Europe - Western Europe Cruise Reviews

After cruising on Oceania Riviera in 2015, we booked Oceania again for the Iberian. The Nautica ship is much smaller (about 700 guests & 1/1.7 staff/guest ratio)- but I found the service not as good on the smaller ship in spite of the better ratio. The smaller ship does allow better access to places like Bordeaux, where we went up river and docked overnight AT the city center (awesome!) & similar in Lisbon. 

The food was good, but the quality is going down. There are only two speciality restaurants (Polo & Toscana), the Grand Dining room was very good, and the buffet (where we ate most nights) was good but got boring after a week.

The 2017 itinerary for this route is better than our 2016; One extra stop at Cartagena. Our cruise had a sea day at the beginning and one at the end which was nice. All of these ports were docked, so no worries about if the seas are too rough for tender service. I always say we are going to go back to the mid-range cruise lines but Oceania itineraries are so good, I'm sure we'll cruise them again.

. The scenery along the  itinerary is beautiful. The places are definitly worth while visiting. 

The ship itself is dissapointing very unlikely other ships I have cruised with

Many public areas smell of food. The variety of food in the buffet on the 15th floor is far from being at it'seems best

The number of ports was a major factor in determining our cruise choice.

Princess did fail in our first port of Guernsey by not launching enough tenders.

The wait to get off the ship and the return, approx 1 hour wait, was not acceptable.

The tender service at Edinburgh (South Queensferry) was not an issue since they launched enough tenders to handle the passengers.

Good food, numerous bars are to be expected but, it is in ENTERTAINMENT that the Eclipse really soars. The main lavish productions are worthy of BROADWAY. The guest main show stars cover a wide path of comedy, song and magic. there are also midday stage productions on sea days. The Grand Foyer has numerous shows and often highlights the house singers and dancers. Sky lounge has great music and many theme parties with singers and dancers.

The staff throughout the ship was fabulous and most attentive to even the smallest detail. The Blu dining staff and our cabin staff were exceptional in all respects. The tours were well done with knowledgeable guides. The only tour that was lacking was Guernsey and that was because we got off the ship later than anticipated due to visibility issues which were beyond anyone's control and guide had another appointment of a personal nature and rushed through what she could but not really finishing tour.

Liked our stateroom and how the staff kept it in good shape.   didn't like the ship layout or the decor.  Too many dining facilities. the shows in World Stage were not what I expected.

We enjoyed all the ports and had great service and accommodations on this new ship.  Our balcony stateroom was tastefully decorated and had all the features one would expect in a 21st century cruise ship, namely lots of electrical outlets as well as plugs ins for phones, etc.  A large flat screen TV was opposite the king bed with lots of TV shows (news and ESPN live) as well as movies for the rare times we were in our room.  The room may have been some smaller than the Nieuw Amsterdam we sailed previously.   Food was as wonderful as we remembered in all the venues we visited, main dining, Lido, plus three of the specialty restaurants. The ship production shows ( singers and dancers) were the best we have seen on the 15 cruise ships we've sailed.  Other entertainment was average.  All ship crew members were especially friendly.   Sail this ship, it's terrific.  

Sir/Madam   Here is an overview of our trip     Pre-Board:  The process can be still be improved on.  As guests arrive, they should be able to board the ship at that time and not wait until the terminal is full.  I know guests were getting off and cabins needed to be prepared for arriving guests, however, allowing us on board prior to cabins being readied could help to increase your bottom line as more folks on board would benefit from using the bars and increase your profits.     Accommodations: Our Veranda, 6098, was very nice.  Storage was sufficient for our belongings. Cabin steward was outstanding as on previous sailings on other Holland America ships.  He did forget to stock shampoo upon our arrival   other then that, he did outstanding work..    Shore excursions:  We signed up for three tours and two of them were below standards in our opinion.       - Rotterdam Gouda Tour:  The advertising lead you to believe that we were going to visit a cheese factory that made Gouda cheese, but it was only a walking tour of the city of Gouda.  Other folks on the tour thought the same as we did and were not pleased.  First of all the buses were late(about 30 to 45 minutes) getting to the ship to take us on the tour; When we arrived in Gouda, we were  rushed to the church with the stained glass windows  five minutes before they the church closed and we were in the church ten minutes before we were asked to leave.       - Lisbon - Three city tour bus trip through the hills.  First stop at the seaside was for 10 minuets after an hour bus ride - enough time to get off - take a picture, find a bathroom and get back to the bus.  Second stop was in Sintra - it was  back in the hills,  was very disappointing - lack of time to enjoy the castle and partake of refreshments from the local vendors.  The final stop at the Place of Queluz  was another disappointment.  The literature should have been more specific as to the current condition of the facility and the furnishings, the smell of mold was everywhere.  We could have had more time taking in the local culture and visiting the pubs and restaurant's.    Both of these tours should have had less travel or less stops.  They were ill designed and poorly executed.  The money we paid for these trips was a waste.       - The Sherry factory/Horse Training tour was outstanding.       -Cherbourg;  Better directions for reboarding.  Lots of folks tried to come back in the same way they when out.  No signs out front to show where to enter for boarding the ship.  I had to ask a few locals for the entry point.       - Dining room and Lido: Service was professional and met our expectations.  Well done by all.       - Bar pricing:  Different charges for the same drink at different bars or at the same bar on different days.   I could not understand that at all.        - Evening shows:  Well below the standard for Holland America.       - Adam (Ship shops) excellent service.       - Ship's Christening:   We were informed by the ship staff that guests would be able to sign their name to the board on the day of the event and the following day.  Due to the large crowds for the ceremony, we waited until  the following morning to go sign the board and were  told   the signing" could only be done the night before.  That was very disappointing to my wife and me and added another disappointment for us on this cruise.   The front desk staff were not very considerate or obliging.     We ask to speak to a supervisor but according to the          receptionist who answered our questions, there was none available.  No apologies was  made.    Amsterdam:  Great night at the Rijks museum .  Thank you very much for that pleasure.  Job well done.  Great Service by the staff.   Disembarkation - The best we have had.  The only problem was that the first announcement indicated that we could stay in our stateroom (terrific) and we never heard another announcement in our stateroom for our call (Red 2).  However, we made our way to the disembarkation point and finding our luggage was the easiest ever.         Alan D. Tremaine, CHA    

more sugar free items.. we had a good time but the shows were not for us maybe u will upgade and add more to ur menu for seafood.. we had a great head stewards. his name sabion  and ruby by the sale for jewerly

Princess has plans to replace bedding on its ships.  This doesn't help if you have

12 nights to sleep on a collapsed mattress.  Service varied from exceptional to fair.

Frequently had to leave the dining room before getting dessert to see the show.

Unless you got to the theatre 30-45 minutes before the show, you would not get a seat.  The entertainment at the theatre was good to excellent 

Activities were repetitive and lacked enthusiasm or imagination.  

The buffet was usually very good with good flavor and variety.   The main dining room food ranged from fair to very good.  The Crab Shack specialty restaurant was definitely not worth the extra charge.   The service was very slow and portions very poor. Some Princess repeat cruisers were disappointed with this cruise.

Having movies only outdoors on a cruise where the temperature rarely got above 60 and was windy was a negative.  So you wouldn't go to the movies but the activities weren't a good substitute.

This cruise was very special for us as we celebrate our marriage of 27 years.The ship is georgeous a wonderful piece of art and well designed.Having cruised before on several occasions, the new restaurant concept was one of me difficulty.I have been accustomed to the family atmosphere table for a week with the same waiter and waitress. This cruise also made me qualify for the Emerald Status.

a great cruise 

Finally a ship that can compete with other mega ships. Beautiful theater, shows, and staterooms. Glad BBking is a regular feature. Not too happy with the main dining reservationist, ignored birthday but they tried to make up for it and we were quite satisfied. Little touches like brushing off crumbs on the table, one server did it, Segung at the lower level of dining room. He also took care of me when I was not feeling well. Everyone was very friendly and cordial to the guests, but sometimes you could see fatigue setting in.

Of all the princess cruses we have taken this was the worst.. we were embarrassed for princess for the entertainment they provided on this cruse. They were one act only and most were poorly done. The meat, both chicken and beef were tough and stringy.  We could not believe we were on a princess cruse.

Viking took very good care of us and we can't wait to take another cruise with them.  They handled an unexpected "glitch" in a very caring manner.  I made some good friends playing Trivia.  The programs presented by Jay Christofferson, and Commander Cheshire were very good and an unexpected treat was the Rabbi explaining Judaism.

Really enjoyed all the ports - Cherbourg, Paris and Bruges.

Went on all day excursions in each of the ports.  Was pleasantly surprised

at what a beautiful city Bruges is - the chocolate shops are amazing!

As always with HAL, was  great service, good food, excellent shore excursion, although as usual, the public areas were very cold, the thermostat was set at 66 F. 

My only complaint is the future excursion person Lynn. Rude, unprofessional and inefficient.  

Other than that, I highly recommend Holland America go anybody body that wants a quite, easy going cruise.

The ship is designed so that all the action is reduced to 3 floors.  During sea days these floors become quickly packed with people and found the areas to be crowded and tightly closed.  The service at most places was terrible.  The food in the main dinning areas was poor and forget about eating at the buffet. The food in the buffet areas was the worst.  Food in the specialty restaurant was good and would recommend purchasing a specialty restaurant package over the drink package.

We did not think we would enjoy cruising on sucjha large ship,but we were pleasantly surprised.We never felt crowded and seldom waited in line for anything.We got on and off the ship without many problems.Entertainment was first rate.Food was so good we felt no desire to try the specialty restaurants.

For my 54th cruise, I was terribly disappointed by the staterooms; we always pay extra for an AFT facing balcony--usually a bit larger with view to the R & to the L.  This was by far the smallest room of the 54 cruises, limited storage because there was a connecting door to the next cabin, had to bring hangers from home to hold clothes (few shelves for folded clothes), space between bed & dressing table was no more than 18", bathroom was a joke (toilet in frosted glass tiny enclosure; shower in another frosted glass enclosure.

Food was much better than on the Sun 3-4 months ago; shows were great but you needed reservations to attend.  There should have been a warning as to what "Priscilla of the Dessert" was about; my husband and many others over 65 walked OUT.

The cruise was worth every cent. We stayed in the Haven and had a wonderful time. Food was good, ports were interesting - it could not have been better.

The only thing I would do different is that I would book directly with the cruise line. The AA.Cruise person that I booked with told me that I would get several amenities. I got them all except a $25 credit. Prior to my cruise, I had two occasions to call this person. I left a voice mail each time. He never returned my calls. I spent $9000 and he NEVER returned my calls!! I had to call and ask for another rep. One call was to pay for the balance of my cruise (since I no longer had the credit card that they had on file). My second call was to go over the amenities. I have already booked another cruise, but this time I booked with the cruise line. The customer service people at NCL are much more responsive.