My mother and I took this cruise to see Europe, and take a trip together. She is 78, and I am 44, so I knew it was "now or never". I booked through the cruise line, early on, and kept tabs on the pricing, and as the cruise prices dropped, I would call and complain, and, in the end we were upgraded to a "superior verandah". People will tell you get the smallest, cheapest cabin, that is so untrue. We used the cruise line for air travel and transportation to and from the ship-for both arrival and departure for the end of our cruise.
The ride from Rome to Citavecchia was 1 hour, but we had a comfortable ride.
Embarkation was a little disorganized, and, of course, this is your first impression, so I hoped that this wasn't what was to come. After the embarkation debacle (long lines, impatient travelers), we easily got on board, and were DELIGHTED to find that our room was so beautiful and spacious! Our verandah was huge. The bathroom was large and spacious. I am so glad they upgraded our room, we wound up spending a lot of time there, sitting on the verandah, or watching tv, to relax before dinner or after and excursion.