My husband and I had been dreaming about taking a cruise on the Paul Gauguin for years, but it was just so expensive. Then after my husband was diagnosed and beat cancer, we knew we could not wait a moment longer. Having never sailed on a "Luxury" cruise line we had great expectations and sadly they were never met. The service was AWFUL throughout. There was no effort made to make us feel special or like honored guests. Even the smallest request was answered with a big, "NO," a word we heard over and over every single day and thought we would never hear on a ship of this caliber. The sheets were threadbare and pilly, the rubber mat in the bathroom was black and the throw over the foot of the bed was ratty and old. At the lunch buffet, the selections were boring and repetitive. How many days in a row could we be offered different varieties of meatballs, braised chicken and cheap starches of all kinds from pasta to rice to mashed potatoes? At dinner in the main dining room, L'Etoile, the choices were often inexpensive fish like tilapia or salmon and cheap cuts of meat in lamb or chicken stews. Even at Le Grill, the steak was paper thin. The service at L'Etoile was impersonal, the lights were glaring and the noise level deafening. And just like on any mass market cruise line, lobster was offered only once and that was at the end of the cruise. And that was on an 11 night journey.

The worst part was from day one we complained the air conditioning in our cabin was not functioning properly and it was impossible for us to get a restful night's sleep. Throughout the entire cruise we were told there was nothing which could be done short of closing our drapes. How could that possibly be? We had expectations of greatness and time and time again all we were offered was mediocrity.

Upon arriving home, we wrote a detailed letter to the president and CEO which took them six weeks to answer. And even after all that time, all we received was a poorly written form letter. Read more