Europe - Eastern Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

This was the worst vacation of our lives. so much so that we are considering making up compliant forum website to give other a  people a voice and share there cruise nightmare experienced . The crew was not knowledgeable and was extremely rude. The food at the buffets was terrible. The shows were like a high school talent show.

It was both of our 50th birthdays and it was our 27th wedding anniversary. Our trip was ruined by both booking mistakes and the crew did not help us resolve anything and the non caring of  of the ship’s crew for almost anyone's concerns was terrible, We also discovered an internet scam the ship is doing by not have internet yet charging everyone for it. We think the entire cruise industry must be exposed for this scam. We videotaped person after person complain and nothing was done. We took video of both the people and how the crew dealt with this situation.

These were not just our observations we had asked other people on board if they were experiencing the same things and many of them said yes and had other stories. Like a $2,000 charge for seeing the ships doctor after experiencing food poising from the ships buffet.

We have a travel blog that gets over a million hits per month and we do not have a cruise section but we are considering putting one in. This was our first cruse and last cruise but this trip is our 49th trip to Europe and we extremely experienced travelers.  

When these concerns were brought up to the managers they did nothing but get us a reservation at one of the pay restaurants.

 We feel that you should all feel ashamed about this. The only redeeming quality was hat the locations were nice and the ship was clean.

The ports were all wonderful and enjoyed every one.  Corfu, Delos ruins, Mykonos, Santorini, Montenegro, Croatia,  and Venice (my favorite).  The Rhapsody is an older and smaller ship.  Only one of us got the nightstand, the other had to use a suitcase.  No refrigerator (Princess always has one).  Only one of us got a welcome back Coke.  They didn't do a requested birthday celebration for my friend.  Food was fairly good.  Staff friendly.  The only thing they did for you in the buffet was to take your plate away while you were still eating.  Had to get your own drinks.  I loved the ports.  Entertaining was pretty good.  The cruise was round-trip Venice, so you need to stay in a hotel before or after the cruise if you want to see more of Venice  then the airport.

I went with my two children, ages 18 and 10, on the Rhapsody of the Seas cruise to Greece and the Adriatic.  I felt the 10 days was a perfect amount of time for the vacation and the spacing of the at sea and at port days was great.  The ship is a little older but it still kept in great shape with very friendly and accommodating staff.  There was a little less for my 18 year old to do on the ship, but that is based on his personal interests.  The ports of call were fantastic.  I'm looking forward to doing another European cruise because it's the best way to see multiple places while not having to pack up and move constantly.

Set up of the ship is strange and the tiniest stateroom imaginable. We had a fantastic time and the staff really is incredibly friendly, just like the captain says everyday in his announcements! Still...there were some definite drawbacks, maybe just because I'm comparing to a couple of larger, nicer ships. We got a great deal, had a fantastic time and I would do it all over again, even with the quirks. Shows are sub-par. Excursions lady was not well acquainted with the ports or the excursions and not at all helpful to find alternatives if something was booked or didn't meet our needs (her port talks were less than 5 minutes!) Food was good, but that is all. Sometimes the salad bar was the best thing going, but hey, I love salad! Always plan on at least 2.5 hours for dinner, ugh! Outdoor film quality...don't bother...screen has many large areas of missing pixels and audio was terrible. Spa specials made everything better, and OH, those hot tubs! (no jets...but still very relaxing...our cruise was unseasonably cool.) Most efficient staff for luggage handling and getting people on and off the ship for ports!

We travelled with two other couples, which made a big difference in our experience. We had fun and enjoyed the two whole days at sea.  Adriatic Sea was smooth as glass which was a big plus too.  The Norwegian Jade is a nice size ship, well-maintained, with a friendly crew.  We had the ultimate drinks package and the ultimate dining package. We did eat one night in a main dining room (Alizar) which was fine; ate breakfast and hung out on the back of deck 12 everyday - this was our rendezvous location.  The evening entertainment in the Stardust Theater was above average - particularly enjoyed the "Elements" show on Thursday night.

Shore Excursions - Dubrovnik - We did not book an organized tour.  We walked the wall that surrounds the old city.  The weather was fine.  Lots of good photo vistas.

Athens - Booked directly with PK Travel and had the BEST tour guide - Michael. Highly recommend the semi-private whole day tour.

Santorini - We booked a whole day tour (with winery and Oia) through .  It was better priced than the NCL offerings.  It was ok.  How much can you describe the volcanic activity that formed the island?  We walked down the donkey trail from Fira to the port - tip - take the donkey!  Walking took 30+ minutes and was semi-treacherous.  The line to the cable car was so long, we would have missed the ship.

Split - Just walked off the ship, and took a small tourist ride up to the top of the mount at Split - great vistas.  On the way back, the "tour" ends at the Diocletian Palace (which is a conglomerate of shops and restaurants). We probably should have explored more, but rain was threatening, so we returned to the ship (and the bar on Deck 12).

I would recommend this cruise. 

Just got back from Vision of the seas cruise to the Eastern Mediterranean. This was our first cruise and we really didn't know what to expect. We were a little nervous based on some previous reviews, but after the experience it was obvious that some people just like to complain about little things. The crew was fantastic and the excursions were equally as fantastic. The food was good. Maybe not 5 star restaurant quality at every meal and some were better than others, but we didn't care. This is not why you go on a cruise. I liked the boat decor. Yes, it wasn't 2016 up to date, but again we didn't care. The boat was clean and that was much more important. The only complaint I can even think of has to do with the chairs around the pool area. On at sea days, it was difficult to find a chair, but we figured it out and still had a great time. We really enjoyed our cruise and it was due to the crew and the itinerary.

We loved our Mediterranean cruise.  The staff was very friendly and helpful.  The food was great.  Our cabin was spacious and the ship was nice although a bit smaller than most other cruises I've been on.  We usually go to all the shows on cruise ships but we only went to one this time.  Our only real complaint was that the itinerary felt a little rushed.  As on most cruises, most port days are limited to only part of a single day so we always felt rushed to get off, see as much as we could and get back to the ship.  If you do excursions, you really don't have much time to see the town or port area once you get back from exploring.  But, overall we enjoyed the cruise very much.

The itinerary was great, especially Santorini and Dubrovnik. The ship, though smaller than the mega cruise ships, was very well maintained and staffed. The staterooms were well-kept and made up quickly by the room steward each time we leave. The anytime dining food selection was diverse and well prepared, except all meat dishes were somewhat overcooked (not surprising given the mass preparation required.) However, the formal dining room service was not as personal or attentive when compared to my past cruise experience. I would definitely attribute that to the prepaid gratuity and anywhere dining option, since the wait staff had no incentive to be attentive and most did not appear enthusiastic in doing their work.

Overall, my family and I had a very time as first time cruisers on NCL and will very likely cruise with NCL again.

We enjoyed the smaller size of this cruise ship.  It made getting around, on and off, much more convenient.  We selected this ship based on the great ports of call and were not disappointed!

I enjoyed all the Ports that we stopped in.  They need improvement on their activities being in a timely matter.  We had a lot of sit down time on the ship with nothing to do.  The food wasn't as good as I have had on other Cruise lines.  Whether it was just this ship I do not know but I was not as impressed with their food at all.  The dinining was nice and the people that waited on us were excellent.

We scheduled this cruise back in November 2015. While scheduling this cruise, one of the main attractions was the overnight stay in Instabul, Turkey.

We were never informed of dropping the port of Turkey out of this cruise trip, which is very sad! We had to stay on the water for four days which doesn't make any sense.

The food service at Windjammer restaurant closes at 9:30. After that we are left with very few choices to eat especially if we have diet restrictions. We don't have a lot of options to eat at the cruise. Either you go on buffet or just one same restaurant every day with not a lot of variety available.

Entertainment was just average.

The ports visited were wonderful.  We enjoyed the Greek Islands very much and found the people so friendly and hospitable.  The ship's crew were hardworking and attentive to our needs.  They were gracious and very professional.

There were a couple of disappointments with the ship itself.  The jacuzzis didn't work so we basically sat in warm water without any circulating jets.  The internet connection was painfully slow and we felt a bit over-charged for such a poor connection. 

That said, the food was great and meeting people from so many parts of the world was envigorating and interesting.  We are thankful for the great service from Lonnie Thompson in preparing for our cruise and look forward to working with her again.

I have a mixed review for this cruise.  The up side was the wait staff in the dining room was fantastic.  The rooms were nice sized and our room steward was wonderful, very attentive and got all the details right.  The art staff was also very informative, friendly and just great people.  Loved all the ports of call.

On the down side food was severely lacking in taste and variety.  Also, the customer service was not helpful at all, nor was the shore excursion desk.  I booked our shore excursions online and when there was an error, they said they could not fix it.  Also, on one excursion, my husband's headset didn't work and they couldn't fix it until half way through the tour and they really didn't care.  When I told the shore excursion desk, they said they would get back to me, they never did.  They also planned shipboard activities when we were in port, making it difficult to participate.  A majority of the bartenders did not know how to make the most basic of drinks.

i am not sure I would cruise on Royal Carribean again.  There were more down sides than up regarding service and isn't being spoiled why we all go on a cruise?

The itinerary was great.  The room and dining room staff was very good.

Ship needs updates.  Room air conditioning system was not working.  Took 3 days to get it fixed.  This should have been fixed after the first complaint was made.  Room needs new mattresses.  Food was terrible and what happened to Lobster Night?

We wanted to experience Greece as it is today, and we wanted to gain some sense of Greek history. The variety of islands and mainland access afforded us by the Norwegian Jade allowed us to experience several periods of Greek history and even prehistory. We were conveyed from port to port in unparalleled comfort.

The food was good, the accommodations were great, and we enjoyed terrific views from our balcony. 

I have been on many cruises and I can say the food on this cruise was very good.  We had exceptional service from Trixie during our dinner services.

However I was highly disappointed with the bar service.  On all other cruises there was sufficient staff walking around taking drink orders for the customers.  On this cruise, the staff was few and far between.  In the main lounge they had 2-3 - which seemed sufficient.  There were only a few by the pool.  However by the 'adult pool area' there were ZERO staff to take orders.  The client had to go to the bar to get the drink.

Not only that, but in the first couple days of the cruise when going up to one of the bars we were informed they were out of one of the popular beers (Bodingtons), and the decent wine Clou de bois was out.  What we found out that at that bar they were out, the other bars had them.  So me, the customer, had to walk from bar to bar to find out who had the beverage we wanted.

WAIT - the customer is going from bar to bar to get the drink - having to go from deck 9 to deck 4 hitting multiple bars to finally find the beer and wine.  I can not believe that Royal Caribbean did not have staff as 'runners' to ensure the alcohol was fulfilled.  Do they not know that this is the money maker on a cruise ship.

I must honestly say we've done Norwegian and Carnival (in the Mediterranean) and both of those cruises were SIGNIFICANTLY better service than RC.  

SO HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED 

My husband and I recently returned from a European cruise on the Vision of the Seas. It has been over a decade since we took our last cruise and, after this experience, it will take another decade to forget how bad it was. The food was awful, with the food in the main dining room being only a step above the garbage served at the Windjammer. I remember food from the college cafeteria more fondly than what was served at the Windjammer. After we took a bite of what we thought were fresh eggs, only to realize that we were eating powdered eggs. It was the same with mashed potatoes. It was downright repulsive. That forced us to eat at the ship's specialty restaurants for 5 out of the 7 nights. That food was also nothing to write home about, but at least was edible.

The selection of the activities was also pretty poor and mainly targeted towards the elderly (65+). We attended a few trivia sessions and one evening show and spent the rest of our time at port of call or in our room when we were trapped at sea. Unfortunately, the chilly weather did not help matters. 

The room itself was just as bad. We both woke up with back aches every morning and some nights had to resort to sleep aid to fall asleep as the music from the 60s and 70s played loudly throughout the entire ship (making me think, at first, we were right above or right next to the band). The bathroom, as well as the shower stall, were tiny (and that's coming from someone who is 5'1). I tried not to move much when showering to avoid contact with the filthy curtain and our room was an upgrade!! The towels and sheets were the lowest quality possible, way past their prime. The cheapest Best Western has higher quality linens.

All in all, we thought the cruise was a waste of money and our time and has sufficiently soured our opinion of cruising that we will not be considering this option in this future. 

The ports of call on this trip were amazing!  Very easy to navigate through the cities.  Be sure to taste the local food and wine.  Don't forget your camera or you may be saying more than cheese!! 

Overall the cruise was good. This is my second cruise with NCL and definitely like their "freestyle" cruise. However, I found that their staff is less enthusiastic than other cruise lines. The complimentary dining food was so so. This is the first cruise where I spent less time at their buffet. 

This was our first cruise (a middle-aged US couple) and we didn't always know what to expect but definitely enjoyed the experience and we were 'sold' on cruising by this experience. The destinations were great -- Corfu for example is not the sort of place we would have gone to on our own, but we went because it was on the itinerary and absolutely loved it. The ship was wonderful, the food was excellent, and the experience of being at sea was amazing.

HOWEVER! There were two serious negatives to the cruise experience, both of which were entirely Costa's responsibility. The service in the main dining room was ridiculously slow (45 minutes to get our first course, and we were always offered bread but never butter, which was weird). The byzantine complexity of the beverage policy was constantly frustrating; we had a non-alcoholic package but the business of having to sign for each and every drink, and not being able to order water (!) was crazy. I know this is how cruising works but that doesn't make it any less stupid.

Worst of all was our experience with Costa's excursions department. We signed up for one excursion, the bus tour of Montenegro from Kotor, and it was a disaster. We were promised a four hour tour (giving us one hour to explore Kotor itself) which included the old capital of Cetinje. Those were the two things we went there to see -- Kotor and Cetinje. Instead, the tour took four hours and didn't include either Kotor or Cetinje. (Trying to prove us wrong, the tour desk got out their 'official' description of the tour, which confirmed at least that it was a four hour tour; the Costa website has a detailed video about this tour that really plays up Cetinje as a destination but they quietly dropped it from the excursion without telling us).

The employees at the travel desk were extremely rude and unkind, making no effort to apologize or compensate us for their mistakes. At Costa evidently they take very seriously any fine print that may say "We reserve the right to completely screw our customers for no reason." The single experience of this excursion -- which kept us from even seeing Kotor itself, the town the ship docked in -- has convinced us that we will never, ever travel with Costa Cruises again.