The ports are great; Malaga is very convenient I took the train from the airport to Malaga Centro for less than two euros and walked to the port. Valencia is a mix of the old and modern which contrast well. As we docked on a Sunday the city was quite empty and that is a real bonus for looking around. The drawback is an extorniate charge of 15 euros for the shuttle but the port is a way out. Civitavecchia is so convenient for Rome and in the opposite direction Grosseto. Livorno is a great place to get to Florence, Pisa, Lucca or even Sienna (again a shuttle ride is needed from the port but only five euros). Ajaccio was very relaxing on the high end with prices to match.

The ship is eleven years old and a workhorse; despite this it is in excellent order but not pristine as a new vessel would be.

Around fifty percent of the passengers were Spanish often in extended groups. Some I think had never used elevators before and early on seemed to spend their time going up and down in them! That's when they weren't having animated conversations in corridors and barging around to get to the front of the line (southern europeans don't stand in line it's every man, woman, girl or boy for themselves!). Guest services seemed incredibly busy all the time mostly with Spanish cruisers. The bars though were really quiet and only frequentd by non Spanish. As the cruise went on and having spoken to cruise staff the penny dropped. Empty places had been sold at knock down rates to locals that could just afford the fare and no incidentals. This was very tough for staff reliant on tips to supplement their pay but good for other cruisers that got instant fantastic service. I understand Royal Caribbean won't as result be sailing from Malaga next year which is a shame. Read more