My wife and I took our first Med cruise in 2010 with the 12-day Ruby Princess Grand Med itinerary. We loved it so much, that we couldn't wait to get back and bring our kids. We thought a 9-day itinerary on a brand new ship that was very affordable would be a great way to get back. The pricing was great and Carnival makes Med cruises affordable to our family of four. I am a firm believer that ports are much more important than Cruise lines or ships. We had a great time and did a lot of planning. We did ZERO cruise line excursions.
Here is a quick summary of what we did in each port:
Barcelona: Hop On Hop Off, Funicular, Parc Guell, Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, Beach, Gothic Quarter, dinners at Cerveceria Catalana (great tapas and dinner) and Mariscco.
12023 - Spa Balcony cabin, no noise from hallway and very convenient to spa and gym.