Europe - Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

Love this cruiseline.  We had aurea experience which meant checkin was super fast, despite being told that preferred checkin is only available in Italy.  We were dealt with immediately at embarkation in front of hundreds of people queuing.  The balcony stateroom was beautiful, large, spotless, extra touches like bathrobes and slippers, the steward made different animals from towels every night which had us in stitches.  My choice dining was excellent.  We met many nationalities and were served immediately, whatever time we arrived. Food was good to excellent.  The inclusive drinks package is a must.  I won't go on P and O anymore because they don't have an all inclusive drinks package.  Lisbon was our favourite port, Casablanca our least favourite - dirty, not a real 'bazaar' like Tangier, nothing to do.  Very disappointing.  We are now looking for another MSC cruise.  The service in cabin and restaurant is superb. 

TheT ship was are second time sailing it was all I expect. Great 14days will dethe stafinetlydo again . I will recommended to everybody. Thanks. Wish I could have stay and do the transatlantic to FT Lauderdsle

The ports of call were fabulous.  The ship was laid out nicely, providing everything that is needed.  The art throughout the ship is excellent - you have to get around to all parts of the ship, including the stairwells and specialty restaurants to see it - its everywhere.  We became aware of it due to an excellent presentation entitled "The art of the Silhouette" or something like that, given by one of the ship's Beyond the Podium" series speakers (Dr. Fishman - he was excellent.  The dining room menus were very good.  The food in the cafeteria on deck 14 was just average in our opinion.  The staff (stateroom, dining, and everywhere else) were great!

THe cabins were excellent and the tour options and arrangements were very good.WE are mostly vegeterian and that was challenging despite trying hard from very early on as many veg options has chicken stock or were sweet smoothies which we try to avoid.

Cruise are lovely and clean.  Staff and crew are very helpful and fun with us.  We are deaf,  Crew and staff are good understand.  Food are very nice.  we stayed different places.  We like Rome, Florence, Pisa and Barcelona.  Very interested see ball room dancing every night.  We are disappointed nothing else if we don't want stay to watch Ballroom.  

The entire staff and crew of the Seven Seas Explorer were outstanding.  I think they like being on the ship as much as the guests do!!!  When you love your job -- it shows!!

This cruise was high quality, as you'd expect from a premium class cruise line like Holland America, but the prices were too high and left me feeling I was nickel and dimed by HAL.  I felt I could get the same quality for less money from other providers, like Viking and Norwegian.

The best thing HAL had going for it was its superb staff, who were always friendly, helpful, and informed.  Even the behind the scenes staff, who I met during a tour of the ship and who were totally anonymous, yet even they went out of their way to smile and say hello.  I definitely felt treated like royalty!

The route was also a strong selling point, and did a better job of covering key sights in southern Spain than comparable offerings from other cruise lines--this is the reason I did not go with my first choice, Viking.  The onboard activities were cheesy, but comparable to what you'd get on other ships, except for the live music entertainment, which was superb and a high point of the cruise.  The main entertainment was in transition and I don't feel I saw what HAL really has to offer, so I will only say that the venue definitely had potential.  The shore excursions were a low point, and I would strongly recommend booking excursions with an independent provider.  HAL's offerings were weak on content, greatly overpriced ($150/pp for a behind the scenes ship tour that was nice, but not that much nicer than the free tours other ships offer.)  

The food was another strong selling point, with a varied and excellent selection in the main dining room, above average offerings in the buffet, and ala carte Pinnacle Grill and Tamarind restaurants that were superb and actually reasonably priced.  I would definitely recommend trying them at least once, and if you time your visit for one of their specialty evenings, you will not be disappointed by the Michelin-quality fare!

More on the nickel and dime philosophy I experienced.  I didn't choose this cruise to save money, and I expected HAL, like most cruise lines to bank on making money from my drinks, gambling, shopping, etc., but HAL took things to such an extreme that it cheapened the overall experience, taking what could easily have been a five star experience down to three.  They charged for transportation from the dock to city centers, for water bottles to take on excursions, for the behind the scenes ship tour, and not only did they charge extra for everything, but they kept doing a hard sell to try to get me to buy stuff, even bottled water at dinner when I said I'd settle for tap water.  Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I did the cruise and I had a wonderful time, but the great locations and superb staff was done no favors by HAL's excessive marketing.

The Eurodam is a really beautiful ship. The staff was attentive, kind and helpful.They have lovely specialty restaurants. with delicious food at an increased price.  Enjoyed all the lovely bars,spa, and wonderful concierge club . however i have a big complaint about the main dining room..beautiful but crowded, long lines and food adequate at best except for formal nights. I did not like going to my beautiful Neptune suite and see bottles of water with price tags... charging for water and soda is ridiculous. We travel so much on Regent, Silver Seas and Seabourne where  everything is all inclusive including tours. As the price for this ship is less than those other ships but still has as high  a quality, I don't mind paying for liquor and wine..but the water and soda is not acceptable.

Favorite part, now that we are Elite, captains club perks are all great.  Tandy is a great hostess.  Nightly shows, lower quality over the years.  I would recommend Celebrity to friends, in fact we are taking another couple with us on our next cruise (Alaska).  

Room steward was pleasant and accommodating.  Our cabin was comfortable and had plenty of storage space.

When we expressed our concern regarding disembarking in Turkey, the service desk person lacked concern.  My husband has mobility issues and there was nothing available (unlike other ports) for transportation to the terminal. He had to rest periodically until we saw several buses (which were unmarked) and asked if they would take us to the terminal.  A number of guests were also having a difficult time with the walk and I let them know of that the bus was available. One man was having great difficulty with breathing and I was concerned he was having a heart or pulmonary attack. We all thought the buses were for tours. An unfortunate situation that needs resolved with the many guests with medical problems.

Overall the cruise was good. Food was excellent. Itinerary was good. However there was a lack of entertainment in English.  The safety drill was conducted in several languages but English. 

The organization of running the cruise in every aspect was very good, 

but I would suggest that in the times between the breakfast, lunch and dinner time, there should be some sort of snacks available at any time as there was nothing in between and sometimes it was difficult to wait until the next eating time..

The ship is a perfect size for this type of itinerary.  No bells and whistles-but it is easy to navigate around the ship and it is nice to run across fellow travelers from time to time as it is not too big.  The food is so-so. Always the same menu at the Windjammer- they could do alot by mixing it up a bit with maybe a Mexican or Italian theme.  The BBQ they have on the pool deck is not a BBQ- more of a cookout- burgers and chicken (which wasnt' plentiful bc it takes too long to cook)

The Lounge area in the back of the boat was very underutilized.  Instead they crammed all the evening activities into the atrium lounge area- couldn't find seating there at night and couldn't walk thru either bc people were cramming all the decks trying to look over the railing.

Also the TV showed the same programs over and over and there were not English speaking news channels.  Couldn't see your folio on tv either. Also, for a mostly older adult community onboard, why are they running childrens movies on the outdoor screen?

Those are the gripes- otherwise the staff is very friendly and hard working.  The ship shows wear, but again if you are  looking to be onboard you should choose another ship.  This itinerry had us off for 7 of the 10 days in exotic ports and we were looking for a boat that fed us and provided some entertainment and a comfy bed.  Shows were good although we would like an adult comedian also maybe in the back lounge.

destinations and excursions great.  Entertainment good. Food & service below average.  Dining room wait service worse among my 12 cruises.   Food was average.   Insulting that we have to pay for certain entrees in the main dining room.   Also, had to pay for pizza and ice cream.  Ridiculous! Buffet hours and food choices very limited.   Room amenities poor.  Entertainment was varied and everywhere during the evening.   We enjoyed the options.   Excursions and guides were great.

This was my first cruise, so I have only my experience and the reports of others to go off from. 

The staff was friendly, though most assumed we spoke Spanish, and we needed to gently correct them often. Thankfully our waiter and room-keeper figured it out quickly, and spoke English to us when they interacted with us. They were kind, really all the staff seemed kind, even when struggling with English.

The food in the shared meal times was mediocre. Certainly edible most of the time, but nothing made me say "wow" or "Yum!" or "that was delicious!". There wasn't much variety day-to-day, and several dishes called by different names were actually the same as other dishes, especially the soups. Perhaps the exclusive additional-fee dinners were better, but we couldn't afford to buy them. We couldn't put our finger on why we didn't care for the food, but we think it might be that the food just didn't seem prepared fresh with fresh ingredients. 

Yes, it's true, you can't bring alcohol or some foods on board. We were allowed to bring water and crackers and fruit, but the alcohol they "confiscate" and give back to you at the end of the trip. If you manage to get wine past the x-ray machines, as we met one guest who did, the staff won't have corkscrews to open it. Lunch leftovers were apparently forbidden, they made us leave the ship to throw it away. Yes, at every stop we had to pass ourselves and our baggage through one, often two x-ray machines every time we got on board, (this is where they confiscate the alcohol and record who it belongs to). Though at the end of our trip in Athens they didn't seem to care much, just waved everyone through.

The entertainment left much to be desired. Nothing sounded interesting or good, or in some other language. The one time we did see entertainment, it was very weak, but at least we stuck through it to say we saw one.

Not surprisingly most everything was expensive, or an added price. One surprise we didn't like was the mandatory 10 euro per person per night tip automatically added every day to our account. We didn't know that was coming, and that really soured our experience. We only found out by accident, and it turned our gratitude into bitterness. There's no heart in a mandatory fee, and since we weren't aware of it, it felt like a sucker punch. We're on our honeymoon on a tight budget, and they secretly add this expensive fee? That sucked. We found out a few days in by accident, but at the end of the trip during a disembarkation meeting in English, the Staff member told us that it had been added to our accounts (only when someone asked about gratuities of course), and based upon the looks of the other English speaking guests, they didn't know it was coming either. Bad form Costa. Maybe it's common, I don't know, but it wasn't a fun way to find out.

The bed was okay, not too hard or soft nor scratchy, but as a honeymooning couple, we didn't like the fact that the twin or queen-sized bed was made up of two single mattresses. Left an uncomfortable seam right down the middle of the bed. We needed to tell the front desk when we needed sheets changed, otherwise they don't change them.

Lest I be totally negative and neglect the good that was truly there, there were good things we liked. The ship and facilities were always clean and well kept. The staff was kind. The places we visited were good. The Daily update on places, weather, sea weather, excursions were helpful. The international breakfast option was nice to have. The lounge areas looked good for those who wanted to use it, and the pianist/cover artist was pretty good. The front desk staff thankfully spoke good enough English to help us when we had questions. They were accommodating of my wife's gluten-free needs, though the bread wasn't nearly as good of course.

I enjoyed all of the tours I went on. The ship itself was amazing.  However, I did have problems regarding my membership status and i will follow-up with the Corporate office which is located in Miami.

I was very excited to go on a brand new ship. Being an experienced cruiser in my young age we have been on 12 and was looking forward to the new. However some things left something to be desired. Why of course the new and beautiful was nice the enormous size of the ship was simply not for me. We had to make reservations for shows to say instead of just playing it by ear and going with the flow which is what me and my husband love about cruising. The service which by no mean was poor I believe there was simply too many people for the cruise. the kitchen especially at sit down dinner could not often keep up with demand. I did really enjoy Jamie's Italian restaurant. The white truffle pasta was by far the most amazing thing I have ever eaten.

The ship was very large but didn't feel overcrowded. Great choices for Entertainment and Food. I one thing I would say if you upgrade to a Specialty Dining Package it doesn't include coffee or soft drinks, if you don't have the drink package. Wrong when you can get it in the main dining rooms - buffet. Didn't like the fact that they block your wi fi so that you are forced to buy their package to use your phone on ship. 

We have waited some time to take the cruise of our lifetime and we did a considerable amount of research prior to booking this cruise with Oceana.

The ports of call allowed easy access to some of the world's greatest treasures. Our tour of Pompei and Herculean were absolutely enlightening and tour guides were fabulous. The dress code was easily met with country club attire for the folks that do not care to eat in full formal dress. The restaurants were gorgeous and the food gourmet and delishous. All food, even the name restaurants, were included and with no extra charge. The O'life program makes tours free or less pricey, the Internet was free and gratuities were prepaid. All of this and no surprise charges!

Oceana is an excellent  choice for luxury cruises! 

You have to get a tender from the ship to see Cannes but what a beautiful place it is. Lovely promenade, great shops & quaint back streets. Don't miss it.