Europe - Western Europe Cruise Reviews

Seabourn Odyssey is great, the ship, crew, food, wine, etc.  Best staff of any cruise line and continue to amaze at the friendliness and efficiency.  Tangiers/Casablanca should be avoided; not much to see, and somewhat dirty cities,  You are harassed in Casablanca even if you are sitting on bus.  

This cuise was a Musical Festival at Sea, but most of the people on board (like myself) seem to have been unaware of this when they booked.

However, in my case it was a bonus, and would like to go on another similar cruise in the future.

The Prinsendam is a small ship.  Maybe 800 passengers.  Short distances and fewer decks to cover between locales.  Easier to meet other passengers - and see them over and over again.  Everything is laid back.  No lines.  No crowded venues.  Fabulous service from the crew.  And, yes, on a small ship crew and passengers get to know each other too.  Entertainment was very good.  Sophisticated.  Classical music every evening in one lounge.  Finally, for many of us, repositioning cruises are what cruising is about.  We had 9 sea days out of the 16 days onboard.  Paradise for me.

Spending over 3 days at sea initially was too long for us very pleased to reach land in Madeira. Ship bit dated and in need of a refurbishment ,chaotic dining in self service and lack of tables, it was a daily task to find somewhere to sit and eat although food was very good at all times.

Dining at night was excellent with fabulous service and food in the Adriatic restaurant.

Lack of seating space to sit and relax during day and evening (why all the space taken up by art gallery and photos when there is this lack of seating?)

Would recommend more outside seats and less sun beds as most of guests were elderly and a lot were immobile and unable to get on to sunbeds.

Cabin was small but adequate but had problems with toilet overflowing and there was an overwhelming musty smell outside cabin with hot air blowers frequently in use as they had obviously had flooding problems earlier.

One morning we lost the use of the toilet as it stopped working altogether.

The cabin steward though was excellent , very pleasant and helpful.

Overall we enjoyed the cruise but afraid the ship does not compare to the Carnival Magic we last cruised on and i dont think we will be sailing on the Oceana again.

Loved the cruise, good ports of call.  Pity about the weather but can't do much about that.

The ship was very comfortable, staff extremely good and attentive.  My main problem was the smoking in the casino and the smoke coming upstairs onto the promenade deck, which is the main social deck on the ship. 

Very pleased with all aspects of the cruise.

My two items of feedback are:

- I booked 3 cabins for a party of 7, but had to make 3 bookings which created unnecessary work and then not all seated at same table (though we managed to rearrange this - wasting our time and staff time)

- Also I found the web-site awkward to use and unhelpful, eg regarding whether we needed to book entertainment

This trip was primarily to give my Grandchildren their first ever cruise at 1/2 term and for me to experience RC as a product having cruised with both P&O and Cunard. Most of the 1st day was spent locating myself and getting used to the lay out of the ship and understanding what was complimentary or what I would be charged for, given my budget was small. I also struggled with the dollar conversion so again was slightly apprehensive & cautious about any purchasing as I had not been allocated any onboard spending as part of the initial cruise price.

The ship was well appointed for children and there seemed to be enough room so that everyone could enjoy the experience.  I particularly enjoyed The Ice dancing performance which I thought was spectacular and both children enjoyed the theatre show Grease.  

It is natural to compare products and I guess if asked 'would I go again', I would consider it for the children but perhaps not for me which could only be down to becoming more familiar with RC and what it offers.  

All staff and the food choices (especially the free ice cream) were excellent.  

Checking in was slick and very quick. 

The only place to have breakfast and lunch was Windjammers which, although ok, did not have the usual range of food and we prefer to dine in the proper restaurants which had been open during the last taster cruise in 2013.

We noticed the quality of the entertainment was not so good as in previous cruises and there seemed to be less staff serving drinks during performances.  In actuality, there seemed to be less staff anyway!  Nowhere near enough bar-staff and not enough (or well enough trained) staff in the restaurants in the evening.  There were always queues at the bar!  Also, I'd bought a drinks package with champagne (sparkling wine!) and asked for dry and on two occasions was served what can only be described as sugary syrup Freixenet with assurances that it was dry.  Undrinkable and disappointing until I watched the bar staff serve other people and worked out what I needed to order!

The Next Cruise person I spoke to just could not be bothered.  She was more intent on eating a slice of pizza that her niece who was a passenger had brought for her.  It really was like a scene from Little Britain in terms of "computer says no" with no attempt to offer alternatives to my request for information on Far East or Arabian Gulf cruises for next summer - most disappointing!!

The cabin was spotless and extremely well attended by our lovely man Charles and as usual the staff on board were generally courteous and helpful. 

We were 9 people,3 generations from grandparents down to 3 teenagers.

Everyone had a great time because there was something for all of us.

The show on Ice was fantastic and "Grease" was a great show for all of us .

Breakfast in the "Windjammer" was very crowded but meals in the main restaurant were very good

Drink package was great. Service was poor. Very limited 24 hr dining. Windjammer should be open 24 hrs. The drinking venues were too small for the number of passengers. Sea days very busy. I should imagine it would be far better when the weather is good. They should not have the parades in the evening down the middle promenade, just not enough space for all passengers, it should be in the theatre. 

Ship well equipped for children, and therefore i think catered more for families. Overall good value for money. 

We had an amazing family holiday to celebrate our parents 50th Wedding anniversary. Everything to do with Royal Caribbean was perfect, nothing was too much trouble and we were treated with respect and helped with any issues or problems we had. It was a shame that cruise 118 weren't the same as we are still awaiting some of the offer's that we had been promised when we booked with them last year.

Grandkids enjoyed the cruise as did we.   The food in dining room was good but the Windjammer cafeteria struggles to match Celebrity food in this area.   Entertainment was very good not only for the adults but RCI catered  for the kids with their shows.    Still think the gratuities are rather high, especially as they expected and wanted full payment for the kids, but I suppose that's American cruise lines for you.

I have never tried Celebrity; although my husband had cruised once before and highly recommended it. Being Diamond members ( when cruising on RCI) we were able to transfer our membership to a parallel level ( Elite) We obviously missed not having a dedicated Diamond lounge as they do on RCI ships( - although certain areas were set aside each evening) and I wouldn't say the perks were quite the same standard as the other shipping line but we're useful and welcome nevertheless. 

The definite magic of this particular cruise was discovering their Aqua Class. This gave us daily access to the Persian Gatden and most importantly the designated restaurant Blu. The food and service, in our opinion, was wonderful and the highlight of a cruise deliberately chosen by us a relaxing break after a busy wedding. We did try Q'sine one night which was a wonderful treat, it's an unusual innovative restaurant WELL worth checking out and great great fun !!!  But apart from that we happily stayed put in Blu. 

Celebrity Eclipse is a lovely ship with the usual pools and a covered Solarium (most of the time adults only) a huge theatre (with the usual varied shows to suit all tastes)  and a host of varied other activities available through the day and the evenings.we took a fairly comprehensive coach tour of Lisbon and surrounded tourist hotspots and then the beautiful island of Madeira. Apart from that we strolled off the ship on foot to view Gran Canaria ( a wonderful sandy beach about 10 mins walk max) -and Tenerife. 

All in all, this was our sixth cruise and almost certainly one of our most enjoyable. '118 ' were dead easy to use and everything went flawlessly from start to finish. Many thanks!! 

Linda L 

didn't enjoy this ship as much as the Royal Caribbean larger ships, and the shops were more upmarket and less varied, recommend eating breakfast in the dining room as the amount of food available in the oceanview cafe can be overwhelming

We were very pleased with Cruise118. arranging this cruise especially with the inclusion of free drinks package and gratuities all paid.  We thought that an excellent selling point and would look out for a similar offer in future.

However, the cabin booked was unsatisfactory in that throughout the night at unspecified times a very loud noise -sounding like a trolley being pushed along the corridor or the deck below which woke us up.  First time we reported it and were told "if it happens again, phone the front desk and someone will investigate"  The next night it happened again at midnight, then  absolute quiet, so not reasonable to report.  However, after another noise later in the night, we then went down to the front desk at 6.30.a.m. and asked for it to be investigated.  Within two hours we had been moved to another cabin at the front of the ship and it appears this "noise" is something to do with the kitchens that they are well aware of and suggested that in future we do not book a cabin at the rear of the ship on deck6.    We were given a voucher for £300 for a future cruise.

I need to be curmudgeonly not to give this cruise 5 stars, but unlike 90 per cent of the passengers, I suspect, I found the director of entertainment, Sue, somewhat overwhelming and a little like a cheer leader. She was ubiquitous - her job, I guess,  - and dare I say, pushy, but I am sure that she ticked all the boxes required of her in her job description.

Concierge class cabin was roomy, lovely balcony, but could have done with more storage space. Service throughout was immediate and immaculate, drinks package was worthwhile, formal dining always excellent, and buffet food par for the course! Eclipse is a beautiful, well designed boat, which I appreciated even more a second time around.

When will the cruise industry start to give fuller descriptions and itineraries for the ports of call. It appears to be so commercialised, intent on selling those pricey tours. For example, the flea market in Lisbon, open on Tuesdays and Sundays, and less than a mile from our mooring on a Tuesday and a very short walk, received no mention! The industry also appears to be retreating from what I would have considered an obligation to provide free transport to city centres.

The few hours that are passed in most ports of call provide little opportunity for proper exploration, which is why I greatly appreciated the overnight in Lisbon, one of my favourite cities. That should have been the highlight of the cruise, but in fact, it was my unwilling participation in the passenger choir, wonderfully led by the chorus captain, that most galvanised me. Bravo and congratulations!

this cruise was to make up for a terribly disappointing trip on independence of the seas in june16. We are so glad we did as it was our most enjoyable cruise yet the crew were without exception fantastic I would recommend celebrity to anyone we have booked to go on equinox in17 even over Disney which we normally would 

The entire crew was excellent, very friendly and professional, our cabin stewards Vladimir and Raymundo  were outstanding.

The greeter Tasha at the Oceanview café was so cheerful and friendly, made our day.  Raul Urbina in the Oceanview café also was outstanding and Rudy our waiter in the restaurant.

Room1804 excellent.

Santiago de Compostela, Oviedo, Gijón, Bilbao, Rouen , Honfleur and Londo, all beautiful.  Northern Spain people welcoming, friendly, and honest. Recommend taking a taxi once on port to different places. In all the ports visited, taxis charged a fixed reasonable fee to take us to the nearest most interesting towns, allowed 2-3 hours on our own and returned us back to port on time. 

I strongly recomend the route.

We don't  normally write reviews as I always think it is a matter of personal preference and some people will find fault with anything and everything. However, we decided that we would this to one. 

I guess the thing that struck us was that many people thought the ship look a little tired. However, we were impressed. 

The check in in process in Southampton was the quickest and most efficient we have encountered on any of the cruise lines we have travelled with. Arrived at 11.00am and were on board at 11.35am. We were lucky to have a beer and cider beverage package as part of the cruise price, and when we got on board we went to see how much it would cost to upgrade to the "cocktail" package. Usually we have to upgrade as a couple, but RCI allow you to upgrade one cabin member! Bonus points to Royal Caribbean. (It was £61.00 extra for the week of cocktails, beer, cider and wine. Well worth it in my book!). 

We had a balcony cabin on deck 9. It is the largest we have had on any cruise line. Plenty of wardrobe space, drawers and lots of room to walk around. 

Bar Facilities: the staff at the Sky bar outside on top deck were so friendly. It quickly became our "go to" bar. Luckily we had lovely weather!

Meals: we ate in Sapphire dining room every night. Again the waiters we had were superb! My goodness, they work hard. We also called in here on the 2 sea days for lunch. WOW. Worth a visit.

On particularly hungry days, we also had a bite to eat at lunch time in the buffet restaurant. The choice and quality of food is again second to none.

We didn't try the speciality restaurants on this cruise, as there was so much choice everywhere else, we really didn't feel there was any need to.

This may not be the most helpful review, but all I can say is that if there is a problem, we will bring it to someone's attention to get it rectified. We do it nicely, and give people the chance to put it right. However, we had no issues at all.The crew, were all happy, attentive and more importantly to us, seemed to enjoy being on board!  

We we didn't do organised excursions, and just wandered on our own. Taxis in all the ports were cheaper than the  ship excursions. However on another cruise we did use cruisingexcursions.com. So much cheaper, and really, really good!  I believe they cover all the cruise lines, and we will certainly use them again in the future. 

We we will definitely travel RCI again, and this ship will happily be on our list.

Enjoy all!!