We set off from Sydney, got to Circular Quay at boarding time for our deck, to find half the ship had already boarded, don't know why they even try to implement boarding times, if they don't actually stick to them. We could not even get a seat in the Windjammer the buffet, for lunch, went to the PARK cafe which I knew about from the internet, so at least got a small salad and sandwich in peace and the cool. Cabins not ready till 1pm, in future would just come later and not rush.

Cabin was 9924, was slightly disappointed with the size, we had cruised before on Queen Mary so that had set the bar, the bathroom minute, the bed rock hard and pillows terrible, bring your own! The fridge also does not really work at all, everything lukewarm, not worth having, and others told us the same about their cabins. Ours was a so-called superior, don't bother, just go for a Deluxe and also try for level 8 as the noise above from the suites on Level 10 was horrendous. We had a small child that had obviously been put in a bed above us and the parents must have just closed their door to their bedroom, and come 5/6am every morning he jumped out of bed and started running from one side of the room to the other and that went on all day till around 12am, a continuous cycle for the whole trip, the morning of our return, he started thumping around 4am. We were very surprised by the noise transfer between the floors, the cabins next door were fine, just the occasional stuff which you would expect.

The staff however made the trip, they were lovely people, couldn't do enough and were not fussed if you tipped or not. We did enjoy the evenings in the Schooner and Ritas Cantina, the young Indonesian in that bar was great, and interested to talk to us all. Read more