The itinerary was very interesting, and having traveled on the ship previously, you can always expect to meet up again with people that you know. The atmosphere on board is comfortable and friendly. The ship offers good value for the cost, with most shore excursions included, complimentary wine with dinner each evening, quality lecturers who add to the educational and entertainment aspect of the small ship, and a dedicated staff and crew who do their best to make your time both on the ship and on shore enjoyable. In spite of the engine room fire on the first night, which caused changes in the planned itinerary, the cruise director Richard Sykes did a great job in trying to keep the guests occupied with a challenging daily quiz and entertaining cabaret performances, and the other musicians on board provided diversions from the missed ports of call, temporary lack of hot water due to the fire, and other inconveniences caused by the work being done to assure that the ship was sea worthy. Shore excursion staff were friendly, and providing maps for the places we visited were most useful when exploring alone during free time. This was especially helpful in Bordeaux, where we were docked for several days whilst the ship was being repaired and ready to sail for the remaining ports. Some of the ship is showing wear, but hopefully the refit that will happen later this year will make it ready for 2017.
Cabin was clean, in a a convenient location for the healthy breakfast served near the pool, and also to a quiet seating area on deck. Cabin steward Ian was fantastic, quickly dealing with any issues ore requests that I had. Ample wardrobe an storage space, much more than on some of the larger ships. Even with people walking around the deck, cabin was very quiet.