I wanted to take my mobility challenged 83yr old dad on a cruise. I needed cabins close together and he needed a walk in shower and a balcony. I needed assistance from plane to ship and back. I wanted a range of easy excursions and good access to facilities on board. This was his first trip abroad and I wanted to pack it with experiences. I chose a week as, if he didn't like sailing, 2 weeks would be a problem. I couldn't get suitable cabin arrangements as I booked late. I opted to share a Family Suite as it had 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms one of which had a walk in shower. I had the bedroom with ensuite which had a bath with shower and dad had a double room with access to his own shower room. We had a shared lounge so the suite was ideal. I pre arranged travel assistance. It was not very good and was quite stressful both ways. We had practically no time to enjoy the airport lounges as the assistance was such that we waited for wheelchairs and were rushing to gates. I struggled with the 2 lots of luggage and hand luggage as that was left to me to deal with. The assistance was being provided with a chair and pushing it myself. I was also surprised to discover that I had to take the luggage off at Palma to transfer it to the coach and from the coach to the plane on the return which was very stressful. I had hoped that once I checked the luggage in at Manchester I wouldn't see it again until it arrived at our cabin and and visa versa for the return journey. So the start and end of the holiday was arduous and stressful.

The suite 8032 was lovely. Comfy, toiletries plenty of cupboard space, mirrors, tea coffee fridge, tv (only sky news and sky sports news plus 2 film channels) ideal! The hair driers were not good if you need a good one as I do. Water in the room and around the ship was not free, even if you're all inclusive. There were 2 drinks stations were you could get complimentary water but you couldn't fill bottles. A bottle of water in the cabin was£3.15 a litre. As we had a suite we had access to the concierge room where there was free wi-fi, hot drinks and biscuits. Outside of the room the wifi was charged and it was quite expensive. Access around the ship was very good, dad had no problem getting around. The only issue was the toilets. They were on every other deck and if you were dining on deck 4 you had to go to another deck for the toilet which was a bit of a nuisance for dad. Other than that, from a mobility perspective it was good and there were enough easy excursions we could do where we didn't have to walk too much so we saw all the sights.

The outside pool area was very busy and loud with either live or taped music belting out all day. The sun beds were plenty but not an inch between them, which seemed OK as everyone was friendly. The drinks waiter service left a bit to be desired and there were long waits at the bar, but considering the ship was full, the eating wasn't that long you gave up. The food was ok, plenty of snack/eating places from early to late with something for everyone's tastes. The inside pool ' glass house' was lovely, quiet, spa type music playing, healthy snack bar leading to a good spa £37 for a blow wave ladies, and adult only outside sun lounge which was small so you needed to get there early to bag a bed. It's a pity the roof of the indoor pool (which was glass, bit like conservatory) didn't open in warm weather so people could have the option to sunbathe in serenity or jollity. Plenty to do, watch, listen to for all ages and a kids club to give mum and dad a bit of peace for a couple of hours. The crew and all the staff on board were lovely, apart from reception who gave me the impression I was bothering them. My safe wouldn't operate one day and I had to call them 3 times before getting assistance. I asked them to join the single beds together to make a double bed for my dad. When I returned to the cabin, my double bed had been divided, they made me feel as though it was my fault the instructions had been misinterpreted. The big downside for me was the noise in my bedroom. Deck 8 is just below Deck 9 which is the 'happening' deck. The 'Footfall' on deck 9 is constant night and day. I didn't sleep a wink for the whole week. When people aren't running or clattering up and down the decks, the crew are cleaning and moving deckchairs around. Even with earplugs in, I could still hear the noise. The air conditioning is so loud that my dad got out of bed the first night because he thinks thought the balcony door was open. I was exhausted when I got home. I mentioned it to a crew member, but as the ship was full, there was nothing to be done. Read more