We arrived in Barcelona 2 days before the cruise, and stayed at the Confortel Auditori, a modern hotel with little dining available, and slightly overpriced for the facilities, the swimming pool was hardly long enough to swim in. Barcelona is a lovely city, we used the HOHO bus, made a round trip to see all the sights, re-boarded and visited the Park Guell, found a lovely local restaurant near the hospital, and used by the staff, excellent food.We walked to the Sagrada the next day, had breakfast at a small cafe on the piazza.

We boarded the ship at 12 noon, straight on without any wait as we had completed our Seapass.The room was not available until 1 pm, we had lunch in the Windjammer, not too busy.We then got in our room, very spacious Junior suite with plenty of space in the walk-in closet, and a roomy bathroom, complete with bath and shower attachment. The ports of call were mostly interesting. Villefranche was very lovely, we caught a bus to Monaco, very crowded with 1/2 hour Sunday service, we had to stand all the way there, but only cost 1 euro each. The driver told us when we reached the Palace, so we set off and walked up to the Palace, impressive buildings with lots of police and guards. We walked to the Casino, saw lots of very expensive cars outside. We then caught the train back, very crowded but we found seats. Visited Florence and Pisa the next day, Monday,plenty to see at both locations. Tuesday we were in Rome, had a great day visiting the sights with a local guide, before he left us to explore the Vatican area on our own. Wednesday we went to Capri, a beautiful but crowded Island. We went over on the ferry, up the funicular to Capri town, then caught a bus to Annacapri. We went up the mountain lift to the scenic viewpoint, very high and not too crowded. Thursday was the disappointing day, Palermo is such a dirty and un-welcoming city. We were pestered from the moment we left the ship, with offers of bus/taxi/horse carriage/motorized cart/you name it they have it/ transport. The streets were filthy, and after an hour we returned to the ship. Friday at sea was very leisurely, the ship never seemed crowded, and there was lots to do. We were very lucky to get on the early dining time, and we joined a party of 4 other UK passengers who had cruised together before. What wonderful companions they were, so welcoming, and we all got on so well. We spent some time with them during the week, in various bars and the casino, where I managed to win $50 at Roulette.We also met up with some friends from home who had booked on the same cruise to celebrate their silver wedding, and spent most evenings with them in the Theatre, where the entertainment was first class. This was certainly the best cruise we have been on, previously we had cruised the Caribbean twice and the Hawaiian Islands.

Now planning holidays for next year,if we do cruise next year we hope not to be disappointed after such a great holiday, but we can recommend this ship without any reservations. If the call at Sicily was changed to one of better character it would vastly improve the experience.