I'm not a great fan of cruising, once you've seen one ship you've seen them all really, but my husband loves them so we compromise and it's an easy way to experience places you've never been to before. The ship was a bit tired, dated and in need of a spruce up in parts, but I thought it was clean and the cleaning staff very visible although there was a Norovirus outbreak which the ship seemed to do their best to contain.
Room service was awful, we all but gave up with this but I took off my gratuity and so spent it in the International Cafe instead where the coffee was marginally better than the rest of the ship. Tea everywhere was not to our English tastes for the most part it was served warm not hot, so again, we all but gave up with this. It was a shame we couldn't enjoy a drink on our balcony first thing in the morning without planning in advance or when we returned from a trip though. We complained several times and eventually we were given a unique number to call, but we were made to feel like we were just making a fuss. Obtaining unsweetened soya milk was problematic as they didn't seem to have it on board until the first port we called at and I was made to wait for long periods while it was located despite a head waiter assuring me it would be available throughout the cruise. I wish he'd told the staff where to find it!
I'm British so hate the tipping system anyway so taking off my gratuity made me feel better - the lobby staff can explain why if any of the staff feel it was unfair. I expect to get good service as a given. Why don't they just charge more for the cruise instead of adding €13.95 per day?
It was a bit tired and dated but clean and adequate. The balcony and furniture had paint splashes on them but we didn't spend much time there due to the rubbish room service and lukewarm drinks. It was what I expected and I wasn't disappointed.