Europe - Western Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

They lost my luggage and did not care at all!!!  All of the great customer service goes out the window once you leave the ship. They take your luggage and kick you off the ship and if your luggage is lost it becomes your problem.  The cruise line doesn't follow up or even look for it, yet they take it from you the night before! My husband and I set sail on the celebrity equinox for our honeymoon on 6/27/15 from Rome. The cruise line took our luggage on board and we did not realize our luggage tags were missing until we started to pack on the 2nd last day before disembarkment. We were required to leave our luggage outside of our room in the hallway the night before disembarkment.  I felt very uncomfortable about this but the cruise line required it. When we departed the boat on 7/4/15 for the port in Barcelona my husband's luggage was there but not mine. I was told to fill out a form and then the staff started preparing for the next cruise. I then called multiple times over the next few days. I was told they did not have the report and I had to send my copy of it multiple times.  Then my husband called and he was told that my luggage was found. The cruise line then called back an hour later and said that was a mistake. They finally refunded only $300 a month later, but that took a month and I had to provide receipts. I lost at least $3000.00 worth of valuables. They refused to admit their mistakes and compensate me adequately. They took my luggage and lost it. They did not follow up on it and made multiple mistakes afterwards.  This was very upsetting. We also were not able to tour Barcelona as we spent the day buying clothes and going to the port to look for my luggage with almost no help from the staff. DO NOT USE THIS CRUISE LINE, THEY ARE AWFUL

This was our fourth cruise but the first with Celebrity.  The Equinox was a beautiful ship but most of all the staff was exceptional friendly and courteous.  The quality of the food in the main dining room as well as the specialty restaurants and buffet were excellent.  Better than any other cruise lines we have been on.  I would highly recommend Celebrity Cruises.

ANTHEM OF THE SEAS – ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Seeing the ship for the first time as we got to gat 8 at Southampton was a real WOW – at the sheer size of her! Despite the grey skies!

Getting on board was fairly straight forward process and we had our first glasses of Prosecco as we boarded. Made our way to our room and the first disappointment was seeing a double bed instead of Twin beds which is what we booked. Then there was only ONE bathrobe – not two. I rang Guest Services a total of 3 times in about 4 or 5 hours. One of the drawers was dusty and not been cleaned. There was also a pot of fruit which i thought was complimentary but appears someone had left it! OH DEAR!

We unpacked and went to dinner and when we got back it had been sorted – finally!

The Air Con on the ship was too cold and many people said the same. SO much so that I got a bad cold and Nina got bronchitis!

There were no coffee making facilities in the room – only tea. The mini bar had nothing in it for two days and when they did stock it – it was not free not even the water despite having taken out a drink package!

There was no complimentary water in the room or any WELCOME treat!

The room was very compact for what was described as Superior Balcony sea view Stateroom. But at least the cases fit under the bed out of the way.

So sadly, first impressions were not as great as expected.

There was no pen and paper in the room or postcards or binoculars (which I know you get on P&O)

Would have been nice to be served nibbles when you order a drink.

All these little touches matter.

They tried to charge us for things we didn’t have ie a can of Sprite out the mini bar!

The TV was great but poor choice of channels and no radio stations.

On the Plus side – the food choice was good and the entertainment excellent. Staff on the whole friendly and helpful.

I also LOVE the "PREZIOSA"!

After sailing on the DIVINA twice, and having a fantastic time on board in both occasions, we decided we wanted to take another trip on board another MSC Cruise ship.  We learned that the PREZIOSA, the DIVINA's sister vessel and one year "younger", goes around the Western Mediterranean in the summer time, so we booked another AMAZING MSC trip on the PREZIOSA out of Rome (Civitaveccia) on June.   

Me and my family have cruised to Brazil, in the Caribbean, and now in this great ship in the Mediterranean!  Everything is almost the same as in the DIVINA, as it is its twin-sister ship, so we "felt at home".  We also loved this ship and its crew - attentive and responsive ALL THE TIME.  The cabins with balconies at the back of the ship are very big and comfortable, and the balconies are HUGE!  You can fit 2 lounge chairs to sunbathe as well, in addition to the 2 chairs and table provided in the balconies.  This was perfect for us, because the view from the back of the ship has NO COMPARISON to the view from the other cabins on the sides of the ship (which are great also).

The food on board IS EXCELLENT too, with more European flavors in the menus, and great quality and variety as well, day in and day out!  AND, the specialty restaurants are also very, very good, including "the Pizzeria" on the 7th floor (it has its own wood-fired pizza oven), it is also AMAZING!  you have to try it, THE BEST PIZZA ever! (MSC should start a Pizza chain in Italy..... the best pizza I've ever eaten in Europe).

Having cruised on the DIVINA twice, and this time on board the PREZIOSA, MSC did not let us down.... Without a doubt, we will continue traveling with them into the future.  QUALITY and GREAT SERVICE, have been the norm on board these 2 cruise ships.  In this third cruise with MSC, our experience with the PREZIOSA was AMAZING as well.  

MSC has done a fantastic job with these 2 ships, their largest and newest ships in their fleet; we will cruise with them AGAIN and AGAIN.  The "european" culture in the PREZIOSA, and also in the DIVINA, is way above other American cruise lines experience; this european cruising culture and great Italian service is way above other cruise lines...... comparable to Celebrity and just below Cunard, but excellent overall.

Ah, and don't forget to go to the Theater Show, every night.  The shows are spectacular, as good as in the DIVINA.  The shows are also in par to Broadway shows.  I think no other cruise line has the shows that the PREZIOSA, and the DIVINA, have on board, simply AMAZING!

 We loved this cruise. Read a lot of complaints about the rooms. It's for Hobbits! OK for us - felt like our old RV camper. But if you are over 5'10" and weigh over 200 lbs, you might have a hard time. They also say its good for 3 people. Don't believe it. Two people max.

They really push the alcohol so that could be a problem with AA folks. The shows were all terrific - save for the Supreme Dream Girls which had a cheesy karaoke back track.

Forget the tours. The prices are outrageous. In Rome, we took the train to the Colosseum for $12 instead of their $125 bus ride. Read other comments for more advice.

We're not foodies, so had no reason to pay for the specialty resturants. The Garden Buffet served most of our bneeds and all the food was very tasty. Ate at the free Shanghai Chinese restaurant 3 times which was excellent.

Loved the water slide - and I'm 70 !

The main CON: They kept the ship really cold in the hallways and at the shows.

This is a great ship to travel on.  We always come away pleased with it.  Thanks for stopping "Chicago".  It was terrible.  However the musical "Tell Me on a Sunday" was not a good replacement.  The lady who sang had a beautiful voice and would have served us well by giving us a concert rather than the boring musical.  Food service and food in the restaurant was great.  With the increased no. of passengers (6200?), the Windjammer was clogged most of the time during meals.

The speaker system with announcements difficult to understander

The ship is new, big and beautiful.

The crew are very friendly and efficient, our cabin on deck 7 with balcony was Perfect, the breakfast

and lunch were more than satisfactory - this is about the good things.

What realy pissed me off were the following issues:

* The ship was over crowded around the clock - breakfast, miserable pools, lunch, entertainment - where

ever you go you have to struggle for a chair. Even the sunbathing decks were not reachable.

The performances are very colorfull, very loud and tasteless. A good potion to fall asleep.

And now comes the biggest issue - MONEY.

Everything is EXTRA - drinking water (before and after lunch), esspresso or capuccino for breakfast etc.

Dinner - you get a table number in one dining hall ( what is called restaurant) and at  that table

you will have your dinners during the trip. You want a diffrent restaurant? Be ready to pay Extra $35.00.

A shore trip organized by Costa cost 3 times more the one you purchase in port.

Finaly, you take a Queue number for the customers desk in order to clear your balance.

Now you find out that you owe Costa $9.00 per night per person - HOTEL SERVICE, what mean's

in plain English - TIPS for the crew. The crew does not get a payroll. This is their salary.

Ship was in good shape and the staff was wonderful

I also LOVE the "PREZIOSA"!

After sailing on the DIVINA twice, and having a fantastic time on board in both occasions, we decided we wanted to take another trip on board another MSC Cruise ship.  We learned that the PREZIOSA, the DIVINA's sister vessel and one year "younger", goes around the Western Mediterranean in the summer time, so we booked another AMAZING MSC trip on the PREZIOSA out of Rome (Civitaveccia) on June.   

Me and my family have cruised to Brazil, in the Caribbean, and now in this great ship in the Mediterranean!  Everything is almost the same as in the DIVINA, as it is its twin-sister ship, so we "felt at home".  We also loved this ship and its crew - attentive and responsive ALL THE TIME.  The cabins with balconies at the back of the ship are very big and comfortable, and the balconies are HUGE!  You can fit 2 lounge chairs to sunbathe as well, in addition to the 2 chairs and table provided in the balconies.  This was perfect for us, because the view from the back of the ship has NO COMPARISON to the view from the other cabins on the sides of the ship (which are great also).

The food on board IS EXCELLENT too, with more European flavors in the menus, and great quality and variety as well, day in and day out!  AND, the specialty restaurants are also very, very good, including "the Pizzeria" on the 7th floor (it has its own wood-fired pizza oven), it is also AMAZING!  you have to try it, THE BEST PIZZA ever! (MSC should start a Pizza chain in Italy..... the best pizza I've ever eaten in Europe).

Having cruised on the DIVINA twice, and this time on board the PREZIOSA, MSC did not let us down.... Without a doubt, we will continue traveling with them into the future.  QUALITY and GREAT SERVICE, have been the norm on board these 2 cruise ships.  In this third cruise with MSC, our experience with the PREZIOSA was AMAZING as well.  

MSC has done a fantastic job with these 2 ships, their largest and newest ships in their fleet; we will cruise with them AGAIN and AGAIN.  The "european" culture in the PREZIOSA, and also in the DIVINA, is way above other American cruise lines experience; this european cruising culture and great Italian service is way above other cruise lines...... comparable to Celebrity and just below Cunard, but excellent overall.

Ah, and don't forget to go to the Theater Show, every night.  The shows are spectacular, as good as in the DIVINA.  The shows are also in par to Broadway shows.  I think no other cruise line has the shows that the PREZIOSA, and the DIVINA, have on board, simply AMAZING!  

After 8 days traveling through Venice, Florence, and Rome on our own, we were glad to embark on Emerald Princess and let them guide us to an excellent 2nd half of our vacation.  The transfer from Rome airport was very easy. We even got a bit of another guided tour as the transfer bus took us back through Rome for a tour of the city before heading off to Civitavecchia. We arrived around 12:00 PM and were on the ship and in our cabin by 12:20. It wasn't crowded, but I suspect it was because we embarked on 1 leg of a 4 leg itinerary. Either way, it was painless.  Our Mini Suite (D405 mid ship) was clean, roomy, and well maintained. Our steward was friendly and more or less attentive and responsive to our requests. We tried to do some laundry after our land tour and found it to be difficult because other passengers on longer itineraries were also doing the same thing.  The food in the Main Dining Rooms was delicious and the wait staff were more than attentive.Norman Love Chocolate desserts were phenomenal. We ate at both Sabatini's and the Crown Grille and were treated to excellent meals both nights and well worth the extra $$.  The passenger services staff were pleasant and attentive, even when they couldn't solve our minor issues immediately. They did follow up with us to make sure things were eventually to our satisfaction.  Our ports of call (Palermo, Naples, Livorno, Genoa, Toulon, and Barcelona each offered something spectacular to see and all our excursions did not disappoint. Most of our tours were through Aloschi Brothers, and all of their guides were friendly, knowledgeable, and seemed to have all our tour participants best interests in mind. Even the tour bus drivers were friendly and entertaining.  The entertainment was top notch and contemporary. All the lounges were comfortable and relaxing. MUTS were great, especially The Sound of Music. The 70's Disco Dance Party was a hoot and learning "The Isaac" dance sent it over the top.  Disembarkation was quick, efficient, and uneventful.  Overall, it was a wonderful cruise experience. Everything with Princess seems so easy and relaxing. Great food, great ports and excursions, great staff, great entertainment and amenities added up to a wonderful week on board and off. We would highly recommend Princess, this particular itinerary, and the Emerald as well. 

i always enjoy cruising on the oasis class ships because there's never a dull moment.  The food and fun was typically fabulous.  The service was impeccable.  

Very professional staff members on board, beautiful, stunning cruise!

Shore excursions, uh... a little bit pricey, but save your time to do research homework.

Having been on Divina already (See my other review) I was looking forward to another great trip.  My wife and I have spent a lot of time in the European ports and we were looking forward to sharing them with my In laws and our daughter.  We had inside stateroom and my father-in-law had an accessible room.  The staterooms were very good and I would highly recommend our, #9175 as it was a bit larger than the norm.  The service on board seemed to take a bit of a hit since our cruise in November.  While there were some excellent staff, there were some real disappointments.  My wife and I had thought of doing a Renewal of Vows on board.  The only program that MSC offers is a full wedding planner at the bargain price of over $600.  All we really wanted was maybe a small cake, some champagne and maybe an offer to join us.  We would have been willing to work with them but they had no interest in anything but the full package.Oh well.  I also was very disappointed with the fees for the shuttles in Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona.  In both ports we opted to take a cab and it was significantly less expensive.  At least a complimentary shuttle to the port entrance would have been nice as we were docked a long way from there. But, so be it.  The thing that really had me quite angry was the transfers that came along with our cruise.  While I realize that these were handled by a vendor, MSC is an Italian line and should have nothing but the best in their home country.  We waited an hour and fifteen minutes for the bus upon our arrival in Rome.  Having arranged transfers for a cruise line in the past, I know this can happen so I took it in stride.  When we disembarked at the end of the week, we were suppoosed to get off at 10:00am  We had a Vatican tour scheduled at 1:00pm so we figured that would give us plenty of time.  Well, the bus was a little late, understandable again.  but they sent one bus for 30 people who have been on a ship for 7 days.  The luggage compartment was full after 18 people.  Even if people had packed a little light, there was no way 30 people plus luggage were going to fit on one bus.  The six of us along with another party of six were left for another bus.  which too TWO hours to arrive!  We reached Rome an hour late for our tour.  Fortunately, I used one of my old port agents to arrange the tour and the fully accommodated us.  The final straw was the transfer to the airport where the bus arrived 15 minutes before the transfer time and left after waiting FIVE minuted and with only 6 out of the 30 people on the transfer list!  No room calls, no waiting until the appointed time, NOTHING.  Because there were six of us with luggage for 10 days of travel, we had to get a van and a taxi to take us to the airport.  Then they charged us double what was quoted, and dropped us at the wrong terminal.  We finally arrived at the Alitalia check in two hours before the flight left.  And there was a huge line.  I cannot say enough about how great Alitalia handled our problem.  They got us checked in and escorted us to the gate to make sure we made the flight.  They really came through.  In the end, MSC reimbursed our cab fare "as a gesture of goodwill."  Anyway, I am glad it happened to me and not to a client I had booked on this trip. 

The ship is perfect, the crew is wonderful Excellent The shop had just come from dry dock so everything was shinning the crowds were find not too big at all hardly any lines and the ship was full

nice roundtrip eat ice in sicilie and ride horse and carriage ,walk around in Mallorca etc etc

This 10-day cruise was excellent and filled with numerous excursion possibilities.  The crew was very attentive and accommodating.  The programs on the ship were many but could have had a bit more variety.  The dinners at the main dining room were superb.  The only 'complaint' I have is that the buffet lunch menu could have had more of a local favor that matches the ports of call.

We enjoyed the cruise and all the excursions.  Food was not as good as we expected but we did fine.  Thanks NCL for all the service and courtesy.  Thanks Eddie for helping us to get our itinerary straight.

Everything was given as promised. Service was great as well as the food.  We felt we got a well planned vacation.  There is not anything else EXCEPT the staterooms are snug on the EPIC as well as the shower and everyday need areas.  Another cruise would be on a different ship because of this.

Good food the entertainment was ok and the rooms were very small with the bathroom sink in the room not even a place to sit