Europe - Eastern Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

Everyone on the ship aimed to please.  The food was amazing  and the activities fun to do. Enjoy the night activities very much! The ports of call were excellent and much diversity.  I would do it again!

Ship was perfect size for the islands. Easy on/off. Dinners magnificent. I think Holland America has best food out of all the lines I have cruised on. Highly recommend.

This cruise was overall a good experience. Our room, suite 8512 was very loud. We had poor sleep 4 out of 11 nights because of the noise in the room. There was loud mechanical noise coming through the duct work/ceiling area from the kitchen. After the second night, the quit working at 11 and the noise was fine until they powerwashed the deck above us at 3:30 one morning. The staff on this ship was the best in 13 cruises we have taken. The dining room staff A++, the same with our room steward, just outstanding. The ports were very nice and the weather was great. Good food and nice sized ship, just a very loud room. Don't book any room on deck 8 as we heard many complaints about the noise.

nice stops (except olimpicon?); fine service on aboard and good entertainment, too crowded in upstairs dining - people were asked to vacated asap - no trays, no newsletter, no educational courses, overpriced water

Not the cruiselines fault but too many changes in schedule made it really hard to book excursions and other plans. Kind of a stressful experience. The ship was older needed a couple of repairs. Employees of the ship were a little grumpy.

We were very satisfied with the cruise. We chose it because of the ports and the time limits we had. We were satisfied with everything on board. As vegetarians found more things that we could eat than we had expected. The room was kept very clean. We were tired in the evenings, so didn't go to the entertainment, and don't know how that was. Staff we interacted with were very nice.

We chose this cruise primarily based on the ports it went to...which were absolutely fantastic. But the ship left something to be desired. I had recently gone on a Carnival cruise in the carribean. The boat was nearly identical, but for some reason this one fell short. First of all, the boat was completely full. It was a fight everyday in lines, for tables, and even for chairs. People were everywhere. The food was sub-par. They had less food options that I was used to, and much of the food was sub-par. For an Italian cruise line to only serve 2 flavors of pizza the entire time is crazy. The entertainment and dancing were also quite lacking. The dinner performances were cheesy, but only 1/2 as cheesy as the nightly shows (of which I only attended 1 they were so bad). Long story short...this cruise boat took me to some great places, but the boat experience left much to be desired.

Everything was great except we were moved to a table of two ( I now know how someone deaf feels) and trying to find couples from the USA. I can understand that on a ship of 4000 would have mostly Europeans but all Europeans...It was so very difficult finding American couples.There were only a few . We should have realized that August is the high point for Europeans to take their vacations... Yikes. We have been on six cruises and should have known better. The ports of call were great however and definitely would recommend the all inclusive drink package. Our next cruise will be packed with Americans.

Very nice cruise. Israel was subsitued for Egypt do to civil unrest in Egypt. Cruise ship food and was very good to excellent. Entertainment was excellent. Israel destinations were educational. Greece destinations are always fun. Istanbul, Turkey was the best surprise. Even though it was obvious I was a USA westerner, the islamic people were warm and very friendly. Shipboard: Wish front desk was more truthful. If you wish to change rooms, forget it. Exchange rate was not that great, but convenient. Internet service was poor quality and expensive. This is due to the crew using the same satellite. Probably little will happen because this is a Gold Mine for the cruise industry. Overall ship was very good for median size cruise ship. Clean and well maintained.

great ship but not great service.The excursions are very bad and expencive.The food is based on italian kitchen.In venice they forced us to buy very expencive shutlle without any other choice with minimum tfree time.It was a big disappointment. VERY UGLY BEHAVE IN THIS SERVICE.

I always thought a cruise wouldn't be for me, too staid, too boring. Well, I have to eat my words, It was great fun. Excellent lovely and "I'll be back". Can't wait to book next years cruise. John Carabini

The itinerary was excellent. The service was ok. The dining areas around the pool were pretty dirty. They never seem to wipe down the tables. We never knew the name of our steward. He never introduced himself. The tipping is awesome. 7 euros a day. A great deal. Food was ok. Definitely caters to Europeans. Two choices for dinner: assigned dining hall or self serve pizza. No buffet option except for breakfast. All inclusive adult beverage is totally worth it!

This cruise was amazing. The entire staff and crew wen out of their way to make sure every need and expectation was exceeded. The cruise staff was exceptional, especially Orlando and Enzo. I would reccomend this cruise for Adults or Older Teens ho like to shop and sight see. A tremendous opportunity to see some amazing countires.

Everything about the cruise it self was great. Checking in at the port in Venice on the morning of 8th June was quite comfortable and impressive. I note the efficiency and friendliness of the staff members. Then getting on board was a new experience. the friendly and helpful staff members, then the lunch on the first day., and off course the meals just got better as the days went by. The services at the meal halls were fantastic. The ship was most comfortable, and sailing was smooth from beginning to end. The entire organisation on board was just great and I take note of Excellence in planning, organisation, communication, training of staff members in all areas, time management, and off course, leadership. These are all very important for the success of any organisation. The Entertainment was well planned and great, never a boring moment, so much to do. The wife and husband team with their drummer and Piano player were just great, for they provide play back songs as well as recent ones. The crowd control and discipline, even amongst the people ( travellers) were off a high standard. This cruise was like a big city with all comforts moving on the seas, yet still you can hardly think that you are moving on the seas.

Thiis was our fourth cruise and the third on Royal Caribbean. They have all been good, but this was the best thus far. We acutally sailed on Splendour of the Seas years ago out of Barcelona, and it has since been refurbished. We arrived in Venice two days in advance of the sailing date and spent one day seeing the highlights of this splendid city. We took the alilaguna taxi from Marco Polo airport to our hotel on the Grand Canal and found the vaparetto boats around town efficient and relatively inexpensive, if occasionally crowded during "rush hour". We took the boat again to the cruise terminal on Saturday morning and the jumped on the "people mover" to within a couple of blocks of the ship. We missed the sign for baggage check-in and went straight up the escalator for processing which forced us to go back down after getting our Set Sail passess, but that was a minor inconvenience. We sailed later that evening and awoke to our first port of Dubrovnik. This was the only port at which we didn't book an excursion and just scheduled a bus ride from the ship to the old city. There we walked the wall and explored the town and shopping on our own. It was beautiful and interesting. We had a lunch of fresh seafood, bread and Croatian beer at the old harbour which was excellent. Our next stop was Corfu, Greece. There, we did an excursion to a monastery and the Achilleon Palace. We almost missed the departure, however, because we relied on the time on our cell phones which did not update for the time change. So it is important to ensure one wakes up on time. We had a wonderful tour guide who explained the history, the culture, and the geography of Corfu as well as the locations we visited. it was well worth the cost. The third day took us to Santorini which was our favorite and the most beautiful or our destinations, in our opinion. That was the only port where we "tendered" in to shore. But all went smoothly and it was a fun experience. Once again, we had a great tour guide who joked about the somewhat unnerving bus ride up the side of the mountain to Oia and Fera and, once again was knowledgeable and entertaining about the area and history. We visited the local winery and had ample time for shopping. We found the prices in Santorini to be the best on the entire cruise. Once again we had a lunch of giros and Greek beer, before taking the cable car down to the harbour and back to the ship. The next stop was Athens where we once agaiin did an excrursion since we had not been there before. Of course, a stop at the base of the Acropolis and shopping at the Plaka was a must. There is a relatively new museum which we did not have a chance to visit, but have heard it is exceptional. For a third time, we were lucky to have a great tour guide who filled us in on the local flavor and "herded" us around carefully. The last stop of our cruise was Olympia and the site of the first olympics. We were blessed with our most knowledgeable guide yet who dazzled us with stories of Greek history and mythology. We were lucky to be the first tour group in the Olympic Museum so our group was alone at the time and he was able to spend more time and go into more detail with us. All in all, every stop was spectacularly beautiful and historic and our tour guides enhanced our experience tremendously. As far as Splendour of the Seas itself, we found the usual uncompromised service and attention to detail. We arranged for "My Time Dining" but enjoyed dinner at the same table and time each night because of the fun we had and friendships we made with the others at our table which included folks from New York, Australia, Norway, and the UK. We socialized with our table mates as well because the chemistry was perfect. The venues included karaoke, disco, and the piano bar. We still found time to enjoy a show or two, bask around the pool, and take advantage of some of the spa facilities. The only difficulty I encountered was accessing the internet from my cabin even though we were deck 7 with a balcony. Eventually, I discovered I had better success on the higher decks and especially at the deck 8 internet location. I purchased the basic $35 option and ended up using most of the minutes just to check email. In summary, this was a wonderful cruise, especially for anyone who has not visited this part of the world before, and I highly recommend it.

After a few "upgrades," "mandatory 'gratuities', the additional beverage "options" and excluded costs for after-dinner coffee this vacation ended up costing nearly double the advertised,"incentive" price. Should you desire a spa treatment, not unusual whilst on holiday, you will have to sell your first born child....and beware, they'll want to sell you a soothing gel for an additional $55. For those so inclined, a "behind the scenes" tour of the ship's inner workings was available for the mere price of $150. per person; These costs, when added to airfare made this a very expensive vacation. Worse than the cost was the fact that the experience was tantamount to being held prisoner in a two-star, floating hotel with each night's "entertainment" like a bad wedding reception at the VFW. (This comment is NOT meant to be an insult to the VFW!) Finally, each morning we were assaulted by a cast of crew members whose sole purpose was to sell beverage packages for bottled water. Really, people!?!?!?! I was never so happy for it all to END! The only thing to recommend this experience was the atttentive and friendly staff!

Desserts were scrumptious! The rest of the food was just average. I have to say the service personnel were great, always helpful, always a smile. Except, we had one problem. When we first arrived the staterooms were still closed off. It was lunch time and we had to have our carry on luggage w/ us. The only place to eat was the cafe on deck 9. A large part was blocked off and those tables could not be used. There were no seats available (people were taking spaces w/ their luggage). We asked if they could allow us to seat in the blocked off area and were told no. After walking around w/ our luggage for 10 minutes we hunted down a table that was being vacated. And 30 minutes later they finally opened up the rest of the dining area. The aerial shows in the Main Lobby were not worth the wait and the area is not really set up for this. The Diamond Lounge was great. We wish it would have stopped at more ports in Greece.

Good points about the cruise: Cabin attendant was outstanding. Waiters were very good and entertaining. The ship was modern and very clean. Tours were well done. Neutral points: Had to skip Santorini due to high winds. Food was good but not great. One night the on-board singers substituted for the acrobatic show. Bad points: None

Lovely itinery, lovely ship. Lovely stateroom in aft of ship. Worth the extra cost. However service not as good as other lines. Very poor service in the bars and obvious cost cutting in all areas. Speciality restaurant was not special enough, food no better than restaurant.

MSC Divina is a great cruise ship....beautiful amenities and fantastic itinerary. Americans and Brits will be well served knowing this is a European cruise so many of the little touches one might see on an American Cruise Line aren't here. But that doesn't detract from the cruise. Be prepared for a cultural event and to take things in stride as you are on board with 3000 others from many different cultures. Habits and ideas collide at the buffet when it sometimes seems like chaos but is really just a bunch of people doing their own thing. All announcements are in 6 languages and other than the typical French, most attempt to speak English readily. The food is not fantastic but the itinerary and the atmosphere more than make up for it. Reminder that children cruise for free so you will probably see more of them than normal. The shops onboard are all high end so don't expect to do any souvenir shopping there. Be sure to invest in the Allegrisimo drink package..you won't get a better bargain. Try not to compare this cruise line to an American one as you will surely be disappointed. But view it as an opportunity to spend time with people of many countries and enjoy the scenery.