This was our first cruise and having read lots of reviews before travelling, I have to say we were more than a little worried. Luckily, with a few exceptions we were had a really nice time and largely enjoyed our time on Seaview. We were warned by friends and family who had cruised before, that we would have to be patient when getting on and off the ship but we found the process smooth and stress free, even on the day we docked at Cannes where we had to use tenders to get to shore. The best and easiest way for us to review this cruise is to bullet point the good and not so good points.

GOOD: 1) The food in our opinion was very good. If anybody could not find something to eat which suited, I would be extremely surprised. Whatever time we ate in both the restaurant and buffet, the food was fresh and plentiful. 2) The staff were pleasant, helpful and friendly and we had no problems despite occasionally having drink orders misinterpreted because of the language differences. This was mostly amusing rather than annoying. One exception was a member of staff who we heard being extremely rude to a fellow passenger. We tackled her on this and she (eventually and reluctantly) apologised. 3) The ship - WOW. Fabulous. 4) The cabin (indoor), we felt was plenty roomy enough. It was very clean and attended by housekeeping more than once a day. 5) We felt the entertainment was very good. The shows were approx. 35-40 mins long which we felt was pitched just right and they were repeated 3 times each night. Plenty of different types of live music in the various bars. 6) We had booked 2 excursions. One was cancelled due to lack of interest but the one we did which was Cannes and St Raphael was very enjoyable.

BAD: 1) The most off putting thing for us was we just couldn't get away from smokers. People even smoking around the pools which they shouldn't have been but weren't told by staff to use the correct areas. Passengers were even allowed to smoke inside the casino which being close to the atrium permeated to the bars and shops around the area. We felt this contravened the safety briefing which told people not to throw cigarette butts over the side incase of fire, yet they could smoke inside?? 2) Everywhere we went outside there were overflowing ashtrays and unclean tables. I think the staff tried very hard to keep on top of things but maybe there weren't enough of them. 3) If you want to use the zip wire, 5D cinema, F1 simulator etc, be aware you will be paying extra for them which we thought was a bit of a cheek. 4) Gratuities. We had 70 euros each added to our room bill as a service charge even though gratuities were included in our cruise fare. It was removed when we spoke to Customer Services but again a faff, having to queue up to speak to someone when we could have been relaxing by the pool. 5) Finally. We often found that bars / lounges were closed off for private events which was frustrating. Would we do another cruise? Probably not but we did have a nice time on the whole.