When and where: Star Princess -- Mediterranean 12 day Rome to Venice on April 22.

Who: I'm Robin (R) single mom, pushing the big 50, my friend Beth (B), single, 40's. We've both cruised before but not together. We were joined by Beth's retired parents Pete (P) and Louise (L) who've cruised from the US, but have never been to Europe.

Pre-cruise: Three nights in Rome at the bed and breakfast offered by Remo and Angela. Remo and Angela define gracious entertaining - they treated us like family and we got to know there's as well. Remo had his drivers pick us up at the airport on the 19th and deliver us to the ship on the 22nd. The extra charge was well worth the first-class treatment. (We had a fair amount of luggage). Though Remo's house is farther out in the suburbs than we'd hoped, it worked out well for us and they were always available for rides to the subway on our schedule. We were too tired from the flight to do any late sight-seeing. We took advantage of the optional dinner for the last night - Angela is a wonderful cook and it was the perfect ending to our stay -- much better than any restaurant (Even Remo's brother's pizza). We may not have seen all the touristy sights but we got to know the family culture of Italy as few do and for us, that was a better choice. For "in-town" sightseeing, we used the ACTV Line 110 double decker hop on/hop off bus and definitely got the most for our money!!! It's a great way to rest when you're tired and still see the sights. Even if you go around more than once, there's something new to see every time (We did make it to the Vatican for Mass and to see the Sistine chapel. Our "must do's). Read more