If you are looking for a formal 5 star cruise on a traditional decor ship with excellent food , west end shows and quiet relaxed surroundings then this cruise is not for you. If you are looking for an informal all inclusive 4 star cruise with modern decor , good food , a lively friendly atmosphere and great staff to look after you then this is the one you should book. Flight on TUI dreamliner was very good both ways and really liked that your luggage was delivered straight to your cabin from the airport on arrival and collected from your cabin and sent to the airport on departure. Large balcony cabin had lots of storage space and walk in shower and was kept very clean by cabin staff who always went above and beyond to ensure that you had a great experience.It was my wife's birthday whilst on board and they decorated the room with banners,balloons and a special card from all the staff. Every time you passed a member of staff they were always friendly and polite. Food was good but was excellent in the ones where you paid a supplement and well worth the extra,we bought a trio deal which was good value. Drinks choice was very good with all the popular beers and spirits included so no need to book the premium package. Service at the bars was very quick and you did not need to leave your seat if you wished as drinks waiters were constantly available. Entertainment was not west end standard but was varied and entertaining and always a great night in the sqid and anchor pub. We visited 10 different ports with the tender used only once and saw some great islands. We booked some TUI excursions and did some others ourselves and although ship excursions were not overpriced think doing it yourself via local taxis is better value and a better overall experience. On the down side TUI need to get their act together on their systems as this is having a detrimental effect on the booking experience. If you pay for a certain cabin then you should be allocated it or be able to cancel or get substantial compensation. We went with another couple and it took us ages at the store to book cabins next to each other which we paid extra for only for our friends to be told 2 days before we went that they had been moved to a different cabin due to double booking. On talking to other people on board this had happened to a lot of people. Think overall and especially on board it was a great, good value holiday experience and we would go again but please TUI get your act together and update your systems. Read Less

I have been on Star Flyer twice and when the no solo supplement was offered last year I decided to try this larger ship knowing that the routine would be familiar. I am not a sailor but I think we all tire of the large cruise ships and the usual ports so getting in private small towns and beaches appealed to me. Once on board I found the large expanse of upper deck appealing with more shade available and more room to relax compared to the Star Flyer. I had inside cabin (216) and it is small with only one closet with another drawer under the bed but for one person adequate. Ship is beautiful with brass, beautiful wood work and library has fireplace that glows for ambiance altho few people go into library. Food is very good to my tastes and I am no food critic but the fish they offer is excellent, only tip I have is to avoid 2 hour meals asked to be seated at smaller table than 8 to avoid this altho some enjoy their wine and the ambiance of the dining experience. Breakfast and lunch are buffet with different theme and one day they did a beach BBQ on Tobago cay which was amazing. Only negative is the buffet is in smaller area than on Star Flyer which makes for a traffic jam between the hot dishes and salads and fruit. They also set out some snacks at 5-6 PM which is welcome since dinner does not start until 7:30 PM. Joanna and Jerry provided music in afternoon and at night and were great, I really enjoyed them and listened a lot to their music. Crew is wonderful and ready to help at all times. Bar prices are reasonable and I am a beer drinker and was surprised to find they had Carib as the last two Flyer cruises I was on in the Caribbean did not have any island beers and altho they ran out half way thru the cruise I was hoping this will be a change on their cruises in Caribbean next year. Most days we made two stops in morning and afternoon it seems to let excursions go out and then a beach type stop in the afternoon. I found the morning stops less than exciting as I did no excursions but truly loved each afternoon stop and wanted to stay longer. The ship does move but I guess I am getting used to the motion and only two nights did I notice more movement. Passengers were a mix of UK, Canada, US, and others but most were very friendly and welcomed me at dinner as a solo which is appreciated. I was asked which ship I prefer since I had now sailed both and that is truly hard to say, I guess my first experience is important and think if I was on a 7 day trip I prefer Star Flyer and if I was on 14 day trip I would prefer Royal Clipper especially is you had days at sea like the Panama Canal trip. I enjoyed this cruise again and I finally saw the Green Flash which makes this a special cruise to me. Read Less

We"d never done a cruise before and wanted to do something special for our silver wedding anniversary so we decided to book a cruise around the Caribbean. We also booked to renew our wedding vows and we'd just like to say a very big THANK YOU to Amanda Hudson the social host and our captain Peter Harris for sorting everything out so that we could do it on our wedding anniversary. We had a lovely day thanks again to Amanda Hudson for everything that you did to it happen it's very much appreciated. The ship is lovely all staff very friendly and work very hard food lovely as well will definitely be coming back. All the staff are really friendly and work hard food was excellent we had an invite to join the captain at his table as well which was lovely couldn't of asked for a better 25th wedding anniversary cruise we've got lots of wonderful memories and photos Read Less

After reading many reviews of Seabourn I decided to book this cruise. The ship is smaller than the new floating Iran sprawl like tower blocks which was a real plus for me. The personal and attentive service by many staff was great but that seemed to magnify the faults when they showed. Breakfast in the collonade was an American buffet and options including none cremated bacon were available to Oder; however the staff never once got it right. On one occasion an English Breakfast with English bacon not crispy. Grilled tomatoes, eggs over easy and toast was served as two eggs served over easy. Seabourn need to encourage use of order pads or the tablets used at dinner to easily solve this issue, the food was good but similar in all venues on some nights which wffectively meant choose room service before 1900 or after 2200 to avoid the dinner menu. The bar was a popular area for many passengers and the unlimitedcdtinks were a major feature for some. The itinerary on the first week was much better than the second week and beach days which followed in succession were a bone of contention amongst many so spoke with. The cabins were comfortable (V6 grade) and a spacious walk in wardrobe was a great feature. We had issues with our steward who failed to deliver the daily programme, failed to replenish the soft drinks in the fridge or note our preferences but these were not so big an issue - because we had a steward did not mean we were unable to do things ourselves. The trip was very good but not exceptional and I think that if the company manages expectations rather than raises them with false hope they will continue to do well. It's very good and enjoy it but don't expect the earth - believe me the positives outweigh the negatives. Read Less

My husband and I chose this cruise to celebrate our retirements. It was our first time cruising and it has certainly NOT given us the “bug”!! The ship was so crowded. The food was awful, particularly not the Golden Lobster restaurant in the evening. On two evenings we were not allowed in the restaurant until 9.30 pm which is far too late. There were passengers embarking and disembarking all the time so safety drills constantly happening causing use of the ship for current passengers to grind to a halt during these times, including lifts, bars etc. The signage on the ship was poor and clearly not enough lifts available. The entertainment poor and shows were repeated for 15 night passengers. One pool was so noisy with all the naff entertainment. The so called “garden pool” was closed for 3 days. On the plus side, the majority of the staff were very friendly, courteous and helpful. Read Less

This was our thirteenth cruise which was certainly unlucky for some The food and the entertainment were no where near the standard we have come to expect from other companies. The use of hand sanitisers was left to the individual passengers and needless to say very few used them. .There were no safety stickers on the balcony windows and children and people with poor eyesight could have had a nasty injury. It was our 50th wedding anniversary whilst on the cruise and apart from an anniversary cake, organised by our travel agent there was no input from MSC. We had a drinks package but the only wine we were allowed was a cheap Italian chardonnay andthe only beer was Heineken draught. The ship was a glorified ferry and we will most certainly not sailing with MSC again and especially as we have been ill since our return two weeks ago. . Read Less

Mainly chose this ship as the itinerary suited, no sea days and many islands to visit. its difficult to find something very good about this MSC cruise and unless they have a good rethink about the following would never go on MSC again. We have been on many cruises over the years. The cabin was very clean although the shower area needs the sealant re-doing as its going black. Food on board was poor in the Golden Lobster, often over cooked or tough meat, we had a main as starter and main meal as potions were so small and had to ask for extra potatoes, etc. The buffet food was very much the same each day, difficult to find somewhere to sit, very busy post any excursions. Entertainment on board was really bad, some of the singers around the bars seemed bored, apart from the thee female vocalist and violin players. One of the bands (Moonlight something) were so bad they could clear a bar quicker than last orders!!! The theater shows were a bit of a joke with the same acts each night to a different theme, and repeated again on the second week, so a bit thumbs down there. The excursions were really sold up as the best thing to do, but apart from the swim with stingrays were over priced and pretty boring. Its best to do you own thing by getting a taxi with some others. Sometimes the lifts were out due to embarking and disembarking passengers, so had to wait an age for a lift, complaints went over the staffs heads. MSC picks up passengers from the islands to fill cabins, this means life boat drills and no bars open. The drinks packages mean that both wife and i would have to have the same package if in the same cabin, she does not drink alcohol and I only drink beer from any package, so we just used pay and go. They do need to sort this out, and fill a beer glass right up, as i got fed up asking them to fill it... The room guy was nick named Mr Happy as he definitely wasn't and could not wait to end his contract, most staff where helpful but they looked tired and fed up. We did fell like MSC did not cater for British, all deck entertainment was in other languages, English was an add-on... Overall, we enjoyed visiting the different islands but not the ship and would not recommend to others. Read Less

We booked this cruise on the back of many great cruises on the TUI Celebration as our celebration of 40 year of marriage. We took our only son with us as it was a family celebration. The whole trip including excursions was over £10k ... this would made one think it would have been 4 star at least in my eyes. The food in the main restaurant was inedible, overcooked and hard to eat. It was so bad we decided to use the Market buffet the rest of the holiday. There were specialist restaurants but they wanted upwards of £30 per person per visit ( after having paid for food i felt the cover charge was over the top compared with being able to pay on the Celebration a sum of £10 per person to upgrade the main meal in the dining room to steak or lamb chops etc ) On speaking to people on the ship, nobody thought the specialty restaurants to be be good value. One of the nice things about a cruise is coming back to your cabin at night after dinner and finding your cabin news containing the details of the next days itinerary and a little bit about the ship and crew... nice bedtime reading and handy to take with you the next day on shore excursions as it always had the telephone numbers of the port authority etc in case you have any off shore difficulties etc. This is currently being replaced by an APP you must load on your phone and use the ships WiFi When I inquired if we could have a paper copy delivered to my cabin as before ( these are still available if you rush to reception in the evening) i was promptly and firmly told NO... i even offered to pay to have this and it was ignored. The APP is terrible only some of it is on the phone APP others and again not all are on the TV. The only way you could get the menus of the restaurants was from the flat touch screen terminals at the lifts (these sometimes lost the WiFi and didnt work either). It really ruffled my feathers when every day there was a channel on the TV where the Cruise Director would go over the highlights of the days activities and did it from the paper copy of the cruise news!! The ship is poorly covered by entertainment at night and it doesnt flow properly like the Celebration or other cruise ships i have used.. things finish in the middle of other items you may be interested in and you find yourself walking in on a half completed piece of entertainment upsetting the guests that managed to be there on time for it to start. The bars are mainly all too loud and mainly served by piped music with occasional live music... it seemed to be done on the cheap or not utilised properly. Staff on the ship are mainly unhappy and it shows to the customer. The biggest concern on the ship, i have left till the end.... the number of people i seen drunk in the early afternoon was high ( never before have i seen this on a cruise) between afternoon and evening it looked like the ship was a BOOZE CRUISE ... im certainly not impressed with the Explorer or Marriela / Tui.. and wonder if the Celebration is now been changed to feel and look the same... ( this was my favourite ship in the Tui fleet) It looks like we will need to use our other favourite ships like the NCL ( Jade/Pearl etc) In Conclusion .... if i was offered another week on the Explorer, i would decline it!! Read Less

We picked P & O for the itinerary, visiting so many islands including Antigua, St Kitts, St Maarten, Aruba all via Barbados. Firstly so glad we booked a Premium flight from Newcastle, great service and good food and drinks. Embarkation in Barbados was swift. We were met on the tarmac by mini buses and we were on the ship in 50 minutes! Our cases were delivered at about 9pm. So about 4 hours later but we had a meal and wandered around the ship so it was not a problem. Brittania was a beautiful ship, took us a day or two to get used to the ares but a bit of effort and patience ( with lifts especially) was all that was needed. Our balcony cabin E610 was lovely. Balcony was big enough to sit out and watch other ships sail away and to sun bathe. Fabulous bed so very comfortable and big! Great to have tea and coffee making facilities in the cabin and a fridge with cold drinks payable locally. Our steward took good care of us. We had Freedom dining and always got a nice table for two around 6.50pm in either restaurants. The food was absolutely gorgeous, I really don’t know who would rate it down! Choice was always good and service very quick. The evening entertainment was enough for us, resident band Pulse were ok, shows were of a fair standard, musicals and a well known illusionist act. But best by far was La Voix in the Limelight club. Hilarious. Around the ship on sea days was busy as was to be expected but we always got beds round the pool, although the music was very repetitive and sometimes loud. But cooling off in the pools was fab. The entertainment crew put on an aqua robics class which looked exhausting but fun. We had booked to swim with stingray in Antigua and it was spectacular! A must for nature lovers. Speedboat our to a landing bay and then a good hour snorkelling with them. Very cool! We were able to hold them too. Best beach was Barbados and St Maarten. Both by taxi and both worth the trip. In St Lucia we did the Rainforest trip which was great and it did rain! Didn’t spoil the wonderful views or spotting the hummingbird! Aruba was the nicest port we thought and had a lovely morning walking round the town. We celebrated Brittania’s 4th birthday with a great party on Lido Deck it was great fun, all of us singing and waving our Union Jacks!! The Captain made a nice speech and cut a big cake. It was very easy to leave the ship at every port, some town centres were further than others but walkable. Taxis galore and very reliable. We had a lady drive us to a beach in a Mercedes 4 x 4, very elegant!! Disembarkation was easier for us as we booked a day room, we were leaving at 2.55pm and had the room till 3pm so we were able to shower and change comfortably. But overall a bit of hanging around, to be expected, when 5 flights leaving. Barbados airport easy and a fab flight home to a freezing morning in Newcastle! we would highly recommend this cruise, go and chill out, have fun and eat plenty! Read Less

If you like being herded on huge ships, this is not for you. If you enjoy dodging electric carts on board, this is not for you. If you want to be in a crowded theatre, this is not for you. If you like to pay extra to get the best dining selections, this is not for you. If you take youthful children and have someone entertain them, this is not for you. If you need to stop a large, overcrowded ports with multiple trinket store, this is not for you. If you’re a couch potato, this is not for you. If you need to be hoisted by an elevator, this is not for you. However, there are a multitude of reason to consider the Star Clippers and, especially, the Royal Clipper. First, it’s very comfortable to be on a ship where the staff and most passengers know your name. It’s nice to be served by professionally educated and trained personnel. It’s nice to be entertained by wonderful local musicians. It’s exciting to see 5,400 sq.ft of sails be unfurled and set. It’s relaxing to feel the ocean breeze and the sea spray. It’s fun to visit small ports and have access to beautiful beaches. It’s amazing to look up at any of the five masts that are neatly 180 ft. high and be able to climb to a crow’s nest 75 ft. above the deck. It’s nice to be casually dressed every evening. It’s nice to have a wide selection of delicious choice at every meal. It’s nice to pay $3.50 for beer and wine and under $6.00 for mixed drinks. It’s nice to have so many water sports available from a ramp that is lowered from the stern. It’s nice to know that more than half of the passengers have been aboard the Royal Clipper previously. It’s nice from the beautiful maroon mahogany paneling to the special dinnerware. The niceties go on and on. Yes, we will be back for many more adventures on The Royal Clipper. I have taken 30 other cruises, most on the most luxurious, and have visited 93 countries. I have found the niche that I enjoy most. Ahoy, mate! Read Less

Balcony cabin A510, deck 15. Barbados- St Lucia- St Kitts- Antigua-Ponta Delgada-Southampton. We chose this cruise as we have always wanted to sail across the Atlantic. This is our second P & O cruise, previously on Azura. Flew on the included flight from Gatwick to Barbados with TUI on 15th March. flight was good with all drinks, including the bar service, as complimentary. Transfered from the airport directly to the ship (the first night was spent on the ship in port at Bridgetown before sailing the following evening; this gave us a day to look around Bridgetown). Check-in was fairly swift. Upon boarding the ship there was the usual photographer but other than that, no welcome drinks or anyone to direct everyone to the lifts for the cabins, in contrast to our previous experiences. None of the warm welcomes we have received with a number of other cruise lines. First impressions was of a ship that was rather plain and dull in appearance; the atrium could be any hotel or shopping centre and the long aisles on the passenger decks were totally devoid of any art work or decoration making it look very clinical. Our cabin was clean and adequate, everything in good working order an the bed was comfortable. I like the open wardrobe area on P & O that is made separate from the main cabin area; a good idea! I couldn't help but feel it seemed like a Premier Inn room (not that there is anything wrong with that!) Our cabin steward was excellent throughout the cruise; she was very welcoming, friendly and gave an excellent service throughout; always knowing when we were out of the cabin to do her work. She also gave us lots of advice about the ship. The cabin stewards probably work harder than anyone else on the ship and deserve recognition. The sailaway party on the upper deck was well organised but had a completely British feel and the music played was very predictable! Not sure what foreign guests made of it all, although, I guess 99% of the guests were British anyway! We had chose Freedom Dining at the time of booking. We stuck this for the first 3 nights but were very disappointed with the service in both the Meridian and Peninsular dining rooms at night. Eventhough they were not busy, the staff seems totally disinterested in us. Very poor and not our experience on any of our previous cruises or other cruise lines. We asked to be transferred to Club Dining at the 1830 sitting to which they agreed and we were put on a table of 4 other people. In the Oriental Restaurant ther service was very good and efficient; the food in the evening - I though was just ok (better some days than others) but all the menus had a very British feel! One night we booked the Epicurean Restaurant which was £28 per person. The food and service in there was excellent, almost hard to believe it was on the same ship! This felt like the cruises of yesteryear and was the highlight of the dining experiences. We also tried the Horizon buffet on one evening and the food was generally very good. The Horizon buffet restaurant is a bit noisy and chaotic. To me, the layout and appearance of the Horizon Restaurant, with the tables all neatly arranged in rows, almost gave the feel of being on a large ferry rather than a cruise ship; just lacking the style and sophistication of other ships. One thing I noticed is that they never seemed to wash the outside windows of the public areas when in port eventhough there is an automated system to do this. It was done after arriving back in Southampton obviously since everywhere had become salted-up after the trans-Atlantic crossing. The Headliners theatre company and the Albion Band performed to a very high standard in all of their performances; they are all very competent professional vocalists, dancers and musicians. Enjoyed all of the performances despite the fact that most were of a very British theme! The other music gigs were all very good and some exceptional. I went to the series of talks on the sea days about the British SAS. It became a bit drawn out, a couple of talks would have been sufficient with the speaker's incessant pacing to-and-fro across the stage. Good thing the audience was essentially British as for an International audience this topic could have been bordering on the unacceptable level! The crossing over the Atlantic saw calm seas for most of the time. There was one day, after the Azores where there was moderate seas (as described by the captain) that lasted for about 24 hours; I thought that Britannia sailed the rougher waters very smoothly without much disruption (but it should be noted that I enjoy this anyway, lol!) There was a medical emergency a few hours after departing Ponta Delagada and the captain took the decison to return to port, keeping everyone well informed of the situation (a very unfortunate and worst case scenario for the person that took ill; thank God that this did not occur mid-Atlantic). Taking everything into account - I enjoyed the cruise, particularly the Atlantic crossing. My favourite port of call was Ponta Delgada in the island of Sao Miguel, Azores. Lovely place and we were blessed with unbroken sunshine and a calm day. For me, Britannia lacks the buzz, style, sophistication and wow factor of other ships or other cruise lines. I know that P & O can easily fill their cruises with the British public but the experience is just .....too British. Surely travel is about new cultures and experiences? I don't know what foreign guests would make of this? Maybe cuises are just becoming like any other package holiday as that is what Britannia feels like to me, not really a flagship of the company. I will continue to use P & O as they offer some great itineraries, year-round from Southampton. Indeed, we have already booked several more trips over the next year and a half. Britannia - luxury flagship? No! Good value holiday cruise ship? Yes! Hoping that Iona will signal the start of P & O becoming an International cruise line rather than the British cruise line at present. The guests in our adjacent cabin mentioned to us that it felt like a holiday camp such as Butlins. I have never been to Butlins but I will take their word for it! Read Less

This was the end of 2018/2019 Winter Caribbean Season repositioning cruise, as Britannia returned to Southampton on the 29th March leaving Barbados on the 16th evening. The price (at least for us) included a Thomas Cook charter flight from Gatwick to Barbados, transfer to ship and at the end of the voyage in Southampton, a free coach taking us back to Gatwick to collect the car. This also applied to those who had flown from Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Bournemouth. The transfers worked very well. We paid the extra £149 pp to turn left at the top of the stairs when getting on the aeroplane and this was worthwhile but why they then charge for you to book your preferred seats defeats me. We had an obstructed LARGE balcony cabin on Deck G. The large cabins have a sofa to sit on rather than a single chair and are about 14sq. ft. bigger. Barbados/Bridgetown. We opted for the 14-day cruise option, that is arriving in Bridgetown on Friday 15th March, the day BEFORE Britannia sailed for St. Lucia. This meant we had time to sample the delights of Bridgetown on the Saturday. Some opted for excursions, but there is enough to do and see in Bridgetown independently. The town is approx. a 20-minute walk from the cruise terminal. Cave Shepherd has two stores in Bridgetown, the larger having excellent free WIFI in its café on the First Floor. St. Lucia. We did our own thing walking from the ship into the town, finding a café with free WIFI and doing some shopping. Many from the ship either walked to the nearest beach, or took a taxi. Ship excursions were (anecdotally) more expensive than making a bargain with one of the numerous taxi drivers just outside the terminal gates. St. Kitts. We had a ship’s excursion (Best of St. Kitts) including the Wingfield Estate and Romney Manor plus the Brimstone Hill Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At each place the inevitable market stalls were in abundance, but all worthwhile and easy enough. Could have probably done with more time at each stop. Antigua. We had another ship’s excursion to, broadly speaking, Shirley Heights and English Harbour with its Nelson’s Dockyard, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This was an excellent tour, but again with limited time at Nelson’s Dockyard and its inevitable market stalls. If we went again, we would only go here and spend half a day - there are numerous bars and restaurants and quite a lot to see, or just pass the time. Ponta Delgada. Again, did our own thing walking to the botanical gardens and the covered newish shopping centre set above the lower town, about a 35-minute walk from the quay. Britannia? Much has been written before about the weird central lift and stairs arrangements where you cannot go from top to bottom by the stairs alone. We understand this is being rectified in her late-2019 refit. Food in the main restaurants (Freedom Dining for us) was only Harvester or Holiday Inn standard to be honest. On the two Marco Pierre White themed nights, they just about managed to do a decent Beef Wellington, but the second so called half-lobster offering was dismal. It seemed they had scooped the meat out of the shells, mixed it into a sort of saucy potato mash and re-inserted - very poor. If you wanted something rather more exceptional for dinner, then you had to pay and that seemed to be the general conclusion. Sindhu, The Glass House and The Beach House were all used by us and are extremely good value and super food in all of them. We did not try The Epicurean, which seemed very expensive in comparison to the other alternatives. Buffet was decent enough. At least you could get a made to measure omelette rather than the cardboard variety dished-up in the seated dining rooms and what they did to the ‘Kedgeree’ was absolutely disgusting. My wife rarely complains, but it looked like someone had vomited over the plate when served in the seated dining room. Entertainment was generally so-so, but the FlyRights guest act was very good. The speakers included a decent enough ex-SAS guy who regaled us with stories of daring, training etc; someone else who seemed obsessed with discussing murders, murderers and hangings such as Ruth Ellis, Crippen, Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe etc., and a guy who talked mainly about what made a good pop star. In other words, apart from the SAS guy, not exactly scintillating. Cabin was kept spotless and our steward was well worth the personal tip on disembarkation day. On the sunny hot days – yes, sun loungers were reserved when they shouldn’t be and P&O did nothing about it (probably too few crew members now?). Formal Nights – most made the effort to match the dress code but some did not, perhaps trying to make a statement about their independence? Service in the bars – excellent in the Crow’s Nest, but could be slow elsewhere unless you were sitting in a prominent place. In summary, it was what we expected. Definitely in terms of catering not up to Cunard standard and the bar and restaurant service not so good or as quick either generally, but it was value for money, we did not starve or become ill and the ship went where we wanted to go and we made it ‘work’ for us. We are booked on Ventura (again) later this year for the Canaries having booked that cruise last year. It is now much dearer we note. Booking another cruise onboard? Be careful as P&O like others, adjust prices according to demand so if you are booking something major, you can find its price later drops significantly if they are having trouble filling a ship, but it could also go up. We have in the past cancelled and rebooked, writing-off the 2 x £50 booking fee because the same cruise and an adjacent cabin was later offered at £100’s less or with an additional huge amount of on board spend. If you want 5* dining included in your standard fare, then you won’t get it on P&O, but if you want a holiday on a ship with mostly British guests, then it is fine and generally what I would call of a ‘Holiday Inn Plus Standard’. Good enough for us! Read Less

I have been cruising with Silversea since 2002, when it was one of the top luxury lines in the world. Since RCL bought Silversea last year, things have certainly declined (if my recent cruise on the Silver Wind is any indication). Cruising from San Juan to Barbados (3/3-3/10/2019), I was dismayed at the difference in quality. Staff caught in blatant lies regarding poor tender schedule, with no apology; inadequate staffing poolside; failure to inform me of a day pass I could have purchased at the end of the cruise at a local hotel to pass the day until my Silversea-arranged flights home; water bottles in our room filled with tap water and reused by the butler every day, instead of fresh bottled water; lack of on-board activities; very late- opening casino with only one black jack table and no players (due to the late hour); room service and concierge desk staff not fluent in English; I could go on. The main dining room had a decent menu, but the portions were miniscule. Terrazza food was good, but the Grill was not. The cabin bathroom was only big enough for one person to use at a time. There was no fan to vent odors. Shower was inside tub with very high side, making it inaccessible to those with disabilities. A fellow cruiser said Regent cruise lines has enormous bathrooms with separate stall shower and tub; perhaps when the Silver Wind is refitted AGAIN (2020) this will be done. Best part of the cruise: Our wonderful butler, Raj, and our very hard-working and always smiling cabin attendant, Neal (?). Although tips were included in the fare, I tipped both of them extra for extra-ordinary service. Sad to say, with 6 Silversea cruises under my belt, there will not be a 7th. I will be switching to Ponant and SeaDream. Read Less

Previously cruised with TUI in the Med & decided to branch out to the Caribbean for a 14 day back to back cruise. We flew from Manchester on the very impressive TUI Dreamliner where the flight went very smoothly due to attentive crew & FOC meals/refreshments. The transfer from the airport to ship was also very smooth & embarkation quick & efficient. Our luggage was with us within the hour which allowed us to explore the ship. The ship, as many people have mentioned, is merely new to Marella & is about 20yrs old. That said, the fact that she is not a new “block of flats” on a hull adds to the appeal & we were very impressed with the look, feel & layout. Yes, there are a few signs of age, but on the whole one could have no complaints. Word is she is going back into dock late this year to have further improvements made which shows the investment & faith TUI have in her. We booked a cabin with a large balcony & I have to admit that the hammock, sun lounger & chairs were well used, especially for an afternoon nap before food & drink! The cabin was spacious enough with plenty of storage space. The bathroom was far better than experienced on the Dream, with walk in showers a bonus. We experienced no issues with either the toilet or A/C & the cabin was kept spotless by Romric, a gem of a cabin steward! Make use of the plug for the kettle & take a double European adaptor, it helped a great deal when charging phones & i-pads through out the night! The food & drink on board was bountiful, lets say that, & to a very high standard in general, especially Vista, the Mediterranean tapas & Italian pizza & pasta eateries. The breakfasts in the self service buffet were outstanding, but where the previous contributor, LHMS, got his fresh, sweet orange juice from remains a mystery to me & my wife! The service in the MDR was sluggish at times with portions a little on the slim side, but no real issues. We tried all the surcharge restaurants & found them all excellent. Take a tip, if you are on a 2 wk cruise, book 3 for £75 & save!!! We upgraded to premium AI during the second week, mainly for the Coffee Port (which is excellent) the gin & whisky bar (in the Squid & Anchor) & for my fix of Strongbow Dark Fruits (sad!). There was no issue at all with the choice or service of the standard AI, in fact, the attitude & enthusiasm shown by all the bar & waiting staff could not be faulted, especially in S&A & Indigo. Yes, some fellow cruisers over-indulged & perhaps were a little loud & irritating, but so what, they are allowed to & i didn’t have their headaches the following morning! We attended 7 shows in the Broadway show lounge during the 2 weeks & thoroughly enjoyed all but 1, which is a pretty solid hit rate. I’m not sure what previous contributors expect for their money, the West End it isn’t, but they are great ways to spend an hour being entertained. The ports of call were all diverse, especially the difference between the volcanic ABC islands & the more traditional Caribbean islands of BVI, St. Kitts & Genada. Every island was welcoming & we were never over-hassled by the locals selling tours, when haggling over price is half of the fun! We always booked when we got off the ship. It’s cheaper & less “sanitised”! The whole experience was topped off by Captain Peter Harris. The guy has the driest of wits, is very approachable but there is no doubt he is in charge. Very re-assuring. 5/5 the Explorer isn’t, but she is a lot better than a 4 & we will be booking the Far East or Cannaries for 2020. One last plea. TUI, look to a loyalty scheme. Other lines are moving more towards the offer Marella exceed at & are becoming increasingly attractive!!!!!! Read Less

Silversea was a new cruise line for us and reading some of the reports on here you would think it was a cross between old Fred Olsen and new Costa ships! Nonsense - it was quite simply one of the best cruise ship experiences we have ever had. Seven days of small islands in the Caribbean - 300 guests, super service and some of the best food and wine we have ever had on a cruise, and that was without sampling the delights of La Dame which was an $50 per head. Excellent entertainment, smaller scale and more personal excursions - what is there not to like? We got a great deal and interestingly 70% of our fellow cruise passengers were also new to the company. Would we sail with Silversea again? Like a shot, particularly if we got the price and on board credit that our travel agent negotiated. Read Less

This was our first cruise for our silver wedding anniversary & certainly won’t be our last. After arriving in Barbados we were put on a coach straight to the ship, embarkation was fantastic. We were greeted by a steel band & given rum punches, got our room cards, photos taken & all done & dusted in minutes. Our cases arrived outside our cabin about an hour later. Entertainment was fantastic, we particularly enjoyed the shows in the theatre, they are young but work their socks off to give fantastic performances which last approx 45 minutes & drinks are served to you throughout. The entertainment around the ship & in the Squid & Anchor by the bands The Beats & The Collectables were fantastic also as were the games in the Squid & Anchor, really good fun if you want to partake or just watch. A must is the silent disco which was on twice a week, again you can partake or just watch. The entertainment is run by cruise director Cameron & he & all involved really do a good job to cater for everyone’s taste. There is always something going on somewhere if something in particular is not to your taste. There is a cinema & outdoor cinema, casino, library, gym, coffee port, scoops ice cream, snack shack, Champneys Spa & Salon, Broadway shops, 2 swimming pools, 3 jacuzzis, running track, mini golf, 10 restaurants to name a few so there is something for everyone. Sea days are a nightmare to get a sun bed as people put their towels down early, come at 8am & you’ve no chance. Staff do put tickets on them if they are empty for 45 mins but we saw loads of ‘reserved beds’ empty for longer, we never saw any towels being removed for people wanting a sun bed. We did a few tours with Tui which were amazing, one of these tours started an late so inevitably we arrived back late for the ship which thankfully had to wait for us because it was a Tui excursion. We did the trikes in Aruba (independently booked from home) submarine tour, catamaran & Pitons, Champagne & lobster catamaran & a few more independent ones off shore. All trips were fantastic, all the locals were extremely friendly towards us & we never felt intimidated anywhere. We picked up some WiFi with the price of a drink in certain bars. We were lucky enough to have our wedding renewal on our anniversary with thanks to Amanda the social hostess. This was something we couldn’t book back home at our Tui shop or the many phone calls by my husband. We were fortunate enough to get hold of Amanda’s e-mail & arranged it the week before we went, it was absolutely amazing & they couldn’t do enough for us. Captain Peter performed the ceremony on the bridge & it was wonderful, we had the silver package for £200 & it was perfect. We also purchased all the photos taken which was set to music & have it on a usb stick, also included was 16 photos which are professional photos taken by the lovely photographer team. All the staff on board are extremely polite & friendly & work such long hours to ensure we have the best time possible, they have a few hours off here & there but not days off. In order to receive a full day off they have to be mentioned in reviews so it’s very sad & darn right rude when you see people clicking fingers at them for service or moaning because they have to wait a short time for a table in one of the restaurants. Unfortunately I can’t remember all their names who made our holiday but a shout out goes to Gladys, housekeeping on deck 9, Roman who refilled our drinks on the deck pool, Vicky & Elizabeth entertainment staff, Captain Peter & Cameron for their daily announcements & Amanda social hostess for making it possible for us to renew our wedding vows. A few necessities to take with you, towel pegs or bands as it gets very windy in the Caribbean ( if your towel blows off or you lose it you will be charged £10 per towel). As I’ve said it gets quite windy & for us girls it is very unkind to our hair. 5 mins after drying my hair it went frizzy & after a few days very dry, my heat protection spray wasn’t strong enough for the Caribbean wind so I purchased Ghd protection spray from the Broadway shops which cost $13 but so worth it, this spray is expensive but I would not be without it for future cruises. I never felt the need to wrap up in the evening so didn’t wear the wrap I brought. Definitely bring looser fitting clothes for your second week as despite my good intentions not to over indulge it’s very hard as the food is delicious & plentiful. We also never used the euros as all islands accept usd, we used ours to pay off part of our bill on leaving. On the day of disembarkment you have to leave your cabin by 8am. You can pay £35 for a late room check out subject to availability & only till 1.30 or you can pay £14.95 pp for a day pass in Champneys Spa. We did this & it was amazing, we got our travel luggage in the lockers, provided with robes, towels, refreshments, showers & you can still use the ships facilities. For any disabled people wanting to cruise there were plenty of guests in wheelchairs & mobility scooters, incidentally the ship has plenty of lifts. We had an absolutely amazing time aboard the Explorer & are already looking for our next cruise - yep we’ve got the cruise bug. All the negative comments we read about before embarking on our first cruise in our eyes are unfounded but that is just our opinion, everyone has different expectations, experiences & are entitled to their own opinions. A holiday is what you make it & my husband & I have made many memories visiting 12 islands on one holiday. Read Less

I'll begin with what I liked about Silversea. 1) Very Nice room and pool deck area 2) Room service was very quick and food was hot I've sailed Seabourn and Celebrity previously and I'd rate the Silversea much closer to Celebrity regarding food, & service and wine below celebrity. The food/wine: fine - nothing to write home about nor was is bad except maybe for breakfast. The bacon was so salty it was basically inedible and the sausage was like nothing I've ever had before - I'm not sure what it was but very tough and dry. They couldn't poach an egg medium without me sending it back multiple times and feeling like a jerk. I asked for cream or half and half for my coffee in the mdr and it would take 10-15 every time to get it (3 different times eating there). The buffet breakfast was easier as long as you took the food off the buffet (no omelets or eggs Benedict) - waffles were like rocks and always forgot to serve syrup. If you want to eat at a specialty restaurant - good luck getting a reservation if you didn't book it weeks/months prior to the cruise. We sailed Oceania recently and they gave each passenger a set number of times they were able to eat at a specialty restaurant which guaranteed passengers a minimum opportunity to get into their specialty restaurants that were actually very good food. The wine - THE WORST RED SELECTION EVER! I don't have an expensive wine pallet however the red wine was yellowtail grade at best that I actually used $100 in credit to buy a bottle - I've never needed to buy a bottle of wine when I have a drink package or all inclusive - but they were serving Wente as a white wine option. I actually took a picture of the "rueben" sandwich they served, it was amusing - 1 slice of corned beef - there was more sauerkraut then meat. Portions were small but we like it that way as we hate waste - but I actally orded a 2nd lunch on day as the portion was so small - but again that is better than the reverse but I'm a small eater. Service - so different from Seabourn - I was actually embarrassed by the friends we convinced to join us. 1) this was mainly an asian population and though polite - they don't smile, ask how everything is and are robotic in fixing anything not right. The number of times I went to the pool bar and there was no one in sight that I had to go looking for someone. Our butler was good - he had appetizers in our room each day around 4 and even polished my shoes without me asking - though I just had them done and they didn't need it - it was very nice of him. However we had to ask 2 separate times for additional shampoo and body wash -no biggie however they pro-port to be luxury. Always Sir or Madam - Seabourn knew our names by the end of the first day - always a smile like they really wanted you there and were happy to assist you - unlike silversea where you felt like you were imposing. Excursions - so bad I don't have enough time to review them all except 2 cases. They cancelled one excursion I really wanted to do and I was told for safety reasons, another passenger was told because the company cancelled the excursion that week - we were in port with the sister ship who went on the excursion and supposed from a 3rd passenger the company was looking for us that morning. 2nd Case - a 7 hour excursion that the manager of the excursion department went on with us and took copious notes - and later sent a letter of apology for the excursion (after wasting our day and no refund). Of the 7 hours we were on a bus for 4 hours of it (this was not a tour excursion - I don't do those) and 1 hour at lunch. We did have 1 excellent excursion because of the people running it - beyond welcoming - We each gave them a $100 tip. The number of other passengers that we befriended that then asked, " so what do you think of this cruise?" - and then went on to say they weren't impressed was interesting - at least three that approach my friends an I - so you know it is much more since I was not vocal in the least - though finally spoke to the hotel director. Other notable points: my friend is a gambler - though not important to me, he was very frustrated by the lack of staff in the casino (2 people at max - a person had to come off a table to act as cashier. Again - this is NOT a luxury experience - food, Alcohol and entertainment are better on Celebrity - if you want luxury and a small ship go on Seabourn. Read Less

We like the cruise it was small ship i was shock about the jogging track it didn't look like the picture . Emergency drill was get but when the crew did there they barge in room 422 that where they keep the crew life jacket . . They block with rope between 429-431 & 433-435 other than that it was fine so you step over to get to the main dinner restaurant and elevator . For people confusion there was no 430 or 434 . The newspaper was a day behind unfortunately the sad part it was on the tv & in your itinerary . Free movie, free tv show episode , menu , live tv with 20 channel. The fitness centre was great so there were 2 separate and new machine call scale runner for kid to understand it like the the dog walker treadmill in Jetson . There no elevator to deck 9 . You can tour other sliver sea ship and eat for a day but be back on your original boat by 6pm. Not lot of kids around 6 with 2 babies what hear about the sliver spirt there was about 6-8 on that boat. Show room and card room was master so was the library and panorama lounge. Read Less

We travel with a group from local travel agency. We had 20 in our group and this was my first time on Windstar. I love the smaller ship. The cabins were spacious and the biggest of any cruise line. There was a walk in closet and large bathroom. Our cabin was clean and well stocked the entire cruise. Our group mostly hung out at the Star Bar during the afternoon. The pool was small and did not really have a spot to all meet up. Sevice at the bars on board was friendly and great at getting items for our group when possible. (Coors Light and Baileys). I enjoyed the Dining room meals and was happy with service, offerings and taste. Some of travelers in our group were not as impressed. We ate at Candles one night and was very impressed. Great food and loved the outside dining experience. The entertainment was a bit slow for our lively group. Enjoyed the one night we spent dancing. Steve did a great Elton John show. We would have liked more dancing upbeat music. There was a small casino open most nights for a few hours. All ports were nice and most days had to tender to shore.There were excursions offered but we did our own thing at each stop. We found the embarkation and disembarkation an easy process without any issues. We were also happy we took the drink package. Overall it was a great time with our group. Read Less

Great Premium flight from Birmingham well worth the extra though why you should have to pay on top of £175 surcharge to reserve a seat baffles me. Smooth transfer to cruise terminal then super quick boarding less than 5 minutes after getting off coach. Found cabin nice and spacious with large balcony. All ok there, luggage arrived within an hour or so. Muster drill delayed until a18:30 by late arrival of another flight so first evenings dining was a bit chaotic, no ones fault but quality of food was a sign of things to come unfortunately. Apart from Beach house (which we visited twice - very good) the quality of both MDR & buffet was underwhelming. Menus read well but failed to deliver most of the time. Entertainment. We like to see production shows and cabarets but except for 2 nights when a 7pm show was put on we had to choose one or the other as were on late dining. We’d book early or free time dining if booking P&O again though we did enjoy the company on our table. Ashore. Booked 2 excursions through P&O and 2 independently. St Lucia northern tour was very good with varied stops and good value. Taste of Antigua was poor value for money at £45 each for 20 minute bus ride to back street garden restaurant to tast 3 small nips of rum and a small selection of so so food. Did our own thing at St Maarten & Ponta Delgada. Tried most bars - planet was our favourite and felt prices were reasonable. Cannot see point of introducing package @ £40pppd unless they are going to boost bar prices to encourage take-up. We do not hold back but only spent around £350 on wine and bars in 13 nights. We tend to select cruises by itinerary so won’t say no to P&O again but we’re not sold on the brand yet. Read Less

We cruised on this ship on March 5th to 20th this year we fly to Barbados and got straight onto the ship this part was brilliant such a easy and well organised procedure by MSC, the plane was all Cruise ship passengers and we gave in our cases at Gatwick airport check in and we did not see them again until they arrived in our cabin on the ship in Barbados (amazing) once we landed in Barbados we were taken straight from the run way onto a coach and taken straight to the port to embark the ship. My only criticism here was that me and my husband were separated on the plane although his seat was only in the row in front of me ( this was only a issue as I am not a very good flyer and was a little nervous about sitting on my own for 8 hours). Once on the ship the décor and cleanliness seemed brilliant and was much the same as the Divina which we have sailed on before. Our cabin which was a inside state room on deck 8 (8171) was a good size, clean and located just 2 doors from the lift which was good until you get a change over day and they start to load peoples case off the ship between the hours of 11 and 3 in the morning and all you can hear is the cases in cages been wheeled and smashed into each over whilst you are trying to sleep. The buffet was generally good had quite a good selection of different foods (my only complaint is that the food was not partially hot everything was just warm) unless you timed it right and manged to get a slice of pizza as it had just come out of the pizza oven. even the tea/coffee water was mostly warm and not hot so your drink was only luke warm. The main dining room the golden lobster was lovely and the staff were very friendly and accommodating. The food was also pretty good but didn't really have that much of a choice, the only annoying part of this is the constant banging of wine bottles and singing when it was someones birthday/anniversary it is ok the first few times but when you are trying to eat and talk to people on your table it can become annoying when they do this 3-4 times (maybe there was just a unusual amount of special occasions over the 2 weeks we were on the ship) the Il Cappuccino coffee bar is lovely and the staff here are also lovely Phoenician Plaza (Ice Cream Bar) - really lovely the snack and ice cream here are amazing Entertainment - this is where it all fell apart, The Theatre performances - the first one we saw we thought was quite good the acrobatics team are all very good it was just the singers which were only ok as they could not really sing with English dictation most of the song you could not understand the words unless you knew what song they were singing. It seem that all the performances where much the same every night just with a different theme and the story lines didn't really make much sense. Singers in the bars/lounges where again ok singers but just hard to understand. All the ports we visited all were lovely, we did one excursion organised through MSC which was the in Dominica and we got on a trolley train which took us around the Island we visiting a old church and we went to a lovely botanical garden. The tour guide was lovely and very informative. We also visiting the Emerald pool waterfall here and this is also worth a visit. My last thing is that I feel they needed enforce the using of the hand sanitisers to people getting on and off the ship and also when entering dining rooms ect. Most people did not use these and this is what I believe caused a lot of passengers to be poorly. The need to look at the sanitisers to also make sure that they are all working correctly as on a few occasions when getting back on the boat we believe they may of run out as they would not dispense any sanitiser. Read Less

Our second Yacht Club Experience Having been on board Fantasia April 2018 Barbados back to Europe. Sadly for us it did not live up to our previous cruise. Yacht Club: One Pool Could not fault the pool boys or waiters but on several occasions we believe that there where people in the yacht club that were not members due to the door not locking this was reported by several yacht club members including ourselves,we pay for this privilege also young children in nappies going into the jacuzzi we found the sun lounges very uncomfortable, maybe they should supply cushions. Lifts: Priority for yacht clubs members in one word this does not work even for the Butlers. Cabin: Clean but find the dressing room very small no comparison to the suites on Celebrity Butler: First time we have been disappointed nice polite man kept our cabin clean but his lack of understanding English made it very difficult to have any communication with him. Dining: Well I say one word PEPE what a lovely man misses nothing staff have respect for him and if it had not been for Pepe I would have struggled with the meals he was very attentive as he was with all the guest He is a great asset to MSC. Top Sail lounge: Firstly have to say how amazing the waiters Anna Nayara and Zaheem were they kept us entertained as most often we were the only people in there including our friends after 10.30 We feel that there could be a little more entertainment not just a piano player it lacked atmosphere and very underused. Embarkation: Could not have been better. Disembarkation: Taken off too early bit of a rush, then a long wait at the airport. Summary: We have two more cruises with deposits Seaview Yacht club Nov 19 and on the same ship Dubai Dec 2020 We are having doubts whether we will be going. Read Less

MSC Preziosa - Yacht Club - 5-19 March 2019. Caribbean from Barbados via Cruise Club UK. The cruise consultant, Ian Lazarus, delivered on every promise and commitment made. He has been superb throughout the whole process and I would strongly recommend using his services if booking a cruise package. Our second Yacht Club experience having been on board Fantasia last year. We were a party of 6 taking up 3 cabins but this assessment is largely confined to mine, my wife’s and our friend’s experiences. All in all, not as positive on this occasion compared to the near faultless holiday of last year’s transatlantic. FLIGHTS We prefer to travel Premium Economy. This time on Virgin but these were chartered flights by MSC. The experience outbound was very good but inbound less so in a 23 year old jumbo with limited staff to look after 450 passengers. However, since this provision was directly by Virgin, it would be inappropriate to criticise MSC. TRANSFERS Once again, airport to ship was very good but in reverse, the coach arrived earlier than we were advised; was an elderly conveyance with poor (almost non-existent) air conditioning. EMBARKATION & DISEMBARKATION MSC (for Yacht Club) do this better than anyone (we have travelled in Suites with P&O, Celebrity & RCI). Escorted onto and off ship. SUITE No different - perfectly adequate “de-luxe type” cabin - small balcony but the huge “exclusive” top deck area more than compensates. I say “exclusive” but this year it wasn’t. Non Yacht Club passengers accessed this space easily as the two entrance doors were not secure enough. Staff never challenge (not allowed to) and I found myself escorting 5 passengers out of this private area during our 2 week cruise with others unchallenged. Small babies of an age to still be in nappies accessing the jacuzzis with their parents; young teenagers diving in the no diving pool and cigars being smoked in a smoking area next to a sign “no cigars.” TOP SAIL LOUNGE First class facilities & service. BUTLER After the faultless experience courtesy of Putra last year, we struggled with Olivier this year, mainly because of his poor English. La PALMERAIE (Yacht Club Restaurant). One word. PEPÉ There are not enough superlatives to describe this amazing man. The Restaurant Maître Di (officially the Supervisor). He misses nothing. His staff love him. The passengers revere him - in truth, they adore him. Not only is he in complete control of all that happens, he never loses focus on his customers. He is the ultimate professional but is so personable that he is never less than entertaining. The personal service we received was beyond first class as his team aspire to his own very high standards. MSC MUST retain his services because on the strength of this experience, our next cruise would be assured. Thankfully, the Yacht Club Restaurant in the new ships is an integral part of Yacht Club rather than at the opposite end of the ship. YACHT CLUB STAFF It seems unfair to single out anyone but there MUST be special mentions for our lovely waiters, Anna, Nayara (unfortunate to fall sick - hope she is OK), Durian, Zaheem, Luis and Reina (day time concierge). However, I was much less impressed with the night Concierge. Mr. Simone Piletto very much needs some guidance on the provision and delivery of effective customer service and the avoidance of the attitude he displayed toward me on two occasions. Perhaps he was annoyed I had disturbed his Facebook access. SPECIALITY RESTAURANTS Despite a complimentary visit being included for black card guests (4 of us are) we declined offers to the Sushi and Italian eateries. They simply had no appeal since the lay-out was in no way inviting. In any event, why would we miss the chance to be looked after by Pepé and his excellent staff? However, our daughter & son-in-law did pay for a visit to the Galaxy (Sushi Restaurant) and described the food as excellent. LIFTS Strange as it may seem, this was an irritating regular occurrence, even for butlers. Yacht Club cards rarely delivered the exclusive provision to decks 15-18 and we very regularly found ourselves travelling randomly up and down or the cards simply didn’t work. TO SUM UP We do enjoy Yacht Club very much, despite these frustrating instances. However, with us usually travelling as a 4 (we took our daughter & son-in-law with us on this occasion), our deposits for trips on Seaview (Yacht Club) in November 2019 (Barcelona to South America) and on the same ship in December 2020 (Dubai) are now in some doubt. These deposits are, of course, via Mr. Lazarus at Cruise Club UK. Read Less

Did not know what to expect on this our first cruise as we had read so many varied reviews, but we could not fault our cruise experience, we booked a large balcony cabin and it was perfect, we had our own sun lounger, table with 2 chairs and a hammock! It was ideal to get away from the hustle and bustle of the pool deck areas and really chill out. Okay the Marella explorer is not brand new and not as huge as some of the other cruise ships but for us it as just right. The main self service dinning room served a good range of hot and cold dishes which changed daily, and if you wanted a full English breakfast you'd have to go a long way to beat it, we also tried out the specialty restaurants, some you had to pay a cover charge for, but well worth it, and the all inclusive drinks package was the best we ever had, all the top and well known beers and spirits.We can't praise all the staff on-board enough, from the cleaners to the ships Captain, nothing was too much. Plenty of hand sanitisers' everywhere, entertainment and activities were suited to all age groups and were well organised, The only thing I would do differently next time would be to book shore excursions on-board the ship, yes they are more expensive than doing it yourself but it saves the hassle of being pestered by the hoards as you walk out of the port area into local towns, overall we had a fantastic first cruise experience and certainly do it all over again, especially on the Marella Explorer. Read Less

After a long bout of illness we were looking for a special holiday and boy did we get one. Every port/island that we visited was absolutely amazing, beautiful scenery, white sand beaches and crystal clear sea’s. The ship was equally amazing, we had an inside cabin on deck 9 (9162) it was spacious with a good sized en-suite and plenty of storage, the cabin crew came in twice a day to clean and tidy replacing towels as often as required, Andrew was our steward and a friendlier and more helpful person you could not wish for. Although we had two weeks on board we did not see everything as there was just too much to see, places we did frequent were, The Broadway show lounge, 2 sometimes 3 shows a night we went at least once a night and were very happy with the shows especially the George Michael tribute act and The Harper Brothers which were the funniest comedy act I’ve seen in years. Squid and Anchor, typical Saturday night pub with pub quiz, Mr & Mrs and other games and live music nightly. Indigo nightclub, Disco’s and silent disco’s (very funny) casino where you could play Blackjack, Poker or Roulette. Food and drink, If you wanted to be waited on Latitude 53 is all you could ask for excellent food and service, choice of 5/6 starters,mains and deserts, if you wanted self service The Market place offerers a larger choice and is of equal quality, if like me your a late night snacker the Mediterranean bar is open until 01.30 where you can get a curry or burger and chips etc. Ours was an all inclusive cruise without the premium package we found that we could eat and drink as much as we required without the added expense. Finally I would like to say thank you to all the staff from cleaners to captain who made this the most wonderful holiday that I’ve ever had and I will definitely be doing this again. Special mentions go to Andrew our cabin Steward, Carlos our drinks waiter (Indigo), Ramonne drinks waiter (Squid and Anchor) Chloe entertainment Squid and Anchor, Cameron entertainment manager and James who I think had something to do with sound and lighting. Read Less