Europe - Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

The cruise was delightful, but the people who work customer service were not. We ordered the unlimited internet service that NEVER worked. We complained to the person in charged, and with attitude dismissed our complaint. We then told customer service about our experience with this employee and complained our internet was still not working. We were told they would get back to us AFTER verifying it with the person who we were unsatisfied with..in other words, they were telling us leave us alone. They never got back to us. We paid 25.00 a day for service we never received unless we were in the Internet cafe! 

Cruise rivals more expensive lines. 

Food:  Dining Room food not quite up to par with more expense lines;  but the rest was very comparable.  Almost all service staff very friendly and attentive.  Specialty restaurants offered variety and enhanced offerings.

 Housekeeping:  Awesome staff.  I got towel animals every nite in my interior cabin. Very friendly and efficient with no fault. 

Entertainment:  Very good, particularly aerial performers.  Good variety for 2 week cruise.  Performers in lounges around ship very popular to listen to although may not have had large crowds sitting all the time.  Plenty of activities around ship for varied interests during day.  Movies in cabin available if want/need that.

Gaming:  Casino, Bingo, Deal or No Deal game, raffle tickets...

Shore Excursions:  very good,  multiple offerings for varied interests,  smooth debarkation to bus.  To me, worth the extra money for convenience.

Kids:  the kids were seen in groups here and there looking like they were having a blast and were so cute!  Looks like the kids program is a success.

Overall:  excellent, recommended

The food was horrible and the choices limited. The cabin was old and just felt dirty. My bedspread had a patched hole. The TV was the old tube kind and was missing a button. The shower was so small that the moldy shower curtain kept touching you.

My expectations of my cruise were far greatly exceeded! Everything was perfect (food, crew members, ship condition, shore destinations, entertainment)! It's a humbling experience to have crew member's primary focus on you having the best vacation ever! There was not a sour attitude anywhere. I will highly recommend this cruise to my friends and family and I hope to return soon. Thank you NCL and for making this the best vacation ever!

Lisa Holland

Just returned from doing TA to Rome followed by 11 night Eastern Med. Man do i need a vacation now.  The Celebrity Reflection is a beautiful ship with a very nice Captain and crew that  work to make your cruise  experience a superior one.  This itinerary is port intensive with only 3 sea days so if you are planning to lay back and chill at the pool then dance all night, you might look for a different cruise.  Very interesting ports with lots to see and do in each so you will be busy and ready to relax in the evening. My take on this class of ships from  Celebrity is one that specializes in packages: Specialty Dining with the many different up-charge venues, Drink package, internet, photo, and more i am sure, excursion package. We did go to one dining venue, The Lawn Grill when they offered if 2 for 1 when Select Dining was a complete disaster for seating and we really enjoyed dinner, but to pay $90 additional for 2 to go to Murano, Tuscan Grill, Qsine, could add to your sea pass account when the Main Dining Room is already included.  Your choice.  The Ocean Cafe buffet was very good for all meals.  Pools are awesome, great gym facilities, nice entertainment, a huge Persian Gardens and a small complimentary sauna too.  All in all, anyone should enjoy a cruise vacation on this ship.

We were a little nervous going on a ship that held 3,000 passengers, thinking that the service and food would not be great.  Nothing was further from the truth.  Our room was big, especially the bathroom.  The food was excellent.  The crew were so friendly, always said hello when you passed them.  The entertainment was pretty good.  The ports of call were great, our highlight was Ephesus which is a must-see.  My only complaint is that there was so much nickel and diming on the cruise.  You had to buy bottled water for 5 Euros when you could get it onshore for 1 Euro.  The premier restaurants charged extra, it was worth it.  But the lunch places, gourmet coffee bar, and gelatto stand charging extra too???  I also felt that the 18% gratuity on drink orders was a bit steep.  Then there's the complaint on every cruise about the exorbitant prices for the internet, no exception on this one. The food in the buffet was more than adequate and delicious.  Lots of seating in the buffet dining room which was nice.  The coffee was delicious in the buffet, too.  This was my first Celebrity cruise and I will definitely book again.

First of all our cabin person Made was superb, he ensured that everything was clean, neat and in place; he always asked if everything was fine and immediately remembered our names.  We appreciate Made.  Cabin 3032

Our table waiters were fantastic!  Rolland was excellent and always available, Gabriel as well.  Absolutely NO complains, just praise for these excellent people and all the personnel at the cruise line.

We booked three (3) land tours, one was cancelled and refunded promptly since we were unable to dock in Villefranche.  However, I paid extra because I was informed that booking at the boat costs more than if I would have done that through internet.  This is not a good policy and I never heard or read about this. 

The land tour to visit Corsica Ajaccio was $53.75, and I paid $161.25 for the three of us.  I noticed that the tour at the city, which is walking distance where the boat docked, is only 10 euros.  I understand that the RCCL has to make some money on tours, but approximately $40.00 per person more is too much and the tour was nothing to rave about.  It did not include an inside visit to any site and again, it was exactly as the one that was offered at the city.  I seriously suggest that this is reviewed and maybe lowered or eliminated.  We are not happy paying so much more really!  

We noticed the quality of certain items are either eliminated or the quality is not as good as years ago, but this is going on just about everywhere and overall, the service is very good.   

WE found racial discrimination while in dining room by the head waiter Marc and Neno. I did speak to senior administration about the same and hopefully it will be taken care that it will not be repeated.

Good:

Itinerary is good that calls many cities of many countries; Housekeeping, dining staffs are very nice.

Bad:

- Almost each port disembarkation delayed, we were told with many various reasons.  The most heard excuse was "Customs Clearance".  And there was problem on disembark processing, it took long time to get out of the ship after the "clearance". So we had less time for sightseeing. I felt bad to see so many unhappy faces of our cruise fellows and crew members on the waiting line each morning.

- Many group tours on this boat. They yelled, they shouted, they didn't respect your vacation.

- Food was disappointed. We had very bad experience at Shogun, salt is its major ingredient, too too salty.

The cruise was amazing except for the weather.  The dinning was nice but eating at Alizar and the Asian restaurant were a waste. The food was disgusting and not worth it.  Good thing they were both complimentary or I would have been very disappointed.  I think the time line for Turkey should be longer and less time in Split since there isn't much to do in split.  We felt really rushed in Turkey.  I got sick with a rash breakout and not sure if it was the food or the chemical used in the sheets.  The prices for the photos are ridiculous.  I think if the prices were cheaper, more people will purchase the photos.  We did because I got engaged during this trip and wanted them for the memories.  I will definitely cruise with NCL again.  My room was alway clean, thanks to Jorge and the Chef's Dinner was amazing and at a very reasonable price.  Oh, internet prices are ridiculous and a rip off!!!!! Overall, good experience and we enjoyed our trip.  

This itinerary cannot be beat and the price was great on .  The ship is not fancy and new but it had what we needed.  Great food with lots of choices of venue and type.  The Italian specialty restaurant was great, the French was good and the steak house was probably not worth the extra money as we had a really good steak in the main dining room the next night.  Drinks are extremely expensive but you can take on both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in Barcelona.  Our room steward, Arnel, was amazing.  Felt like staying in a five star hotel.  We did excursions through the ship which I recommend if it is your first time to these locations even if it is a little expensive.  Getting around could be tricky in the short amount of time that you have in each port so knowing the ship will wait for you if you are late getting back is priceless.  The ship left three or four ports late because tour buses were late getting back.  If it had been private excursions, I doubt the ship would have waited long.  The ship's excursions will get you into the top attractions so it was worth it to us as it was our first time visiting these ports.  I recommend taking snacks as the day trips are very long.  I recommend making advance reservations for dinner for the first couple of nights on the cruise line's website as everyone will be getting on the ship at the same time and will all want to go to dinner at once.  After that, you don't need reservations for main dining rooms unless you eat at peak dinner hour.  Buffet had best deserts ever plus ice cream!!!  If you get off ship early in Venice, you must arrange for taxi in advance.  The ship will tell you to just walk out but you will not get a taxi if you have not made advance arrangements.  NCL will tell you that you can get off the ship at any time in Venice but to disembark before 8 a.m., you must prove you have an early flight, make advance arrangments with ship to leave at specific time and you will have to carry your luggage off by yourself down the gangway.  If you need more than one plug in, you will need to take a converter.  Get Euros in advance because the ship charges $10 per transaction to convert cash.  Get at least a balcony cabin because the cabins are small.  Take movies on your tablet or something as there will only be one television station for each language showing anything other than news or sports.   They do not have a movie theater or movie screen.  Normally not a big deal but this cruise was so strenuous and port intensive that we did not want to do anything more active than watch movies on the sea days or days where we got into port late. Wifi is slow and expensive as with other cruise lines but it worked.  Be prepared to dress for any weather as this cruise covers different climates and you will be exposed to the elements a lot.  That means take jackets, hats, sun screen and umbrellas along with a good bag for carrying such stuff around all day.

The ship was very nice (kept immaculately clean!), and the staff was incredible! The food was exceptionally good. And the spa was heavenly. (Get your nails and hair done on board. They know what they are doing!!!) There was always something fun to do on board. And there was always great entertainment - the talent on board was amazing.  We can't believe how many places we visited....it was an incredible itinerary! 

Our only suggestion is to move the sports court.  There is a space right next to it that is protected from the wind, exhaust wind, and the natural gas fumes...and could become a  great caged pickleball court.  (Pickleball is quite the rage now and EXCELLENT exercise!)  If nothing else - perhaps you could add a solid wall on the current sport court on the right hand side as you face the court to block all the wind and fumes.  Have a movable net available.  We brought our own paddles and balls and faked it.

All in all - it was a terrific first cruise!  Bravo Norwegian Spirit!  Thank you!!!

We enjoyed our cruise on the Norwegian Spirit because it is a beautiful ship with elegant decor.  We also enjoyed the meals, but were disappointed that passengers were not allowed a lobster meal except with an extra charge.  Of all our cruising, this was a bad first.  Hope that changes!   Staff were excellent and most of the many shore excursions were worth the money.  Exception would be the  Istanbul excursion (4 and 1/2 hr. tour became 7 hrs. due to extreme traffic, monotone, boring leader, and too much rug showing).

This cruise had many positive features such as wonderful entertainment,  good choices for meals, nice dining areas, plus more.  I personally would have preferred a second regular swimming pool rather than a heated giant spa-like pool (really too warm for much swimming).

But we had a very pleasant trip, seeing places we had always wanted to see, which made this cruise highly recommended by us.

This was the most Magnificent trip we have ever been on. We "Walked Through History"! We truly enjoyed all of our Excursions, the food, the staff and the convenience of the smaller ship. We chose a balcony room and it was well worth the view. 

We enjoyed our first cruise ship experience.  We are scuba divers and have been on several Live Aboard Dive Boats and have sailed Live Aboard Catamarans for 7-10 days in the Bahamas, BVI's, Winwards.  Now that we are retired, we thought it was time to try a Cruise and opted for the Western Mediterranean.  We selected Oceania Riviera because it was a "high" end mid level capacity ship.  We were somewhat disappointed that the majority of passengers were in jeans and casual clothes vs. the advertised "country club" style of dress.  Also, we are 67 and felt like the young people on board.  The Oceania Shore Excursions were pricey considering that the size of the groups were 20 to 30 including people who had considerable physical limitations.  Three of our scheduled tours were cancelled due to windy and rainy weather, which we were not informed of until 30 mins before departure.  Very little attempt was made to let passengers know how they could replan the excursions once on land (e.g. trains, taxis). The morning muster for shore excursions was very chaotic and prolonged. In regards to the cabins, I particularly appreciated the full size tub with extra shower and the lighted dressing table/desk mirror plus the stand alone magnifying mirror.  There was more than sufficient closet and drawer space.  However, I saw little value to paying the extra cost for Concierge Level Cabin.  The lounge was extremely small and the Concierge Support hours were very limited.  The advertised "Early Boarding" for Concierge Level was afforded to all passengers.  The Specialty Restaurant reservations were limited but were at 2/3's capacity at all times.  The staff was very committed and provided excellent service.

The port locations were great and our favorite was Naples, where we took a private taxi tour to Pompeii and up the Amalfi coast. Our taxi driver took us to a seafood restaurant in Sorrento on the beach and suggested a few highlights to see in Naples before we went back to the ship.  We had planned to do this on our own but wound up with one of the hoards of taxi drivers looking for tour passengers.  Our least favorite was Istanbul.  If your tour operator asks if you want to look at some carpets and see a weaving demo, just say no!  we wasted 2 hours trying to get away from the used car tactics.  There are no bargains.  The line to the blue mosque (for people who already had tickets) was  1/2 mile long. No exaggeration. It was just not doable, so we went to another mosque.  The crowds were unbelievable as was the traffic-about 90 minutes stuck in traffic.  Take the tram and do your own tour.  Make sure you eat some baklava-it was the highlight of Istanbul. The NCL tour to Aix en Provence was ok, but skip the tour guide and wander around this lovely city on your own-have a beautiful, leisurely lunch.  Le 2 Freres was wonderful. As long as you know the meeting place for the bus, you're ok.  Athens was a disappointment, again due to the crowds.  Venice was actually magical but many of the gondola tours put you unexpectedly with 4 other strangers.  The private ride is over $200 plus tip.

We would do this cruise again but after spending $1500 (and we thought we were careful) just on the ship (after applying a $400) on board credit, we would go ahead and purchase the specialty dining package, the wine package and the internet package. I think that in the long run we would have saved money.  The food outside of the specialty restaurants is mediocre at best, and we had a few inedible dinners.  The internet starts the clock as soon as you sign on and rounds up to the next minute when you sign off.  A brief email cost $10.  If you plan on using the internet daily, it would be cheaper to buy the package.  Using the internet on land is not a bad plan, but the time is really too precious to spend it looking for a cafe that has wifi.  We were told that you can't buy the packages once you are on board. Budget for a significant amount over the basic ticket price so not to be surprised.

The crew is great, but the ship is very old and the beds unbearably uncomfortable.  Our room steward brought us a piece of foam (literally) which helped. We had a balcony cabin on deck 9, mid ship which was a good location.  We liked the smaller size of the ship which made it easier to get around compared with larger ships we had sailed on in the past.  

Go into it with your eyes open and you'll have more fun!  

The Zuiderdam is starting to show its age, but in spite of this the 11 day cruise was truly amazing.   Beautiful ports of call and a very attentive crew on the Zuiderdam. 

Staff and service was all excellent.  Food was very good and balcony rooms were very comfortable to for two people, could accommodate three without too much issue.

The disembarkment from two of the stops was a nightmare that felt closer to cattle herding rather than a vacation.  I'll chalk this up to it being the staff's first cruise of the year.

This was our seventh cruise, second on NCL.  We also have cruises on RC,Carnival, and Princess.  Really enjoyed the whole trip and ports.

The ship was very clean, and the staff was excellent.  Our stateroom attendant was one of the better ones that we have had.

We were quite disappointed in how poor quality the pay restaurants were.  I normally only eat at these restaurants, but by day 5 we switched over to the dining rooms, which had food that was about as good.

Another item I feel the need to warn people about is the tour to Ephesus.  People need to know that the tour to Ephesus that interline offers has a tour guide which, while extremely knowledgeable on the area, is a shill for a carpet company in town.  The people in there are hard-sellers, so be ready to deal (their rugs are beautiful but you should only pay about 20-25% of what they ask, less on more expensive items), or once you see that this portion of the tour is starting, just duck out. 

The itinerary was also great.  While I'm not interested in going back to Split I'm glad I went, and the other ports were fabulous.  If you like martinis, take NCL up on their cheap tastings...the bartender is a real pro.  

All in all, great trip.  I'll sail NCL again.

The embarkation and disembarkation from Venice was very smooth.  The ports of call in Croatia, Piraeus(Athens),Greece and Kusadasi(Ephesus)were learning experiences and easily accessible.

The ship was clean and crew was friendly.  The weather at this time of year was super. The entertainment was excellent.