Day 1: Barcelona – Flew out the day prior on a “red eye” to Barcelona. We arrived in around 8:40am. The Barcelona airport has to be one of the most modern airports I have ever been too. Very nice airport and easy to get around, so there is no problem for those who do not have the Spanish Language down. Please keep in mind that the Barcelona Bag service is very slow compared to most major airports in America. It took about an hour to get our bags. This was mentioned as a common thing for this airport. I tell you this for folks who are planning drivers to pick them up or when taking private yours.

We left for our hotel – The Renaissance Hotel at the Barcelona Airport. The hotel is only about five minutes from the airport. We took a cab – which there is a minimum charge from the airport per our driver. You pretty much can get ripped off when going to your hotel from the airport. Planning ahead better, the hotel does free pick up service to the hotel from the airport. The hotel was great and English speaking friendly. The service is very nice and the rooms are very nice. Be careful with late night TV if you have children. They have channels that go into adult programming without any pay per view. It is just their TV. The food at the hotel is expensive, but typical for a hotel. Location of the hotel is no where near any attractions or other places to see anything. It is best to take a cab into town. I highly recommend this hotel. I would give it a 4 star rating and they have 10 euro transfers to the cruise port.

Note about Food : Do not worry about food in Barcelona. Talpas bars are everywhere. Remember that they eat the big meal for lunch around 1-3pm. Dinner typically does not start until after 8:30pm. It typically consists of Talpas. Talpas – meaning the top – simply means appetizers. Much like you choose sushi from a menu, talpas are the same way. Sometime you just sit down and they bring food to you. Tourist area restaurants are more expensive.

Day 2: Barcelona

We got up for a 9 hour tour with Carlos. He picked us up at 9:30. We went to take a tour of the Cava (Champagne) plant. The facility was huge. They sell product all over the world. It is the best tour of a facility that I have ever been through. You go through the whole process and actually have a ride through near the end prior to the tasting. Highly recommend this if production or wine fascinates you. We left the wine and headed for the Montserrat Mountain. It took about an hour. Near the top, our tour guide gave us time to explore the town. It is a small village and church that is situated on the side of the mountain. It was a little overcast for a bit, but we were above the clouds. Definitely take the train to the top so you can see a 360 view of the mountain. Beautiful views that alone are worth it. Another thing many people do is listening to the children’s choir at 1:00. They were not singing that day due to the wedding. I am not Catholic, but the Black Madonna story is very interesting. The food at the food café is actually pretty good and not too expensive. Good lunch stop. We then headed back into town and visited the finshed Gowdy church closer into Barcelona. It was beautiful also. A fantastic day that cost 99 euros each for four people.

Note on tipping. Tipping is given as a gratuity and is not always expected. 7-10% is standard if the service was really good. We tipped Carlos much more in appreciation of his services.

Day 3: Starting the Cruise

Check this out – NO MORE LIFE PRESERVERS NEEDED DURING MUSTER DRILL. You just go to your spot and they do the announcements. Little lengthy due to the requirement to have it in both English and Spanish.

We ate at the late seating at 9:00pm. We had Wilmar and Manual. They provided excellent service the entire cruise. They would try to help with any special request they could. The dining room is amazing. The bottom two floors of the dinning room are for regular eating guest. The top floor is for My time dining guests. This is where you set up a reserved time to eat.

We love this ship!

Day 4: Day at see

Simply slept late to catch up on sleep and played in a Casino that kept taking our money. Due to this, we did not play much.

Day 5: Napoli

We did the full day excursion to Sorrento and Pompeii. Absolutely amazing trip. Pompeii was huge. I always book my excursions through the cruise ship. I know many others do not, but there is something very secure for us to go through the ship. There is a simple guarantee of getting back to the ship on time. I have seen too many folks waving as the ship left them at a port. There is some driving with this excursion. If you get car sick easily – avoid going to Sorrento. Lots of winding roads. Beautiful views! You will walk in Pompeii – definitely uneven paths.

Day 6: Rome

Amazing day in Rome. Full day Imperial Rome Excursion. This was awesome. Definitely walking with uneven paths. This seem to be the most work for a tour. The Coliseum was amazing. You get to see the Forums – walk through them. You get to see tons of buildings and ruins. You end the tour with a great trip to the Vatican. You can take flash photos in the Vatican. No chance to see the Michelangelo Painting unfortunately. (God and Man finger touch) It was not part of the tour. Great tour! Lots of bus time and it is the longest tour of our trip.

Day 7: Florence and Pisa

Another full day great tour. Awesome tour – lots of walking – through the city with a lunch. Beautiful cathedrals and historic buildings. Lunch is good to and is provided. Pisa has to be experienced. It sticks out in the small town of Pisa. There is a lot of bus time on this, but definitely worth it. We had some nice shopping time. There were some great Italian purses shops and other leather shops here. We got a Italian Leather purse in one of the nice stores.

Day 8: Monte Carlo, French Riviera Tour, Eze, Nice

Half day bus tour of the French Riviera. The views were amazing. This was mainly a bus tour with picture stops. You see a lot and travel up and down the mountains. If you get car sick easily, you might want to watch this one. Lots of winding roads. You get to spend about an hour and half in the town of Eze which is one of the hill top towns. Very pretty.

Day 9: Marseilles – this was changed…

The port was change due to a possible port strike in Marseilles. We stopped at a different port, but still took the same tour. We did the Cassis tour which was a lot of fun. The highlight had to be going to the top of the mountains for pictures and looking down on Cassis. We spent about two hours in the town of Cassis for free time. This was nice. We did a little shopping. Ate some Crepes. Lots of local tourist hanging around. Nice little cafes.

Day 10: Back in Barcelona

The Debarkation went the best ever. They give you the time and you can hang out in your room instead of random places. Prior to your time, you head to the given area where they will lead you out and through customs. No issues with getting luggage. The hotel had a van out there to take us back to the Marriott. We waited about 20 minutes for the bus – no problem. Cost 10 Euros each.

We left out early evening using a cab to walk down the Rambles. At the north end, there is a Hard Rock Café. We ate there and had a good time. We took a cab back to the hotel for about 20 Euros.

Day 11: Flying back home

Show up early!!!! The lines can be long and wacky – especially if you are using Air France. I used the ticket machines – they only have 3! If I would of waited in line, I would not have made it with in the 3 hours. The airport was very nice, just understaffed.

We got back safely. This was one of our favorite cruises! It was not meant to be relaxing. We “hit it and get it” so we can see as much as possible. We spent just over 1000.00 for the two of us on the five tours. It was a trip of a lifetime. We are excited about taking a Easter Med cruise next time so we can hit Venice. We loved France a lot! It is a much cleaner country. Too much graffiti around Italy. Barcelona – definitely spend two days there if possible. It is a beautiful city. Be sure to use www. BarcelonaDayTours.com