Many of the reviews previously posted were from travelers who stayed in suites or rooms with balconies. I hope this helps the traveler who is staying in a regular stateroom. My husband and I (both in early 40s) traveled with our 2 children (6 &9) and they stayed with us in our stateroom. (More on that in a minute) Although I am a first-time cruiser, I have traveled to all-inclusive resorts and have traveled to Europe before.

Travel to Barcelona- Not sure how this is helpful as I think all that depends on where you come from and airline you use. We traveled via Continental from Newark and had no problems. We came in a day early and used Saturday to see a bit of Barcelona. We cashed in hotel points and stayed at Hilton Diagonal Mar, which is not centrally located to the city, but fairly close to the port. It was 20 euros to go by taxi from the hotel Sunday morning (and that includes the extra charge for our 4 bags). If you do stay in Barcelona, the metro system is extremely easy to use. We used public transportation to get from the airport to our hotel and to get all around on Saturday. My kids were real troopers wheeling their suitcase through the city streets

We arrived for embarkation around 12:00 pm and had our luggage immediately received and the check-in line was fairly short, with about 3 people in front of us. Boarded the ship and the all clear to go to our cabins was given at 1:30. We had a window (not port-hole) mid-ship on the 5th floor, with 4 people. There was plenty of room to move around in and plenty of storage for all of our things. Our luggage did not arrive until about 3:00 and by then, we had lost the opportunity to get lounge chairs by the pool. I strongly recommend packing your bathing suits in your carry-ons. Read more