Getting to Civitivecchia: We were trying to do public transportation as much as possible, so we took the train from Rome FCO airport. After some confusion, we found the train station (which is connected to the airport) and bought our tickets and promptly missed our first train (by about 30 seconds!). After waiting in Rome for about a half hour, we caught the next train to Travestere. (You have to go to Travestere and change trains to get to the port of Civ.) We arrived at Travestere just as the train was pulling away. We sat on a bench , thinking another train would arrive soon and not wanting to miss it, for 2 HOURS waiting for the next train. We finally caught the train to Civ. and arrived about 2 p.m. Upon our arrival, we walked from the train station to the Port. It's about a 15 minute walk, it was hot, but easy. (You will have an RC bus offer to take you to the ship for 25 Euro, but I thought that was a bit much) When you arrive at the port, you have to take a free shuttle or a taxi to the ship. (Port Authority rules). We were exhausted from the plane, train, etc. and chose not to fight the crowd. After two busses had come and gone and the crowd getting bigger, we decided to go in with another group on a taxi. (5 Euro each and worth every penny!)I can definitely see why the Port Authority does not allow you to walk to the ship. It looks close, but it is a long way and the roads are very narrow and dangerous!

Embarkation: This went smooth except I did not have my Set Sail pass printed out. I thought that if you filled it out online , that was good enough. Be sure to print it out, it will save you a lot of time in line! After finally boarding the ship, we were pleasantly surprised by our balcony stateroom. It was beautiful and plenty big enough for the two of us. We had the mandatory lifeboat drill: boring and Extra long (due to the high number of Italians on the ship, everything was interpreted after the English version was given). It was smooth sailing from then on. :) Food: The food was delicious in the dining room and with room service. The Windjammer Cafe was ok.........but very crowded. The midnight buffet was great! Service: One of my favorite things about RCCL, the service was outstanding! Our waitress was Sahlee and asst. waiter was Bogdan, they were both excellent! Entertainment: It was good. We enjoyed the Ice Show, Enrico Cifiello (an international singer), the juggler, and MuziK Express. The RC Singers and Dancers were okay. Every morning, we watched the morning show with Kieron and Cuddy. It was cute, so I want to give a shout out to them. :) Ports: We enjoyed our stops in Messina, Athens, Ephesus and Crete. We did not take any of the ships excursions. (I thought they were overpriced, we did our own planning and spent about 25% of what the ship was charging). If you do a little research before the trip, you can do it on your own.

Ports of Call: Day 1 : Sicily: we took the train to Taormina. It's a cute little town with shops and restaurants. Here's a hint if you plan to do it on your own: when you get of the train at Taormina, you have 3 choices: walk UP a mountain, take a bus or taxi, or take a cable car. We chose the taxi, and it was a WILD ride up the mountain! :) Once there, we shopped, ate authentic Sicilian pizza and gelato and walked around the town. Day 3: Athens: We were going to take the train to Athens but the trains were on strike. So, we took a taxi to the Acropolis and toured it. It was fabulous. After touring the Acropolis, we walked to the Plaka, had lunch and shopped. Day 4: Kusadasi: We were pleasantly surprised by our first visit to Turkey. It is a beautiful country. We hired a taxi driver to takes us to Ephesus. The ruins at Ephesus were incredible, even more extensive than the ones in Greece (in my opinion). Day 6: Crete: We only had a few hours in Crete, so I walked into town alone. It was an easy 15 minute walk. Did a little shopping and took some pictures, then walked back to the ship. Days at Sea: We had 2 days at Sea, very relaxing and fun! Disembarkation: Since we were spending 2 days in Rome , we took our time getting off the ship. It was smooth and easy.