Europe - Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

Just returned from a cruise on Liberty of the Seas. The services on this cruise were fantastic. Meals were incredible and the shows were first rate. Favorite ports were Villle France sur la mer, Rome, and Naples. The white night party was lots of fun and the various games on board, like The Quest were excellent. I'd recommend this Mediterrean cruise on this ship anytime. Would love to do it again.

The ship was great. Very clean, attentive cabin stewards and overall good service. You cannot beat the food. I was traveling with a child, so we didn't dine in the formal dining room because we were just too tired after a day in the heat and wanted a more relaxing come as you are atmosphere. The variety and freshness at the Windjammer Cafe was tremendous! My daughter really enjoyed the kids' camp on board and the hours and activities were great. The ports of call were all stunning, the excursions were great, and the tour guides were some of the most knowledgeable I have ever had. The tour guides really knew their stuff. I would suggest that they add more alcohol to the mixed frozen drinks. After the initial two sips, I was left drinking mix. I tested it out at various bars along the ship different nights to confirm. I don't mind paying $12 for a mixed drink, but not for mix; make sure to let the bartender know when ordering a drink. The excursions to Ephesus that include visiting the Turkish carpet companies - while the introduction to how they weave the silk from the silk-worm cocoon and watching the weaving process is really interesting, beware of the sales effort afterwards. I repeatedly said no, I was not buying a carpet. While I appreciate the customary practice to negotiate everything, I said clear no after no. When the gentlemen finally realized he was not going to make a sale with me, I was told to leave "his rugs in peace" and escorted out. I was also told that I would regret my decision for the rest of my life and how could I deprive my children of such a legacy. Really? Completely unnecessary. However, if you are in the market for a Turkish silk or wool carpet, then you should have no problem and the carpets are stunning. The pool side live music during the day needs to be revamped. Too many "elevator" type songs.

great staff will help you out and allways with a smile... very good food, never a bad meal, food was great if you feal like a prince at you home,, you will feal like a King on this cruise.

ONE OF THE BEST TIMES ON A GREAT SHIP. TOURS WERE GREAT WITH LOADS OF INFORMATION. EMPLOYEES WERE GREAT. DINNERS WERE THE BEST AND HAD LOTS OF FUN WITH THE SERVERS, SINGERS. WHAT A WONDERFUL TIME HAD BY ALL OF US

We enjoyed every moment of the cruise with the exception of embarking in Barcelona and disembarking in both ports where tenders were required. Too long lines or waiting time even for quite active seniors and lack of particular priority measures for older people such as a priority line. We are select members but still more organization was required. All the ship staff is attentive and useful: at guest relations, at restaurants, very particularly our room assistant, waiters at Blue and Maitre D' and his assistant. At Blue, attention to special meals requirements was excellent, however the quality of meals was not as good as our experience in the renovated Infinity in which we have had the pleasure to navigate twice. As compared to our previous experience we did not have the joy to dance, once again, the Infinity's dancing lounge,( not the Sky lounge) is so much cozy and motivating to sit around and look at the dancing couples or dare to dance. In spite of all this we are preparing our next cruise in Celebrity expecting that mentioned inconveniences would be looked at.

This was or first cruise and we are generally averse to large crowds so we had great apprehension. We were truly surprised at the attention given to small things. Very polite attendants for our staterooms who constantly kept us iniformed and with towels.. Pool butlers were always cleaning. Great concern and attention to keeping public bathrooms spotless. Not once did we ever enter to find a speck of dirt or paper. This is a remarkable feat considering the heavy use in certain areas of the ship. We moved around the upper dining room using the dine at your own time choice and the staff everywhere was experienced as they seemed to anticipate our every need. We found little quiet areas to hide out even on the observation deck and sky lounge on the ship.. The specialty coffee bar became our favorite once again because of the staff, In particular we loved Ivana. We hope we get to see her again. This group could handle at least 50 people at a time with polish and professionalism and make us all feel so special. In the mornings we always hit the organic cafe by the pool for special smoothies. We paid for the premium non-alcoholic package for there of us and it was worth every penny. This was a graduation trip for our grandson and he was never bored. Many times he said it was OK to just stay on the ship. Also noteworthy, none of us got seasick as the ship was so smooth in its sailing. We had a veranda cabin and sat on it many times in the evening. We particularly enjoyed the evening entertainment in the grand foyer while sipping our specialty teas. This was the height of luxury. If you don't ever leave the ship to go into the many ports, you will have the best vacation ever and be throrougly spoiled by the staff on the Celebrity Equinox. We hope we can come close to this experience on our next cruise which we hope to take with our next graduate in May or June next year.

Everything was great except we were moved to a table of two ( I now know how someone deaf feels) and trying to find couples from the USA. I can understand that on a ship of 4000 would have mostly Europeans but all Europeans...It was so very difficult finding American couples.There were only a few . We should have realized that August is the high point for Europeans to take their vacations... Yikes. We have been on six cruises and should have known better. The ports of call were great however and definitely would recommend the all inclusive drink package. Our next cruise will be packed with Americans.

My experience was excellent great food great staff from embarking to disembarkement I would recommend to anyone My wife was excited about the trip she has been telling everyone music was good but you need some reggae in the mix

Very nice cruise. Israel was subsitued for Egypt do to civil unrest in Egypt. Cruise ship food and was very good to excellent. Entertainment was excellent. Israel destinations were educational. Greece destinations are always fun. Istanbul, Turkey was the best surprise. Even though it was obvious I was a USA westerner, the islamic people were warm and very friendly. Shipboard: Wish front desk was more truthful. If you wish to change rooms, forget it. Exchange rate was not that great, but convenient. Internet service was poor quality and expensive. This is due to the crew using the same satellite. Probably little will happen because this is a Gold Mine for the cruise industry. Overall ship was very good for median size cruise ship. Clean and well maintained.

From the ice cold towels and drinks waiting for us at the gangways at the end of each day to the great food and music, there is no better way to travel than with Celebrity!

We like all traditional activities on board except we were isolated from the world due to without affordable internet service. all our e-machine kept off, including my wife and kids. I paid more than $4X for only about 30 minutes internet service, which is not even enough for my email checking. and there is no any printer can be used for our laptops. Today, we can not survive well without internet. SO IF YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUNG PP, YOU NEED TO OFFER FREE OR LOW FEE INTERNET FOR 7 DAYS.

Overall it was a very good experience with interesting ports. This was our first Princess cruise (we usually take Royal Caribbean) and the Royal Princess is a beautiful ship. It is very well appointed and elegant. There were some hiccups on our sailing, though, with small things like spotty internet (although I can't say as I've ever experienced good internet at sea), hassles like a hour plus delay getting off ship in Athens, and concerning things like a loss of power for a half hour or so (on a brand new ship?). After a long day in port, we sometimes found ourselves avoiding the dining room at dinner because the service was slow (we had anytime dining) and the food was good but not great. Our cabin steward was passable - sometimes didn't get fresh towels even when we left them on the floor. The front desk staff was nice enough, but we kept getting conflicting information from them about how to pick up an item held by security. Getting on an off the ship on port days was not as smooth as we've experienced on other lines. Princess sometimes had just one line to check people off and on the ship, although it was a nice touch to offer wet towels to wipe off before getting on board. We didn't think there was a variety of entertainment. It seemed that at night your choice was the casino or music/dance options at various bars. The itinerary kept us at sea almost everyday, so when we had a day at sea we didn't want/need much entertainment. The pool area was overrun with young children, but that was probably because all European families go on vacation in mid-August. We found ourselves staying in the room to watch a movie - the Royal Princess has a great selection of recent releases as well as some classics available anytime in the cabin (side note that sometimes it didn't work).

We chose this cruise specifically to visit Barcelona an Dubrovnik. Kotor (Montenegro) was a bonus. All other ports on this cruise, we had visited many times. We were not disappointed. Overnight in Venice was also a bonus, although it was super crowded to be fully appreciated. Best time to visit was early morning before the crowds set in. The cruise itself: cuisine was excellent; staff pleasant and amiable; shops on board could offer better selections. Overall very comfortable and pleasant vacation.

Lovely cabins,gracious housekeepers and waiters,excellent all day buffet,dancers amazing, history lecturer a particular highlight. Downside: formal dining room food below average;excursions overpriced;nickel and dime surcharges every time you turn around.

THIS CRUISE SAVED OUT VACATION, AS WE WERE NOT IMPRESSED WITH ROME. WE HAD A WONDERFUL TIME ! SECOND TIME WITH NORWEGIAN, FIRST TIME ON THE EPIC. GREAT BOAT ! LOTS OF ENTERTAINMENT OPTIONS, DANCED EVERY NIGHT AT A DIFFERENT LOCATION. FOOD VERY GOOD, BUT NORWEGIAN IS MOVING AWAY FROM FOOD INCLUDED. THEY SEEM TO BE CHARGING NOW FOR MANY OPTIONS. $5.OO FOR PIZZA AND CHARGING FOR ROOM SERVICE IS CHEAP AND PETTY. THEY NEED TO CHANGE THIS. THE CRUISE DIRECTOR WAS EVERYWHERE WE LOOKED AND REALLY HELPED EVERY NIGHT BY WATCHING ON THE TV INFO. THE TECHNOLOGY USED TO KEEP US INFORMED WAS VERY GOOD ALSO. WE SAIL TWICE A YEAR AND WILL WAIT FOR THE EPIC TO RETURN TO FLORIDA.

Disappointed in royal Caribbean hospitality. Ships common areas needed to be cleaned more offen. And the staff in the dining room were slow and unfriendly. The food was terrible 

Overall a great cruise and experience! (My rating and my two sons rating for this trip was 5 stars, but my wife gave it 3 stars, so this rating reflects the family average - if the system allowed half star ratings, ours would have been 4.5 stars) This was our families first cruise - with our two boys ages 19 and 15, both very athletic and in super shape. We are working professionals located in Silicon Valley, CA, with our oldest son in college and younger son a Junior in HS. We opted for two suites next door to each other on the deck 10, giving my wife and I some privacy, and my boys some independence in there own room. Our floor attendant opened the divider on the outside deck to allow quick and easy movement between the rooms - having connecting rooms would have been perfect, as we often do at hotels, but the cruise ship did not offer connecting rooms of the category we booked. However walking outside with the beautiful Mediterranean below, was a nice way to get between the rooms. Overall we were impressed with the suites - separate bedroom and living room area, and a small dining room. The big flat screen TV was connected to a DVD player, which allowed us to catch up on some shows and movies we missed during the busy work year. Our family meals each evening were always enjoyable. We dined in the humongous dining room 3 times, upgraded 2 nights to the speciality venus: Steak House, and Italian, and 2 nights in the cafeteria style dining hall. Considering the number of people on the ship, the food quality was quite good, and the offerings each night were diverse enough to suit all pallets. We also used the health club and spa most days, enjoying spa services on 3 of the nights. The spa experience equaled many we have enjoyed during our hotel based vacations. Not 5 star, but certainly 4 star. Hanging out at the pools turned out to be the number one attraction for by guys and I - I read many books on the to do list, and my guys started their summer reading, and girl watched. A lot of cool activities at the pool with a full range of experience to entertain (nice to take a break from reading to enjoy the sights and fun atmosphere). The single key feature of the cruise that really appealed to our family was waking up each morning in a new port (2 of the days/nights were spent making long crossings without a port of call). We loved not having to pack up our possessions and moving to different cities - past vacations. Being able to stay in one room, not pack up every few days, and have the "cities brought to us" is what sold us on taking future cruises. RC and their partners offer great variety for booking excursions at each port of call. We opted for afternoon excursions allowing the teens to sleep in: we would have lunch, exit the ship just after an early lunch, enjoy the sites, and then back on the ship by 4:00 or 5:00. Great way to see the very basics of Athens, Ephesus, etc, and get in some sunning/ exercising/ relaxing in the late afternoon, before dinner (we generally ate dinner around 9:00 each evening). Navigator of the Sea is a big ship with more than 3,000 people, so before booking a cruise be sure to consider the pros and cons of a bigger ship and all that it offers versus smaller ships. We investigated many smaller CruiseLines like Seabourn, Crystal and Silverseas, but opted for a bigger ship that would offer more for the teens. Our pre-cruise research led us to Royal Caribbean as a good balance of size/features and luxury. My wife was less happy overall with the size of the Navigator and the number of people, and the family agreed that as we did not take full advantage of the teen related activities (rock climbing, teen club, etc) that our next cruise would likely be on a smaller, more luxurious ship. BUT, Nav of the Sea was pretty high-end all things considered. My wife wants to try the next level up in luxury on a smaller ship, so we will likely cruise next summer on a smaller super lux ship, visiting the part of the Mediterranean we missed this past trip (Eastern Med included Rome, Palermo, Athens, Ephesus, and Crete) - next summer will do Western Med which includes Spain, France, etc. Perhaps we won't like the value - as the smaller super lux cruise ships are at least 50-100% more expensive for the larger suite category we desire. And as the Royal Carib experience was very good, we may end up back with RC, all things considered. But won't know until we try it. Thank you RC and Nav of the Sea for such a wonderful experience. Since this was our first cruise experience, we may not have wanted to ever cruise again had things not gone so well. But RC did a fabulous job in all the categories we cared about (for instance the ship had a full casino, but we don't gamble so that did not appeal to us - but its there if you are in to that type of entertainment). In a final, BTW - if you are from the US, and have a child who is not legal in the US (not yet age 21), but who will be legal on the cruise ship (age 18), DEFINITELY work out rules in advance, with respect to alcohol consumption. Our son is not legal in the US, but at age 19 had full access to booze on the ship, and we did need to make a family decision about when and how much, to help him find the right moderation point.

First, the plus: This recently refurbished ship was lovely...balcony room was great (only way to cruise). All accommodations, from the stateroom to the pools to the dining areas, were very nicely done. The spa was fabulous...very relaxing. Stateroom attendant kept accommodations very clean & well organized. Loved the new touch-screen ship info boards...always knew where, what, & when. Most staff were very friendly & upbeat. The Western Mediterranean ports were great, & the shore excursion choices were many & varied & organized. Now, the "room for improvements": Main dining room service was good, not great; the assistant waiter seemed to be more on top of things than the main waiter...he seemed to "trip" over himself when describing the menus, often seemed like he was reading from a script. Food was very lackluster & served only lukewarm...once or twice actually cold & had to be sent back. Much better food & service on a recent 3-day cruise out of Los Angeles on Carnival. Although, the stateroom attendant kept the room clean & well organized, there were times when attention to detail was sorely lacking & you distinctly got the idea he would rather be somewhere else...whenever there was an issue. One evening, he left behind the laundry bag which had been laid out (per custom), & we had to take to Guest Relations at midnight. He apologized for the oversight, but you could tell his sincerity was forced. The next problem also occurred regarding laundry (maybe laundry isn't this ship's forte): Clothing had been laid out for cleaning & pressing; yes, the bag was taken, but the laundry was not returned the next day by 5:00 p.m. as clearly stated on the ship's own form. We had to call down @ 6:30 p.m., stateroom attendant brought it up...minus one piece. That article of clothing, 3 weeks later, still hasn't been found. Now, the "minus": Consistent policies. A very real problem for Royal Caribbean. In all communications to the guests---ship newsletter, public announcements, ship channel on stateroom TV---SMOKING ONLY IN DESIGNATED AREAS. We were in a non-smoking stateroom, on a non-smoking deck, with a sign on the balcony: PLEASE REMEMBER SMOKING IS NOT PERMITTED ON THIS BALCONY. The last morning (thank goodness) brought a rough day on the sea, our balcony door was left open for fresh air as my husband was suffering from seasickness, and, of course, in come wafts of smoke. When Guest Relations was called & asked if a general announcement could be made in the rooms (obviously, no one could go door-to-door to find the culprit) just to remind all guests of the smoking parameters, we were told that guests "are allowed to smoke on the balconies." When we informed the young lady that there is clearly a sign on the balcony saying "no," we were told 1.) smoking on the balcony is o.k. as long as the door is closed (huh?) and 2.) she would send someone up from housekeeping to look at that sign, because it shouldn't be there & she would call us back to let us know the outcome (huh? again). Never did see housekeeping, never got a call back, & when the supervisor came up hours later with regard to the missing laundry item, he repeated the same thing, refused to comment on the inconsistencies, & refused to come out to the balcony to acknowledge the sign. Get the staff & your policies on the same page, Royal Caribbean!!!!! All in all, we had a wonderful time, mostly because of the ports visited, the other guests we came to know & enjoy being with, & because we were there to celebrate a special anniversary & birthday. Royal Caribbean just happened to be the mode of transportation.

This was an anniversary cruise for us and it could not have been better. It was everything you could have asked for, there was not one hick-up in the hole trip. The staff was great and helpful, excursions where great, food was very good in all area of the ship. There was always something to do and places to go, if it was getting a tan at the pool or entertainment it had it all.

Except for Palma, the ship adds new passengers and debarks others, making chaotic lifeboat drills a daily occurrence. No afternoon naps are possible! As English speakers we were seriously disadvantaged: English tours were cancelled due to lack of participants, yet with a no refund policy we were obliged to take tours in Italian or Spanish. Waste of time, in many cases, and very frustrating and disappointing as we chose this ship's itinerary specifically for its cultural activities.. Wish we'd been warned ahead of time that the cruise was not suitable for English speakers. Felt like outsiders most of the time! Even the admin.agents, restaurant people, and tour desk folks hardly spoke English, and when we tried to communicate our concerns the attitude seemed to be "Get lost."