My wife and I have been on four cruises prior to this one (three with Royal Caribbean and one with Princess). We chose this cruise on the Island Princess for the itinerary (Barcelona, Toulon, Florence, Rome, Naples, Mykonos, Istanbul, Kusadasi, Athens, and Venice). We wanted to get a feel for various parts of southern Europe. I have traveled extensively through Europe but my wife had never been. So, we took big/long excursions in each port except for Mykonos. The excursions were great. Everything was scripted and timed. We did not wait in any lines and we really did not experience any traffic delays. (Some folks said that was because we were traveling in August and all of the 'working' locals in each city were on their August 'holiday'). Anyway, each of the excursions were very good, especially with the use of the radio receivers so that you are not required to be right next to the guide.
Since we knew we were taking long excursions, and that we would be tired in the evenings, we really did not care about the amenities and shows on the ships - though everything seemed to be nice. The food was excellent and plentiful, so we were happy.
Nice - standard - balcony cabin. No issues.
Awesome. Not a quiet as it should be.
Not crowded. Nice day to be outside.
Take the bus provided for a small fee by the cruise line to the center of the town and enjoy all of the shops, restaurants/bars, and relax - you deserve it after all the previous excursions.
Full of high fashion stores - mainly.
Glad I was not there in 79AD.
Wonderful area to do some shopping.
You must see this. Amazing that it was built in the 6th century AD.
See the 60+ carat diamond.
The Ephesus ruins are more amazing than Pompeii.
An amazing religious site.
Must climb many steps.
Used in the Olympics.
Fun - as expected.
Saw the glass blowing in action.
Fabulous city. Very clean. All of the crowds are around Las Ramblas. Other areas of the city are not crowded. The port and embarkation on the ship is nice and is run very efficiently.