I picked this cruise solely for the winter sun, a fly cruise gave maximum sun time in the Canaries - and the weather was wonderful. So glad I paid what I think is a very reasonable £229 for the Retreat for the 14 days. So I was able to stretch out in the sun, in a lovely select area (child free - a great boon), service of the highest order; the supposedly upmarket sun-loungers are past their sell by date though and seriously need replacing. But overall the Retreat is lovely. The service in general was excellent in the bars (apart from an unhelpful surly type in the otherwise excellent Planet bar); unfortunately the service in the Java cafe was very slow, frankly most of them didn't seem interested in looking after the guests. I struck camp in the Blue bar, a lovely more intimate setting. Restaurant food, maybe not the best but the service was excellent - as far as the buffet is concerned, it seems we all think the same about it - too much of the factory canteen ethos about it, and it can be draughty too. Cabin stewardess so very good and always cheerful, very happy to give her a good tip even though tips are included.

I didn't enjoy either flight on Jet2, both were delayed by well over an hour - you don't want to be hanging around Tenerife airport for 3 hours, utterly soul destroying - the coach got us to the airport far too early.

Entertainment I found to be very 'so-so' but there were highlights and I thought the house band were very good. The ship has the smallest central atrium I have ever seen on a ship and wasn't quite the focal point I would have expected. Read more