* Background  This was our first cruise and we not at all disappointed. We are a couple in our mid-forties and now having a grown up family decided to treat ourselves to a bit of luxury and decadence. We really have nothing negative to say and this was our genuine experience. * Embarkation  we stayed overnight in Venice the night before. Travel from the Airport was very simple to P. Roma with a shuttle bus costing just 3euros each and taking around 15 minutes. I was careful to book a Hotel fairly close by to avoid any transfer difficulties but even so, being a bit tired and sweaty (it was very hot even in early September) we couldn't face lugging all our luggage onto a Vaperetto and instead hired a private water taxi at a cost of 40 euros for a 5 minute journey !!! Adding together the bus-fare this came to a total of 46 euros for the 2 of us which I guess isn't too bad as far as airport transfers go. Our hotel in Venice, C'Pozzo was VERY nice. I had found it on the internet and it was exactly how it was portrayed on their site. Very modern, clean, Japanese style furniture and beautiful modern artwork everywhere. We were delighted to see the artist on our reception, my guess is that he is either owner/part-owner. This Hotel is a real find if you like a modern, clean and fresh environment. We braved the Vaperetto to get back to P.Roma and people were very helpful in assisting with our luggage but it is not an ideal way to travel with a lot of luggage. Took a taxi from P.Roma to the port which took just a few minutes and cost 15euros. We checked in at approx 4.00pm and there wasn't another soul around so we just breezed through. Not a good idea to take our photo at that point though as we were looking a bit frazzled, I wonder how many people buy their embarkation picture ?

* Stateroom  We had invested in an Oceanview stateroom with balcony on Deck 7 and it was SO worth it - we just loved our room, loads of storage space, bed was really comfy, loads of pillows, fresh towels every day, sometimes twice a day, everything was great. Our attendant Genaro was very nice, discreet (we hardly saw him) and he also had a sense of humor, putting our sunglasses on the towel animals. The balcony was a real bonus and I really enjoyed standing out there watching the approach to our Ports. I even stayed up till 4.00am to watch our first docking at Katakolon. We also enjoyed room-service breakfasts and a couple of lunches out on the balcony. Tip - make sure you have some small notes to tip the room-service attendant as this is outwit the formal tipping regime. I improvised, using the napkins to make a tablecloth, maybe a good idea would be for RCCL to provide a small one for this purpose. * Ship info  We thought the ship was beautiful, it was our first time so nothing to compare it to but it was very grand, the Centrum area / champagne bar were very luxurious and we regularly saw staff polishing the brass-work and cleaning the public areas. We used the Solarium for chilling out as the pool area was quite crowded and still some children splashing around (we thought they would all be back at school by now). The Solarium was also beautiful but you do need to be up fairly early to get a good seat. We stayed on board at Katakolon and it was heavenly to have it almost to ourselves.The first 2 nights we did feel a vibration from the engines which was mildly annoying then seemed to disappear until the last night. * Dining  We dined every evening in the King & I restaurant. We were on table 12 (for 8), late sitting. We were a bit disappointed as were our table companions to find that only the 4 of us came for dinner each evening, a young Honeymoon couple came twice but the other couple never appeared at all. Our waiter and assistant waiter Lavinia & Dalibor were fantastic. With just the 4 of us we felt we got extra special service and got to know them quite well. They were really nice people who were efficient, attentive but also fun and easy to talk to. The food was always very good and you could have as much as you wanted, 2 starters or whatever, nothing was too much trouble. They were not at all pushy in offering wine/drinks to buy and were very happy to keep topping us up with iced water throughout the meal which we often prefer. We had lunch one day in the King & I which was open seating. This worked fine and lunch was delicious. I had fresh pasta from the Pasta Bar where I picked my sauce and all the ingredients. I would plan my day better next time to build in a nice lunch in the King & I on sea-days rather than snack on the other options.

* Excursions  Our absolute favorite was Mykonos, spent a couple of hours sightseeing then a taxi to paradise Beach. Spent the afternoon at the Tropican Beach Club Bar on a Sofa yes a Sofa on the beach !! sipping Pina Coladas with reggae music in the background  heavenly. We did the bus-tour of Athens which for us was enough. Shopping in the Plaka was a bit of a waste of time, the usual touristy shops. Dubrovnik was very quaint, we took a taxi to miss the queues for the shuttle bus which was just as cheap. We stayed on board at Katakolon, we didn't want to visit Olympia which was the only excursion. Our dining friends confirmed we hadn't missed anything and we really enjoyed the ship less crowded. * Activities  we used the Spa for treatments (Elemis). My husband thought it was the best back/shoulder massage he had ever had and it really eased an ongoing pain he has. I had a foot treatment and scalp/hair massage/treatment which was fantastic for my hair with the effects lasting for days. Be warned  they are a bit pushy in trying to sell products, my reflexologist seemed surprised/disappointed that I didn't want to spend $400 on a detox programme of tablets !! All therapists however were excellent and I felt I got good value. We attended the Captains/Chief Engineers talk about the ship and this was very interesting, we also attended the first-time cruiser meeting which was very helpful and set the scene for a great holiday. * Entertainment  we liked the formal nights, getting dressed up / photos etc. Tip  make sure you get some lifestyle photos done, these cost a fortune back home (white background) , these were our best photos and I ended up buying 3 of them and still feel they were worth it. There is no obligation to buy but you need to drag your hubby round all stations to try out all the backgrounds. We only caught one show as after the first one they started making it a pre-dinner show for the late diners and this was too early for us. We chose late dining so we could make the best of the day and not be rushed into getting ready early so we just missed out the shows. We tried out the Casino late in the week and our Dealer taught us how to play Blackjack. He was very patient and got us hooked for a second night  we lost a total of $100 over the 2 nights but felt we had great fun doing so. * Disembarkation  very organized, we took the Padua Trip/Airport Transfer to fill in some time until our late afternoon flight which was very good but we desperate for a cup of tea/coffee as we seemed to walk for miles without a stop. * Summary  we loved it!! It was everything we had hoped for, great service, great food and a fantastic stateroom. We have already booked our next cruise, with RCCL as we were so impressed. Having discovered that we really love beachy islands as opposed to sightseeing, we have booked for the Southern Caribbean this time for 12 nights, I guess we are well and truly hooked.