This was our first cruise. We had read the various reviews and as a family with children, we wanted to see whether we suited cruising, or it was something we enjoyed.

The ship was clean and we could see the staff working hard everyday with maintaining the ships paint and cleanliness. The cabins are dated slightly but the beds were comfortable and the cabin steward was lovely, every day making an animal from the towels for my son. You have plenty of towels, including ones for the sun beds, which makes a nice change. The food is good. There is a selection of restaurants, some you pay extra for more elaborate dining, but the Orion and buffet food is good. The Orion staff were very much a part of the key service you can expect. My glass was never empty and they would talk to you and get to know you all. That little time spent makes all the difference to us and was very much appreciated. The captains gala is a nice feature with photos that you can have. The captain was very informative in his morning announcements and I liked the little humour he would share within his information. Also very much liked that he personally saw off every guest at the end of the cruise. The destinations are a mixed bag. We had been looking forward to Pisa, however we booked a short trip, which left us little time to explore. That was our first lesson and we learnt about what to expect. Monaco and Savona were lovely stops and we did our own thing which is easy with the information provided. I have to say that we had been dissappointed with Toulon. It felt out of place from the other destinations with little to see and do. The ship appeared busy that day, so we thought that others must have felt the same. We made a similar mistake to Pisa in Barcelona. We had picked a short excursion and so didn’t see anything of value and missed the key sites. Our fault in not selecting a more diverse tour. The entertainment is very good. There is something in every bar from acoustic to the full on broadway type productions. The costume to these are extremely good and the entertainment crew very talented. We thoroughly enjoyed the shows every night. What makes this ship is the staff. Yes the lights and decor are a little old and the toilets play up. But the staff in the most are amazingly friendly. They are attentive and helpful. The bar and drinks waiting staff are under pressure and so you do have the wait for a drink, but you can go up yourself when this is the case. We were all inclusive and sometimes felt that we were analysed for having two room numbers for five drinks ordered. I’m not sure what that was about? Basically the family have loved their first cruise. We can’t wait to book our next and know that we know want longer experiences. In that the cruise was a success for us. From reading some reviews maybe the ship sets a expectations for us first timers, rather than for a sessioned cruiser.