We've done cruises in/out of Rome before and previously had done tours with the ship of Colisseum and Vatican before heading to the airport. This time we had booked 2 nights in Rome and so got to see a few more sights. We spent a full day pretty much at the Roman forum (self guided/Rick Steves combination) and half another doing a Rick Steves guided walk round the city centre. From a ship in one day you could only scratch the surface. The Vatican, and Colisseum are must sees, and to do the forum and Pallatine Hill is equally as impressive. There are just so many 'wow' things in Rome and it's a city we know we'll want to go back to as we only saw a fraction of it

Having some technical difficulties so am saying no to having taken an excursion, though we did take a private one.

The main sights are a short shuttle ride away. This was a local bus and cost £2/3euros each way per person. It's about a 5 minute ride for what is described as a 15-20 minute walk, but it's not a particularly pretty port so the ride suited us fine.

For any Brits doing this cruise, or others who might go here from having spent time in UK, the currency is pounds sterling though euros are accepted.

There are many firms offering taxi tours up the rock and having had a tour ourselves I am glad we did this. Our tour was a small taxi group for 4 of us, lasting around 2hrs and cost £220. We were picked up at 9 and drove up firstly to the Pillars of Hercules where we had great views over towards Africa. We then drove up to St Michaels cave and had time in there ourselves, but no tour within it. That was fine – it is a lovely cave and there was information available. We did see some monkeys there but got more of that when we went up to the top of the Rock. Here we got stunning views and saw more of the furry inhabitants. There is a viewing area with a glass walkway, worryingly partly sealed off with a crack in it just a few months after opening! The views over the town area were great too especially seeing a plane coming in to land. The main road from Spain runs across the runway so when a plane is due in they close and 'sweep' the road until after the plane has landed!

After some time here we went to the Great Siege Tunnels where we had our own time to explore. Again no guide in there with us but plenty of information boards. And we finished off with Mustapha dropping us in the main street so we could wander round the shops and find somewhere for lunch.

Mustapha was great – really friendly and a mine of information as we drove around. Our trip also included all entrance tickets and with his local knowledge we felt we had a really good morning out.

Once back in the town and having had some refreshment, we found it was fairly compact and we were happy to stroll back to the shuttle early afternoon

Another port needing a shuttle. The walk would have been a bit nicer view wise but with no shelter and a very hot day looming the shuttle was a wise move. This was a 5 euro return trip, lasting about 10 mins ride, and we bought tickets in the terminal building as we left the ship.

The shuttle dropped us off by the port gate, right opposite the main road way through to the town. We had no real expectations about Malaga and found we loved it. A very pretty town, some gorgeous buildings and going up the Alcazaba fortress gave us some amazing views over the city. We spent quite a while in there before coming back to the main town and heading down towards the bullring. We had decided not to go up to the castle, though it is available on a twin ticket with the Alcazaba. To be honest we were a little daunted by the walking up the steps there in the heat, and having taken that decision we didn't feel we missed out tremendously. We didn't go in the cathedral but it is a lovely building we walked round outside.

I know many people chose to do tours out to Granada from this port, but staying at the port is not a waste – it is a lovely town, far nicer than we had hoped for

Nothing beats having a sunny day and being able to just stroll off the ship and be in the town. A short walk from the ship and you find yourself by the city hall and the Roman Theatre Museum. This starts as a museum/exhibition area and gave us an unexpected highlight from a fellow tourist. Coming from the UK and near Chester, we have Roman remains pretty much on our doorstep, and usually find our US friends to be far more enthusiastic about things that we're very used to. So it was quite funny hearing an American man walking through the museum exclaim' God, if I see another broken pot...' Some people clearly were a little underwhelmed by years of history!! From the museum you then enter the actual amphitheatre area. Men with whistles are quick to warn off people climbing over areas they shouldn't be in but there are a lot of areas where visitors can freely explore and take in great views. The excavation work has impacted on buildings in the area, some of which are now little more than shells or fronts, propped up from the back to look good from the street side! There is a lift up to the castle and more spectacular views from there. The city looks like any modern urban area from high up but with a 'rubble' patch which is more archaeological sites. Old and new side by side quite spectacularly. Having been in Malaga the day before and found that quite pretty, Cartagena didnt have the same appeal initially, viewed mostly from above. But when we came down into the town we appreciated it a lot more. Having had some lunch we then wandered off round the streets, and with siesta time on us found ourselves in some gorgeous quiet backstreets, with lovely old architecture. It's very easy to do this place by yourself with just a simple map. There's certainly a lot more to this place than just some broken pots!

Another shuttle ride, longer one taking about 20 mins and costing 10 euros per person for the return trip. This took us to the port area where lots of very nice expensive yachts are moored up, so an excuse for some envy time before heading up into the old town. We had a small map but it is very easy to find as you see the castle dominating the skyline in front of you, so just head forwards and upwards! We had expected the old town to have a bit more character and I think we missed out as much seemed closed, possibly as it was Sunday. Once off the shuttle it's very easy to do on your own. We did the walk up round the city walls and got some great views but overall felt a little underwhelmed; this was our least favourite port on the trip. It was OK, just didn't really wow us

We had an overnight stop here but 2 short days, as we didn't arrive until 11am on the Monday and then left at 5pm on the Tuesday. We have been to Barcelona before so decided not to go mad and used the first day just to wander round the streets in the Gothic quarter and suss out our route to get to Park Guell which we had tickets for on Tuesday morning. This made things much more relaxed for us than for others who were fitting in the HoHo buses and visits to the Sagrada Familia (which is an absolute must see if it's your first time in the city.

We docked at terminal A and they say it is a 20-30 minute walk into the city, but I think that's probably an underestimate, and it is down a main road bridge so no weather protection (sun or rain). Also that journey is only to the shuttle drop off point near the World Trade Centre way. From there you need to walk another 10 minutes to get to the start of Las ramblas, the famous street through the centre of the city. I would say definitely get the shuttle if your ship stops where ours did. Others do stop within walking distance of the city but it is a big port with many ships and not all are that lucky!

We walked Las Ramblas, figured out where we'd need to get our bus on Tuesday to get to the park and then took a stroll round the amazing Bouqueria market, possibly the best food market I have ever seen. Even if you don't buy anything you get great photos of the amazing stalls, and if you're lucky, grab a seat and enjoy a drink or some tapas in there.

A short walk from here takes you into the Gothic Quarter, with quiet mazes of streets, authentic little bars and cafes and a feel of real Spain away from all the tourist trappings, so we spent some time just strolling through there enjoying the place and memories of our stay there 2 years previously. We also spent a bit of time in Ciutadella park but sadly the prime feature in there, a wonderful fountains area, was out of action and had building work round it.

Our second morning saw us wake to torrential rain and the realisation of having to leave the ship by 9, to get the shuttle, to do a 15-20 min walk to the bus stop, for a 25-30 min bus ride to the park. We didn't take long to decide we didn't fancy it. We know we'll come back to Barcelona sometime and so we gave it a miss and had a ship day instead. The weather did brighten up later but then given the shuttle time and the early departure we felt we'd have no real time to enjoy the day there.

Barcelona is a fantastic place but one word of warning...public toilets are really hard to find, so be prepared to have to go to bars if you need a bio break! But that aside there is so much to see and do there and if you can come back you will want to as you will not fit it all in from a cruise stop!

Last year we had stayed on holiday near Nice and spent time in Villefranche, so had no desire to do the same again, and instead decided to go to Monaco. This was my husband's wish list item as he wanted to walk the F1 circuit. The train station is a bout 10 mins walk from the port terminal, and there were ample staff on hand to sort us out with tickets. Our train came in almost immediately so within about half an hour we were stepping off in Monaco. We had some guides about doing the walk which were great once we actually found where the start was meant to be. Some conflicting advice, and also confusion about the correct road saw us head off on a wrong road initially but we were soon sorted out. The nice weather had come back and the uphill walking took its toll to start with but what goes up does have to come down! We didn't do any diversions into the town itself at all, though the route takes you right by the casino so it's impossible to miss that sight. Being entirely a street circuit it is possible to walk the entire route in race order and that's exactly what we did. By the end we contemplated doing some more of the town but were tired and decided against. We wandered round some streets but took a lazy option to head back as the walk had been our mission and we had achieved that! I have written a separatye document with instructions of the route, including photos but not figured out if I can attach that there , seems not!

Back in Villefranche we wandered a little round there, stopped in bar to get a sandwich only to be told they had none so we ended up getting a late lunch back on the ship! Villefranche itself does have some lovely areas to explore but having done them just a year ago we could afford the lazy approach again!

We consciously decided against a tour to Florence as we didn't fancy a long coach ride for just a few hours there. We are lucky enough to know we can come for a weekend break from home quite easily. Instead we decided to visit the Cinque Terre towns by train (we're not big hikers) and had read a great guide on Cruise Critic to help us with that. The weather was wet and grey but we had waterproofs and a plan! We got off the ship (free shuttle as people are not allowed to walk the pier area) and picked up a taxi to go to the main station. The driver was talking about the bad weather and how wet we'd get but we weren't worried. But then 15 minutes and 15 euros later we were at the station to be told they wouldn't sell train tickets to the Cinque Terre due to the bad weather, and that the shops would all be closed at other stops. This wasn't in the plans! We had our trusty Rick Steves guide book with us so decided not to immediately declare we would go back to the ship (if nothing else I wanted to get something for that 15 euros!) The book suggested we could walk through the town and down to harbour gardens but then I also saw it mention Porto Venere, about half an hour away by bus on a scenic ride. The lovely Rick told us the bus number and street where we could catch it so we headed off there. 20 minutes later we were on the bus buying tickets from the driver; note, buy them in a local shop and it's half the price! It was a nice ride with views over the bay and half an hour later we dropped down into Port Venere.

The place is quite lovely and being so wet and rainy there weren't many people about. We did a lovely walk up to the church and then the hilltop with some gorgeous views that would be stunning in sunshine...but also would have been cluttered with other people. We spent quite a bit of time here, and it turned out to feel like we salvaged our day.

After returning to La Spezia we took the walk back and again it was quite pleasant. I had heard it described as a transport hub and thought it would be more bland and industrial so was happily surprised to see some lovely old buildings on our walk back to the port terminal.

Not a patch on Florence but a nice alternative if you don't want to do a full tour day