We had 1 night in Rome prior to departure which gave us some time to visit the sights of the city. We took the train from Rome termini to the port (Cittavecchia) on Sunday morning for a fare of 7 Euro's (First class -â€" worth it), a journey time of 1 hours. On arrival it was a 5 minute walk towards the Port entrance where free shuttle buses took us on a 5 minute trip to the ship terminal. There is no pedestrian access inside the port. Check-in was completed within 10 minutes and we were onboard having lunch soon after. We had been told that check-in was from 1 pm, but in fact check-in normally starts 2 to 3 hours before the advertised time, and it is usually far quicker.
The general decor of the ship was excellent, it had a "nice feel", beautifully decorated with two Atrium's and plenty of lifts made it very easy to get around. We had a large ocean view cabin on deck 7 facing the front of the ship giving us excellent views. Plenty of storage space, a decent size bathroom with a shower door and not curtains. The TV had plenty of channels, with many in English. We ate all our breakfasts & lunches in the Windjammer -â€" a wide variety of dishes, good quality, and plenty of it. Could get busy at times. All our evening meals were in the main restaurant (which went over three levels). The 8.30, second sitting, suited us and helped break up the evening nicely. Again an excellently dining room with good choice and quality. Service was a little slow and disorganized as our waiters who were nice and friendly but did not work together very well. We had pre-ordered the 7 bottle wine package and found it to be well worth it and cost effective. The cafe on the promenade was open 24 hours, was free, with a variety of hot drinks, cakes, biscuits, & snacks -â€" very popular.
We did use room service for a pre-breakfast tea/coffee and occasionally a mid-afternoon snack. This was excellent, and food and drink was delivered quickly and delivery was always preceded with a phone call to confirm our order and to tell us it was on its way. There were a variety of Bars for all tastes, but drinks were on the expensive side.
Well set out. Shower doors and not "sticky" curtains, very good storage. we had a front facing cabin and really enjoyed the marvellous sweeping view to both sides of the ship from our room. Great coming into ports. Would try and book it again. No noise, excellent insulation. (cabin 7502)