sell all the way! Take plenty of money with you, you're going to need it!
Shore excursions were very expensive, especially St Petersburg. I sourced a travel company on the internet and booked my trip to St Petersburg prior to travelling which was considerably cheaper and in a minivan, not the usual coach, which enabled us to see more for longer, great value.
Yes the 'bug' is still on the ship and by the looks of things, is there to stay especially as the staff relaxed their hygiene regime halfway through the trip. Unfortunately we contracted the bug and were 'isolated' which was bearable as we were in an outside cabin. Our friends however were not so lucky, 48 hours in an inside cabin and they were climbing the walls by the end of the time.
Cabin was a reasonable size with a good balcony, bed very comfortable with a good selection of pillows, bathroom compact but functional, TV had very few channels which were continually repeated, pay-per-view movies $12.95 with a good choice, cleaner a bit workshy! Would not recommend because of the overhead noise from very early hours