First time cruisers. Was surprised there were no surprises as far as cruising goes.

The ship's common areas were impressive and looked as though had been refurbished recently. But when you got to the cabin there was a distinct impression of a long distance ferry. The furniture was worn and presumably dated back to when the ship was built - 2002. Not having experienced a cruise ship before, we were unsure the basic look and small size of the cabin was maybe usual.

The meals and the entertainment were the upside of the trip. Unlike some reviewer's comments of food on this ship, we found all meals were exceptional. The Pinnacle chargeable diner ($20 per head) was the best restaurant I'd probably ever been to. A sort of Ivy at sea! A small criticism (HAL take note) was that the coffee waiters needed some training. It was amusing to us that they'd volunteer to top-up one person's coffee but ignore 3 other empty cups at the table. This happened so often. Read more