Europe - Western Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

This was not a bad cruise. The rooms were compact & efficient. (Dual plugs were a plus) the service was friendly and not overly intrusive. The food was just OK. Not great. As Americans, we did not have to pay for water with meals. There were many many things that were extra. Like water, soft drinks, juice, etc. ( a beverage plan is available @ different price points) there were several alternative restraunts  for dinner, all cost extra. Trying to get breakfast or lunch @ the buffet was like hand to hand combat. It was crowded and difficult to navigate. Shore excursions were overpriced! Overall it was a good experience, but it is also a case of you get what you pay for. 

We had such a good time. The food in the specialty restaurants was amazing. The weather was really cold for these Floridians so we didn't stay outside much. The only negative thing we could find was the bathroom layout. Didn't like it at all!

This is only hotel, nice and big but only hotel.Boring time , two weeks is to short but three weeks was to long. Garden food court was very clean  and good.The rest of the ship had nothing to offer for the three weeks , boring lazy time.

Not a great cruise, I think the service isn't as good because of the prepd gratuities.

Will be going back to Princess for my next cruise. Did meet some amazing people though so wasn't all bad.

Entertainment was exceptional and the best we have experienced on any ship!!!!!

We ordered an interior room as we have done on other cruise ships, but found our room very stylish but very limited in storage, utility, comfort. Our beds were tiny and not comfortable and I had backache each morning. We noticed other rooms were very much nicer and larger and we wish we would have known that. Again we were next to area the was a work area for the crew and also the large medical center. We had to remove towels and their supplies to make room for our simplest basic things. Tiny sink was in the small room counter & not in the bathroom. Bathroom was divided with shower in one compartment & toilet in another.  Ship was too large and crowded with 4100 passengers and 1750+ crew.We heard comments from different people that said they would not go on the Epic again. They all commented the size was too big.  Many times in the Garden Buffet it was very hard to get a table and going outside was too cold to eat there most days.  Foods was either very good and sometimes very salty.  Staff was friendly and helpful. It is beautiful  ship and well organized.  They were able to move people on and off rapidly.  Tours were organized well and interesting even though expensive.  This is the second time on NCL and both times people had respiratory dry coughs & Norovirus.  Its possible we would use NCL again if it were a itinerary that contained locations we hadn't visit before.

Costa Diadema is a high quality ship and the services we received were excellent. The places we visited such as Palma de Mallorca, Rome, La Spezia, Savona, Marseille and Barcelona were all memorable stops. The weather was also nice-in the mid-60 F during the day.  Due to the snow storm in the northeast region in US, we had a hard time of starting the trip, but all in all, it was a good trip.  

They now charge a fee for room service ......They need to change that !     It will make a difference if I use them again .

Not enough seating for events or eating .

Show cast talented ! Really enjoyed the shows !

The price got our attention for this cruise since it was such a good deal. If we had paid more, we would have not been pleased.

The Epic is a HUGE ship that seems to be not well thought out given the number of guests that it carries.

The positives:

     - The decor and cleanliness of the ship are excellent

     - The cabin was very comfortable (large balcony - deck 9) 

     - The food and service were generally not bad

     - The ports of call were great and were an excellent experience for us

The negatives:

     - Entertainment required reservations but were quickly filled up

     - The desserts and the coffee were not up to par

     - The "Ultimate Beverage Package" did not cover many things 

        such as specialty coffee, fresh-squeezed juice or bottled water

     - The O'Sheehan's restaurant was a big disappointment - poor service and

        low quality food (the prime rib was the exception - it was great)

     - Nearly every port required a "transfer" to get to the city or attractions

     - Shore excursions seemed very over-priced

       (booked tours from non-NCL sources except for one)

Overall, we will continue to cruise with NCL, but not on the Epic or similarly over-sized ships.

I did not enjoy this cruise.  The Epic is a poorly designed ship.  I admire NCL's attempt to think outside of the box, and certain features were well-designed.  For instance, I liked the open atrium area, along with the "lookout" point over it from the Irish pub, as well as the waterslides.  The flip side is that there is very little space on the upper decks for passengers.  My favorite parts of a ship are usually the outside decks on the bow and stern, but on Epic, these are not available.  Most of the bow is reserved for "Haven" customers (with the exception of the fully-enclosed buffet area), and the stern is blocked by a giant movie screen.  Other puzzling elements are the two-story window looking over the stern in Manhattan dining room, the bathrooms overlooking the water on the pool deck, and the insufficient number of elevators (8) for a ship holding 4000 people.

Other than the design of the ship, I give the crew credit for trying to manage the ship at full capacity, though the hostesses at the main dining rooms require a serious attitude adjustment.  Even then, many crew members (e.g., bartenders) seemed listless and disinterested in serving passengers. Few crew members seemed interested in doing more than the minimum amount of work.  "Average" was the best we could expect, though I recognize they aren't used to dealing with ships at full capacity.

This is my third cruise with NCL, so I know they can do better; otherwise, it would definitely be my last NCL cruise. 

holds too many passengers for the size of its facilities. Everything seemed crowded. Couldn't walk anywhere without shoulder to shoulder crowds. The elevators were the worst. There were not nearly enough of them. We had wait times of 5-10 minutes each time we needed one. Also the elevators were only located fore and aft none midship so it was a long walk from almost all cabins to get anywhere. 

No gorgeous stepping lobby, but plenty card game tables, good theater, good foods restourants (except Japanese Teppan & Sushi, Chinese) 

The ship too big it is easy for finding out the ship where located in the harbour.

But the most impressive thing, still Spain.is Marine Kingdom in the Mediterranean and Spanish Islands, they have big enough port faclity for this big ship.

 This was the first visit to this country, my image in my brain, it's for bull fighting and Don Quixote, that was nonsence. every anchorages looked like Wikiki Oahu, newer big glass buildings and palm tree roads, except Tangier Morocco.

At Chiristmas, New year season, majority were Spanish + Portugal speaking people, over 2000/4100.(capacity 4200), the entertaiment manager Jill (Edinbourgh born lady said), she speaks Spanish. Everlasting spring Canary Islands、you need swim suits and T-shirts.

Booked this cruise for a holiday family vacation. Booked everything from the actual cruise, to flights, airport transportation, and shore excursions through Norwegian. Needless to say that this was not an inexpensive vacation. 

When we arrived at Barcelona the airline did not bring four of six luggages from Miami. Although, it was the airline who did not physically place the luggages on the plane, I did no business with the airline and Norwegian should have more control of making sure luggages get to the city of port. Four people boarded the cruise chip with no clothes.

When we went to guest services, they refused to take any responsibility and offered $200 onboard credit. $200 for four people/ 3 room reservations. We had no other choice but to purchase clothes at the gift shop. As if the fact that they carry no real variety of clothes, any decent sweaters for the cold, and no undergarments, a shirt was approx. $80 and pants no less than $120. Norwegian refused to give us anything other than $200 onboard credit for the entire cruise for four people without luggage. 

When I asked what the policy was for lost luggage and onboard credit, they said it was $200 per room/reservation. When I explained that we had 3 staterooms, Aminta, the guest services manager, said that she would have to get back to me. After chasing for her, she said we were not applicable because we had only made 1 bag claim (well, of course why complicate things and make 1 instead of 4). 

I had to cancel shore excursions because my grandfather did not receive his medication and could not walk anywhere due to heart problems. In addition, he was feeling short of breath and we had to visit the medical center on board. After explaining the situation, they still charged us with the consultation and cost of medication. 

I spent more time at the guest services desk than anywhere else on the cruise. The staff did not seem to make our serious luggage problem a priority. We had to check in regularly to make sure they would reach out to the airline/airport to check on the status of our luggages. 

After four days without any clothing, we received our luggages to find out one was still missing. I called Tamera De Beer, one of the guest services coordinator, to find out Norwegian had been giving the airport/airline the wrong information about the last luggage. One person did not have luggage all cruise long because of the incompetence of the Norwegian's staff. 

In addition, reserving specialty restaurants was impossible. We managed to get one dinner at 5:30 PM and not at the restaurant of choice. Restaurant service was poor, even when the restaurant was not at maximum capacity. 

Overall, the worst cruising experience I have had. 

The Viking Star and Crew make it difficult to return to the other cruise line venues. The accommodations are superb, meal presentation excellent, and the crew and staff pamper the traveler. 

I was disappointed.

1. The food was sub par

2. Main option other than assigned dinning was the buffet on 1 floor. This made it entirely too busy & crowded.

3. The worst was the miss marketing by MSC. They made it seem as the ONLY options for the Barcelona & Marseille was from MSC & charged 8.90€ for adults & 5.60€ kids for Barcelona, 15€ & 8€ for Marseille JUST for the bus ride off the boat. The FAILED to mention less than a mile from Port in BOTH cases there was FREE transport from Marseille & 3€in Barcelona. I spoke to several people who didn't want to spend the extra 50-100$ to leave the boat.

4. The customer service from the service desk was terrible!

I will say the waiters & cabin attendantS were wonderful

Beautiful ship

BUT

Sorry MSC epic fail

From the booking experience to the disembarkation, it was difficult not to be disappointed with this trip. MSC does not allow electronic tickets to be printed if booked from elsewhere and if I wasn't a frequent cruiser, I would not have contacted for my tickets. (I shouldn't had have to!!). Embarkation stated 3pm, however, we could have boarded much sooner. Our first excursion was cancelled and I wouldn't have found out until the morning of if I didn't check on my tickets. (cancelled for lack of English speaking passengers) We booked yacht club suite tickets and we encountered to most rude staff at the concierges desk that we could imagine. 98% of the passengers were from Europe and this is who they cater to. We booked an excursion at every port and most were huge disappointments. Palermo, Genoa and most of Rome are not worth getting off the ship for. Malta, Barcelona and France were nice. Italy for the most part is in decay and resembles Greece. Food from the Yacht club private restaurant was hit or miss and the regular buffet is terrible . The casino staff was great, however, if you play table games, you are in for a big disappointment. Very limited selection of games and only a few tables... all in all, we would never take this cruise again and certainly not with MSC.

The ship was awesome, food was fair and staff was ok (some great, others were sad). My issues were that I was now "obligated" to pay gratuities (or service fees....whatever they wish to call the fees) based on NCL's formula and new rate of $13.50 per day/per person. And I had no idea they wouldn't adjust this on the ship anymore (must send in a form and wait two weeks to get a refund). I prefer to provide such gratuities on MY OWN terms. To make matters worse they charged me twice for my room...so, now I have over $400 held up days before Christmas! In addition, $8.95 for room service at any time of day?? NCL has gotten ridiculously greedy and I think I've sailed my final trip with them. By the way, I've called twice and waited over 30 minutes for nothing- guess I'm not the only pissed customer! 

no good  I buy the ticket . U sale said I had $ 50. in ship credit. but on the ship me and my friend did had  why?  If u did this I can buy the ticket in Vacation to go or u did not say any think

The Mediterranean Cruises was excellent. I was jus disappointed from all the deception by Norwegian on the promotions from the website. I was suppose to get this or that promotions plus the on board credits. But it's all lies, I didn't get any. I've already planning on taking two more cruises next year. I guest, I'll look for a different cruise line.

as far as the actual trip was concerned it was wonderful. we spent quality time together and my teenage boys had the best European experience. the ports of call were amazing and we did everything on our bucket list. however the ship itself was a little bit of a disappointment. we didn't find it to be very flowing and/or accommodating. the staterooms were way to small and not set up in the most comfortable way. the reservations for shows were a total inconvenience. the food was not up to par compared to other cruise lines we have traveled with. all in all,the time spent with our loved ones outweighed the inconvenience of the actual ship but unfortunately when when we cruise again I think I will opt for another cruise line instead of NCL. 

This Norwegian ship is different with another cruise ship: We  don't like to register the show that we want to see. Another cruise ship didn't require that, first come first serve, we realized because the Epic theater is small, only has one level.

But the shows were interesting.