This was our first cruise, and it had its ups and downs.  We found we were bored. We also felt nickled and dimed, everything was an extra charge.  We expecting a movie theater on the ship, this didn't exist; instead you had to purchase movie at $11.95 each to view on the tiny TV in the stateroom. The library was somewhat out of date and was primarily made up of fiction. The person running the library was not knowledgeable and unhelpful.  You cannot buy a book or a magazine anywhere on the ship.   

On the plus side the ship was very clean and the staffs, with the exception of the reception desk, were friendly and helpful.  It was pleasant to walk around the decks and to sit out on the balcony. We went to an Italian wine tasting that was quite nice, but we didn't care for the wine.  The French wine tasting was cancelled.  The pastry lecture was nice. We are not night people, so did not go to things that happened in the evening after 9:00.  The food that was included on the trip was not particularly good.  I work at a facility that has a cafeteria and my staff often complains about the food.  The food on the ship was not as good as the food at work.  We did go to two of the specialty restaurants, the French restaurant and the steakhouse.   The food was fairly good, but not great at these venues, they would probably get a 16-18 Zagat's rating.  The service is very good at the restaurants and the decor of the French restaurant is lovely.  It was quite disappointing that the same crummy desserts are served at the specialty restaurants that are served on the buffet line. The desserts are yucky and disappointing. The best general food was a nice goulash, and a pretty good hamburger. 

We were bored. There was nothing to do.  The pool area was unappealing, and over crowded.  We don't gamble or dance and tend to limit our alcohol consumption to wine at dinner.  We hated that alcohol and drawing were constantly being pushed at us. The performances were OK, the dance shows were enjoyable but we were not excited by the comedians, the magician and musician.  The health and fitness area cost extra.  The art auctions were particularly cheesy.  The lectures by on Malta and Pompeii were boring.  Read more