First time on Princess and I was very impressed. Food, service and entertainment were all top notch. The best part of this cruise was the itinerary. We left from Barcelona and the first stop was Marsaille and Aix-en-Provence in France. Beautiful area and I got to practice a liitle French! Next stops was Florence/Pisa. All buildings in Pisa were gorgeous besides just the tower. Cathedral in Florence took my breath away. In Rome we saw the Trevi fountain (still under renovation), Sistine chapel which is awe inspiring, Vatican Museum, St Peter's Basilica (HUGE) and the Collisieum. We didn't do an excursion in Kotor, Montenegro but we enjoyed walking the cobblestone streets and looking around. Beautiful little town with mountains everywhere. Pleasant surprise because I didn't know what to expect.
Highlight for me was Athens and Santorini. Seeing the Acropolis and Parthenon was a dream come true and Santorini was just or more beautiful than I hoped it would be. Turkey was also another pleasant surprise. Our excursion in Rhodes was cancelled but we were able to book another one easily and the tickets were delivered before we woke up. Only downside was that we couldn't go to Crete due to Hazardous weather conditions so the port was closed at Midnight and we didn't leave until that morning. We had gotten up early for the expected excursion but spent the remainder of the morning relaxing on deck. Safety first! The final excursion was in Amalfi and Pompeii. I couldn't believe how well preserved and big the city was (162+ acres).
All excursions were booked through Princess and they were wonderful. Only recommendation is possibly giving us more time to browse, shop and take pictures. The activities that I enjoyed on the ship were the Comedy and production shows. The martini demo was great and the singer in the Crooners Bar was entertaining and interacts with the audience. Had fun dancing in the nightclub and much more. Embarkation and disembarkation went very smoothly as well as the the distribution and disembarking of shore excursion groups. I highly recommend this cruise. Truly trip of a lifetime and best vacation ever! FYI: Excursions that I took involved A LOT of walking so plan excursions accordingly.
Enjoyed exploring and walking down cobblestone streets. Gorgeous countryside with mountains all over.
Enjoyed it and the bites of cheese (so good) and olives.
You can get a candle for a small donation to make a wish or prayer with outside the house. It was presumly the house where Mary resided until her death.
Very well preserved and worth seeing but very big city..162+ acres.