This was the first time we had travelled with Holland America and was unsure what to expect, and due to such a wonderful experience, it may be hard to travel on another cruise line. We embarked in Venice which was smooth and very little hassle, was the most picturesque way to exit a port as glided past St Marco Square with a Champagne in our hand!
The ports we visited included Dubrovik - very interesting. Corfu - was my birthday so we celebrated a lunch a shore. Argostoli - was just ok. Santorini - was our favourite place, went on a bus tour, took us everywhere and of course the very photographed Blue Domed buildings. Had a lovely lunch with fantastic view, very memorable! Sicily was fun, hired a taxi with a guide who couldn't speak a word of English, but managed to communicate, went to Mt Ettna and Taormina. Civitavecchia the Port for people wanting to visit Rome. We chose to stay on the boat as we have been to Rome, we instead chilled out in one of the Cabanas which we also had on a sea day as well. Naples was next where did Pompeii which we really enjoyed but wished we had longer there. Missed out the Port of Livorno due to bad weather and instead visited Sardinia, which was disapointing because we missed out on Florence! We disembarked in Barcelona and said goodbye to a beautiful ship.
The ship was fantastic for 12 days, never felt crowded, plenty of quiet spaces to relax, but also lots to do for entertainment. The food was of a very high standard. Cabins were spacious and clean and of course the balcony made it special. All in all a wonderful holiday!
Fantastic Balcony cabin - a must for cruising the Mediterranean.We were near the lifts but were never bothered by noise.Found the cabin very adequate.