We have cruised 9 times before, but this was our first trip to the Mediterranean (and our first time to Europe). We would not likely have selected this trip, but we were fortunate to be invited as part of a corporate trip involving my wife's employer. This was our second time with Royal Caribbean, having sailed on the sister ship Freedom of the Seas a year ago.

We came a day early and stayed 5 days afterwards in Barcelona, so we did not use the RC airport transfer service. We came a day early so that we would have at least partially adjusted to the time-change, and we stayed at a reasonably priced hotel in Las Ramblas area. We were glad that we did, because some storms disrupted the travel plans of many in our group, some of whom were not able to join the cruise until the third day.

We arrived at the port at about 11:30 am and were very pleased to have the easiest embarkation that we have ever experienced. Less than 5 minutes waiting in line and we were on board by noon. On past cruises, we were able to drop our carry-on bags into the cabin without difficulty, but this time, we found someone stationed by the elevator on our deck who instructed us to go up to Windjammers and the pool deck and to come back at 1 pm, which is what we did. Luggage arrived at our cabin some time between 1:30 - 4 pm. Muster drill was quick and relatively painless and efficiently conducted. Read more