Our first cruise to the Mediterannean was by far the best vacation ever and what made it more special was our brother's wedding in Tuscany. We travelled from Montreal, Canada to Barcelona, Spain via Swissair. We stayed at Hilton Barcelona Hotel in Av. Diagonal; it's approximately 30 minutes from the airport. The hotel location is very close to all the services, local restaurants, cafes, shopping mall, grocery store and a walking distance to the subway. Being close to the subway was a big plus to us, as this is how we got around town. It is easy to use and a lot cheaper than the taking a cab. We bought the day pass for unlimited use of the subway, tram and bus. We used all modes of transportation to see major sights such as the Sagrada Familia, (entrance fee is EUR12 and EUR2.50 to go up the tower), Park Guell, Placa d'Espana and Las Ramblas. One thing we thought about Sagrada Familia was the entrance fee was a little expensive for what you are really seeing, since there was little to see inside because it is still unfinished. The outside was spectacular although I don't think you need to go inside the gate to see all of Gaudi's work. The church is so big that you can see from the outside the gate and take beautiful pictures. We didn't think it was worth the money but at the end, we figured that we are donating it to the church. Las Ramblas was basically where we end our day as they have plenty of great restaurants and shopping. It was a fun place to visit; plenty of local artists displaying their talent, but be careful of pickpockets. We were fortunate not to lose anything because we simply didn't have anything in our purses or bags. Our favourite restaurant, which we found has the best quality food, price and ambiance was La Quinze Nits, located in Placa Reial. They have the best sangria and paella we ever tasted. We certainly enjoyed our stay in Barcelona; people are very friendly and a safe place to visit especially for the family. Embarkation: Cruising with Royal Caribbean is no doubt exceeded our expectations. Our embarkation went very well; it's a good idea to embark earlier to avoid long line ups and more time to explore the ship and lounge by the pool.

Ship: We sailed aboard the Voyager of the Seas, which is the first of the Voyager-class fleet. We have read some mixed reviews about the ship being old and not maintained, however we didn't see that; the ship was still in good shape. We stayed in a Quad stateroom, but since the kids are getting bigger, it was little tight for us. Our next cruise will be definitely in a stateroom with a balcony or a junior suite. We have not been disappointed with RCI. Food and Services have been great throughout our cruise. We had the first seating which we thought was perfect time since it didn't interfere with our shore excursions and we had plenty of time to get ready. We found the second seating very late. The entertainment was great; the kids enjoyed the magic show and ice skating on board and rock climbing. As for the kids' entertainment, they have plenty of activities for the kids to enjoy; unfortunately there weren't many kids on board at the time we sailed due to school, however the Adventure and Ocean Club offered excellent entertainment for the kids. Overall, we enjoyed the ship and the food and services were great. However, we have noticed that they cut back on some of the privileges for Crown and Anchor members, and this is very disappointing. As loyal passengers, we expected some kind of special treatment. Maybe, it is something they can improve.

Ports of Call: Since we have never been in Europe before, we decided on a cruise so we can have a taste of Europe. Surprisingly enough, we saw a great a deal of Europe, although it was only a 7 day cruise, we didn't find it short. We had enough time to see everything we had to see. We didn't pack our week with tours because we want to be able to enjoy and take it all in. Also, travelling with our kids, we wanted to make sure that they remember everything about Europe so we have only booked two tours. We booked two tours with a local tour guide, Driver Service Guide with Ivano & Mauricio, in Rome and Naples. We have read about them in the Cruise Critics and we are so happy that to have booked with them. Their website is www.driverserviceguide.com. We were in two Mercedes van and both tour guides were very knowledgeable and accommodating; they organized everything for us: tour schedule, lunch and private tour guide at the Vatican. And most importantly, we got to the ship on time. Not only the tours were very informative but they made us feel right at home; it was really a blast having them as our guides. They brought us to a local restaurant which is what we were looking for. We were pleased with their services and we highly recommend them. We find that they offer more for the price as opposed to the cruise tours which we found far more expensive for what you get. Our next stop was in Florence, where we had our brother's wedding in the beautiful Tuscan valley. It was the most beautiful and intimate wedding with the presence of both families and closest friends. RCI also accommodated us by closing restaurant Portofino for our dinner that night. Our next stop was in Villefranche sur Mer, which we thought was a very quaint town. We tendered to the town and then took the train to Nice which only cost us EUR1.35 return trip. It was a 10 minute ride to Nice. We walked around town and had cappuccino at Le Grand Cafe De Lyon. As it is the French way, you may have to wait until you get service, but it is their culture and it is worth the wait. You may not know but you have to pay to use the toilet, which came as a surprise to us since we ate there. One would think that a restaurant will provide such service. Since it was quite a long walk back to the train station, we decided to take the tram back for EUR1 per person, and later found out that the tram can take you to Old Nice. Our last stop was Marseilles, which we didn't expect a lot, but when we got there, we enjoyed this town. It is the 2nd oldest town in France. We didn't take tour at this stop, since this is our last port we wanted to explore it on our own. RCI has unlimited bus transport to and from the ship for USD$12 per person. Although, we found it very expensive as the bus ride was only 5 minutes and there was no way you can go back and forth the town. Basically pick up and drop off. We had to take it as it was more expensive to take the taxi for a family of four. Read more