Nearly didn’t book this cruise due to the flurry of negative reviews but we’re glad we did. Quick summary… lovely new & modern ship. Is the food as good as Celebrity or NCL? No… but it was still decent and we always found something to eat. Was the service as slick as Celebrity/NCL? No… but the crew were all lovely if a little disorganised in the MDR. Was the entertainment as good as NCL or RCL? No… generally poor BUT there was a great 80’s band on the ship and the pay for shows were excellent. Did we enjoy the cruise? Yes, absolutely… it represented great value for money so we’d definitely go again.

The reason I’m writing this is because I’ve seen many people complaining about how it’s not as good as x or y cruise line WITHOUT the consideration that for what was paid. To give an example, we could have taken a similar itinerary on the same date with Celebrity, who we do love, but would have cost us circa £600 each extra (circa 65% more). So when we’re giving our opinions, it’s based on how we see it in terms of value for money (vfm) and not just outright comparison. Also, I’d avoid the short 2/3 day cruises. I don’t think you get a proper experience on what seems to be a booze/party cruise.

So the ship is fantastic. Big, modern, clean, very quiet and smooth. We had a ‘free’ balcony upgrade in the price so that was nice. Embarkation was quick (15 minutes from parking car to cabin). Cabin’s are compact but decent. Hard bed though. Maybe thicker mattress toppers would fix this? Food in MDR was pretty good for the few times we ate there although service was a bit chaotic but that was more their issue than something that bothered us. The main buffet was sometimes hit and miss more about the quality of the cuts of meat than anything else for example the Korean lamb on one day tasted nice BUT was so chewy, it was inedible. We’d always find something but some days were better than others. The rolls and cakes/scones between 4pm and 5pm were nice. We tried 2 of the speciality restaurants as well… good and part of a package deal BUT we wouldn’t rush back to be fair. Steak house steak was great BUT looked like shop bought wedges and onion rings?? Indochine was ok but way, way too much food. Expensive if you did either as al a carte. Read more