Europe - Western Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

You have to get a tender from the ship to see Cannes but what a beautiful place it is. Lovely promenade, great shops & quaint back streets. Don't miss it.

Helen Conway has booked two cruises this year for me and has excellent communication

skills , very patient in explaining all details and a pleasure to deal with.

NCL Epic is an enormous ship with a lot of passengers but well organised The embarkment is easy 

the food was very good considering the amount of people on the ship and 

the shows are great but you have to book seats at the beginning of cruise. 

Walked off the ship with luggage and it took 10 minutes 

Very friendly and courteous staff everywhere.

No nickeling and dining for every little stuff onboard, which is really great. We booked Concierge Veranda and only stuff one had to pay was for wine and liquor, if one wanted. 3 shore excursions were included so long as they each cost $199 or less. We bought private small van tours and transfers through Viator for better value and more intimate experience. Internet, though spotty, was free. Ship had laundry facilities on many specks and we were offered free detergent . Washer and dryer each cost $2 only. Great restaurants and the grand dining were excellent, even though Jacques was a little less than hyped. Service everywhere was outstanding.

Fantastic staff and crew, great itinerary, wonderful food, great facilities, great holiday.we would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a cruising holiday.

The food and entertainment were great. There should be a time when a person can cruse without a lot of children on board, don't get me wrong I love children.  

Oct 2016 Cruise. Fantastic service from Samantha at . A great booking experience.

We did two cruises back to back from Rome to Barcelona (12 days) and from Barcelona to Rome (12 days). The itinerary, in common with many Holland America Line (HAL) Mediterranean cruises was excellent. October is generally a good time for the Mediterranean. Highlight ports included Genoa (a substitute port after a gale warning forced us to miss St Tropez), Marseilles, Monte Carlo (because you can get a public 100 bus to Nice or Menton for 1.5 Euros (takes 30 minutes), Sete, Ceuta (and an excursion into Morocco), Calvi, Ajaccio, Algeria, Palma de Majorca, Barcelona, Cadiz and Gibraltar. 

We had calm seas and fine weather mostly, with just a few overcast days with occasional showers. The ship left and arrived on time and tender ports were well managed.

The Oosterdam however needs much improvement. Our cabin (Verandah, deck 5) was in very poor condition.  The carpet was worn and dirty, the sofa and chair upholstery was dirty and stained, the bathroom basin was badly cracked and the bath was badly chipped. The shower head fell down and could not be adjusted (later fixed), the cabin table adjustment was broken (later fixed), one bathrobe was yellow stained (replaced).

The public spaces are also very tired and worn except for the refurbished bars. the Ocean Bar has been "refurbished" but the band space and the dance floor have been eliminated. Only a piano is there now and this is played only intermittently. There is no Piano Bar as such. Dancing is out both in the Ocean Bar and in the Crows Nest where the dance floor has also been removed. The only dance venue now is in the BB King Blues Club. 

The food quality and service has continued to decline as it has on all HAL ships. the general level of service on this cruise was somewhat indifferent and not as good as our previous HAL cruises. The main Dining Room was chaos - 20 to 40 minutes wait for a shared table on most nights. People were not happy.

We had one great night at the Pinnacle Grill and one disaster night there. Same for Canaletto - one great dinner and one with poor food and very poor service. These inconsistencies/failures should not happen in flagship restaurants that are charged for.

This ship was recently dry-docked and the Suites were refurbished together with some bars. HAL has however failed to deal with the poor condition of other cabins and the public spaces. The Signature of Excellence does not apply to this ship. 

Entertainment was variable in quality. The Lincoln Centre classical ensemble is so overwhelmingly good and popular that the venue is always overflowing. The Billboard Onboard entertainment included watching the garish flashing lights of the slot machines in the Casino opposite, and listening to the pounding of two electronic pianos accompanied by screeching, out of tune singing. Very slow drink service here (20 minutes) also and short pouring of drinks (two occasions).

HAL can do much better than this as we know from many previous cruises and ships. I rate the cruise itinerary and ports as very good but the ship overall as poor. At the moment, the Oosterdam is not worthy of consideration. 

I will not travel with holland cruises again The cruise was boring. The music was not appropriately to dance. You went through the lounges and it was silence what you hear. It felt like a hospice for old people. We stay most of the time in the cabin watching some movies on TV. The food was tasteless all over except on the galas and in the canaletto.

The Oosterdam which recently underwent a makeover was a very nice ship. The itinerary of 16 ports in 24 days allowed us to experience not only the port cities themselves, but also many others through an excellent array of shore excursions which were very well organized. The crew was excellent as was the food. Altogether a great trip.

This was my second time on the Epic. Since the first trip the quality of the food has declined, and the loss of the blue man group was not offset by the replacement show. It was still a great cruise but not quite the impressive event it was several years ago. 

Things that got better:

Wine selection was surprising. Lots of wins that were not on the menu that were outstanding. Ridge, Caymus, Stags Leap, etc.

The sushi bar, noodle bar improved since my last trip.

Things that got worse:

Cagney's was just not very good. Far from a 4 star steak house and for sure not worth the $200 we spent with all new pricing.

No lobster on the ship to be found. We were in a haven suite and couldn't get a single tail, even with being willing to pay extra.

Kids now pay full fare at restaurants

The garden cafe buffet food was very low quality

Many drinks that were included in the UBP are no longer included. This includes things like espressos, and many top shelf booze.  surprise was the $7 uncharge for the Don Julio margs. 

The port of calls where absolutely amazing.   I loved every port we went to.  The Ship itself was another story.  Don't get me wrong the workers were great and always aimed to please.  I have no complaint with them.  It was disappointing that I paid so much for the ultimate dining package and the same food served in the restaurants were the same food we could have ate in the buffet for free.  The service fees we ridiculous and they had the nerve to add extra gratuities in some restaurants.  We paid extra for the internet and you can only use one device at a time.  Maybe it was the time of year we went but there was not much fun activities for people under 45.  I have been on other cruise which had more of a party vibe, but not this one.  

Over all I would probably try another cruise line before booking with Norwegian. 

WEVE CRUISED WITH NCL BEFORE ,THIS WAS OUR FIRST TIME ON THE EPIC.WE KNEW THE CABIN LAYOUT WAS DIFFERENT TO THE NORM,BUT LIVING WITH IT FOR THE WEEK WASNT GREAT. THE FOOD WAS REALLY GOOD,SHOWS GREAT,WE WILL DEFINATELY CRUISE WITH NCL AGAIN BUT NOT ON THE EPIC SIMPLY FOR THE CABIN LAYOUT,ANYBODY THINKING OF CRUISING WITH THE EPIC RESEARCH THE CABIN LAYOUT AND IF IT SUITS YOU THATS FINE!

Positives for customer service and ease of operations. The team works to give you a good experience.  The ship is in need of maintenance - rusty and uncared for exterior. It was sad. The interiors were functional but quite dated in appearance. Overall, the winning itinerary was just what I wanted and the reason I booked this particular cruise. I had a good time but wish the ship had been in better form. This is small ship cruising but not luxury cruising and too expensive for what you get.

This was our first trip to Europe and wanted a good taste of the Western Mediterranean.  This cruise fit the bill!  There was a good taste of all the countries we visited. The time in port was enough to do everything we wanted to do.  There were plenty of fun entertainment options for the evenings and the days at sea.

The itinerary was great, the ship was very clean and the service was great.  However, the additional charges for for coffee, water or drinks was outrageous.  $14.08 for two cups of coffee was heavy as was $6.49 for a bottle of water and the coffee you  don't pay extra for was undrinkable.  These prices are penalties for not buying the beverage packages, which are grossly overpriced unless you drink fluids all day nonstop. The specialty restaurants are way over priced for cover charges as well.  Even the Porch Grill had a $30 per person charge for burgers and sandwiches.  At the end of the cruise, it doesn't feel like you got such a great deal afterall.

The shore excursions were great and worth the money.  In general the cruise seemed catered towards European guests.  It was also a "revolving" cruise so embarkation was easy with only a few hundred guests getting on/off in Rome.

Love everything, food excellent  and  the variety that was available. I also like that you had  restaurants opened late or all night.

Shows were good but could be better.

Small pool, too crowded.

The entertainment on the ship was excellent. Our granddaughter loved the kid's club. The itinerary was great. However, the stateroom was not great. The beds were too short and my husband's and my feet hung over the end. The couch our grown daughter slept on was very awkward and not big enough. We did not care for the toilet and shower situation, being able to see the person inside using them. We also thought the food in the two main dining rooms was mediocre. Even though this is "freestyle" dining I had to make dinner reservations for the free dining rooms with NCL before we even got on board just so we could eat when we wanted to without waiting.  This ship is just too big with too many passengers. Every night every seat on the three main public floors was taken and we literally had to take our drinks back to our room to sit down. There was no quiet place to sit. We have cruised quite a bit and on every other ship there have always been places where we could sit and relax in the evening without having to be in a bar.

 Been on many cruises and this by far was the most disappointing. 

-we didn't like freestyle dining at all. No relationship with servers and hard to coordinate with evening entertainment 

-having to make a reservation for shows is absurd.  By the time you figure out what you are doing for dinner,the shows are booked 

- having passengers join and leave  the cruise at different points takes away from the cruusi f experience.didnt get the orientation to the crew or they excitement that comes on a first day. Many first time cruisers were totally confused. 

-hate the bathroom and toilet being the main cabin with no door. Compromises ones privacy if in the shower and the other party wants to leave. 

-didn't care for being midship and no way to access the elevators and stairs without a healthy walk. Purposely positioned ourselves to get to the stairs.  (Poor design ) 

-staff were not friendly or interested. -maybe due to not being able to create relationships with folks coming and going all the time?

- no wandering bar service on the upper pool deck 

Loved the ship, our stops, our excursions, the entertainment, the staff!  It was a super trip.  My only complaint is that the food is nothing like Oceania or Celebrity.  it leaves something to be desired.  

We ate in the Main Dining Room twice and enjoyed those evenings except for the wait to get in (despite reservations).  I noticed American Icon had many empty tables.  RC ought to send people down there when they have lines and figure out a way for staff to deal with it in that restaurant.

The specialty restaurants could've been better.  I was very under impressed with Wonderland.  One did not know what they were getting until it arrived.  If one did not order a ton of appetizers, one would walk away hungry because the main entries were neither tasty nor filling.

150 central was OK.  Chops was the best of the three that we went to and we went there twice.  I found the menus at all specialty restaurants to be slim.  They should each have offered more selections.

My Royal IQ app never worked properly after the first day.  We were never able to access our calendar.  We went to Guest Relations a few times and also the iPad stands but no-one could help us anywhere.

Please note: No need to hire private transport from pier to airport.  There are plenty of taxis available because so many are coming in with passengers, even early in the morning.  

The Headliner show got cancelled before we even boarded the ship and the Comedy Standup show was also cancelled.  Fortunately an illusionist was brought onto the ship to help make up the gap but it was disappointing.

this cruise can be recommended. Difficult to name a favorite part as all was great. The ship is truly remarkable. Outstanding service by the crew members.