Staff, crew, and cruise experience:
This was our first cruise, and we're hooked. Apart from a minor hiccup with the computers going down at embarkation, the staff and crew ran the rest of our 28 day cruise like clock work. From the friendly staff at the bars, restaurants, and our totally epic stateroom attendants, they made a great experience even better. Captain Timmers had a fantastic sense of humour, and Tom the port guide had brilliant advice for cruisers; without just pushing company products/shore excursions.
Cabin: 6181
We booked an aft veranda cabin, after reading advice on cruise critic, and it was the best decision. Well away from busy spaces and lifts, we didn't hear a thing. Good sized deck, while not huge was enough for two deck chairs and a small table (supplied).
Views from the back veranda were stunning as we entered and left legendary places like Valencia, Monaco, Venice, Montenegro, and Santarini.
Bed very comfortable; I've never slept so soundly!
Loved Barcelona, from the shopping and architecture, to the history and people. Great beaches, although packed in early August.
Stunning city; from the historic Spanish architecture to the modern artistic styles of this contemporary - the town planners have got it right.
We saw all the main highlights in a day by Hop-on Hop-off bus.
Must do; Museum of Sciences.
Probably the easiest town to visit from port. Our ship berthed literally 10 minutes walk to the old town centre. Stunning marble streets; cheap clothes and shoe shopping!
We took a shore excursion to Aix-en Provence, and Marseille. Aix was definitely the highlight with this distinctly french medium-sized town. Amazing food markets, I can still taste the fresh sweet summer fruit!
Amazing port; we took a taxi tour around and got photos over the old city, and then got dropped in town. Was a bit of a struggle catching a taxi, due to the amount of tourists, but we managed to get one and spend a fantastic afternoon at Copacabana Beach, swimming in the warm Adriatic sea.