One of the issues is she's so quiet, or was when we visited...we more or less had her to ourselves! The crew were great, but there only a few of them, she needs hundreds more people on board, just to feel alive. Some areas felt untouched, but others definitely now clean and modern...and there is a lot of very new and very cream carpet, not too much furniture and bare walls where once there was art, noticeboards, signs etc etc...
We were repeatedly reminded of the soft opening, they are experimenting with releasing cabins for booking and were clearing up some technical issues, like A/C and hot water, so didn't want to go to fast, too soon. I do think lots of people will add to her sense of character, as will having a "Captain" again, which is something they have planned - I believe an ex-Cunard crew member, who will be in uniform and tour the ship.
The A/C now comes from a new plant shore-side, but it's channeled down the original pipework, which has lots of "dampers" which used to be hydraulically controlled, but are now electronic apparently - this is where the glitches lie, we were told. It was 43 deg outside and parts of the ship were very comfortable, but others a bit warm!
