We’re back from two weeks on the Diamond, Venice to Monte Carlo. The itinerary was marvelous…a photo op around every corner. Highlights for us were the night gondola ride in Venice, twisting through the narrow canals, listening to people singing and partying at sidewalk cafes along the way. This was a cruise excursion and the gondola ride was a long one -- a great way to start our trip. We ended on a beautiful note too, cruising into Monte Carlo at 6 pm and later seeing all the lights on the palace and on shore. The view from the ship was magical and taking the shuttle to the casino gave us a taste of Monte Carlo at night. Riding the chairlift above Anacapri was really special and the view spectacular, as were the Amalfi Drive and Positano. Dubrovnik, Portofino and Taormina kept me busy taking “alley” shots around every corner! We want to go back to Barcelona and spend a week. A day there was just an appetizer.

The itinerary was well paced with the first week being a bit more relaxed. We took only the ship’s tours and they were all excellent with small groups and great guides.

We really enjoyed the size of the ship and that was a big factor in our choice of cruises. Both weeks were full, the second had 347 passengers, but we noticed no problems with service. The mornings we ordered room service breakfasts they always arrived on the dot.

Both weeks had many large groups traveling together. This week they have a group of 90 booked which I wouldn’t have cared for! There were several children the first week but all were well behaved and kept busy by the two women running the children’s program. The second week there were only two little girls who also were enjoying the trip.

We found the dining room staff to be exceptional. Miki and Sandro were most efficient and so pleasant as they greeted us daily. We had many breakfasts there and since not many did, we got to know the waiters that served us everyday, Arnold and Romolo – two terrific guys. We found the staff and officers to be much friendlier than any other ship we’ve sailed including the PG. We had two fun dinners with Sam Perry the cruise director and also became good friends with Laureen, one of the singer/dancers. Their shows were excellent as were Sam’s “Sinatra and the Rat Pack” nights. The classical guitarist was there for only the two weeks we were and we felt most fortunate in our timing. He was so talented and we thoroughly enjoyed his shows.

It was a lovely two weeks of pampering and it is tough getting back to my normal routine!