Europe - Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

I'm in my 30s and perhaps that is the problem, I know that we are not the target audience for this cruise. We went with my father in law who is in a wheel chair and I will say that they did a reasonably good job at making things work for him. I suspect better than other lines. Their ground staff was in constant confusion and no one really knew what was going on, getting things resolved took multiple phone calls. Our pre-cruise hotel was oversold and holland completely dropped the ball on that and the transfers. The post cruise transfer was also really poorly managed and required standing the sun for 3 hours with our bags. But - they did have options for people in wheel chairs and it more or less worked out. At one port, they didn't have any employees in the terminal and sent us the wrong direction killing 30 minutes of our tour. The activities onboard were the worst I've ever experienced. I don't know if the cruise director has any additional staff helping her, but I only ever saw her. They didn't really schedule any activities, certainly nothing after 8pm. Many days were spent reading since there was nothing to do other than seminars trying to get your money or live classical music. Trivia was only scheduled in the middle of dinner every day. no Karaoke. no other little things to do to pass the time. Feedback was provided via their mobile "app" but no one ever followed up. Speaking of the mobile app, it's not a mobile app, but a web page really. Carnival (their parent company) has a brilliant mobile app which includes chat and other feature and the ability to message people. While holland has this function, it doesn't notify the other person, which makes it useless. The food and service was second to none, mostly. Things are a bit confusing since they try to offer additional service over other lines - like you can't put food on your own plate at the lido, they get you drinks and such, but they don't have the staff to really handle this efficiently, so I ate breakfast without drink 2 or 3 times. Being a bit more pushy would have likely worked to help me. High end food options were everywhere, smoked salmon on the lido buffet in the morning, real, quality lobster tails in the main dining room, etc. Note that breakfast in the main dining room was actually a bit worse than the lido breakfast. It didn't have any additional options, actually less options. All in all, it was a good cruise, but I don't think I'm their target audience. I wouldn't pay a premium for this cruise over NCL for example.

This is our third Windstar cruise and it did not disappoint. I can not wait to sail with you again!

I Loved the Seaview Ship!!! It was the best cruise I've ever been on. Completely Modern and brand new in June. This ship had a lot of people on it - 5,000 yet, there was always room. The main issue I had with the Large Pool and Nightly Entertainment was the Sound Volume. It was extremely loud. The Dinners were good in the dining room, but not great. The food in the Market Place and Buffet was wonderful. Usually at night or early morning, I like to watch a little TV. There was only 2 English Channels of News. There were no sitcom or TV shows in English. There were all other languages. Storage in the room was limited. On a different cruise line, they were able to put storage over the bed. Since people were getting on and off the ship the whole week at different ports, I believe they rearrange rooms. This was not a big problem, but 2 nights I hear lots of banging around in the middle of the night. I think they were rearranging the furniture.

Cruise was great, stops were great. only issue was the main dining room food was not great. I think RC has lowered the standard in the main dining room so that you will buy the paid dining. (annoying). Also, my husband brought a watch on board - was given the wrong watch and it is a nightmare to get resolved.

Symphony is easily the best. New additions far surpassed expectations. QUICK HIGHLIGHTS: Too many things to name really... the shows, the food (Jamie's!), the destinations. The Escape Room was AMAZING (we had probably done over 10-15 on land and this was the best) Laser tag was great (gets crowded, expect to wait in line at least 45-60 mins) Water slides are great and generally no wait while docked ;) Windjammer lunches were better than expected. Kudos to your Butter Chicken. THE BAD: The service continues to go down IMHO. Fewer people in the waiter industry spoke legible English. The bartenders (generally Eastern-European) were not the friendliest bunch so we mostly got a drink and walked away from the bar. Had much better experiences on other RC ships. New Seafood restaurant was awful. Horrible bread. Gross, oily calamari. Worst lobster I've had. One person in our party never got their Whoopie Pie dessert and was told it'll take "30 mins" after they brought everyone else's. Compared to the amazing caliber of other restaurants on board, this was such a disappointment. Our room location was THE WORST. We were right above embarkation bridge so be ready to awaken at 6AM to noises of the ship falling apart. And right above us was the jazz club so you'll hear the subwoofer until midnight. The room itself was excellent but clearly made for a deaf person. We barely got any sleep.

A wonderful Mediterranean cruise fun time for me and my spouse along with great Port of calls (first European cruse). We enjoyed the food and the staff was great. Did not hang out by the main pool area spent our time in the Solarium area, ok, but at times we got a whiff of odor from the restroom if you were lounging near it when someone entered. We have cruse the Caribbean a lot. The late-night parting on this trip was not so much but it was not for a lack of trying, Not a party crowd more laid back. Again, still had a great time on Jewel of the Sea

All in all we had a great time. Will we do it again, NO. It was our first visit to Europe and we rushed thru every port we went to. We were getting up at 5 am in the morning (as if back at work). If we go on a cruise again we will need to relax and maybe do just one or two short tours not the 10 hour tour we did. The ship is great and you need to enjoy it, so you need to stay on the ship.

Overall great ship. Although a little tired. Cabin 9019 was nice and quiet. Close to the theater and a couple of restaurants. No information regarding formal night so we missed out but didn't notice people dressed up. Lovely cruise, I just don't recommend the ports.

I can't say enough of the service on this ship! I would sail again with Rhapsody of the Seas based on the impeccable service from the crew. Excellent!

Amazing cruise in the most beautiful Mediterranean and Aegean setting. Far exceeded our expectations. Crown Princess is a beautiful but aging ship. Carpetting needs replacing in rooms. Service was excellent. Very relaxing.

Would not repeat this cruis ship. Staff needs to improve their english speaking skills as well as guest experience training. Food was dreadful with the exception of Giovannis. Pool experience was terrible-too many people. Kids should not be allowed in hot tubs.

Great cruise. The service was marvelous. Our only complaint was the quality of the food at the buffet. The dining room is excellent but the buffet left alot to be desired.

So much fun. The staff was great and the service was superb. I wish I had more time at all the ports but that can't be helped. Yummy food, and fun entertainment. The boat could use some updating, our shower was falling apart, thought the staff quickly re-did some tiles. But we had no problems outside that!

The strongest aspect of this cruise was the itinerary. Have never seen a better line up of ports in the Eastern Med. This was the reason we took this cruise and we are glad we did. We liked Norwegian's free style cruising. We don't go on cruises to get dressed in tux and tails.

A few of the excursions on this itinerary seemed like they were just thrown in to avoid having a shorter cruise. I think that there must be some better ports than Bastia and Olbia.

Great cruise and enjoyed all of the ports. Excellent service and greatly improved food

I was very disappointed in the iConcierge service/app (communicating with other passengers). It cost $9.99 and worked so sporadically it wasn't worth it! And there was no way to explore Dubrovnik without PAYING to get somewhere. If you're going to port away from a town center you should INCLUDE a shuttle to the town. Instead Norwegian charged $15 per person or you could pay for your own cab. But it was way too far away to walk to anything. Very disappointing! The "Ultimate" beverage package did not include coffee shops or water. Are you kidding me?

Great cruise overall. All port calls were very busy and congested with heavy traffic and a lot of tourists. The crowds were manageable but it created lost time in sightseeing.

It’s like a Holiday Inn & TGIFriday’s meets cruise ship. If you go with those expectations, you will not be disappointed. The ship is older and cabin bathrooms need an update. Most notably the food/menu needs a complete makeover! Recommend this cruise in Sept-October.

fun for adults, easy to find a location for every night to gather, would go again with Viking