This year we have enjoyed a wonderful holiday in the Med. Last year’s cruise was supposed to be a one off special holiday, but the pull of another cruise proved too much to resist and we combined it with some extra days in Rome. We wanted to introduce our son to a city which we love and which has many special memories as we were also married here.

Rome was as magical as ever and also very busy with the Catholic youth Jubilee taking place in the same week. It was a joyful ‘busyness’, groups of young people wandering the streets, carrying their national flags and singing, only adding to the atmosphere. The Jubilee did mean that St Peter’s Square was closed off when we tried to visit because of the crowds but we did find a few different viewpoints so we did see it. We hadn’t planned to do the Sistine chapel this time as we have seen it before and had marvelled at its beauty and been pretty awestruck. I’m not sure our 16 year old son would have had quite the same reaction so we chose to explore the Colosseum and Forum, Trevi fountain and Spanish Steps. The latter two have important wedding day memories for us, particularly as in this week we celebrated our anniversary. We also went to the Olimpico stadium for our football mad son, as both Rome teams and the national football and rugby teams play here. Our time in Rome was well planned and all bookings had been made well in advance. I had also done routes to the attractions and we easily navigated the town on foot, metro and bus to get to all the sites. Our trip only strengthened our special memories of the city, I love Rome and la dolce vita.

Our cruise departed from Civitavecchia and we had planned our transfer from Rome by train. We got a high speed train which took 45 minutes. The train was so clean, with seat reservations and very reasonable, another example of great public transport. As we had taken the high speed train, our fare doubled as the journey time halved, however it was still less than £10 a head. One can’t help compare to our train network and prices, we need better, more affordable public transport.

This year, we cruised with MSC and I cannot fault the company. I actually think this was a better cruise than P&O last year, yes there are things which each do better but on the whole I preferred the MSC experience. There was so much to do on the ship and the aquapark was magnificent, I enjoyed the slide boarding slide, as it was enclosed. I was too nervous to do an open slide as I was scared that I would fling out and land in the sea! The enclosed slide was much safer and comfortable. I also loved the zip wire across the boat, I did it twice as you got a wonderful view at a gentle pace.

We had five brilliant stops on this cruise. In Mallorca and Barcelona, we visited the football stadiums and had a tour, or as the Nou camp is being rebuilt a visit to an immersive museum. Both were really interesting in their own way, Barcelona is iconic, whereas the community culture and smaller stadium at Mallorca felt more like our local club. I really enjoyed walking around Palma after our visit, such a pretty city. Cannes was our one day without a plan, just to potter around the town and explore. We loved Cannes, it is gorgeous and the perfect place to mooch around. I went on the Ferris wheel, which has become a bit of a tradition, I can’t resist a big wheel and the views were excellent. We also had a lovely al fresco lunch and I enjoyed using my French around the town. Our day in Genoa was another real highlight as we did a Segway tour of the old town. The Segways were brilliant and as the town is mainly pedestrianised my worries about crashing into vehicles and every other worst case scenarios were not realised. The Segways were so much fun and our tour guide so interesting, I really felt I got to know lots about the town. Our final day was on a tour billed quiet rightly as a bucket list excursion, firstly to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and yes we did the pushing the tower photos and then onto Florence. I though Florence was such a beautiful city and a special way to end the cruise.

This felt a very special holiday, one in which we explored, relaxed, played, reminisced and created new memories. Now to choose (and save) for next year’s holiday.