Europe - Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

The excursions on this cruise were amazing!!!  We saw the ruins of the Colosseum in Rome, Acropolis and the Parthenon, Ephesus in Turkey and Pompeii in Athens.  Jaw-dropping-not to be missed.  There is nothing so beautiful anywhere on Earth as the Greek islands and the ocean waters surrounding them (Capri is my favorite). The people of the region are very friendly. A piece of advise--fly into Rome a day or two early or stay on a little longer.  There is so much to see, like the Vatican and Palantine Hill.  You would regret not seeing it.  Also, for the excursions, make sure you go with a guide--makes for a better experience.  This trip is a wonderful way of getting to see a lot of this part of the world in a relatively short amount of time.  I WANT TO GO BACK!!!

Our excursions were out of this world.  The boat was very clean and a grade up from other cruise boats I have been on.  Was very very pleased with all.  Keep up the good work.

This cruise we have waited a long time for and it was well worth the wait third time on Azura and each time we love her more the cabin was clean albeit a little tired in places 

crew are some of the best on P&O, food was excellent, freedom dining was again easy to do we had the same table every night we had a buzzer went for drinks and usually within twenty mins our table was ready reason for same table was location and Manal the waiter was fantastic

The Greek islands where above our expectations just stunning we loved every second special mention Capt Camby was the best capt we have ever met funny and very approachable and I'm told by my wife very nice eye candy

The itinerary was the best part of the cruise - loved the ports in Slovenia - most of our tour guides were informative which made the sightseeing enjoyable.  Our cabin was very nice - we had a balcony which we enjoyed since the weather was always warm and sunny.  The food was a disappointment - there was variety but many times was tough and not very tasty.  With the desserts, there were the same 3 items served every night and just 2 new and different choices.  Our 2 waiters. Freddy and Arthur were excellent.  Most of the nightly shows were good, especially the 2 aerialists.   

We enjoyed breakfast on our balcony most mornings.  Our cabin attendant was very courteous and efficient. The movies on the tv and under the stars included several movies for children. 

we had a great time aboard the Jewel of the Sea Mediterranean Cruise. Would do it again in a heartbeat. This was our very first cruise so we did not know what to expect. The staff was very friendly and helpful!  My sister was feeling well after our Athens excursion and our room attendant was very helpful. He brought us some ginger ale :) (Thank you).  We had the best servers Shakar and Leonard. Everything was great. My only critique would be the high priced beverage packages.

We bothered to do the lengthy online checkin but was almost all worthless as most repeated on arriving at port.

Stupid soft drink machines that require personal cup to be carried around. You allow people to throw thousands of plates of uneaten food away every day, but are so penny pinching on a glass of coke that you need this ridiculous system?

5 year old was so bored at kids club that she didn't want to go back, but staff weren't interested in letting her move up to the higher group. She told us she couldn't make friends as the staff wouldn't let them talk to each other (an exaggeration but symptomatic of how the sessions were too formal and not enough fun). As a 5 year old she had to sit through "abc" sessions when she can already read and write.

Where is the general shop? Every decent hotel in the world has a shop with a fridge full of drinks and personal items for sale. My wife had to wait for the sick bay to open to purchase some sanitary pads after asking multiple crew who couldn't help. Most hotels have them in the bathrooms or available from the front desk.

Overzealous height limits on the water slides. How can it be safe for my 44" daughter to ride the Ultimate Abyss but not a simple water slide? Luckily she was just taller than the ridiculous limit on the slides in the splash park (she's been going on water slides like that since she could walk!).

Overall a nice ship with good food and shows, but simply not enough for a 5 year old to do, especially when she doesn't want to go to kids club any more. We had to push to get the crew to let her on the ultimate abyss, but such a shame she couldn't do the other water slides (which she would be allowed on at every other water park we've ever visited). In the end she went on the carousel literally about 30 times in the week as that's all she could really do other than the splash park and arcades.

Really enjoyed Croatia ports which we knew little about - NCL excursion guides were knowledgeable and courteous.  Santorini is one of the most picturesque places in the world!  No need to book a ship excursion there, just explore Oia and Fira on your own.  Good to have a guide in Athens - so much history!  Plan to stay an extra day in Venice - an amazing city and its surrounding islands of Murano and Burano are fun to visit.  Don't forget your gondola ride in Venice - a classic!

NCL Jade is an old ship but has everything needed for a great cruise, Freestyle is awesome and the ultimate dining and beverage packages were great value!

The cruise itinerary had two days of "At Sea," this was really nice as just having a couple of days to relax between ports and go no where was pleasant. We loved the Shore Excursions, but needed some down time to just relax as well.  Cabin temperature controls were excellent, especially when it was 85F with 80% humidity outside.

Did not know what to expect when we booked the Independence of the Seas because of some negative comments; just really pleased we ignored them. 

We had a great time; everything about the cruise was brilliant. The accommodation was as we expected, like being in a good 4*hotel. The food was never ending excellent quality quinine. We could not fault the entertainment, first class every night including top deck black & white nights.The crew could not do enough for you. They were very pleasant, friendly and very helpful. The excursions were as good as you made them with really good tour managers. We could not fault anything. We will be going with Royal Caribbean again and would definitely recommend using them. Thank you

1) My son is allergic to Dairy products.  They recommended a desert for him and insisted that it didn't contain any milk or milk products.  However after eating a bit my son started having reaction and had to take medication.

2) We were assigned to a stateroom right next to engine room.  Every time when ship is docking or leaving, it made horrible noise for half an hour.  And at least 3 times it docked in the very early of morning and affected our sleep/rest. 

Went on this cruise with my mom for her birthday present.  Cruise was amazing and relaxing.  Great food selection.  My only complaint is the entertainment on board is not as good compared to the Sapphire Princess cruise i went on a year ago in the Mexican Riviera.  

Dining and crew service have been excellent.  The cleanness of the ship is good for the most part except you can smell the bathroom sometime when in common area on the ship.  There is too much chemical in the indoor pool which made our eyes burn.  

Did not know what to expect when we booked the Independence of the Seas because of some negative comments; just really pleased we ignored them. 

We had a great time; everything about the cruise was brilliant. The accommodation was as we expected, like being in a good 4*hotel. The food was never ending excellent quality quinine. We could not fault the entertainment, first class every night including top deck black & white nights.The crew could not do enough for you. They were very pleasant, friendly and very helpful. The excursions were as good as you made them with really good tour managers. We could not fault anything. We will be going with Royal Caribbean again and would definitely recommend using them. Thank you

This cruise enabled us to enjoy a balcony at a reasonable price. Although dealing with large  numbers of people, everything on the whole was well organised especially getting on and off the ship.

This was our 3rd cruise with Norwegian and it was the worst one!! The passengers and many of the crew were EXTREMELY rude.  The activities on the ship were a joke.  There were so many activities and nighttime entertainment on the other NCL ships that we were on previously.  Most of the crew didn't understand English and were unable to answer our questions.  The service was poor at the specialty dining and the complimentary sit-down restaurants.  We had to wait very long for a soda refill plus many times when we ordered items such as dessert, we were served something that we didn't order or the items didn't come at all.  If I ordered a regular Pepsi, I would get a diet Pepsi.  It took very long for the bar drinks to arrive at the table as well.  I ordered a Mudslide and the bartender made it with pina colada mix---I didn't ask for a pina colada, I asked for a mudslide.  When we ordered room service, the person who took the order asked how many people were in the room and when I told them 2 people, they remarked that "it was a lot of food for just 2 people".   We are extremely disappointed with our experience and doubt we will cruise with NCl again.  Such a let down. 

Venice was just awesome and the best!  I wanted to go to Greece, but Venice was my favorite, and my hubby's also!  We should  have extended our trip either 2 days prior to the cruise, instead of 1, due to jet lag from Chicago.  

Itinerary was good with the exception of Olympia.  Vibration from the ship's engines made it difficult to sleep or eat at night.  No 24 coffee pastry shop on board.  Tours experienced long delays which left little time for sightseeing. Many passport delays in ports and even disembarking the ship at the end of the cruise

This was the first cruise I've ever done, but have traveled extensively, including in the Adriatic.  

- I was disappointed by the amount of time we had in several ports.  4-5 hours in Dubrovnik and Kotor?  The Olympia tour was extremely underwhelming.  Many people complained about not being able to go to the museum, so that should be highlighted as an exclusion.

- Also, pretty screwed up that you can book the tours at the last minute on the dock for way less than those who prepared in advance paid. 

- travelling alongside other ships created extreme overcrowding in ports.  Split streets were barely navigable. 

- I intentionally booked an Italian cruise line expecting fabulous food.  This was also incredibly disappointing.  I had one dish that would pass as good, and nothing above that.  Finally stopped going to the nightly dinners because it was not worth my time to sit and eat mediocre food for 2 hours.  Not even fresh pasta?  I always seek out several gourmet meals when traveling, so was really shocked at the quality of food and lack of flavor.  

- Overcrowded...  Realize as an American we are at a disadvantage in a culture where pushing, shoving, and skipping in lines is normal.  I also heard several European and South African guests complaining about the aggressiveness of other guests, uncontrolled children, inability to get a seat at buffet dinners, even on the pool decks, etc.  An elderly South African family said they would only do an American cruise line in the future because of the crowding and being pushed and shoved around so much. 

- Timing of food?  Again understand this is cultural and some cultures eat much earlier than others, but not having food available in the late afternoons, besides what you have to pay in addition for, was annoying.  After coming back from spending hours walking or sunbathing, it would have been nice to be able to get a bite to eat.  

- Paid food - the crepes were barely edible. 

- Cost of minibar in room was exorbitant, especially if one had paid for a drink package.  Not being able to go somewhere and pick up water or soda for the cabin (besides when in port and paying for it) is pretty stupid. 

- Just really really overcrowded.  Could barely get through certain areas.  1/2 the elevators were out at any given time, creating long lines and competition to get on an elevator.  

- I am a 40-something single and placed with elderly women at dinner, along with families.  In such a situation, language is not as important as age and life situation.  

- Never imagined I'd have to set my alarm every day on vacation.  That was quite a surprise.

I loved my cabin and deck - and paid greatly for it.  My cabin steward Maria was amazing!

It was a nice size ship for a first-time cruiser as was one of our party.

The workers had a wonderful attitude. we greatly appreciated Alvin, our  3602 cabin attendant. The food staff was attentive especially Karandeo and Alexandru for our second seating dinner at table #172. Alexandru went out of his way to see that our needs were met any time he saw us around the ship, Less desirable was the quality of the dinner entrees. Several were sent back to the kitchen due to being over cooked or cold. One huge disappointment i viewed in the windjammer dining area was when a server dropped a box of jelly packets on the floor and picked them back up and put in th container to be used by diners after being on the floor. Disinfectant at the dining room entrance didn't help much if diners were then placing items on their trays that were on the floor. We loved the food and service in the sushi restaurant. Elizabeth was awesome and personable.  The ship was clean and towels plentiful.We took advantage of the spa services, sauna's and steam rooms and loved playing in the casino. I would recommend this cruise and especially ROSE DOYLE. By dealing with Rose, I was more comfortable taking this cruise. because she was available for my questions and always reassuring.