There are 26 price grades of accommodation (in seven types of suites/cabins); the choice includes 23 suites, 24 mini-suites, and 685 outside view cabins with a private balcony. While there are plenty of price grades, there are really only five types of accommodation: suites, mini-suites, cabins with private balcony, and twin-bedded cabins with or without a window.

There are 67 suites and mini-suites. All accommodation has duvets as standard (blankets and pillows if you prefer), flat-screen televisions, tea/coffee making sets (Tetley teabags and long-life milk are provided) , small refrigerator, vanity/writing desk, personal safe, hairdryer; bathrooms have half-sized bathtubs/shower/washbasin and toilet. Dispenser bottles of Molton Brown bath/shower wash are provided in the shower (but no shampoo). All cabin doors have numbers in Braille (so do the elevators).

Also standard are stylish bed runners, Slumberland 8-inch sprung mattresses, 10.5 tog duvets (blankets and pillows if you prefer), Egyptian cotton towels and robes, improved tea/coffee making facilities with speciality teas (long-life is provided) and a Nick Munro-designed bespoke tray, as well as in-cabin toning and fitness facilities for passengers who would prefer to exercise in private.

In twin-bedded cabin grades (approximately 170 sq.ft.), when the beds are pushed together, there’s little room to maneuver, but they are otherwise quite practical units.

Accommodation designated as suites (approximately 516 sq.ft. including balcony) and mini-suites (approximately 384 sq.ft. including balcony) benefit from more space, king-sized bed, trouser press, ironing board and iron, three-seat sofa (suites) or two-seat sofa (mini-suites), wall clock, binoculars. The bathrooms are larger, and include an aqua-jet bathtub, two washbasins, toilet, and separate shower enclosure (suites only), and a boxed set of Molton Brown personal toiletry items (but no shampoo). Butler service is provided, but, unlike most lines with these kinds of grades, bottled water costs extra, as do soft drinks.

Passengers complain about the space-hogging coffee/tea-making set on the small vanity desk in standard cabin grades. Other gripes (standard cabins) include: closets with hanging space too narrow for the width of a man’s jacket; little drawer space; poor quality plastic hangars and the hanging system, and no hooks for belts. Other niggles include noisy cabin air-conditioning (it can’t be turned off).

Room service breakfast delivery costs £2 per person. (even in suites/mini-suite grades); the choice is minimal (available between 7am and 11am).

Berlitz Guide © Apa Publishing 2008