We have only been on three previous cruises, all on small ships with quite personal service so this one at 1,500 passengers was big for us ! Our ports of call in the Canaries and Madeira were all fascinating, we thought that the excursions were overpriced and after finding that the handouts from the ship were not very helpful or accurate we headed for the tourist information offices at the places we visited. There was good information about the ports on-line but we used on-shore wi-fi and roaming Vodafone after a message that we would be charged £2.88 per minute for all calls, texts, and data on "Vodafone Marine" ! Our cabin, 1004, was quite good with a settee and table as well as TV and tea and coffee facilities and a good size window, a bit obscured by lifeboat access equipment. We had a problem with the safe which two visits from crew could not sort out, Dennis, an officer from reception was the second to try, we were pleased that the safe locked itself and refused to open until he put his override code in twice. He confirmed to us that it was faulty. I made a third visit to reception to complain and they refunded my money but were unable to provide a replacement safe for us or alternative safe storage for our valuables, apparently there is no safe at reception ! Our only option was to find a hiding place in the cabin. Please note there is no forseeable solution to this problem as replacement safes are apparently not available ! On our fifth day I was up early with diarrhoea and vomiting, I called reception as required and was visited by a doctor and nurse. They confirmed from my symptoms that it was not viral and therefore probably something that I had eaten so I could either stay in the cabin on immodium for 24 hours or visit the ships hospital for treatment which would see me well again in a couple of hours, I opted for the latter and had extensive blood tests and intravenous drugs, the treatment worked and I called back in the evening to check that all my obs. were normal. Excellent service but a tad dear at £1,400 plus ! Interesting to note that the previous day had been a "sea day" so it was most probably something that I had eaten on the ship. We unfortunately missed Lanzarote on my sick day. On the positive side, the crew were polite and helpful to a man ( or person I suppose I should say). The highlight of the cruise was the entertainment team, they worked non stop and were really professional and talented. The food was all pretty good ranging from canteen type buffets in various locations, made to order pancakes, omelettes and pizzas, a proper sit down restaurant with good service and "pay extra" speciality restaurants. We were on a full board but not " all inclusive " basis so we paid for the "wine package" which at about £14 per bottle compared to UK restaurant prices. Drinks at the bar were similar to pub prices. We enjoyed a lot of the cruise but there were things that let it down, there was no hot water on one evening and for the hour before the captains reception the whole ship was without any running water, the Captain did apologise and excused the smelly guests ! I registered all my complaints on-board and filled in the questionnaire on our return but there has been no offer of apology or compensation, in fact no response at all !