Hi Everyone - We returned on May 27th and I have pretty much re-adjusted to the time change.The cruise was fabulous, everything we expected and more. Once we got on the ship we had an ahh moment with champagne in hand. The ship was beautiful and well maintained. The staff was excellent and very responsive to any of our requests. The food was very good in the main dining room. We ate twice in the Tuscan Grille and once in Bistro on Five, both were excellent and you get more food than you can possibly eat. We had the premium beverage package, which made things very easy. I liked getting whatever I wanted as far as specialty waters, tea, coffee, etc. I found the wines available were adequate - not huge choices, but the sommelier would make suggestions which were very good. I don't think we found the bartenders unfriendly, or less available to serve us. There were times we had to look for someone to take an order, but it wasn't a great inconvenience. I thought it was more of a staffing issue than anything having to do with attitude.The last night of the trip (we had select dining which worked out very well for us with the port intensive cruise and we never waited for a table), the staff seemed extremely busy and somewhat stressed. The sommelier did not come to our table, we had to ask for him. Everything was a little out of sync, don't know why, but that was the only evening things seemed rushed.I will give you a day by day rundown - this may be lengthy and I will post this on the cruise review site as well.Barcelona is a beautiful city undergoing some strife right now which did somewhat effect us so I want anyone who will be leaving from and going back to Barcelona to keep that in mind. The city, like others in Europe has a severe unemployment problem and that, combined with government cuts has made people angry. There is a "protest camp" set up in the main square by Las Ramblas ,Placa de Cataluyna, which is like a tent city where protesters organize. They then take to the streets to domonstrate. This occurred on Sat., May 14th when we were set to leave from our hotel and get to the port. All of a sudden the police were closing the streets and protesters were crowding the streets. Traffic could not get in or out. So, we could not get a taxi. The bellboy from our hotel loaded our luggage on a luggage rack and with us accompanying him we walked a good 8 blocks, pushing through the crowd until we reached a place where he could flag down a cab for us. (We gave him a big tip). Once in the cab, our driver had a difficult time finding a route to the port. We finally did make it (another big tip) and that was why once we were on the ship we had the ahh moment with champagne in hand. There was another protest that happened on May 27, the day we left. It did not affect us, but it apparently turned violent, with police injuring 100 people.We were in Cannes during the film festival which made the city congested with people and traffic. We used Sylvie de Cristo, a private guide who picked us up at the port, gave us a quick look at Cannes and then took us into small towns which we never would have seen in a bus. She was wonderful, and I highly recommend her. She operates her own business and we booked her last August to ensure we had her in May.For Florence, Rome and Naples, we used Rome In Limo, and they were extremely reliable and professional. Again, we saw many things that we would not have with a bus tour. Florence and Rome are overrun with tourists and everything was very crowded. We used a private guide for the Vatican (arranged by RIL) and bought our tickets ahead of time. We still experienced a very crowded tour (the Sistine Chapel especially) which was disappointing, but unavoidable.We did Venice on our own. The sail-in is beautiful and best seen on a high deck. Be advised that even though Venice is not a port remote from the city itself like Florence and Rome, it is not that easily accessible. It is a very long and hot walk from the ship to the area where you either take the ship's shuttle into Venice, or do as we did: take the people mover to the vaporhetto dock and then the vaporhetto (which is a public transport water bus) to the various sites. We purchased a 24 hour pass which enables you to hop on and off the bus as you need. We intended on going back to Venice the next day, but changed our minds because we found this outing exhausting. We stayed late into the night in Venice, and took the vaporhetto back to the people mover. The people mover was not operating anymore that night, so we found ourselves walking back to the ship at 11:30 at night. We could see the Solstice, but in the dark, late at night, we could not see what route to walk to get back to her. We finally made it after midnight and were so glad to get back, that we decided not to attempt it again the following day. In retrospect, the ship's shuttle may have worked better.Venice is a beautiful, crowded city. We walked into the back streets and got out of the crowd. Got to St. Mark's (buy a ticket online for a euro to bypass the lines), took a gondola ride at night (100 euros for 4 people), and did some great shopping.We also did Kotor and Dubrovnik on our own. Kotor is considered "little Dubrovnik", it is very picturesque. We walked into the old town, toured St. Tryphon's Church and had lunch in a cafe on the town square. We walked the wall in Dubrovnik which took about an hour - it is not to be missed. But, be aware that there are a lot of steps to climb, so for anyone with mobility issues it would be a challenge to do.When we returned to Barcelona, we took the hop on/hop off bus to La Sagrada Familia which was truly phenomenal. I am ending this now - I could go on in much more detail. I will be happy to answer any questions anyone might have.Mary