Europe - Eastern Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

The ship was clean, the crew friendly & helpful. The stateroom was comfortably spacious including the balconyNumerous places to eat good food. Nice pool area.Great mix of travelers. .

We loved the ship, the dining staff, the stateroom staff, everything but two areas were very concerning. Our 16 month old was not allowed in any kids areas! I understand the diaper problem, but shouldnt she be allowed to play when the mother is present (for possible needed diaper changes etc)? We had to pay FULL price for her, shouldn't we be allwoed FULL benefits? The other big problem is we did a big family cruise, paid for 8 people on a low budget. We had to do shore excursions on our own. We couldn't afford the ships costs. We did extensive research on our own, but had a few questions on a couple of stops as to how to get around on our own. The staff was NO HELP AT ALL. They also mis-led us, and told us that (for example) in Mykonos, the ferries were all reserved for the shop only and there was no way to get to Delos island without a shore excursion. This was false. I understand the ship wants to make money but to mis-lead was unacceptable. They could have said, they believe there is a ferry, but they dont have any more information about it, or give us a website, so we can at least have a lead (at their 78 cents a minute internet rate) to do our own research. I am disappointed how unhelpful they were :( This issue soured us on the cruise which was unfortunate because we loved everything else.

Review cruise MSC Poesia April 21st to April 30th. I would say disappointing... Me and my husband went on our first MSC cruise for 10 days, we are 32 and 39 years old and took our baby with 9 months. We had already cruised twice with Royal Caribbean. In spite of some bad reviews, we decided to give a chance and book with MSC, due to the itinerary, since it left from Lisbon, so we didn't had to took a plane with the baby. It started bad right before leaving: I've sent 2 emails via website with some doubts about the shore excursions, and I didn't receive any answer. The embarkation was very easy and fast, but no accompaniment and no information what so ever, we had to get in and find our way for ourselves, if we were first time cruisers we wouldn't know how to get around the ship and find the cabin and would have to call some crew member to assist... The ship is recent and with all the amenities one can expect. The staff is friendly and helpful, but its an Italian company, so there are many Italian, and we know that Italians can be a bit "difficult"... We also had some problems with the food... we really thought some of the critics could have been a little picky, but the fact is that this is not the kind, or even quality of food we were used to in the other cruises we have done with Royal Caribbean. In the first day we rejected immediately the food in the buffet style restaurant "Vila Pompeiana", and had all our meals in the main restaurant - Breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food wasn't excellent were either, but better than in the buffet, and we could have more to choose from. We had an Indonesian waiter: Suadnyana, that was very nice, and the head waiter was Croatian: Tomislav. They tried their best to provide us with the menu best dishes, but sometimes, it was really difficult... We had some bad meals and some good ones, we couldn't tell why there were some ups and downs, but we were really glad in the "bright days of the kitchen staff". The ice cream and the coffee were Italians and were excellent. Some days we didn't even bother to try the deserts, ice cream is always a safe choice. The other main problem we had, and its why we say "MSC never again", was the noise outside our cabin, a constant banging that started every day at 7:00 am, what a lousy daily wakening! I tried to know right in the first morning (Sunday) from our cabin attendant what was going on, and he said that he thought it were some maintenance work, that it should be finished in 2 or 3 days... But it didn't!. Wednesday I went to the reception complaining and they sent an officer to the cabin and hear/confirm the noise and said that they would try to find out the source. It continued every day, and Friday my husband went again to the reception to complain and another person came to the cabin to hear... We were very upset with this, including the fact that we had a nine months baby, with all the stress and that... Only Saturday we were offered to change cabins (we were leaving Monday) - and we had one last morning of peaceful wakening. And we received a call from the "supposed" guest relations manager (Italian), asking if everything was ok now... (!!??!) - they think that for offering a new cabin in the last day of our stay, that we were very happy, forgetting all the complaining we had, and all the different persons we had to talk to, and every day waking up with that awful noise...! - Of course things were not ok, and we were not happy with the way things happened and how we were treated... Anyway... Problems apart we manage to have a nice family vacation, and rest from work days. Looking forward for the next cruise but not on MSC

A great ship with a beatiful decoration. The common areas are beautiful and the shows are excellent.

An excellent and very comfortable ship.

The ship, service and itenerary were excellent. The food was good, though perhaps not great (although, there was an occasional dish that was outstanding!). The value for the money was very good.

The ship was in good condition. I was in a mini suite. I actually put the coffee table on the balcony to make more space in the room. The port calls were nice and the ship got us there on time. Disappointed in the food in the buffets.

We had to board at a diiferrent location due to the fog and it was a nightmare for about 4-5 hours once we arrived at the new embarking location.

The Norwegian Jade is excellent. It is clean, easy to get around on and has lots to do.

The Norwegian Jade is a sister ship to the Jewel which I've been on twice. So finding my way around was super easy. The food is really good (and I can be very picky) but I always had something to eat that I thoroughly enjoyed. I only went to a specialty restaurant once on this cruise (Nov 16-26 to Greece, Turkey, Egypt) but I've been to the others before on the Jewel and thought the food was delicious then. The staff is one of the best parts of cruising with NCL. They are really nice people. I was able to have dinner with the Hotel Director, Armando da Silva (who has since moved to another ship :( and he was an absolute delight! Gary the cruise Director was simply awesome, not to mention the Captain and all the many others (like Mercedes and JJ) that make sailing on the Jade an enjoyable experience even for solo travelers. I plan on going back in the Spring.

I took the Jade on it's last Voyage for the year to Greece, Turkey and Egypt. So please not this isn't referencing the Canary Islands (though I plan on doing this itinerary in a few months) --- I didn't have anything fancy room wise, but I had a window cabin to let in some light and I was quite satisfied. I've sailed on the Jewel twice and as it's a sister ship to the Jade I was able to find my way around easily. --- I'm in my 30's and married but decided to make this a solo vacation. I've traveled solo around the world but never on a cruise, so I really didn't know what it would be like. In one word it was excellent. --- There's plenty to do (and not do) if you're so inclined. It's also a very pleasant atmosphere it doesn't feel rowdy and at the same time doesn't feel dull either. A good balance of fun and relaxation. --- The ports of call were exciting and I had no trouble at any of them, both where I used NCL for excursions and made them on my own. --- I LOVE, being able to dine alone without assigned seating. You also have the choice of sharing a table if you choose, so it's great for those that like flexibility.

p This was our first cruise and it could not have been more perfect. The ship was beautiful, the shore excursions were great with very knowlegable guides who were also very personable. The pre-cruise stay in Athens was somewhat dampered by the strikes and a couple ofmistakesby our TA about transfers---plus my purse got stolen!!!! The King George Hotel people could also have been a little more helpful ---we thought some of the staff were snooty and rude!! p But back to the cruise---friendly staff and guests--not everyone called us by name or immediately had our favorite drink ready--but it was fine with us--the important person, our stewardess, whom we called Little Bee knew us and the bar servise was always prompt when we ordered--when I#39;ve read compliants about those two things I just have to laugh and say WHO CARES about such nitty things. p I found that by switching from one place to eat to the other gave a huge variety to our meals--we didn#39;t try Resturant 2--but two people that we met from our own state had eaten there twice and said it was fabulous. The only slight problem that we experienced was that sometimes the food--esp. from the buffet was not quite as warm as it should be--the warming trays didn#39;t seem to work as well as they should. p We did use the Spa and it was GREAT!!! Luke did wonders with my stressed, tense neck---would have loved to have had one each day---but so little time and so little money does prevent that. p We did enjoy the combo that played in the Club before dinner--we were too tired afterward to go to anything else because we had an excursion scheduled every morning. Lisa was also good at the piano. p Maybe the crowd warmed up later and danced but we were the only couple on the floor earlier. No one even seemed to notice so we didn#39;t feel embarrassed doing the solo routine. p Did not even go in the casino--didn#39;t appear that many did when passing by. p Saw a few young children the first day---so cute and well behaved--then never saw them again!! Don#39;t know what they did but it was not in our range. p Anyway, to make a point, the post cruise stay in Istanbul was like going from the penthouse to the outhouse--again our TA messed up transfers and booked us in a hotel that the room and bathroom were about half the size of the suite and BR on ship!!!! Again only to make the cruise the most wonderful part of the whole sheebang! p I think I#39;ve covered most bases--we did put down a deposit for another cruise, hopefully, to Northern Europe in August on one of the smaller ships---hope itequals the Big Boy in comparison. p I would say again first cruise but I don#39;t think we would consider another cruiseline---definitley another TA, though.

What can I say, almost speechless it was so good, It was our first cruise an we loved every minute of it except the last day when we stepped off the ship an back to reality. We are already planning our next trip! Thank you Royal Caribbean and the staff of Navigator of the Seas, you were excellent!

First off, customer relations is an exercise in lip service. If you arent a platinum plus plus member, go somewhere else.

Great ship - needs work on food selection and entertainment.

The food needs more varity and more quantity.

Very oriented toward charging fees -- paying for freshly squeezed orange juice in the morning, to paying to eat a hamburger with music from a juke box (which didn't work), having to pay for an ice cream cone (4$)since all they offered was a terrible tasting frozen yoghart, paying 25$ to play virtual golf, everytime go to dinner or gym always trying to sell spa packages. Access to water very difficult, only in buffet restaurant (no bathing suits allowed) or asking the bar tender for a glass of water which he did not appreciate, as well as in the stateroom there was no drinking water (without paying 4.50$) a bottle. The food was bland, with little variety in both the buffet and in the dining room. The special dining rooms with extra charges didn't offer a better selection than in the usual dining room and these restaurants had no chef, only a sous-chef. The wine selection was almost exclusively California, a little Chilian and Argentina but this was a mediterranean cruise which should have featured wines from Italy, France, Spain, ... Our oceanview room was a good size and had good storage. No amenities in the bathroom except for the gel dispensor in the shower.

Parsley on a dessert plate... and when I questioned the staff they said it was for color, seriously? Why would mint chocolate chip ice cream need color? The notion of putting an orange wedge and parsley on all plates or non-functional garnishes is at least 15 years old. I have been on numerous river cruises with Viking and Wind Star could learn a few things about food quality from them!!!

Ship quality as expected. Captain made a judgement error passing ships outside the channel and his decision cost us 2 night/3 days stuck on the Danube. Viking communication was minimal and it was poorly handled. 3rd day we had to get rescued by an open air grain barge (no bathrooms) to ride 4 hours to the next port and then ride another 5 hours by bus to Bucharest. We lost 3 days of our vacation and despite our efforts to work with Viking have heard nothing from them to date

The embarkation process was painless. Very quick to obtain our stateroom key and ship passes and we were on the gang plank in no time. This was also true when we disembarked 7 days later, it was all done in 15 minutes. The ship is in good shape with a nice variety of beverage and meal areas. A nice amount of activites were also on board.