Europe - Western Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

The ship was beautiful. It was very clean and offered many little "extras" I had not seen on a cruise ship before.

Nice, nice, nice. Great friendly staff, clean, very comfy beds. Verandah suite perfect for us, food excellent in all restuarants, We will def. be cruising again with Holland America!!

the quality of service was very good

The name Jewel was well chosen for this ship. It was beautiful! The decor was very well done. The ship was quiet, there was not a ton of smoke coming from the smoke stack. It was also very stable, the cruise was rather smooth. I took an excursion at every port. All of them were great, except one. The one that was not great was good. I do suggest researching the Catholic holidays before booking your cruise. If you are interested in visiting the Vatican make sure it is not a holiday because it will be closed. The excursions appear expensive but it is the safest way to see the cities and get back to the ship on time. The guides lived in the cities we visited and took great pride in them. They were very knowledgeable, entertaining and made sure that all were present and accounted for. I will most definitely cruise with NCL again. It was money well spent and I had a great time.

This was our second cruise in the Mediterranean on the Wind Surf and unfortunately we were disappointed. While the boat and accommodations are generally excellent, our 2 cabins were located so that the noise level from the engines was often distracting and there was something knocking outside of our cabin windows periodically that could not be fixed - I would definitely recommend against cabins anywhere close to where we were located (141 and 143). Also, the food was only good on this cruise, with repetitive items and menus, while the last time it was very good to outstanding with great variety. While the service of the vast majority of the crew is outstanding, the activities/excursion crew were clear exceptions to these high standards. If you had not booked one of the Windstar sponsored excursions, at one port they tried to relegate passengers to the back of the the line, resulting in a delay of an hour to be taken to shore by tender after the scheduled docking time. In Palma de Mallorca, the shuttle dropped passengers off literally in the middle of nowhere - an hour walk to the nearest sight (our last Windstar cruise also docked in Palma, but provided shuttle bus service within five minutes of the old city). The drop off point in Palma was so far out that it wasn't even on the city maps that had been provided on board. We asked to be contacted by the cruise line but have yet to hear from them.

Very nice ship . Not to big and not to noisy. Clean and freindly staff.

Our first cruise on Royal Cariibean. We had been on Carnival ten times and wanted to try something new. Highly recommend it! The staff was wonderful, the food unbelieveable and for those of you with kids....ours didn't want to leave (ages 3 and 7). They actually cried getting off the ship when it was time to go home. There were plenty of diverse activities for adults and kids, together as a family or separate when we needed time to unwind. The atmosphere seemed far less hectic than on other ships, maybe it was because this was our first RC criuse or maybe because it was European and not Caribbean. Either way, it was one of the best vacations we have ever taken.

Everything was wonderful- another "Wow" ship- we have little to complain about. The ship was kept very clean. With the variety of activities, "night life", and excellent excursion choices, our Mediterranean cruise couldn't have been better. Our Vow Renewal ceremony was very special thanks to the staff involved- we couldn't have asked for more. Don't hesitate to take this cruise!!

The wait staff and the excursion guide were excellent! They truly were the best things about this cruise. All of the shop attendants were helpful and not at all pushy. I did find prices of water and sodas to be excessive, as well as the laundry service. As first time cruisers, we learned a lot about what to do and not do on a cruise ship. If you have small children, this cruise would be for you, lots of families with babies and toddlers, some teenagers. Children ran rampant all over the ship, even in the bars, without any sign of parental supervision. We did see one child fall in the pool area, and no parent came to help them. One of the wait staff finally went over to speak to her. One drawback in taking your family is that they will be exposed to vast quantities of smoke, even in the non smoking areas of the ship, so if you are non smokers, be prepared that no one observed the no smoking signs.

This is the most gorgeous vessel, but my complaint is about the buffet, the food was terrible. The specialty restaurants were pretty good. My most important dissatisfaction was this vessel had horrible entertainment except for the aerobatics show the friday before the cruise ended. Some of the people at the service desk were extremely rude!!! I will cruise with the Royal Carribean once again, because I was just trying out another ship to make a comparison.I met the most wonderful people especially from London they were very friendly and geniune.

First European cruise for me and my soon to be college bound daughter. Wonderful experience for both.

The Norwegian Jewel is a beautiful ship with comfortable rooms and spacious dining rooms. It is two years old but looks like new. The crew was delightful and friendly and we had no complaints at all. I would gladly sail aboard the Jewel again. We took advantage of the Freestyle dining and found that to be a wonderful option. Not recommedned for a single person. There was one problem, and that was either a stabilizer or structural issue. there was a lot of vibration in the hull in the choppy waters.

It was a great ship. Really nice condition and a lot of amenities

excellent. very clean,and very cooperative crew.

I highly recommend this unique experience.

We recently sailed on the Norweigen Jewel and what a positive experience. The ship was immaculate, accomodations were great and the staff without question was superb!

I have not taken many cruises so I have little to compare the ship to. The cabins were fine, the staff on the ship were very helpful and courteous. The buffets worked well for me for breakfast and lunch. There was a tremendous variety of food to choose from and the quality was fine. We were treated well in the restaurants and had only one time when we felt a bit slighted by someone. Considering the 26,000 people and 11,000 member crew, that's pretty good! For heavens sake, stock enough bandaids in the "store"! I had no luggage, cut myself on board, and couldn't buy a bandaid.... I think charging for soft drinks and bottled water is in very poor taste. With all the free food on the counters, it seemed very cheap to charge for bottled water!

The Navaigator of the Seas was great ship. The theather and restaurant are excellent facilities. Entertaniment was good- other than one or two dodge acts out of 14. We enjoyed the food and all the meals were good / great. We enjoyed the health club and my children LOVED the kids club, especially my 5 year old daughter. The only complaints are there was a shortage of deck loungers on nice days- the only way to get one near the main pool was to get out there before 10am. There was one day we didn't even stay out because there was nowhere for us to sit. The excursions were OK but seemed a bit rushed- we might have done better goin out on our own. As a mater of fact we did at Cadiz and it was one of the best days. The excursions seemed to a money making venture NOT for the benefit of the passengers. With that said, we enjoyed the cruise and would do it again and would sail with RC and the Navaigator.

All of the amenities anyone would hope to find on a cruise ship.

My cruise: 30. June 2007. I was on the same ship 1 year ago (south caribean/7 day cruise). FOOD: The food from buffet was ok, but I can't tell you what was wrong with the food from the dinner (main sitting). Every body (excluding the first time fellows) was complaning about the food, 75% of it with no taste or the same as from the buffet. I tried different soups... I gave up! I guess the problem was with the chief. If food is a issue (and it will be during a 14 night cruise) then make sure you get a good deal! SHOWS: Very good, and they try very hard to make each and every day a good show. SERVICE: Not allways 100% as usual on a USA cruise and this has to do (imho) with the small amount of american people on the ship = small amount of tips.