Europe - Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

Menu diversity was mediocre. Each dinner in the principle dining room was repetitious. Always with an Italian slant. Not good for a ship with multiple nationalities on board and boring for a 10 night cruise.  Garden salads with main course were always the same vegs.,  with very limited salad dressing selections. Optional cheese plate was unappetizing and looked like left-overs from breakfast buffet or prior day offerings.

2. In the buffet afternoon restaurant the very same cheese selections and cold cut appeared relentlessly.

CLUE: GET A NEW COOK BOOK.

3. Upscale premium- charge restaurant had same menu as main dining room but at an extra price.

4. Premium charge - room service breakfast for premium cabins arrived cold, food was badly prepared and orders for husband and wife arrive 25 minutes apart.

5. WiFi reception throughout the ship was unreliable and often failed to work in a timely fashion.

6. Bar tenders poured soft drinks from cans or bottles (10 oz) and served them in smaller glasses (7 oz.)  so they didn't provide the full portion. I asked to have them pour my entire beverage into a larger glass and they refused. Very stingy portion control on soft drinks and worse on alcohol, despite "all-you-could-drink" high cost drink packages.

7. On board television had only 1 channel consistently in English ( sometimes MS-NBC), but 5 channels were dedicated to Costa-only channels. Many more channels were provided in French or Italian. None in German or Spanish.

8. Ship lacked any source where you could purchase  small toiletries like: mouth wash, antiperspirant, hair spray, cough drops, aspirin, antiacids, camera batteries, OTC medicine,

9. On Costa provided shuttle buses into town, drivers did not speak any English and could not tell people where they were being dropped off, so it was difficult to find the bus stop at the end of the day to return to the ship.

The crew was friendly and attentive without being nosy. They began using our names early into the cruise.

The food was delicious and prepared to our satisfaction. Lots of different selections each day.

We enjoyed our cruise very immensely and will definitely cruise with Windstar again.

My friend likes to cruise, I don't.  So we compromised on a small ship cruise and couldn't have been more delighted.  The Wind Surf was lovely, our room comfortable, and the crew were fantastic.  The food was very good and there was always good variety.  And of course we met some very lovely people and had a great time.  The excursions were good, however, we hit a few glitches.  Taormina; maybe I picked the wrong excursion, but the tour with the winery lunch didn't leave enough time to stroll and shop in the town, which the description said we would have.  The winery was at such a distance that at the end of the day it felt as if we had spent most of the day on the bus.  The winery lunch seemed as if they wanted to just get us in and out ASAP.  The day scheduled for tours of Pompeii and Herculaneum was the first Sunday of the month.  All sites and museums are free to Italians on the first Sunday.  We stood on line for 2 hours at Herculaneum and later heard that of two busses only one got into Pompeii because the site closed due to the crowds.  Additional tours were scheduled for the next day but we were so tired we cancelled our tour of Pompeii and stayed on the ship all day.  Not really a bad thing, we had a very relaxing day.  All in all, we had a great time and before we disembarked we were already talking about another cruise.

Everything was as we imagined it would be on the Costa Mediterranean! The food was excellent and the staff very warm, knowledgable and attentive to every detail.

Our trip was "smooth sailing" and we returned home refreshed.   I would definitely recommend this cruise to friends!

The cruise was good.   We enjoyed the shows.  The wait staff was always respectful and cheerful.  The bartenders at the bar on the 5th level were outstanding in remembering our names and what we drank and where we were going.  The food in the sit down restaurants was excellent except maybe a large vegie serving with our meals would have been desirable.  The buffet was good but not a fan of them in general.  Otherwise, all good.

Our trip to Italy aboard the Epic was not as we remember previous trips with Norwegian.

While our cabin was great we never met our cabin steward at all through out the entire trip.

There was lack of toilet papers and towels on a few days in which we had to find a steward and ask for supplies of this nature.

The coffee pot in which we used one time only because when we went back to use it a second time there was the same OLD coffee grinds from the previous use in the pot turning to mold.

Among the staff aboard the ship there was a language barrier rather often it was sometimes hard to communicate.

When entering a port we were told to be ready a certain time in which we were up early enough and we were ready to go only to find we had to wait additional time to get off the ship.

The food on the ship was very good, except for the wait time in the main dinning room as well as Cagney's Steak House.

By the time we were seated it took at least two hours or close to it to be served and at Cagney's Steak House one of our meals came out very cold.

The entertainment aboard the Breakaway was the best.

The entertainment aboard the Epic was ok.

Overall I was not as happy with my cruise aboard the Epic this time.

Thank you Mike and Cathy

This is one of the best value money can buy..

The cruise itself is simply awesome with its service and excursions and I will have to say that it is the best if not the only way to see this many places in Europe with little or no stress. I have been to Europe on train and hotels and it is not the same. It is more expensive and a lot of trouble to go from hotel to station and work out multiple logistics.

Not to mention the food in the cruise and the service - simply amazing.

The staff was friendly, helpful and the ship was easy to navigate.  NCL is our favorite cruise line with a very relaxed feel and great dining options.

absolutely middle class of cruises. except food - 5+. And please  - make your staff in restaurants and in the cabin smiling! It is necessary for the vacation!

Generally it was a good trip except the information desk service.

The service was poor and didn't guide well.

Example, I was waiting almost one hour (take too long time to wait to talk!) to get the port information I visited, however the service desk didn't give any information  and the lady didn't know anything.

THIS 10 NIGHT AMALFI COAST & ADRIATIC CRUISE WAS OUR FIRST CRUISE TOGETHER AND IT WAS WONDERFUL.  THE STAFF ON THE QUEST, CAPTAIN CARL, RUBY (OUR BARTENDER), OUR CABIN STAFF, AND EVERYONE ON THE SHIP WAS WONDERFUL.   THE PORTS WERE A PERFECT MIX OF EUROPEAN HISTORY AND CULTURE AND WE WOULD RECOMMEND THIS LINE TO EVERYONE.  PERSONAL FAVORITES ARE TAORMINA  (CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE OVER AGAIN) AND MONTENAGRO (THE 17 MILE BICYCLE EXCURSION WAS GREAT)......ALSO THE AZAMAZING EVENING WAS BEAUTIFUL.  CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE CREW AGAIN ON OUR NEXT CRUISE.   ED & CATHERINE IANNOTTI

We enjoyed his cruise very much. The ports were perfect and all easily managed. We only did 2 excursions- the bike ride in Kotor and the Azamazing Evening which both were wonderful. The excursions were a little pricey and everywhere we went we could manage by ourselves or get a local driver right near the ship which gave it a more local flavor which we like. The food was great, the staff very accommodating, and there was plenty to keep you busy but still relaxed. I would totally recommend this ship and plan on doing another cruise with Azamara! Captain Carl was great and kept us all well informed as to what we needed to know and do. Treat yourself to at least one dinner in the specialty restaurants, they are terrific! Loved the White Night Party so much fun....

We took this cruise at this time to hit the highlights of the Mediterranean before the masses of summer travelers, and to have a more adults-only ship instead of one overrun with kids out of school. Although there were crowds at some of the popular sites and there were a few kids on the ship, we did mostly accomplish our goals.

We have sailed Norwegian several times previously and this was probably our least favorite ship.  Although we do prefer the smaller ships, the public spaces (pool area, buffet, etc.) on the Spirit were substantially smaller and frequently overcrowded. The places that we would normally go for a bit of quiet or a drink before dinner were often taken over by bingo or other games.  

Our stateroom, a mini-suite with balcony, was adequate but definitely smaller than the same category on other ships. We could not even comfortably sit on on the balcony facing outward - we had to cock the small chairs at an angle so our legs would fit. 

The staff on the ship was hardworking, as usual, but did not have the usual 'spark' we have seen on other ships.  They seemed instead exhausted and somewhat beaten down.

The entertainment on the ship ranged from good (Twice as Nice, The singer Jeff at the pool and Champagne Charlie's lounge) to just awful. So, although we enjoyed the places we visited on this cruise, we can't really recommend the ship. 

The ports of call were definitely the highlight. Some might say so many ports in the 11 nights was too ambitious but we really enjoyed it and now have a better idea on where to go for a longer visit 

Overall we were happy with everything. We ate kosher food - the variety was excellent and so was the care given to us in this regard- would definitely recommend it.

Only improvement - more time needed to be given in Marseilles - embarkation at 3.30 was way to early 

the cruise, itself, was very good. We had the beverage package and also bought the 3 meal specialty restaurant package. We did not have any issues with the room, as others have complained. Lots of storage! Actually liked having the commode separate from shower and then the sink in the room!

we did have issues with their wifi! Expensive and slow! Then, if you want to text your cabin-mate, it's another $9.95/each! 

Also, bought 3 items in the Spa, but, when we asked for a Vat Form, it seemed that no one knew what to do! When, we did get it, it did not agree with the computer generated receipts that we received when purchasing the items. For that reason alone, I will not sale on NCL again! I should have gotten back $45 in Vat taxes, and all I could reclaim was $24!

Dining was the best part.  The food was good in the main dining rooms.  No need to pay to eat at a specialty restaurant.  Also, over the years the number of specialty restaurants that charge extra has grown.  I don't like this.

As for the worst part, getting aboard this ship in Barcelona was a nightmare.  Extremely poorly handled.  We too a cruise on this very ship in December out of Port Canaveral and it was an orderly process to board.  It took us in December less than half an hour from start to finish to board.  In Barcelona it took us nearly two complete hours to get to our cabin.  Very, very bad.

In general, I've been on NCL ships since 2000.  In the 16 or 17 years, the new ships have smaller and smaller cabins for each class.  Its just a way of charging more and more for the same accommodations.  I am not a fan anymore.  I am Latitudes Gold and didn't get much in the way of upgrades, etc. because of it.  NCLs loyalty program needs to reward its Gold members better.

The crew was very service oriented and attentive to our needs. 

If someone chooses not to register their card they should have the ability to use currency.

Yes, we would recommend the cruise to others.

We have been on RC, Princess, Holland America, Carnival, and MSC before,

and the NCL Spirit had the biggest shower.  The food quality on this ship was excellent, too.  We really liked the real lemonade offered gratis in all the eating venues.

The only real negative was the refusal by staff in the main restaurant to offer shared dining at tables of 4, 6, or more diners.  The assumption was that diners did not want to share tables (not true!), and staff only reluctantly sat you with others if you insisted.  One staffer told us that NCL's position was that "only 15% of diners want to share", so why offer it.  That is so far from the truth that we will likely go with RC again next time.

When me and my family boarded the cruise ship on Sunday 23 April 2017 we noticed in our cabin that the toilet flushing electric switch (relay)/mechanical mechanism was defective. As the toilet would not flush on every press of the electric switch button. Sometimes it would flush sometimes it would not. The response was similar to corded battery cables on an automobile. Sometimes the car's engine would start when you turn the ignition key on and sometimes the engine would not start. I have been an automobile mechanic for over 50 years.

During the cruise I reported the malfunction of the toilet flushing mechanism for four days, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. My reports were documented in the cruise ship computer. When I first reported this malfunction on Sunday night I explained to the Customer Service exactly what the problem was, corded contact points on the electric switch/relay. However, when a ship crew member came to our cabin to check he would simply go into the toilet and press the button and the toilet would flush. Well I guess he thought that we did not know how to flush the toilet. Well this exercise went on for three days until Tuesday 25 April. I stopped  the cabin steward in the hallway and had him try to flush the toilet and he noticed  after pressing the flush button several times the toilet would not flush. He understood at that time what I had been telling the customer service personnel for three days that the toilet would flush infrequently, the electric contacts were corded.

Finally on Thursday 27 April the electric switch/relay was replaced. I had asked the Customer Service Personnel to give to us a monetary credit on our bill for the inconvenience that we had to endure. Lucky for us we were less that 3 minutes away from the ship's toilet adjacent to the Theatre on the third floor.

This was our third cruise with Acosta and we enjoyed the cruise and would recommend Acosta Cruises to our friends in America.

Thank you