If you are humming and hawing about whether to cruise just take the plunge and do it. I would recommend a 7 night as a starter (not too long, not too short) but don't forget to pace yourself and choose your cruise companions carefully. Go with people that share the exact same interests as you otherwise you are the one who will be compromising the whole time. Cruising is great and I love it. But not all of my friends do. I would recommend voyager, it will always have a special place in my heart as it was my first cruise.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Easy peasy. We flew from Dublin the day before and had a prearranged transfer from our hotel just off Las ramblas to the cruise terminal. We were picked up around 9.30 there were others that had to be picked up as well. So we arrived at terminal by 10.30 and were on board by the pool an hour later.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We didn't try any speciality dining venues. It was our first cruise and we did a DIY job rather than using a travel agent so we played it safe and just ate in the dining room and the buffet. We did have room service breakfast one day which was fine but we thought the breakfast in the dining room was better. Dinner was excellent. I liked the way there was variation depending on what port we were in e.g. escargots after being in villefranche, caprese salad in Italy.
Johnny Rockets
2 out of 5
I didn't like Johnny rockets at all. It was mediocre compared with other burger joints back home. I wouldn't have recommended it. Maybe it has changed since.
Windjammer Marketplace
5 out of 5
We went here for lunch on embarkation day. I thought the selection was varied and was good. My friend was a pickier eater and I'm not sure she enjoyed it as much.
Pool Bar
5 out of 5
The pool bar was always busy but could pretty much serve you any drink you wanted
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We were not as adventurous as others. If I was doing another cruise I would try out other activities. My friend just wanted to lay in the sun during the day.
Day Spa and Fitness Center
5 out of 5
I had a massage on the sea day and used the hair salon on formal nights as the humidity caused havoc with my hair. The staff were very nice and friendly. I would recommend that you book your appointments particularly any hair appointments on embarkation day to avoid disappointment.
Swimming Pools
5 out of 5
I liked all the pools I didn't find them over busy at the times we used them. Early on embarkation day is a good time to go for a swim as everyone else is elsewhere so it's quiet. I used to like to go for a swim after coming back from an excursion...very refreshing
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The shows were great. There was always something to entertain us. Next time I go on a cruise I will pay attention to the cruise planner so I know what entertainment is happening when.
Theater
5 out of 5
We went here on the last night to see a show. We hadn't booked any show but we were still able to get a seat.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The staff were very attentive particularly our room steward whose name I have forgotten. We brought too many clothes and needed extra hangers which were brought to our room promptly despite staff being extremely busy on embarkation day. The maitre d was very attentive and always able to help and answer any question we had. Our waiter was a bit hit and miss...he kept forgetting the sauce for the shrimp cocktail!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
I loved the ship. It was a perfect size at the time for a first time cruise and made me want to go again. It was spotlessly clean.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
I was pleasantly surprised by our cabin. I was expecting something smaller. We had to ask for the bed to be separated into twin beds though even though we had requested twins. This was done by the time we returned from dinner. There wasn't a lot of shelving in the bathroom though and I would definitely recommend a hanging toiletry bag. There was plenty of storage though. I know that now a lot of cabins have space under the beds for putting suitcases but ours hadn't got that which was a bit annoying.
Ship tip
Explore the ship the first day so you know where everything is. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Just have fun.. you'll love it.
We didn't do an excursion before getting on the cruise as we had arrived late the night before. We did our own thing after the cruise. My friend had fluent Spanish. Barcelona is an easy city to walk around. I would recommend the hop on hop off bus which you can pick up at the place de catalunya. Also parc guell and the sagrada di familia.
Big thing to remember here is it is a tender port. We did a bus tour around Nice and then we went up to st Paul de venice which has beautiful views of nice and the surrounding lavender fields. It's also a great place to have a spot of lunch.
I wouldn't recommend doing a full day city tour here as there wasn't enough time to see places it being August there were a lot of queues. This didn't bother me as I had been to Rome before but my friend who hadn't been was a bit cheesed off. We had delicious gelato in the square where the trevi fountain is.
We had an all day tour here which included lunch. It was quite a long day and we were tired at the end of it. I would have preferred to have had more time to go inside some venues. By the time we got to pisa there was only about 20 minutes before we had to be back on board the coach to get back on the ship. It would have been nice to have gone to pisa first then florence
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