Great vacation

Our last cruise was 16 years ago so I  don't really have anything to compare this cruise to.  We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise, the ship and the activities and all the ports of call(maybe not so much Olympia). The ship was very clean and the staff was exceptional. We had a balcony room which I would highly recommend.  The stateroom was plenty big with enough storage for the 2 of us.  We did not eat in any of the specialty restaurants as we figured we could do that at home and we had already paid for food.  I would not recommend the buffet for dinner because it was not very good.  Breakfast and lunch were ok at the buffet but sometimes just so crowded.  We ate dinner every night at Alizar since you didn't have to dress up like you did for The Grand Pacific. The menu was basically the same except for the steak choice was different.  We both thought the food and service in Alizar were excellent.  The only excursion we purchased from the ship was the guided tour to Delos from Mykonos. We enjoyed that because we liked hearing about the history.  You can do it on your own for much cheaper but if you don't have a tour guide with you you are just looking at a bunch of rocks. I do wish we would have purchased the excursion to go to Oia in Santorini. The ship stops there at 1:30 and you have to tendor into shore.  If you purchased an excursion you get off first and that particular tour takes you to the other side of the island where you take the bus to the top.  Otherwise you tendor into shore and take the steps, ride the do keys or ride the cable car to the top.  Line was very long for the cable car so we purchased tickets at 25 euros to take us to the other side and rode the bus to the top  and over to Oia.  (Scarey ride to top). Once you reach Oia it is the most beautiful, picturesque place ever (white buildings with the blue domes like you see on the postcards) with the most spectacular view I've ever seen.  Sit at one of the cafes, have a beer or lunch and just take it all in. You will love it!

Overall, I would highly recommend this cruise.