I'm left with the impression that this cruise (short duration, old ship) is used as a training event for staff. Overall, I was happy, and would do the same itinerary & ship again, but there were a lot of rough spots in service. There was a lot of dining room staff, and they were all very active, but service was very slow, slower than any other cruise I've been on. If the table waiter is always "too busy" and running past you, that means either s/he isn't delegating enough, or has too many tables to wait on. For one brunch, the headwaiter took our order after our waiter rushed by several times, but he was only taking orders for food, not drinks. First dinner in the dining room, I asked for a port with dessert, and the waiter had no idea what I was talking about. After explaining and being told it would be brought, dessert arrived. By the time I was halfway through, we'd given up. We were done and walking out when he rushed over to ask if I still wanted it. No! Next night, they did bring something, but it was a watery purple something that might have been a grenache. I sent it back. Ten minutes later, I got the same thing in a different glass. I sent it back, and the fellow who had brought it seemed a little affronted and said he'd show me the bottle. I don't care what the Bottle says, it isn't a port! Little things that most people on what's basically a booze cruise wouldn't notice or care about, but service matters.

Overall, I had a great time. We had the Chef's Table, and that was something else, well worth the $75 per person. Some of the courses I didn't enjoy as much as I might wish, but that's more to do with me than the excellent preparation and service. I would have liked wine parings instead of the fairly mediocre merlot and sauvignon blanc that were poured for the entire meal.