Europe - Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

poor customer support

cruise was not fun at all

not enough things to do 

poor quality of food

rooms were way too small for 2 people

evening entertainments were way too croaded

My wife and I along with 2 friends recently completed a 7 day cruise on NCL that took us from Barcelona, Spain to Italy (Naples, Rome, and Livorno) and France (Cannes and Palma.)  We arranged our own excursions in each port and highly recommend reading a book  written by Rick Steves for these ports of call.  The tour guides were excellent!  The Amalfi coast and Rome are indescribable!  The Norwegian Epic is a great ship and there is a lot to do to keep you entertained.  The fitness center is top notch!   We were surprised at the additional costs incurred on our trip.  There is a 10% VAT + 18% gratuity applied to every purchase.  There is also a $12.95/person/day charge that covers the tips for the cleaning services. Eating at the better restaurants on the boat were additional $$$.

It  was perfect as I planned, very organized the tours and the personal very kind,

the food and the show good too. the cabin clean and beautiful view from balcon.

the family and me enjoy a lot.

Ship was in great shape as always, I've been on this ship 4 times. I was disappointed in the food quality compared to my other cruise ( I wrote it off to the Europian suppliers, it was not the making or presentation but the taste and quality of the food). Also the entertainment was changed from the Carribean, ( Fat Cats) was not blue or jazz, which we enjoy.

We had a pleasant surprise and time in our cruise with Jade. I was expecting an average food and service in Jade because of my previous trip with Epic but lo and behold buffet food was better, room housekeeping is excellent as in Epic and some of the entertainment is quite good, to mention 'Shout Out' is exceptional. Jade is considered mid-size compared to Epic and thus manning and managing the ship is more efficient. From embarkation to disembarkation, traffic went on smoothly and efficiently. Seating in the buffet for both ships can be full at times especially at breakfast but you can sit in 'Cucina', an adjacent restaurant. Besides all restaurants serve breakfast if you want to avoid crowds. The Suckling Pig and Paella were excellent in the launch pool area.

I also had a trip with Celebrity cruise. Jade's main buffet at dinner time has a variety of 'theme' of food, 'Indian, 'Greer', etc. something to tap at dinner time, just like Celebrity.  There are complimentary restaurants at Jade, Grand Pacific, Alizar and Jasmine. Jade compared to the sit-in meals with Celebrity, the latter, Celebrity,  is rated 5-star to 3-4 star with the former.

The waiting service and housekeeping are excellent for all the ships mentioned.

The destination ports are all worth the visit. Breath taking views in Dubrovnik and fascinating ruins in Acropolis and Ephesus.

Let me mention and thank these guys who went out of their way or have done excellent job on what they are doing: Archie Achibald, daily morning orientation help in planning our day's activities and itinerary. Jorge al Deck 9 adept housekeeping, Alma's smile greeting at Jasmine Garden, Alan's waiting at Alizar, Rose Ann Genario's excellent waiting at buffet and Alizar and Alex Pagtagnan's stopping to converse with us.

All personnel in the main reception were also very helpful.

This cruise turned out to be four seven day bined. Menus were the same every day of the week. Special entertainment was very good. The production shows were the same as was the movies under the stars.

The ports we visited were awesome. The staff on the ship was great for the most part. The food was okay in most restaurants, and very good at Le Bistro. We had the ultimate dining and drink packages. It was hard to get a reservation in the specialty restaurants for the dining package. I did not understand how you could get a $10 adult beverage with your drink card, but could not get a $1.75 cup of coffee.

We had an issue with the bingo game and the "new" staff member. Overall the cruise was good. 

Great ports of call and shore excursions. Main dining room is excellent with fine dining menu changing every night. Bars and lounges are tastefully decorated with great musicians and vocalists.  Breakfasts and lunches at the main cafeteria is a nightmare, an eating frenzy with insufficient tables and have to wait in line for food and dodging on-coming crowd. Beverage stations are always either "out of order" or empty of hot water, or something. Majority of passengers are Europeans with Germans and Italians making up more than 50% of the entire load, which resulted in stiff, poker face unfriendly people. There are also quite a handful of families with young kids, babies in strollers and noisy toddlers running around during the busy breakfast and lunch hour. Shows are mediocre in 5 out of 7. Overall service by the crew is excellent except for a few overworked individuals. 

The cruise started on a sour note when we arrived by train at the Venice St Lucia station. There was a guy carrying the Norwegian Jade sign & he asked us to go to Platform No. 1 where the second guy told us to go back as he was no longer taking NCL passengers. After much back & forth, we finally found we had to walk across a bridge to get a cab or the "people mover" train to go to the cruise terminal.

Once we reached the terminal, the cruise itself  was great - no complaints at all. Suggest everyone gets the Ultimate Beverage Package unless you are a teetotaller.

Some suggestions for improvement:

1. Trivia - get the questions set in advance by a pro quizmaster. Have a set of 30 ready for each session. Train the guys on the answers before starting on the questions - in short do your homework

2. The evening shows are at 730PM and 930 PM. We generally went to the 730 show and had dinner after that. This meant we could not participate in the 830 PM festivities. Suggest the 830 item is moved to 930 PM.

3. When the off-shore excursions are announced in the theatre, use the screen with slides to call the groups and this will give all a current update on screen. Use a laptop and project on the screen.

I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the ship was.  Decorated very nice and the balcony stateroom was very good.  We had the beverage package and the dining package.  The specialty dining was very nice but took a little too long sometimes to get out dinner.  The Italian restaurant was not good at all.  We ate there once and agreed not to go back so changed our reservations.  The ports were excellent with my favorite Naples with a trip to Pompeii and Sorrento.  We missed our excursion in Rome to visit the Vatican so all we seen was the outside walls with three hour lines.  The biggest problem on the entire cruise was the crew being rude.  Our cabin steward was great and the casino staff were very good.  The wait staff in the specialty dinning were very good.  Bartenders were very rude, staff in buffet were very bad with attitudes.  Need help with customer service throughout the ship. 

We had a great time. When I told one of the dinning room staff we were vegeterian they went out of their way to accommodate to us. 

Let's not forget about the cleanliness. They are very concerned about this and make it fun to keep your hands clean ( happy happy washy washy) at the entrance of the dinning room. Also they cleaned up our room twice every day. Once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

At first we were reluctant to book such a long cruise in such faraway lands, but we are so glad we did! I must say that what really made this trip a breeze was purchasing and reading the book "Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports" prior to departure, and having it on the cruise. This book seems custom made just for this particular sailing, and is a MUST read! Here was how we did our trip:

It all starts in Venice, Italy, where the central square (Piazzale Roma) is a short bus ride away from the Marco Polo airport in which we landed. Once at Piazzale Roma, there is a "People Mover" that whisks you from this central plaza to the cruise ship in 5 minutes. We got to the cruise ship and dropped off our bags, then took the People Mover back to Piazzale Roma, where we boarded the slower Vaporetto #1 for a low-cost cruise of the Grand Canal and introduction to the beauty of Venice. We then explored Venice on our own, checking out several amazing churches and buildings (including the famed St. Marks). We didn't take a gondola ride choosing instead for the way cheaper Traghetto ride across the canal. We had a truly awesome experience and loved Venice!

The next two days are spent at sea, which was actually nice as you are able to familiarize yourself with the ship and get some R&R. We spent one day just lounging in the pool with fruity drinks in hand. 

Next stop was Athens, Greece. We did this our own taking the local bus to the Ancient sites and the Acropolis. I do not believe you need an excursion to do this, as we saw everything we wanted and even had an awesome chicken souvlaki lunch at a restaurant before heading back the ship. The hard part is finding the public bus line needed. Just leave the cruise port and walk left until street ends, then walk up one block and make sure to cross the street to get to the bus stop that is heading the right direction. The Parthenon and its views will leave you breathless.

Then came Ephesus, Turkey. We paid for an excursion here which was well worth it. It took us up to the House of the Virgin Mary (where we had a miraculous experience), then to the captivating ruins of Ancient Ephesus.

Next was Istanbul, Turkey. A very different and worldly experience. We easily did this on our own just following the tracks of the Tramway to the historic square which includes Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, and the not-to-be-missed Underground Cistern. We then walked to the Grand Bizarre and from there we hiked back to the ship.

Then came Mykonos, Greece... a fanciful little island filled with 400 tiny churches, a few windmills, and some very nice people. Here we rented a car for 35 Euros (much better in my opinion than an ATV), and purposefully got lost visiting random beaches and passing old Yia Yia's tendering their gardens. it was a beautiful day.

Following Mykonos was a chill at-sea day, which was a nice break from all the walking around and a nice mental break from all the historic and fascinating experiences we just had. A mental and physical re-charge!

The next stop was Naples, Italy... a quite honestly underwhelming seedy port town filled with graffiti and low-income residences. We took an easy train ride (as explained in Rick Steves' book) to the ancient, almost forgotten town of Pompeii, where you learn that people 2000 years ago didn't live much differently than we do today. The pizza in Naples is not to be missed!

For the next port, Rome, we took a highly anticipated excursion to the Vatican via NCL. It was $250 per person... but boy was it worth it! The tour started a bit drab, but we finally hit the historic sites like the wonderful Colosseum and Forum. We then had an authentic Italian lunch, complete with wine, at a quaint restaurant. Then came the most mind-blowing and altering experience... the amazement of the Vatican. Words cannot express the beauty of the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peters, so I wont even try. You definitely need an excursion to experience this, as otherwise the line to get in was several blocks long, and our tour guide's emotional explanations set the stage for a truly breathtaking experience.

The next morning, we woke up to Livorno, where Pisa (and its truly better-then-expected Leaning Tower) are a very short and easy train ride. We also did a spin tour of Florence (another 1 hour, 20 min train ride from Pisa). Florence was beauty beyond words (especially the Duomo, which pictures cannot do justice), but trying to fit both Pisa and Florence in one day proved to be a rather difficult if not fun adventure that warrants a long fascinating explanation we don't have time for. We almost missed the boat, but it was a day I will never forget!

We next docked in Toulon, France. Despite what people (including Rick Steves) may say, I don't thick you need an excursion here at all. It is such a cute town full of life and amazing things to see you will not be bored! A short walk from the cruise ship, we took the tiny tourist train around town, stopping at a beautiful (topless) beach where you can get some sun, and learn several WWII facts. We also walked around on our own, checking out the shopping area and went inside the absolutely beautiful and recommended Toulon Cathedral. 

Our final destination was Barcelona, Spain. It was rather cold and rainy here, but we simply jumped on the Hop On, Hop Off bus and got a spin tour of this amazing city. The architecture of Gaudi here is inspiring... but nothing beats the Sagrada Familia church. We stayed one night in a hotel before heading home, which offered us the ability to soak in the day walking up and down Las Ramblas eating tapas and drinking wine. A beautiful end to even more beautiful trip.

If you are on the fence about booking this cruise, I say JUST DO IT now! You will never regret it, and you will never forget the memories of places and people that will be imprinted in your mind for the rest of your life.

A quick review.  I give our cruise a 3.5 out 5.   The room was exactly what we expected but could have been about 2 feet wider. The bed was curved to save space I am 6 foot 4 inches tall and my feet hung over the edge of the bed.   The view from the balcony was awesome, but who can complain about the french Rivera.  But the room was always tidy and the staff were wonderful.  

The ports were mostly easy to navigate and whenever there needed shuttles to the city they were available.   However, most of the time these shuttles cost between 10-15 Euros and I feel should have been included in the cost of the cruise.   Citavetchia (Rome's port) was a massively horrible port (this is where we embarked on the boat) at the train station there was no signs to the shuttles.  We walked about 20 minutes to the port with our luggage.  We could see our ship but we could not for the life of us figure out how to get there.  Finally we found a free shuttle several blocks from the port terminal that took us to the ship.  Very confusing and a big pain. 

The on board entertainment was good, and I highly recommend the Circque Du Solei dinner show, it was the best on the ship.   If you like to gamble the cruise had a nice casino but like all casinos has a haze of cigarette smoke filling the air. 

Finally the food.   In comparison to other cruses I have taken the food was adequate and gets no more than a 2.5 out of 5 stars.  Cagnigy and Circque du Solei were great.   Moderno was terrible, the two included sit down restaurants "Taste and the Manhattan Room" had the exact same menus which was disappointing.  The buffet the Garden Cafe was nourishing but selection was okay but there was no wow factor.  Disney cruises blow them out of the water with their food.  Also they tried to push upgrades with the food.   I mean food was included but soda wasn't you needed to pay per cup or by a 7 dollar a day per person upgrade for soda, this felt completely out of place for a the cost of the cruise.   I understand alcohol but soda come on, and the booze was out of control expensive, you could easily spend $10.00/ drink.  

Overall I would sail with them again and use it to explore the wonderful destination but I think there could be some improvements to make the ship a little better of an experiences.    

The reason we chose NCL was first for the ports of call and second for the timing of the cruise. May was a great time to go the weather was superb!

The ship itself was very nice, the bed was comfortable.

The ports of call were great. Enjoyed all of them. Unfortunately at the very last minute NCL informed us that the Palma times were shortened and changed. That would have been a nice port to spend a longer time in.

The staff was adequate for the most part. They did not go out of their way to be helpful. Our room steward was OK, cleaned very late at night. He did not attend to the balcony area at all or take away any dirty glasses or dishes.

The Burning up the Floor dancers were fantastic! They  were so good we went to watch a second time. The cruise ship should promote them more. We did the Legends, and the were OK but nothing fabulous. We had booked the Supreme dream but again were notified on ship that they had canceled that show and were booked into another show.

We have cruised on Holland America and Princess. The level of service was higher on both of those lines. 

Although the itinerary was great and it was the perfect time of year to enjoy the weather and spring blooms, we did have some issues.  We ended up eating something that made us both very ill for 12 hours and quarantined for 24.  Luckily it was an at sea day.  We respect the effort to protect other passengers in case it was contagious.  We were pleased with the care that we received in the infirmary. We were not pleased with the lack of effort during the 24 hours.  We were told that we could order whatever we wanted from room service, which was not the case.  We had to follow up with the infirmary to be released as the promised phone call did not occur.

The Celebrity Constellation is a beautiful ship.  It was in excellent shape and had an understated elegance.  While the staff, itinerary, accommodations and entertainment were all excellent, the food was mediocre at best.  Can anyone explain why a cruise to the Greek Isles and Italy lacked even a Greek salad each night on the dining room menu?  I expected at least one Italian or Greek entree each night, and though they appeared from time to time, they were few and far between. 

The cruise director, Allehandro, from Argentina was the funniest guy I have ever seen.  He did a terrific job and just hearing him made me happy. 

Beware the shore excursions!  They are not adequately described in the flyer. We are an older couple and two of the excursions all but finished us off.  We walked in the hot sun far longer than we expected and it was often uphill.  As a result, we cancelled future excursions we had booked and hired a taxi instead.  We enjoyed that much more.  We set our own pace, saw exactly what we wanted and it was usually less expensive.

I am still a fan of Princess and Royal Caribbean.  I would say that Celebrity rivaled, but did not exceed, their quality.

We have done numerous cruises and agree this was one of the best. We spent extra nights in Venice, and being there at night when the city is quieter is magical. The ports are all excellent. Istanbul is awesome, but more crowded that when we were there 5 years ago, we did a tour thru Shore Excursions (bought the 3 pack, Athens, Santorini and Istanbul, and we were pleased with them all, excellent guides). Oai is one of the most beautiful places with gorgeous views and the tour included a stop at a winery that was very nice: no pressure to buy, and they served olives, bread, tomatoes and cheese.

We had to skip Lesbos due to high waves, and Argostoli was a cute town, but not much there.

the Nieuw amsterdam had an awesome crew: our room stewards were great, very attentive and we had fixed dining, with a fun group of people and our waiters took good care of us. Very patient with my elderly mother who is hard of hearing. even the servers in the Lido were helpful and patient. We were impressed with the room service this time, always prompt, and the order was always complete (something that has been a problem on the Eurodam in the past) and they even sent things we forgot to order, like brown sugar and raisins for the oatmeal. We were pleased with everything. The entertainment has improved (a new contract group for the song and dance stuff, much better) but some of the stuff still geared toward an older group.

We had an aft cabin, some + and some negative aspects. Far to walk to everywhere in the ship (but I didn't gain weight!) nice size balcony with a stunning night view in Istanbul, we saw the entire harbor. But I did notice more vibrations, and some noise from the lido deck above in the am and at night when they moved chairs.

would recommend!

the sites were nice, the weather not so nice, the passengers not so friendly, some rude people, and hard to find English speakers. possessive, or jealous boyfriends, and husbands! sometimes the buffet was pretty crowded, and rude orientals who don't understand what waiting in line means.

We have cruise NCL in the past. We had a mini-suite balcony. The room had loads of storage and our steward Jose was there for anything we needed. The shows were good, especially the circus solei and we love Howl at the Moon. We ate in all the specialty restaurant's expect Moderno. All were very good and also the main dining room Manhattan. We did arrive in Barcelona 2 days before the cruise to get used to the time change and to explore Barcelona. Would highly recommend going a day or two early. Arriving & departing the boat went very smoothly. This was our first time to Europe and we enjoyed all the ports. We only used NCL excursions to tour Antibles out of Cannes. Otherwise, in Italy we used a private van with just the two of us from All Around Italy. The drivers and guides were wonderful. They got us back to the boat in plenty of time. They were 9hr tours out a 8am and back by about 5pm. Did a lot of walking but the sites are just amazing. We had a great time and cant wait to book our next NCL cruise. We are thinking of Greece or Norway. 

We enjoyed Ballroom and Latin dancing nightly on the cruise.  The Music Maker Duo (Ray and Michelle) played the best dance music.  The Atrium has the best dance floor.  The Manhattan dining room has a larger dance floor, but it's a bit sticky and the band plays only for a limited time.  The Bliss lounge dance floor is very sticky.  Bring jazz dance shoes to dance in the Bliss lounge or on the pool decks.