Europe - Western Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

It was a good trip, the staff was very friendly and made it a fun trip and a relaxed trip.  There was one day that we had to stay in line for a couple of hours to get back to the boat.  But there was a good reason to it, there were high winds and the staff wanted to protect the passengers so they waited till it was better to get us on the boat.  After they started moving us in the lines when faster.

We had an amazing time visiting all of the ports, which is exactly what we went on this cruise to do. However, I was extremely disappointed in the quality of the ship's amenities as well as the staff. In the total of the 7 days we were on the Epic, we did not experience one pleasant Norwegian staff member aside from our housekeeper. Bar, restaurant and towel staff where miserable and not very accommodating. Food was mediocre at best. Was also disappointed in that everything seemed like it cost extra. Many of the dining rooms, shows, and entertainment were an extra fee. Elevators might as well not have existed as it would take at least 10 minutes to get one; most of the time we walked the several flights of stairs to get where we were going. I'm glad we went on this cruise not for the ship, but to experience the cities we visited. Would definitely recommend a Mediterranean Cruise, but with a different cruise line!

Ship was centered around the casino, specialty dining and a costly dinner show.  It seemed we were constantly passing through the casino to get anywhere.  We enjoyed the complimentary dining rooms but found they were seldom open for breakfast and lunch at convenient times.  The specialty dining was over rated and was not worth the extra $30. per person!  Complimentary entertainment was average. This ship lacked anything special compared to other cruise ships.

Our room steward did an outstanding job...Go Reggie!!

Many cruises and 6th on Norwegian, this was the worst. Most of the crew was not trained well, so many incidents that make the vacation a disaster.  First, the two bags we had only one arrived. The other was returned by the cabin crew even though the name tags were spelled exactly the same. The bar tender didn't want to take a order for a beer because he was so busy, and the spa didn't give the service that was booked. At the garden cafe, the staff can't get an order of cappuccino correct. The highlight was that the Garden Cafe worker dumped a big bucked of coffee on the ground and splashed up all over me and my daughter. The customer service managers were not apologetic and not customer oriented at all. I will not recommend a cruise with Epic to anybody.

poor customer support

cruise was not fun at all

not enough things to do 

poor quality of food

rooms were way too small for 2 people

evening entertainments were way too croaded

My wife and I along with 2 friends recently completed a 7 day cruise on NCL that took us from Barcelona, Spain to Italy (Naples, Rome, and Livorno) and France (Cannes and Palma.)  We arranged our own excursions in each port and highly recommend reading a book  written by Rick Steves for these ports of call.  The tour guides were excellent!  The Amalfi coast and Rome are indescribable!  The Norwegian Epic is a great ship and there is a lot to do to keep you entertained.  The fitness center is top notch!   We were surprised at the additional costs incurred on our trip.  There is a 10% VAT + 18% gratuity applied to every purchase.  There is also a $12.95/person/day charge that covers the tips for the cleaning services. Eating at the better restaurants on the boat were additional $$$.

It  was perfect as I planned, very organized the tours and the personal very kind,

the food and the show good too. the cabin clean and beautiful view from balcon.

the family and me enjoy a lot.

Ship was in great shape as always, I've been on this ship 4 times. I was disappointed in the food quality compared to my other cruise ( I wrote it off to the Europian suppliers, it was not the making or presentation but the taste and quality of the food). Also the entertainment was changed from the Carribean, ( Fat Cats) was not blue or jazz, which we enjoy.

A quick review.  I give our cruise a 3.5 out 5.   The room was exactly what we expected but could have been about 2 feet wider. The bed was curved to save space I am 6 foot 4 inches tall and my feet hung over the edge of the bed.   The view from the balcony was awesome, but who can complain about the french Rivera.  But the room was always tidy and the staff were wonderful.  

The ports were mostly easy to navigate and whenever there needed shuttles to the city they were available.   However, most of the time these shuttles cost between 10-15 Euros and I feel should have been included in the cost of the cruise.   Citavetchia (Rome's port) was a massively horrible port (this is where we embarked on the boat) at the train station there was no signs to the shuttles.  We walked about 20 minutes to the port with our luggage.  We could see our ship but we could not for the life of us figure out how to get there.  Finally we found a free shuttle several blocks from the port terminal that took us to the ship.  Very confusing and a big pain. 

The on board entertainment was good, and I highly recommend the Circque Du Solei dinner show, it was the best on the ship.   If you like to gamble the cruise had a nice casino but like all casinos has a haze of cigarette smoke filling the air. 

Finally the food.   In comparison to other cruses I have taken the food was adequate and gets no more than a 2.5 out of 5 stars.  Cagnigy and Circque du Solei were great.   Moderno was terrible, the two included sit down restaurants "Taste and the Manhattan Room" had the exact same menus which was disappointing.  The buffet the Garden Cafe was nourishing but selection was okay but there was no wow factor.  Disney cruises blow them out of the water with their food.  Also they tried to push upgrades with the food.   I mean food was included but soda wasn't you needed to pay per cup or by a 7 dollar a day per person upgrade for soda, this felt completely out of place for a the cost of the cruise.   I understand alcohol but soda come on, and the booze was out of control expensive, you could easily spend $10.00/ drink.  

Overall I would sail with them again and use it to explore the wonderful destination but I think there could be some improvements to make the ship a little better of an experiences.    

The reason we chose NCL was first for the ports of call and second for the timing of the cruise. May was a great time to go the weather was superb!

The ship itself was very nice, the bed was comfortable.

The ports of call were great. Enjoyed all of them. Unfortunately at the very last minute NCL informed us that the Palma times were shortened and changed. That would have been a nice port to spend a longer time in.

The staff was adequate for the most part. They did not go out of their way to be helpful. Our room steward was OK, cleaned very late at night. He did not attend to the balcony area at all or take away any dirty glasses or dishes.

The Burning up the Floor dancers were fantastic! They  were so good we went to watch a second time. The cruise ship should promote them more. We did the Legends, and the were OK but nothing fabulous. We had booked the Supreme dream but again were notified on ship that they had canceled that show and were booked into another show.

We have cruised on Holland America and Princess. The level of service was higher on both of those lines. 

the sites were nice, the weather not so nice, the passengers not so friendly, some rude people, and hard to find English speakers. possessive, or jealous boyfriends, and husbands! sometimes the buffet was pretty crowded, and rude orientals who don't understand what waiting in line means.

We have cruise NCL in the past. We had a mini-suite balcony. The room had loads of storage and our steward Jose was there for anything we needed. The shows were good, especially the circus solei and we love Howl at the Moon. We ate in all the specialty restaurant's expect Moderno. All were very good and also the main dining room Manhattan. We did arrive in Barcelona 2 days before the cruise to get used to the time change and to explore Barcelona. Would highly recommend going a day or two early. Arriving & departing the boat went very smoothly. This was our first time to Europe and we enjoyed all the ports. We only used NCL excursions to tour Antibles out of Cannes. Otherwise, in Italy we used a private van with just the two of us from All Around Italy. The drivers and guides were wonderful. They got us back to the boat in plenty of time. They were 9hr tours out a 8am and back by about 5pm. Did a lot of walking but the sites are just amazing. We had a great time and cant wait to book our next NCL cruise. We are thinking of Greece or Norway. 

We enjoyed Ballroom and Latin dancing nightly on the cruise.  The Music Maker Duo (Ray and Michelle) played the best dance music.  The Atrium has the best dance floor.  The Manhattan dining room has a larger dance floor, but it's a bit sticky and the band plays only for a limited time.  The Bliss lounge dance floor is very sticky.  Bring jazz dance shoes to dance in the Bliss lounge or on the pool decks.

The cruise was delightful, but the people who work customer service were not. We ordered the unlimited internet service that NEVER worked. We complained to the person in charged, and with attitude dismissed our complaint. We then told customer service about our experience with this employee and complained our internet was still not working. We were told they would get back to us AFTER verifying it with the person who we were unsatisfied with..in other words, they were telling us leave us alone. They never got back to us. We paid 25.00 a day for service we never received unless we were in the Internet cafe! 

First of all our cabin person Made was superb, he ensured that everything was clean, neat and in place; he always asked if everything was fine and immediately remembered our names.  We appreciate Made.  Cabin 3032

Our table waiters were fantastic!  Rolland was excellent and always available, Gabriel as well.  Absolutely NO complains, just praise for these excellent people and all the personnel at the cruise line.

We booked three (3) land tours, one was cancelled and refunded promptly since we were unable to dock in Villefranche.  However, I paid extra because I was informed that booking at the boat costs more than if I would have done that through internet.  This is not a good policy and I never heard or read about this. 

The land tour to visit Corsica Ajaccio was $53.75, and I paid $161.25 for the three of us.  I noticed that the tour at the city, which is walking distance where the boat docked, is only 10 euros.  I understand that the RCCL has to make some money on tours, but approximately $40.00 per person more is too much and the tour was nothing to rave about.  It did not include an inside visit to any site and again, it was exactly as the one that was offered at the city.  I seriously suggest that this is reviewed and maybe lowered or eliminated.  We are not happy paying so much more really!  

We noticed the quality of certain items are either eliminated or the quality is not as good as years ago, but this is going on just about everywhere and overall, the service is very good.   

WE found racial discrimination while in dining room by the head waiter Marc and Neno. I did speak to senior administration about the same and hopefully it will be taken care that it will not be repeated.

We enjoyed our first cruise ship experience.  We are scuba divers and have been on several Live Aboard Dive Boats and have sailed Live Aboard Catamarans for 7-10 days in the Bahamas, BVI's, Winwards.  Now that we are retired, we thought it was time to try a Cruise and opted for the Western Mediterranean.  We selected Oceania Riviera because it was a "high" end mid level capacity ship.  We were somewhat disappointed that the majority of passengers were in jeans and casual clothes vs. the advertised "country club" style of dress.  Also, we are 67 and felt like the young people on board.  The Oceania Shore Excursions were pricey considering that the size of the groups were 20 to 30 including people who had considerable physical limitations.  Three of our scheduled tours were cancelled due to windy and rainy weather, which we were not informed of until 30 mins before departure.  Very little attempt was made to let passengers know how they could replan the excursions once on land (e.g. trains, taxis). The morning muster for shore excursions was very chaotic and prolonged. In regards to the cabins, I particularly appreciated the full size tub with extra shower and the lighted dressing table/desk mirror plus the stand alone magnifying mirror.  There was more than sufficient closet and drawer space.  However, I saw little value to paying the extra cost for Concierge Level Cabin.  The lounge was extremely small and the Concierge Support hours were very limited.  The advertised "Early Boarding" for Concierge Level was afforded to all passengers.  The Specialty Restaurant reservations were limited but were at 2/3's capacity at all times.  The staff was very committed and provided excellent service.

I enjoyed our cruise, the service and food was excellent. I felt that the cruise activities were more toward the retired individuals cruising, that being said 85% of the people there were over 65. Nothing wrong with that, for that age group I think that cruise was an amazing experience, for us younger group the cruise was still nice but it was not as lively as other cruises we have been on. The ports were amazing and we still had an awesome time.

I will never cruise on Costa again.  The staff was unhelpful and rude.  Although they published that the aft pool was "adults only", it (and the entire ship)  was always full of screaming children.  Staff laughed and made no attempt to control this.   We never knew which elevators would be closed for the use of crew transporting luggage at every port, or which other elevators were open.  The ship was difficult to navigate compared to other lines.  The only dinner option was a 2-hour dining room visit at which we were rudely refused water without a 3 euro payment.  The safe could not be accessed by both myself and my friend - only one of us.  The drawer pulls were difficult with arthritic hands.  Now, I see pending charges on my credit card that should not be there.  My previous experiences with Royal Caribbean were excellent -  the opposite of Costa. 

All services on board was offered at the convenience of the cruise line, not the passengers.  If you do not take their excursions, getting off the boat is made more difficult.  Meals were offered at limited  and rigid  times and not convenient for those of us who like to go ashore on our own.  Will not take MSC again.