Europe - Eastern Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

We sailed on costa mediterranea.It was our first experience. The staff was very helpful.The squok club was a great help. The shows were enjoyable.Overall it was wonderful.

Costa Mediterranea was a beautiful ship! The decor was sometimes a bit 'busy', but still pleasing. Our cabin was very spacious - the largest room and bathroom we've ever had. The balcony was large, as well, and we enjoyed the chairs and table there. It may be the cleanest ship I've ever cruised ! It was easy to find my way around.

We loved everything about the ship. The crew was especially friendly, the ship was very clean, we enjoyed wonderful lecturerers while we were "at sea", and the food was the best! We loved dining at Prego where we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary - they made it very special. We joined our friends at Silk Road where we had wonderful sushi and other Japanese specialties. What really impressed us was the way Crystal took care of us at the very end. Because we had a very early flight leaving Venice, a Crystal representative met the two of us at 4:00 am where she escorted us on a water taxi to a shuttle which drove us to the airport where she was perfectly fine waiting in line with us until the ticket counter opened. We told her "thank you so much, but please go back to bed. We can carry on from here". What a class organization from beginning to end!

This is a beautiful ship. We had a lovely suite with a balcony and the room attendants were excellent. However, we were never able to contact the conceirge for help with problems. The food was average at best, and more than half of the restaurants required reservations and/or a service fee and a la carte pricing. The library closed during lunch and after 8 pm in the evening. There were no movies except on the TV in your room. Everything on this ship was expensive--even bingo! We often felt that we were at a carnival because they were constantly trying to sell the passengers something. They even approached us during dinner (two different nights) trying to sell us on going to another restaurant--apparently they weren't getting enough business, which should have told them something about the quality of the food. The very worst experience was when the ship arrived in Athens. It was a nightmare trying to get taxi service into Athens from the port. The wait in line was literally hours long and the only people who had good transportation were those who were continuing on the ship and had booked land tours. NCL apparently felt that their job was done once we arrived in port and had made no arrangements with taxi companies to provide service for the customers who were deporting. Our taxi driver told us that their companies had not been notified about the arrival of the ship.

We experienced a 35 day cruise on the Nautica. I couldn't believe that the time had passed as quickly as it did. The Ship, and personnel were very welcoming and warm. The average age of the passengers was older but very active and fun loving. The cabins were comfortable and very well kept. The food choices were excellent. We loved the country club casual dress code. The excursions were pricey but well worth the cost. We have booked another cruise and are looking forward to another Oceania adventure.

Beautiful new ship. The entire staff was extremely pleasant and efficient. The food and service in the dinning rooms was first class and never rushed. The only draw back was the extra charges. Special after dinner coffees, ice cream at the ice cream bar (there was no charge for pastries at the adjacent bar). Room service items were limited. There was a charge if the items had to be obtained in the dinning room.

The service was great and the selection of ports was the best yet . The only thing we didn't like was how they just dumped us at our disembarkation point without anyone to ask how to get to our hotel

When i sent my parents to Holland America for their Anniversary, they mentioned about how great the service and food was. It so happened another couple who are friends of mine mentioned the same thing, when i asked how it compared with other cruiselines. They mentioned how Holland America was better... donʻt ask me which other cruiseline... I decided to choose Holland America as my cruiseline for my Honeymoon. Iʻve cruised before, but this was a first for my wife. While onboard the Veendam, the constant response iʻve received from people who have cruised between 5 and 20(!!), is that my wife will no longer settle for anything less than Holland... and that itʻs tough to find another cruiseline with comparable service in relation to price. I was pleasantly suprised but at the same time hoping that this would be the case in my choosing this ship & itinerary for our Honeymoon. The ship in comparison to others that iʻve "cruised" with is modest in size, However, it allows for Service...that was just outstanding... My wife and I actually missed going back to our cabin when the cruise was over. Maybe itʻs due to the destination (Mediteranean), but you will NOT find loud obnoxious adults nor whining children(we do love children btw...) EXCELLENT ALL AROUND... you can read more regarding 2 experiences regarding the service...

Our eagerly awaited trip on this brand new ship disappointed us because of a few irritants that somewhat spoiled the experience. First, the ship required us to turn in our passports at embarkation - this in order to provide us with visas for our visit to Turkey. Many of us were upset with this, but there was nothing any of us could do. So, when we went to exchange more dollars for euros at a bank outside of Naples, we were rudely refused by bank management - we had no passports, as required by them. Oh, well. More importantly for overall cruising, the layout of the ship is not passenger friendly but confusing. On two of the public decks that one would normally use to traverse the ship, there is a restaurant in the middle! This causes the proverbial trip to stairs/elevator for "up one deck/ down one deck." The food in the dining room was good, but not the TERRIFIC experience that we enjoyed on Holland America. The service in the dining room was terrific, however. The buffet dining was not so good. Lines were way too long, and wait staff did not keep the table bussed, so when you finally did get some food, it was a difficulty to find a clean table to eat it. On the other hand, kudos for the entertainment. The cast shows were all terrific!! There was no show on the first and last night, however, and on two nights there were only late shows...not good for early diners.

we had a great time the workers were very helpful the food was great we will stay with carnival.

we had a great time we would go back on that ship when it come to the usa. The only thing that has to change is getting the line up for excursions

We were on the new Cardinal Freedom. This was my first cruise and the first cruse my wife and I have taken to Europe. Shes been on a cruise in the States. It was the 12 day to the Med and Greek isles. The ship is beautiful, well outfitted, with an excellent gym, a range of places to eat, and great staterooms. We had a balcony and used it nearly every day. The meals were fabulous, especially the Sun King Supper Club. Activities were too numerous to attend all. Staff was competent and very helpful. We plan on cruising on the Cardinal Freedom again in the future, and we'll bring the kids. In fact, I'm going to convince my brother and his wife and kids to join us. We had a blast.

Overall we were very happy to have chosen the Carnival Freedom for our first cruise and are looking forward to our next cruise, possibly with Carnival again. We have learned however that although there are many shore excursions offered, it would have been a more restful experience if we hadn't taken one for each of the ports of call. The Carnival organised shore excursions were well worth doing, for both convenience at being organised by the ship and also for the fact that the ship would not leave without an organised tour groups return, even if it ran late.

The decision to sail on Concordia was influenced by an article my wife read in one of her spa industry trade journals. What better way to pamper someone who pampers others then to take her on the world's largest ocean-going spa? This was a spectacular venue for her 50th birthday and the ship is a magnificent work of modern art.

We booked a September 3-10, 2006 cruise, and a Grand Suite on Deck 8, to rest and recuperate after a grueling work season. Our suite was situated under a wooden deck floor where people congregated near a 24 hour coffee machine, with constant chair movement and foot traffic noise transmitting loudly into our suite every night, all night long. Our stateroom attendant was sympathetic by saying the ship was designed wrong...others had complained previously. Ear plugs did not mask the noises each night. Security was called numerous times and offered no resolution to the problem. We were made to feel we were unreasonable...no real problem existed. After several nights, conversations with the telephone operator in the middle of the night, we were offered an inside cabin on the 6th deck in exchange for our 8th deck Grand Suite. We were told a supervisor would be in touch with us after our 5th sleepless night. No contact was made. On the 6th day our Concierge was instrumental in getting us moved to a Family Suite. We at last had two nights of sleep on our 7 night cruise. We thought we should have been adequately compensated for our great discomfort, not only due to the extreme noise above our suite every night, but the indifference met by ship staff when our distress was brought to their attention.

I took the Eastern Mediterranean cruise in November 2006. While the cruise itinerary was ideal with a great number of stops, the ship was a bit lacking in quality and service. Apparently after I am writing this review, the ship was going into wetdock to be overhauled, so conditions may have improved. For the price, you get average quality of service and quality of food. I would have expected more for the price. Freeseating dining is a bit tiresome and the reservation process for the dining room is extremely unhelpful. Overall, it was an average cruising experience with a great set of ports and sights.

I have been on about 10 curises. This one would be on the bottom of the list. We did not get the feeling that anyone was concerned with their job or the satisfaction of the passengers. In some cases I found that rudeness was acceptable behavior. It was not a good experience and a total waste of money.

Food was not great. The passenger from Europe were incredibly rude. The staff was rude. The smoke and excessive children made the trip an effort to enjoy. The room (suite) was nice and we stayed in a lot because of the problems with other guests. Our TV in the room did not work properly and it tood 4 days to have fixed, after repeatedly complaining.

We cruise every year and this year there were 11 of us. This is the first we all took the Medittereanean cruise. It was unbelievable. The viyager was an excellent ship. Very claen and my suite was unbelievable. I had a closet and the room was so spacious. Yhe Windjamer with all the food that was spread out was great. My favourite was the Omellete. At the formal dining room called The Carmen the food that was served was like a 5 star hotel. They had Lobster, steak, salmon Tilapia to name a few . They gave excellent service. The shopping area was alot of fun for me. They had the Pif and Whistle pub where we all met for cocktails before dinner. The hot stone massage was great after a tired day outing. The hot tub was great on my aching feet.

The ship was beatiful. Great size, ammentities, everything that we needed. It had 2000 passengers and the number felt perfect. The customer service was top notch along with entertainment and the food