Flew Thomsonfly from Manchester 22nd March 2008, just before the snow landed! We were 2 hours late leaving, but didn't mind as plenty legroom and TV's in the headrest meant a comfy, enjoyable trip. However, we were fed breakfast at approximately 11:00am and nothing else until tea at about 5pm GNT time! Missing out lunch - not a good idea on a 10 hour flight! Transfers to the ship at MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA (Yes it does exist, cruise critics!) went smoothly. I think it took about an hour and half overall. Our luggage was not seen from check in at Manchester at 5:20am until they arrived outside our stateroom at about 8pm local time (1am Sunday morning GMT!). I found the ship much smaller than the Crown Princess, which we travelled on Easter 2007. But passenger/space ratio was spacious, like the crown princess. Our cabin (we were upgraded) was on Emerald Deck on the Port side, room E304, second from the front. It was great having a window, which I could look out of by sitting on the sill. The room was roughly the same size as the inside cabin we were on, on the crown princess. The bathroom was small but there was plenty wardrobe and drawer space for your clothes and personnel belongings. Our steward changed during the middle of the holiday. Both were okay - very pleasant and polite but I got the impression they were shy. Either that or they had unfortunately experienced a bout of rude, obnoxious passengers and were a bit wary. We ate in all dining places apart from the steakhouse, which was just part of the Horizon court (24 hour buffet) cordoned off at night. Reviews of it were favorable though. I enjoyed the food. I ate rabbit for the first time! It tastes like chicken. I liked it. We ate 1st sitting in the traviata and our waiter was Emannuel. He was lovely and kept bringing us plates and plates of deserts to try. The excursions were reasonably priced. We went on more this year than last year. Favorites were Grenada river tubing and Barbados turtle swim and shipwreck tour. Both once in a lifetime experiences. I enjoyed the ports of call. Isla Margerita was, I think, an excuse to stop for cheap fuel (34 cents a gallon!), yes, a few heart attacks on board the ship too! There wasn't much to see, but they had a wonderful beach area by the port. Grand Turk is painfully small and not much to see either. But again, their beach is something and would definitely advise anyone to spend time on it, going snorkeling. The entertainment was okay. The comedians they hired were funny, but found two of them used the same jokes as others, which spoilt it slightly. Sid Little was on board though. I keep telling everyone 'I saw Little from Little and Large!' He was great! Films were usually very good. Although they had a popcorn machine and never once used it! This time the ship was 90% English and 10% other (mainly Americans). Brits are more laid back than the Americans. They want to do everything at once at twice the speed! Overall I give the ship 8/10. It feels older than the crown (which I know was only about 9 months old when we sailed on her), but it didn't have the amenities the crown offered: popcorn machine (I LIKE POPCORN WHEN I'M WATCHING MOVIES!), pizza parlour by the pool, the two main pools separate so one had the movies, the other had the music, free cookies at the cafe indoors, sushi bar. Would I sail on her again? Most definitely. Despite some of the whinges, she was a top rated ship, a top rated company and IS known to be the best for the range of excursions. Something else to note; I had an infection (NOT CONTAGIOUS!) that made itself known by the fourth day of my cruise. I decided to see the medical staff and within 30 minutes I had tests, had a consultation and antibiotics! You can tell it wasn't the NHS! The nurses ( I think the ship had 4 or 5) were English and 5 star rated for politeness and manners. The South African Doctor was just the same; a caring attitude. Despite everything costing $135, it worked out at about £65. Better than having a holiday of misery. Some people were going down just for a blood pressure check! The medical center was busy nearly everyday but not one person could fault them.