June 6 - 13, 2012 - departing Civitavecchia. Family of 6 - 2 grandparents, 2 parents, 2 "kids" one aged 21, one aged 17 - 3 cabins. All tips and cover charges paid 4-6 weeks in advance when online reservations opened, to spread out expense and simplify our cruising experience. Our embarkation was fine, no issues, not a long wait, and relatively easy, arrived about 1PM. Mom (me) aged 45 did all planning for entire group. Room was a bit disappointing. Had balcony room, but lower part of balcony solid wall - so unable to see out, if sitting in chairs. Ruined the point of having a balcony, and would not have paid extra for one if I had known. Room too small. Cannot pass each other in room. And we are of average build. Kept having to crawl across the bed. Because bathroom has no privacy, bellhop cannot bring room service in and set it down. You will have to do yourself. We had breakfast delivered several mornings and one of us always managed to be in the shower when they showed up. Probably because they were ALWAYS 20-30 minutes EARLY.

First night had reservations in Italian restaurant (cover)at 5:30 PM. Had wonderful dinner with complimentary wine (a surprise!) Came time to pay and we were charged cover. Explained that this had been paid in advance. Took 10 minutes and several phone calls for them to find it. Had to reverse charges and start over. What a pain. Did not know at that point that this was going to happen ALL WEEK - LITERALLY AT EVERY PLACE. The night of Japanese - not only did they not have our reservation - they WEREN'T EVEN OPEN YET. The stupid system let me make a reservation for 5:30 when they didn't open till six. And yes, I had printed all this out and had taken documentation with me. All staff said it was because we embarked in Civitavecchia. Apparently their computer system only likes you if you begin your cruise in Barcelona. Treated like red-headed step child all week. It SUCKED.

Cirque show - either buy the upgraded seats or don't go. You cannot see the entire show from the cheap seats. Food was OK. Set menu of steak and shrimp. Only alternative for people with seafood allergies is a second steak. REALLY?? Anything else is an additional charge. Complimentary wine is only if you eat early. We had reservations in steak house on last night and were not allowed complimentary wine because we sat down at 7:30. Be prepared to mess around with VAT tax as well. Some of the stores are not part of the ship - they are separate. Never was able to get all paperwork and had to give up on getting our refunds. Read more