My advice is to go early and stay late. We cruised out of Venice and finished in Barcelona. With two extra days at each. Had a wonderful time.

We did a Carnival cruise with a French speaking group from Montreal (where my wife is from) and the travel agent arranged the excursions for our group separate from the ship. Some were good and some were just okay. Some sites like Rome and Florence were really far from the dock. Hope that helps.

Beach Hunter