We sailed from Trieste. A very good departure port-no hassle. My partner has some mobility problems and we were given an earlier boarding card. The coach transport to and from the ship was excellent. First time on Fascinosa, last 2 trips were on the Favalosa ships both the same but Fascinosa is less garish in decor. The ship was exceptionally clean. We were upgraded to a good sized cabin with a window which was great, given a bottle of Procsetto and a bowel of fruit. Every member of staff I had contact with was great, friendly and helpful. The food in the restaurant was excellent as usual but the soup was often quite cool but we were a long way from the kitchen this time. Seven courses, of course the courses are small as someone commentated on but you couldn't cope with larger portions and as for the pasta course it was delightful. We had another English couple on our table which was great. Our waiter worked his socks off for us. We only got off in Malta due to the weather. We didn't do any excursions. We didn't attend any of the entertainment but spent our time in the lounges meeting different people from Europe. Which is great I love to meet people from other EU countries to compare notes. I can communicate a little in German but most of the people we met spoke English. As for the smoking, there is one small area in the Atrium bar where you can smoke when the ship is sailing. Again there is one bar up on deck five where there are a lot of bars some with entertainment. I think the smell of smoke comes from the casino. In the Lido bar you have to go up in the balcony on the port side to smoke. I sat with the smokers and it didn't bother me. Oh yes the Italians are noisey and pushy but after all it is an Italian cruise line.

My one and only complaint is that on the 'all-inclusive' package they now do not give bottles of water and will only give it by the glass. Yes, I found this to be a bit of a bind as I like to have water in the day and in my cabin, I don't drink alcohol in the day. I still tip on top of the service charge and I never had to wait for a drink at any time. Here's a tip. Check out other airports other than what is offered when booking. For example, we previously picked a the ship in Barcelona instead of Savona so much more convenient. This time after docking at Savona we flew back from Nice instead of Milan so much better. An hour shorter journey and a smaller airport. Cost suits my partner and I so we will stick to it.