My First Luxury Cruise: Mediterranean Crystal Cruise Review

Travelling with a friend we embarked on a sailing between Barcelona and Rome in October, a chance to enjoy the Med's autumn sunshine. Although we were in port every day there was plenty of time to explore on board.

The Marketplace on deck 11 became our favourite spot for breakfast and lunch. This had a superb buffet with an array of choices in a beautiful setting, surrounded by windows with a fabulous outdoor space if you wish to eat outside and take in the views. The crew was particularly amazing at remembering if you have any favourites too!

Waterside, the main restaurant, was a fabulous dinner option - fine dining at its best with a daily changing menu. I must mention the grilled black Angus rib eye, cooked to perfection, which I enjoyed with a fantastic recommended paired wine. In fact, it's impossible to pick a favourite dining venue or dish.

At Tastes, we had the most amazing food for both lunch and dinner with tuna tacos and a fabulous rosé being an amazing choice, whilst at Umi Uma I had to trust in the recommendations from the waiting staff based on my vague description of the things I generally like, and I was blown away by how good it was.

The after-dinner entertainment was also exceptional. Rocket Man was an amazing showcase of Elton John's tracks through the years which was hard not to sing along to. And Dan in Avenue Saloon made a lovely musical accompaniment to some delicious and extravagant cocktails, one with a bubble cloud filled with mist that popped.    

Our itinerary included several places we'd visited previously so we decided to venture further afield from port. An overnight in Barcelona gave us plenty of time to visit Monserrat for a guided tour including outstanding art, great views, and the scenic Rack Railway.

In Palma, we took advantage of the complimentary Crystal shuttle to revisit the cathedral and loved seeing it again. From Port Vendres, upon the insistence of my friend, we took a train to Perpignan and although the destination was a little disappointing the journey was enjoyable.

Calvi was a new port for us both and it was wonderful to have a drink in one of the surprisingly reasonably priced seafront cafes and enjoy a spot of souvenir shopping. Then in Monte Carlo, we watched from a café the comings and goings outside the Monte Carlo Casino - but alas the souvenir shopping here was a little over our budget!

From Livorno, we joined a shuttle to Florence for a wonderful day ticking off sights including the Ponte Vecchio and Piazza del Duomo. After an overnight in the port of Livorno we had intended to visit Pisa but with the tour full we instead stayed on board, relaxed by the pool, and enjoyed being spoiled by the attentive Crystal team.

After this, it was on to Rome for the disappointment of disembarkation and the excited chatter of when and where we might be able to experience Crystal again because once you've experienced the best, there's no going back!