We chose this cruise for the itinerary, having relatively low expectations for the ship, especially being an older and smaller ship.

Embarkation/ Disembarkation: We spent a few days in Barcelona to start and were at the port before 11 am. There was virtually no line and we were on the ship within minutes. There are a couple of duty free shops in port post-security where you can buy water, soda, wine and alcohol. Like in many of the ports, it seemed almost voluntary if you wanted to surrender any alcohol before boarding as no one really stopped you to check. By noon we could see that there was heavy traffic on the bridge into the port, especially as a few ships were boarding that day, so we were glad we boarded earlier. Disembarkation was smooth. We opted to do self checkout as early as possible so we had no problem getting a taxi to the airport in time to handle our VAT refund (you have to get a stamp pre-security and remember to pack your purchases in carry on as they might want to see them). We were at the airpot before 7:45 am, but the airline counter only opened at 8 to check our bags.

Ship: Overall the ship was in good condition and had fairly updated decor. Being a ship of this size, it is obviously lacking in some of the bells and whistles found on larger ships, but there is still a rock climbing wall and small water slide in the kids' area. Instead of the promenade that RCCL has on many of the newer ships there was the multideck centrum area where there was a bar and various shows and activities throughout the day. It got a little noisy at times and stayed lively until about 11:30 every night (which we found out the hard way because our cabins were just off the centrum). We were disappointed to find that the aerialist shows that they used to have in the centrum were no longer offered. My favorite spot on the ship was deck five outside, which was a far better impromptu jogging track than the crowded one upstairs (the deck was seldom used except by smokers) and a nice place to sit in the shade and read, with loungers set up. The fitness center was well equipped and seldom seemed crowded. Although there was only one family pool, it was not too crowded but not surprisingly getting loungers was a challenge (the pool attendants were not consistent in removing unattended items; one time we left for 15 minutes for a snack and they took our things away, insisting that we had been gone for well over 30, while other cots that sat empty most of the day with just a towel to hold them were left alone). Read more