This cruise was my first after some badgering from my wife who has been on several with her friends over the years. I was not sure what to expect, but the experience was not as bad as I anticipated and certain aspects were quite enjoyable.
The transfer to the port embarkation hall was a bit of a farce, due to delays, but once in the hall, surrounded by thousands of "holiday" makers the experience got worse due to numbers being packed into the hall; at this point, I thought my worst nightmares were to come true. I must say though there were lots of cruise staff directing you where to go and all of them were very helpful.
We boarded the ship and as the cabins were not available until 2 pm, we had lunch in one of the many restaurants, which was very enjoyable. We got the call that the cabins were available and we went to go and have a look at our cabin which was called a "balcony stateroom". The room was generally well appointed, but the toilet and shower area was a tad small. However, there was coffee making facilities and a hairdryer, but only one 230 V socket; what was quite impressive was the ice bucket, it was always full of ice - it never melted!. The balcony was two chairs and a table "big", but perfectly adequate and the room cooling was too, if I have one moan, it was that when we had used the two coffee sachets, it was hit and miss as to whether we got refill. We ate in most of the "no additional fee" paying restaurants and in a couple of the paying ones, the food could best be described and plenty of it, but totally pre-packaged, pre prepared and no spark. I must say however, the buffet was probably the best option for a meal that you could really enjoy. Buffet seatng was generally available, but as the dining area was open to kids it sometimes got a little loud and irksome.