We booked a balcony cabin on the Pacifica from Civitavecchia to Savona, Italy; Katakalon,Athens, and Rhodes, Greece; Limmasol, Cyprus; and a morning drop off in Port Said with evening pick up in Alexandria, Egypt. Our cabin was mid ship and we found it spacious enough and comfortable -- we had a sofa, so I would imagine it would sleep a third person. The inside cabins seemed to be smaller. It was too cold most days to use the balcony -- we sailed March 3rd to March 14th -- but we did get some use of it. The stateroom amenities included a refrigerator and safe. The bathroom had a bar of soap and a dispenser for shower gel/shampoo. Our cabin steward was attentive and very pleasant. If you like a particular soap or shampoo or a washcloth, I would suggest bringing your own.

We went for the ports. In Savona, we took the ship excursion to Monaco. We really enjoyed it and left the casino with both of us having won a small amount of euros. The famous casino did not open until later in the afternoon, so we did not get in there. We saw many sights and visited the church where Princess Grace and Prince Rainier were married and later buried. While we were in front of the palace, a limousine with Prince Albert in the back seat, passed us.

We hooked up with another couple on CruiseCritic and planned some excursions on our own -- which saved us quite a bit of money. In Katakolon, we rented a car and drove to Olympus, then spent a little bit of time wandering the port. In Athens, we shared a cab and went to the Acropolis and the new museum, then wandered around Plaka on our own. Due to rough seas, Rhodes was canceled and replaced with Marmaris, Turkey, but we were unable to pull into port because of rough seas there, as well. Later in the day, the ship was hit with a 110 mph wind and tipped at an angle that caused plates and glasses to fly. The captain was quick to correct it, but a lot of damage had been done. Crew who had cruised for over fifteen years said they had never seen anything like it. In Cyprus, we took the ship's shuttle bus (six euros round trip per person), an option that was offered in some other ports, as well. We wandered Cyprus on our own (with our new best friends) and visited a historical museum, shopped, and visited a bakery where we bought olive bread and baklava to eat at the beach. Read more