We chose to get away from the hustle & bustle of Christmas preparations and relax with the family (kids & grand-kids) on a Christmas cruise. The children went to kids club, some enjoyed it, some didn't. If you don't like lots of kids then this is not a cruise for you. There was plenty to do (if you want to) things like trivia, dance lessons, crafts, games,swimming, water slides, shows, parties. The food choice is very good. We ate breakfast mostly in the buffet which we found better than in the main dining room. Evenings we preferred the main dining room. The Nouveau Restaurant, for that extra special gourmet food was excellent. The staff everywhere were generally friendly and offered great service. We had a couple of things wrong in our cabin which our cabin steward got the maintenance crew to fix within an hour. The entertainment was very good with a good variety of entertainers (jugglers, magicians, comedians, acrobatics, dancers, singers. The ports were all tender ports (using lifeboats not a wharf to disembark). At Lifou we chose the Jinek Bay Marine Reserve excursion for great snorkeling. Numbers are limited so need to book as soon as you can after boarding ship. $26 p.p. There is no beach at Jinek Bay so not suitable for children unless they can swim/snorkel. Isle of Pines is beautiful where you land there are white sandy beaches within a short walk with lots of sea life (turtles, coloured fish, coral. Where you land on Mare there is not much, a few market stalls no nice beach. There is only has one excursion, a bus journey to Yejele beach for $25 per adult, $20 per child (aged 3 - 12 years). On a previous cruise there were lots of stingers on the beach and in the water. It's a beautiful beach but we didn't get off the ship there this time.