Okay, I am not a "cruiser" as many of you are. This was only my 4th cruise. I prefer land based accommodations. I was on a month long vacation to Italy. Three weeks visiting Venice, Florence, Rome and then this week long cruise. With that said my basic-overall opinion was that the cruise was okay. I did not pay much attention to where Civitavecchia was when I planned this cruise. I just saw Rome and thought it would be close by. WRONG! I did make my transfer from FCO to the Port through Norweign. The price seemed fair, but now knowing the ins and outs of the train system in Italy I would probably have done the train for cheaper. The ride to the Port was okay until we turned off the highway to head to the Port. We could see the Port and the ships, but the driver got lost. He went down a one way dead end street and it took us 10 minutes to back the bus out so we could travel on. The driver had to actually stop and ask a motorist to guide him to where he was going. NO SHIT! The motorist literally took us to the Port. Once there, the check-in went quite quick. We were there around 12 noon so the majority of the people had not shown up yet, plus Rome is not the major boarding port.

Once onboard I went to my room (13282) which was already made up. I had heard horror stories of the configuration of the balcony rooms; either aft or elsewhere, and they were not exaggerated. The room was VERY tiny and awkward in form. My room had the bed closer to the balcony which was what I asked for. First lets talk about what everyone else talks about- THE BATHROOM/SINK. As you walk in the toilet is to your left. It is a SMALL closet. If you are 5'10" or bigger it is not large enough to sit on the toilet without keeping the slider door open. This can cause some issues if you and your partner don't know each other VERY well. The shower is to the right and is just as small. Probably the smallest shower I have seen on a ship. Once you showered you had to exit the shower closet to dry yourself out in the room near the door where the steward would come in unwelcomed and unannounced. I had this happen twice. I look good in and out of swim trunks so I did not care, but some of you might :).

I found the room size cramped with the configuration and having the sink literally next to a small loveseat. The loveseat is unnecessary and should be removed for more space to maneuver. The small sink had its handle jetting out to the right so a right handed person can not brush their teeth without the handle being in their way. The sink's basin is non-existent and drained slowly. Just a complete bad room design. Read more