Very nice new ship, the price we paid was about average and our reward status from other cruise lines was accepted. We looked over the reviews for this cruise and were prepared for the worst but we had a very nice time. The food was very good overall. The live shows were excellent. Our stateroom attendant (Michael) was fantastic. Embarkation was quick but we were met by a very rude and somewhat aggressive photo lady that scolded us when we tried to gain access to the ship without having our memorabilia photograph taken in the boarding area (not the security photo). We have visited all the ports many times and were not terribly interested in getting off the ship. The cabins are very modern and well thought out but the storage space was very limited and was barely adequate for a 7 days cruise. The shower is somewhat small and we are not large people. We were on the 9th floor (just above the dining area) and had a very large balcony but there is no privacy when you sit in the uncovered area of the balcony. The walls between cabins are thin and do not attenuate the noise from other guests, we were lucky to have quiet neighbors but could still hear screaming, crying children from time to time. The layout of the ship is not traditional in any respect. There is no walk around deck (like the jogging deck under the lifeboats) where you can see the ocean, the view from our cabin was nice but it was like being on the balcony of a nice hotel near the water and we never got the feeling of being on a ship. The ship is extremely stable in any sea state, we never felt the slightest motion despite less than ideal sailing conditions. It is somewhat difficult to get from the front of the ship to the back and the passengers were segregated by their classification with a large area in the front of the ship off limits to the non-premium class passengers. The Spa is expensive but amazing, with dry sauna and wet steam rooms, a large Jacuzzi, salt room (whatever that is) and even a snow room where the temperature never gets above -10^ and there is actual snow on the floor and ceiling (we made a tiny snow man). The water park area for children was very nice. We did ride the slides a few times while we were at dock and the ship was almost empty. There is a great huge bucket that fills with water and then dumps out onto the wading pool with a crash, there are water guns and water falls and rope bridges and other chaos inducing features that will occupy children like a proper water park on land. This is a wonderful cruise for families with young children but we do not have children ourselves and were somewhat out of our comfort zone. I hated not being able to visit all parts of the ship, not having a walk around deck, the smoking and the general boorishness of a good portion of the patrons (especially in the dining areas). I have lived in Spain and traveled Europe extensively and have no explanation for the rudeness of some of our European fellow guests during meal times. We had to clean off tables ourselves many times in order to find a place to sit down and eat. Despite the high quality of most of the food the Breakfast in the buffet was an exercise in patience and reminded me of the anarchy that follows disaster relief efforts after major earthquakes. This is the only cruise ship in the world where you will actually loose weight, the elevators are painfully slow so plan on using the stairs most of the time. Most of the staff are very nice and the management is really trying to address problems and make restitution. We were not included in the Cruise Critics Meet and Mingle event despite being active members and signing up for the event. We were also given bad information about our drink package that did not line up with what we were sold, they sent two bottles of sparkling wine (we are not drinkers and ended up giving it away) and a fruit plate to the room to make up for the oversight. I could recommend this cruise without reservation to young families with children but we prefer the older passenger make-up of different cruise lines and will most likely not cruise with MSC again.