This was our first trip to Europe. We have been thinking about taking a European trip since we were married a year and a half ago, but definitely wanted to go before we took the plunge and had children. We were originally thinking about taking a bus tour, but when we saw the reduced price, we were bought hook line and sinker and were on our way to Europe for our first (and hopefully not the last) time. The ship started and ended in Rome, which I thought was the ideal port. We decided to stay in Rome for two nights before the cruise, and one night after. After a glorious two full days, we joined a Cruise Critic group who booked Rome Cabs to the port. This was after a Train Strike weekend, so we were just making sure that we got to the port in time. Our taxi was able to go straight to the port entrance and after a short line, we made our way to the gorgeous ship that is the Mariner of the Seas. Just a note, we were surprised that our passports were taking at check-in, and not given back until Israel. This was a bit alarming, since we have been trained not to let go of our very valuable passports, but we were assured that they would be kept safe and secure Our room wasn't ready when we boarded the ship at around 12:50, but we were able to wander this magnificent and spacious ship. The promenade area was jaw dropping, and we knew we were in for a treat! Once 1pm rolled around and we were able to enter our room, we were greeted by our cabin attendant and were pleasantly surprised that our luggage was there already. Stateroom is small but clean but really, how much time do you spend in there anyways? Actually, we found that it was bigger than our hotel in Rome, so it actually seemed quite spacious! After unpacking for our 12 day journey, we set about exploring the ship. I think this part is my favorite time on the ship; before the majority of people embark and pictures can be taken everywhere! Activities were plentiful: we especially enjoyed the napkin folding classes and the progressive trivia, and were even able to participate in Mass on board. Our dining experience was good, even though I was a bit weary due to some negative comments here on the website. We are definitely not used to gourmet dining every night so we just assumed that the negative comments came from people who frequent 5 star establishments on a regular basis. I made reservations for both Chops and Portofino because my husband and I both celebrated our 30th birthdays on this trip. They were fabulous! I was wondering about the mystery dinner they had on board, but didn't reserve because we have a great mystery dinner theater that we go to here at home which is less than the price on the ship, but maybe next time. The entertainment was... 0k. My husband and I are both performers and participate in shows so our expectations weren't great. We loved the orchestra, the ice show and a couple of the guest performers (our favorites were the Beatles Tribute band, the magician, and the ventriloquist). The ship's entertainment was ok, but we both agreed that the show itself wasn't very well written and lacked flow. I think the most negative part of the cruise was the disembarkation, which was confusing. We decided not to join another private shuttle because we weren't going straight to the airport or to Termini, and private taxis were quoting us with 200 euro! We knew that shuttles were going to be provided to the entrance of the port, but these were hard to find out of the 10 buses that were lined up. Also, once we got to the entrance, the 1/2 walk to the train station was remarkably difficult with all of our luggage. I think it would have been nice if the ship provided transportation to the train station, or at least have a bus. Overall, we had a wonderful experience and we were so thankful that I found this wonderful site because we saved a bundle on excursions and were able to meet so many friendly people. This was the first trip both of us had ever taken on our own (our honeymoon cruise even had my best friend and her mom on it... long and coincidental story...). However, because we 'met' people before we even boarded, it seemed that we knew someone throughout the journey and that was great!