Europe - Eastern Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

We love all the ports of call. Especially the Croatian ports since that is my heritage.  We were not impressed by the food service on the Norwegian Star.  Would only recommend ship if friend was looking for these ports and there was no other ship in area to go on. But we knew this when we booked and had a great time anyway. We found one of the best servers in the Aqua dining room and then requested her for the remaining days on the ship. 

We purchased the cruise to go to Ephesus, but that port was dropped week after our final payment. Replacement port was Kotor 45min ride by car from Dubrovnik which took entire day to get on the ship. Instead of letting us stay later into evening like the Princess did with their guests, we left beautiful Dubrovnik at 5PM only to waste time in the middle of Adriatic See.

Price of the cruise dropped after the decision to skip Turkey, but there was no refund possible by the Royal Caribbean company.

Santorini, Dubrovnik are worth the trip.  Kotor was ok and Katakolon with Olympia Archeological site 25min by rental car away has also a value.

Santorini.  Mykonos.  Entertainment. Food was very good.  Family mini suite with balcony was very spacious and comfortable. Service was superb      Drink package was really a nice perk. 

Trip highlights (as a first time cruise passenger) - Sailing in and out of Venice, viewing the shore, towns and countryside of Montenegro as the ship made it's first port call,  looking out at the wide open, quiet and peaceful ocean from our balcony stateroom.   Eating at different restaurants each night was also a nice and convenient pleasure.   I wasn't  prepared for the relatively short port calls and the time and effort it took to get on and off the ship.  Half of our stops we anchored, not docked, requiring passengers to line up for the disembark process used for getting on the ship's tenders.

We overall were very disappointed with this cruise.  Water wasn't provided at dinner unless you have prepaid for it (and I mean, not even tap water).  The tap water access on the 9th floor was even cutoff at 10pm, so you have to order from room service and pay a service fee if you want a cup of TAP WATER.  This cruise advertises themselves as being known for their Italian cuisine which was terrible.  The only food any of our party enjoyed was the desserts.  Food service was promptly cutoff as passengers entered the ship from excursions and was replaced with sandwiches, meat, and cheeses.  We felt nickel and dimed the entire cruise.  There were no towel animals on the bed when we returned from dinner which I thought all cruiselines surprise you with these.  Customer service got rude at times also.  We paid more for this cruise for an interior room than we have ever paid before and were not happy with the overall experience.  The entertainment was not very well thought out either.

We had a beautiful suite on this trip which was marvelous. It included all of the bells and whistles. Our butler, Joseph was outstanding.

Unfortunately, the food was disappointing. It was not hot when served, and at Moderno the skewed meats were all cooked well done.

The  ports of call were just breathtaking, but all tour offers were quite short.

Please start using a higher grade of toilet tissue. The one used is substandard..

We loved the itinerary--that's what drew us to this cruise in the first place! The ship itself was just fine.  It was perfectly adequate and impressed me in some areas, but left me with some disappointment in others. The crew was great, other than our cabin steward and the food was excellent (we did have a dining package and especially enjoyed Cagney's).  The cabin was smaller (compared to a similar cabin on Carnival), but we liked the shower doors and the separate toilet better. Some of the furnishings were a bit "tired," but everything was clean and in working order. We loved each port, but both Dubrovnik and Santorini have problems handling that many cruise ships in the port at the same time. Overall, it was a great value and we made great memories!

We were celebrating milestone birthdays and splurged more than usual.  One passenger had never been on a cruise.

Windstar Cruises strive to make every passenger feel special while delivering exceptional service and attention.  The staff gets to know the travelers and deliver a friendly and attentive service.

The itinerary included the popular stops like Santorini and Mykonos but it was the smaller ports and islands that charmed us.  The special event at Ephesus was a magical evening that few people would be able to access were it not for Windstar's arrangements.  The stop as Kusadasi, Turkey was another sleeper hit with many passengers.

Overall, the attentive staff, the accommodations on the ship and the itinerary made for an unforgettable experience we already long to emulate on a future trip.

This was our first cruise on an 'upscale' line, so cannot really compare to other 'upscale' cruises. We liked the smaller vessel with less than 700 passengers that could get in to the 'lesser visited' ports. The Windows Cafe was more relaxing (than similar type venues) than on the larger ships, with tables relatively far apart and easier access(less crowded) to the buffet. The staff throughout was very friendly and welcoming. Although only two separate locations (front and rear) the elevators were always prompt and hassle-free. Cabin service was good and unobtrusive. On some days the 'house' white wine wasn't very good, but not undrinkable. Shore excursions always went smoothly, with 18-22 people per tour, a real plus.  They really took care of their "Le Club Voyage" (loyalty club) passengers. We had sailed on Celebrity last year so were already Le Club members.    

Most favorite part of this cruise was visiting several Greek Islands.

It was a brand new ship.  Beautiful & Impressive. Clean & Bright.

Crew on this ship were not as well trained as other Princess Ships.

Almost Princess every ship I have sailed in the past had regular

Enrichment Lectures onboard, on varied subjects. This ship had None.

The Captain's daily announcements were very clear & informative.

Very long queues for everything. No enough assistance was available

in the Computer room. Every other Princess I have been on had many Desk Top terminals. This ship had only 2. Last day's production Show - Excellent.

We loved the service, the room, the structure in general. It's worth a lot. Everything was really well organized, the logistic was good, the music, food, activities, restaurants, staff really supportive.

Highly would recommend this cruise to all. Ports of call were excellent, staff and service were extremely accommodating. Cruise food and entertainment were average, specialty restaurant were very good.

We could not get change for our Euros anywhere aboard the ship.                           I was impressed with the Captain that showed authority at the right time and place .             

     Thank you CAPTAIN.

Food wasn't anything to write home about, but overall it was a good cruise. Fun parties when returning from port. Rooms were clean but a bit dusty and not as much attention to detail as others I have been on.

Sailing through the Bay of Kotor was spectacular. Really enjoyed the beauty of this bay. Enjoyed the ports of Dubrovnik, Athens, and Kotor. Was disappointed with the ports of Split and Katakolon (Olympia). Our initial itinerary included Santorini and Ravenna, Italy; however, NCL changed this approximately two months before sailing. We were not very happy about this change. Our balcony cabin and bathroom were small in comparison to others in other ships.  The ceiling paint in the balcony was peeling and paint chips were continuously on the furniture and floor. The specialty restaurants, Cagneys was good, but not impressive. The food at Moderno's Churrascaria was delicious. We did not enjoy the food at La Cuccina and the service was mediocre, sorry we selected this restaurant. Food in the regular restaurants was, for the most part, tasteless and service was slow.  We only saw 3 shows, one in particular, The Sea Sons, was very good. The show called Paradis was odd and I found this boring. Our cabin steward was wonderful, and most other service around the ship was good.

This was our second cruise on the Norwegian Star.  The crew was very professional and went out of their way to make our rooms clean and tidy, our meals tasty, especially in the Versailles Dining Room, and our tours enjoyable.  We loved visiting every site.  The only concern we had was visiting Santorini.  This was the reason we took this tour but there were way too many people visiting this tiny island.  There were four cruise ships and a ferry boat at one time.  We were able to visit the charming town of Oia but ran out of time seeing our other tour site due to crowded streets filled with buses from the ships.  I would recommend to NCL to try to visit any of the island ports with only one or two ships.  Overall though it was a very relaxing trip because of the staff of NCL.

The places we visited were very beautiful, but getting off the ship, and back to the ship was very difficult, and there was not enough time to enjoy any of the places.

Particularly the last stop at Dubrovnik that landed at 7am before any place was open.  It was a little like a wine tasting - only enough time for a taste, but not enough time to relax and sip a glass anywhere.

Since my regular life is so scheduled, I prefer to go on vacation to relax and not have any time constraints and schedule demands to meet.  This was my first cruise and I thought it was very stressful always having to be somewhere on time.  I would not be inclined to take another one.

Also, we booked a balcony room, mini-suite, that was supposed to accommodate 4 people, but it was very cramped, not enough space for the luggage, and the the 2nd bed was a pull out sofa that was very hard!

I have no  complains of the ports that we visited because they are spectacular, but the main complain was the cruiseship has this religious group that composed half of the ship ,I'm not a prejudice when it comes to nationality or religion but MSC catered more for these people with Indian food for the entire cruise and the services sucks because they got busy catering for these group. they should understand that we all paid  the same price so we should all get the same  exact treatment as them . Its not only me and my husband complaining but we spoke also to most  of the cruisers who were complaining  also of the services. The food really don't look appetizing in the buffet, first time I complain about cruise food, never touch the desserts either

we had requested table for two. We checked with head of restaurant  Instead of being polite and say don't have he went on:-   have to  build ship twice as big and on and on----. The are are many courteous ways to say no. This ship stops at different ports and several hundred embark and disembark and if they tried they could have accommodated or have three small table in the same area.We decided to eat at cafeteria , I had special diet request but it could not be met but they call me how I am doing?. How is my diet. This was funny. I learn my lesson:  stick with American Cruises: you will be better off.

Barco excelente, Personal sumamente amable. Itinerario de lujo. Camarote confortable. Organizacion insuperable. Buenas excursions. Sin duda alguna recomendaria MSC para una excelente estancia a bordo.

The show on the Spirit was the best compared to that on the Jade or other Cruise Line like Holland America with which we cruised on April, 2016.

Improvement:

1- TV cable with multiple channels should be added.

2- The inside room size is too small. The bed size is very good. May be if the extra bed hanging on the wall is removed for cabin that have only two gusts will provide more room.

3- Round trip is necessary because of the flight cost. Many time we declined to take cruises with Norwegian because of open end itinerary. .