Please enter your review. This was my first time cruising on my own- no husband, no tour guide, relying entirely on my own abilities to deal with situations and make choices. It was exciting and scary, but made me feel so good about myself at age 60. I'll try to cover all the areas that were helpful to me in planning and making this the cruise of a lifetime. I cruised with 3 high school friends. We made our arrangements through a local travel agent, and he did a great job making choices for us that made our journey easier. He suggested we stay 2 nights precruise in Barcelona. Great advise! We stayed at the Comfortel Auditori- helpful,friendly staff; abundant, interesting European breakfast; and free,readily available Internet to contact our families! They even directed us to a bank across the street where we could change our large Euro bills into more usable denominations The only disadvantage of our hotel was our location- we were about 8 blocks from Plaza Catalunya in L'Eixample. But we enjoyed walking, and were close to our favorite attraction- Sagrada Familia. Don't miss this- and rent the head phones for a detailed tour-allow 3 hours. The Hop-on Hop-off Bus took us all over the city . We used a 2 day pass, to see all the major attractions. We found the guides on the buses very helpful. When we were walking and wanted to check directions, we looked for one of the many "older" couples strolling the Barcelona streets. They aways tried to get us going in the right direction. Embarkation was very quick and easy. Our TA arranged a van to pick us up at our hotel at 11:00 AM and take us directly to the pier. The processing went smoothly, and we were on the ship in about 10 minutes! Our rooms were not ready until 2:00, so we explored the ship and ate lunch. That kept us busy. Register for the spa give-aways. 2 of the 4 of us won. You must be present at the drawing. After we checked out our rooms, we continued exploring the ship. We were excited for the Meet & Mingle, to match faces and names of people we'd met on line. Don't miss this! It was a gift that kept on giving- we made new friends, and seeing them everywhere we went- on tours and throughout the ship- definitely added to our cruise experience. And the gift from RC -a place to keep our Sea Passes- was used daily! Our luggage came in time to get ready for the second dining seating (8:30). We had arranged to sit with 2 people we met on M&M, and that turned out great! We enjoyed the conversation every evening, catching up on their day. Our wait staff could not have been more cooperative and friendly. They went out of their way to met our needs. On the night we arranged to eat at Portofino's (don't mis this- the food was outstanding!), we missed Creme Brulee in the main dining room. Our head waiter arranged to have it made for us the following evening. He also learned that I loved the risotto- and asked the chef to make it for us a night it was not on the menu. I don't know that I've ever known who my head waiter as on previous cruises- this head waiter really earned his tip! We ate every breakfast in the Windjammer or Island Grill. Our tours left early, so we wanted to be ready early, and this worked beat or us. We did have to ask often for coffee- or get it ourselves. We found this staff to be less than enthusiastic! We used RC tours every day- having never been to Italy before, we wanted to see all we could without the worry of making connections (train, bus etc). We thought that the convenience and worry free travel was worth the money we spent on the tours. They may have been more expensive than renting a limo with others, and after talking to others on line through the M&M, this could have been arranged. We didn't want to deal with traffic or the worry about getting back to the ship on time. The tours: Our first day, we booked The Best of the French Riviera. We arrived at the prearranged location (La Scala Theater or Studio B) at least 15 minutes prior to the trip embarkation time. We learned, after the first day, that each tour had more than one bus, so the earlier you arrived for your tour, the earlier your group left for the tour and the more time you spent on the tour. Your tour group must all be present to be "ready" for the tour. Our Best of the French Riviera was great! We were in Cannes during the Film Festival, and our tour ate in a restaurant directly across from the Film Festival Center. We even had time to see the Red Carpet. I looked for George Clooney- I was told he and the other "celebs: were probably still sleeping! Our tour guide waited only about 10 minutes for 2 people who were late returning- then left because we would have been behind schedule at the other locations. We all applauded her decision. We really enjoyed our stop at St. Paul de Vence- a beautiful walled medieval city. So many cute shops- so little time! Would have liked more time here to explore and shop. Day #2: A Taste of Florence. Not enough time to see this beautiful city, but we knew that going in. Most of the museums were closed- the ship stops here on Mondays. But we would not have had enough time to see the museums as they needed to be seen. Our guide took us around the major sights, and we had free time to explore on our own. Our lunch experience in a small restaurant was not pleasant, but we were told that the arrogance with which we were treated was not the norm for Italy. The pizza was very good, a "must" in Florence. Shopping was also excellent- compare the prices of the street vendors- they really vary! Day#3: Imperial Rome. We had the best guide- Rita, a very passionate Italian woman who gave us her view of Rome- one I will never forget. I bought the book she used to show us how Rome has "recycled" its ruins. Buy the book that has transparencies to show Rome then- and Rome now (should be only about 12€). My grandchildren love them- and so educational! We saw so much- and so little-a walking tour,Forum, Colosseum, Vatican. We have to return to see it all. Day#4: The Amalfi Drive and Pompeii. Don't do this in a bus if you scare easily when looking down sheer cliffs, hugging the guard rails, or driving fast around curvy roads. I would not have liked to miss this drive, but I would do it in a private limo. Maybe our driver was just a little too aggressive, or my drivers ed. husband has made me cautious about speed and curves on buses! Loved the stop in Amalfi- don't miss the Limoncello shop near the church. The owner gave us chilled samples of his delicious homemade libations- so good. Our bottles were not confiscated on boarding the ship, but wine bottles were taken and delivered Friday night in time to pack- or drink with dinner. The trip to Pompeii was another must. However, I resented the stop outside Pompeii at the cameo factory. I became very angry and frustrated- as a former history teacher, standing outside Pompeii, looking at cameos, while Pompeii lay waiting to be explored- what is wrong with this picture? Having researched Pompeii, I knew our guide did not take us to 2 of the best houses for viewing daily life in Pompeii . He spent too much time outside the walls, giving us background and his views, and too little time guiding us through sites. My opinion. Day#5: Palermo- the only place in Italy I felt unsafe. Too many men "attacking" you to sell a taxi ride, or numerous items along the main street. You could not cross streets- they have no respect for red lights and pedestrians. We explored on our own, and I could not wait to get back on the ship. The market was interesting- but not worth my life. However, the bus tour to Cefalu was one of the highlights of the trip. The town was beautiful- don't miss it. Great place to do last minute shopping, and a unique cathedral. Day#6: At Sea- We tried to relax- got our seats early around the pool, near the pool bar so we could watch all the special events. We did take time out to pack before dinner. Our room steward forgot to deliver the confiscated wine so we had to ask him for it after dinner. We missed the parade in the Promenade because it was not until 11:15 PM! However do not miss the farewell show. Day#7: Debarkation went well. We had checked our debarkation time on Thurs. so we knew we were early, and made sure we were ready. Some people who left the ship later but were on our flight were caught in longer lines. The airport security was poorly organized- we stood in lines, sat, stood in cramped areas, repeated the same procedures until we boarded- a tram that took us out the tarmac to our plane! Our top tips for this cruise and the Voyager of the Seas: 1.See the Ice Show (and the other shows, but this was the best). Get your tickets early. 2.8:30 seating worked for us. Sometimes we did not return from our tours until 6:30 3.RC Tours were efficient, the lunches at restaurants very good. Worked for us. 4.Don't miss Paul de Vence(Fr.) and Cefalu 5.Research the areas to be visited thoroughly. It really helped me to make choices. 6.Take 2 days precuise to see Barcelona- it will give you time to recover from the flight, you can savor Barcelona, and you'll board the ship ready to go! 7.Take advantage of the Meet & Mingle- it added to our cruise, to see familiar faces on board, as precruise questions and get advise, plan tours and get a gift from RC. 8.I bought rum runners,filled them with wine, and we enjoyed a drink every night on our balcony.. Bottles in the dining room were very expensive for us. We did enjoy the daily drink specials! 9.Ask for an extra copy of the Compass if there are 2 of you in a room- having your own copy to keep for reference is necessary and nice! 10.Our biggest problem- connecting with home. Do not rely on the ship's Internet- slow, sporadic. We had a company cell phone which apparently had not been connected to the right service for our area- so our emergency backup did not work! We all used the on ship service- very expensive! But we had no other plan. Have a terrific time. Know you can't see it all- plan your return as soon as possible. I'm planing to stay a few nights in Florence and a few in Rome to see it all. I wish I were going with you now so I could do it all over again! Cardamon