I got my room over looking the NOS at the Holiday Inn but i think I made a mistake as this meant that
neither my husband (DH) or I slept a wink all night. We tossed and turned and got up every 40 minutes
to look out of the window. Then when it did arrive the sheer size of it took your breath away! What a
sight, it was fantastic - she's massive. At 10:30 we saw a line of cars waiting to go in so off we went to join
them. We were on the ship by 11:45, the rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around just looking
at everything, getting our bearings. Had the musterdrill at about 4 and then went up on deck for the sail
away. I have to say it was a slight dissappointment. The QM2 and the Grand Princess were also docked
but there was no horn blowing. The QM2 slipped away quietly and the people on the Grand Princess
waved at us and we waved back but no horns! :( We had to go to dinner without changing as our cases
didn't arrive until about 9:30.

The dinning room is lovely. We had a table in the Coppelia which over looked the captains table and
were seated with a family of three. I had requested a table on our own, as i was offered this at the time of
booking, so i was supprised to see 3 other people sat there when we arrived. This wasn't a problem it is
just a little awkward trying to make conversation every night with people who are initially strangers. In
future i would request a larger table so there's a variety of people to chat with. Dinner was very nice, i
can't remember what we ate i just remember all the meals in the dinning room were of a good standard,
the waiters were brilliant too. We went to bed early that evening and i have to say i slept well.

Our room was right at the front of the ship - behind the heli-pad which gave us a good view of all the
ladies doing a Kate Winslet impersonation from Titanic. There was more than enough room for the 5 of
us in there. It was quite roomy the only downside being we had to share one bathroom which can be
awkward when getting ready for dinner. . The bed was fantastic,huge and comfy, better than the one i've
got at home.

Sunday was the first day at sea and the meet & mingle. I woke up late (must of been the sturgeon) and
felt really queezy and was going to give the meet & mingle a miss but DH wouldn't let me. He gave me
some more medication and off we went. When we arrived they were taking the group photo with the
captain. He then left and we sat chatting, i was glad i went as it was nice to put faces to names. Miss
Mental,Silver1 and Chameleon it was lovely meeting you and thanks for the chitchat along the way. . We
also met up on other nights and our kids grouped together aswell which was nice - well done Mr.
Chameleon. .

The Captain said the crossing of Biscay was moderate and he was happy with that.....by now i'm feeling
such a wimp!! He talked about the bad crossing Chubbas and Wendy had and described the waves as
20ft high.

Gibraltar - I thought Gib was quite nice, the people seemed friendly and the shopkeepers were very
helpful. DH and my youngest went to see the apes. They did this independantly using the Taxis at the
dock. Dh said the driver was very interesting and knew how to handle the apes, they also saw the caves.
My daughter and i strolled round the shops and we all ended up back in the Windjammer by 12.00. The
sailaway from Gib was great as Oriana was docked at the side of us. They were all on the decks with
their Union Jacks cheering and waving us off.....even the horns were blown!! it was great. Thanks to all
the people on Oriana for a memorable sailaway.

The next stop was Villefranche. We caught the train to Monte carlo, walked along the harbour looking at
all the yachts.....ooooh how the other half live! and then took the lift up to the Grand Casino. The
gardens infront of the casino are pretty and Monte Carlo was a nice place to wander round. Got back to
the ship at around 1.00pm. The ship was quiet and it almost felt like we had it to ourselves. Brilliance was
tendered next to us...she looks a lovely ship. Sailaway was at 10.30pm with a pool party and buffet on
deck 11....no big party atmosphere, i'm sure their sailaways could be better.

Florence/Pisa was the next stop. We should have docked in Livorno but we tendered in La Spezia
instead. Apparently a cargo ship was docked for 2 days in our berth at Livorno. La Spezia is about 90
minutes north of Livorno so it was a bit of a long day for those people doing the Florence trips. We didn't
go to Florence because we want to do it as a city break. Apparently it had a very heavy downpour that
day and the streets were like streams. We stayed on board and had the solarium to ourselves. We
should have left La Spezia at 7.30 but eventually left at 10.15 as the captain couldn't get the anchor back
up. They had to cut it off and leave it there so we could make Rome in time the next day.

Rome...we took the Rome on your own tour as this gave us the reassurance of getting to and from the
ship without any hassle and time on your own in Rome. The coach dropped us off at the side of St.
Peters, we got a taxi from there to the Colosseum. It was hard standing inside the Colosseum as the sun
was beating down on you with very little shade...didn't stay long as it was becoming unbearable. Walked
to the Trevi and the Pantheon, ate some delicious pizza and had a lemoncello gelato...very nice . We
then walked back to St.Peters and took the coach back to the ship...a very tiring day!!

We had booked to eat in Chops tonight, what can i say, the food was fantastic!! I've never had steak that
tasted soooo good. I should of taken the camera but i forgot. They brought us a loaf of freshly baked
bread and some delicious spread which we heartily tooked into. There was only one slice remaining and
no spread by the time they brought the starters....BIG MISTAKE we shouldn't of eaten so much bread...
but it was good. The starter was portabello caps it was like a work of art and i didn't know whether to eat
it or take it home and display it on the mantle! I ate it in the end and it was delicious. Then came the fillet
mignon, double whipped mash potatoes,creamed spinach and wild mushrooms with bernaise sauce,
greenpeppercorn for DH. We were in 7th heaven! For dessert i had the chocolate mud pie...it killed me to
leave some but i had to. I just couldn't eat anymore, i could barely move from the table i was that stuffed!!
Dolphins played in the sea as we ate...it was a real treat all round. DH went to the casino and i went to
bed. He won $100 at blackjack, he started with $40 of chips...not a bad night.

Sardinia was next. We decided to have a lazy day on board . We ate at the windjammer, got a good table
over looking the wake. It was fairly quiet in there at 7pm. The next day was at sea. I saw the belly flop
competition by the main pool and have to say it was quite funny and the men involved were good sports.

Cadiz. We got off the ship and walked around Cadiz. We thought it was lovely and clean with a
quaintness about it. The Sea Princess was docked at the side of us. It looked a nice ship. We were back
on board by about 2pm and decided we'ld like to eat in chops again. They were fully booked until the end
of the cruise. They had one table available at 7pm on the last night.

Vigo. Walked around Vigo for an hour but didn't get a good feel for it. It was hard to find anything and
was uphill with quite afew street traders selling bags, watches etc. We found the local fish market which
was a little interesting and then wondered down a little passageway which had lots of oysters for sale. We
decided to go back to the ship. Later that evening the comedian described Vigo as a dump.

Friday was a sea day and our last day of the cruise. The bay was like a mill pond and the sun was
shining. The compass was packed with activities today. Dh won the table tennis comp and got some more
ship shape dollars enabling him to swop them for a T-Shirt. I went to the art auction where someone
bought a Rembrandt for $17,000. We ate at chops that evening as it was the only time we could. It would
of been nice to eat in the dining room on the last evening but the food was too good to resist in chops.
We later popped into the dining room to say our goodbyes and hand out our tips. We later met up with
Mr and Mrs chameleon, Mr and Mrs silver1 and another couple from the CC board for a pleasant evening
in the schooner bar.

We decided to take our cases off the boat with us rather than wait for the time allocation if we had them
delivered to the shore. We left the ship at 7 am and were in the car by 7:10. I hated leaving the ship and
thought about the excited people in the holiday inn waiting to board her.

Points I missed - not alot of lobster, i could of asked for more but i didn't as i didnt want to seem greedy.

Favourite places.
Cosmopolitan lounge- drinking cocktails looking over the sea - Fab!
Schooner bar- if you could find a seat, as it was really busy in there, i think alot of people liked Ian Miller
the pianist/ comedian.
Vintages- found a nice wine in there.
Solarium- small and quiet with nice loungers. loved the jacuzzis in there.
Cafe Prom- always got cookies and hot chocolate to take back to the room at night.
Ixtapa lounge- for the quizzes.
CHOPS- good food, good views and brilliant waiters. Didn't get the chance to eat in portofinos but heard
it was 10 times better than chops.
We only managed to get a table in the two poets once. This place was always packed.
Johnny Rockets- ate too many onion rings and fries in there. then had to find room for the burger and
apple pie!!
The kids enjoyed the rock climbing, golf and inline skating.They also spent alot of time playing the cards
and games in Seven hearts.
We all had a fantastic first cruise and met some lovely people.
I now know what PCD is!!

Formal nights- great dressing up and having photos taken!
Whale watching- Dh and i were drinking coffee in our room looking out of the window. Dh said "that's a
whale!" and sure enough it was! we saw it three times and then it disappeared.
Art auctions- wandered in and ended up staying, thought it was quite interesting and good fun.
Bingo- $95 for two strips of 6 and a strip of 3!!! Didn't play again. on the last day the jackpot went to
someone from manchester, $14,000 ... it wasn't me.
Slots- apparently someone walked into the casino and put in one dollar and won $1000. Why doesn't that
happen to me?!!
Chefs- it was nice to see all of the chefs come into the dining room, they must work so hard every day!
Captain- only saw him dine once in the dining room but did see him dining in chops with his wife, he
seems quite a funny guy when you listen to him.
Laundry- i used the laundry service afew times and have to say Dh's shirts have never been ironed so
well.
Lava flows- i drank loads of them on this ship and never got tipsy, i think all the ice dilutes the alcohol.
Idid have a patron margherita - silver1's suggestion and i must say i could taste plenty of alcohol in that.