First impressions were of a beautiful ship with lots of wood, marble and chrome. This impression stayed with me throughout the cruise and made me think of how an elegant club would look. Service on board was excellent with the exception of a couple of members of staff who were probably suffering from home sickness or just didn't like cold but dry Norwegian weather.


The cabin was a disappointment with a carpet so stained it would have been thrown out if in anyone's home. Space and storage were fine but the small tv stood at an angle because the bracket it was fixed to was bent. The beds were very comfortable and even in heavy seas afforded us a very good nights sleep. The cabin we had was an inside one and was plenty big enough for two of us. Any longer than a week though and I would have been missing daylight. The cabin lights were not bright and seemed to be yellowish in colour which made it a dull place to be. Having said that we only slept and changed there as we were out and about from early on until late into the evening so it didn't really matter to any great extent. We saw little of the cabin steward but he did what he had to do and did it well. 


The public areas are wonderful with the Playhouse cinema and Curzon theatre having very comfortable seats with plenty of leg room. The Costa Coffee seating area is far too small and finding seats was difficult on a few occasions. The Crows Nest is huge and finding seats was easy. We even found front window seats on three visits including our 30 mile passage through the Fjords after leaving Flaam. The sofas and chairs in all the public areas are very comfortable and look almost new. What I did find strange was the choice of films in the cinema. Two films were ok but another was a horror movie and to cap it all they showed a Mongolian documentary with subtitles! I think the Aurora was at the back of the line when films were handed out. The Headliners shows were good but not outstanding and the harmony singing group were also pretty good. Lyn Frederick the singer and musician was excellent and deserves credit for the hours she puts in. 
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