Europe - Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

The cruise was very good overall, however there were a few disappointing experiences. The food, crew staff and rooms were great. However, the communication with the passengers was deficient.

The night before we arrived at Cannes we went to the excursion desk to get information on what to do in Cannes since we hadn't booked an excursion for this city. The response from the person attending the desk was: "Well, if you didn't book an excursion with us you are on your own". I then went to Guest Services to find our more information and on what deck to disembark and I was told we were not docking, we had to use a tenner and make a reservation. I was surprised and asked what a tenner was, since we had never used one before. They explained they were the small safety boat s and we had to make a reservation. By that time, they were by the letter S, so I asked how many tenders will be transporting passengers and how long it would take. The lady at the desk responded, we will have two going back and forth every 15 min approximately. They I said, that is going to take a long time, how come we were not informed, what happens if I don't have a reservation. The lady replied, then you will have to wait for all the reservations to disembark and then the people without reservations go. The next day we woke at 6:00 am as usual, got the three kids ready, had breakfast and sat to wait for our letter "S" to be called. We waited until 9:30 am and they were only by the letter “E”, not only that, if someone had hot showed up when their letter was called, they had a chance to skip the line and board the next tender. So, we decided to go to the back of the ship and see if there was a way to disembark quicker. Well, we found out there were two lines, one for reservations and one for non-reservations. The whole procedure was a mess, everyone complaining and getting impatient, no one was informed correctly. At the end, we were able to disembark and finally got shore around noon. I felt we lost most of that day. Since the cruise was a seven-day cruise I think we should get reimbursed for one seventh of what we paid.

Another disappointing thing was that they decided to paint the pools two of the days or our cruise. They closed one pool one day and another pool the other day. This maintenance should be done while the ship is not occupied, we paid to have all the pool areas functioning the whole cruise.

Mykonos was splendid - absolutely everything I thought it would be. The views were stunning and the people friendly. That can be said of every port, really.

One unexpected delightful surprise was the view coming into Kotor - I didn't know about the fjords - what amazing beauty. Probably the best pictures of the entire trip. As we were pulling in, Captn Bob said we we didn't have anything to do for a couple hours he'd recommend we go out on deck to enjoy the views - best advice ever!

The disappointment (and reason for less than 5 stars) was the ship - the food was not up to past Princess standards and the spa was in too public location. The new layout of the Horizon buffet also negatively impacted the trip - it is hard to navigate. The Lotus Spa should be in a more secluded area - you have to walk through it to get to passenger services, tour desk and other places. It made for an uncomfortable visit rather than a relaxing visit - so much I didn't go as many times as I planned.

Ship staff was great - as usual.

See below..we hate surveys and am only providing this to give great credit to our dinner wait staff and register our complaint about a few of the meals.  Entertainment was mediocre.  The Piano Bar guy was good for only 1 night...his routine was 100% repeated every night and we did not enjoy him.  Other cruise lines we've sailed with the Piano Guy was the highlight of our trip...an enjoyable engaging show every night.....

The crew and staff were so mechanical , detached and plain place holders / cardboard cutouts I just felt like cattle being moved from feedlot to slaughter house . The first thing that told me me this was going to be a S--t show was the emergency drill . Now after flying halfway around the world , taxing a taxi to the port , clearing immigration customs and going to our room we need attend mandatory safety/lifeboat drill - hold onto your seats kids . everyone was to put down turn off cell phones and pay F--N attention. We went through it as a couple right at the feet of crew members continued to use phones - we had to do it all over again ??? WTF

reflection is new ship.  the dancers they did very good job for teaching dance classes.   

but i like the older ship Infinity better.  the director is very good with much more activities. 

The cruise staff was all very friendly.  The ship was lovely, but there could have been more to do for the under 60 crowd.  We loved the ports and had a great time.  But with 6 women all together, how could you not!

We are a family with two kids and we loved it! There some things you should know about the cruise. First, there are free shuttle in most of the cities, no matter what the cruise line says. We paid $50,- (4 Persons) to take the NCL shuttle into Marseille, an we asked before about free transportation...the answer was "no". However, a couple of 100ft away there is a free shuttle we found out later from passengers from another cruise ship. This was a bit "anoying". If you like to save money, check the ports, most of the rental car stations deliver to the port. So do your own shore excursion...super easy in Europe and safe!

We took the cruise in June, be aware that it can be really hot outside this time of the year (90F/35C+), means: If you like to visit historical sides like Pompeji-there is no shade! The destinations are great, Europe light but plenty to see.

Overall, we cruised a lot before with NCL and other cruise lines. If you´re used to it, you know what to expect!

NCL: The cabins are overhauled and the food was excellent. By the way, you´re visiting Italy, France and Spain- go local!!! Great restaurants and bars-use this opportunity

Overall I can recommend this cruise, no matter if you´re with a family, single or with friends.

One more: There is a train going to Civitaveccia from Rome City for 15 Euros p.P. (taxi and cruise line ask 50 Euros p.P.). Easy travel, if you plan to stay in Rome before/after the cruise. If you travel direkt to/from the airport Rome (FCO) to Civitaveccia, you have to take an additional train for 10 euros and swith trains at Roma Triento (central station) which is easy.

Have a wonderful cruise and enjoy western Europe!

I won't book another Norigean cruise again. I have booked a Royal Caribean cruise for 2018 for 14 nights. I love cruising but this was by far the worst customer service I have experienced on a cruise.

The best entertainment in the high seas; very professional, engaging, and talented group of people. The celebrity dancers also performs on pool deck and Reflections lounge prior to a theme dance party.

The Blu restaurant staff were great, friendly, warm, and very attentive.

It was an exhausting itinerary since there was no sea day until after the 5th port and then the day before embarkation. Three days of sea day may be better.

I love that you were not hounded to be photographed. 

My favorite part of the cruise was Palma De Mallodrca.  I thought that the majority of the cruise help were awesome.  I thought that the Customer Service Representatives were awful and not helpful at all in fact I found them to be hostile.  I have been on several cruises and yours was the first one where I was denied juice and beverages and made to pay for them.  Over all I would not recommend this particular cruise to anyone and I don't think that I will cruise on MSC ever again. We were charged for TV service that we never received and were initially told that the charge would be taken off our account but it wasn't.  The culture of some of the clients was one of hostility and aggression.  I deal with aggression everyday at work.  I go on a cruise to get away from that.  I felt that I had to put on my "game face" in order to eat, participate in excursions or to disembark the boat.  Your company should put something in place to combat this type of culture.  You should set the example of care and concern for your customers.

We've been on many cruises.  The destinations, food and entertainment were better than the others.  Service was a bit hit or miss.  We would recommend this cruise to others as a good way to visit beautiful places in the Mediterranean.

our favorite part of the cruise was the service we received from our waiters at dinner and our room server. They all made us feel special despite the thousands of people in the cruise.

the shows and activities on board were varied and of very good quality.

things to improve: add at least one more ice cream station by the pool and keep them open for a longer time.

The ship is beautiful and very very well maintained.  The food and the restaurant staff are all incredible. Overall we had a very nice vacation.

However, because of the numerous customer service issues we encountered, I would not sail on the Rivera again. I don't need to be dealing with incompetence on my vacation - a theme which was consistent between many of the guests we met during the cruise.  I feel the customer service management on this ship needs to improve significantly.  A few tips from Marina would help!

Loved the itinerary. When we boarded we found the process a bit confusing - not very much help with signage to help us find our way. We understand the crew has a great deal to deal with on the first day but they appeared tired well into our trip.  We also noticed less staff was present.  We found our cabin steward was very helpful and attentive in many ways - kudos to him!  NCL entertainment is alway fabulous- we enjoyed all the performances we attended.

The Five O'clock Anywhere Bar was cold and sterile and atmosphere was cold including the seats -not conducive to staying for a second cocktail. Comment on the entertainment...terrible. More bars should have blenders.  That seemed an issue when ordering blended drinks.

Excursion tour guides were all very informative and pleasant except for the lady who did the Athens tour.  She seemed a bit disinterested and abrupt.

This Med cruise was wonderful.  Our AA cruise specialist, Jeremy, was very attentive and guided our selections for a beautiful on board experience.  Notifications and reminders were helpful.  Embarkation went smoothly and ahead of schedule.  On board, the Oceania crew and staff were fabulous.  Rooms were clean and comfortable and we enjoyed our large balcony.  Committment to excellence was very apparent... from the housekeeping personnel, to the venue servers, to an outstanding evening in La Reserve, a seven course dinner with wine pairings... which was overseen personally by the senior executive chef... and was our favorite evening.  Gourmet food, informative cooking classes and wine tastings aboard were excellent.  The only downside were the Oceania cruise excursions.  2 of 3 were sub par due to audio issues... couldn't hear half of what was said.  The excursions we booked on our own via the Internet were 100% better in quality and price.

We cruised on the Norwegian Star to the Adriatic Sea on June 4-10. It was a birthday celebration for hubby, and he was pleased. I was glad that we did not have to tender into any ports. Everyone from the captain to the "Washy, Washy, Washy, Happy,  Happy,  Happy" did try their best to please and serve, which really made us feel welcomed. The ports were all interesting, which was why we picked this cruise. The food was fine for the most part, especially at Cagney's. The shows were good - especially impressed by Wu Lan, the beautiful contortionist. Vincent, the Jude Law look-a-like cruise director really revved up the spirit and instilled a feeling of family for the entire cruise. The Soul Brothers were rocking - fun running into them at the ports. We made some nice friends, which made our time on and off board very pleasant. Booked for next year already!

We had 27 in our group ranging from 7 months to 64 yrs old.  Employees were great and treated us like family.  The ship is a medium size ship and we were never fighting the crowds.  Wish the pool was modernized.  Overall great adventure for our family.

My family had a wonderful experience. Just the right amount of activities and outings. Food never ending and overall very good. Cabin remarkably roomy and well laid out. Cruise Director and Captain very personable. Kids club outstanding. Only negative was terrible coffee on board - wish they had an upgrade.

The cabin was clean, food was overall good but even with all the specialty restaurants, nothing memorable. Service was polite friendly but not too personable. It's not the crew's fault....there is just a lot of passengers - 4100 is A LOT! Lines for buffet and lines for everything if you don't have a reservation. The 2 major complaints we had were in regards to tendering in port at Cannes, and the other was crowd control. In Cannes, you had to make a tender reservation...which we didn't find out about until the day prior from the TV. We got lucky and were off the ship only 30 minutes later than I had expected, but there were not enough tenders to move the number of clients, and many did not get to shore until 3 hours+ after arrival in port, which meant they lost half a day. The process was very disorganized. The 2nd complaint was crowd control and the issues with certain misbehaving clients. We had people push out of queue getting off/on the ship with no regards to others. We watched in horror as families let their children throw ice cream wrappers straight on the ground after eating them (this was while lining up to get back on the ship...the same with the hand towels being tossed on the ground or trash cans instead of the proper bin. These incidents require staff to be polite but firm....instead of being afraid to say something to these clients. 

Our least favorite ship.  Our balcony room had a poor layout compared to others.  Our bed was near to door instead of the balcony and hard to pass through.  It did have sufficient storage.  As usual our stewardship was great.  Many of us passengers missed an excersion because they changed the time without adequate notice.  So glad we visited Barcelona three days earlier.  Long bus rides to most destinations took time away from most sights.