Background: My parents decided it was time for my daughters to have a taste of Europe and some celebration after a year and a half of health issues. My parents (my mom has some mobility issues after a successful fight against cancer), my husband, myself and two daughters (ages 15 and 12). We choose this cruise based on the ports, the dates, length of cruise, and the cruise line (we've sailed with Disney before but dates and more importantly cost made sailing on Disney not possible)
Barcelona and Embarkation: We flew into Barcelona from SFO (via Frankfurt) arriving just around 7 pm the night before the cruise. We took the Aerobus to Plaza Catalunya , which couldn't have been easier! While our cc has a chip we don't have a pin for it so couldn't use the ticket machines but there were a couple of employees selling tickets and loading the buses. Be sure you have cash! We had a couple of hundred Euros to start out with that we got in Frankfurt at an ATM...all the machines we encountered had an English language option so don't give it a second thought. We checked into Hotel Regina (arranged through RC) with no problem, threw our bags into the room and went exploring. We had a great dinner of Tapas and finished the night eating Churros and chocolate. When we checked in we had a note from RC stating that our bags had to be outside our room by 9:00 and the bus would take us to the terminal at 10:30. We awoke extra early, got our tags on our luggage and outside our room and took a taxi to La Sagrada Familia. Since I knew we wouldn’t have time to tour the actual grounds I didn’t pre purchase tickets but we walked around the entire cathedral and got our pictures in. The lines were LONG at 8:30 in the morning! Got back to the hotel by 9:30 and ate the hotel breakfast which was really delicious. A great variety and all very tasty. We still had some time so the four of us took off again taking some time to walk on Las Ramblas. Back at the hotel at 10:15 and my parents were being loaded into a taxi to head to the port. My dad had alerted RC that about my moms issues and her use of a walker and they had arranged for a taxi instead of taking the bus. The rest of us all loaded on the bus and we were at the cruise terminal by 10:40. BE SURE TO ATTACH YOUR LUGGAGE TAGS! There were a bunch of self-professed seasoned cruisers that didn’t attach their tags and they had to wait for all the luggage to be off-loaded from the bus so they could get a porter and RC employee to write out tags. We headed straight into the terminal and there were absolutely NO LINES. Check-In was a breeze and we were on the ship before 11:00. Now I know that we should be thankful that we were on so early and there were no lines but quite frankly…it was totally boring! The Promenade was deserted and we had no desire to eat. We wandered around booked our excursion to Aix and waited. Around 12:00 we headed to Windjammer to eat and easily found a spot to sit (this would never, ever happen again). We eventually found my parents at Café Promenade and just people watched. At our muster drill we learned that our stop at Marseille was cancelled due to a strike….while completely disappointed that we wouldn’t have the day in France it turned out to be a blessing since we were able to sleep-in, relax, and recover from our marathon travel day. The next 5 days would prove to be more exhausting than a trip to DisneyWorld!
Cabin: Our cabins were finally available (just around 1:00) and we met our attendant, Karen. We asked that our adjoining room door (between the girls’ cabin and ours) be unlocked and our balcony be opened as well. She said she would get the key and handle it after the luggage was delivered. We had three adjoining balcony rooms on deck 8 mid-ship and the location couldn’t have been better. We loved having some extra room and bathroom. Plus…just like at home I could keep our cabin neat and tidy and I didn’t have to completely blow up when I could no longer see the chair in their room as it was covered in clothes!
Dining: Our waiter was nice enough but never felt like he was talking to us but rather at us. He would give us the recommended items on the menu each night and it sounded like he was just reading them off the menu with us. He finally came alive and let loose a bit our last night. Our assistant waiter on the other hand was great (which I have found on all of my past cruises to be the case). He was attentive, asked about our day, and hooked us up on our last morning by getting us a seat in Portofino as we wanted to eat one last meal together while my family headed home and my parents stayed another day in Barcelona and then a surprise night in Frankfurt. Dinner on the first night took FOREVER, 2+ hours. Our youngest missed her meet and greet in The Living Room and it really dampened her social game (that is until she got sick). The other nights were better. Now, I don’t consider myself a food snob but maybe I am, I live in the SF Bay Area and have the opportunity to eat at some really great restaurants. I found the food just…..meh. Not bad, but not really good either. Nothing ever stood out to me as delicious, it was all just adequate. It did the job and satisfied my hunger but never my taste buds. All 6 of us agreed that it was like eating at an Applebee’s or Chili’s all week. One night we did eat in Portofio and that was really good, more of what my expectations about what food should be like.
Which brings me to my thoughts regarding dress in the MDR. Don’t worry all CC dress-code die-hards….we all dressed appropriately on formal nights despite my husbands objections to shelpping his suit half-way across the world (and taking up valuable room in the suitcase, ‘because with the suit comes dress shoes!). I just wonder if formal nights are not just something that people that cruised back in the day are still clinging to. I remember those days…cocktail receptions for both seatings (not just come when you are hungry dining) , appetizers of caviar and canapés, grand midnight buffets. Everyone ate in the same place at the same time and it just felt more special….and this was on Carnival and Royal in the 80s. Now there is anytime dining (which really works better for the more port intensive cruises), up-charge restaurants that serve the food that used to be available in the MDR, and just one reception with free champagne which you may or may not miss because it is during your dining time. Honestly, next time we cruise (looking to Alaska) I just may have us dress for formal night in the same kind of clothes we would wear to a top-rated restaurant in SF…nice slacks, even dare I say, dress jeans and an untucked button down for the hubby and some cute outfit for the girls and I…definitely not “Formal”….if the cruise line is making cuts, why shouldn’t I? Ok..that is just my opinion and I don’t really care to have this turn into yet another dress-code debate.
Windjammer in the mornings were CRAZY but necessary as we had all day tours scheduled and needed to get a good start to the day. Our strategy, my husband and I would find a table while the girls would get their food. When they found us we would switch. There was a good variety and we especially enjoyed the fresh fruit and eggs cooked to order, including omelettes (not available on debarkation day).
Marsailles/Sea Day: The staff did a great job of having a full day of activities for our surprise sea day. The weather wasn’t exactly what we expected (much cooler) but I managed to get a chair, watch some pool games (“Copycat” was a lot of fun to watch).
Kids Club: The 15 year old made fast friends as she made it to the Living Room in enough time to meet people her age and there were lots of them. The little one didn’t have as much luck. We would wander to the room at the time listed in the Compass and there wouldn’t be anyone in there, including staff. She managed to hang out with her sister and her new friends but she wished it had been more like Disney…people there and activities going when it was listed, “they are more organized” Whenever we were onboard and had finished our family stuff the big one met up with her friends and we would occasionally see her on a scavenger hunt or watching the game at the pool. Another thought/comparison regarding the kids….I loved how Disney had the Wave Phones, the girls could always reach us and we could always reach them. If I were to do another Med. Cruise I would DEFINETELY get our girls a text plan. My husband and I had one but we didn’t add the plan to the girls (not very expensive $10 for 50 outgoing texts). It would have been nice to be able to let the girls know where we were watching the World Cup games or them letting us know where they were headed. The little one ended up with a fever with a nasty cough during our Florence day so she (and the hubby and I) ended up having some really early nights. Bringing me to another tip….don’t forget to pack lots of different meds from home! The day before we left I bought a new supply of Tylenol Severe Cold along with a bunch of other meds. Left the bulk of them packed in the suitcase but had a small make-up bag with a few pills of each med that I always had in our backpack…it was a lifesaver as her fever hit on the road to Pisa from Florence. We kept her medicated and she would sleep in between sights on the bus.
Entertainment: This is where I don’t have much to say as we didn’t see much. We caught the magician on the last night (the little one was feeling better) and he wasn’t really that entertaining. We thought the best part were his shadow puppets…yep…shadow puppets. We had to leave a bit early as I had to finish packing. Watched the 70s party on the TV and it was beyond cheesy and cringe worthy. Felt bad for the crew members and how they had to dress and even worse for the passengers that they accosted. We didn’t see any other show more because we had no desire to rather than couldn’t with the sick child. We’ve seen Cirque plenty of times so Up in the Air didn’t sound too appealing and we’ve paid our dues to Disney on Ice enough times to shun ice shows. We would have liked to see Saturday Night Fever but our day to watch it was during the US soccer game(a family has to have their priorities) We’ll watch the movie again!
Excursions: I couldn’t say enough at how great we felt RC handled their excursions! We are an adventurous family and could have easily done the ports DIY. A couple of reasons why we chose to do the cruise excursions. 1-the excursions seemed well put together and were hitting the sights we wanted to see 2-we’ve done shared private tours before and unless you really know the people things can go sideways…there are those people that hijack the tour with not so smart questions or they get into private conversations with the guide and then you don’t get the information you wanted to hear. 3-my dad is a total worry wart and wanted us to only book excursions from the cruise so we would never miss the boat. He is the kinda guy who will get to the airport 3 hours early “just in case”. I convinced him to go rogue in Rome!
Nice, Eze, Monaco: We had to be in the theater by 7 am for a 7:15 tour. Here’s another helpful hint get bottles of water as you make your way to the theater each morning. Our girls had the Royal Replenish package and they got a bottle of water each at breakfast, in one of the bars on the way to the theater and then another at the theater. We had 6 bottles as we walked off the ship. The backpack was heavy but staying hydrated was really important and the 6 bottle gave us a good start. Villefranche is a fun little place to tender into. As you get closer to town you can’t help but really feel like you are in the south of France. The green hills, the vibrant house colors, the sailboats! A lot more magical than sailing into an industrial port. This was an amazing tour! Loved the fact that we had a guide that told us about the history of the area and all the other little facts that we wouldn’t know/see if we had done it on our own. The headsets take some getting used to and kinda screw up cute family pictures and at times they are hard to hear. The key is to stay close to the guide through the streets…if you are lagging behind and a turn or two away the reception gets choppy. Walked through the streets, ended up at the Flower market (and really not as magical as I thought it was going to be). It’s a farmer’s market like you’ll find here in the states with those famous striped umbrellas. BUT…you are on the French Riviera and we ate some really delicious croissants! We had about 45 minutes of free time, which allowed us to walk to the water (yep, its true tops are optional, there were no SI swimsuit models out there just some MUCH older women but just a warning if you have younger eyes with you). The only real disappointment was that the #1 rated ice cream place in the world (list came out right before we left) didn’t open in time for us to eat any! We were right there, standing in shop waiting for them to get ready and it was time to go! Next stop was Eze which was magical. Beautiful. Loved every minute and had a lovely lunch at the bottom. Free flowing wine, salad nicoise (you could ask for it tuna free), delicious crusty bread, chicken in a cream sauce (just ok) and molten chocolate cake in crème anglaise. Our next stop was Monaco and here is where my husband came alive! We had just watched the Gran Prix on TV and recognized the streets and the famous hairpin and tunnel right away. Walked from an underground parking garage to the famous casino which was cool to finally see, especially the cars parked in the circle. Here is where you see Bentleys as frequently as I see BMWs and MBZs at home! We had about 40 minutes here to go to the casino but we had the kids and as my mom has said having been before “a slot machine is a slot machine and craps tables all look the same.” There are lots of high end shopping to be done but if that isn’t your cup of tea either there isn’t that much to see. We arrived at the meeting spot a shaded quiet area with a great view with lots of time to spare. We then went to the Palace area which I wish we had more time to explore. We had just enough time for pictures a quick walk through the cathedral and that was about it. We really wanted to eat a crepe but had to get back to the meeting space. It was a very quiet ride back as most everyone fell asleep.
Florence/Pisa: Another day where we were in the theater at 7! This was going to be a long day as were weren’t scheduled to be back until 6:30pm. Met our guide Lucca and he was amazing. He was in his mid twenties and really knowledgeable about the history of all the significant things that took place in the area. He talked the entire way to Florence (about 2 hours) and my husband and I were both totally engaged. Our oldest is taking AP Euro History this year and she got a great jumpstart to the year. Told us a lot of background info about what we would see once we got into the city. We would be met by another guide as he hadn’t taken his test for Florence yet. You have to park outside of the city center and walk in to see the sights. This tour is NOT for people who can’t walk at a brisk pace or who can’t walk a couple of miles or stand for a bit. I wear a Fitbit and I hit my 10,000 steps by noon! As you walk into the city…there she is….the Doumo! Pictures do not do her justice as I have never seen a picture that captures her colors as vibrantly as they are in real life. There was a quick stop to take care of business. Another hint….keep those Euro coins, public bathrooms require them! Although if you buy a coffee or gelato at one of the cafes on the square you can use their bathroom for “free.” Get the coffee! There is nothing like drinking the best cappuccino you have EVER had while looking at the Doumo. The walk through Florence was amazing and fast and made me want to return for a proper visit (including the Uffizi and the Academia). We didn’t see the real David (we chose to include Pisa instead of the Accademia..we were going to Rome the following day and would see The Pieta which in my opinion is a more beautiful piece of work plus I’ve spent some time in Switzerland and never once saw the Matterhorn…so I wanted to be sure I saw the tower) Our Florence guide said good-bye once we hit Santa Croce and we had a good amount of free time. Most people went shopping but we went into Santa Croce to see all of the tombs. I highly recommend spending the time and the money (not expensive) to see the inside. Met at a corner of the square to have lunch. More free flowing wine and Prosecco, veggie lasagna (delicious with a cream sauce), chicken…really the lasagna was more than enough, most people were too full and hot to eat the chicken, panna cotta for dessert. Then it was time for the long, uneventful hike back to the bus. This is where an elderly couple with the gentleman with a cane ran into a bit of trouble. We took a turn, they did not and when we got to the bus they were no where to be seen. After about 10 minutes Lucca went to go find them. He returned awhile later with them in a taxi. While on the bus to Pisa he arranged to have a taxi meet the bus in the parking lot, drive them to the tower, wait while they took pictures and delivered them back to the bus. By the time we hit Pisa my daughter’s fever was in full rage. Didn’t have a thermometer but by best mommy guess was 102. We were going to tag team staying on the bus with her but she didn’t want to miss it and was looking forward to her cheesy pushing the tower picture. She took some medicine, sucked down a water and braved the crowds and heat. We got our goofy pictures, walked around a bit to check out the lean of the church and the baptistry and headed back to the bus. We got back just in time for dinner. The husband stayed back in the room with the sick one and we told our waiter that the little one was sick so we needed a quick dinner so they could make it to Windjammer before it closed after a nap. We were out in record time and woke them up at 8:30 so they could eat.
Rome: Somehow I managed to talk my dad into doing a private tour in Rome. They hadn’t joined us on any of the other excursions, doing their own thing since they have done this cruise a couple of times before. It was important for me to see Rome with my mom and dad. It had been a couple of rough years for our family and I wanted the day to be special. Through the cruise there was only one tour that included a visit to the Sistine Chapel and it was PRICEY…$1200 for just the 4 of us. It included a 4 course lunch at a nice restaurant. Lovely, yes but I didn’t want to waste our few precious hours in Rome on a long lunch. I found Rome Connection through Trip Advisor and after my dad read the reviews he was sold. For the same price we could all tour together, get closer to the sights and be able so share the experience as a family. We paid extra to have Marco as our guide and to take us through the Vatican. Lines? What lines? He ushered us in, told us and showed us some amazing artifacts and even protected us from some very pushy and obnoxious people at the Vatican. He knew the little one was sick so he showed us significant things and took us past the ropes to the “secret” entrance to the Sistine Chapel. He prepared us for the works we would see and even told us some funny things about some of the paintings. Nothing could prepare me emotionally for seeing the Sistine Chapel. That was the moment I actually truly felt the impact of sharing this experience with the people I love most in the world. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen pictures of the ceiling in history books, humanities classes and pictures friends have shared both pre and post renovation….and I was there! Then were off to St. Peters which was awe-inspiring in a whole different way. Seeing the Pieta in person, the alter, the Pope under glass…it was just fantastic! We met up with my parents (they sat in a café while we went in since they had been before and didn’t want to deal with the crowds…cause it was packed) and then we headed just about EVERYWHERE in Rome. You name it, we saw it…cause I wanted to see as much as we could. We didn’t tour the Coliseum (wasn’t sure if we would have the time so I didn’t pre-purchase tickets) but walked around the area. Marco even took us to this little parking lot on top of a hill to look through the key-hole. The key-hole to Malta’s embassy (?)…you look through the hole, across a beautifully manicured garden with arching trees and walkways and have a spectacular shot of the dome to St. Peter’s. We had a quick, quiet lunch with some Roman pizza (very thin, like a cracker) and pasta and hit the road for some more sites! Thankfully, the little ones fever broke about this time so It was nice to be in an air-conditioned van that could pull up practically to the doorstep. We ended our tour on another hill above Rome which gave a breathtaking view of all that we had see. Toasted our time together with an Espresso and then Marco introduced me to the devil. Thank God I hadn’t been introduced to Café Crema sooner. It is what a Frappachino wants to be, but once you have the real thing you can’t imagine ever going back.
Sorrento/Pompeii: This morning we only got to be in the theater at 7:30…whoohoo…we got to sleep in. We headed straight for Sorrento and views were spectacular. Once in Sorrento we went to a farm in the hills and watched a demonstration of cheese making and the olive oil pressing process. Then we sat down to some fresh mozzerella cheese, salami, and farm fresh tomatoes…yes, there was wine here too…and Limoncello. After this the bus dropped us into Sorrento were we were shown the famous (infamous) wood inlay place. We had about an hour of free time so we headed down the street to a pizza place and sat outside. This is by far my absolute favorite meal of the trip…it was quiet, beautiful, and really delicious, not to mention, I was feeling already nostalgic knowing it was my last meal in Italy. The waiter talked us into a local beer. It came in a champagne size bottle (hand numbered, 15 Euros), was refreshingly cold and tasted a lot like a Blue Moon but crisper and more lemony. Saved the label in hopes of ever getting a chance to buy it here. We then headed to Pompeii which the little one was really looking forward to because she had learned about it in Social Studies class, the movie had already been out and the song from Bastille is on heavy rotation. We are from a suburb in the SF Bay Area and 90-100 degree temps during the summer are not uncommon, plus, both our girls play competitive soccer so we are all used to spending these hot days outdoors. But Pompeii was HOT…there is no shade, and it is all stone so the heat just sinks in and radiates off of everything! We were armed with water. What we had left from our morning round up and the tour included a bottle as we headed into Pompeii. We finished our water quickly and were thankful there were fountains to reload. We also carried with us a really small mister (sitting at my desk, I’m looking at the stapler, about that size). It was a lifesaver…and we were thankful we found it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond when we went shopping for all our travel size stuff. The tour was very cool and it was great to see things in person. Our guide took us to all the good stuff including the, lack of a better word, whorehouse. We would have liked to spend more time here but maybe in some cooler temps! I think we would have been better off if we had hit Pompeii first and then Sorrento. By the time we headed back to the ship we were exhausted and then we had to walk through the entire port which included a small shopping mall before we could walk onto the ship. I know why they did that but maybe put up a sign to bypass it…I enjoyed the last minute shopping, the rest of the family…not so much! Since the little one was feeling better we went up by the pool to watch the world cup game because anyone can watch it from a TV or a bar but it isn’t everyday you watched a game poolside while cruising the Mediterranean. It was disappointing when they announced at half-time that we would have to watch it indoors since the White party was starting soon. Couldn’t they have shown the game while the party was going on?
Sea Day: Nothing too eventful. I was up early did a little packing and headed up to the pool for a spot to relax and people watch. To say that it was windy would be an understatement. Not sure how anyone could walk on the upper deck, as chairs were being blown around. Finding a spot near the pool and protected was helpful. We were headed between two islands…couldn’t tell you which ones but it was cool to see land on both sides of the ship. Everyone just kinda did their own thing but we met up for lunch in the MDR. I had the Tutti salad which I really enjoyed since I like salad and really appreciated the variety they had to offer in terms of toppings. I was a little irritated with the fact that both sides didn’t offer the same things so I had to stand in line again to get some shrimp. The little one ordered the burger because she mostly wanted the Cajun fries…she was more than a little disappointed to find no seasoning on them. When she told the waiter that she wanted the Cajun fries thinking he gave her unseasoned ones because of her age, he told her those were the Cajun fries. That would not be her last culinary disappointment for the day. Tonight was the night she had been waiting for…prime rib for dinner and baked Alaska for dessert. Prime Rib came and it was gray. While tasty and tender enough it was clearly kept warm under heat, which changed the color. It was not the pink we are all used to. Then came the biggest disappointment (even bigger than the Trevi fountain being under construction) the baked Alaska. It looked adorable served on its own individual plate with enough meringue to make anyone happy…except there was no cake. She said it was false advertising that it shouldn’t be called baked Alaska but they should invent another name for what they served. As I said before we went and caught a little of the magic act before heading back to finish packing and getting our bags out the door.
Debarkation: It was going to be a very long day of travelling so we met my parents for breakfast. We decided to just go to Windjammer since my dad was worried about us having enough time to eat and catch the bus to the airport. Once we got the Windjammer we saw that it was even more crowded than a normal port day, everyone had the same idea. Our assistant server was usually the greater and today when he saw us he told us to wait. He went into Portofino, talked to the servers there and then told us we could sit in there. I know that it is normally reserved for suite guests but it was nice that we didn’t have to search for a table for six while my mom tried to squeeze through the maze of tables with her walker. So if you were a guest that was truly put out because us lowly deck 8, gold club/non suite members were there, I am sorry. After breakfast we headed up top for some final pictures, said our goodbyes and headed to our airport transfer holding spot. This was the only time things were a tad confusing. There was a very large group of travelers that had their own set of translators, tour guides, and photographers that took up most of the space. There were no RC staff telling us where we shouldn’t sit so we just sat, and then they all filed in and we were told by one of their guides that we couldn’t sit there…like I said very confusing but we were in the process of moving when our group was called. Collected our luggage with little issue (it is always nerve wracking waiting and waiting and waiting for that last piece come out) and then hit another chaotic part. We weren’t sure of where to go once we left the building, we had our transfers in hand but there wasn’t anyone directing any of us where to go. We overheard another family ask for direction and then they were told to see “that lady” we all went to “that lady” and told her our airline. She directed us to put our bags in the back of a white box van…seemed very sketchy! We did as we were told and then were directed to a bus. From there it was an easy ride to the airport and our luggage was waiting for us on the sidewalk when the bus pulled in. There was a person waiting with the bags so they weren’t entirely unattended. Another tip….check in using a kiosk! While I did that the rest of the family waited in the luggage drop off line and by the time I was done they only had two people in front of them. Not sure why we needed to hurry, we had 2 hours before our flight! Here’s the difference between European airports and US airports. When we arrive at the airport with two hours to go before the flight we look at the board and go wait at the assigned gate. In Europe (in Barcelona and Frankfurt anyway) you don’t know which gate you are in until about 30 minutes before your flight and then good luck trying to find your flight on the ever changing board, good thing we had 4 sets of eyes on the lookout. You know the terminal but not the gate. Just different. We were split up on the flight to Frankfurt but it was a short flight ( 2 hours) and the girls just slept. Once in Frankfurt we had some time to eat pretzels, beer, and strudel and just walk around. 11 hours later we were back in San Francisco and ready to resume our normal life…until next time.