We selected this ship because of its size, and, having lived in Southwest Florida for a number of years, we sought to encounter different cultures and meet people from all over.This ship, with its European ownership and customer base promised that. We had no pre-conceptions or expectations. I have to say that from embarkation to debarkation we were pleased at how these folks really have their act together. My wife has a food allergy and we were concerned that she would have difficulty with ordering or in having to explain to the staff. Not to worry! The head waiter in the L'Ippocampo dining room personally supervised menu selection each evening, and made us feel like VIP's. What a treat. We selected a balcony suite and loved it. It was tastefully decorated in a soft cranberry and gold with a LOT of storage and a killer shower. Plus, we loved coming back to the peace of our cabin for reading or, OK we admit it, an afternoon nap. Food was good. We had breakfast in both the buffet, and later in the dining room on deck 6. One thing I did notice is that the breakfast buffet offered baked beans and lunch meat (mortadella,salami,etc.)as well as the usual eggs, fruit, etc.. To our American tastes that was a little strange, but we did see fellow cruisers enjoying it. We were really impressed with the entertainment, and felt like we were going to eat at a 4 star restaurant which was followed by a Broadway show. Every Night. Wow. We tended to hang out in L'Atmosphere for drinks,and it did tend to fill up . The "entertainment team" was bright, bubbly, fun and energetic. They seemed to be able to go from morning to night featuring endless pool side activities and dance contests, as well as evening events. All the key officers and staff are Italian, with mostly Indonesian wait staff. On this cruise we were blessed with good weather, and we brought home the sunburns to prove it. We did have two nights with rough seas, but with the stabilizers on this ship we hardly felt it. We had three gala dinners, and a smashing midnight buffet. On the final gala dinner, they turned the lights down and all the wait staff came in with Baked Alaska. It was really stunning. One of our friends commented on the lack of a free ice cream bar, and that was true. Would I have liked that? 'yes, i guess. But since neither of us is big into ice cream we didn't really miss it.