Europe Cruise Reviews

The ports we stopped in were all beautiful.  Royal Caribbean cancelled one port and changed us from Turkey to another Greece port.  They cancelled two of our excursions due to lack of numbers.  Very disappointing since you are international with no internet so no way to book with other company.  Everyone at our dinner table had at least one excursion cancelled.  Evening entertainment -- there were not enough options.  The shows were not very good and certainly not up to the shows you see on their larger ships.  All the excursions we booked through Hilton Honors were wonderful.  Santorini - if you go be sure to book a private tour with Markos of SantoriniExperts by far our best guide of the week.  Took us to the places we should go and then to places he wanted us to see - local family farm which was amazing.  Be sure to ride the donkeys up (don't listen to what they tell you on the ship); it was a blast.  If you do this cruise -- consider staying off ship in Florence and taking train to Rome.  You will have expense of train and hotel but much more time to see Rome.  We did not do it because we thought of it too late but we talked with a couple that did it.  Pisa was a pleasant surprise -- thought you would see only leaning tower but much more in the plaza.  If you want to see a lot in a little time, the cruise was great because of the ports.  The entertainment and the nickle and diming to death on the ship really hurts Royal's reputation.  Many of the folks on our cruise were disappointed with Royal but not the service of the workers or the ports we went to.

 Everything did not meet my expectation, since day one of our cruise.

Telling everyone not to book with Princess Cruise.

I had a very high expectation before I left, but got very disappointed since day one.

I enjoyed all of the restaurant choices.   I was most disappointed in the excursions we took.   Most didn't allow enough free time in the town.  I think I would plan my own excursions next time.   

everything was on schedule no flaws and everything went off as planned and expected.  i compare this with our 3 cruises on the mariner. the rooms were more elegant than the mariner but that was expected and learning from the staff, clients on how to improve and this was accomplished

would recommend the explorer to anyone without exception.  we did have some remarks but that will not stop us from future cruises with reagent

THE CRUISE WAS FANTASTIC.

I HAD PROBLEMS AND ANXIETY, BECAUSE I DID NOT RECEIVE INFORMATION ABOUT MI ELIGIBILITY TO GET O BOARD.

I TOOK THE RISK, AND FORTUNATELY I WAS IN THE PASSENGER LIST/

I DID NOT RECEIVE THE TAGS FOR MY LUGGAGE.

FORTUNATELY I SOLVED ALL THE SITUATIONS THERE, AND MI NAME WAS IN MY CABIN.

INCREDIBLE.  I CALLED 4 TIMES WITHOUT ANSWER, NO BODY KNEW.

The itinerary was fabulous!  Border control in St Petersburg was an issue on Day 1, coming back on ship...since I am a retired Air Force general, they brought me into a backroom for an interrogation while my wife had to wait outside.  The service on board was the best we have ever had, and we've been on over 20 cruises.  In particular, we would like to single out the Vines Steward, Franky Panca Septiando (unbelievably personable and hard working), the Buffet Steward at Alfredo's, Danijela Peno (our first meal on ship, and she personified the expression "first impressions last" by going above and beyond to help us settle in), and our stateroom steward, Joseph Joson (the best room steward we have ever had; prompt and courteous).  The food was average, hence the overall 4-star rating.

The ports were all great. we enjoyed the tours and i think our tour guides were some of the best we have had anywhere and were very knowledgeable we were impressed. the buffet and restaurants that were included were fair at best, Not what i expected from Princess. The specialty restaurants that were extra were worth the money. Overall i would recommend this cruise for the itinerary and price and the ship was very nice

Great cruise. A little cool but dry. the stops were great, although we liked Skagen and Estonia the best.. quaint little old towns that retain old world charm. Lots of construction in Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen

Skagen and Estonia make great walking tours and easily accessible from the port. All other ports you need HoHo bus or local bus to get into town.

St.Petersburg was interesting. You need a visa to visit Russia, HOWEVER if you book a off ship tour ( SPB  tours ) or with the ship, your visa coverage is included in the price of tour.

estonia.  the ships food was very good.   the staff very friendly.  the server was not very happy, he was the wine steward. the shows in the evening were good.

My husband and I choose the cruise by the destinations...which we're amazing! We planned excursions at every stop, which felt like we never stopped while at port. Our favorite port was st Petersburg,  the 2 day tour including lunch was amazing! Our tour guides were knowagable, and patient with the group. The only downside was the ship. We understand that the ports needed a smaller ship, but on sea days there was not much to do. The weather was windy and in the 40s. 

We selected this cruise as a college graduation gift for my daughter.  We were interested in visiting the Mediterranean and were very happy with the ports we visited.  I was not a fan of the ship itself (Epic)  First, the bathrooms had no real doors, just a smoked glass slider that did little to insulate from sound or sight.  

Also for such a large ship, I was surprised there were not any large swimming pools, just a few tiny pools.  Not nearly enough pool space for the number of passengers.

We did enjoy the food & service in the main dining rooms.  Did the buffet most mornings for breakfast, good assortment and better than average for buffet style food.

Booked our excursions through private companies with information found on Cruise Critic.  Much cheaper than excursions booked through cruise line.

Great ship and the service on the ship was outstanding!  Loved the itinerary!  Food was very good!

A few areas for improvement:  Had to take a shuttle bus to the ship and had to load our own bags on the bus.  The entertainment overall was good, but the entertainers didn't sing/play/dance to their audience performing songs this age group never heard before.  In addition, all three male soloists sang "Bring Me Home" from Les Mis.  Great song but didn't need to hear it 3 times.  A couple of the ship singer/dance performances were just plain weird!

Had a wonderful time on Celebrity Reflection. This is our third time on this ship and they never cease to amaze us with their service and attention to details. This time we decided to book a sky suite for our Mediterranean cruise. Butler service was excellent, dining was great and the Alcove was relaxing. Enjoyed all the ports and would recommend this cruise to all.

The Epic was a good experience.  The ship is awesome, but the food could use some work.  The workers do a good job, but are not as personable as on other cruise lines.  The entertainment was good, but once again, not great.  We are used to more of a party atmosphere.

Nothing was particularly good or bad. It seemed the staff were mostly going through the motions, and that they really were tired of people and crowds.  The food was the same old mediocrity.  At the sit down dining, the finer items were removed from the menu, and what choices we had in meats seemed like they sat under the warmer too long and dried out.  Also, with the exception of communicating all of the sales and buying options, the normal communication was confusing, and on several occasions written and verbal communications conflicted with other written or verbal instructions.

Then, to add extra pain, Royal Carribean charged the highest tips of any cruise we have ever taken.  This was our first and probably last cruise with Royal Caribbean.

We really enjoyed our cruise on Freedom of the Seas.

The variety of ports gave us an opportunity to visit places in Europe we had never been.

The cruise staff was wonderful and very helpful.

The entertainment and dining were exceptional.

We were celebrating our wedding anniversary and appreciated the attention in Chops Grille to help us celebrate

Trip highlights (as a first time cruise passenger) - Sailing in and out of Venice, viewing the shore, towns and countryside of Montenegro as the ship made it's first port call,  looking out at the wide open, quiet and peaceful ocean from our balcony stateroom.   Eating at different restaurants each night was also a nice and convenient pleasure.   I wasn't  prepared for the relatively short port calls and the time and effort it took to get on and off the ship.  Half of our stops we anchored, not docked, requiring passengers to line up for the disembark process used for getting on the ship's tenders.

We overall were very disappointed with this cruise.  Water wasn't provided at dinner unless you have prepaid for it (and I mean, not even tap water).  The tap water access on the 9th floor was even cutoff at 10pm, so you have to order from room service and pay a service fee if you want a cup of TAP WATER.  This cruise advertises themselves as being known for their Italian cuisine which was terrible.  The only food any of our party enjoyed was the desserts.  Food service was promptly cutoff as passengers entered the ship from excursions and was replaced with sandwiches, meat, and cheeses.  We felt nickel and dimed the entire cruise.  There were no towel animals on the bed when we returned from dinner which I thought all cruiselines surprise you with these.  Customer service got rude at times also.  We paid more for this cruise for an interior room than we have ever paid before and were not happy with the overall experience.  The entertainment was not very well thought out either.

The itinerary was great.    The cruise line, not so much.    Our first and probably last cruise on Celebrity.    I wouldn't recommend Celebrity at all.  

We had a beautiful suite on this trip which was marvelous. It included all of the bells and whistles. Our butler, Joseph was outstanding.

Unfortunately, the food was disappointing. It was not hot when served, and at Moderno the skewed meats were all cooked well done.

The  ports of call were just breathtaking, but all tour offers were quite short.

Please start using a higher grade of toilet tissue. The one used is substandard..