Our cabin was port rear on deck 9 (D612), it was a very good size; it is described as an superior deluxe balcony.  The décor and fittings were in reasonable shape.  Between the bathroom and main room is a spacious hanging area that really works well.  The beds are high enough to take some pretty big suitcases underneath.  There is a spacious sitting area with a sofa, chair and variable height table.  The balcony does not have an overhang and can be overlooked (no topless sun bathing here!), but it is a good size.  Our steward Denzil looked after us well, and was always keen to do more.  This grade of cabin comes with fluffy bathrobes, binoculars, atlas and on embarkation Champagne and chocolates.  This cabin was very quiet, nothing rattled, but when they test the lifeboats which are immediately under the cabin, the noise of machinery is deafening!  Lifeboat tests are usually on port days and at fairly sociable times, any other time and I would be very worried!

We had been here before, and just took the shuttle bus into town where we had a good walk around and some lunch.  There was a lengthy queue for the return shuttle bus, about half an hour.  There was an even longer queue to get back on the ship, not quite sure what went wrong there.

Ibiza

We had booked a trip here “The Acropolis and The Plaka”, everything was going well until we arrived at the car park for the Acropolis.  On leaving the car park and taking the steps to the base of the Acropolis we became separated from the guide.  Although we could hear the guide on the radio she was unaware that we were no longer with the group until she came to hand out the tickets to enter the Acropolis.  

For our part we searched the promenade at the base of the Acropolis and asked several people if they had seen our guide with our lollipop.  After waiting some time we called the ship’s agent, who was not helpful, and told us to call the ship.  Reception was very helpful, and arranged for the Excursion desk to call us back.  When Ruth called us back we had returned to the car park and were waiting at the bottom of the steps.  Kevin from the Excursion desk also called us with updates on progress.

It was two hours before the guide eventually found us, by which time another couple who had become separated from the group at the Acropolis had joined us.  After a while we could start to hear the guide again, and could hear someone telling her that they had also become separated.  Soon after this the guide found us at the bottom of the steps, we then rejoined the group and discovered that the coach would not be picking us up from the car park.

On return to the ship we went to the Excursion desk to discuss our problem and were effectively told that the incident was our fault.  After a rather heated and fruitless discussion the agent agreed to request an appointment with her manager.  No appointment was received, and we returned to the Excursion Desk two days later, to be told that the matter was in hand.  The next day we received a letter from the manager apologizing and advising of compensation.

We took the Best of Santorini tour, a very good tour with an interesting guide.  You get to see a lot of the island, but I’m not sure how much value the included lunch provided.  The lunch was self-service in a large venue with at least another five tour parties, yes, we’ve all been there, average food and not our first choice of wine!  The tour could be shortened allowing more time in Fira, and perhaps a better lunch.

The ship docks very close to the Old Town, we just walked of and took a long walk around the town and harbour, then enjoyed a leisurely lunch and some shopping.

Rhodes

We have already seen most of the sights of Crete and Heraklion, so we took the transfer to Aghios Nikolaos.  The host on the coach, Sandra was excellent, and when we arrived at Aghios Nikolaos she walked us around to and got us orientated.  We had a pleasant walk around the Voulismeni Lake, and enjoyed a relaxed lunch, so relaxed that we did not have time to go to the beach.  Our host positioned herself prominently in the coach park and we had no problems finding the coach.

We took the Olympic Spirit tour, our guide Penny was a star, well informed on the historic aspects and highly organised.  She kept the party together even when we lost one member they were soon back with us.  It’s a fairly uneven site, but quite compact.  The museum is definitely worth a visit, though it can become very busy.  Aircraft spotters would have particularly enjoyed this trip because the Greek Airforce was practicing nearby!

We have been here many times and our call was fairly short, not enough time for lunch.  Like everyone else, we got off walked into town, did some shopping, had a beer then got back on board.  As we walked back towards Ventura you could hear a lot of bottles chinking around us!

Gibraltar

Overall, an enjoyable cruise with the exception of some selfish passengers who were totally focused on what they wanted to do, queuing in the Glasshouse to make sure that you got into the theatre is not good, neither is leaving a show early to get to the next venue.We took the Best of Santorini tour, a very good tour with an interesting guide.

Ventura Review

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Cabin Review

Junior Mini Suite with Balcony and Bath/Shower

Port Reviews

Ibiza

Rhodes

Gibraltar

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