A cruise to nowhere, just sailing around at first did not appeal.
But not cruising for the best part of two years ( and indeed not holidaying for the same time) we thought we could enjoy 7 days on the new P&O ship.
Getting on board with the Covid testing regime was a smooth operation with helpful and friendly staff in plentiful attendance.
Our balcony cabin was bright and shiny although some features were a little cramped.
The wardrobes were adequate for a short cruise but longer trips you would be struggling to house all your belongings.
We were amused with the bedside “tables” – only 20cm wide.
We had to use the new P&O app to book restauant tables, fine dining and theatre seats.
This was not easy to do but staff were on hand in the atrium to assist.
They got ours working but it failed that evening so we had to have it reset the next day.
The biggest problem was getting a reservation at the three special dining venues.
All were fully booked from the start of the cruise.
Considering that the ship’s reduced capacity we can see this being a major problem when it if full – there will be a lot of annoyed customers.
There was a celebration night with Marco’s special menu in the main restaurants.
The captain announced this and as a thank you for supporting P&O we had tokens for a glass of fizz.
We are sorry to say that we were given the cheapest nastiest bubbly I have ever tasted since the early 1960s.
As a thank you it was an insult to the passengers that would have been better not to offer.
The theatre shows were good.
However the Headliners troupe strangely repeated the same show for 2 nights.
Overall it was an enjoyable break and we we can’t wait to get back to cruising where we can go ashore independently.
