This was our third cruise (all with Carnival). We started planning for this trip a year in advance, since we had never been to Europe before. Doing a lot of research in advance on the Internet really paid dividends.

We flew into Rome two days early so we could do some sight-seeing and get acquainted with the European time zone (10 hours different from Alaska). Economizing wherever we could, we took the Leonardo Express from the airport to the Termini (train station), then hoofed the three blocks to our hotel (Hotel Raffaelo). This was a great choice as the hotel was moderately priced and was conveniently located to most of the ancient city. The room was large, clean and a pleasant surprise. In two days we saw about as much of Rome as you could expect to see (Colosseum, Forum, Vatican Museum, St. Peter's Basilica, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and several famous Piazzas). We thoroughly enjoyed Rome, but in hindsight, I would have added at least an extra day on the front end.

On Tuesday we caught a train at the Termini (around noon) to Civitavecchia and walked for 10 minutes to the port entry (about 1/3 mile). Rollers on the bottom of your luggage are a must, but this was a piece of cake and we are both in our mid-50s, but in reasonably good shape; this might be a problem for those with disabilities or small children. At the port gate, we boarded the Carnival bus (free) and were whisked the rest of the way to the ship (another 1/2 mile or so). Along the way we saw people walking with their luggage that obviously didn't know about the free shuttle, but they were very hard to miss if you were looking for them. Read more