We wanted to go to the Middle East. Having travelled with MSC before, which was luxurious, this ship felt like we were on a ferry - very tired and not very impressive. The brochure states that there are dancing lessons.....there were none. There were not enough sun loungers and one day the guests looked like sardines as they were packed together, some having to sit on chairs.

The food was so basic that it was shocking. It seemed that some was recycled. The desserts were disappointing - just a few sponges with various flavoured toppings and jelly. The main courses included toad in the hole, which is a nice basic homely food but not what you would expect on a cruise. It seemed that Thomson were really penny pinching trying to charge for everything they could. They were even collecting pens up from quizzes as soon as the quiz was over and sending someone out afterwards to make sure they didn't miss any!!

The excursion team were absolutely useless and seemed to enjoy telling untruths even when caught out! The entertainment team were great and two of the groups were good. The cabin crew were great and really worked hard. This appeared to be a very low class cruise and most of the guests looked thoroughly miserable!! It has put us off of cruising.