Embarkation and disembarkation were a breeze. Size of ship was a plus. No lines for on/off at ports. Clear signage for water shuttle back to ship in Venice caused us to look for shuttle for 1 hour. Phone number on our ship card was no longer in service. We finally took water taxi to the pier (70 euros) to avoid being left behind when ship sailed from Venice. Food was just OK in 2 main restaurants. Omelets in breakfast buffet were great. Cagney’s Steakhouse and Le Trattoria specialty restaurants were especially good. You may be able to get some free specialty restaurant meals when you book your cruise. We hardly saw our cabin steward in 11 days. I didn’t need to see him if he had been more attentive to our needs- clean towels and glasses.

Pros: ports we wanted to visit; easy on/off ship; no waiting in line; great food in specialty restaurants

Cons: poor signage and/or instruction in Venice; intercom announcements poor sound quality in common areas; food just ok; cabin steward just ok (cruise line adds 14.50 per person per day surcharge for tips to staff. No incentive for lackluster stewards to amp up their performance)