This is our 2nd cruise on this ship, but the 1st cruise for our 2 sons in their 20's. We were lucky in going before the bad weather of the middle and end of December. So we had an uneventful flight out and only a 1 hour delay on flying back. We were aboard 11th to the 18th December. Island Cruises staff are at the airport to greet you and direct you to the coach for the 45 minute ride to the port and check in. We left Manchester just after 7 a.m. and were aboard by 1p.m.

The weather on the whole was good, dull and warm with some rain the 1st couple of days, then mainly warm / hot and sunny. (Especially Agadir, be careful you don't burn). On arrival there were heavy dark clouds in the port which lived up to their promise and unloaded the rain in the evening so the sail away party was held indoors. And day 2 in Las Palmas was dull with heavy clouds. We had no really bad weather untill the last night when it was rough and stormy. But a warning to those, like us, who have not sailed the Atlantic before. People complained of the "rough weather" all week, while what it was was big swells of the sea caused by bad weather elsewhere in the Atlantic. So the ship did rock up and down quite a bit.

We had a balcony cabin on deck9 and the boys had an outside twin on deck 4. Others have commented on her age and need for refurbishment , It mainly shows in the age of the wallpaper and the dated appearance of the bathroom. But all fittings and tiles were not chipped or broken. (I looked in the boys' cabin and it was identical inside to ours, but they said they had no 'fridge in theirs. The cabins are not huge but have plenty of room for what you need them for, including plenty of drawer and wardrobe space. And all kept spotlessly clean by the steward. Read more