March 05/2010..Barcelona,arrived around 6:40 WOW!!!..what a place,going back for sure!..visited the magic fountain ..a must, its unreal..try tablao cordobes for dinner and a flamenco show its worth it! they have a web site to reserve..We stayed at the Oasis Hotel on the edge of the port and pretty much in the middle of everything gothic ,shopping,food, had a really good time and it was inexpensive clean and comfortable,home away from home is what we wanted,snobs wouldnt like it..there were none there!..Embarkation was a breeze, onboard timely splendid so far..the Atrium was spectacular- impressive,now for our complimentary Welcome aboard bubbly..,well it seems that no one knew we were coming,cause there was none,instead we were offered carribean style fruity cocktails in plastic NCL cups with the the little umbrellas and everything!! the smiling staff member,when asked told me I would be billed $8.50 each..saved $17 there..finally after wandering around for 5hrs,they let us access our cabin,wonderful,home sweet home ,but not yet!its drill time,safety at sea time,oh boy!you gotta love it,3000 + people, tired lost and not conscious of detail or instruction,blocking exits and entrances,very educational/entertaining experience..finally back to the cabin..

to relax, check out the balcony and maybe left alone from the intercom and the baggage handlers,not yet!!now its the captain speech in 6 languages or so. welcome aboard,smooth sailing,sunny skies you know..Hoist the anchor I mumbled its been a long day and then we started to move, along with the black clouds heading our way..It snowed in Barcelona that night!..and it rained all the way to and from Rome,and sailing wasnt so smooth.,showering the next day was like a roller coaster ride at wet and wild water park,without the helmet!!..Athens,well ,we didnt get there,they took us to Sicily instead,a little disappointing, beautiful none the less..next stop Ephesus ,nice place Turkey,green and clean,food was the best,carpet salesmen are a bit of a pain- all in all, good excursion.next stop Egypt..is at best a mind blowing experience,but maybe not what youd expect,NCL excursion for this one,highly recommended,some that didnt wished they had,Menal was a terrific guide,extremely knowledgeable ,perhaps more information than you can retain in the sweltering heat,lunch at the mena house was good,in Giza,overnight in Cairo at the Conrad Hilton, a real palace in a sea of rubble,nile river dinner cruise not so good!!poor in fact..light and sound show,you be the judge,dull in my opinion..we were exhausted by the end of this excursion ,a welcomed sea day, then off to Malta,nice place,pretty small, good pictures..next stop Casablanca and Ricks cafe/a mosque then off to Marrakesh ,hmnn oasis fantasia was the highlight,another place you want to keep your wits about you,snake charmers,monkeys thrown on you for photo opps,be prepared to pay if you take someones picture,best to ask first, how much. the souk is a bit overwhelming,unless you are used to 50,000 people with all sight set on you..scary when the sun goes down!!NEXT las palmas,beautiful,inexpensive shopping,not enough time,NEXT Madeira/funchal,we took the land rover tour...excellent!!not for the chicken hearted NEXT Alhambra/Malaga/Grenada,beautiful ,not enough time!!..All in all this was a large trip..a word of advice to anyone..dont try to do everything,cause you cant,and if you do you will suffer when you get home..but you might have missed something,we didnt miss much and will never forget a thing..jet lag sucks!!NEXT iSTANBUL..2012 another biggie!!!jc