Europe - Western Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

The ship was spectacular. Personally do not care for assigned dining (Late & Early)

Having been on many other cruise ships, and cruise lines, I can truthfully say that this ship has it all....visual appeal, a variety of entertainment and shopping, wonderful service and dining, comfortable accommodations and, just as importantly, exotic ports of call. Generally, there was very little (if anything!) to find uninviting about the ship overall. From the moment I stepped aboard and was WOWed by the extraordinarily detailed Royal Promenade to the time I entered my graciously appointed stateroom, I felt like I was in a highly rated, big-city hotel! Each day I discovered another beautiful design detail that I had not noticed before, no matter how many times I had been down that same pathway. The ship itself was visually overwhelming, but to complete the week-long experience, she presented so much to see and do that I found myself wishing for another day at sea just to fully appreciate the vastness of offerings found onboard! And the food!!!! Well, Ill simply mention that I own a fashionable catering company and was actually impressed by the quality more and more each evening. Just as importantly, though, the ports of call are incredible. Fortunately, since it can be difficult to travel in a foreign country (especially if you do not speak the language!), the ship offers a variety of excursions to explore the different ports and tailors them to specific activities, physical abilities (some require strenuous walking and climbing stairs) and desires. Determining what to do and see in port, and how to do it, is often the most challenging aspect of traveling. The excursions make it easy to choose a detailed itinerary and not waste valuable time in the evenings better spent enjoying the ships activities. In short, unless you REALLY know what you are doing, its best to take advantage of the planned excursions so you can actually have fun in the various ports (and not get lost, as I did the first day!). In summary, I found The Voyager of the Seas to be the most pleasurable ship and cruise that I have ever experienced. In fact, I would boldly state that if someone does not thoroughly enjoy this particular cruise, I truly dont see how he or she could enjoy the pleasures of cruising on ANY ship or cruise line!

The trip was great. I wish there was more time in each port. Over night would have been excellent. The excursion prices were a bit high but worth it in the end.

My husband & I took his parents on this Mediterranian cruise because of the 2 for 1 and free air fare value.We are used to going on Crystal Cruises for the small occupancy and guaintness and Oceania has that same guality.We celebrated my in-laws 60th anniversary and every one on the ship(even guests) made them feel so special.We laughed and cried and all our memories will last forever.They are all ready talking about going again with us on our next cruise before we left the ship.We also enjoyed the 2 extra dining experiences we had in your specialty restaraunts.I want to thank the people of Ocenia Cruises for making my husbands parents anniversary,a cherished one!

Very excellent cruise. Even though we had 10 hours in each port it just wasn't enough time. 6 port cities in 7 days...exhausting. Guess I'll just have to go back for a longer visit to see what I missed.

We sailed on the Century before it was refurbished, and loved it then; so this time it was even better. One thing we made a lot of use of was the gym. There are tv monitors on each treadmill and eliptical strider, so exercising is not boring. We also enjoyed the LCD flat screen tv in our room, which was plently spacious, even though we didn't have a suite with a butler this time. (Our mattress was super comfortable too) We also enjoyed the sushi bar for dinnner on several evenings, as well as the salad and sandwich bar for lunch on a few occasions.

we had a wonderful time. the itenarary was excellent and the music on the ship was outstanding!!!

We had a nice cabin with a balcony but the mattress and pillows were as hard as a rock. The entertainment was poor and amature at best. The food was well presented but tasteless and always lukewarm. Could not finish many of the meals after one bite. The one English cruise staff member that was there to assist the 70 English speaking passengers was not very helpful and appeared uninterested. Even at the Cocktail party spent her time standing outside the meeting lounge discussing things with another staff member instead of trying to mingle with the other passengers at the cocktail party. Always late when she was supposed to meet for shore excursions. Even with the shore excursions she would not assist just tell us to head down to catch the excursion and not giving clear instructions as to the deck number or offering to passengers who needed the use tof an elevatorfor medical reasons to get to the gangway.

The ship was beautiful! The cabins were very comfortable, the pool and spa area were very nice along with great dining rooms, and and lounges. The Noordam was a very large ship, but the passenger size was smaller so you could enjoy individual attention and no big crowds of people. This was our favorite part.

The Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas was beautiful. It is the second time I've been on that particular ship. The service was excellent. Our stateroom was on the bottom level, deck 2 but was probably the most convenient when it came to getting on and off of the ship at each port. There were plenty of lounges and bars to have a quiet conversation or party with new friends. The best part of the cruise experience was the service with regards to the waiter and his assistant at dinner and the statesroom person. They were terrific and willing to get us anything we needed.

Our room was amazing, we had a suite and it was beautiful. The excursions were nice but not enough time. . The food in some restaurants was not bad but we expected more after seeing our room. However, the buffet was excellent.

Jewel of the Sea. A Freetyle cruise. August 19 to 27... Great ports of calls. Excursions were cancelled.... Too bad. Not enough time to go to Rome or to Florence. The excursion desk was very unfrienly, nasty and did not try to accomodate the customers. Took an excursion to the Cinque Terre that was a great excursion. Magnificent views and good guide (hired from the outside). Food was excelent and enough for everyone. But, 4 restaurants charge a fee.... Is good if you want to get away from the 750 plus kids in the ship. Parents did not care... they were up until 1 in the morning.... they invaded the jacussi and the pool. You should advise people of the condition that is a ship for kids with parents that did not discipline them. I love kids but they should be controlled and not all over the floors in the different areas at night. and even the crew did not care and let them get away with anything.... And they go FREE. Reception Desk was very good and the shows were great Until next time... but not FREESTYLE!

WE HAD A FANTASTIC VACATION ON THE JEWEL, THE SHIP WAS PERFECT, THE SERVICE WAS PERFECT, THE FOOD WAS PERFECT. IT WAS QUITE CLEARLY THE VACATION OF A LIFE TIME. IT WAS OUR FIRST TIME CRUISING AND NCL GAVE US AN EXPERIENCE WE WILL NEVER FORGET DEFINATELY NOT THE LAST TIME WE WILL SAIL WITH NCL. WE HOPE TO CRUISE THE CARIBEAN IN THE WINTER MONTHS.

The ship offers plenty of activites for those who are not interested in going ashore. Food is usally good to excellent, but stay away from Johnny Rockets where the food quality has dropped dramatically from the the prior five times we sailed with this similar type ship. They now charge for Johnny Rockets and it is overall a very poor value. They have added Ben and Jerrys ice cream but charge for that as well. As with most Royal Caribbean cruises you typically feel you are nickel and dimed for items that should be included in the fee for taking the cruise. The drink sticker, while usually an okay value, did not work out as well this year as the drinks were almost always flat. Nonethless, the ship provides an overall good value for all the ports. We highly recommend the Imperial Rome tour and the Pompeii tour. Do not buy any items from the Vatican gift shop when the tour ends as you can find the identical items on the ship that night for 70% less! If you want to go ashore on a tender day leave early as lines can get very long.

The Prinsendam is a very nice small ship where you cannot get lost on. The decor is old world charm which we loved.

The rooms were always very clean, the crew were very friendly and helpfull. No complains about food, there was everything that one could wish for. The Casino also had a friendly atmosphere unlike many others i have visited. The health club was most adequate. Certainly value for your money!

The ship was beautiful and very comfortable. Very clean. The staff was pleasant and helpful. This was our 1st cruise with Norwegian altho we have been on 4-5 other cruises on other ships. We liked the different dining options but sometimes it was hard to get reservations, but there were always the large dining rooms that needed no reservations so it was ok. The food however, was very mediocre at best. Salad was always fresh and the pastry chef was superb but the main meals were not good and the meat quality was not up to American standards

The MS Noordam is one of Holland America's newest ships and it is loaded with amenities. The crew was top-notich. We did the 10 day Mediterranean--Western and it was spectacular. The ports of call were some of the finest of tourist spots in Europe including Monaco/Nice, Barcellona, Naples, Sicily, and Florence (via a transfer) and Rome.

We recently sailed on the MS Noordam with Holland America for its ignaural Mediterraen Season - our first cruise experience, our first trip to Europe and our honeymoon. It will be an a trip we will remember for a life time. The ship was clean, staff was friendly, food was great - we enjoyed everything. From the nightlife to the shore excursions everything met or exceed our expectations. Stateroom was great and recommend spending the extra $$ for the veranda as its nice to have you own private area as you sail into ports or to have breakfast in your room and sit outside and relax and enjoy the sea or the ports your in from your private veranda. Great ship - definitely sad to depart.

The Norweigan Jewel is only One (1) Year Old. It is very large and elegantly decorated. It is well maintained on a daily basis. All staff members are friendly, courteous and helpful. The service was excellent. I would love to take the same cruise again because there is so many places to see at every port. I would recommend this cruise and Norwegian Cruise Line to family and friends. Ten days would have been perfect for me.