Having read the 2 previous reviews, I find it hard to believe that we were on the same ship. I too have been on dozens of cruises with Cunard, P &O, royal carribean ets and having read some previous reviews! I booked this cruise with some trepidation. I took the view that given the price paid, I was not going to get 5 star service. How wrong I was!
Embarkation was fine. having arrived in dubai the previous evening, we booked a hotel a and spent the day in dubai, arriving at the ship around 6pm. We embarked the ship straight away and we're told that cabins would not be available until 8.30pm. We checked around 7pm and found our cabin ready and our luggage waiting for us. The cabin was very clean and larger that we have had on other ships. Service from our cabin steward was excellent. Food in the restaurant was first class with plenty of choice, far better that we had on a recent cruise with Holland America! our waiters attended to every little detail and made sure our wine glasses were always topped up! And yes, water was served to all at both lunch and dinner.No it was not iced water, but does that really matter! We at lunch twice in the buffet. Plenty of choice but very busy but then isn't that the case on every cruise ship. Bar service in both the buffet and on deck was prompt nod efficient. There were 500 Brits on board with the remainder European. Yes some were a little exuberant but we saw no real bad manners. Overall a great cruise which I would recommend to anyone.
A good sized cabin. Only drawback was that it was about the Apollo bar and the noise of music could be herd let at night.