My husband and I had been planning this trip for about a year and when we finally got underway the excitement was palpable. We travelled from Perth, Australia to Dubai for a four day stay then onto Barcelona.

We were lucky enough to have a few days in Barcelona before our sail date and loved this vibrant city. We stayed in an apartment in El Raval about 100m away from Las Ramblas and took the hop on/off bus tour over two days to all the interesting sites. The bus stop for the shuttle bus out to the ship was within walking distance of the apartment so we trundled our suitcases a couple of blocks and were at the terminal within 15 minutes. Porters took our bags as soon as we stepped off the bus and directed us inside.The check in procedures were very easy as we had completed everything on line prior to leaving home in Australia and within minutes we were walking down the passage way to the beautiful Equinox.

The entry onto the ship was on the 3rd deck with the Martini bar to the left and waiters circling with champagne, mimosas and juice. We grabbed a couple of mimosas and headed to the bar - with a premium beverage package already purchased we decided to make the most of it. The martini bar staff were fantastic and let us know when the cabins were ready.We chose concierge class as a bit of a treat, my 40th birthday and our wedding anniversary combined, and we loved the stateroom straight away. Deck 10, #1014. The size of the bathroom was astonishing, the apartment we had in Barcelona had a bathroom so small you couldn't sit on the toilet and close the door without hitting your knees! Read more