Europe - Western Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

I always try to experience all of Royal Caribbean 'new' ships and I've never been disappointed. To that end, it was outstanding in terms of crew support, guidance and service. Every place I dined was awesome...food was cooked 'just right' each and every time. Also, this is my 1st time staying in an inside cabin...NOT BAD! 

Now for the improvements...for a huge ship I along with my 5 traveling BFF's felt it didn't hit the mark. [1] The variety shops wasn't available or up to par. For example, we saw T-Shirts in one garment store selling the brand 'Newport News'. This is NOT a quality brand and to top it off, they triple the buying cost. More shops are very much needed. And, all the fine jewelry stores pretty much sold the same stuff.

[2] the quality of entertainment need much to be desired. The Aqua show was on the level of a high school production; we walked out along with many others! The comedians too were poor; some cruisers became bored and walked out or became challenging to the comedians. On a high note: the Mo5aics were totally outstanding. The play 'Grease' was good too. However, Grease and Momma Mia are ALWAYS the play selections on most of your cruise ships, so you know it's time to move on from them. It was also very odd that the play Grease had to be cancelled because one of the actors became ill---why wasn't there a fill in?

[3] the casino for non-smokers was NOT good because it wasn't spaced far enough from the smoking area. Perhaps you will consider having two casinos (smoking and non-smoking) on opposite sides of the ships or on two different

levels to please all.[4] the water package need to be sold in smaller bottles for easy carrying. I listened to loads of complaints about how inconvenient it is to carry those large Evine water bottles especially for the children and seniors. I totally agree! [5] MUST MUST have better DJ'S for dancing! MUST MUST have better singers. [6] a fireworks show should be considered as an added feature for the 1st and/or last day of sailing. [7] need to increase the guest service reps!

[8] phone service really poor. Receiving phone messages was ALWAYS delayed. My 5 BFF'S messages would not get to each other until AFTER 12 midnight if at all! And, the phone wake-up calls only worked twice; we almost missed our excursions because of that! [9] where oh where was the Captain? We along with many others thought it rude he did NOT greet anyone!

my favorite was ofcourse the ship itself,my first sale away party,the movment.the vibration.the wind.

the stuff were excellent and did there best to give us some of the best time of our life.

the food was excellent and you could taste that the chef's doing evrything thay can to give us the best!

the entertament ohh the music was amazing!

and the shows were...well i can"t find the word"s to discribe the joy and the happines thay gave me!

love you all and miss you and can't wait to see you again

We booked our first Med cruise for the fab destnations and were not dissapointed at all!  The bonus was the ship with 4,000+ that we thought would be a problem; however we never felt crowded. The ship was beautiful and well-maintained with an excellent, friendly staff. We looked forward to coming home after a long day of touring.  

Only 2 drawbacks - ship's store not open while in French waters.

We booked a airport transfer with NCL; but still had to roll and load/unload our own luggage onto/from the transfer bus!

We took a 7 day trip out of BCN, as soon as we boarded we noted that staff standards were sketchy.  As the cruise progressed we understood that clients embarked and de-barked at every port, therefore there was none of that super cohesion that you get from all being together from a defined length of time.

The taste and manhattan room dining complimentary were excellent, the chinese was a joke.  The buffet was good and varied, the pools lovely, the entertainment patchy due to the roll on roll off nature of the clients - no goodbye show, no captains announcements (apart from 1).  Overall was an excellent cruise but no comparison to the party vibe of sailing the Getaway out of Miami!

The ambiance and services were exactly as on previous Oceania cruises, excellent. Unfortunately, the wine prices and  off shore tours were seriously overpriced and some tours were not up to expectations. A 4 hours tour should not be 2.5 hours substance with one hour shopping or 2 hours "on your own" for $ 169.  Separate shopping tours could be organized to those so inclined.

Cabin was great and crew was friendly. To sum it up quickly, they over promised and under delivered. Just a small sampling of problems:

1. No place to get food after 10 PM unless you want pizza - way too many kids

2. Only take dinner reservations between 9am -4pm which cannot be done while you are on an excursion.

3. Windjammer restaurant way too crowded, very loud music at 7am and hard to get a seat. You know you are in trouble when there is a line of 50 people trying to get in even @ 3:30 in the afternoon.

4. Shows & jazz club canceled or not opened for an hour or more without warning

5. Incorrect wine delivered to table on numerous occasions?

6. Even with the ultimate drink pkg, they still charge you for the mini frig water in your cabin - ridiculous!

This is a great cruise to have fun in the sun all along the Western Med.  Just don't look for pool weather until you get south of Lisbon.   The ship is well maintained with a friendly crew.  We were surprised to find many more Brits than Americans on this cruise and the cruise line follows those interests in both entertainment and menus. The Brits seemed more polite and a bit more reserved than yanks except when it comes to football and we enjoyed their company.  I can't say we enjoyed the brit comedy shows as their accent and sense of humor were quite different.  We found plenty of food variety in the Windjammer so we did not need to develop a taste for black pudding or bangers and mash.

We enjoyed all out tours and all ran flawlessly. 

Great cruise from Rome to Barcelona.  Interesting ports and the ship was very nice.  Although it is fairly large, the ship never seemed crowed and lines were never an issue.  Food and service was great.

as a point of reference, we had cruised this ship in the haven about 4-5 years ago.  i thought it was ok.  when we returned for this cruise, i found the service and food had improved.  we did eat in specialty restaurants each night and the improvement was noticeable.  i would look forward to returning on an itinerary that met my needs

Highly recommend this cruise. We were on a beautiful and clean ship, the newest in their fleet. The staff was very attentive and our balcony cabin was extremely clean. The only item I believe would need improvement would be the theater shows. The excursions were wonderful. The entire staff was exceptional. 

Second time on this fabulous ship  .Cannot find fault with anything but I do love the big ships Food excellent entertainment superb   Staff friendly and work so hard .enjoyed every single minute  .Went on the Norwegian star in October brilliant.  Can't wait for February my golden wedding and we're off on the Norwegian spirit  hope it's as good as the other ships.  Highly reccOmended x

Ports were excellent. Food was good, love Free Style Dining.

i don't like having to reserve the entertainment. Also  internet Services need to improve..

employees were excellent. 

This was my first cruise, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. There definitely wasn't a lack of things to do or places to go on the ship. There were plenty of shows, scheduled activities, clubs, restaurants (many of which were complimentary), and more. As someone who gets motion sickness, I was very happy with the size and stability and had only a few brief moments where I could tell I was on a boat and started to get a bit queasy.

I have always heard people say how amazing the food is on cruise ships. However, I must say that, other than the main complimentary dining rooms - Taste, and the Manhattan Room - which I believe have the same exact menu, I was rather unimpressed with the food. The quality of the food at the buffet (Garden Café) let me down every time I went. The dish I got at Shanghai's was pretty mediocre. And all 4 dishes we ordered between our 2 trips to O'sheehan's were awful. I'm not sure if this is their way of trying to force you into the restaurant with an extra cover charge, but I was really disappointed. I can't speak to the extra-cost restaurants as I did not feel like forking out for them, but I sure hope they step up their game if they're going to ask you to pay more.

We really chose this cruise for the ports and the price point, and my high recommendation is really only for these reasons. If these aren't terribly important to you or if you can find something similar elsewhere, I would recommend exploring other Mediterranean options.

I would like to rate the experience higher. We booked this because it was a family (including children) vacation. A cruise gives us flexibility for 4 different families with children traveling together. I was expecting the cabin to be better shape but it is not. See my comments below on the cabin. I saw the room staff twice. 

There is always a long line for everything. The unlimited data plan for the cruise was laughable, half of the time the signal doesn't work. And there is a long line to speak with the internet manager, which doesn't really provide much except the satellite was down. 

This is a BUDGET cruise, regardless how NCL might market it. Most hotel would ask you to rate the staffs' welcomes to guests. None exists...they are there to do the job, a job they don't seem to enjoy.

There are some good things, they have the embarking and disembarking procedure down pact....so it was very smooth to get on/off the ship. The specialty dining restaurants seem to be in a good place. 

In general I had a nice time , had much difficulty with the internet and the Internet manager , Internet was not worth the price , and could not get any satisfaction from your customer service on this issue , the ship was not able to provide Russian menus for the dining rooms witch caused stress for my cruise partner , also bottled water should not be a item that is charged for on the ship , in the future , should I cruise , I will do without Internet or pay as I go , this matter was very frustrating , I did not get what I paid for .

The facilities and general cleanliness of the ship.

The attentiveness and courtousy of the staff.

The quality of the food.

The quality of the entertainment.

The cost of drinks is high as is the cost of their drinks-packages.

Unless they are revised, it is unlikely that we will use NCL cruises in the future. A pity, as the overall quality is good.

Quite nice  I think the majority of folk would love this ship and the destinations.  I am trying to make 150 characters  because no one wants this review if I don't.

Sometimes being accommodating is not enough.   this should be enough

This was my 13th cruise.  We've done one with Norwegian and the rest with Holland America.  Royal Caribbean knocked it out of the park.

was great to deal with.  Prices were comparable to other sites.  The mileage bonus was comparable to other incentives.  The miles didn't kick in right away, so don't think you're gonna get your free flight in time to use it for your cruise.

The Harmony of the Seas was a bit intimidating as we drove into the port, but once aboard, it was amazingly easy to get around.  We saw the whole ship on a 5 day cruise.  Great food, great entertainment.  Nice pools.  Great accommodations for kids.  Specialty restaurants were great, but the regular dining was great too.

Disembarkation was a worry of ours - with that many people, how in the heck do you get them all off in time for shore excursions?  Somehow they did it flawlessly.  I truly didn't notice that there were three times as many people on this ship as we're used to.

We didn't get off at the Rome stop - the bus ride was way too far for little kids.

We will sail with Royal again.  We will probably sail the Harmony of the Seas again.  And I'd probably book through United again.

This is a great cruise and a good way to see several stops. Norwegian does a great job of setting up excursions for you or helping you go on your own.

I have been other cruise lines and Norwegian was a great experience. The food options were amazing. Rome and Cannes were my favorite stops.

If what you want is a whirlwind tour of cities on the western Mediterranean, this is the cruise for you.  If you're looking for leisurely cruising at sea and enjoying the boat and downtime, then you should probably look elsewhere.  It's not a criticism, just a suggestion because after the first day, you're in port every day and many of the ports are industrial.

The cabins were relatively spacious and very clean.  The staff were consistently very polite and conscientious, but not excessively in your face with happiness.  The crew is obsessive, however, about preventing any outbreaks with crew and stations for hand sanitizer throughout.  Much appreciated.

The food was universally very good. We're not "foodies" per se, but enjoyed the food very much.  Moderna was especially good and fun.  

The excursions were expensive, but well-worth it.  Pompeii, in particular was marvelous.  You can do Rome on your own, but be careful not to be too aggressive about seeing everything.  You can't.  The Rome tour is very expensive, but helps to see more of the city.  On your own, be focused or you'll spend your day rushing from point to point and seeing less.

Those on the ship included a wide array of family types, but the cruise seemed less appropriate for families with young children.  My teenagers had a great time.  Didn't seem much like a couples cruise.

The range of nationalities on board was amazing.  Americans and Canadians, of course,but also many Germans, some East Europeans,and many Asians.  ..

Focus on your intentions -- to visit many cities in a short period while travelling delightfully by boat, or  cruising leisurely at sea.  if the former, then this is a great cruise.