Europe - Western Europe Cruise Reviews

This was a wonderful cruise and we had a great time. Even in summer, the UK and Ireland can be cloudy, damp, and chilly--pack accordingly, and if you have a balcony realize you may not use it much.

We did back to back cruises to the Baltics and then the British Isles which is the one we were most excited about and we were not disappointed. It was a great cruise to some wonderful ports.

There was so much to see and due to traffic congestion everywhere we went in the cities it was hard to see more than one or two things in an entire day.  We had purchased Hop On/Off bus passes and there were a lot of buses in the morning, but remarkably few after noon so it was hard getting around.  The ship was about what you would expect.  Captain was concerned enough with a coming storm to delete our stop at Kirkwall, which was a disappointment, but understandable.  The entertainment on the ship was nothing to write home about.  Since there were so many stops on this cruise there was very little going on during the day, even sea days.  For those who like to experience history in a brief sort of way, this is a good cruise.

We booked with and they were so helpful and easy to work with!  Kacee was our new best friend and went the extra extra extra mile to walk us through the process and make sure everything was completed and ready to go. She called me back and left messages and could not have been more helpful and kind and thorough.  The cruise was wonderful. The ports were fabulous.  The shows were professional and so well done.  The ship brought on local professionals at the stops so we saw authentic irish dancing. authentic scottish proformers.  Everything was perfect.  Even the storm we had to deal with and 12 foot swells didn't put a damper on the trip.

My wife and I just returned from the 12 day British Isles cruise on the Caribbean Princess. Overall, the cruise fell short of my expectations. My wife and I keep kosher and he chef/server did not get my wife the proper meals she ordered for 3 nights out of the cruise.  We were rudely informed by the head waiter we were late to our assigned meal time one night (but were easily able to finish before the next seating). No accomodation was made for the missing meals after I visited the front desk, which seemed to be staffed with agents who knew very little about actual customer service

The food in the International Cafe was plentiful but awful in quality, especially the desserts. They looked great but were not.

The spa manager (her first name was Gemma) was quite possible the most unpleasasant person I met of the cruise staff.  I tried to cancel a massage appt I had due to illness and was unable to get a refund, so I suffered through it.

 The entertainment itself was unexciting and on the average lasted about 30 minutes per show - I expected a bit longer and better quality. 

The excursions themselves were overall excellent except for one to the Giants Causeway in Belfast, which we booked through Princess Cruises. The guide was uniformed and generally uninterested after we arrived at the site itself and spent her time smoking and having lunch with her colleagues while we were left to ourselves. We should have been guided throughout. 

Our day in Edinburgh was delayed due to the tender ships, so we were not able to get ashore till 11:30 AM when the ship docked around 7am that day.  

Finally our stop at Kirkwall had to be cancelled due to weather. While I don't blame Princess for this, it put the final damper on what was already a disappointing ship cruise experience.

We really enjoyed all the ports we stopped and this was a great way to see the British Isles. The majority of the shore excursions were good. The ship was average at best, food and service was very inconsitent from area/day to day. 

Would return to the area however most likely will not return to Princess as I believe they have slipped well under the value you receive on Royal Caribbean and Norwegian lines. Disappointing as they seem to have some better itinerary's.  

The food was excellent..  Incredible variety  

the entertainment was great.  The Caribbean Princess entertainers were awesome as were jo Little and Phillip Browne.. The ship was beautiful and very clean.   Staff was extremely nice.

The cons were:  I fell down some steps in the ship due to water on a step.  The medical office wanted 95.00 just to see me.I feel that since I fell on their property, no fault of my own, it should have been covered.

They had an omelet station at breakfast in only one room and closed at 9:15 AM even though breakfast was served until 11:30..

The decaf coffee was not good.   They used a Nescafe syrup that they put into a machine,.  It tasted instant and we always enjoyed on other cruises a soft serve ice cream machine that was open 24 hours..  this ship did not have one...

Would I sail with Princess again?   Yes!

Food quality and variety was far below the previous 7 Princess cruises we have sailed on.  Excursions were not very good and overpriced. Entertainment was excellent but you needed to arrive 40 minutes early to get a seat

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary since it made so many stops on our bucket list.  The food was fantastic, particularly in the specialty restaurants.  We will definitely sail Celebrity again!

EVERY DAY WE HAD A TOUR SCHEDULGED IN A DIFFERENT AREA OF THE VARIOUS COUNTRIES WE VISITED AND THEY WERE ALL WONDERFUL SO WE WERE TOO BUSY TO PARTICIPATE IN VARIOUS SHIP ACTIVITIES. WE ENJOY OUR EVENINGS ON THIS BEAUTIFUL SHIP AND IN THE SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS AND THE MAIN DINING ROOM

It was everything, the ship, the service, the food was excellent and the ports were all very interesting except for the cold weather, but that we can not control.

This was our first time sailing with Oceania and we had a great time.  The highlight of the cruise was the overnight in Bordeaux, France--the city is beautiful by day and magical at night.  The Nautica is an older ship that is in need of updating.  The service by the staff is absolutely top of the line.  The overall food experience was very good, but not the wow experience that we were expecting.  Tuscano, one of the two specialty restaurants, was most excellent, but Polo was below expectations.  Two of us at our table had to send food back for being overly salty and one other person had two badly cooked steaks in a row.  If you are looking for good evening entertainment, choose another cruise line.  We will gladly sail Oceania again because of their smaller ship itineraries--if the price is right.  But we've had better food and entertainment on Celebrity.

The service, as always was wonderful.  I don't think I will go on any ship sponsored tours again, though.  I always request the smaller group tours and never have gotten one.  I am ready to risk booking my own.  

For some reason, on this trip, the coffee was very bitter.  First time on an Oceania ship that I have had that experience.

The Vision is a beautiful ship.   Love the color and particularly the Centrum.

There's all different kinds of live music happening there from mid after to nighttime.

The WJ needs improvement.  Food not half as good the Navigator.   The Vision deserves better!   We're very attached to her since it was our first ship and have been on her many times.    Tendering was poor in Edinburgh.   lost 4 hours!   

Seeing parts of the British Isles that we had never seen.  The Orkney Islands on the north of Scotland were amazing.  I enjoyed Weymouth and Inverness.

We spent 6 days in London then did back to back cruises with Norwegian.  I was appalled to learn there were no laundry facilities available for passengers to use.  This meant washing underwear by hand every night, which is not my idea of a fun vacation.  On the first cruise (Norwegian fjords) there was an opportunity to have one (not very large) sack of clothing washed for $20.  This was never offered on the British Isles cruise.  When we have previously been on longer cruises, with Princess, there has always been laundry facilities available, including an iron and ironing board.  For me, this was a deal breaker.  I wouldn't choose Norwegian again.

Music every night that was great what was not so good was cancelled 4 excursion because we spoke English .  Food was failed. No coffee after breakfast no ice 

We booked because we liked the itinerary. The ship was nice but the free beverage included only water and tea/coffee in the morning, while other cruise ships offered free ice tea, flavored water and coffee/tea all day. Using hand sanitizers is not mandatory like in other cruise ships, increasing the risk of contracting illness. The main dining restaurant offered only Italian menu throughout the cruise and the servings are small. The shows are good. The customer service of the staff could use some improvements, like smiling at customers. There were no toiletries at all in our bathroom, like soap and lotion. We had to ask for soap and when we asked for lotion, the cabin steward told us that lotions are not provided, unless we are gold members. I think this penny pinching will hurt this cruise lines business. We have used Royal Carribean, Norwegian and Princess and the service there are a lot better and they all provide soap, lotion and more selections of free drinks.

I would definitely rate this ship as one to experience. Although a large ship there is

plenty of room to move around. Especially excellent for anyone with a handicap. Ship does fall down on special dinner venues. Food is average and service is excellent.

This was by far the worst cruise that my wife and I have ever been on.  When we booked this cruise we were excited since we were going to use this cruise to celebrate both of our recent graduations as well as our 5th wedding anniversary.  The excitement was short lived.  As soon as we got on the cruise ship we were able to see that the staff were not happy to be there.  If this weren't enough, we experienced rude behavior from the staff on many occasions.  

There were times when we would try to engage with the staff by offering a kind word, but it had no effect on them and they would just pretend like we weren't even there.  The security team as a whole were some of the biggest culprits.  When we would go or come back from our time off the ship, they would be conversing amongst themselves.  It wasn't as though they weren't able to speak English, because they were doing it openly.  When communicating with us they used hand motions more than anything to communicate with us and when they would use words they opted to use short and harsh words to get us to do what they wanted.  

The food was terrible.  Often times my wife and I found dishes that still had food stuck on them.  Passengers from the ship would eat in the buffet line and the staff wouldn't say anything.  My wife witnessed two elderly individuals eating watermelon in line and when she expressed the health concern she was encouraged by the individual to say something even though the worker was able to see everything that was going on.  This is one of the most ridiculous things that I have ever experienced.  Why would a worker ever ask a passenger that is on vacation to do something that they are supposed to be doing?  It's not my wife's job to do the staff's job.  This was more ridiculous than when one of the cooks in the buffet line walked away from my wife and another passenger as they were asking him a question about the food.  I could go on and on about my horrible experience on this cruise.  I really wish that we could have had a better experience.  We really expected more.  What was supposed to be a special celebration turned out to be our great disappointment.

My husband and I thought the entertainment, which includes the cast shows, were excellent. We felt the food was only fair, especially since my fish usually was overcooked. The stateroom was a nice size, plenty of storage space and kept clean. We did not do any Princess tours.