Starting with a chaotic transfer from hotel to ship, this cruise was destined to disappoint with nonexistent shore support following hospitalisation resulting from an allergic reaction to a ship-provided meal and cancelled ports of call (3 of 7) said to result from the ship being prevented from leaving ports - including the first port of departure - due to adverse weather!

Restaurant dining was often 'drawn out' such that later courses were either rushed or cut short to enable us to attend a chosen 'show.' On board entertainment and/or sea day activities were generally poor and not consistent with what might reasonably be expected of a so-called 6 Star operator and many other 'finesse' points associated with luxury cruising (e.g. cleansing towels and drinks on returning on board from excursions, cabin-provided canapés ) were missing.

We encountered a distinctly apathetic tone and lethargic response to criticisms and requests for improvement, ultimately resulting in advice that all such matters should be addressed to their customer relations department on return home. Read more