This ship and itinerary were chosen by my 84 year old Mother in Law, who wanted to go on a family cruise as her first holiday in 10 years, having previously sailed many times on QE2 with her husband.
Embarkation was a breeze, the easiest and quickest we have ever experienced. On arrival at Ocean Terminal in Southampton, you take an escalator up to the Embarkation Lounge, where you are allocated a boarding letter (we were J) This made me wonder how long it would take, a they had not started embarkation when we arrived. I needn't have worried, we were on within the hour.
Our cabins were ready, we had an obstructed balcony on deck 8, and Mother in Law and Sister in Law shared a balcony on Deck 4. Cabins were clean and similar size to balconies on other ships, with the exception of the bathroom, which was quite small. Our cabin unfortunately had a loudspeaker outside, which meant that any public announcements were very loud, and woke us up on occasion. OK if you're an early riser (I'm not!)
Good balcony, as we had a great view between 2 lifeboats, rather than 1 lifeboat blocking the whole view right outside. Small bathroom, although shower itself was big enough. Plenty of closet space, dressing table area not big enough.
Publc address speaker right outside door, so get all the announcements loud and clear, whether you want them or not! God if you're an early riser, bad if you're not