Two Cegelec variable frequency propulsion machines each with a double-winding synchronous motor of 6,750kW at 170rpm, two six-pulse synchrodrive convertors of 6,750kW and two propulsion transformers of 4,300kVA.

4.6MW alternators, as well as the 750kW motors for the bow thrusters.

Oil purifiers and oil/water separators .

Sperry Vision 2100 standard integrated bridge system

Bridge System

SNACH folding fin anti-roll stabilisers

Cruising speed of 18 knots, these ships have a maximum speed of 21 knots.

Green ship waste treatment systems allow waste, including sludge oil, to be incinerated or treated for recycling.

Fire protection system has dual-function detectors that are capable of detecting both smoke and heat.

There are three restaurants on board, all open seating, a buffet and an outdoor barbecue.

The ship is compact and has a well balanced design. Inside is one of the most elegant, more traditional-looking ship on the market with plenty of character, style and personality.

The Atrium

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Located on Deck 4, the atrium is discreet in size (only two decks high), but it is beautifully crowned by a lighted glass dome, which gives it a sense of spaciousness. Aft it has a magnificent white marble staircase which divides into two sets of steps at the landing, with a black rough-iron railing, fitted with gold painted flower details.On the landing of the staircase, there are beautifully hand crafted wood classical columns, a big mirror and a big fresh flower bouquet. Passengers enter the vessel on the lower level of the atrium, which house forward the Reception desk, open 24 hours a day, and is in green marble.

Opposite port side is the Excursion desk, also in green marble. Forward there are two columns, splendidly lined and panelled in dark wood. There aren't any cabins on lower decks, and so the atrium works well both as a focal point and as reference point on board.
The red carpet is the same on both decks of the atrium, and also on the aftstairs, and so passengers soon know when they are
near the atrium

On Deck 5 (which houses all public rooms), the atrium has less breadth,because this deck houses the lifeboats and tenders.There is a piano on a semicircular balcony over the atrium, and comfortable seating areas both port and starboard, where artwork, that the passengers can buy on auction, is shown.The furniture and carpet are the same as on the lower deck and there are armchairs, sofas, with golden upholstery, in red and green carpets.In this area and in other parts of the ship as well, we can see classical nautical detail. Other classical aspect are the curtains, with window shades, that fit almost every window on board.

The Main Restaurant

All four restaurants on the ship are located aft, and this fact helps orientation on board.

Aft the atrium, on Deck 5, is located the main restaurant, with an asymmetrical layout.Its entrance is located starboard. Here we find the Club Bar, a gathering point before meals, for friends. is semicircular with brown marble floor and classical furniture.A nifty divider, in the form of a "faux" fireplace, adorned with a freshflower bouquet and dummy bookshelves separates this area from the Main Restaurant. The decoration is completed with elliptical ceiling painting, of celestial inspiration, and a big mirror opposite the bar. Here, the carpet is mainly blue with flower motif and the panelling is darkwood.

The 370 seat Dining room has a raised central

Zone, with a blue carpet decorated in floral motif. There are only two wooden pillars.

The Captain's table is located starboard aft, while in the opposite corner

There is a little stage with a piano, and also a little wooden dance floor,with dinner dancing at night Both corners have mirrors.
There are three large windows aft, with splendid views to the ship's wake.The space between windows is wooden panelled,
with very classical lighting.The ceiling has curved forms, with soft lighting and, in the center of theroom, classical paintings.The separation between zones is done through rough-iron glass like railing,the same that exist on the stairs. The chairs are very comfortable and the tables easily seat 2, 4, 5 and 8 people. The waiter stations are numerous and well located, they all have a marble
floor, and this helps to give guests an excellent service.There is a cold buffet in the forward bulkhead of the restaurant, though allthe food is served by waiters.Undoubtedly, the main restaurant is another design highlight of the ship.

The Casino

Forward of the atrium, on Deck 5 , first there are two shops and then the casino, which occupies all the breadth of the
ship. A calm sitting area is located aft port with a "faux" fireplace, with classical chairs and armchairs upholstered in different colours, surroundingt he nautical table with collapsible edges. Furthermore a big monitor describes the cruise calls and the onboard programs.
A photo gallery is situated on the starboard side. The photo panels fold away when not in use giving the idea of huge bookshelves and creating a corridor separating the game tables. Dark panelled walls are maintained in this space which gives an elegant and
distinctive appaerance.The bulkheads panels are made of the same dark wood that gives coherence to the ship. The casino cash desk is decorated in the same green marble found in the Reception desk, as well as the Casino bar floor.In this area there aren't any neon, flash lights, noise, etc. This is one ofthe most elegant casino afloat. The carpet has a combination of blue and red tones. The red tones link the Casino to the red carpet of the Atrium zone and the blue ones link to the forward Cabaret room.

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The Cabaret Lounge

The space between the casino and the Cabaret
Lounge is realized through a
semicircular gallery, with dark wood classical
columnes, slightly lighter
than the ones found in other rooms of the ship,
with golden adornments over
green leather, and a splendid hand crafted blue
carpet.
The roof here is in stucco.
This 358 seat room is a nice size (only one deck
high) and has two ambiences
clearly different.
Aft is the bar, anusually low, without stools,
and fitted with the same
green marble found in the other bars on board.
The bar perimeter is slightly higher than the
rest of the area.
On the starboard side of the bar there is the
control room, perfectly
dissimulated.
Around of the bar there are high tables with high
stools, upholstered in
blue, though they are identical to the ones
existing in the casino.
The slightly higher zone has two semicircular
counters with blue stools,
slightly lower, in order to take a drink while
enjoying the show.
Forward is the stage, used for bingo, lectures
and the shows.
The dance floor is wooden with floral details.
The decoration of this part is very classic as
well: blue carpet with golden
details, blue courtains, and small table lamps
that provide an intimate
atmosphere.

The Spa

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On Deck 9, forward the outside pool, is located
the Spa, above the
wheelhouse deck.
The Spa is managed by Steiner, the well known spa
service specialists.
All carpets here are in navy blue, with a lot of
mirrors on the walls.
Almost all floors are marble made and between the
male and female dressing
rooms there is a splendid Japanese themed
painting, plenty of birds. All
very sophisticated.
The Spa has a horseshoe layout.
In the center is located the reception hall, the
dressing rooms and the
steam rooms.
Forward on port side is located the hair saloon
while, on the starboard
side, there is an ample aerobic room and the gym
machines space.
Outside sun shades to avoid head-on sun when on
the machines.
Even here, the dark wood is mantained as the rest
of the ship.
The forward outside area, sheltered from the wind
by blue glass walls, has a
little pool for thalasso treatments, with
magnificent views forward.
The floor here is traditionally teak decked, as
well as the chairs and
tables, the only ones in teak onboard.
The rest are plastic made and I think they should
be changed.
The outside decoration is clearly less elaborate
than the inside one. In
other ships of classical decoration such as the
Deutschland, the deck
decoration is also first-rate.

Card Room

The Card Room is located forward on Deck 9 on the
port side, this space has
been divided into two different rooms.
Forward is the card room, with its dark wood
panels and classical lamps, of
the same type that are used in the Cabaret
Lounge, the carpet is mainly
blue, and the blue and red upholstered chairs are
very confortable, but the
ceiling is metallic white, very plain and
disappointing and doesn't match
the classical decoration of the room.
Aft, an ample e-mail room, fitted with seven PCs
of the latest generation,
has the same decoration as that of the Card Room.
There are some old US President portraits, and
the tables have wooden
partitions for privacy.
The partition between these rooms can be open to
create a bigger space.

Panorama Buffet

The Panorama buffet is located aft, like the
other restaurants, on Deck 9.
It provides diners with a great view of the ocean
through large windows port
and starboard.
There are two sections: the outdoor area is aft,
on a teak decked covered
terrace, with tables and umbrellas.
The "U" shaped inside section has a gay
decoration, with yellow and green
chairs on the outer side, and drink and buffet
table on the inner part,
which also incorporates a small pizzeria.
The yellow walls have landscape paintings and the
area has plenty of light.
It's never overcrowded, and there are tables that
seat 2, 4, 6 and 8 people.

Outdoor Pool

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Forward of the buffet is the pool, which is
adequate in size for a tour and
port intensive cruise operation.
Even though some people say that it's on the
small side, but not everyone is
at the pool on many cruises, especially in the
winter European season.
The small pool has two Jacuzzis, and a lot of
padded chairs. Usually
passengers never have problems getting deck
chairs or chaise lounges.
On Deck 10 above, a jogging track circles the pool
area and, on Deck 11, there
is a spacious sunbathing area, sheltered by blue
glass screens, fitted with
golf driving net and shuffleboard court.
There are some tables, with green umbrellas, near
the wooded pool bar in the
bow section.
Aft starboard is also a barbecue, and there is a
canopied band stand.
I think that in a classical decorated ship such
as this, all outside decks
must be fitted with teak. The beige turf doesn't
match well with this
designed area.

Horizons

On Deck 10, above the Spa rooms, Horizons is a
multirole space, cleverly
designed.
Forward is an observation room, and aft is a
sport bar.
In the day time it is mainly used as and
observation room, with splendid
forward views.
Like other similar rooms, there are binoculars
and nautical memorabilia
forward, and also natural plants.
The front window slopes towards the inside and is
protected from the sun.
Behind this slope window a large buff made sofa
is fitted, so as to make
better use of this space and also to prevent
bumping your head.
This is an excellent idea.
Here the other armchairs are upholstered in blue,
the chairs are blue and
red with a blue and red carpet.
The colour scheme is excellent once again.
The windows on the sides have curtains, with
window shades, and the floor is
lowered to allow views from the center of the
room. There are several
intimate areas, with big buff armchairs facing
the sea, oval tables and red
upholstered chairs.
In the center of Horizons is located the Sports
Bar, the most "American"
space on board.
Here, the floor level has been raised and a large
shell shaped dance floor
and a band stage, give way to the bar, which
features 8 TV screens that all
show a different channel.
In the two entrances the walls have dark wood
panels, with a lot of black
and white photos of famous American sports
superstars, such as Bob Beamon,
Joe di Maggio, Sam Husf, Pelè, Bill Walton, etc.

Library

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Library

The library, one of the most splendid library
afloat, and quieter than
others, is located aft on Deck 10.
This room has the two alternative restaurants,
which open late in the
afternoon, nearby and this means that the only
movement here is the
passengers who want to use the library,
furthermore the fact that there are
few announcements on board enhances the sense of
calmness.
It's a "U" shaped room, with entrance doors, both
port and starboard, and a
forward picture window with pool views, fitted
with curtains in green tones,
and window shades.
There are windows on three side. So, the library
is very bright.
In the center of the ceiling there is a glass
dome (like the one in the
atrium), which gives it a sense of spaciousness.
It's painted with birds,
and looks like a greenhouse.
The library is presided by a "faux" fireplace in
green marble, which
contains a precious flower bouquet.
It has a golden railing with green leather...
which is the same colour as
the centers of the upholstered tables.
The armchairs are also upholstered in various
colours (mainly green and
red), but all of classical shape.
The carpet is red, but has a floral decoration in green.
There are Chinese vases here, splendid china
lamps, a globe, Egyptian
sphinxes, many splendid decoration details, and a
lot of dark wood bookcases
opposite the windows which give that special
"country house" personality tothe ship.
The library is open 24 hours a day, and there is
no control of any sort.
Passenger can take the books out themselves and
later return them.
But they are too busy to have time to read except
on longer itineraries.
There are no CDs, or DVDs or video tapes.
The only modern thing are two PCs, that can be
used only for surfing the
Internet. As the card room is far, the library
also doubles as a card room,
and passengers play chess here.
According to me the library is the best place on
board.

Italian and Grill Restaurants

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Three restaurants and a buffet, all located aft.
The two little alternative restaurants, are
located aft the Library, on Deck 10.
The seating capacity is 120 passengers each and
both have a splendid decor,
but I think the better is the Italian restaurant
which is decorated in white
tones and is very bright.
Booking is necessary for these restaurants.
Waiting is inevitable, but all restaurants on
board have a bar where you can
pass your time and meet other people on board.
The menu changes every five days.
Both restaurant are "L" shaped, with picture
windows on two sides. The aft
part has excellent sea views through its slooping windows.
The Italian restaurant is located on the port side.
There is a metope over the inside wall and
numerous classical columns, which
give this space a Roman feel. Grey and white are
the predominant colours,
complemented with real plants.
The Grill is decorated floor to ceiling with the
omnipresent dark wood, with
black and white photos of Hollywood stars.
All the chairs in the dining rooms are well
padded, very comfortable and
beautifully designed. The tables are
predominantly for four persons.

The Cabins

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The vessel has a double occupancy passenger capacity of 684 and carries an international crew of 373, giving a splendid
crew/passenger ratio of 1.84.

All 349 cabins are located on four decks: 4, 6, 7 and 8.

The cabin sizes are 14.86 sq. m. (inside), 15.3 (outside), 20.0 (withprivate balcony), and 49.5 / 55.5 sq. m. (owner's
suites with balcony).All have twin/queen bed configuration, TV with movies & CNN, personal safes and hair dryers.

92% of the cabins have ocean views and 232 have private balconies.

Even the
cheapest room is splendidly furnished, with
wooden vanities and blue carpet.
The cabins are much larger than I expected.
They have more than enough storage and closet
space. The bathroom has tiled
floor and ample storage as well, and while some
passengers had told me that
they are small, I found them very adequate.
The balconies are very nice, but passengers could
enjoy them only on longer
trips, due to the port intensive itineraries.
The balcony furniture is made of plastic, and
once more this is
disappointing in this classical ship, as so are
the partial balcony
partitions.

The ten owner's suites are the most spacious
cabins on board.
They have separate living rooms with dining
table, large bathroom with
jacuzzi, small bath for guests and extensive
private balconies.
Six owner suites overlooking the stern, and four
more are enjoying prominent
positions across the front on deck 6 and 7.

Stairs
Staircase

The forward stairs and elevators have a red
carpet, whereas the aft ones are
blue carpeted like the atrium nearby.
A splendid way to improve the orientation on board.
All stairs have glass railings, which are similar
to the iron railings onthe atrium stairs.
All landings are furnished with mirrors,
portraits, and antiques, and the
ceiling decoration is good as well.
But I think they are small, mainly on lower
decks, and in some cases theyare cramped.
The elevators are not large, but they work properly.
The corridors are like all the other public areas in old style with
decorated pillars and stucco in the ceiling.
On board a medium size ship, the signage is not so important as on large
megaships, but the designs of directional signs
and directories is good,
making the passenger orientation an easier task.

Accommodations

There are eight cabin categories. All standard
inside (no-view) and
outside-view cabins at the lowest four grades are
extremely tight for two
persons, particularly for cruises longer than
five days. They feature twin
beds or a queen-size bed, with good under-bed
storage areas, personal safe,
vanity desk with large mirror, and good closet
and drawer space. Color
televisions carry a major news channel when
available, plus a sports
channel, and several 24-hour movie channels.
Bathrobes are provided.
Cabins with private balconies (66 percent) have
partial balcony partitions,
sliding glass doors. Only 14 cabins on Deck 6
have lifeboat-obstructed
views. The bathrooms, which have tiled floors and
plain walls, are compact
and standard units. The bathroom has a shower
stall with a hand-held shower
unit, a hairdryer, cotton towels, toiletry
shelves, and a retractable
clothesline. Personal toiletry items include
soap, shampoo, body lotion,
shower cap and shoe-shine mitt.
There are 52 mini-suites, which are actually
large cabins with undivided
sleeping and lounge areas. Although not large,
the bathrooms feature a
good-sized bathtub and good space for storing
toiletries. The living area
features a refrigerated mini-bar, lounge area
with breakfast table, and a
balcony with two plastic chairs and a table.

The ten Owner's Suites provide the most spacious
accommodations. They are
fine, large living spaces located in the
forwardmost and aftmost sections of
the accommodation decks. Those on decks 6, 7, and
8, that overlook the
stern, are particularly nice, though they are
subject to more movement and
some vibration.
The suites have larger, truly private balconies
that cannot be seen by
anyone on the decks above. There is an entrance
foyer, living room, bedroom
with floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding glass
door, CD player with discs,
fully tiled bathroom with Jacuzzi bathtub, and a
small guest bathroom.

Dining

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There are four different restaurants:

The Club Restaurant has 338 seats and
a raised central section. There are large
ocean-view windows on three sides,
several prime tables overlooking the stern, and a
small bandstand for
occasional live dinner music. The lunch and
dinner menus change daily. The
screw-in table lamps are just a little too tall for the tables.

The Italian Restaurant has 96 seats, windows
along two sides, and a set menu
with added daily chef's specials.

The Grill Room, an "American steakhouse," has 98
seats, windows along two
sides, and a set menu with added daily chef's specials.

The Panorama seats 154 indoors (not enough during
winter months) and 186
outdoors. It serves breakfast, lunch, and casual
dinners. It is a self-serve
buffet restaurant, and incorporates a small
pizzeria. Good salads, a meat
carving station, and a decent selection of
cheeses are featured daily.

There is also a Poolside Grill Bar. All
restaurants feature open seating, so
you dine when you want and with whom you want.
Reservations are required in
the Italian Restaurant and the Grill, which has
tables mostly for four or
six. Service in all restaurants is very good and
attentive. All espresso
drinks cost extra, even when ordered in the
restaurants.

Other comments

A lido deck features a swimming pool and good
sunbathing space, and one of
the aft decks has a thalassao therapy pool. The
uppermost outdoor deck has a
golf driving net and shuffleboard court.
The interior décor is stunning and elegant, a
throwback to the ocean liners
of the 1920s and 1930s. This includes detailed
ceiling cornices, real and
faux wrought-iron staircase railings,
leather-paneled walls, tromp l'oeil
ceilings, rich carpeting in hallways, an
impressive staircase in the main
foyer, and other interesting décorative touches.
The overall feel is of an
old-world country club.
The public rooms are spread over three decks.
This is totally a nonsmoking
ship except for a smoking room for the crew.
The reception hall features a staircase with
intricate wrought iron
railings. A large observation lounge is located
high atop the ship. This has
a long bar and a stack of distracting,
large-screen televisions tuned to the
same channel. There's also an array of electronic
gaming machines.
There are plenty of bars aboard this
ship—including one in each of the
restaurant entrances. Perhaps the nicest of all
is the casino bar/lounge—a
beautiful room reminiscent of London's grand
hotels. It has an inviting
marble fireplace (one of three onboard) and
comfortable sofas and chairs.
The library is a beautiful and grand room in the
Regency style, with a
fireplace and a high, tromp l'oeil ceiling.
There's an excellent selection
of books, some very comfortable wingback chairs
with footstools, and sofas
you could sleep on.
r_sister

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