Embarkation was much smoother than our previous cruise leaving from Venice. However, there were long waits in the sun on the gangway which appeared to be due to passengers not completing the correct paperwork. Once on board we headed to the windjammer cafe for lunch. There was lots of variety of all different types of food and plenty of choice. We then headed to our cabin 9667, as this was only a 8 night cruise we decided to give an inside cabin a try. We were not disappointed. Although it was small, it was well appointed with plenty of hanging space and drawers. As we docked in most ports later in the morning or in Hong Kong at 7pm, we decided that it would be unlikely that we would be in our cabin during this time. I would highly recommend an inside cabin on a short cruise as it is quite cost saving too.

We chose my time dining and never had more than a 10 minute wait to be seated. The food and service in the main dining room was very good. We did feel though that Celebrity was slightly better in this area.

One of the surprising things about this cruise was the lack of wines available. I prefer to drink Sauvignon Blanc and they had none available from the day we set sail even though they had several different varieties on the wine list. In fact there was only one Pinot Gris available and the remainder of white wines were Chardonnay. I'm only glad we didn't decide to take a drinks package. Read more