Here are some thoughts on some of the areas and
rooms:
Cabin. B059 Hong Kong Suite
We were in this suite on B deck. It was
fantastic. It is large (over 500 square feet including the expansive
balcony). It has a great seating area with large sofa and chairs. There is a
small dressing room, and bathroom with separate shower and “Jacuzzi” bath
and 2 basins. The bed was very comfortable and huge – especially when
together as they make a king size at least. It has a flat screen TV and DVD
player, and piles of storage (we took loads of clothes and stuff and did not
even use all the storage).
It had butler service (which I still do not
really understand!! Perhaps it is just that we don’t use them enough as all
he really did was bring canapés, our breakfast a few times and chatted to
us!)
Saying all the above, I am not sure the cost of
a suite on the ship is worth it. I think a mini-suite would be very good
indeed, and from what we saw the staterooms were a great size and had decent
sized balconies. I will go for one of these 2 options next time.
Meridian Restaurant
On 2 levels, at the back of the ship, it has an
open and bright feel with lots of windows and very striking and unusual
light fittings. The food was excellent, and service outstanding.
The
Palladium Theatre
Wow! Over 3 levels this is huge. It is hard to
remember that you are on a ship. The stage has all sorts of fancy features
like in the West End.
The shows ranged from a Cirque style show (which
was VERY impressive), Andrew Lloyd Weber Best of, West End Favorites,
Flashback Review of 60s – 90s. The cabaret was an old TV personality from
the UK TV shows “Catchphrase” which was not our taste and a Violinist
Showman who we did not go and see.
Saying that, I thought the shows were better
than we had seen on the QE2 in December by a long way!
Cafe Vivo
A small coffee shop I used a fair bit as the
filter coffee in the other areas was terrible! You pay for the coffee and
you get muffin or sandwich etc included. A pleasant enough area situated
next to the Cyber lounge. It did not seem overall to be used that much.
Belvedere Self Service
We usually do not like the lido style places on
ships, but we liked this one. It was much better décor than the usual,
something most people commented on. The seating runs along large windows on
either side of the ship offering great views. It was very large with spread
out counters all themed on different types of food, and open 24 hours. The
layout meant much less queuing than in many lido style places on ships we
have been on so far. We used it much more than we have ever on other ships.
Gym
This is very large and overlooks the bow of the
ship. Bright with wide range of machines and free weights. A good number of
classes were on offer.
Spa
Very large but horribly over-priced with
fairly inexperienced therapists. NOT worth the money. A lot of passengers
agreed! This is a pity as they have given up a lot of space for the spa and
it is just not good value for money at all.
Cyber Room
Good size and number of PCs. But as with many
ships access was expensive. There was wireless access in most of the public
rooms but not in the cabins (unfortunately).
Arcadia Rhodes and Orchid Restaurants
These are the 2 alternative dining options where
you pay a surcharge. Both are lovely rooms. We went to the Gary Rhodes one.
It was a nice evening – but to be honest the food in the main restaurant was
so good and varied that we did not really think it worth the extra cost and
so did not go back. It seemed to be fairly empty, although later in the
cruise it did get busier we believe.
Pools
Very nice indeed! We used them a lot as the
weather was very good. |