Europe - Eastern Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

We chose this cruise for the ports and good prior experience with Royal Caribbean.  While the ports were excellent, this is a smaller ship and a bit boring.  While I do not rock climb and would never "ride the waves" on their newer ships, I found there was little entertainment except that of the evening show and even that was poorly timed at 7 & 9 pm.  Many passengers obviously enjoyed themselves but I believe it was partially due to the 3-2-1 package of free beverages that they chose.  Being boringly sober, I memorized the same episode of Castle I fell asleep to nightly (I tried watching The Mentalist, only shown in German, but hadn't seen it frequently enough to remember the plot). 

The balcony cabin was a decent size but the balcony unusually small.  Two small sitting upright chairs and a small table was all that would fit.  Royal Caribbean seems to have given up any pretense of luxury such as small lotion, shampoo, or conditioner bottles.  One soap dispenser was in the shower and even that became empty - our cabin attendant forgot to refill it.  The beds were hard and it took 3 days to get the egg crate we requested when first meeting the cabin attendant (yes, we tipped him generously).

There are movies shown on the deck but no blankets, hot chocolate, or other amenities were provided like Princess does.  In short, what made the vacation was the fact that in an 11 night cruise, we were only at sea 2 days.  No port lecturers, other than shopping, were given and there were few interesting daytime activities.  Pricing on computer services were the most outrageous I've seen.

Like many cruise lines, Royal Caribbean seems to be pushing "My Time" dining.  I booked early in January and could not get late seating.  The food was basic and the service decent.  The daily newsletter had little sense of reality in that it had the dining places and times listed incorrectly on port days, said that a port (shopping) lecture on Mykonos and Crete (in the title) would talk about Rhodes and Santorini, and told us we would depart the ship on June 20.  Our cruise ended on July 2.

Overall, this was a decent cruise.  The agenda was the best thing about it, good time on the stops and enough to do a good job in the respective ports / cities.  Food was not good overall.  Service of food attendants was good; but like the rest of the cruise were constantly trying to sell you upgraded food, drinks, etc.

The last day of the cruise, they want you out by 10:30 (everyone) not a real day to do any thing. Loud noises started at 5:30 in the morning. The artists were good but the overall show to limited.

Friendly and helpful staff, excellent ports of call, although some port visits were too short. Food variety was good, but execution was lacking. Over-cooked, under-cooked, bland, or just poor quality. I'm not a very picky eater, so it didn't really ruin my entire experience, but expect to pay for the exclusive restaurants of food is important to you. Also, food was not always available. On other cruise lines, you had more options. Also, pools and hot tubs closed at night.

Entertainment was alright. Again, better on other cruises. Overall, we had a nice vacation but would choose a different cruise line next time.

The ports in Greece and Turkey wer Interesting and historically significant.  The Equinox itself is elegant without being flashy.  Service was excellent; food very good.  Loved the glass-blowing exhibitions.  Most importantly, the air temperature on the ship was comfortable (not freezing as on some cruise ships).

I thoroughly enjoyed this cruise.  I found the personnel on the cruise very informative and friendly.  The cruise was very mixed with several nationality and people of all ages.  We liked the mixture of language and people from other countries.  The ship has something for everyone.  We found the ship very clean and well kept.   We went on one excursion but found it easy to go on you own to most of the Greek islands.   The meals were very good and had a variety of food.

The ship was VERY nice.  The food was mostly good with a great variety. The entertainment was basic to poor.  If you're not traveling with a group you need to make friends quickly as there is little to do but dance or watch poor entertainment.  The crew was mostly helpful, eager to get things right after making a mess of things several times. Meals were cooked to order but often served to the wrong people at the table. Service was either great or they forgot you were sitting at the table. Nothing in-between.  That's why you need friends on this cruise, to entertain yourselves and to laugh things off. Ports are very interesting and with friends a lot of fun.

Ship staff could not have been nicer or more accommodating. Excellent entertainment.  Cabin steward was excellent, very clean room and friendly.  Selection of entries at dinner could have been better.  They provided an adult pool and hot tubs which was nice.  This was the first cruise I've been on that provided enough chaise lounges that there were not any problems with people saving them. 

Although the food was not was good as I expected, in a couple of dining rooms the food was what you would expect of a mid to high priced restaurant. Again, a couple of the singing entertainment was very good, but most was mediocre to not the kind of music to lighten up a party.

The stage entertainment was very good.

I still would recommend the cruise to friends. 

The ports visited were fantastic.  The ship was beautiful, but we were disappointed with the main courses at lunch in the WIndjammer buffet and dinner in the main dining room.

We got a family Ocean view room which provided extra room and closet space which was a great plus.

Royal Caribbean did a great job of boading the ship and handing the entry and return at all of the ports visited which included two ports in Turkey after leaving from Istanbul and four islands in Greece -- Santirini (our favorite for natural beauty), Rhodes, Mykinos, and Creete as well as Athens.

Our agent at United.Com did not get us some of the perks that other crusiers in similar Ocean View cabins were offered such as Buy One Get One Free on Beverage Package and Internet Usage.

All of the excursion tour guides were excellent.  We booked a number of excursions through United.Com that used ShoreExcursionGroup to link with local companies.  As promised, most of these tours had smaller groups (about 12 average) which provided an improved experience (and lower price) than the excursions booked through Royal Caribbean.  Our best two guides were TheoDora in Athens and Selcuk Ersan in Istanbul.

Royal Carribean does excellent job. I will miss this ship. Second time we have been on it. Oldy but goody. Staff well trained and organized. Food and entertainment excellent. Love the solarium with pool, more quiet and offered more protection from sun. Spa services were top notch. I had three massage services Disappointed in cost for beverages. 9.00 for glass of wine. Beverage packages were very expensive. Hard to make worth your while if you are off ship during the day. Did not miss going to or paying for specialty restaurants as the food in dining room and in wind jammer were very good. Would have liked more time on the islands. Excellent security on ship. I appreciated emphasis on hand washing to prevent disease outbreaks. Loved the movies on outdoor screen and blankets to keep us warm! Can not comment on casino as we did not go there.

Traveled for honeymoon/ birthday and neither was recognized by the ship or staff.  Stayed in a suite and requested hypoallergenic pillows in advance of cruise.  Upon arrival I was told only down were available as my advanced request was not a priority (why offer a pillow menu at all?).  Very limited options for vegetarians (salad or pasta only) nothing inventive.  Suite came with butler service, but it did not exceed normal service on any other cruise.  Cruise needs updating.  Penthouse suite with extended balcony only came with one lounge chair.  Drink service at bars and by pools was non-existent.  

Overall a very nice ship.  Good ports, not too many days at sea, excellent attentive staff and a good value for the money.  The ship did show some signs of wear and tear and some parts of the ship could definitely be upgraded, but the staff made up for the negatives with their cheerful attitude and excellent customer service.  The menus in the restaurant were just OK, nothing fancy.  Was a little disappointed to not see any lobster in the main dining room and also we had a pay an additional fee on top of the additional fee to enjoy it at the French Restaurant.  Aside from that, the food was pretty good.

This was our first cruise and many friends had told us how great cruising was but none had been on this particular cruise. I am big on using the internet to research places and had downloaded an app (Ship Mate) to track the ships progress. I paid for the top WiFi package so I could access the internet on 2 devices. Internet access was not available in our state room and spotty on the upper decks. Couldn't use the app or research our excursion destinations. Very frustrating. Also, couldn't smoke a cigar anywhere but the starboard side of the upper two decks and it was too windy in the evenings.

We enjoyed the excursions and met some great people but the ship was crowded and relaxing lounge chairs were hard to find. IF we cruise again we will likely try another cruise line or a larger ship.

The on-board activities were mainly inane--towel-folding lessons, fox-trot lessons (the fox-trot became passe 60 years ago).  Too much bus-riding on the off-ship excursions.  Why Argostoli?  Nothing but a third-rate cave and a so-so monastery.  Surely some other island would have been more interesting.  The solo guitarist for the last night dance party was really disappointing.

excellent cruise  the staff was outstanding   did not really understand "inclusive"   but did have an amazing time  looking to book one for later this year, same cruise lines

We had a great experience on the Norwegian Jade.  The staff was friendly and helpful.  My children enjoyed Splash Academy so much that they wanted to stay all the time.  They really enjoyed Twinkle, one of the counselors the best.  We definitely enjoyed the freestyle dining option, which was different from our other cruise experiences.  My only regret is that I didn't get lobster as an option in the regular dining experience only in specialty restaurants.  This was a very small regret.  Other than that it was truly enjoyable experience.  We would cruise with Norwegian again.  Truly a trip worth taking with the ports that you get to experience. 

This was my first cruise, so I have nothing to compare it to. I would say the very best thing about this cruise was the fantastic staff on the ship. Every single person was friendly and hospitable and helpful and kind.  The shipboard amenities were great and I love the spa.  I will say that I might not have liked it as much if we hadn't had the dining package. I am not a fan of big, noisy crowded rooms.  We ate in the main dining room for lunch several times and it was charming. But, the one evening we at there, it was noisy and busy. I wouldn't have liked eating there every night. Also the food varied in the speciality restaurants.  Cagney's was wonderful. We ate there twice both were "oh, wow" moments.  Even the vegetarian in the group liked it best (yes, a vegetarian liked the steakhouse!) because it was the only restaurant with a full vegetarian menu.  Moderno's was also great.  But, La Chuchina and Le Bistro were just okay.  The music and entertainment was impressive!  So many incredibly talented people and music everywhere. All in all, it was a great experience and I would consider cruising again because of it. 

This is our second time with the NCL. We like the free style of cruising, the food, the service and non-commercial atmosphere.

We are not impressed with quality of tours for the price. The cabin was not very comfortable for 3 people, it was too small. The art auctioneer on this particular cruise (Will) was not very nice.

One of the highlights of this cruise over any other port city was the departure and arrival in Venice.  The boat circles the main island with incredible views!  That was such an unexpected bonus!  The ship itself is very well maintained (a little bit dated decor) and the staff was great!  Late in the week a lot of them were going on break and new staff coming on, so there was some transition there.  We have cruised other lines before, this was our first experience with Norwegian and it was really good.  The ports were fantastic and we'd highly recommend the cruise line, and the itinerary.  It would be even better if we didn't feel like there were so many extra charges everywhere.  For example, we did not purchase any beverage packages (we try to avoid sodas), and were very curious beforehand if we'd have anything at all to drink.  It all worked out fine, but between that, charges for video games that 12 and unders can access, and various other service charges--> it all seems to be NON all-inclusive and somewhat misleading.  I understand that's pretty par for the industry, but still a bit off-putting. Our cabin stewards were excellent, I'd love to know how much of the daily service fees (12.95 per person per day x7) actually reach the staff, as THEY are the ones who really make or break the cruise experience.  We are so thankful for them!  The only excursion we did was in Ephesus and the tour guide there was amazing. The rest seemed to be at a high premium price, and we and our 4 kids navigated just fine without the convenience and high fee attached.  It's very easy to spend many times the cruise price onboard so you have to be cautious.