Here we go. I will begin with... we are not cruisers. This was our first and last cruise to be sure. I thought it would be a great way to see some of Europe, which it was. The ports were fantastic. I traveled with my daughters.The first few hours were fine. The cabin was very nice, except the bathrooms constantly smelled of urine. I cleaned the bathrooms, but the awful urine stench did not go away. We were in a deluxe ocean view cabin on deck 1. Our steward was very nice, but only went through the motions. Which brings me to the crew. I have never seen more distressed, sad, glum and indifferent holiday staff in my life. It really put a damper on the "fun" aspect of our cruise. Everyone looked tired and over worked. The "officers" that loitered everywhere were arrogant an unapproachable.
Dinner was a joke. Twice we were handed clickers to alert us when we would be seated and twice we waited an hour and a half. One night was formal night. The staff claimed the clicker thing was not faulty, but they clearly were as I would have never missed the loud sound and vibrating. After that fiasco, we ate on the Lido Deck and one night at Cucina del Capitan which was just awful.
My daughters constantly were harassed so severely by security almost every night. They are both over 18 and were always accused of being "drunk" (they were not). Yet when young, underage guys stumbled about, nothing was done. Clearly this is a very sexist and distressing approach to young women.
Loved Marseilles. However was distressed that the captain sent out a warning letter to all passengers highlighting the unsavory and dangerous aspects of this lovely city. This was obviously an attempt to scare passengers into booking a Carnival shore excursion. Very sad. Marseilles does not deserve a bad rap.
Lovely