It was our honeymoon and we decided on a cruise to Western Europe. The cruise began at Barcelona and spent the first day at sea, then it went through Messina, Naples, Rome, Florence (Livorno) and Villefranche. In other words, we visited three countries, six cities. It was overall a very enjoyable experience for both me and my wife.
Embarkation began at 13:00 pm till 19:00 pm. We spent the earlier part of the day touring Barcelona and didn't board the boat until 17:00pm. The process was fairly fast and we were in our cabin within 20 minutes. The checked-in luggage took a while to arrive our cabin though.
The ship overall was a beauty, with lots of restaurants and bars located all over. It was also fairly new and clean. Regarding the food, the specialty restaurants were all very good and we spent two nights in the Cagney steak house, and one each in Le Bistro and Chin Chin. We also tried Mama and Tangos (both no fee) and they both offered very satisfactory quality. For breakfast we often had the buffet in Garden Cafe and occasionally room service to save time.