This was our first cruise and therefore have nothing to compare it with but we were very satisfied with our holiday. We sailed from Tilbury so no airports to contend with. The cabin was a good size with plenty of storage. The beds were comfortable and the en-suite quite adequate.We found all staff consistently pleasant and attentive even when some passengers were quite rude to them. The ship was spotlessly clean in all areas and great trouble was taken to remind diners to cleanse their hands prior to entering the restaurants. The food was excellent. We mostly ate in the Waldorf Restaurant as the self service bistro tended to be a bit draughty as the doors to the deck were either side of it. The food we did eat there was delicious and always hot. The only criticism being the frequent lack of mugs at the drinks counters. This was an irritating problem that should be so easy to resolve - I wonder if it has?The entertainers were professional and very talented young people. There was enough variety to meet most people's needs from beautifully played classical & easy listening to show-time and the velvet voiced Carmen. The lectures were interesting too. The Cruise Director, Richard, deserves a mention for his versatility, enthusiasm and professionalism. The lounge areas were very comfortable. Drinks were reasonable to buy too, what we would call 'London prices'.I would endorse the previous critic's comment and was disappointed that I didn't go to 'The Wilderness' to see the lights. Those that went had a spectacular experience. I hadn't realised that light pollution from the ship and harbour,etc would interfere with seeing the lights at their best. However we did enjoy our other excursions especially the dog sledging. The excursions did seem expensive but then Norway is an expensive country. Again, we were disappointed that we missed 3 of our ports of call but I don't know how this could have been avoided as the weather was so bad at one point that the Captain had to take the advice of the Norwegian pilots and,for our safety and comfort, we had to anchor in a fjord and therefore had to make up lost time to return to Tilbury on-time for the next cruise. There were the usual moaners complaining about this too - we were in the Arctic Ocean in February for goodness sake! I wonder who built the snowman on deck and his cheeky companions late one night? Only the snowman remained the next morning! Maybe a River Cruise would be calmer??!!