Europe - Western Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

It is a cruise more suited for family with kids. My 5 year old son absolutely enjoyed it. After joining us for 2 port outing he opted to stay back at the Splash Academy everyday. Dining at the buffet area is much better than the specialty restaurant in my opinion. Dining staff needs more training.

Pompeii, Rome, Florence, the French Riviera...all places Americans hear about from the time they begin hearing about places. These geographic locations are among the icons of our planet. They are not just simply tourist locations, but rather historical markers, cultural meccas and places of dreams and imagination. Now, what would you say if someone told you they could arrange for you to see all these wondrous spots within a single week, and all you had to do was unpack once? Well, that is exactly what DCL can arrange for you with their 7 Night Western Mediterranean cruise.

Following up our first ever cruise last year aboard the Disney Wonder in Alaska, my wife and I departed the ever so cool city of Barcelona aboard the Wonder's sister ship, Magic. Saturday, late afternoon, and the Magic eased its way out into the Mediterranean Sea, the bluest water I've seen in my life. Sailing due east across the sea we soon lost sight of the land behind us as the sun set. Disney did not disappoint. The food, the service, the entertainment...all was first rate.

The shore excursions, while amazing, were strenuous, especially during the summer when the heat and humidity were high. I imagine there are weather related reasons Disney repositions its ships to the Caribbean in the fall and winter rather than continue to tour other parts of the world when the temperatures are milder, but it would be nice to be able to take this cruise when it isn't so hot in Italy.

I am a big Disney Cruise Line fan and advocate. If you are contemplating a Med cruise, you should seriously consider the Disney experience.

Our cruise on Norwegian Epic was preceded with our normal pre-cruise mini-break, this time we stayed in Rome for 4 days. Extra special for us as this holiday was our honeymoon.

Having visited Rome before on a cruise day tour, we’d both really wanted to be able to visit again with more time to really take in the city and sights. We stayed just along from the Coliseum and could enjoy views from our bedroom window and hotel roof top terrace.

One day tours to Rome are brilliant, but it was great to enter the sites like the Coliseum, Vatican, St.Peters Baslica on our own agenda and time. Rome won’t disappoint, but if possible, if you’re planning a trip, best days when number of tourist seems lower are Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The train from central Rome down to Civitavecchia was not too much of a problem to arrange, little less than an hour. At Civitavecchia station it’s a little complicated to the catch another bus to a port drop off location to then have to re-board another bus to get to the terminal building. So wasn’t the best start to the day humping cases on and off trains, buses several times. Once inside terminal though the check in was prompt and we were on board with 45mins.

This was our first time on board NCL bigger ships (been on ‘Jewel’ class vessels prior). So the size and scale of the Epic was impressive. As a consequence of the size, it has a few more deck/outside facilities than other ships. The extended children’s slides and play areas are great for families plus teens and the rear pool/bar area for adults only a great feature. During early evening the massive rear display panel in this area has a movie and at other times screens images of spectacular views from around the globe. This area even has a disappearing pool night times converting into an al-fresco dance floor! NCL’s ubiquitous ‘White Hot Party’ works well in this area when darkness falls.

Also impressed by the additional night time entertainment areas they’ve squeezed in on board the Epic. We both liked the ‘Howl at the moon’ bar for the improv music/comedy relaxed vibe. Also fun to experience their Ice Bar with matching ice sculptures and shots served in ice tumblers, even the seating is blocks of ice. As space inside is limited they have a pre-booking option for evenings so make sure you get time booked if you want to enter into the deep freeze experience!

As a consequence of such a big ship and volume of fellow cruisers, some things are of course compromised. At some times of an evening such as when a show finishes or at peak morning breakfast times, their elevators can be swamped. Just easier to take the stairs if you are able. Working off a few of the cruise calories gained each day not such a bad thing I guess. But this could be annoying if you are less mobile and not able to take the stairs. One idea/tip, especially just as show finishes, is to exit theater and head straight out past first stairwell and elevators and head for midships or stern stairwell areas instead where there's normally less fellow cruisers converging at same time.  

To manage the availability of the various dining options on board, Epic also operates a range of displays around the ship showing how busy various restaurant are at times throughout the evening and also provides an option to pre-book tables reservations. This was good if you can think ahead and pre-plan your evening a little. Was also easy to do via NCLs Concierge free app….. recommend you getting that downloaded and installed before you cruise to help manage your on board activities.

Finally, if you like a nice wine with your meal but perhaps are put off from ordering a whole bottle so only instead order single glasses, then you may not know that NCL offer a free service to save your opened bottle (that you may not of completed (labeled with your number & name)) until the next evening. At your next evening meal, no matter which of the main restaurants you have chosen to dine, very cleverly they can retrieve your bottle from the night before. We often utilized this option and greatly appreciated the flexibility this offered without any add-on charges either!

In celebration of our 15 year anniversary we spent one week on the Allure of the in August 2015.  It seemed like a good itinerary. Nice ship, good food, loved the specialty restaurants especially Samba. Fell in love with Sangria at Vintages Wine bar, loved Jema, wonderful cruise ship employee. Do your research on all the ports with a good port book like Rick Stevens Cruise Ship port book. Rome was amazing!!!! We booked a semi private tour with CruisingExcursions.com we were the only ones on the tour. It was AMAZING!!!!!!   My only complaint on the ship was that they need a better monitoring system at the pool. It seemed like there  were never any available  sun chairs because people left there towels there after they were done or to mark their spots, we weren't sure half the time. I asked an employee, he said that they could only be saved for a 1/2 but people would come back 1 or 2 hours later and try to reclaim their chair. Guests should be advised of the policy, and more employees need to monitor the chairs. Wet towels were everywhere as well as empty glasses and plates. Perhaps guests can be given a written policy upon towel check out.  This seems to be a problem on every cruise I have ever been on.  Makes me not want to take a cruise again.      

My wife and I celebrated our Anniversary aboard the Epic. I booked our cruise through Alaska Air and could not have asked for a better Travel Agent. Janet Castro was most helpful before, during and after our Cruise.

We used VIATOR travel to book our Transfers to and from the Hotel because we stayed in Barcelona coming and going and this was a great transfer.We also scheduled our Naples Shore Excursion through VIATOR which turned out great.

For Florence and Rome excursions we used NCL and did Rome and the Colosseum and Florence and the Wine Tasting. Both were great tours.

At Palma Spain we used VIATOR for the Hop on and Hop Off Bus and got to see all of the highlights and make it back to ship on time.

Our package included the  Beverage and Specialty Dining and we enjoyed all of the Specialty Restaurants.

Dan Boler

We have cruised on Oceania and Regent in recent years and Silversea many years ago, we felt that the cruise experience with Seabourn was the best ever. The itinerary we chose was great but we found the level of service and the extra special personal touches that Seabourn provided were second to none. We have already put a deposit down for another Seabourn cruise.

Check in (Roma) was a breeze then we took a loonngg walk to the ship.  Nice ship.  Once you get over the bathroom configuration in the cabin, it's pretty comfortable.  We had a balcony room which we barely used, to be honest.

The ship was at full capacity, which was only noticeable during pool time when it was  difficult to find seats on deck 15 to relax by the tiny pools.  One of the minuses - tiny pools, slides take up most of the space. The slides were fun for my 11 year old, but he got tired of them after day three.  Otherwise, there were no issues with dining space.

We booked excursions at nearly all the destinations (but for Majorca) which all started too early (7:15 - 7:30am start times).  I understand that we have to fit a 7 to 9 hour tour in before the ship leaves port, but these early start times make for cranky vacationers!  Overall, the quality of the guides was excellent. 

I'm not sure I'd do this cruise again as we spent too little time in each port. That said, this cruise was a good way to get a glimpse of the cities to determine where to spend more time in these historically and culturally rich destinations.

Need to use WIFI? They will charge you €16.50 per hour. Need a soda or juice with your meal? You will need to pay for it. Only thing you get to drink with meal is water or very bad coffee/tea. There are no towels in any of the pool or water play areas. You need to bring your towels from the room. If you lose any towels, that will cost you €20 per towel. MSC will attach €8.50 per person per day to your bill as a "Service Charge". You can have it removed by going to guest services. Kids want to play games - you can at a cost of €2 per game. Pretty much no useful TV channels. Of course you can pay for a movie instead, at least €7.99 Sub-standard food and entertainment. 

Please appreciate that we can only travel during the summer holidays..

This cruise was a Southampton to Southampton round trip.

The positives - very pleasant and hard working frontline staff.

The negatives - This was our second Princess cruise. Our first was on the Ruby Princess a few years ago.  We loved it.

We were initially pleased with the Carribean Princess if a little old and shabby.

First evening anytime dining - anytime but! Long queues and waiting times. We changed to set dining after the first few days.

First day at sea. There were over 800 children who literally took over the ship and the two main pools. The rules regarding jumping into the pool, showering before entering, being accompanied by an adult if under 16, taking food and drink into the pool area and running round the decks were completely disregarded. As was the reservation of sunbeds. Princess staff were either conspicuous by their absence or reluctant to apply the rules. Parents were also absent and were quite happy to allow their offspring to run amok.

The public areas, buffet restaurant's and toilets round the pool were filthy. There also seemed to be a permanent smell of sewage.

Adult only areas were woefully inadequate. The one at the back was shabby and almost entirely shaded by the Skywalker bar. Added to which there was a noisy toddler pool in the deck above.

The sanctuary pool area was pleasant but again insufficient for the number of adults who wanted some peace and quiet and th opportunity to cool down in a pool. You could pay a nominal 40 dollars for a sanctuary subbed.

Despite the rule saying that sunbeds should not be reserved this rule was blatantly ignored. One selfish individual bagged ten sunbeds of which only a few were used at any on time.

Customer services acknowledged that there was a problem which they found to be a challenge!.

Dirty glasses, food plates and general rubbish were left anywhere and everywhere. Children running up and down the stairs, through the corridors and messing about in the lifts.

There were so many baby buggies that walking through the ship was like a busy high street on a Saturday afternoon. 

Unsupervised children occupied the bar areas which should not have been allowed. Baby buggies in the main dining room at the late sitting.

​Senior staff were conspicuous by there absence. We only ever saw the cruise director on the morning TV. 

Princess charged for absolutely everything they felt that they could get away with. Shuttle services to and from ports were expensive and unecessary.

We also discovered that Princess charge for the use of a wheelchair and that they couldn't be taken off the ship. Princess take note - five years ago I broke my leg a week before we were due tell sail on Cunards Queen Victoria. A wheelchair was supplied free of charge and it could be taken ashore.

The ship acquired various names over the duration of the cruise. Shabby Princess is the more polite name.

One passenger dubbed the cruise Benifits on the Sea.

So if you like to mix with out of control children and excessively large tattooed people who have no regard for other people this is the cruise for you.

Having experienced several cruise lines we were not disappointed by the expectation of a superior experience on Queen Victoria. The cuisine was excellent as was the decor and ambience - we liked the old world design and were pleasantly surprised by the sedateness of the lounges.

The excursions were well planned and executed and so we had a lovely cruise.

The wife and I were both very happy with our cruise experience and would recommend the EPIC Med cruise to all of our friends. The ship's operation pertaining to the passengers was very well organized. The large number of passengers (probably over 4,000) was managed by the ship's crew in a very competent and efficient manner, including embarkation and disembarkation. I had read previous review complaints about unfriendly crew members (servers, etc.), but we felt that they were all very friendly.  We especially enjoyed the personality of one waiter, Emerson, at Maltings Whiskey Bar. We found the food and service at Taste and Manhattan (included in cruise fee) to be more than acceptable, and our meals at French Le Bistro and Italian La Cucina very memorable.  Downsides: too many kids running amok; swimming pools overcrowded; and with 4,000+ passengers the elevators required a certain amount of patience. Of course cruising at the height of tourist season contributed to the downsides.

We just finished the cruise and after booking two Haven suites (one for my parents and one for our family), I must say this was very disappointing to say the least.

Too many things to list, but customer service, food quality, accommodations, and overall experience was just not worth the price for everyone to get on a plane from the US to take a cruise with this company.

The onboard computers did not work, which meant, no TV/entertainment, or communications with the staff for the whole week.  We paid a butler service and received nothing.

We will stick with Disney.  You cannot go wrong with Disney.

We began the cruise by discovering I had left my medications on the bus from the airport. We located an officer and he immediately became involved in stopping the bus so the medications could be retrieved.  After that problem, the cruise on board the MSC Divina was absolutely fabulous.  We purchased the Yacht Club package (Cabin 15018) with balcony. The cabin was provided with a personal butler, on call 24 hours and access to the restricted Yacht club areas of the ship. Lounge, pool, dinning, etc.  My favorite was the lounge, all food and drink provided in the package. The lounge in in the forward section of deck 15 and has a panoramic view of the bow. Snacks of all kinds are available 24 hours.  A great place to watch the ship sail to the next port.

Our cabin was exceptional. room service 2-3 times per day. Turn down, fresh fruit, champagne, free room service at any time. The TV news service was somewhat skimpy, only CNN and was not current daily. Since satellites are available, one wonders, why not? Bed comfort was beyond reproach, firm and good support.

Dinning was private for the Yacht Club, with personal waiters, if you sit at the same table. Our waiter was experienced and entertaining.  Food was well above average. Smaller portions, but whatever you wished from the daily menu. The soup and deserts were excellent, and seconds were OK.

The main attractions(as stated in the Divina adverts) is the crystal staircases. My wife was amazed at the sight and absolutely insisted on pictures on the staircase.

During our cruise, there were 3500 + crew people on board, but due to the privacy of the Yacht Club and the size of the ship we did not really notice any crowding or standing in lines.

As shown on our rating of 5 stars for the ship and crew, we did have some exceptions to note about the cruise overall.

Shore excursions were not the best organized.  Several buses were not air conditioned and had the be replaced (Med temps were 95+ humidity) We noted the excursion information provided by the ship did not fully disclose or detail what would happen on the excursion. Example: Palma Mallorca catamaran trip, nothing was said about bringing a swim suit for swimming at anchor.  The bus ride to Cannes and St Raphael was nothing. We were dropped off in the middle of town to roam around for 2 hours.

Overall rating for the shore excursion is at best a 3...probably 2+.

After the cruise, MSC provides bus to the Hotel Melia, Civitavecchia.  This hotel appears to have been built in the late 60s or 70s. Very old. Clean, but not in a very nice area of the city. We were provided a somewhat skimpy breakfast for two days until bused back to the airport.  After leaving the ship, at the end of the cruise, one gets the impression that "So what"? They have your money and you are now on  your own.  After becoming accustomed to life in the Yacht Club you are now back to reality. Something of a "Let Down".

Air trip back to Miami (Alitalia) 10 hours. Food served 3 times, choice of new movies (7) but seating is close together for a 6'4" person.  Price was included in the package. 

Bottom line:  Over all experience. We were very pleased. I rate the entire cruise as a 4.5.

WRKTEM

I am not sure where to start, everything about the boat was a huge disappointment. The workers on the ship HATED their jobs. Only a handful would greet us back or smile. In the narrow hallways the employees would walk fast by the guest, having the guest yield every time. Bartenders were SO slow. An empty bar with 3 bar employees took us 7 minutes to get them to take our order. We tip 20% but this trip we gave up tipping due to the lack of service. The Fall- I fell on WET stairs at the "ADULT ONLY POOL." Everything about that sentence is ironic. The adult only pool is full of children who run thru the area and jump on chairs. The pool is the size of maybe 6 bathtubs, so about 10 people in it feels packed. The latter on both sides of the "pool" are broken. One morning I woke up early to set towels on chairs before breakfast since the pool is packed with kids, we thought we would go early. On my walk down 4 stairs I fell hard and felt my knee popped. Fellow tourists helped me up and I limped back to my room. I let staff know I fell and their was water on the ground while I was crying in pain but they didn't do a thing. On this day the ship woke everyone up early to share that the phone system, tv system, and navigation system were out of order for 24 hours. Nothing like being a hunk of junk sailing without navigation! I tried to call for medical help but couldn't. I went to the medical area and it was closed. I went back to the chairs to notice the PUDDLE of water I fell on was still sitting there. I mention to an employee again, that I fell and am hurt and they need to clean it up before an older person falls. I was told "Its a busy day today, we have to pass out towels then someone will clean that water" so it took 2-3 hours to clean up the water. I have photos of it all, submitted them to the "customer service" but they didn't care. They offered me $300 to cruise with them again. HA! I wouldn't get on their ship again if it was Noah's Arc. I iced my own knee while laying in bed that day and noticed BUGS, yes BUGS crawling in and out of the bed. I took video of it and only then did someone care when I mentioned I had videos of these bugs and my hurt knee. Suddenly, they opened up the medical center and did a report. They blamed me for my shoes I was wearing at the pool. I am sorry but Rainbow flip flops at a pool are acceptable. Concaved stairs with water sitting on them is not.

The food in the buffet was gross. The service was terrible. In line waiting to get back on the ship we asked staff if they were giving out wet towels (It was 99 degrees and the day before they did that for us) and we were told "Yeah but not for 5 minutes" so we stood in the heat while the worker sat on his cooler of towels for 5 minutes. Nothing about the management on the ship was accommodating. No one wanted to be bothered for anything and asking for anything while on vacation was ridiculous. The wifi didn't work and I purchased it twice for 100 dollars. When I called to mention it didn't work they said "oh yeah it only works in certain areas of the ship and not in rooms" and when I asked where I would find that information they told me it is in writing. I asked where and the story changed since it wasn't in writing ANYWHERE. Only then did they agree to refund my wifi charges. When other guests joined the ship in Spain and they were being called to report to a safety meeting a staff member yelled at me telling me I have to attend the meeting. I explained I boarded in Rome, showed my key (which color proves that) but the employee yelled more that I must go to meeting. I had to walk away while they followed me. Found a hair in my lunch at the Irish Pub on board.

We were upgraded to a new room when the bugs were discovered only to have a toilet of poop overflow onto the floor. (See below for that struggle to get help)

The huge photograph of Bill Cosby on board was ironic. He appears to be a terrible human and the Epic is a terrible ship with a miserable staff. The customer service after the fact could care less about my experience. Many emails and calls I was offered $300 to cruise with them again. HELL NO! They are reviewing my medical files but told me "we don't have a fast turn around for that so it may take months to a year to hear from that department"...typical for Norwegian. Everyone from the corporate office in Miami to the staff on the ships have no concept of customer service.

Disclaimer I have never given a bad Yelp review. I took my mom on this vacation for her birthday. I am a special education teacher and the trip was a large chunk of my budget and a total disappointment.

There is definitrely a lot to do on the Anthem of the Seas but there are also a lot of people on the ship. The common areas are beautiful and the food is good (we mostly ate at the specialty restaurants that have an additional charge). Staff was rather cold and the itinerary was not great. We stayed in a junior family suite and were not impressed (in retrospect, we should have gotten two balcony rooms for about the same price). Our teenage children stayed in an interior room with a virtual balcony which was as they said, "cool". 

The ship, embarking and disembarking process, staff, meals...all are wonderful and it was a magnificent trip.  We found everyone very friendly, staff extremely helpful, the process went smoothly for everything.  Our balcony room, starboard, was beautiful and gave us the opportunity to see sunrise every morning except the last two.  Meals in the complimentary restaurants were very good, and the staff was exceptional in meeting my daughter's food allergies.  They met with her upon initially embarking and spoke with her several times everyday, allowing her the opportunity to pre-order her meals.  It was the first time she was able to truly enjoy restaurant food without worrying, and she was even able to partake in the delicious desserts.  It is a fast-paced itinerary, and I highly recommend finding excursions, either the ship's or someone else's, to purchase; otherwise, you may find yourself unable to see the sights you want to because of long lines at the famous landmarks.  The evening entertainment was limited, although Howl at the Moon and the Four Ever Singers were exceptionally talented, the variety is limited.  Daytime activities are designed to get you to spend more money with them, rather than educational.  A few lessons in the language, culture, and history of the areas visited would have been more beneficial and appealing.  Overall though, a wonderful experience we will long remember. 

Everything with our trip was fantastic... except.  Good stuff first.  The entire staff was extremely helpful at every turn.  We had never cruised before and were apprehensive on many fronts.  From the moment we checked in on the dock in Rome, we were put at ease.  The multitude of staff looking to assist, with a smile, was remarkable.  Our porter, wait staff in EVERY restaurant,  crew members in public areas, bartenders, and staff around the pool were simply outstanding.

The Main Dining Room for was very good, but the specialty restaurants (Isumi, Giovanni's Table, and the Chef's Table were simply outstanding.  The Chef's Table is arguably the best meal we have ever eaten. 

Our only frustration, and it was 6 of the 7 days at sea, was that we pre-booked our specialty restaurants, and the website material clearly stated that we would receive a 20% on board credit on the first day of our cruise.  We stopped at guest services 4 times, made at least 8 calls, and even visited the restaurants to get the credit.  Each of the restaurants wouldn't give the credit until after we had eaten (again, the website said day 1... with charge-backs if you didn't attend the restaurant).  Guest services, though extremely friendly and helpful as far as contacting the restaurants, couldn't solve the problem. I don't understand why the "front desk" can't fix the problem, they said it had to be done through each restaurant.   

We seriously stressed about the credit, because it was over $100.  They eventually got it right, but there's no way that would have happened without our persistence.

Enough of that.  Next time we'll print the web page and bring it with us.  The cruise was fantastic, we are trying to figure out how soon we can go again.  Allure of the seas is the way to go!

Awesome ship and a great friendly, staff.  We enjoyed the excursions and the on  board activities.  Plenty of sun on the Mediterranean Sea!  Silk dining room staff remembered our favorite drinks and delivered them to us shortly after sitting down.

We recently sailed on the Emerald for our first time, and it was an incredible and wonderful experience. All of the restaurants and dining room service and food was fantastic. The ship was very clean and we liked the precautions they took with cleanliness in dining and washroom areas. All of the other facilities was very good. The entertainment was the best weve ever seen in our previous six cursing trips. We would definitely cruise with Princess again and n the Emerald ship.

I recently cruised on the brand new Costa Diadema "Jewels of the Western Mediterranean" 7 night itinerary, departing Barcelona on June 29, 2015.  VERY DISAPPOINTING. I have cruised on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and the Bahamas Express. Costa is BY FAR THE WORST in every way imaginable. It was so overpacked that I could not sit down to breakfast or lunch even ONCE. I was forced to sit at tables with somebody else's dirty dishes. There are no forks, no knives, no spoons nor napkins unless you sit at a table, and since NO TABLES are EVER vacant you can imagine how unpleasant mealtime is.  Same buffet every single day. No eggs, no hot food unless you go to restaurant which is so crowded there's no chance of getting in. One day I took a shore excursion that departed at 8:15 a.m. so I ordered breakfast to be delivered to my room at 7:30 a.m. I am diabetic so eating before a long day of walking is important. They never delivered my breakfast. I called room service and the person who answered the phone promised it was on its way, but they never came. I called back and they hung up on me (probably can see room number.) II purchased the all inclusive beverage package, but it doesn't include bottled water. They charge $3.50 for bottled water. The pools are tiny and dirty, again overpacked. No deck space, never a lounge chair. The elevators are SLOW, PACKED or always reserved for luggage transport. Unruly children hit every button making the elevators stop on every floor.  I had to walk up and down 9 flights of stairs every time I left my cabin. There were so many noisy children running up and down the halls and yelling even at 3:00 a.m. No staff member is empowered to do anything. Internet speed terrible and a scam. The Costa portal makes you purchase a new hour for $10 euros, then kicks you off after five minutes use.  Then force you to purchase another hour. Very confusing and I am tech saavy.. I paid about $70 to use their internet for a total of about 20 minutes. No staff member has authority to credit your account.  They make you waste your time when you have a legitimate reason to seek a credit to your bill.  The poor employees are exhausted and underpaid.  Few speak or understand English. Terrible disorganization. For example I was required to attend a disembarkation meeting at a specific time and specific place. I show up and the employee yells something loud in Italian. No rhyme or reason for the meeting. They require you to leave your luggage out the night before you disembark, so how are you supposed to shower and get dressed the day you leave? I can't think of one reason to cruise on Costa, even if the trip is FREE. It is seriously that bad and I am not normally a picky person. CHoose a different cruise line, even if you pay a little bit more.