This cruise is not about the ship - it's about the ports. So I'm going to address the ports before actually reviewing the ship.

Our cruise sailed out of Venice. We arrived in Venice a day before the cruise sailed so that we could spend some time seeing Venice. We stayed in the San Marco area. We took the Alilaguna (cost about 13 euros) from the airport to San Marco. We were told to take the vaporetto, which is akin to a water bus. This would have worked out great, but the vaporetto was on strike for the day. So we dragged our suitcases through the streets of Venice, up and down the stairs of all of the bridges. Word of warning for anyone wanting to bring strollers or wheeling their luggage - there are no ramps on the bridges of Venice - and there are a LOT of bridges. So be sure to take that into consideration. Going to port, we took a water taxi from the hotel. The cost was 80 Euros total no matter how many riders, so we split the ride (and the cost) with two others going on the same cruise. On our return from the cruise, we stayed an extra day at another hotel away from the city. We took a cab (about 35 Euros) to the hotel and after we dropped off our suitcases, we were able to take a bus (about 4 Euros) into the city itself. So Venice is a very maneuverable city - it just depends on how you want to get to where you are going.

Our first port was Dubrovnik. It's a beautiful city and completely walkable. The ship was tendered so we were taken to shore via the lifeboats. If you don't take an excursion, make sure you get your tender ticket early the day before in order to be able to get the most of your day. We decided to do Dubrovnik on our own and we're glad we did. The tender dropped us off right outside the city walls. Within the old city, there are no means of motorized transportation. I would recommend walking the city walls - the views are breathtaking! There is a slight cost (about 7 Euros) but it's worth it. Read more