We spent 3 days in Rome post-cruise. We saw the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Capitoline Hill, Castle Sant'Angelo and more (we'd previously been to Rome so had already seen the Coliseum and the Forum). There's so much to see and do in Rome!

We took an excursion called "The Best of Provence" through Royal Caribbean which stopped at Sanary sur Mer, Cassis, and Marseille. This was a spectacular tour! Our tour guide was excellent and gave us about 45-1hr on our own at each stop. In Sanary sur Mer, I took beautiful photos of the fishing boats in port and we bought strawberries and goat cheese for lunch at the local outdoor market. In Cassis, we did a little shopping and ate our lunch in a cute little square. In Marseille, we went to the Notre-Dame de la Garde and got sweeping panoramas of the city. We also stopped in a shopping district by the Marseille port before the bus returned to the ship. It was a full-day tour and I highly recommend it!

We did not do an excursion in Barcelona because I was very interested in seeing Park Guell and none of the excursions Royal Caribbean had included it. Most of the things to see in Barcelona are really 15 minute "there I saw it" stops. The Ramblas is crowded and has stalls and shops selling the usual tourist fare. We saw the Sagrada Familia from the parks in front of and behind this interesting structure, but did not get in line to go inside. I was surprised to discover that Park Guell's monuments (as in, Gaudi's most interesting houses and structures) require a ticket to see...and they have a specific time in which you can go in and see the monuments. When we arrived at Park Guell via cab, the entrance time was too close to when we'd have to head back to the ship. It was disappointing. I later learned you can buy your ticket online.

We spent our time in the City of Arts and Sciences area of Valencia. The architecture there is so awesome! The Oceanografic (aquarium) was okay. I felt like many of the animals looked unhappy. There was no admonishment of children for tapping on the glass of the whale/walrus tanks despite there being a railing to keep people away from the glass. We also visited the Heliografic, which was an IMAX theatre and saw an interesting movie about robots. The Science Museum was really large and had some intriguing exhibits. Beyond the museums, Valencia didn't seem to offer much, but it was still an enjoyable port.

Royal Caribbean did not have a great selection of excursions for this port, probably because it is new for them. We took a cab to Castell de Bellver for the morning. The castle was lovely and had great views from the top! In the afternoon, we went to Cala Major Beach, about a 10 euro cab ride from the port. The beach was breathtakingly beautiful! The water was clean and the people-watching was very fun!