This was my first cruise and, so, of course, this is my first cruise review. I've found the reviews on CC so helpful that I felt I had to give back by writing one of my own.

A little about us first: my girlfriend N and I live in Charlotte, NC. I'm in IT and she's an attorney. She booked the cruise in May while I took care of the airfare and hotel in Barcelona, the airfare via AAA and the hotel on Expedia. It's been a difficult year for both of us, especially for N, so we were looking forward to this for a long time. (I put a countdown on my whiteboard at work and told everyone I knew that we were going on the trip).

We left Saturday, Dec 5th, for Barcelona via Atlanta. 24 hours later (more or less) we were in Barcelona, jet-lagged to death... and here is where I made my first mistake. (My primary job is process improvement, so I'm always looking for ways to do things better, even in my home life, so I'll occasionally drop "lessons learned" in here from time to time). I'd purchased vouchers for a shuttle transfer from the airport to hotel, assuming we'd be too jet-lagged to want to find a cab. The shuttle company didn't have a sign or pickup point anywhere in the airport, so I had to get some Euro currency and figure out how to call them. They eventually came, but I should have contacted them before we left so they'd be ready for us. Lesson learned: if you arrange for a shuttle, contact them first. Actually, getting a cab wouldn't have been a problem, just make sure you have plenty of Euros before leaving. There are plenty of places to change money but you pay a premium. I bought them from my employer (a bank) before leaving. Read more