Riviera Review

Perfect itinerary, great service and wonderful dining make a 5* cruise

Review for the Western Mediterranean Cruise on Riviera
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buggins0402
6-10 Cruises • Age 60s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Jun 2016
Cabin: Penthouse Suite

We chose this cruise because of the unique seven day point to point itinerary, from Barcelona to Rome. We are still working and like to spend some of our vacation time exploring on land, so we ended our trip exploring some areas in Italy we have not seen...Bologna and Lake Como. This particular itinerary intrigued us as it had some very long port times in Monte Carlo and Cinque Terre, the latter has been on the "bucket list" for some time. And, despite many trips to the countries included on this cruise, we'd also never seen Palma de Mallorca or Portofino. In Livorno, we visited Lucca, which was missed on a land trip to Tuscany. To sum it up, this was a perfect itinerary.

Embarkation in Barcelona...it seemed like only a few minutes and we were on board enjoying a lunch in Terrace Cafe. Our Cabin was available shortly after lunch, which allows us time to change and visit the fitness center for a work out befor the drill.

All the ports exceeded expectations. We particularly loved Palma and Portofino. While Cinque Terre is difficult to see in a day the long port time gave us the ability to visit all 5 villages.

Cabin Review

Penthouse Suite

Cabin PH3

Great cabin. Near midship, stairs and elevator. It is also very close to the laundry, which was a concern prior to the cruise. No worries, there is no noise and is a great location for doing a quick load. I shouldn't have packed so many clothes! Cabin was clean, spacious with a walk in closet and separate tub and shower in the bathroom.

Port Reviews

Palma de Mallorca (Majorca)

Beautiful town. Very easy to explore on your own. Makes for a wonderful easy port day.

Marseille

We visited Aix en Provence. It was a wonderful day as it was market day and we love French markets. This port is only ticked down because it is slightly more difficult to get out of since you port in the commercial port.

Monaco (Monte Carlo)

We've never been fans of MC, but the long stay in port intrigued me. What is not to love about having a breakfast or lunch in the wonderful aft outdoor dining (Terrace) in a scenic port? We made great use of the aft dining, having all three meals there.

We also managed to find some charm in Monte Carlo, visiting it farmers market, the Japanese garden and doing a run along the water (which the long port stay allowed).

La Spezia (Cinque Terre)

Another perfect port day. This port is a bit difficult in that a port shuttle and taxi is needed to get to the train station. We started early and kept going and managed to visit all the town's..with a two hour hike between Corniglia and Vernazza.

Florence (Livorno)

Again only tick down because the commercial port means that you must take a shuttle, then a bus to a train to get anywhere. We went to Lucca. It was a very pleasant day in Tuscan town.

Portofino

Beautiful port. We hiked to Santa Margherita, which is a lovely town and took the ferry back. It was a perfect port day.

Barcelona

We stayed in Eixample for the first time. Loved it..it will be our area to stay from now on...much less touristy.

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