Europe - Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

The food was great at the buffet. The entertainment was good, but you have to reserve a time to see them. So much for freestyle!  The public bathrooms were not well maintained. The staff were not as friendly as three years ago. Service in the main dining is slow.

We enjoyed all the ports of call, particularly Dubrovnik which was a real surprise - a gorgeous place, our photo's don't do it justice.

The ship was a nice size - we usually go on the larger ships but it was so much easier and quicker to get where we needed to go.

Staff were friendly and helpful as usual - we always find this with RC.

Shows were not as good as on the bigger ships but that was fine.  We particularly enjoyed the daily quizzes !

Siobhan had included private transfers which was absolutely fantastic - I would definitely ask for that option again - so much less stressful than waiting for the coach transfer.  Brilliant, thankyou.

we were blessed wiht good weather apart form the last day - grey and raining in venice.

the embarkation process was a complete shambles - 6 queues before we could get on board - much too much security. Appalling, and terrible first impressions.

i felt the ship was too big with too many people for my liking, often had queues for breakfast // lunch etc.

however food was good, but breakfast room had either bacon OR sausage, not both. scrambled egg was wondeful. always lots of fresh fruit to chose from.

comfortable cabin with small side balcony, and great service, though hardly saw the 'cabin boy'. the theatre shows were mainly average. two swimming pools. useful gym. the main restaurant we were in was noisy and service was slow - we had to complain at the time, though not the waiters fault - he had too much to do. the resorts visited were super (Olympia the least exciting and Dubrovnik the best, in my view). Resort dis-Embarkation not so chaotic. did not agree with MSC policy that any alcolhol brought in resorts could not be  drunk onboard - obviously going to affeect their sales, but creates a monopoly. it wasn't possible to drink 14 bottles of water in 7 days despite my best efforts, so not a good deal. asian fusian restaurant was great - quiet and super food, but had to pay extra for this.Luggage delivery was fine. enjoyed the cruise apart from too many others onboard, but don't think I'll travel with MSC again.

The pace of life on the Viking Sea was perfect. Wonderful food, excellent service, great music, incredible tour guides at each port, beautiful and comfortable accommodations, and well maintained ship. We immediately signed up for another cruise, as we were so pleased with the on-board experience.

The only downside on board is that our luggage was delivered to the wrong room, so after hours of waiting, we were exploring the ship and happened to find it outside someone else's door.

The on-board service is miles and miles better than Viking's customer service prior to the trip. We still haven't heard back from the VP of customer service regarding compliments and requests after repeated emails.

It is worth the money paid. itinerary is very interesting ,  the ship is good and service is excellent in most cases.  Entertainment is mediocre .  Good pools -one is covered ,  and four Jacuzzis. Food is OK but nothing special . Surprisingly ,  upgrades of food are offered in the free dining room for additional cost. Why do they do that? If someone wants to indulge ,  there are different restaurants on board that serve meals for fees.

ALso, kind of cheap that no body lotion is provided .  It is expected as a given and creates inconvenience. Of course, lotion can be purchased in the ship shop.

We had a wonderful experience with our Jewel of the Seas cruise, everyone was professional, courteous and helpful.  We had a wonderful waiter, Glenn, who made our dining experience top notch.  We also had dinner at the Chops Grille, which had excellent food and service.  Getting off and back on the ship for excursions were seamless.  Entertainment was excellent.

New port every day, but enough time in each port to explore that city. Ship seems a little old, and could use some touchups.  Food and entertainment was mediocre but the service everywhere is excellent.

The cruise was very well organized, timely schedule and good service.  I'm concerned though with what appears to b e a 1 man show cruise.  The captain did not show up at the captains night.  I understand that the weather was not good but it took no more than 10 minutes for the staff to present itself.  The captain never showed up on the "captains night".  His personnel should be competitive professionals who should be able to take control of the ship for at least 10 minutes!  The menu at Tides must be more diversified and offer "finer" dinning options.  After cruising wih Carnival twice, Cunnard, Holland America and NCL, The Tides dining menu was somewhat deceptive, good food though, but must improve in quality offerings.  Wind Jammer was excellent with better offerings and more diversified.

On the whole the entertainment was excellent, however during  the daytime when at sea improvements could be made. The majority of guests were of a certain age and would enjoy the quizzes if they were not so short and rushed. Giving guests a more leisurely time to enjoy a drink and mix more with other people. 

Ship was old and dated, staff not as friendly as previous reviews have mentioned. Food was mediocre at best. Ordered drink package, was not informed there were limitations and additional charges would apply. Issue with internet, purchased 250 min package, spotty connection and overcharged, was advised fee would be reversed by Internet manager and front desk staff, my credit card was still charged.  

Ports were amazing and it was nice having a "home base", but not worth it. Hours at each stop didn't make sense, you get off the boat at 8am, but nothing is open, you basically waste the first couple of hours waiting for people to wake up!

My favorite part of the cruise was getting off the ship for the last time; it was disappointing from start to finish…the one positive thing was embarkation was

quick and smooth.

It was obvious from the very beginning of the cruise was that they wanted to screw us out of as much money as possible; this included the purchase of water, alcohol and soft drinks plus photo packages.  My husband made the mistake just once of purchasing a single glass of wine, which came to $16.00.  After that we made sure to grab drinks when we were visiting ports of call.

From the very first night there was a problem of smoking/profanity/banging/

screaming coming from our next door neighbors; we called and called and called until 1:30 am for two nights and even went to the desk downstairs in the daytime to make sure our complaints were heard.  Finally, after the third day of

sleepless nights, they finally and begrudgingly moved us to another room.

The insult to injury happened when a terrible storm hit us after departing Naples; during the storm there were rumors that we probably would not go to Mykonos, and even though the bad weather had passed a day before we were supposed to arrive there but  the rumors still persisted!  The staff was rude and discourteous and would not come clean and truthful in any way.  To add to the problem, a man had a heart attack and after they removed him he unfortunately passed away.  Then an hour later another man was taken off the ship since he broke a hip.  I am not being heartless, but these two evacuations took three hours and could have been expedited by an emergency helicopter.  Then we got stuck on the coast of Messina when Italian authorities came aboard to do an investigation…meanwhile, the ship's captain never told us what had really happened.  The ship had plenty of time after that to have made it to Mykonos, but the captain instead crawled so, so slowly and skipped that port and instead took the sloooooow boat to Athens so that we arrived there 'on time.'  (Life and death happens, and I am not being heartless, but 2,000 + passengers lost 1/10th of the ports we were supposed to visit, and not

one apology or financial incentive by NCL was offered to salve the wound.  Why would I ever want to return to one of their cruises?  It would have to be something incredibly lucrative for me to spend money again on their cruises.

The last item that was horrible was catching a porter going through a drawer in my room; when I came in the room, he quickly pretended to be dusting.  When we reported him, the representative covered for the porter and said he had simply been looking for a bible.

As you can see, except for the nine ports we visited, it was a disappointing experience for my husband and me.  Other cruise lines allow you to bring on board a bottle of wine each, and give free soda!

Diana and Eric Knowlton

ship was great, food was very good too. Entertainment just so so but the itinerary was wonderful. Weather and seas were a bit rough on a couple of days and there was a medical emergency on board that prevented us from going to Mykonos which was a shame but couldn't be helped

     I took the cruise in reverse previously and did this one because Turkey was replaced with Montenegro and Croatia. One shore tour was to the Amalfi Coast another to Cinque Terre. and then the two new countries. Fantastic tours showing the ability of man to live and grow in challenging places, among rocks and along steep cliffs.

     However nice the days and tours ashore, the cruise line has downgraded many parts of what was once an outstanding value. Shows have been downgraded and no longer challenge Las Vegas in quality. Emphasis on Free Style Cruising and keeping down the fare is showing primarily in the show and food quality. After 20 NCL cruises, this is probably our last one.

The offer we received from Norwegian with a deluxe penthouse -- pre-paid gratuities, beverage and dining package -- really made our cruise a great value, plus an exciting itinerary!  NCL Spirit is an older ship in need of decor updating, but the ship was clean and well maintained.  The majority of the staff were very good and provided excellent service.  Our stateroom was very large and well laid out, the steward was superb, but the butler was little seen.  Again, the decor was dated, although the bed / linens were very comfortable.  The bath offered a toilet room, double sinks, a jacuzzi-style tub that I wouldn't use because paint was coming off, and a shower cabin -- all very clean.  Little glitches were frustrating; unable to regulate the water temp (it was too hot) and main light switch wouldn't activate.  Our dining experience was a highlight (DIning Package); Cagney's was Excellent, Windows was Very Good, Le Bistro and La Trattoria were Good, Shogun was O.K with an uninspiring menu.  We didn't do other dining venues.  The real benefit of the penthouse and above is having breakfast & lunch in Cagney's, as well as a dedicated concierge (Karin).  She was a real professional, patient and kind, and got us on/off the ship efficiently, plus provided port info.  Overall, NCL does a lot of up-selling (photographs, tours, next cruises, jewelry, knick-knacks, etc,) which can get bothersome, but it's easy to pass on.  The Captain kept passengers informed of the ship's status, especially during a medical emergency event: two passengers required evacuation which caused the Captain to return to Messina, delaying the onward schedule, and the port call in Mykonos was cancelled giving us another sea day.  Overall, a very good cruise given the price and packages.  We would definitely take another NCL cruise!

The cruise staffing made the 12 day cruising experience an exceptional one. The port's that were visited summarized the history of Europe in a nutshell. The cabin was always ready-made and clean. The 11106 cabin staffing will be missed.The food menu and preparation was disappointed. Nevertheless, the bartender and snacks kiosks menus saved the day and night needs. The activity director, Jill and her staff made sure everyone had something to be happy for.

Norwegian Epic was enjoyed by the whole family. The kids loved the water park and the entertainment, mum and dad like The Haven. We had a great time and would sail on the cruise line again.

enjoyed the whole cruise! Made better by good weather. Enjoyed most of the ports;  first time at 3 out of 5. Very efficient and friendly crew. Good food and good entertainment!

This is our fourth cruise. We have tried Disney, Royal Carribean, Princess and   Celebrity Cruises. Since we have a point of comparison, we found several thingss that needs improvement. First, lobster dinners are part of the formal

 Night menu and

at

NO additional charge. Neither is the soft served ice cream/gelato on

board for

Sale. It has always been free

or

part or what was already paid.

Second, quality of entertainment is repetitive.

First time

we

watched a show that changes the thene for the night but juggler and acrobatic acts are mainstay of entertianment.  Boring!

Lastly, please

provide a

movie theater. If. When bored to death of repetitive shows, we would have gone to

watchibg movies.

instead

One highlight of the cruise, the

Filipino

crews on board. They provided excellent service as expected

On our first stop we visited Florence then Pisa Italy,  these two stps alone were well worth the trip.  To see things you've only seen in books or TV was great.  The next stop you can take the train to Monte Carlo need I say more.  The next stop was Marseilles.  Our next stop in Barcelona we took a guided tour about the life of Picasso when he lived and studied in Barcelona.  Plus the Picasso art museum.  Very worth the time about 1 hour of walking then atleast 2 hours in the museum.  Next day was a sailing day to Naples, Italy.  There's plenty of entertainment on the ship everyday especially today.  In Naples we climbed Mt Vesuvius then took a guided tour of Pompeii.  This too was well worth the trip but be prepared to walk.  We took this trip to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary and that's why it was a trip of a lifetime.

This cruise Itinerary ports were amazing.  You get to see so many cities in 3 different European countries with a nice cruise.  This ship was a little out to date compared to all the new ships but we weren't on board that much due to all the great cities we visited.  The rooms were nice and the trip was enjoyable.