Having read previous reviews I was very concerned about our holiday. Embarkation was excellent and the ship is extremely clean and the staff are amazing. Reception staff less so - unhelpful when we complained about noise in our cabin and when moved to another cabin in the middle of night only to find extreme engine noise they were very rude to us. The Orion restaurant is good and fellow diners well behaved in this restaurant. The waiters are amazing - service some of the best we have ever had in any 5 star hotel around the world. However, the decks are cramped, sunbeds old and stained and the ship is only slightly better than Brittany ferries - in fact the pool area is worse than the Pont Aven ferry. Do not go on this cruise if you want any form of culture or sophistication. Lots of bingo and hideous entertainment in the Broadway theatre. Very crowded in the buffet areas and breakfast on deck very busy. Stick to Orion restaurant for breakfast if you don't want to watch very large people eating very large breakfasts whilst talking very loudly on mobile phones to friends at home. I am trying to be generous here but all in all if you like Butlins you will like this - it is not like the previous P&O cruises we have been on at all but it is a lot less expensive. The Ports of call were lovely as was the weather and leaving the ship was extremely efficient. The main problem is the sheer number of people all crammed together on a very small ship and the type of people attracted to this type of budget cruise.