Europe - Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

We had so many problems and on-going issues with this cruise that it is difficult to fit into this survey. I have written a detailed letter to our cruise agent, Kristi Pullman and I hope she will forward it to you.

* Ship lost our dinner reservations in specialty restaurants continuously

* Waitress in Manfredi's was over the top rude to us

* Sheets not changed on bed last 3 nights

* Excursion tours didn't include what they advertised

* Lack of entertainment and when one local dance group was suppose to appear, they simply didn't show up

* Four attempts at breakfast room service and never once got the right order

* Directions on printed Viking Daily very confusing and crew admitted it

* Post hotel in Barcelona total nightmare

*

OUR CABIN WAS LOCATED ABOVE A STORAGE AREA AND WHEN EVER THE SHIP TOOK ON SUPPLIES IT SOUNDED LIKE WE WERE UNDER ATTACK. MOST OF THE ENTERTAINMENT WAS VERY GOOD, BUT SOME WERE POOR. THE BB KING LOUNGE WAS TOO SMALL FOR THE VOLUME OF THE MUSIC. OUR WAITER AND ASSISTANT WAITER WERE WONDERFUL.

The ports were good but the ship needs and overhaul. They added rooms but not public space so you could not find a seat in the lido, or sometimes the Vista lounge. They dropped the HAL Cats and the dance band in the Ocean Bar so dancing was not every night and was not as good as the dedicated dance band. The entertainment was good sometimes but they showed an old movie one night as the entertainment! There was "Voce" a female quartet whose high notes screeched! Not good! The Flyboys were great. The comics funny.

The crew was excellent, dining room, cabin and Front desk.

I disagree with any negative reviews of the Zuiderdam.  The ship was clean, well-maintained, and very comfortable.  Anything plumbing or electrical issues were expedited efficiently and service onboard was outstanding.  Everyone was friendly and eager to help.  I would cruise on her again with NO reservations at all!

The Ports-of-Call were wonderful.  We did six tours, but also went ashore and just poked around at many ports.  All were interesting, historic, and filled with friendly and helpful people.

The only time the ship was bumpy was between Cadiz and the Azores.  The actual crossing of the Atlantic was calm and very relaxing.  My husband and I are in our 70s and had a wonderful 50th anniversary cruise!

overall it was a good cruise........some concerns were the cleanliness of women's bathrooms, especially in the spa area, after repeated complaints the broken toilet seat was not repaired. 

Zuiderdam is a lovely ship, extremely clean and itinerary was great.  We experienced a terribly long wait boarding in Athens and the usual non-existent services disembarking in Civitavecchia.  Neither was a problem caused by HAL.  However, in Greece, the only thing they did was hand out bottled water!  We missed lunch.  Although they did extend hours, we never heard any announcement.

In Civitavecchia, there are absolutely no terminal facilities.  You are very efficiently handed through customs and reunited with your baggage.  Then you are dumped on a sidewalk to wait for your ride.  We got there at 8:30 and weren't due to be picked up until 9:00.  Others who got off with us had pickup times of 10:30!  There are no chairs, no water, no toilets.  Given the way shipside is handled during a port stop, HAL could have provided a shelter, chairs, water.  Bathrooms are a problem all the cruise lines ought to address with the port!

We chose this trip for itinerary which was great!  We have cruised many different lines but this was our first HAL since 1982.  We had heard such great things about them that we had high expectations.  Sad to say that they were not met.  The entertainment was meager compared to other lines.  Food was okay.  PInnacle Steakhouse, highly rated by many, was nothing superior to Cagney's on another line.  In fact I liked the other line better.  Wine selection was good but it was difficult to get the wine steward (read as waiter who took the beverage order, etc.)

Anyway, we would do HAL again if price/itinerary warranted it.  If another line had a better deal, we would opt for the other line.

Everything on the ship was top notch.  The staff does everything it can to make your trip special.  Always trying to please and/or get whatever you need.  Would definitely cruise with them again.

Rome was clear blue skies and sunny when we left Civitavecchia port and sailed for a day through calm seas to Chania (Hania) Crete. Crete was a real surprise, with towering mountains, some snow capped up to 8 months a year, and crystal water shorelines.  We enjoyed Lake Kournas and the Arkadi Monastary (now that's a story for you) and especially loved walking around ancient Rethymnon with its lazy portside cafes and Egyptian lighthouse.  We stopped in some shops and met locals who had their own brand of Raki liquor which we bought and nice spices. Many jewelry stores, but some had unusual pieces and the price was definitely right! Best Calamari I've ever had, and I live in Hawaii where we have great Calamari.  On to Mykonos, incredible white buildings against the stark hills and bright blue ocean. Red and blue roofed churches, many family owned, and windmills set on the hill. Delos island should not be missed, my husband and I were channeling Marc Antony and Cleopatra and what they must have seen as they docked and shopped on this once wealthy merchant island (the first mall ever?) now it is amazing but up to the imagination as Persians and earthquakes have taken their toll. Most significant dig in Europe and a fun boat ride out to it. Strolled Little Venice and chose a café to have a wonderful Souvlaki and gyros lunch with delicious wine and ouzo before heading back to the ship.  Turkey was another surprise, again beautiful towering mountains, crystal clear seas and lovely people.  Our tour of Melitus, Didyma and Ephesus was jaw dropping.  We missed Mary's House, but saw lots of the places where Paul preached and stirred the pot, in some of the most amazing ancient theatres and ampitheatres ever - still fairly intact. Didyma had the towering columns reminiscent of Luxor, and the Library at Ephesus was reminiscent of the one at Petra, impressive, as were the wide marble streets.  And they've only scratched the surface.  Non skid soles for these tours, please!  Shopping was terrific and in fact most of what we bought we found in Turkey. Gorgeous rugs, yes, but don't miss the hand hammered brass and copper items (we found a hand made Turkish coffee set for our son) the amazing hand done fine ceramics (8 piece mezze platter for the daughter) and glassware and metal work.  The government shop by the Port had beautiful authentic (with papers) treasures and great prices (if you are willing to bargain).  On to Santorini.  We boated to the new harbor, caught a bus to tour Akrotiri, again jaw dropping, drove to Oia and walked and shopped and took pictures and then bus again to Fira to walk and shop, check out the museum that has the actual pieces and wall mosaics found in Akrotiri, 3600 years old look like they were made yesterday, and took the funicular (long line) back to the ship. Other options include walking up to Fira and over to Oia and back on a cliff trail and walking back down to the ship the way you walked up, steep but fun for those who need a workout or don't have the patience to stand in line at the top, or taking a boat to Burnt island that is an active (they say dormant, but again, I'm from Hawaii and it is active) caldera and hiking around. Lots of tenders to pick you up at the bottom whenever you arrive and take you back to the ship.  Athens was our next stop, cleaner and brighter than I had expected, lemon, lime and orange trees in full fruit in the city, we got to the Acropolis early and were the first group up to the Parthenon as the sun peaked through the columns. Great picture taking and tour before the other million people made it up the stairs. RC got us there early and it made all the difference, in fact they always got us to sites before any other ship tours and this was wonderful.  My husband had seen this 30 years earlier and said that Athens was much cleaner and the Acropolis complex so much more intact than he remembered.  We hope to come back in 5 years and see it even more so. that afternoon after a sumptuous lunch at a 5 star hotel, we drove down the coast to Cape Sounion to see Apollo's Temple. Cannot stress enough how beautiful this drive was. Ocean coves, beaches, yachts, just gorgeous. The temple itself and the views were amazing and will be in my head for a while.  Last stop was Katakolon, a small seaside port and  the original Olympic complex and the first track and field field. than off to visit Mercouri Winery amongst the beauty of the olive trees and vineyards and sample their delicious wines and a mezze platter.  Other people had eaten lunch so the platter was mostly between my husband and I and was incredible with their wine. We had a chance to talk to the family representative, he said that wine is to enjoy, not critique, and we agree. Having said that, their wine was quite nice.   Back to Rome, day at sea which we needed because we were fairly worn out. Except for the Shore Excursion people messing up our disembarkation tour of St. Peters and the Sistine Chapel, and then telling us we were on our own to figure it out (which we did with the help of excellent guest services, thanks for nothing Shore Excursion buffoon) all went well on board. Our favorite spot was Izumi and the Bar area just below it on the 11th floor, quiet and panoramic with a really humorous waiter, and we loved the sushi making class.  Most of the music on board was too crazy disco or Motown or just silly for us, we like jazz of all kinds none to be found, but that's ok.  Theatre shows were mostly too dancy and hokey, but we loved, loved Hector is Magic, a terrific magician who included wonderful audience participation.  I'd pay to see him again. We came for the scenery and culture and were wowed by all of it.  Next time we'll bring our kids!

It would have been a 5 star if we wouldn't have had the bathroom issue, but once Celebrity was aware they took care of it right away.

Food was good, but the service was a little slow. We missed some of the night entertainment due to it taking 2 and half hours for dinner.

The ship was clean and the staff very friendly.

We had no issues in Istanbul, and Croatia was probably the highlight. Both ports were vey beautiful and clean.

The ship is not in the good shape. Stateroom air conditioner did not work, minibar  did not cool. Strong smell of urine in the stateroom bathroom. After multiple requests we were told that there was water under the floor tiles. Tiles were finally replaced. One of the closet doors had the broken hinge, the other hinge was loosing screws. the door almost fell down. Stateroom key/ship card stopped working, had to replace them 2 times. Aqua spa facilities sporadically stopped working for a few days, even we paid for a full cruise for using them.

We were very happy with our first cruise experience.  Service was outstanding, especially our room steward, Michael!  Food at 2 of the specialty dinning locations-Cagney's and Le Bistro were delicious and the staff was very attentive.

The only negatives would be the issue with flushing the toilet in our stateroom, which has already been mentioned in many other reviews and we personally did not like receiving separate checks when dinning at the specialty restaurants.  If you go there as a couple, one bill should suffice.  Also, the bottled water was way overpriced.   

I can't comment on the ship tours as we elected to do less expensive independent tours.

Overall, a great way to travel and get a "sampler platter" of the Mediterranean!

The ports of call, with exception of Sinop and Trabzon were nice and interesting.

Istanbul and Canakkale, were superb.

Now, the vessel, as usual, (I had the same issue in 2011 with the same ship)  all the public areas, show room, dinning room, explorers lounge, etc. were kept at 55 or 60 degrees, I know because I have an app in my i-phone that reads the temperature in a room. 80% of the passengers, including me, inside the ship, we were wearing coats and sweaters. 

I talked to Captain Roberts, but did not work. 

Now in the Lido restaurant, very unusual, they have very rude personal this time.

First of all, I missing 1 of my favorite shoe after I get back my luggage from the cruise, customer service (who assist me) try to blame on the security at the airport,

but I come there straight from the hotel (I stayed in hotel for 2 days before the cruise). Then on Oct 19 I fell out of bund bed required 9 stitched and 1 day at hospital for CT. I head hurting after that. It's really sad because this is my first cruise and I spend too much money for that.  

1. Food is plentiful but not good quality.  Lacking in taste and creativity.

2.  Shore Excursion tour in Efesus:  POOR.  Guide was not knowledgeable, told us to look everything up on Google.  Rather than talk about ancient site, would show us pictures of his vacations on his smart phone.

3. Variety shows included an overwweight Dutch singer who had to constantly pull up her strapless gown....

4.  The main singers in the variety shows would almost shout, too loud, ending each song in a loud, shouting type falseto.... it gets boring when each song starts sounding the same.

5. On 2 occasions, the song repertiore was repeated by one solo artist one night, and the variety show singers the next night, or vice-versa.

After a brief visit to Turkey a few years back we wanted to go to Istanbul.  The October Constellation trip was a good price performer in the off season.  We even got the free tips package, which was also popular with the crew as these cannot be removed :) The embarkation was smooth and trouble free.  We took the Havatas Airport Bus (13TL) and stayed at The Point Hotel in Taksim Square which was right at the bus drop off.  We had the hotel call the cab in the morning to get to the ship.  Note- negotiate cab fares up front- meters are ignored.  This is a nice, well run ship.  We marveled at the view of Istanbul before we left and wished to stay longer.  We could find a decent beer (Leffe and an American Microbrew IPA) and the Captain was Greek and very entertaining and interesting.  I was super cranky at the posted sign when I went to try to change to Anytime Dining (full don't bother) and the MDR food was OK - they have no idea how to make soup.  The water for making tea was lukewarm as per legal requirements is a guess.  We heard a lot of grumbling it was hard to find free food later in the afternoon or very late at night. We love the MDR vs. the buffet experience and the service was flawless.   The highlight of the ship for us was the band- we like to ballroom dance.  Kathleen and The Saints were in the aft lounge every night.  The dance floor was a bit small but we made it work.  There was a fabulous Euro DJ (Inferno) who played every night in the Martini Bar.  Sadly you could not find him where there was a dance floor.  No smoke was noticed anywhere :) They would open the helicopter pad for important sightseeing spots and you could chat with the Officers (the Housekeeping Director was a great resource for questions) - this was a nice touch.  There was no piped in music in the library- yaa.  This was our first time on Celebrity.  They need a bigger variety of shore excursions at Kusadasi- we were less interested in ruins after 11 days.  The ports were excellent- Corfu was just amazing for the forts and Greek lunch.   

The cruise was great. The staff of the Spirit was very attentive and the food was superb. The entertainment could have been better but other than that we had no complaints

Excellent Cruise, with caring friendly staff and crew. Many of the ship's tours were very expensive. I believe NCL was all about making money. The food was well prepared and sanitation was #1. The protocol in place to prevent anything like rhinovirus was excellent. NCL need to have better entertainment on deck.

The ship was amazing.  However, a group called Omni Life took over many areas of the ship.  I have been on at least a dozen cruises over the years.  I have never experienced anything like this before on a cruise.  The large Omni Life group negatively affected the experience.  One example is the Windjammer Cafe.  They took over that area for all meals throughout the day.

Got so much hype about Crystal that I would never go on another line but really not much different than most cruise lines. Sure it's all inclusive but you pay for that. Nobody made any special effort above what I would expect on any cruise ship. Nobody went out of their way to do anything extra or more than usual.

With that said the food was better than most cruises especially at the specialty restaurants. The tours were typical. However in Venice we were forced to pay $69 per person to get into Venice from the cruise ship. (We were promised free transportation into each city we docked in to the city center...surprise in Venice)

All in all I would book this again if the price is right BUT only if the price is right. There is no reason to pay more for a cruise on Crstal from the experience that we had.

Awesome!  It was a dream of mine to visit Greece and Istanbul and my dreams came true with Cunard Queen Victoria.  Beautiful ship, attentive and friendly staffs, overall, beautiful experience.  I will only say that I think they should take into consideration, when it comes to entertainment, that there are other nationalities onboard.  Entertainment seemed to have been catered to the older Brittish guests only.