Background - My wife and I, along with our son/daughter-in-law, and daughter/son-in-law decide to celebrate our 35th anniversary with a 12 day Mediterranean cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas, departing on 7/28 and returning on 8/9. . Since there were 9 ports of call, we divided the ports into 3 groups, and the planner in each family unit did the research on each of 3 ports and made recommendations regarding what to do in each port. We made a group decision to book the least expensive rooms that were available and to spend more on the tours and excursions. After some research, we learned that we would get more bang for our buck by booking private excursions. I can tell you now that we were extremely pleased with the results of those decisions.

Pre-Cruise - We made our own travel arrangements and flew with Continental Airlines from Orlando to Newark and on to Barcelona. We flew on the 25th, arriving on the 26th, to give us time to enjoy Barcelona and to avoid any potential travel hassles. The trip itself was uneventful, and we arrived at the Hotel Pulitzer in downtown Barcelona. The Hotel Pulitzer is a clean and contemporary "boutique" hotel which we recommend. It is close to the Ramblas and just a short walk from a HOHO bus stop as well as the subway. Over the course of our 2 1/2 days in Barcelona, we visited the rebuilt Port Vell harbor area which has lots to see and do, took both the red and blue lines of the HOHO bus, visited La Sagrada Familia, ate wonderful food and lots more. It was a great start to a great trip.

Embarkation - Around 2PM on the 28th, we made our way by taxi to the port to get our first look at the Brilliance of the Seas. The embarkation process went quickly and smoothly, and within 1/2 hour we were enjoying a lovely buffet lunch on the open air rear area of the Windjammer restaurant. This area never seemed to get discovered by many people, and we enjoyed many pleasant breakfasts (and lunches on sea days) overlooking the various harbors and the sea from this location. After lunch we wandered around to get familiar with the ship and then unpacked our luggage, which arrived at our rooms in a short time. Read more