We wanted to go on a cruise for my mother's 80th Birthday it was something she has always wanted to do but we never quite got round to it. Personally cruising seemed like my idea of hell but I set out to find something that would suit 9 people with a wide age range (12-81)Having enquired of several cruise companies the attitude of staff surprised me it would appear that asking for 5 adjacent cabins is unreasonable. We were also told we would have to sit on a table of 12 at dinner.The attitude of MSC was very different, the clerk asked me what the cruise was for and a little about the people going on thr cruise, she then suggested various options where she could place us in adjacent cabins. She left us time to think about the options and then we called her back to book. We decided on the Yacht Club as it suited the occasion and would be less overwhelming for my parents than the whole ship. The staff as MSC booked the cruise and efficiently answered many further questions we had. They allocated us a table for 9 and were able to accomodate Gluten-Free diets.We have just returned from the cruise and I felt compelled to write and say that the service, food and everything was outstanding. My mother was treated so kindly by all the staff nothing was too much trouble. All the staff in the Yacht Club get to know you very quickly so there is no need to show your pass card. They offer a very personal service. The butlers are attentive without being over bearing they seem to magically appear when you need them and that is exactly what is needed. They also seemed to be able to tell where each one of our group was when we were trying to find one another!My husband is the Captain of a luxury yacht and the service even met his high standards, which is unusual. The ship is HUGE but it is carefully divided into areas and you don't get lost!We tended to stay in the Yacht Club area which has plenty of room, the top sail lounge and the pool deck are fantastic. The rest of the ship seemed equally well maintained, it was busy around the main pool but everyone seemed to be having fun. There is a quiet adult pool on the aft deck and a lovely sunbathing area on the top deck.The walk to the Etoile restaurant every evening was a pleasure we enjoyed our stroll along the deck both before and after dinner.There were people on the cruise who had cruised with other luxury cruises and all said this was better.