If you want 2 weeks of absolute indulgence then this is the ship for you!
Firstly there are 5 restaurants, 4 are all at least 5 star. Below are some examples of the meals we had. There was Pacific Rim, which was fine asian dining, Chartreuse which was modern french dining, Prime 7 which was primarily steak with a lot of lobster. Then there was the main restaurant called Compass Rose which was an a la carte menu. Up on the deck there was a restaurant called Veranda, where we had breakfast and buffet lunches, and this became an italian restaurant by night. At lunch time, weather permitting you could eat on the deck. I had the most amazing truffle burger out there. The food is mainly bbqd outside on the deck. Each morning you can order whatever fresh fruit juice you want!! Nothing is too much trouble.
Drinks were all included and so I happily worked my way through the cocktail list. Pina coladas, banana bailey coladas, pink blossoms, brandy alexanders, bellinis to name a few! And the wines were sourced from all around the world.
On our days at sea what did we do? Well each night when your bed is turned down and a little chocolate left on the pillow, there is a schedule of activities for the next day so you can do as little or as much as you want!
There are several bars and coffee lounges to relax in all around the ship plus a library with daily papers from around the world for your perusal and books you can borrow to read. There was also a daily mensa quiz and a daily sudoku you can challenge yourself with.
I took dancing lessons each sea day, the best being the cha cha, then we had the Trivia competition daily at 4.30pm. We had a good team of six and did relatively well. There were daily competitions for the sporty guests plus culinary lessons, spa treatments, a sauna, steam room and small pool on the back deck plus a large pool and 2 spas on the main deck. Also bridge lessons were available and the list goes on. Afternoon tea (scones with jam and clotted cream) plus other delights were available every day at 4 pm with a pianist to play for us at the same time.
The entertainment was fabulous. There was an onboard group of dancers and singers who put on fabulous shows in the theatre, plus a comedian (Foggie Flax) and an amazing 2 singers who did 2 individual shows and then one show together. The male singer, Josh Henderson did a tribute show to Freddie Mercury which was amazing. Although Josh is english, he has lived in Perth and Margaret River so we had a bit to talk about. His partner, Lisa Marie Holmes had an incredible voice and paid homage to many greats such as Adele, Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand just to name a few. Their last show together was called Barcelona and the 2 voices together gave me goosebumps!
And then in the Observation Lounge we had the beautiful Kelly playing the piano and singing for us. Kelly is from Perth and we were lucky enough to be able to have dinner with her. Again another incredible voice.
I found out a day before we departed Southampton that my friends Chrissie and Rupert were going to be on the same cruise. As you can see from the photo they were very surprised to see me on board. It was great to spend time with them and also to meet their friends Sally and Ross and for us to all have dinner together. I was travelling with my friend Susie from Perth and her friends Jan and Craig. They were fabulous company and apart from the sheer luxury of being totally spoilt and cared for, it’s also the people who you travel with who make the cruise. Jan and Craig are also great friends now!
And now back to the reality of looking after myself!!! Oh well it could be worse!! The next blog will be about Reykjavik!!
