The Vision of the Seas.

On 6th February I took a taxi at 10.30 in the morning to the Port Rashid to join the cruise ship.The passenger terminal is beautiful,clean,well organized and as I later found out, has spotless toilets.There was no-one being checked in,so the whole process was a breeze and in no time was I carrying my bags to the lift that took me up to the self-service restaurant on the 9th floor.The lift was empty.And that had never ever happened to me on any other ship on either embarkation or disembarkation.The rooms were going to be ready at 1 pm and the two hour wait passed quickly and enjoyably,with food and drink available at one's pleasure. My stateroom 8548 was large,plenty of storage,the balcony with two chairs and a table,was partly shaded.The bathroom big and all white,with a bath-tub and an overhanging shower fitting.My allocated table was for 6 and when I asked for a small table just for me, I was told in an off-hand manner none was available. I asked to be put on a waiting list,this was reluctantly done. On my very first entry into the self-service restaurant the Windjammer on the 9th floor I was struck by an unpleasant musty kind of smell.This prevailed and got stronger with each passing day.The position of the restaurant is such,that there are no doors from it leading into any open outside space,only another covered terrace,so the restaurant never gets any fresh air and when fish is served the awful smell remains for hours together with all other odours. So as I did not have a small table to myself I had dinner - some curry,dhal,salad and the most delicious brown roll covered with cheese and pumpkin seeds,in the Windjammer.The roll was available in the evenings only and became my firm favourite food. But the next day I got a note that a small table 88 was available at 8.30 in the evenings in the Aquarius restaurant on the 4th floor.My heart jumped with joy.For there are two things guaranteed to make a cruise a success for me- a small table to myself in a restaurant and a balcony where I can sunbathe in the nude.The latter, as I later found out,was to be in a very short supply during the cruise,because of the unfavourable position the ship was either sailing or docking.Only twice did I feel the full force of the sun on my balcony. The table 88 was one of the best placed table I have ever had on a ship.In the middle of the restaurant,at the beginning of a row.The waiters were delightful,they were the nicest part of the whole ship.