After a short taxi ride from our hotel (arriving the previous day allowed us a little time for city sightseeing) we arrived at the Port of Barcelona (Moll D’Adossat Terminal) around mid-day and, after handing over our well labelled luggage to the ship’s porters, we joined a rather lengthy queue and prepared for a long wait before getting on board. However, as we had the foresight to take advantage of Royal Caribbean’s on-line check-in facility we were soon directed to a much shorter and faster moving queue where, after showing our SetSail Pass, passports and a credit card, we were on board in very quick time.

We had booked two spacious inter-connecting 4-berth Ocean View cabins on deck 3 which were well appointed and perfect for our family of five. The afternoon was spent exploring the ship, which is a task in itself with the many attractions and facilities available. The children’s area is vast (and probably more extensive than at most resort hotels) catering for all age groups from the age of 3 to late teens. Our children were mildly interested in the various electronic and computer based activities available but what appealed to them most was the rock climbing wall, ice skating rink, roller skating, crazy golf and poolside activities.

One of our favourite areas on board was the Tuscan themed Solarium, with a pool, fountain, two Jacuzzis, bar and lots of chaise lounges facing the sea, along with greenery, bronze horses, and murals inspired by the Tuscan countryside. However, we only made a token gesture towards the extensive gym facilities and did not do too many laps of the on-deck jogging track. After all we were on holiday!!

The dining options are numerous and include the Windjammer available for all buffet meals, the main dining room for evening meals (we chose to book a family table). The food was generally very good and the waiters most helpful and friendly. The kids’ favourite was Johnny Rockets American diner with the waiters dancing to 50/60’s music – but we could not let them live on burgers and chips all week!!

Evening entertainment was extensive and we tried to catch all the Broadway-style productions as well as the variety shows which were presented in the 1,350-seat, Art Deco-style Metropolis Theatre. In addition, we were very impressed with both the international standard ice show held in the Studio B ice rink and the themed parades along the Promenade.

Smart casual dress is the order of the day and for most evenings, however, there are two formal nights when suits and cocktail dresses predominate.

On Sunday, our first port of call was Marseilles, France’s second largest city, which is very laid back and provides typical European flair with many sidewalk restaurants and cafes. As the ship docks some way from the city free shuttle buses are provided but unfortunately it rained most of the day so our appreciation of the place was somewhat dampened by the poor weather.

The next stop was Cagliari, Sardinia's capital, where the weather could not have been more different. Here the ship docks just 600 metres from the city centre and so once again we decided to do our own walking tour. Unfortunately, it was so hot that once our children chanced upon an amazing ice cream parlour (with its wide variety of colourful and tasty ice creams) on Piazza Yenne our desire to discover the cultural sights of this interesting city came to an abrupt end.

The final port of call on this cruise was Palermo. We did not take an organised excursion so spent very little time ashore.

Prior to arriving back at Barcelona a full day was spent at sea but this passed very quickly as apart from enjoying the sun there were numerous activities to keep us amused – that is if we could be persuaded to raise ourselves from one of the many sun loungers available!!

Disembarkation was very easy and, as they were colour tagged for overnight collection, our bags were off the ship and ready for us immediately after breakfast. The pre-arranged transfer for the 40 minute journey to the airport went well. However the fact that we spent more time queuing at the airport than in the air makes a good sales pitch for cruising from the UK!