Good sampler cruise

Overall, I thought the food and service onboard was exceptional.  All staff were very friendly and the dining room was very accommodating as regards catering for food allergies.  The Windjammer's buffet food was also top notch and there was lots of variety. I only ate there for breakfast and two lunches but was very happy with the experience; however, a few times the cutlery, which was pre-wrapped in napkins, was dirty. 

Our Oceanview stateroom on Deck 2 was lovely and large as it was an accessible stateroom, with two single beds pushed together to make one. We had to ask for it to be separated as per our booking request  as I was travelling with my mother. There was an armchair and lounge (which were filthy) and a small glass table, and a chair to sit at the mirror where the cupboards and kettle were. Only tea is provided so if you want coffee you have to bring your own or go to the Cafe Promenade. Plenty of drawers and cupboards to unpack your stuff into. The towel animals appeared every few nights which was cute.  

Sea days were a disappointment here, boring. There were 4 in total, two of which were in a row. All free seminars seem good at first but are aimed at getting you to buy other services or products. The spas on the pool deck are lovely and hot if you can get near them and the big screen tv has movies but they are repeated throughout the cruise. The tv shows the same shows and same episodes over and over which is very annoying. The paper folding class, colouring in and quizzes were great but they were held in the schooner bar which was much too small for the amount of people that turned up.

Drinks are expensive if you do not have a package. I kept all receipts until the last day to match all purchases on my final invoice.  The Seapass card was a great idea because it meant I didn't need to carry my handbag around.

The entertainment shows were okay, with dancing and singing, I thought the best was the Hypnotist. The ice show was also good but there were quite a few falls.

You had to pay for specialty coffee and Ben n Jerry's icecream but the prices were decent. Cafe Promenade was open 24hrs which was great if you needed a snack but was also too small and always packed. Didn't have too many allergy friendly foods though. (Food was free here, coffee crap but did its job when desperate).

Loved the fact the lifts had a panel in the carpet with the day written on it as I forgot a lot.

Excursions were good, some better than others. Main issue was none of the ones I did gave enough time to get any shopping done.

St Petersburg was annoying due to having to allow an hour to get through customs before you could get to your buses. One day this had to be done twice due to two excursions and as we didn't have a visa we had to get back on the ship in between.

Announcements daily by the captain were informative and he waited until a decent hour to do so.

Overall the cruise experience was good but the sea days let it down and the Navigator is getting old.  Furniture needs cleaning and updating, hinges on doors need fixing and oiling (bathroom door kept banging when closed and also wouldn't stay open which would be bad if you were in a wheelchair and trying to get in the door, and cupboard door squealed every time it was opened).