Genoa was our embarkation port. The walk from Piazza Principe termini to the cruise port is only 10 minutes. However, there are some stairs and crossing a busy street. After disembarkation we stored our luggage at the train station. We took a train to Santa Margharita Ligure, about 1 hr from Genoa. Then a bus to Portofino which took 30 mins. Portofino was pretty and we had lunch there, but small. Next time we will stay in Santa Margharita Ligure. We didn't actually see much of Genoa.

Roma is a difficult port. First, you take a shuttle, provided by MSC, from the ship to the port entrance. Then from the port to the Civitavecchia terminal you take another bus, it costs 2€ and takes about 10 minutes. The trains to Roma pass about every 30 minutes and it takes 1 hr to get to Roma. We took the 8:42 AM and got off at Ostiense train station. That was great advice from another reviewer. From Ostiense we took the Metro to the Colosseo. When you come out of the Metro, the Colosseo is almost on your nose. We spent all day there and then walked to Piazza Venetia. Had lunch and walked to Roma Termini. We will be back to Roma but for more days, not on a cruise ship stop. Don't let the street vendors rip you off with the Colosseo entrance. It should be only 12€.

We didn't know what to expect from Palermo. As we walked out, the locals were very aggressive trying to sell tours, reminded me of some Caribbean ports. We walked past all of them trying to get the bus to Mondello beach. At some point, one of them convinced us and we agreed to a 90 min tour in a motorcycle style car, ending in Mondello beach for 70€. The tour was nice and it saved us a lot of walking, but after we started, the driver kept renegotiating the rate. As far as Mondello beach, we were glad we went there. We stayed at the free part of the beach. There were restaurants to have a drink right at the beach. We also had lunch at da Calogero. The food, wine and service was great. If you like the beach, don't miss Mondello.

We took the combination tour right outside the port gates. The cost was 15€ for the city tour and then transfer to Poetto Beach. The tour was ok, for about 1 hr, but it was quick and we couldn't get of the bus to take pictures or walk around. Poetto beach was wonderful. We got a table at La Sella DelDiavolo restaurant. There were many places to hang out at the city and I would go back to the castle area. We will come back to this city.

This was the best port. It is very modern and clean. We went to La Romana beach, not to Magalu, where all cruise tourists were going. Then we went to Valdemossa. We walked around Palma and had dinner close to the port. I also helped that we met friends who live in the city and they were our guides. We will be back to Palma.

Another great port. Not enough time to do everything. We skipped the Arts and Science Museums and went to the city. The Merkat Central was amazing. We also got word from a local where to eat the best paella and Agua de Valencia: Masia Del Vino. For 4 people, the taxi is cheaper and more convenient than the MSC shuttle.

We took a taxi from the ship to the Petit Port. Then we took Le Petit Train route 1 to Notre Dame de la Garde. Most restaurants were closed for lunch and couldn't get the ones suggested by tripadvisor. We liked Le Petit Train so much, we took the second route and saw the old Marseille.