This was our first cruise so we did not know what to expect and this lengthy account of our experience is to help cruises novices to make the most of the cruise and to avoid pitfalls that we experienced. To summarise we had a fantastic time with a high standard of customer care and excellent food. However, there were three main complaints: Embarkation; disembarkation and excursions that hijack you to waste your time at a sales venues.

Embarkation in Venice

We left our luggage at the Port and went into Venice for lunch – so far so good. However, when we returned to join the ship there was a hall of sheer chaos! We were standing in various lines for almost two hours. There appeared to be an inadequate amount of staff to board over 3,000 people. This could easily set people in the wrong frame of mind which could cause some customers to view everything negatively after such an awful experience as there seemed to be absolutely no concern for the customer. Myself I saw this on a par with having baby: horrendous at the time but afterwards it is so wonderful you soon forget about it. Read more