Chose this as the newest ship in the fleet and decided to treat ourselves after 11 years cruising with Thomson. We had heard good things but when we arrived- it was a very different time. The main dining restaurant was a female who was sharp, rude and downright nasty. One evening we had to pay for a meal because once again we were kept waiting until after 9pm for dinner! There were food waiters but no wine waiters. We like a sherry before a meal - usually no problem - on this cruise we NEVER received one because no-one knew what is was! One evening the waiter brought us port instead and he was so pleased we didn't have the heart to tell him the truth - no, saving money on wine waiters is NOT a good idea. I did complain about the above and more and received a lovely letter saying how good we were spending the time to let them know our problems! We were not offered a penny - even for the meal we HAD to purchase because of incompetent restaurant staff. Meanwhile the upstairs Italian restaurant was. Instantly 25 - 75% occupied - absolutely bizarre. The ship - well she was stunning. But for the first time ever (before and after this disaster) the crew were a real letdown. No smiles, no conversation, no acknowledgement that we were even alive except the cabin Stewart - wonderful chap. Never sat in a bar area and was approached by crew to get us a drink - not once in 14 days. When I went to reception and said I wanted to complain - she pulled a sheet of A4 from the printer and gave it to me, going on to the next passenger. I now understand that the crew changed between Caribbean cruise and ours - what pity. We visited the a la carte restaurant at the end of week 1 - fantastic. Treated by people who SMILED, who TALKED, who wanted us to have a good time! Fantastic. If we had the money and went on evening 1 - we would have gone EVERY evening. The crew, happy, smiling, accommodating crew MAKE our cruise every year. The Discovery was blighted by the worst. The following year we went on the Majesty - cruising at its best! Thanks for that! Please take this feedback in the spirit in which it was sent - making sure your crew are picked for there ability to care rather than those you can get most cheaply. Not sure about start date - just wanted to right a review after being 'thanked' for sending a 6/7 A4 complaint - clearly that just didn't mean anything.