We mainly chose this cruise because of the ports. I had never been to Europe before, but since this would more than likely be the only time I would get there I really wanted to see Italy. We did not, however, explore the departure city of Barcelona.

First, the ship. Vision is one of the older ships, therefore, it is much smaller than the newer ships, which has its good points and bad points. First, and most important on this cruise, we were not crammed in with sooo many other passengers. Elevators were not crowded, Also, because of the time of year and number of days of the cruise, we did not see an abundance of children. We sat at a table for 8 in the main dining room, late seating. Two reasons, one we were going on a number of excursions and secondly, we wanted to meet new people. We had a nice table. Everyone was friendly. When it came to breakfast and lunch, we ate in the main dining room when we were at sea. As this was a European cruise, instead of a Caribbean cruise, we met people from all around the U.K., and Commonwealth. Canada, England, Scotland and Ireland. We so enjoyed meeting the variety of people.

We left Florida the day before the cruise was to sail. We arrived in Barcelona very early (7:45am).Transfer to the ship was at 9:45. Getting on the ship was a breeze, which was good because we had been up for about 24 hours at that point. We relaxed by the pool until the rooms were ready about 1:00 pm. Then unpacked, and got ready for the Muster Drill. Sail away was at 4:pm. Weather was beautiful. Read more