The World Cruise Review

David Devaux

Number of Cruises: Over 30
Cruise Line: ResidenSea
Ship: The World
Sailing Date: June 1st, 2002
Itinerary: Western Mediterranean

DIARY OF A CRUISE
BY DAVID DEVAUX
JUNE 1ST THROUGH JUNE 17TH (LIVORNO, ITALY TO MALAGA, SPAIN)

The World docked at the Port of Valetta, Malta, Saturday, June 8th

"The World" By ResidenSea, Saturday, June 1st

We have completed our trans-Atlantic crossing on the Royal Princess in 9 days and now the second part of our cruising adventure starts. We begin by driving north of London to Stansted Aiport in Essex. We have missed our BA connection out of Gatwick due to the Royal's delayed arrival in Southampton and this is the only available flight, which will get us to Pisa in time for The World's departure on the 1st of June. Luckily we had each packed an overnight bag, for our room at the Stansted Hilton was so small that we could not have opened our four suitcases, even if we had wanted to. Stansted airport and Ryanair were not part of our careful plans. The airport was like a maze that took us nearly an hour to even find out where we needed to be. The airline itself could only be likened to an American discount airline, very basic, very crowded and for two hours was just bearable. We departed Stansted at 1:45pm (30 minutes late) and arrived with a "crash" landing (literally) that we could walk away from in Pisa at 4:30pm (European time which is one hour ahead of the UK). At the airport we were met by a representative from "The World" and whisked away to the ship docked in Livorno.

Twenty minutes later we were escorted up the gangway and to the reception desk where we were checked in. Our first impression was that we were actually registering into a very up market resort and not a cruise ship.

There was an air of opulence with the smell of new wood, new furnishings and beautiful fresh flower arrangements. In some ways it reminded me of a new luxury car with that wonderful smell of genuine leather. This was further reinforced as we were shown to our suite on deck 7, the wide hallways with light beige, heavily padded carpeting, the light wood giving everything a bright look and everywhere the smell of "new". It was so quiet that we felt compelled to talk in whispers less we disturb the peace and quiet.

Corridor to Apartments on Deck 8

Now we arrive at our Sonata Stateroom at the rear starboard side of deck 7. The door, my goodness the entrance door is as heavy and sound proof as a bank vault. And the suite, so new we wondered if we were the first to venture in. The color scheme in beige and muted pastel colors exuded luxury and was as tasteful a design as I have ever seen. Somewhat reminiscent of those multimillion private yachts one would see at the Ft. Lauderdale or Miami Boat Shows. This suite was not large and two persons would have difficulty passing between the bed and the wall side unit. This is fine for a short stay, but for anything longer than a week some may find the unit too narrow for comfort.

We are tired from our traveling and head to the Marina restaurant (located aft on deck 5) for dinner, leaving exploration for tomorrow, Sunday, a day at sea. At exactly midnight we leave the port, slowly and quietly as we drift to sleep with no discernable sound or motion to indicate that we are on a ship!

Sunday, June 2nd, At Sea

The day dawns bright and clear as we open our drapes and step onto the small balcony on the starboard side of the ship. The sea is mirror calm as we have a quick breakfast in our stateroom.

As a result of our late arrival in Livorno, we missed the tours of Pisa, with its leaning tower as well as the rolling hills of the wine country of Tuscany, so there is little that we could say about that beautiful area.

This morning we meet our stewardess, a very personable young lady from South Africa. We soon feel that nothing is too much trouble or too difficult for Selima , a very good start for in many ways she will be our introduction to the ship, its systems and personnel. She tells us that there are many travel agents on board and thus many of the guest suits and apartments are open for viewing.

Cruising The Tuscany Islands

As the ship cruises the Tuscany Islands, we make a brief exploration of the ship, and then concentrate on the open suites and residences. We start with the Concerto Suite, which is quite simply a shorter version of our Sonata Suite, the walk-in closet as you first enter being the main difference. The bathrooms in all the guest suites are identical. Tastefully designed of gray-black marble with a single sink, vacu-flush toilet bowl in the corner, full size bathtub and a shower positioned over the marble floor. There is no shower basin or doors, only a curtain with the water draining through a central grate running across the floor. An unusual arrangement, which works well, but because the wet floor takes time or towels to dry we found it more convenient to use the bathtub and the flexible telephone shower extension. There is a large rectangular window, with an internal electric curtain separating the bathroom from the bedroom-living area. This allows light and the view from outside to penetrate the bathroom giving the area a feeling of being larger than it really is! We find, however, that the lighting in the bathroom is so good that we tend to leave the curtain closed. The Adagio, Concerto and Sonata suffer from the same narrowness as previously noted.

The Libretto suite, which is a square shape looks and feels much larger. The disadvantage to the Libretto is the obstructed view of a single window, which looks onto the lifeboats on deck 7, and like the Adagio there is no balcony.

All four of these guest suites categories are tastefully furnished in subtle beiges with black trim and pale wood. Top quality European bathroom and light fixtures are used throughout the suites. There is a good-sized TV, Siemens Satellite Receiver, Aiwa VCR and Sony AM/FM Stereo Receiver.

There is a mini-refrigerator built into the cabinetry with a small bar set up, which is kept constantly replenished. The Balconies on the Concerto and Sonata Suites are very narrow both laterally and longitudinally and are furnished with two light aluminum reclining chairs and a small table. The furniture on the balconies looks like an afterthought and do not match the high quality and comfort found in the interior furnishings of the suites. Somehow one would have expected Scandinavian teak furniture on the balconies! The sliding glass door to the balcony is another masterpiece of design, heavily constructed of stainless steel and what could easily be bullet- proof glass. The door is framed with a rubber gasket, which seals tightly against the doorframe when the door handle is moved from the 12 o'clock position to the 6 o'clock, the movement of this handle downward pulls the door inwards against the seal.

The combination of the exterior and interior doors plus superb sound- proofing makes these suites eerily quiet. This is an indication of how well this ship structure has been designed and constructed - more of this later.

Lastly, we briefly look at the Rhapsody Suites. Each one of these four suites is different having been created by four different designers and both in size, comfort and design are more closely aligned to the resident's apartments. We will deal with these after we have seen some of the "model apartments".

During the course of today, we stop and anchor off one of the Tuscany Islands. The stern platform of the ship is lowered into the water and a "Marina" is created complete with wave runners, ski boat, and other water toys. Residents and Guests are soon cavorting in the cold calm water.

Stern platform down creates an instant marina

This evening we have an excellent meal at the "Tides" Restaurant on deck eleven. The wild mushroom risotto is one of the best I have ever had and so far we are impressed by the quality and taste of the food that we have been served. Early we attend a briefing on our next two Ports of Call. This is given by guest lecturer, Wendy Mazza. Afterwards we booked the eight-hour Amalfie Coast tour at the Abercrombie & Kent Desk (next to Reception on deck five).

June 3rd, Sorrento

Today we are anchored in the Bay of Naples off the City of Sorrento. This is Italy's Campania region and undeniably one of the most romantic and beautiful areas of the world. We are here until the morning of June 5th, when we will depart for Capri. Tendering ashore is painless with tenders running on the hour and half hour. There is none of the hassle associated with the traditional cruise ship, we do not have to assemble in one of the bars and wait for our number to be called. We simply proceed straight to the tender passing through security, where our stateroom card automatically registers our departure from the ship. Today we go ashore with a group going on a tour of Ancient Pompei, the City that was buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79AD. We are headed for our own walking tour of Sorrento and to purchase the required "limoncello" and other projects of this region. The other striking difference with this ship is that we are in Port until June 5th.

Thus there is no pressure to rush ashore and try to see everything in one day. This prolonged stay also we are told allows the residents to re-stock their apartment kitchens as well as arrange dinner and other meals ashore.

We are thoroughly enchanted with Sorrento and despite its obvious touristy leanings it is still a very interesting and friendly place. Tonight we have a late dinner at "Tides", sitting outside on the aft deck and watching the sun setting over Capri in the distance. In this part of the world the sun is still up at 9:30pm and it takes some getting used to having dinner in bright sunlight. The service in "Tides" is excellent. The Maitre d' is a woman of Chinese extraction, and she and her staff are very friendly and extremely efficient again we have the impression that nothing is too much trouble for this restaurants team.

June 4th, Sorrento, at Anchor

Amalfi Coastline

Today we hurry to catch the tender at 8:30 am for the Amalfi, Positano and Ravello tour. The A&K staff is on hand to guide us all to our tour bus. It is an excellent tour with a set lunch at the world renowned "San Pietro Hotel" in Positano. This hotel is set on the side of a cliff and has to be seen to be believed. This is a very interesting and exciting tour, but the eight hours is really too long particularly as when we return to the docks in Sorrento we have to wait an additional 45 minutes for the ships tender to come and collect us. A slight lapse in proper tour planning!

This evening we decide to order room service for our dinner. We are too tired to eat anything, but a light dinner, so we both order a shrimp cocktail and soup. These are very disappointing. The shrimp is still half frozen and tasteless. The soup while hot also has no taste.

This is the second indication that room service leaves something to be desired. Our in-suite breakfasts have been arriving without the necessary utensils, if we receive the bread plates then the butter has been forgotten or the knives. If we order the breadbasket, we receive one or the other of whole-wheat toast or pastries, but never both combined.

The breakfast arrives on a large tray, which is unceremoniously deposited on the small cocktail table yet there is a pull out table nestled under the writing desk, but not once does the waiter set up this table! Certainly not in keeping with a five or six star service.

Another area of disappointment is with housekeeping. Just as we are appreciating our stewardess, Selima's touch she is moved to another floor and for the rest of our stay of 17 days on the ship it seems as if we never see the same stewardess twice. This is probably not the case, but it certainly seemed that way and we are given no explanation why this has been done.

In my 30+ cruises I have always found that a good steward or stewardess is a very important part of the enjoyment of a cruise for they soon get to know your likes and dislikes. A trust is developed and it does not feel that there is always a stranger in your cabin.

June 5th, Wednesday, In Capri

Today we again disembark via a "Capri" tender to see the Blue Grotto then proceed to the local pier for a brief tour of AnaCapri and Capri. This area is overrun with tourists who seem to arrive by ferry from the mainland every few minutes. We are invited to lunch at a "local" restaurant in the back of town with some of the residents, but leave soon after as this place is so overrun by tourists that it is uncomfortable to even walk in the town. This night we are having our first dinner at "East", the Chinese/Japanese Fusion restaurant on deck eleven just forward from "Tides". We have an excellent meal including freshly made sushi, accompanied by hot Japanese sake wine.

June 6th, Thursday En-route to Siracusa, Italy

This morning is spent at the gym and watching the coastline of Sicily slide by on our starboard side. We dock at about 1:00pm and soon proceed ashore for the short walk into Ortigia, which is the Medieval City's historic center. Unfortunately, we have forgotten about "la Siesta" and must wait until 4:00pm before the shops reopen and life returns to the City. Tonight we are having dinner at "Portraits" the formal restaurant. This is the only restaurant on board ship with a jacket and tie dress code. And one, which also requires reservations to be made in the morning with the Maitre d' Pascal. Dinner is served from 7:00pm to 9:30pm. We arrived promptly at 8:00pm and find only two other tables occupied. The food is very "nouvelle cuisine", perhaps too novelle as the food itself frankly does not match up to the complexities of the menu. Nevertheless, we enjoy the dinning experience and the attention of the very friendly and polite white glove staff. The food is quite rich in the French style and is not one to be indulged in every night, not that one couldn't if one wished to, since there is no restriction as there is on some cruise ships.

June 7th, Siracusa, Italy

The highlight of today is another gym day (as we notice that our clothes are becoming tighter and tighter) followed by a delightful evening display in the Colosseo Theatre of Sicilian folk music and dancing.

Today also we moved suites, from our Sonata into a Rhapsody suite on the aft portside deck 7. The confines of the Sonata Suite was after six days becoming too much to bear. At 11:00pm we depart Sicily for the Walled City of Valetta.

Saturday, June 8th - Malta

We watch from our new stern balcony the approach into Malta. It is a fascinating entry into this port through the embattlements of Forts and ancient stone structures.

We feel that we have been transported back into a different century, one of the knights on horseback and wooden ships! After a brief trip ashore and the "purchase" of a horse (we had forgotten to arrange the tour price first) we spend the day unpacking and getting to know our new surroundings. Our Rhapsody suite is everything that our Sonata suite was not.

Rhapsody Suite Deck 7

The Rhapsody suites are the top of the guest suite category, (Although, at the moment, ResidenSea will rent you and unsold apartment for five days and on), ……when you enter there is a hallway with the bathroom on the right, a walk-in closet on the left. Further into the suite is the bedroom area, which can be separated by a curtain from the rest of the suite. The crowning glory of this Rhapsody is the living/dining room area, which alone is almost the size of our previous Sonata Suite. It is comfortably furnished and has these two large round windows looking out over the Sea, a wonderfully relaxing area to watch TV, read or observe the landscape passing by.

Sunday, June 9th - Malta

At 9:30am we again meet our A&K representatives in the lobby, Eva and Mark as we head out for a tour of Mdina and Rabat. We deviate somewhat from our planned schedule and visit the site of the Hagar Qim temple dating back to the Tarxing Age 3,000 - 2,500 BC. We are surprised at how chilly the air is as we rush back to the bus for our next stop - the Catacombs of St. Pauls, followed by the Medieval Walled City of Mdina - The Silent City. This ancient City is very mysterious with narrow passageways and cobblestone lanes.

Malta is almost devoid of any vegetation as it seldom rains here. Another striking feature is that all the buildings are constructed of indigenous limestone. So while there are hulking megalistic temples, ornate baroque churches, narrow old-world streets and hilltop citadels, there is a sameness to everything as well as an almost absence of any color!

We leave at 6:00pm this evening for the Port of Mahon in Menorca, Spain.

June 10th, Monday, At Sea en-route to Menorca

Monday morning dawns clear and sunny overhead but below the horizon everything is wild and wooly with seas running 18-27 ft. The air temperature at 9:00am is 65.5 degrees. This is the first time since we have been aboard that the Mediterranean shows its unruly self and despite the seas, the ship is running very smoothly. There is little motion either fore and aft or from side to side. No creaking or groaning as we have experienced on other Cruise Lines .One is left with the feeling that the "World" is an extremely well designed and well-balanced ship.

In the center of the ship is the library, the Internet Café and Lobby area, here there is little indication that we are even on a ship, but rather in the lobby of a plush hotel on land. In talking to one of the residents we are told that the top four decks of the ship are built of aluminum. This has been done to reduce the weight on the upper decks and thus keep the center of gravity low.

Picture of Library

This is one of the many indications that nothing has been spared in making this ship the absolute best she can be. The passenger numbers including residents and guests have declined dramatically; there are now only about 66 in total on board after 50 disembarked in Malta. We decide to spend the better part of the morning at the gym. The gym, which is part of the Clinique La Prairie, forward complex area on deck 5, is very well equipped.

The gym is actually divided into three rooms, the forward room contains stationary bicycles, peddling machines, arm and shoulder machines, a rowing machine, a multipurpose machine containing different attachments for working several parts of the body. The center room contains two treadmills, a third we are told is on its way. Eight different machines consisting of lat, abductor, abdominal, chest, glut, over-head pull down shoulder and leg machines.

There is also a free weight stand. All the equipment is state of the art manufactured by "Techno-gym". The third room is used for stretching and aerobics classes conducted by Cindy from Calgary, Canada. Next to this area is another half round room containing a large co-ed lounge with a whirlpool, steam baths, showers and chairs with soft music piped in for relaxing. Off this room, are separate mens and ladies locker rooms with saunas, showers and changing facilities. On the starboard side Clinique La Prairie has its treatment rooms where a large variety of treatments are offered. It would take several pages to list the varieties offered, but suffice to say there is little that is not. The whole area is a class act, the only negative might be the price that the spa charges are very much on the high side. This might be a deterrent towards more frequent use of these excellent facilities. Incidentally, there is no charge for using the gym, saunas, and whirlpool area.

June 11th, Tuesday, Menorca

Tuesday dawns bright, clear and cool. The seas are calm as we make our way into the beautiful port of Mahon (Mao). The port seems impossibly narrow for the "World", but we comfortably turn in front of the navy facility and slide alongside the coastal road, which runs below the city.

At 9:00am we meet other passengers for a four-hour tour of Menorca. This takes us to the church situated at the highest point of Minorca, a beautiful spot that has been spoilt by a forest of cellular antennas. Later we visit an ancient Talagotic (Bronze Age) site estimated to be at least 5,000 years old followed by a sight seeing drive over the coastal roads. Regrettably, we are only in Menorca for one day, it would have been interesting to do more exploring of this beautiful place. This evening we dine at "Tides", the restaurant located on the aft end of deck eleven. The menu here is Mediterranean and has some of the best food on the ship. We start by sitting in the covered, but open area as the sun sets over Mahon. We soon are forced inside as the temperatures drop very quickly when the sun goes down. It is a glorious evening and we order a mixed salad and a pizza. We are trying to eat light tonight, but our very friendly and perhaps too efficient waiter insists we try the cheese board. Then brings us desert, a glass of very old port and you know the rest. We once more end up waddling out of the restaurant.

A few hours later at 11:59pm we depart our berth in Mahon for Palma de Mallorca.

June 12th, Wednesday, Palma de Mallorca

Another day dawns with mirror smooth seas and a clear, cool entrance into Palma's beautiful harbor. As we have done for all but one day of our cruise on "The World", we order room service breakfast.
The waiter arrives within 15 minutes and sets the table with the tablecloth, cutlery, and "frette" napkins, our newfound status in the Rhapsody suite!

The room service menu is somewhat abbreviated but when the Marina, Tides or East restaurants are open dishes from these restaurants are also available. Unfortunately someone has not told some of the room service staff that these dishes are also available, neither have the menus been placed in the suites.

In discussions with the Managerial staff, we understand that the room service menu will soon be expanded. In addition there is the standard breakfast order card, which must be put on your door handle the night before. Room Service is prepared in the Marina restaurant kitchen on deck 5.

Later we take the shuttle bus provided by the ship and head into the center of Palma to do some shopping. The tourist season is not yet in full swing so it is easy to move around. It is a picturesque city with tree shaded streets and hundreds of outdoor cafes. Today while all the small shops and boutiques are closed for the traditional siesta of 12:30pm to 4:00pm, the large department stores are still open and we stay in town until 4:30pm. Tonight we have dinner at East. Not one of our better dinners as there is a constant movement of Palma visitors to the ship trooping through the restaurant. This tends to distract the wait staff and probably the chefs as the food quality tonight is not up to par. We have had two previous meals here and they have both been excellent, so today is an aberration.

As we leave we meet a couple that bought one of the first apartments to be sold. We have previously met them on various tours and over a nightcap in the Regatta Bar we arrange to rent a car together and drive to Valldemossa, with its famous Monastery where Chopin and George Sand, (the pen name of Baroness Dudevant) did some of their music and literature writing. The Regatta Bar is located forward of "Tides" and across the hall from East on deck 11. It is a nice quiet area with both indoor and outdoor tables, similar to a sports bar there are large screen TV's on the walls, where special events such as World Cup soccer is shown. Incidentally this is a limited or "Non-Smoking Ship". Smoking being allowed only in certain outdoor areas such as the balconies. There is absolutely no smoking allowed in the guest suites or apartments anyone doing so will apparently set of the very sensitive smoke detector alarms on the bridge and elicit an immediate response.

June 13th, Thursday, Palma de Mallorca

Today we set off with our resident friends for Valldemosa and once more the June Mediterranean weather is stunning, cool and very clear. A forty-five minute drive takes us to the town where we park the car and tour the Monastery.

We are surprised at how well everything has been preserved and restored even the original music of Chopin, the piano which he used to compose his prelude "Raindrops", and various other artifacts of his sojourn in Valldemosa including a collection of original letters and music scores. It was Chopin who wrote "I am now in Palma amidst palm trees, cedars, aloes, orange trees, lemon trees, fig trees and pomegranates.
The sky is turquoise, the sea is blue, and the mountains are emerald. The air, well the air is just as blue as the sky and the sun shines all day and the people wear summer clothes because it is hot…..In a word, life here is delicious." We agree that his words are as true in 2002 as they were in 1838. This is one tourist trap that has been tastefully done. After our visit to the Carthusian monastery we stop for lunch in a small roadside café' then head for our car. Our enthusiasm is somewhat dampened to discover that the local constabulary has left us a present…a ticket!

We didn't understand what the ticket is for, but perhaps we overstayed our time limit? Regardless we follow the instructions, which strangely are in English! And we pay the fine of 9 Euros.

We return to Palma via the very winding but very scenic west coast road. Some more shopping then back on board for our evening departure for Tarragona.

This evening we again have dinner at "Tides", the Marina restaurant has been closed for dinner since our departure from Malta and we are beginning to tire of the same menu at Tides. Nevertheless we have another good meal and retire to our stateroom just as the ship is departing the Port of Mallorca for Tarragona.

June 14th, Friday, Tarragona

An uneventful night and we wake up to the ship making its way into the Port of Tarragona to dock at the Wall de Costa Pier. This is definitely an industrial port with tankers anchored offshore waiting to dock, cargo ships offloading pumice sand, car carriers and in general a dock not designed for a cruise ship. We wonder why we are even in the port as we dock next to a grain elevator. We are told that the old city has significant historical and archeological interest, but after we hear that the local taxi drivers are refusing to use their meters and are demanding 18 euros per person to drive the short distance into town, we decide that Tarragona can be missed as there is still much that we want to do onboard before we disembark in Malaga on Monday. Besides today is another moving day as we have negotiated, for the experience, to move into an Apartment for the last two days onboard The World. This is a bittersweet move as we have become very fond of our Rhapsody suite with its wrap around balcony over the stern.

We are moving to a TMT designed Plan 2 Apartment on deck 8. We have looked, with the kind help of Ann-Christian Harr (ResidenSea`s Norwegian Sales Director) at apartments designed by Nina Campbell, J.P. Molyneux, Yran & Storbraaten and TMT by Di Pilla of Milan. All the different designs have their pluses and minuses. But we find that the Plan 2 (2 bedroom) in the Yran & Storbraaten and TMT designs to be the best compromise of space and design.

Plan B Design

We have been invited to one of the resident's apartments for drinks this evening so on the advice of the front desk we leave housekeeping to move us up the one deck. This was a mistake as it turns out, as everything is haphazardly left in the apartment! After dinner we hang our clothes and store others in the drawers, spread out between the master and guest bedroom.

We are surprised to find that there is actually less storage space in the apartment than in the Rhapsody Suite. The lack of walk in closet being a major omission and a serious mistake in our view. Another shortcoming is the poor lighting in the bathrooms and even more so in the guest bathroom. This is very apparent to us after the excellent lighting in the guest suite bathrooms.

We are also not impressed by the off white carpeting throughout, it appears to be of poor quality as walking around in dark socks soon shows more carpet lint on the socks than the socks!

Now that we have dealt with the negatives…….

Apartment in TMT Design

The apartment is light and airy with high ceilings, an unusual glass ceiling area in this particular suite gives the illusion of the underlying pillar extending into space, but the real "piece de resistance" is the kitchen. The beautiful kitchen done in light wood cabinetry with an off-white tile flooring and completely equipped with the very best European appliances, double door refrigerator, stove and microwave, table top burner, dishwasher, toaster, blender, in fact every available appliance as well as full Wedgwood dishware and Christofle cutlery. Oh, and not to forget the washer and dryer hidden away in one of the cabinets.

These kitchens break new ground in ship design for never has this been done before. In order to satisfy certification regulations, extra-ordinary measures had to be taken. In fact, the kitchens are a modular fireproof design with special fire doors, which close automatically at the first sign of smoke or fire. This also signals the bridge and specially trained fire personnel are at the apartment within minutes. These doors can be opened from inside so that no one is trapped in a smoke filled kitchen. This feature has already been proven by a resident with a charred chicken, or so we are told.

If we thought that the guest suites were quiet, the apartments are even more so. The only sound is the soft flow of air from the air-conditioning vents. In the Rhapsody suite we could hear and feel the ship maneuvering, this is not the case in the apartment. For those residents wishing to create their own meals, there is a deli gourmet market "Freddy's Deli" on deck 5, next to the Marina Restaurant. Sandwiches and snacks are also available, but again we never saw anyone using it - perhaps the snack menu should be expanded to include more of the gourmet items such as caviar or foie grois which are seen in the display cases!

June 15th, Saturday, At Sea

Sea days are always our favorite days and many of the residents we spoke to also indicated that they would like to have more sea days, but perhaps this is a conflict with guests who are only on board for a week or two and prefer to visit ports and cities of the various countries that we travel. It is a fine balancing act and one, which will always be present on this unique product when balancing the interests of the various resident committees, against the expectations and the marketing wishes of the ResidenSea Corporation as well as travel agents, who have to sell the product to their customers.

Persons who have spent millions investing in apartments on this ship both expect and demand a product that caters to them.

People with the money and the time to spare, mostly retired or soon to be retired are leaders of industry, CEO's of corporations and are used to leading and in many ways having their own way! At the same time, the marketing of the 88 guest suites provides added revenue and helps to defray the costs of operating the ship. If tomorrow this added revenue were no longer available, would the residents be prepared to substantially increase their maintenance allowance? This is a question that the residents must ask themselves for it could dictate the future course of "The World" and ResidenSea.

On the social front once the travel agents and other special interest groups are off the ship then the 160 plus guests could add that extra dimension and provide life to the ship, which at the moment is sadly lacking. Although there are two swimming pools on the ship, the large lap pool on deck11 and the pool on deck 5, nestled between the wings of the Marina Restaurant, we never actually swam in either one. Somehow and maybe because the ship was kept so cold, we never felt the urge. In fact, it was almost necessary to wear winter clothes in order to be comfortable in the public areas.

June 16th, Sunday, Malaga, "Fathers Day"

We are surprised when we open the drapes to find ourselves alongside the dock in Malaga, our entry into the port has been so quiet that we did not feel or hear our approach to the dock. After breakfast in the new apartment, we head out to have a brief look at the City. Unfortunately all the shops are closed today being Sunday and other than a few restaurants and sidewalk café's, there is little activity. It almost seems as if everyone has left the city for the day. We talk of driving to Marbella as some of the residents are doing, but remember that we have to pack for our noonday departure for London tomorrow.

Because of the ships low occupancy, we hear figures of as low as 48 guest and residents, this is probably correct as we have hardly seen anyone around other than crew! We have time before packing for a visit to the gym and to make a reservation at "Portraits" for dinner. On our previous visit to this formal restaurant we were the only table, but tonight there are five other tables and one large noisy table. Tonight there is another cocktail party on board and the ships public rooms fill up with Malaga's beautiful people.

As happened in several ports' ResidenSea and The World hosts this party to introduce the ship to specially invited persons from Malaga. We note that some of the residents are usually at these parties, but inexplicably the guest suite clients are never invited!

One interesting note, we observed that as we docked at each port the taxi drivers would crowd the piers hoping for a fare for a trip to town or a tour of the neighboring countryside only to see few if any debarking passengers. "The World" is an imposing sight from the pier, an elegant and beautiful ship but to many ashore she must have seemed like a ghost ship. Even on the rare occurrence that the ship is full, approximately 220 residents and 176 guests (396 total) she will never feel anything but empty, by comparison the Royal Princess on our trans-Atlantic, a slightly smaller ship had over 1,200 passengers.

From Saturday 15th, the Marina and Tides restaurants reverse their opening hours with Tides open for breakfast and lunch and closed for dinner. The Marina restaurant is closed for breakfast and lunch, but open for dinner. We are never told the reasons for the staggered opening hours we had expected, as advertised that four restaurants would always be available, false advertising perhaps?

In the sixteen days that we have been onboard none of the menus have changed with the exception of the occasional nightly specials. Frankly, we are now longing for a change and are pretty tired of the same menu items, even in the different restaurants the food is beginning to taste the same. In our discussions with the crew we are told that the menu's are on for three months at a time! In addition, it is apparent that much if not all of the food is frozen with the exception of salad, fruit, and other perishables which presumably are delivered at selected ports. While the meats do not suffer too much from the freezing, the fish items are pretty tasteless and have that obvious portion controlled and dry look to them.

We think that the lack of change of the menus may have been geared more to the residents, who however, hardly partake of them and either eat ashore or cook for themselves in their very complete kitchens. If "The World" is seriously to cater to the cruising guests then this aspect needs totally revamping. The residents we spoke to also complained of the very high prices charged by the various restaurants. Persons on all-inclusive packages will be distracted by the prices, clearly evident on all the menus and perhaps separate unpriced menus should be given to these guests.

On the Royal Princess, we never had the same menu twice, although certain staple items were always available. Good food is a very important part of cruising especially when one is captive to the ship as all-inclusive suite guests are. I would strongly recommend that "The World" look at more fresh food particularly fish as well as dishes indigenous to the area that the ship is cruising.

Since entertainment is very lacking on the ship, a local guest chef or food and wine tasting event at selected ports would do much to relieve the monotony and would have the added benefit of drawing the residents to become involved. This also brings up the question of entertainment on board. There really is very little!

After dinner we would often browse in the library, use the internet which at 75 cents a minute added up very quickly although two prepaid minute packages were available at reduced prices to 50 or 60 cents per minute. Sometimes we went to the Quantum Bar, just forward of the lobby on deck five and listened to Jimmy Johnson on the piano, but this became monotonous very quickly. Forward of the Quantum was a small casino and card room, but we never saw anyone there.

It should be obvious from the above that this is not a ship for everyone. If you want chorus girls, magicians, and comedians then stick with the traditional cruise lines. For us it really was not a problem, 9 days on the Royal Princess and we never went once to any of the shows.

Other items of interest were the guest lecturers who gave a description of the ports we were about to visit, some but not all included photos and videos. Unfortunately we found the lectures very monotonous and boring.

June 17th, Monday, Malaga

The day has finally come and our cruising is coming to an end, but thankfully we do not have to put our baggage out the night before, to me this is the most barbaric part of cruising as one feels that one is no longer wanted on board and frankly it ruins the day before and the day of debarkation.

On "The World" we have our breakfast as usual in our apartment, call the reception desk at 12:30 for the bellman, check out at reception and step off the ship to our waiting car - all very civilized. Half an hour later we are at the Malaga airport and soon on BA en-route to London. Six days later we board a British Airways 747 and retrace our steps across the Atlantic following almost the same Great Circle route as we took on the Royal, but this time we do it in eight and a half hours. We have been traveling for exactly a month, but have done so much and seen so many wonderful countries that it feels like months.

Lasting Impressions

The World is a unique ship, one that offers a quiet and comfortable interior, which is unmatched in the industry. The staff is possessed of a genuine friendliness, a positive attitude, and an enthusiasm, which only needs channeling in the right direction. ResidenSea itself is a new company, still feeling its' way in a changing market and perhaps it needs to take a page from the successful up market cruise lines such as Silverseas, Seabourne or Crystal.