I'm a bit late in posting this review, but just booked our next cruise (which has prompted me to review the last one)! As it was our honeymoon, the memories are still front & center in my mind. In short, it was everything I had hoped it would be - the experience of a lifetime. This was my 4th cruise (1st on RRCL), and my husband's first cruise ever.

Embarkation: Serenade was scheduled to sail from Barcelona on a Monday afternoon. As our wedding took place that Saturday, we had a flight from MSP on Sunday morning with a 4-hour layover at JFK. The 2nd leg was not scheduled to arrive at BCN until 9:30am Monday - so although we tried to book the RCCL "Embarkation to Ship via Barcelona City Highlights Tour", we were told our flight did not arrive early enough to guarantee on-time departure (so RCCL would not let us pre-book). We were told instead that upon arrival at BCN, we might be able to join the excursion on a "space available" basis if we could make it to the meeting place on time. Our flight ended up being delayed by almost 2 hours, and apparently a LARGE # of passengers on our flight were, in fact, pre-booked on said City Highlights tour - so RCCL held the tour until our flight arrived (WHY these other passengers were allowed to pre-book this excursion, I'll never know). But, we were able to join the excursion after all, which I thought was a great value for the price - about $65 USD/person, I believe. Because of the late arrival to BCN, the tour itself was cut a bit short (some of the sights ended up being "drive-by" only, with no time to actually stop & exit the bus for photos as they normally would) - but we still got to see many key landmarks and cultural areas of the city, along with short (20-min?) stop at one scenic vista/rest area, as well as a subsequent 1-hour stop in the "old" town for lunch & a bit of exploring. At no time did we feel unsafe, our tour guide was FABULOUS & provided lots of insightful information about the city (as well as precautionary tips to avoid targeting by pickpockets). The bus was locked & secure whenever we stopped. It was great to see Barcelona for a few hours, and we left feeling like we'd definitely want to return for a longer stay. I would highly recommend this tour/transfer, and props to RCCL for holding up the tour for our flight.

Boarding the ship was swift and organized, the longest wait was for the security screening - but if it helps to ensure our safety on board, then I'm not one to complain. I don't think it took more than 15-20 minutes to get through the security checkpoint (similar to the process at any airport). I thought the terminal was clean and comfortable, no complaints whatsoever. Read more