Overall, very good value for money cruise.
On the sister ship next year, so already looking forward to be back on board in familiar surroundings.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
As a storm was rolling in, cannot knock the port staff for working out in terrible conditions. Check in was smooth.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Food in general was very good. Buffet was a little repetitive, with little kids choices. Quays was a big win, go there early in the cruise as this was a little hidden gem. The beach house was great (£ supplementary). Dinner at the Limelight (with Matt Cardle) well worth it.
The smaller main rooms (aqua.opal) i found much better service than the two larger options.
Drink, wasn't on a package (which are on the pricey side), however generally pub prices. Service was ridiculously slow at times, with most servers happy to talk between themselves at the bar - definitely need to sort this.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Was expecting the highs of entertainment as Royal or NCL, but the offering was ok.
Plenty of pools. Plenty of whirlpools.
Did just didn't quite have enough for the little ones, however kind of knew this.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Limelight with Matt Cardle was brilliant, what a voice. Heard others talking highly of the other acts as well.
Shows were ok, tbh our cruise was a little odd with a fire emergency part through one and several changes of iterary which resulted in our calender having a few missed offerings. What I saw on the Iona Headliners was good.
Panto was... not great.
Children's Programs
5 out of 5
Very good. Had a good mix of activities for the little ones.
Top Tip: set your watches to the ships time. Be on your app bang on at 8.30am, and book all the slots as quick as possible. The Splashers (2-4yr) was ridiculously busy every day for the service, and if you pre book entertainment (such as Limelight) there's no guarantee you'll have kids covered.
Nico was a particular highlight for our little one, who wasn't keen on visiting for the first several times. Loved it by the end tho.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Mixed bag really, but let's start on a positive;
Kids club staff great. William (haaaloooo) and the Vistas coffee staff excellent. Cabin steward, who put up with a lot of ill nights (kids terrible coughs) brilliant as always.
Generally tho, quite a glum bunch. Officers struggled to even knowledge most of the time. First cruise we haven't seen the captain. A lot of phones out, which is something my wife (ex crew) can't stand.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
From the first night this could have been a very low score. Our room was pretty bad, however after seeing how the previous occupants left it (there really is some dirty people), we couldn't be mad with the cabin steward.
Generally clean everywhere on the ship.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
We had an inside. 2 adults, 2 young kids. Deal was very good at the time!
Has made us rethink the balcony requirement going forward. I thought the room generally was pretty good with the bunk bed and double bed arrangement. Wife hated the lack of space tho. Lack of plug sockets tho.
Ship tip
Quays for breakfast.
Anyone with kids, read my previous note about bookings!
Thanks for your comprehensive review. Have you though about an ocean view cabin. We have swapped from balcony ones as we like the furniture positioning now that there is not that extra doorway.
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