On arrival at Malaga, we were handed a typed piece of paper, which due to handling luggage and 2 children, didn't get to read properly until we were on the transfer bus........when too late, we found out that the ship was being "sanitised" due to an outbreak of diarrhoea and vomiting. This lead to an hour and a half transfer, "sightseeing" from a coach, instead of a 25 minute transfer. We appreciate this sometimes happens, but improved communication could have reduced the amount of stress. Had someone clearly told us there was problem, prior to getting on the coach, who knows whether or not we would have taken the option of re-arranging the cruise for a different time.

Then we stood outside in the rain at the port, literally with hundreds of other people. No one took charge, there were no clear instructions, and it took over an hour to embark.

The cabins were absolutely fine, and as expected. Clean, with a pleasant house keeper. The Windjammer was extremely crowded on the first day, but afterwards was very pleasant. Dining at 18.45 in the Strauss was OK, service was good, but only 3 courses (some other cruise companies offer up to 6 small courses). Despite the fact that we had pre-ordered the Platinum Wine Package, some of the bottles we had chosen were not available, due to it "being the end of the European season", and we accepted substitutes. Read more