We originally booked to fly from Birmingham, but Bolsover contacted us to let us know Monarch had gone bust but we could still fly from Birmingham via Amsterdam to Barcelona if we wanted, opted to fly direct from Heathrow.
We even had aisle seats as requested – thank you Bolsover.
From plane to boarding was so easy and quick as was disembarkation at the end.
This is the first cruise we have ever booked for the ship and not the destinations, and we were not disappointed.
The first impression was very noisy and in your face but we soon adjusted and everything dies down after the first day.
The cabin was fine, everything you could want for a weeks cruise, we also paid for an extra large balcony and this was as advertised.
We had booked everything online before we left, including the shows, Mytime dining and a couple of the other restaurants.
We went to all the shows – Hairspray, Ice and Aqua and the comedy and all were very good.
Wonderland and Central Park were worth the visit for sure although our ‘guide’ in Central Park wasn’t the most enthusiastic waiter in the world.
Mytime dining the first couple of nights was poor on organisation and service was slow, but after that it improved.
It’s a shame to see so many jeans and shorts in the main dining room in the evening.
I can understand the first and last nights but disappointing otherwise – just my opinion.
Another issue that needs sorting is the queuing for shows for people without reservations, there needs to be a proper system for queuing or someone will get hurt in the mad rush for seats.
Ports of call were good, we did our own thing in Palma – just jumped on the shuttle bus to town and for Rome we stayed on the boat as we had been there before and it is a long day out.
In Marseille we took an organised trip to Aix, In La Spezia we went on the Cinque Terre tour and in Naples we went off to Sorrento – we couldn’t have asked for better weather and all the trips were enjoyable.
As I said at the top getting of the boat at the end was very easy but I would question why you get kicked off so early – It’s like Royal Caribbean has had your money and that it.
Overall first time with Royal Caribbean and Bolsover and I would use both again.
