It began badly with having to queue for 4 hours to get on board due to sanitisation of the ship being carried due to the norovirus (we learned after our return home that 5 people had died on the cruise before).
We were “lucky” – the majority of our queueing took place inside where at least we could sit on the carpet.
Friends we were with had to stand outside for over 3 hours.
(Passenger were later told they’d be getting $20 compensation!) Our cabin was an inside one and seemed fine until we tried to get into bed.
Because of the layout, when it’s made up as a double bed, the only way for me to get into bed was to sit on the edge of the bed and then swing my legs uP&Over the dressing table to get into the space behind there between the edge of the bed and the wall.
Our cabin was next to some rooms which were similar to engine rooms.
There was a continuous clanging noise which started at 7.00 am and continued until the evening.
We complained about it a total of 5 times to different members of staff.
It was not until the fourth day and the complaint that anything was done and then, to be fair, they did move us to an outside cabin which was a bit longer and so I was able to walk into the space by the bed to get into it.
During our trip the there were no books in the library; every time we asked about it we were fobbed off, no-one would come right out and tell us that they were not going to be put back.
The extra sanitisation did not work and we were told that upwards of 200 people contracted the norovirus.
On our return we found out that the passengers on the previous trip had not been allowed to use the buffet; we were surprised it wasn’t closed during our trip.
To cap it all off, on the afternoon of our return home I came down with gastroenteritis!
