We chose this particular cruise because of the itinerary (11 islands in 14 days). We'd been to the majority of the islands before but wanted to go back to certain islands. We paid extra to chose our cabin and we opted for 82** right at the back of the ship. The bed was right against the wall with access only at one side (so no bedside tables), the air conditioning wasn't working and the balcony door didn't close properly. When we stepped out onto the balcony we were greeted with plumes of smoke coming from smokers directly below on Deck 7!! Not just a 'quick fag' type of area but with tables and chairs where people could spend hours if they wanted. Who on earth would designate a smoking area directly beneath cabins when there are the usual areas underneath the lifeboats?? Sheer madness. My husband is asthmatic so we asked at reception for another cabin. We were told we had to wait to see what the final capacity was and they would contact us. We were so tired that night we slept right through the engine noise I'm going to warn you about. The following morning the shower flooded the bathroom, with water everywhere. Reception informed us they had put a note under our cabin door the previous evening advising us of a new cabin. That didn't happen - in fact the note turned up hours later in our new cabin. We moved into 82** just around the corner which seemed very nice. Being the end cabin on the row it had a slightly larger balcony which was great. At 6am the following morning we were woken by the most awful noise and vibration, which went on for over an hour. We found out later from the captain (a very nice approachable man) that the noise is from the changing of the gears when slowing down to come into an island. He was aware of it and did everything he could to lessen the noise and vibration but said all the Marella ships did it. Sailing out of the islands in the evening resulted in the same noise and vibration. Hot cups of tea, glasses of water, mobile phones etc all slid off the bedside cabinets onto the floor. The passengers in the cabin next door had also been moved and said it was just as bad as their first cabin. After 2 days we'd had enough and asked for another move. Until we could be moved at the end of the week we were given a 'sleeping' cabin (80** with picture window) and we did have 2 really good nights sleep. We were finally moved to a Junior suite on Deck 12 for the last week. However, during the cruise we spoke to many passengers who had experienced the same problems and one couple had been given our first cabin and were waiting for a move. The people we feel sorry for are the staff on Reception. They must deal with these complaints on every cruise and yet the cabins are still being sold by TUI and filled.

The public rooms/areas were okay but with the cruise being all inclusive it was a bit like Club 18-30 meets Benidorm. There wasn't really a quiet lounge area to sit and have a drink. There was a shortage of staff especially in the restaurant and we missed two shows due to the slow service. We had the majority of our meals in the Buffet where the food was significantly better. Having said all this the Broadway Show Lounge had the best singers and dancers we've ever seen in over 25 years cruising. Cruising again with TUI? No thank you. In fact the best thing TUI can do is sink all the Marella ships.