So we figured sailing from Southampton would be a great way to save the hassle of airports and overnight stays before and after our cruise, just a quick jaunt on the train and there we were straight into our holiday.. perfect. Sizing up the boarding queue it looked more like the cast of Dads Army although I don't remember any of them having wheels. We boarded in around 40 minutes and decided to take a walk through the promenade to our stateroom on floor 6, the promenade was very impressive a nice area to walk through to get to where you are going on the ship and full of shops selling perfume, jewellery, watches, booze and fags. I guess they pick these items based on how people answer their end of cruise questionnaire, although sadly that section seemed to be missing on my form.

On reaching our stateroom we were again impressed with the space we had (we had an ocean view with balcony) the room was well cleaned and presented, bathroom was also clean and you could fit two thin people of average weight in the shower although I hadn't spotted anyone meeting this description as yet. Sadly the mini bar was just mini and the was completely missing the bar element, just water soft drinks and sweets.

First things first we headed for something to eat in the Wind Crammer Cafe, ahhh it was reminiscent of my schools days. The rules were simple, the rudest people get to eat first, usually by pushing in front of a well formed queue. If you wanted to sit down you had to split up from your partner and head in separate directions like wolves moving in for the kill, upon finding a seat that was about to be evacuated it was common to shout across the restaurant to the rest of your party, starting loudly and continuing in volume until said party had heard you. The hungrier you were (or bigger I'm not too sure) then the less need there was to use things like tongs when picking up food, hands are always quicker than all that messing about eh? I'd best describe the experience as horrendous, although some people seemed quite comfortable with everything, probably no different than Fred's 80th birthday buffet at the local football club. The cafe and range of food are both two small for the number of passengers. The main restaurant was much improved on this, and the food was good but not great. The staff were very friendly and forced to do a ridiculous and embarrassing singing and dancing act every few days, as if they don't work hard enough. Read more