Europe - Western Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

Been on over 15 cruises and can say NCL is the best. I was disappointed though in the lack of party choices for younger middle aged people. I miss the white party , but they had the glow party one night which was a lot of fun. Doesn’t make up for numerous nights walking in circles bored. A few other people my age where disappointed as well. Not everyone likes piano , 50/60’s music or bingo. I asked the DJ at the pool the play the song “Big Ship” it’s a classic reggae song that they play all the time on Carib cruises. He was nice but said he was told to play Italian music But he did play a few min of the song for me and I observed numerous people getting into the song tapping their feet etc lol lol. Then on came the music they seemed to end that. Since the cruise was mostly Americans they should maybe judge their audience better

Great cruising. Dining was also very good. Descriptions of excursions were not exactly complete, especially the reating for miles to walk or the effort. Diembarking - while there are large number of Taxis most likely will have a 1 to 1 1/2 hour wait.

The first Dinner was a stress, the rest was very good. The self service station on lunch was crazy, people's hoarding the meal. The breakfast was good and rich. Onboard activities was very good for relaxing. The land excourses was good. Except Palermo. All crew members were friendly and courteous.

Had very nice experience. Cabin steward was very attentive. Our table Waiter remembered us and was interested in our port visits. Remembered whether we liked coffee or tea.

This was my sister and my 60th birthday cruise and it was my sisters first cruise. RCI has the wow factor and the staff are always great. We did think that this time prices have been increased in the shops and bar, even the excursions seemed a bit over the top in price.

Had previously sailed with NCL which we loved. This was our first cruise with Royal Carribean and while we enjoyed the cruise and chose it for the sheer size of the ship, we discovered that it was just far too big for us. While we cannot pinpoint anything in particular - entertainment was good, staff were lovely, food and drinks were great, we decided that this ship is not for us. Maybe because it is so new we found when we sailed (13-20 May) there seemed to be what looked like large corporate groups on board, which detracted from the holiday feel of the ship. In the main dining room we felt the choice of menu each night was quite limited and repetitive e.g whatever we chose to eat the vegetables that were served with it were carrots and broccoli !! I have to add that the staff were superb and we had no complaints at all with them but we actually thought the food was far better on NCL. To sum up I think each individual has to try it for themselves - it’s like most things in life, you like some things more than others. While I am not running the ship down in any way, this is just my personal opinion but it was not for me.

The ports of call where great! Food was good. The ship is in a desperate need of furniture remodeling, all chairs cushions are worn out. Stains on carpet. Mattress are like sleeping on bricks.

Done this cruise last year, waste of time the 2 days down to Gibraltar and 2 days coming back, next time flying straight out to med and start cruise on the first day, cabin boy not very good, first used Hoover was a week, windows dirty as well.

Overall we had a wonderful time on this ship. My mother in law got married on this cruise too ad the service was lovely. We would definately sail with royal Caribbean again. Thank you

Symphony of the Seas Pro`s & Con`s We sailed on Symphony from 13th May, this is my list of pro`s & con`s. This guys is only my opinion, so before any of the keyboard warriors on this site shoot me down, like they did on my last post, remember your all old enough to make up your own minds. This is just my opinion. Pro`s 1. Staff are superb, nothing is too much problem. 2. Adults only solarium is fantastic. 3. Plenty of sunbeds all around the ship. 4. Central Park Superb. 5. Cabins are well set out plenty of storage. 6. Getting on and off the ship in ports is well organised. 7. Swimming pools are warm. 8. Debarkation easy and well organised. 9. Wonderland superb experience. 10. Sorrento’s Pizza Fabulous. 11. Casino has a great atmosphere. 12. Solarium Bistro great for lunch. Con`s 1. Embarkation Chaotic. 2. MDR meals were a bit monotonous. 3. MDR Tables for 2 are far to close, about 6 inches from next table. 4. Too many large corporate groups, made it hard to find seats in the bars. 5. Every bar has loud music, not one quiet bar. 6. Some areas were closed for private events. 7. Chops Grill do not serve the best steaks, I have ever eaten. 8. The ship is far too big; we felt it lost the feeling of cruising. 9. Too much upsell on everything. 10. No Tea or Coffee facilities in cabins. To round it off, this probably wasn’t our best cruise, and I doubt if we would ever consider symphony again. One of the major problems without naming specific nationalities was the fact that some people have no idea of the etiquette of queuing or behaviour, but I suppose that could apply to any cruise with multiple nationalities. The one thing that we did have to complain to guest services about was the really atrocious lack of organising getting into the Ice show. There were no designated queue lines between those who had reserved their seats and those who hadn`t, so it was absolute chaos and downright dangerous. Those at the front who had not reserve seating would not move out of the way for those who had. The staff lost all control, my wife was knocked over and almost trampled, I had to shout to get people to move. (The show by the way was outstanding, don’t miss it). In all fairness to RCI, when I complained to guest services, they couldn’t apologise enough and sent us a bottle of wine to the cabin. So guys that’s my take on our cruise, don’t let my opinion put you off, I am sure lots of people have much different opinions to mine, it just wasn’t right for us

I scheduled the cruise and excursions via and am glad I did. Be sure and read the instructions for how to meet your guide for the excursions as every port is a little different. It was somewhat stressful to find our guides, some were late, but they always came and were knowledgable and really nice folks. We also tended to have some of the same people on the excursions for several days, so we made some great friends while there! Be prepared to walk a lot and bring an umbrella just in case (the ones sold on site barely lasted a day!). The Naples (Pompei), Rome and Pisa/Florence tours lasted 8-9 hours, so get some sleep the night before! Most of the excursions have some extra costs like entry fees and lunch.

I spent hours writing an in-depth review for this mediocre ship, and it vanished when I tried to submit it. Very strange.

Well this was our first cruise with parents and friends, after being told that Princess Cruises was the best of them all. Our impression was quickly squished when we first went into our cabin, there was a horrendous smell of grease coming from the room, we complained and nothing was done, so we had to leave the balcony door open for the whole 14 days we were on the ship. The ship was very dated and tired, even after people saying that apparently it has had a refurb. The only refurb we saw was carpet in the hallways, not in the cabin at all or anywhere else. The schedule of things do to was dire, we made a joke about getting the schedule, closing our eyes and then pointing to one and seeing what would turn out. There were things like napkin folding, bingo, trivia... all things to keep 60/70+ people entertained. The food in the dining rooms was generally good on most nights, some it was a little cheap. Horizon Court was only good at breakfast, during the day I couldn't find anything decent but I did only try the once. Entertainment was dire, they had dancers and singers but it was nothing spectacular. Some of the acts were entertaining because you had to laugh at how bad some of them were. I don't think I'll be doing another Princess Cruise ever again after our first impression, the parents love them, but I don't think they have ever experienced anything else so have not looked elsewhere.

Great time with wife and 6 other friends. Room very nice, plenty of space. Food great. Entertainment excellent. Paid $199 extra for access to Lotus Spa sauna and hot slabs but hardly used them as slabs were cold for 12 of the 14 days and the sauna's way to hot, nobody could use them. Some people I spoke to on last day had their money refunded but would not refund ours. The sauna's in the men's change room were excellent and no extra cost. Overall had a great cruise.

Cruise with Princess Cruises was awesome. Transfer to & from the ship were amateurish to say the least

This was our first cruise. From the time we were welcomed on board to the time leaving we were totally looked after. Not only were the crew polite and friendly they looked like they wanted to male us happy. They also seemed very approachable and would chat to you.

Budi our butler and Dina our housekeeper took wonderful care of us in our room. Sing handled our every drink need at Michaels Club and the concierge ladies were so helpful with everything we needed. Michellle at Sushi On Five made our every meal special. The QSine meal and show was outstanding. The burgers at lunch at the Lawn Club were exceptional.

Smoothest cruise ever. Celebrity is now my favorite Line! Awesome trip on a great ship.

We really enjoyed the ship and all of the ports we visited. We did several of the excursions and really felt we learned a lot, saw a lot of new areas to us and believe we got our money's worth.

Arrive one day before the start of the cruise to adjust for the time difference. stayed in a nice hotel by the coast. enjoyed the local beach. Took the train to the port city of Civitavecchia to board the Celebrity Reflection. Very enjoyable trip. The Celebrity Reflection is a beautiful and modern ship. Learned much from the shore excursions, relaxed and enjoyed the good atmosphere, shows including a flamenco show, Ole! and food, Including seafood Paella.