This was our first ever cruise. A formal cruise didn't appeal so we opted for the informality of an Italian-basewd trip. The ship itself was fantastic and our balcony cabin spacious and comfortable.

We love Italian food so were in heaven with the menus. We also opted for the drinks package so I did drink my body weight in prosecco! Didn't do the organised trips as we just preferred to explore on our own and we had a great time.

So far so good.... Unfortunately we were appalled by the behaviour of our fellow passengers who appeared not to have a manner between them. Yes the queue jumping and jostling was a pain but I've seen worse around my own town. What was so bad was the shouting between cabins at all hours of the day and night - it seems Italians don't have volume control. The cabin and balcony doors are heavy safety doors and none seemed capable of closing them without slamming - 3am was always the favourite time when coming back from the bars. The 'gentleman' in the next cabin had a cold and spent the whole week coughing and spitting on his balcony - he laughed when I politely asked him to stop. Maybe there was a virus on the ship as each mealtime we saw men blowing their noses on the linen serviettes. Read more