Embarkation was brisk at Southampton, once on the ship I had to keep reminding myself to close my mouth, I was so amazed at every turn. What reveals itself to you as you walk around this amazing floating palace is the grandeur, the space the light and airy feel. WOW room after room still amazed and that's before we set sail....I need to lie down with all this excitement! not before a light lunch at the buffet, food glorious food, the choice is so great you end up losing 100 calories walking round and round deciding what to have. I opted for some delicious carved meat and salad followed by not one not two but three small desserts, all washed down with a bottle of beer. We then went to the lawn club and had cocktails on the grass while we sailed out of Southampton, the sun was shining and the atmosphere was electrifying. Arriving at the cabin was easy, our luggage was waiting for us, our cabin steward greeted us with great enthusiasm, the cabins are beautiful, well furnished, with a huge bed, huge balcony and the best bathroom I have seen for along time on a ship or in a hotel. The shower is to die for, I could have stayed in there all night, the toiletries provided from the on-board spa are also a welcome surprise.
Dressed and ready for dinner we made our way to the martini bar to rendezvous with friends, (mental note keep mouth shut) the ship has a real canny way of making you believe your not actually on a ship, no movement what so ever, also the clever design of the public rooms makes you feel like you could be in say a bar anywhere in the world! For a ship that holds so many people and rooms that feel intimate I was surprised that it felt like was staying at a boutique hotel somewhere in Paris, I had visions of people and queues everywhere, thankfully this was not the case, we were late sitting in the restaurant, our tables were very well presented the waiter was charming, the food exquisite!
We arrived at our one and only port of call Cobh (Cork) in the afternoon, it was raining cats and dogs, I had come to enjoy the ship so the port of call on this occasion was of no importance, we did however wander off the boat for a couple of hours, there is a great church on the hill where you get a real perspective of the size of the ship from lots of little windy roads, and the Irish are very pleasant.
Whist the cabins were well appointed, it was a tad narrow, the bed was by the balcony doors and feel that had it been the other way round with the sofa near the doors the room would have felt bigger. Everything else top notch.