Cruise Time! Mediterranean Style!

When my oldest son, AJ, graduated from High School, we decided to take him on a cruise to celebrate! Since he (nor my husband or other son) had been to Europe, we chose that as our destination. Royal Caribbean was our cruise line of choice with Barcelona being the departure point. Symphony of the Seas was our home for our week long voyage.

Barcelona!!

I had visited Barcelona several years ago on a girlfriends trip and truly fell in love with the city! Since I had such a great experience, I wanted my family to explore and get to know the city. We flew into Barcelona two days early to sight see...and eat!!!

After checking into our hotel, we went down by the beach for a early dinner! It was June so the weather was warm but nice. The beach was pretty full but we found a nice spot to eat where we could see the water. During my last visit, I discovered a fondness of anchovies - who would have though it?! Of course I had to have some as well as a SANGRIA!!

After a good night's sleep (we were exhausted after the overnight flights), we got up for a tour of the Sagrada Familia! This Basilica has been under construction since 1882. It still has many more years until full completion but the portion that has been finished is absolutely amazing. There are currently 2 completed facades - one for the birth and life of Jesus, the second for the crucifixion. The three, yet completed will be for the resurrection. The inside is beautiful with the tree like pillars and color window panels. I'm in awe every time I see it! Even the boys were impressed!

After the visit to the Sagrada, it was time to eat again!! This time it was for Paella! Tony said he could not leave Barcelona without having Paella! Paella is a rice dish that includes rice, saffron, vegetables, chicken and seafood. Luckily we found a place near by that had some of the best! They had a nice menu so we had a nice sampling of other dishes. The Sangria's were good as well!

After a wonderful lunch we walked off the calories and headed to our Bike and Food tour.

We rode electric bikes around the various neighborhoods of Barcelona stopping along the way at unique sites learning about the history. Our ride along the beach was great, ending up at the pier by the Hyatt Regency. The final part of the tour included wine and tapas at a local restaurant. It was a great way to explore the city!

The Cruise!

We went with a balcony cabin for me and Tony, while the boys had an inside room. I enjoyed the balcony. It was very roomy with a sofa and seating area. There were chairs and a table on the balcony and the views were amazing! I preordered chocolate covered strawberries for our room. The boys room had bon voyage decorations.

Our Mediterranean cruise took us to Palma De Mallorca, Marseille, Florence/Pisa, Rome and Naples. Our itinerary included one day at sea which wasn't quite enough for my family. We ended up staying on the ship during our stop at Palma de Mallorca. The benefit of staying on the ship during a port day is the decreased amount of cruisers on the pool deck! We had the chance to enjoy the pool without the normal crowds. Tony and I also scheduled a couples massage in the afternoon. It ended up being a great day! Raymond and Joan both went on shore and said they enjoyed the city.

I am one that enjoys participating in the themed nights on the ship! We had the formal night, white night, and Caribbean night. I also think the group photos they take when you go ashore at the different ports are nice! Here are some of our pics!

Marseille France was our second stop. We did a guided tour of the city. Of all the cities we visited, this was probably my least favorite. It wasn't the city itself but the tour was not good so it impacted the experience. We did visit a beautiful building and saw some of the sites.

Florence/Pisa was third on our itinerary. Florence was one of my favorites!! I enjoyed the layout of the city. The roads were more like ally ways than full streets making it very intimate. The architecture was beautiful as were the statues around the city. I was in awe of the domed cathedral. The colors and textures were delightful to view. We had lunch during our tour. I think the pesto pasta was the best I've ever had. I definitely want to return one day to explore more! We then visited Pisa where we saw the leaning tower. Of course we had to do one of those tourist photos!

Rome was our fourth stop. Another beautiful city with so much history! We did a walking tour that included the Colosseum, the Vatican and St Peters Basilica. The Colosseum was smaller than I expected but amazing to see in person! We didn't get a chance to go in but being outside of it was still a great experience. From there we visited a church and then had lunch before heading to the Vatican. I didn't know the Vatican was considered a independent country until this visit! The art work was spectacular, especially in the Sistine Chapel! You have to be quiet and can't take pictures in the chapel. It was such a emotional moment. We ended the day with a visit to St Peter's Basilica. This was by far my favorite stop. It was absolute beautiful inside. It took my breath away as we stepped into the threshold!

Naples/Sorrento, the final stop! The tour we did, took us to Sorrento so we didn't spend any time in Naples. While in Sorrento, the tour included a visit to a limoncello maker, time in the main city and then a stop in Pompeii before returning to the ship. I absolutely loved Sorrento! It was so lovely and quaint. The town was easy to navigate, had great views of the ocean and wonderful shopping. The people were welcoming and helpful. We had a great time during our stay. I wish we had more time!

Our visit to Pompeii was very educational. It was much larger than I anticipated so we ended up doing more walking than we thought....lol! It was interesting to see Mt Vesuvius in the background while standing in the middle of the city.

We had a great trip! Here are some other photo highlights!

A couple of tips:

• If you go in June, be ready for the heat! It was close to 100 degrees in Rome!I

• The drink package will save you money if you expect to have 4-5 drinks per day

• We only did the internet package on one phone versus signing everyone up for it

• We booked all shore excursions far in advance due to many selling out

• They offer photo packages on Royal Caribbean for those taken on the ship. We did a small one to get the couple of group and specialty night photos