Before I begin- I would like to state that we are a couple in our early 30's who have cruised multiple times and actually met on a Carnival cruise ship back in 1998. We like to be thorough in our review in hopes that others will find some good nuggets of information for their upcoming cruise. This is our first official cruise review to be posted on cruisecritic.com. Here goes....

PRE-CRUISE ROME: We arrived in Rome on April 28. Marco from Rome Cabs picked us up in a Mercedes 4 door sedan and drove to the Best B&B Pantheon. Along the way Marco pointed out some of the city's historical sites. Speed limit signs and white lines on the road are mere suggestions for people to follow if they wish.

The Best B&B Pantheon was awesome and centrally located on Corso Vittorio Emmanuelle II. We were up about a block from the Pantheon, caddy corner from Area Sacra Dell' Argentina (the historic archaeological site where Julius Caesar was murdered) and close to many yummy cafes and fun shopping. The Best B&B has only 4 rooms, one of which is larger and contains a Jacuzzi. Ramona greeted us and although our room wasn't ready right away, hurried to prepare it for us and we only had to wait 20 minutes or so. The Best B&B Pantheon is on the second or third level of the building and the entrance is very subtle. You'll miss it if you're not looking for it, as there is no sign on the outside. But we felt very safe there. After Ramona cleaned the room, we talked to the owner via phone to arrange a time for him to come by and go through the keys, the alarms, and payment for the stay. We were pleasantly surprised to have free wi-fi internet access for my wife's Macbook and to check back with friends and family back home, as well as to do research for places to visit. There is also a desktop computer In the hallway for guests, along with books about Rome and various DVDs to borrow. Best B&B Pantheon was very clean, and our room contained a 42 inch plasma display, iron, ironing board and DVD player. Every night, we set our breakfast order card on the door, which indicated what we wanted for breakfast and when we wanted it delivered (between 8am and 10am). Breakfast arrived on a three-tiered cart every morning with yummy pastries, jams, eggs, orange juice, toast, cereals, coffee, etc. Our room faced the street, but it wasn't loud at all when we closed the large doors. It was great to watch people, as there were many people walking along there either enroute to the Gesu, the Pantheon, the Forum, etc. In addition, the Best B&B Pantheon offered a discount to dine at the cafe across the street. There was a pharmacy across the street and ATMs were easy to find. Our stay at the Best B&B Pantheon was for 3 nights and I look forward to staying there in the future. I would recommend this place to anyone visiting Rome. As we were still on Orlando (East Coast) time, we slept for a few hours before deciding to venture out for dinner and the afternoon. We walked to Piazza Navona and saw all the performers and beautiful buildings surrounding the area. We had dinner at one of the cafes in the Piazza. The food was alright, but I'm sure we paid for the view of the Piazza. After dinner, we walked east from Piazza Navona through Via Giustiniani- a small, very narrow street, the eventually opened up to Piazza Della Rotunda, where the Pantheon is located. It was lit up with a spotlight, making it breathtaking to see such a structure nestled in an area with many buildings. We sat down by the fountain with a full moon shining down on us while enjoying gelato. There is no shortage of gelato in Rome, and thank God for it. I enjoyed Stracciatella-flavored gelato. Yum! Links: www.romecabs.com www.bestbb.it/ Read more